Posted tagged ‘Islamic State’

France’s President Lied, Frenchmen Died

November 16, 2015

France’s President Lied, Frenchmen Died It’s time to tell the truth about the migrant crisis.

November 16, 2015

Daniel Greenfield

Source: France’s President Lied, Frenchmen Died | Frontpage Mag

Last month, French President Francois Hollande ridiculed the idea that the massive numbers of Muslim migrants entering his country were any kind of threat.

“Those who argue that we are being invaded are manipulators and falsifiers, who do this only for political reasons, to scare,” the left-wing politician huffed.

And then the pudgy little Socialist had to be rapidly evacuated from France’s national soccer stadium after one of those refugees blew himself up trying to reach Monsieur le Président, and Merkel’s Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Minister Steinmeier had urged rejecting “barriers, fences” when it came to the Muslim migrants, but it was a barrier and the security in front of it that kept one of his beloved refugees from reaching him.

The ordinary people who didn’t have and don’t have the security measures that protect Hollande and Steinemeier died in Paris, blown up and gunned down where they sat, lay and stood.

Before the man carrying a passport in the name of Ahmed Almohammad blew himself up at France’s national soccer stadium, he came on a boat from Turkey with hundreds of other refugees. He passed through Greece, Serbia and Croatia, along with countless other migrants, accompanied no doubt by journalists and human rights workers eager to document the plight of the “refugees”.

We may yet find him in the background of some news photo as the photographer focuses in for propaganda purposes on one of the few children among the horde of grim men of military age.

His passport may have been real. It may have been fake. No one was likely to notice. The name on his passport was not on an Interpol warrant. And so he was allowed into the heart of Europe.

In Greece, overburdened local authorities don’t care. New migrants are allowed to fill out their own paperwork and are handed letters of transit that allow them access to Europe. An employee at a local registration center was quoted as saying, “We just have to trust what they write down.”

In September, at a joint press conference with Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had called taking in migrants a “moral duty” and urged Americans to “increase the numbers you can take into your country”.

Now Germany is hunting for its own links to the Paris attacks. A few days earlier, Steinemeier had boasted that Germans were bending over backwards for the refugees and proving that, “Germany belongs not to the screamers and hatemongers.” But the man with all the guns and bombs in his car who has been taken into custody might disagree. So would the terror cells of Hamburg.

But don’t assume that Hollande or Steinmeier learned any lessons from the latest Muslim massacre.

In September, France’s President Hollande told the French that he had information that attacks against France had been planned from Syria and that planning for future air strikes against ISIS would begin.

In that same speech, he announced that France would be taking in 24,000 migrants.

Hollande knew ahead of time that this disaster was coming. He even prepared the response to it at the same time as he was welcoming some of the potential perpetrators into his country.

It wouldn’t be too surprising if he even had a speech pre-written and ready to go for just such an attack.

Even as Hollande was denouncing “manipulators and falsifiers” for trying to “scare” the French, he had a very good idea of just how much there was to be scared of.

The President of France had looked his nation in the eye and lied to them about the invasion.

Monsieur le Président probably didn’t expect to be this close to the killing when it happened. Neither did Foreign Minister Steinmeier. It’s the Jews and Poles in Marseille or the people in Calais who happen to be a little too close to the New Jungle camp that were meant to be the sacrifices of their compassion.

Unfortunately for Hollande and Steinmeier, the Islamic State didn’t get the memo. Unfortunately for us, their only real response to the crisis they caused will be to try to globalize it even further.

Back then Hollande and Merkel were demanding a “permanent mandatory system” for redistributing Muslim migrants across Europe. The G20 meeting features an alleged draft resolution calling it a global problem in an attempt to redistribute the migrants not just around Europe, but around the world.

Germany and France turned the Muslim migrant crisis into a European problem. Now they want to repeat the butchery in Paris around the world.

The man calling himself Ahmed Almohammad had been a hot potato that every country along the route was happy to pass on to the next. Greece, Croatia and Serbia just wanted the huge influx of invaders to move on. In Germany and France, the emphasis is not on security, but on resettlement.

No one is interested in security. And security is not a realistic option.

Greece doesn’t have the money, resources or infrastructure to screen the migrant horde. Frontex is undermanned and its employees, in European fashion, work until 4 PM, at which point the refugees just write whatever they want and get handed letters of transit by Greek officials that want them gone.

The Balkan countries are not any better equipped to manage the invasion than Greece. And the European countries that actually want the migrants aren’t interested in checking their papers, but in signing them up for as many social services as possible.

That’s not just true of Europe. It’s equally true of the United States.

Any talk of vetting is nothing more than plausible deniability. Unless a terrorist is already in our database, vetting him is a lost cause. Our system couldn’t handle the World Trade Center bombers or the 9/11 hijackers and they came from functioning countries that weren’t in the middle of a civil war.

We are not going to be able to vet tens of thousands of people who claim they come from Syria, who have fake passports or who plead that they lost their passports at sea, whose names can be rendered in enough ways to give even a linguist a headache and who will get access to the United States long enough for them to disappear even if we did eventually turn up something on them.

And we’re not supposed to vet them.

Despite the rhetoric, France and Germany are less interested in fighting ISIS than in getting the United States and the rest of the world to take more Muslim migrants. Instead of having ISIS in every city in Europe, they seem determined to make sure that it is in every city in the world instead.

ISIS may have carried out the brutal massacres in Paris, but Hollande, Merkel and the other friends of the refugees helped make it happen. And they want to help make it happen around the world.

The migrant crisis is an invasion. The bodies in Paris could just as easily have been stacked up in any country that was foolish and feckless enough to open the door to ISIS by taking in “refugees”.

If Obama and Kerry succeed in their plan to bring tens of thousands of Syrian migrants to America, the next brutal massacre might not happen in Paris. It might happen in one of our cities instead.

