Tuesday, September 16, 2014 7:50:11 AM
President Obama Addresses the Nation on the ISIL Threat
Published on Sep 10, 2014 by The White House [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxRlFDqcWM4y7FfpiAN3KQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse , http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse/videos ]
Speaking from the State Floor in the White House on September 10, 2014, President Obama addressed the nation on the situation in Iraq and the United States’ strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL, a terrorist organization.
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Statement by the President on ISIL
State Floor
September 10, 2014
9:01 P.M. EDT
My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.
As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.
Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We can’t erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. And that’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL -- which calls itself the “Islamic State.”
Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.
In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists -- Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.
So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East -- including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our Intelligence Community believes that thousands of foreigners -– including Europeans and some Americans –- have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.
I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we’ve conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.
But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. And that’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.
Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.
First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.
Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American servicemembers to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi security forces. Now that those teams have completed their work –- and Iraq has formed a government –- we will send an additional 475 servicemembers to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission –- we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We’ll also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control.
Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I call on Congress again to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its own people -- a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.
Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to further mobilize the international community around this effort.
Fourth, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.
So this is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity. And in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria, to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.
My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL, but I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.
Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.
My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks, through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back, America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.
Our technology companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day –- and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.
Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine their own destiny. It is America –- our scientists, our doctors, our know-how –- that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so that they can’t pose a threat to the Syrian people or the world again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, and tolerance, and a more hopeful future.
America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia, from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East, we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding.
Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform –- pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and servicemembers who support our partners on the ground.
When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here’s what one of them said: “We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people.”
That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety, our own security, depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation and uphold the values that we stand for –- timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.
May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/remarks-president-barack-obama-address-nation
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvRd17vXaXM [with comments] [also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spIWGoNZnaU (with comments)]
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Sen. Ted Cruz Discusses ISIS Strategy on the Situation Room
Published on Sep 10, 2014 by SenTedCruz [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