Hollande, Obama lack the troops and will for total war on ISIS. Mid East rulers are even more reluctant

November 16, 2015

Hollande, Obama lack the troops and will for total war on ISIS. Mid East rulers are even more reluctant, DEBKAfile, November 16, 2015

French_anti-terror_police_15.11.15French anti-terror police

When French President Francois Hollande declared war on ISIS and called the attack in Paris an “act of war,” he gave the terrorist organization’s leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi an unexpected boost. He upgraded the Muslim caliphate to a fully-fledged state against which France is now at war. US President Barack Obama was more cautious, declaring at the G-20 summit in Antalya that his country and France would fight together against terror, without specifying how.

Obama has problems of his own. The attempt to portray the Kurdish conquest of the city of Sinjar in northern Iraq as an important achievement in the war against ISIS dissipated quickly after Peshmerga troops were shown on TV moving into a city that was empty and lying in ruins, after it was abandoned by Islamic State forces. There was no battle there either.

Also, the US and Kurdish claims that they had severed the main road link between the ISIS capitals in Iraq and Syria, Mosul and Raqqa, proved hollow as ISIS had stopped using that route months ago after it became vulnerable to American air strikes.

If that wasn’t enough, Obama ran into an obstacle in Antalya.

The summit’s host, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who is consumed by an overriding aversion to an independent Kurdish state rising on his country’s border, demanded a declaration that all Kurdish forces, including the Peshmerga, the PKK and the YPG, on which the US depends heavily for fighting the war against ISIS, be classified as terrorists and targeted by the West just like ISIS.

Therefore, before broaching any decisions about intensifying the war on the Islamist terrorists, Western and Muslim countries were already at odds on targets.

It therefore makes no sense for President Hollande to try and invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter under which an act of war against one member of the alliance is tantamount to a war on all. Furthermore, making this a NATO operation would rule out a priori any collaboration with Russia in the campaign against ISIS, despite their common objective.  Vladimir Putin was already vexed over the feeble Western response to the bombing of a Russian airliner killing 224 people, compared to the global outcry over the Paris outrage.

In their responses and commentaries on what to do after the Paris assault, Western politicians and security experts seemed to agree that putting their own boots on the ground for finally getting to grips with ISIS was not on the cards – there would just be “more of the same,’ as one American security expert put it.

Others advised assigning the ground battle to the Egyptian, Jordanian, Kurdish, Iraqi, Saudi and other Gulf Arab states.

Who were they kidding? None of those Arab governments or armies is capable or willing to declare full-scale war on the Islamic State. The Kurds alone have stepped into the breach and are confronting the Islamists face to face, but they have sought in vain for the weapons they need, which the US refuses to supply.

Egypt, for instance, even after an ISIS network was able to breach its security system in Sharm El-Sheikh to plant a bomb on the Russian airliner on Oct. 31, has held back from a major military assault on the strongholds of the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, otherwise known as ISIS-Sinai. Egypt’s President Fattah Al-Sisi has not uttered a word on the Islamist threat since then.

French security and intelligence services demonstrated that they were unprepared for war on ISIS, and are pretty much in the same boat as other Western powers.

Since the outrage in Paris, French and Belgian security forces have conducted raid after raid to pick up Islamists, claiming to be rounding up the masterminds and confederates of the nine bombers and shooters who attacked Paris and murdered 132 people  In fact, they are acting more to calm a jittery public than in the expectation of achieving meaningful results in the war on terror. Till now, neither France nor any Western government knows exactly how many people were involved in the attack on Paris, or the numbers and locations of the Islamic Caliphate’s worldwide terror networks.

Erdoğan: What would happen if 2.2 mln Syrian refugees walk to Europe

November 16, 2015

Erdoğan: What would happen if 2.2 mln Syrian refugees walk to Europe

November 13, 2015, Friday/ 15:56:45/

TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH REUTERS / ISTANBUL

Source: Erdoğan: What would happen if 2.2 mln Syrian refugees walk to Europe

Erdoğan: What would happen if 2.2 mln Syrian refugees walk to Europe

President Erdoğan speaks during an interview with CNN International on Thursday.

In an interview with CNN International on Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan implicitly threatened to increase the migrant flow to the EU while complaining about inadequate cooperation from the bloc as it plans to hold a summit with Turkey to discuss ways to stem the migrant flow.

“What would happen if the 2.2 million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey all march to Europe?” Erdoğan said, criticizing the EU for closing its borders while his country is struggling to cope with the presence of a large number of migrants.

The EU is continuing to struggle with the arrival of migrants and recently held a summit with the leaders of a number of African countries to find a lasting solution to the problem of migrants crossing to Europe from North Africa in often deadly journeys over the Mediterranean. Thousands of people have died in fatal incidents, mostly in boats that sink due to overcrowding, prompting the EU to develop counter measures to deal with human smugglers who exploit the internal turmoil and political instability in Libya for a thriving business of bringing migrants to Europe, often through Italy.

European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to invite Erdoğan to a summit very soon as they seek his help to stem a chaotic flow of migrants that threatens Europe’s unity and open borders. European Council President Donald Tusk, who chaired the emergency meeting of EU leaders in Malta, warned that the EU must win a “race against time” to slow arrivals via Greece if it is to save the Schengen zone of passport-free travel inside the bloc from being sidelined by new national barriers and controls.

At the meeting, which followed a summit on the same topic with African government officials, leaders were briefed on negotiations with Ankara the EU executive launched a month ago and gave the green light to wrapping them up. That could be completed at a summit in Brussels involving Erdoğan and the 28 EU leaders, most likely late this month. Tusk said he was “99 percent sure” it would be at the end of November.

Though many Europeans have qualms about giving too much to Erdoğan when the EU is complaining of increasing human rights abuse in Turkey, his party’s sweeping victory in a recent election has strengthened his hand to make demands on Western neighbors whose fate he largely holds in his hands.

On offer are 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) to help Syrians in Turkey, a broadening of Turkey’s long-stalled EU membership talks to include economic policy and, critically for many Turks, more visa-free travel to Europe. In return, the EU wants Turkey to improve conditions for Syrian refugees and curb transit by Asians seeking to reach Europe in the hope of better paid work.

EU-Turkey summit

Though Turkish officials play down its importance, European diplomats say organizing a summit-level platform for Erdoğan to meet his EU counterparts has been an important element in talks. They see the president intent on international recognition and respect at a time when his rule faces heavy foreign criticism.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose country has been overwhelmed by over 600,000 migrants reaching its islands from Turkey on their way to Germany and northern Europe, said it was clear the EU’s salvation lay with Turkey, a NATO ally and would-be first Muslim member of the European Union.

“It is obvious that the only real chance of stopping these flows,” he said, “is reaching an understanding with Turkey.”

Though details have yet to be finalized, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was consensus on the 3 billion euro offer for the next two years to improve conditions for the more than 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The executive Commission proposed paying 500 million euros from the EU budget and asking member states for the rest. Merkel said that precise budgeting was yet to be done and diplomats said several governments had reservations about contributing. The EU-Turkey summit would, Merkel said, “Demonstrate that we will work very closely with each other and that we sensibly share out the challenges arising from the civil war in Syria”.

Lebanon and Jordan, also hosting large numbers of refugees, would also be considered for more EU assistance, officials said.

Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will meet Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Monday to pursue the negotiations during the G-20 summit in Turkey.

‘Race against time’

EU leaders also urged each other to speed up implementation of measures agreed, some only after bitter disputes, over the past few months as close to a million migrants have arrived.

Tusk, a former Polish premier who has sounded increasingly vocal alarms about the cohesion of the bloc, said tighter control of the external borders was essential. Citing Sweden’s move to re-impose checks on arrivals from other EU countries and new measures in Germany and Slovenia, he said of the bloc’s passport-free travel zone: “Saving Schengen is a race against time. And we are determined to win that race.”

“Without effective border control, the Schengen rules will not survive,” he added. “We must hurry, but without panic.”

Ex-communist eastern states that have been among critics of Merkel’s insistence on welcoming refugees in Germany announced they would provide a large contingent of border guards to meet demands of the EU border agency Frontex.

A lack of response to a call for personnel has been among factors slowing plans to tighten checks on those arriving and to relocate asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece. However, Victor Orban, the outspoken right-wing prime minister of Hungary who was one of those contributing immigration staff, was unrepentant in his view that Europe must crack down on all migration flows.

“Migration is not a win-win situation … but a lose-lose situation,” said Orban, who fenced his borders after tens of thousands of refugees arrived from Greece via the Balkans.

“We should change the language of discussions and not consider migration a positive thing because it is totally against the impression of European citizens,” he said.

That Other Side of Russia’s Syria Campaign…

November 15, 2015

That Other Side of Russia’s Syria Campaign…, Independent Strategy and Intelligence Group, November 14, 2015

(Obama’s America isn’t “winning the war” against the (non-Islamic) Islamic State. If Putin’s Russia isn’t either, who will — France? — DM)

True to form, Vlad is increasing operations and the size of his military’s footprint in Syria while lowering the bar of what constitutes “success.” In a recent piece (“Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria Begins to Stall-What Now?”) we discussed how out of all the fronts in the multi-pronged offensive the pro-regime forces are engaged in, only Aleppo has seen any gains – although those gains have been mixed. The SAA and IRGC had to divert resources from the Hama and Idlib fronts just to sustain the Aleppo offensive and achieve the gains that they did – all while sustaining heavy casualties in the process. The diverting of personnel and resources grounded the remaining forces in Hama and Idlib to halt. In some cases they’ve actually lost ground in the two fronts. The only thing that has kept them from driven out of those areas completely is the fact that al-Nusra sent a lot of their fighters to Aleppo, meaning the opposition factions don’t have the manpower to seize the initiative. And so they wait.

Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria Begins to Stall-What Now?
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9219

Has Assad’s New Offensive Changed Syria’s Front Lines?
http://www.syriadeeply.org/articles/2015/11/8733/assads-offensive-changed-syrias-front-lines/

puppet-master-248x300The Puppet Master Source: Derek Bacon (Getty Images)

As of this writing the Russian military has 18 artillery pieces and 9 combat helicopters deployed west of Tadmur with a Spetsnaz unit also operating in the area. Initially these forces were focused on supporting the Assad regime’s multi-pronged offensive in the Northwest due to the major threat the opposition forces posed. Since mid to late-OCT Vlad has conducted airstrikes in Halab Province as part of the effort to disrupt the Islamic State’s (IS) push on the Aleppo supply line. Airstrikes have also been conducted on Raqqa City, Dayr az-Zawr and areas just outside of Damascus. That said, the Russian military is struggling to satisfy the fire support requests of pro-regime forces. The Russian military has 32 combat aircraft, 16 combat helicopters (with more than half in Tadmur) and a Brigade-sized element of artillery.

We’re not surprised that Vlad’s IO guys are trumpeting the recapture of a couple villages and a derelict airbase (Kweires) in Aleppo Province – especially since opposition forces operating in the Ghab Valley were blocking regime advances just a few days ago. Then there’s Jaysh al-Fatah seizing control of several villages in Hama Province. They’ve been poised to push deeper into the areas Northwest of Hama City as of 10 NOV. Regarding Kweires, the recapturing of the base has more symbolic than tactical value. Vlad is hoping the symbolic victory will galvanize the SAA (we’re not holding our breath).

Syrian Regime, Allies Boast of Breaking Aleppo Air Base Siege
http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-government-forces-allies-boast-of-breaking-aleppo-air-base-siege-1447265552

Vlad’s increased sense of urgency is understandable considering the current state of the SAA, not to mention the mounting losses of the Iranian military force in-country. Since OCT the IRGC has lost four senior officer to include their most senior official – BG Hossein Hamedani (Reference “Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention”). Even Hezbollah has lost several senior commanders, such as Hassan al-Haj. GEN Suleimani deployed an additional 2,000 IRGC-Qods Force operators to Syria this past summer in response to combat losses. Our sources have informed us that even Ayatollah Khameini has been getting worried about the increase in casualties from the ongoing offensive, which was the driving force behind his decision to deploy additional conventional IRGC personnel (armor, artillery etc). Thing is Khameini is busy trying to keep the Iranian public from learning that things aren’t going as well as advertised. Vlad is already prepping his own domestic audience for a prolonged Russian mission in Syria.

Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8778

The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) is central to Vlad’s efforts to shape domestic and international opinion of the Syrian campaign – especially against the US. A great deal of the IO portion of this campaign involves messaging that highlights Russia’s humanitarian work (of course leaving out the part about indiscriminately targeting civilians) blames the US and its allies for the Syrian regional war and the rise of IS – even to the extent of claiming that Team Baghdadi is really an “American puppet” (FYI that messaging would work if the Obama administration wasn’t grossly incompetent). There’s actually been some inconsistencies with their messaging, because on one hand they’ll claim the US is “orchestrating” IS’ activities while running a parallel series of messaging highlighting American failures to combat the terror group – they may want to tighten up their shot group in that regards. Our in-country sources report the use of UAVs to distribute leaflets warning opposition fighters of their impending “annihilation” if they don’t flee the area. Another area GRU has been busy is employing the services of independent bloggers, sympathetic website admins and pro-Vlad organizations to distribute messaging. They’ve also been creating fake personas to convey IO themes and present counter-arguments to anything critical of Russia’s intervention, the Assad regime and Vlad himself. We’ve encountered a few of these personas on our Facebook and Twitter feed – they’re not hard to identify since they tried to bait us into divulging the identities of our sources (which isn’t going to happen).

In order to fully understand what’s going on, one must first understand Vlad himself. Our favorite KGB officer has gone his whole life trying to avoid the appearance of “weakness.” Also, his perception since the invasion of Crimea of being labeled a “pariah” by the West likely compels him to be aggressive on the international stage – especially when it comes to projecting power in the Middle East. His KGB service continues to drive his worldview. An example of this is time as a KGB officer in Dresden left a particular mark on his psyche as it was during the last days of the Soviet Union – which he refers to as “the most traumatic experience of his life.” So it should come as no surprise that he views himself as Russia’s lone “champion” that can stand up to defend against America. As such, he views Syria as an opportunity to replace US influence and more importantly, as a test of his reputation and Russia’s international prestige.

putin_Young-300x300A younger Vlad Source: PBS

He has a constant need for recognition and validation, which is why popularity polls are so important to him and why his cult of personality was crafted. Ever wondered why he’s always posing in photos lifting weights, doing the topless horse-riding thing or shooting things? That’s why. Interestingly enough, Vlad was his parents’ only surviving child, and was considered small, weak and sickly. Before that, his parents went through a great deal of hardships during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII. In other words, nothing came easy for him – which we respect. Still, he grew up being regarded as “special” – which resulted in the special snowflake growing up thinking that he was “superior” to everybody else (this is the one thing he has in common with President Obama). As for Vlad’s childhood, he grew up in a rat-infested one-room apartment. It certainly wasn’t the privileged childhood of traveling to exotic locales that his American counterpart got to enjoy. Since he was small, fights occurred regularly – which led to his current interest in martial arts. As for his signature unemotional facial expressions, those are a product of a well-cultivated effort to project strength and guard against unwelcome emotional responses, such as sadness or fear. Acts that he views are intended to undermine or humiliate him will result in his escalating a situation in response. He will only “back off” on his own terms – such as feeling a negative response might come from the public, for instance. For instance, his response to the 2011-2012 Moscow protests is a reflection of his sensitivity to internal dissent. His actions since that time – increased public outreach and propaganda efforts – are geared towards reinforcing the narrative he made of himself as being “indispensable.” The current fight against IS (and the West) is a big part of that plan.

putin_gun-300x225He sure doesn’t seem to like wearing shirts, now does he? Source: Associated Press

The architect of Vlad’s Middle East strategy is GRU Chief Igor Sergun, who was added to the EU’s sanctions list last year in response to his involvement of Russia’s Ukraine campaign. Specifically, he’s a member of Vlad’s “circle of trust” who holds the distinction of being one of the few people involved in the decision-making process leading up to the Crimea invasion receiving the “green light.” More recently, Sergun became a major advocate for Russia to increase its presence in the Middle East. He was the point-man involved in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the joint-intelligence coordination centers in Iraq and Syria (Check out “Russia Providing Lethal Aid to Syria, Iran and Establishment of Intel Centers in Iraq” and “Russia Poised to Increase Military Presence in Middle East in Response to Islamic State’s Strength” for additional info). Of note is that Sergun sees bilateral ties as a means of learning about Western intentions and countering them. The US is just “gaga” over this guy’s smile, but the turn is that he’s the leading figure behind the current IO campaign against the US. This guy has a plethora of experience, having joined the GRU in 1984. From 1989-1992 he served undercover under the guise of being a “military attache” in Stockholm and Tirana in 1997. As a side note, we hear that Sergun loves gardening to unwind and has a nice little dacha near Moscow (we’re working to obtain pics).

Russia’s Military Chief and deputy PM added to EU’s sanctions list
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4a3ff1cc-cf71-11e3-bec6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3rZBrt6dm

Ukrainian Rebel Commander Identified As Russian GRU Military Intelligence Colonel

Ukrainian Rebel Commander Identified As Russian GRU Military Intelligence Colonel

Russia Providing Lethal Aid to Syria, Iran and Establishment of Intel Centers in Iraq
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8532

Russia Poised to Increase Military Presence in Middle East in Response to Islamic State’s Strength
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8416

igor-sergun-300x273Igor Sergun: Likes to channel his “Inner-Martha Stewart” for relaxation. Source: The ISIS Study Group

The guy Sergun hand-picked to oversee intel and IO operations in Syria is COL Pavel Vladimirovich Petrunin. His duties involve the coordinating of intel-sharing with the SAA, IRGC and other pro-regime elements, such as Hezbollah. One of the things he’s been heavily involved with is overseeing the creation of IO messaging that emphasizes Russian/Syrian “successes” no matter how minor. According to our sources, he’s also been engaged in stream-lining offensive cyber-warfare operations with the Syrian Electronic Army in the targeting of opposition social media accounts and web sites – even targeting American and allied computer systems. One of the more interesting things we’ve learned is that he was the one who recommended spinning fratricide/civilian collateral damage incidents (which are a common occurrence on the Syrian front) as “IS attacks” as a means of masking SAA ineptitude. Just as important is the direct intel support that his subordinates provide to the Spetsnaz operators conducting CT-operations in the country against opposition leadership.

Apparent Russian raids kill 11 in Syria’s Idlib: monitor
http://news.yahoo.com/10-dead-syria-regime-raids-held-town-monitor-143407847.html

This fight isn’t going to end anytime soon and because of that, the GRU’s IO campaign is going to increase in importance. Keep in mind that Vlad feels that he’s “Russia” itself, and therefore views his failure as “Russia’s failure.” As we’ve stated previously, Vlad is now at the point where he has to escalate the Russian military mission in Syria so as to continue to project that image of “strength.” This becomes even more important after the Sinai Plane Bombing and Paris attacks. That said, the current situation on the ground in Syria and Vlad’s sensitivities to internal dissent presents several exploitable opportunities for the US to launch an IO campaign of its own – whether they’ll have the testicular fortitude to actually do it is another thing altogether…

Other Related Articles:

Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8669

Amplifying Details on the Sinai Plane Bombing and the Egypt-Libya Nexus
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9230

Sinai Plane Crash Update
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9184

Islamic State Claims to Have Shot-Down Russian Plane in Sinai – But Did They?
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9157

US to cut 40,000 troops despite Russian and Chinese Belligerence and Rapidly Expanding Islamic State
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=7563

How the Paris Attacks Increase the Threat to America

November 15, 2015

How the Paris Attacks Increase the Threat to America, Clarion Project, Ryan Mauro, November 15, 2015

Paris-Attack-Los-Angeles-French-Consulate-IPA woman takes part in a vigil in front of the French Consulate in Los Angeles as a show of solidarity with the people of France. (Photo: © Reuters)

The coordinated attacks in Paris and suspected Islamic State bombing of a Russian airliner raises the risk that Islamic State supporters in the U.S. and other Western countries will spur into action. The opening of a new phase in Islamic State (ISIS) terror will also result in a fresh wave of recruits radicalized by the appearance that the Islamic State is quickly ascending.

You can watch Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro discuss this increasing threat on FOX News’ “America’s News HQ” on Saturday afternoon below:

 

First, there is a risk of “copycat” attacks by the Islamic State and other Islamist terrorist supporters, including those who are loyal to Al-Qaeda and want to show that the group hasn’t become a “has-been” in the jihadist world. It is hard to express the excitement that an aspiring jihadist will feel at two breakthrough moments in the war against the West in such short order. At this sensitive time, any kind of an attack—even a simple shooting or pipe bombing—takes on much greater significance.

If an Islamist terrorist is planning or considering an attack, it is difficult to resist the temptation to strike now. Even a relatively minor attack becomes part of a bigger story, rather than being forgotten amongst the wave of headlines about acts of violence. On an egotistical level, a jihadist will want to attach his name to this dramatic story.

Secondly, there are those who will worry that they might now lose their chance to strike and earn their ticket to Paradise by dying in jihad as a “martyr.” Supporters of the Islamic State have every reason to expect Western governments to become extra aggressive in rounding up possible terrorists. ISIS supporters who believe they are on the authorities’ radar could choose to act sooner instead of patiently preparing their plot and risk being foiled.

The attacks in Paris and on the Russian airliner show that the threat from the Islamic State is greater than ever, and we’ve entered a new period where they’ve moved towards more sophisticated, Al-Qaeda-style attacks in the West. They are engaging in pre-planning and dispatching teams of operatives instead of just hoping to inspire a random supporter into committing violence independently. This upgrade in quality is a powerful tool in the Islamic State’s propaganda arsenal.

The organization’s ability to recruit is largely based on the appearance of success. No one wants to join an organization whose recent history is filled with losses. Moreover, success is seen as Allah‘s endorsement; the ultimate winning argument in a theological debate among those dabbling in Islamist extremism.

Just as the Islamic State’s burst onto the scene with the capturing of Mosul in 2014 earned it a wave of recruits, these attacks will also earn it a wave of recruits and it will encourage the millions of Islamic State supporters who have yet to take up arms to finally act upon their beliefs.

It is critical that the West push back against the Islamic State’s convincing narrative of success. Those in the region understand the importance of this. We saw many tweets from people in the Middle East directed towards ISIS that told the group that their attacks in Paris cannot erase their setbacks elsewhere.

Dramatic events like these make recent losses like the killing of “Jihadi John” and the Kurds recapturing Sinjar seem like distant memories, but they deserve to be a part of the news coverage and U.S. government’s international messaging. Instead of focusing on single events that the Islamic State hopes will grab our attention, we must put them into a broader context that the Islamic State is less eager for the public to know about.

EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria

November 15, 2015

EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria

Source: EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria – International – Jerusalem Post

BELEK, Turkey – The United States and Russia must cooperate in fighting Islamic State in Syria, the president of the European Council said on Sunday, stressing Russia should focus its military actions there on the radical Islamists and not the Syrian opposition.

At a news conference on the sidelines of a summit of world leaders in the Turkish coastal province of Antalya, Donald Tusk said that Russian bombing of President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents was only increasing the wave of refugees to Europe.

“It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one,” Tusk said, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

“But we need not only more cooperation, but also more good will, especially from Russian action on the ground in Syria. It must be focussed more on Islamic State and not – because we cannot accept it – against the moderate Syrian opposition,” Tusk said.

Europe is facing an inflow of 1 million refugees from the Middle East and Africa this year alone as a result of the Syrian conflict, which pits the forces of Islamic State, Assad and the Syrian opposition against each other.

Russia joined the conflict a month and a half ago with air strikes in Syria, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by forces opposed to its long-term ally Assad, rather than by Islamic State.

“We have no doubt that from actions against the Syrian opposition the only result will be a new wave of refugees and we have started seeing that, in fact it has started,” Tusk said.

“This is why the cooperation between Russia and other countries, especially the United States, is so important also in this context of the refugee crisis,” he said.

Russia, the United States and powers from Europe and the Middle East outlined a plan on Saturday for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, a day after gunmen and suicide bombers from Islamic State went on a rampage through Paris, killing 129 people.

Tusk said that after attacks in Paris, the G20 had to step up efforts to cut off financing to terrorists.

“Terror networks cannot plan or operate without the money that moves through the financial systems of many countries. Only if we fully cooperate on exchange of information about suspicious transactions, will we be able to stop this threat effectively,” Tusk said.

The jihadis’ master plan to break us

November 15, 2015

The jihadis’ master plan to break us

Source: The jihadis’ master plan to break us | New York Post

PARIS — Still under shock from Friday night’s terror attacks, Paris may need a few more days to regain its signature mood of defiant dignity. Almost everyone had expected an attack but most still hoped it would never come. Now they are all asking why it did.

It happened because the Islamic State, the latest version of the Islamo-apocalypytic movement, has decided that Western democracies, representing the “Infidel” world, are no longer prepared to fight even to preserve their comfortable lives. The Paris attacks came on the first day of the Muslim lunar month of Safar, which coincides with the anniversary of Prophet Mohammed’s first successful “ghazva” (raid) against the “infidel” at Safwan in 623 AD.

Islamic State is already referring to the Paris attacks as another “ghazva,” promising many more. The aim is to terrorize all mankind into submitting to the diktats of The Only True Faith.

This is how Sheikh Abu-Bakr Naji, the late theoretician of the Sunni version of the Islamo-apocalyptic movement, put it: “No one should feel safe without submitting, and those who refuse to submit must pay a high price. The aim of our movement is to turn the world into a series of wildernesses in which only those under our rule enjoy security.”

The sheikh’s neo-jihadi theory was explained a decade ago in his magnum opus “Governance in the Wilderness” (Edarat al Tawwahush). The book rejected al Qaeda’s theory of war based on the assumption that “the infidel” would succumb to Islamic rule with a few spectacular attacks such as 9/11 against New York and Washington. The sheikh further examines what he calls “the five schools of jihad” to reveal their inadequacies.

According to the sheikh, in a world dominated by “Crusaders,” it is not possible to create a proper Islamic state in a single country. He cites as example the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Although a proper Islamic regime, it did not survive “infidel” attacks and opposition by Afghan elements. The Islamic movement must become global, fighting everywhere, all the time, and on all fronts. He wants neo-jihadis to create an archipelago of “wildernesses” in non-Muslim countries, especially in the West, turning them into parallel societies alongside existing ones. They do not set up formal governments that could be vulnerable to economic pressure or even military attack.

To our neo-jihadi sheikh these parallel societies could resemble “liberated zones” set up by Marxist guerrillas in parts of Latin America in the last century. But they could also exist within cities, under the noses of the authorities, operating as secret societies with their own rules, values and enforcement mechanism.

The “wilderness” will provide cover for operational bases. Jihad would be everywhere rather than in just one or two countries that the “infidel” could hit with superior firepower.

The sheikh recommends “countless small operations” that render daily life unbearable rather than a few spectacular attacks such as 9/11. The idea is that the “infidel,” leaving his home every morning, should not be sure whether he would be alive in the evening.

The sheikh believed that if subjected to constant intimidation and fear of death, most non-Muslims, especially in the West, would submit to Islam in exchange for a minimum of tranquility. The only Western power still capable of resisting was the United States. But that, too, would change with a new president.. (That was before Obama was elected). In any case, the sheikh quoting historian Paul Kennedy, has no doubt that “America is destined to fall.”

The sheikh’s theory is built on the concept of terror as the main organizing principle of the mini-states he hopes to set up in preparation for the coming caliphate.

Islamic State’s message is stark: Western civilization is doomed. Its last bastion, America, lacks the will for war. The infidel loves life and treats it as an endless feast. Jihadis have to ruin that feast and persuade the “infidel” to abandon this world in exchange for greater rewards in the next.

The Paris “ghazva” used a tactic that some call “symphonic” because it offered several forms of terrorism in different themes, mixing regular military-style assaults with classical terrorism and kamikaze operations. Thus we had suicide-attacks aimed at a sports stadium packed with 80,000 people, random shooting from at least two cars on people in restaurants and terrace cafes, a raid on a concert hall and the holding of hostages, and a gun battle with the security forces.

Terrorism is a beast with an extraordinary ability to mutate. As soon as its victims have learned to cope with its methods, it develops new ones. Groups of anarchists throwing bombs follow the lone assassin who targets a king or a political leader. The hijacking of passenger jets is replaced by the transformation of aircraft into missiles against fixed buildings. All the time, the intention is to terrorize the largest number of people, eroding the ordinary man’s confidence in the ability of the authorities to protect him, and, in the long run, persuading a majority of the people, who just want to live their lives, to trade their freedom for the security that the terrorist promises in his utopia.

Paris was attacked not because of what the French do, as some Blame-The-West intellectuals claim, but because of what the French are: infidels who refuse to see the light of Islam. The hope is that just as the Prophet forced the Arab tribes to accept Islam in exchange for protection, the “infidel” nations will also decide that it is in their best interest to submit.

Today, however, I see no sign the French tend toward submission. As always, the terrorists may end up like the man who, having won a great many tokens at the roulette table, is surprised when the casino tells him his winnings cannot be cashed.

 Obama, 1 Day before Paris Massacres: ‘We’ve Contained ISIS’

November 15, 2015

’ Sunday, he repeated what he said February that he will “redouble” efforts to wipe out ISIS. Santorum: ‘People are dying because this President refuses to face the truth.”

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: November 15th, 2015

Source: The Jewish Press » » Obama, 1 Day before Paris Massacres: ‘We’ve Contained ISIS’

ISIS murderers threatening Obama in a YouTube video.

ISIS murderers threatening Obama in a YouTube video.
Photo Credit: YouTube, translation by MEMRI.org

President Barack Obama said Sunday that he will “redouble” efforts to eliminate the Islamic State (ISIS), the same word he uttered last February.

His latest vow comes three days after the President declared in a television interview that he has “contained” ISIS. President Obama  was referring to “containing” ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but the massive ISIS attacks in Paris the following days have come back to haunt him.

A senior administration official tried to fend off complaints that President Obama was talking through his hat, and told news sources:

We, including the President, have said from beginning the fight against ISIL would be long and have both good and bad days.

Friday was not a bad day; it was catastrophic.

The day before, President Obama told George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America:

We’ve always understood that our goal has to be militarily constraining ISIL’s capabilities, cutting off their supply lines, cutting off their financing.’

Stephanopolous politely but bluntly tried to tell the President hat ISIS actually is gaining strength, but the Commander-in-Chief rejected the idea and insisted:

I don’t think they’re gaining strength. From the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria they’ll come in, they’ll leave. But you don’t see this systemic march by ISIL across the terrain.

Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris proved that ISIS, or ISIL as President Obama likes to call the Islamic State, has marched right into the terrain of Europe.

The White House bragged about U.S.-led airstrikes freeing an Iraqi city from ISIS rule and possibly having killed “Jihadi John.” but the real impact of ISIS is its terrorist infrastructure that obviously is entrenched in Europe and which has reached the United States.

President Obama came bouncing back Sunday at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and vowed to “redouble” efforts to eliminate ISIS. After exceptionally poetic rhetoric, even for him, that the skies have been darkened” by the Paris attacks, the president stated:

We will redouble our efforts working with other members of the coalition to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Daesh as a force that can create so much pain and suffering for people in Paris and Ankara and other parts of the globe.

Sound familiar? It should.

Here is what President Obama had to say last February, after ISIS posted a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive:

Should in fact this video be authentic…it, I think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated.

It also just indicates the degree to which whatever ideology they’re operate off of is bankrupt.

Polls have shown that American voters are increasingly placing the threat of ISIS attacks near the top of their list of worries.

The Republican party is having a field day harping on President Obama’s empty claim that “we have restrained ISIS.”

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum directly blamed President Obama for the attacks in Paris and told reporters in Florida on Saturday:

This President doesn’t plan. … This President has completely abandoned ship.

This is delusional. That’s the only way I can put it. … And people are dying because this President refuses to face the truth.

I would say to a war-weary country that if we do not begin to take back ground back from ISIS, we will see war visit us here more dramatically and repeatedly….

The public relations value that the President gives ISIS every day by engaging in a war that he has no intention of winning is what you saw in France yesterday.

Report: France May Send Force to Fight ISIS on the Ground

November 15, 2015

A global intelligence service says that sending an expeditionary force is one of France’s options to try to defeat ISIS.

By: JNi.Media Published:

November 15th, 2015

Source: The Jewish Press » » Report: France May Send Force to Fight ISIS on the Ground

The picture shows the kepi blanc. the French Foreign Legion

French army soldiers soon may find themselves fighting ISIS terrorists.

French army soldiers soon may find themselves fighting ISIS terrorists.
Photo Credit: Archangel12 / https://www.flickr.com/photos/archangel12/

Stratfor, a global intelligence analysis service, issued a report Saturday contending France may send its “expeditionary force” to Syria to retaliate against ISIS.

The report, titled “After Paris, France Contemplates a Reckoning,” suggests the French response to the Paris attacks is markedly different from that of the Spanish Government following the March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Instead of pulling back from the global coalition working against radical Islamists, “it appears that the French will renew and perhaps expand their efforts to pursue revenge for the most recent assault.”

According to Stratfor, “France has numerous options for retaliation at its disposal.”

First, France has to establish that the attackers were, in fact, members of ISIS. Then:

France will likely ramp up its Syrian air operations. The skies over Syria, however, are already congested with coalition and Russian aircraft. With this in mind, the French may choose to retaliate by focusing instead on the Islamic State in Iraq, or perhaps even other Islamic State provinces in places such as Libya.

Another option would be to increase French programs to train and support anti-Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, or even to conduct commando strikes against key leadership nodes.

Finally, says the report, “France also has the option of deploying an expeditionary force like it did in the Sahel, although that would probably require outside airlift capacity from NATO allies, especially the United States.”

One area that is already undergoing a radical change is passage through Europe’s borders, which this weekend are being sealed by many EU members. Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer said the Paris attack showed border controls are more necessary than ever.

Seehofer, who is critical of the German government’s handling of the refugee crisis, demands permanent border controls and swift repatriation of asylum seekers. It doesn’t appear that Chancellor Angela Merkel will find many allies supporting her soft, pro-refugee stance in light of the Paris bombings.

The anti-Schengen camp, seeking to revoke the agreement making it possible for virtually every European citizen to go anywhere in Europe unheeded, received yet another vindication last week, according to Stratfor, when a Montenegro citizen was arrested on his way to Paris with a stack of weapons.

It isn’t clear whether he was on his way to joining the Friday attacks in Paris, but it’s possible—and frightening. And so the Paris attacks will raise the clout of anti-immigration parties across Europe, chipping away at the Schengen agreement. As of this weekend, France, Germany, Sweden, Slovenia and Hungary have already re-established strict border controls. It is expected that the remaining EU governments will follow suit this week.

Destroy the ISIS Caliphate

November 15, 2015

Destroy the ISIS Caliphate We can either fight ISIS in our cities or in their cities.

November 14, 2015

Daniel Greenfield

Source: Destroy the ISIS Caliphate | Frontpage Mag

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.

On Friday morning, Obama claimed that ISIS had been contained. By Friday evening, ISIS had carried out one of the deadliest acts of Islamic terrorism in the West.  129 are dead. 352 are wounded.

The Jihadists massacred helpless people, shooting them down as they begged for mercy in restaurants and music halls, blowing themselves up for Allah outside soccer stadiums. Shouting, “Allahu Akbar”, they brought the terror and horror of the Islamic State from grim Raqqa to prosperous Paris.

Obama had claimed that the Islamic State was contained in Iraq and Syria, but the Caliphate was never going to be contained by his tactics of “low-intensity, occasional strikes” in which 75 percent of pilots return without bombing ISIS even when they have the terror group right in their sights.

It’s a familiar story. A few hours before 9/11, Bill Clinton told an Australian audience that he could have killed Bin Laden, “but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan”. And according to Bill, if he had done that, “I would have been no better than him. And so I didn’t do it.”

Bill Clinton kept his virtue and the terrorist leader whose life he spared killed thousands of Americans.

If we don’t hit the terrorists where they live, they will kill us where we live. That is the lesson of 9/11. It’s the lesson of the latest Paris attacks. It’s the lesson of every Islamic terrorist attack.

We can bomb them in Iraq and Syria, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or we can be murdered by them in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and London.

Obama officials said that they didn’t want to hit ISIS with “shock-and-awe” style bombings. If they had done that, the Paris attacks might not have happened.

Had ISIS been hit hard, some of the fighters who made their way to France might have been killed. Or they might have been needed back in Syria and Iraq. Or they might have abandoned ship once the Caliphate failed and the Islamic State’s pretenses of theological supremacy were exposed by its collapse.

Instead of fighting ISIS, Obama has faked a fight, concentrating on drone strikes and hashtags, and doctoring intelligence to make it look like these tactics are working.

They clearly are not working. The same tactics that have failed to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban are not going to beat their Islamic State big brother which, despite all the denials, has become a state.

France’s left-wing president called the attacks an “act of war”, accused the terrorists of “barbarism” and vowed to be” ruthless” in fighting them. By contrast, Obama offered the same old condolences, but said that he didn’t want to “speculate” about the attackers. That’s his usual line after an Islamic terror attack.

We’re not going to defeat ISIS with hashtags. We’re not going to defeat it by calling it Daesh. We are not going to defeat it by taking out one of its leaders every few months.

We can only defeat the Caliphate by destroying it.

Obama had told the Pentagon that we can’t defeat ISIS with guns. But ISIS had no problem massacring almost a hundred people in Paris with guns. We don’t need “better ideas”, as Obama suggested, to beat ISIS. Our civilization is already a better idea. It just needs defending from the barbarians at the gates.

While the President of France talks war, Obama has sought to define the conflict down from war to terrorism to criminal misconduct. Even while Obama tosses a few warm words on cold corpses in Paris, he is plotting to free the last of the Al Qaeda terrorists captured at great pain and risk by our soldiers.

The Caliph of the Islamic State’s parting words on being freed from a U.S. detention camp in Iraq were, “I’ll see you guys in New York.”

How long until Caliph Baghdadi keeps his word and the massacres in Paris come to New York? How long until the batches of murderous terrorists freed by Obama come to kill Americans on American soil?

Muslim terrorism is not a criminal problem. It is not a sign of frustration and discontent. It’s not a reaction to our foreign policy. It’s a civilizational strategy of expansion through genocide.

It’s not a debate. It’s a war. We can either win that war or lose that war. It’s up to us.

As long as international travel exists, the war will not be limited by geography. A Caliph or Emir in another part of the world doesn’t need to raise a fleet to invade Europe. He can just spring for a few fake passports or let some of the local boys in France do the dirty work.

What happens in Afghanistan, won’t stay in Afghanistan. What happens in Syria, won’t stay in Syria.

The free world needs a Caliphate Doctrine. It must state clearly and unambiguously that any attempt to build a Caliphate, to subjugate territories to Islamic law with all its accompanying barbarism, and to demand the surrender of the rest of humanity through terror, will be met with utter destruction.

Not drone strikes. Not hashtags. Not calls for moderate Islam. Not even the “shock-and-awe” that Obama officials nervously disavowed. But the destruction that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan faced after they attempted to impose the rule of a master race and ideology on the world through terror.

If we do not want another century of war, then we must make the Islamic State into an example.

The Islamic State seeks to horrify and terrify us into surrender. Its atrocities are techniques for destroying our morale and teaching us helplessness. If we do not fight back, then we will eventually give up. Entire European countries have already surrendered and ask only for a merciful conquest.

When Napoleon faced Muslim fighters who violated the rules of war in Israel, he had them put to death. “To have acted otherwise than as I did, would probably have caused the destruction of my whole army,” he explained. It is not an army that faces destruction today, not even a nation, but all of civilization.

The Caliphate Doctrine would make it clear that civilization has no room for the Islamic State, that it has no room for terrorism, sex slavery, child soldiers, beheadings and the other horrors of Supremacist Islam. It makes it plain that Islamic terrorism is not a domestic criminal problem, but an act of war against civilization by a death cult. And we have a choice between our deaths and that of the cult.

A Caliphate, whether that of ISIS or any other, represents the murder and enslavement of mankind. Each Islamic terror attack is carried out in support of a Caliphate of the present or the future. By taking a definitive stand against any Caliphate, we make it clear that the modern world has no room for such an institution and that Islamic terrorism, domestic or international, is fighting for a lost cause.

We can begin by destroying the Caliphate. And when the Islamic State falls, then the dreams of all our murderers, from Paris to New York, from Raqqa to Istanbul, will begin to die with it.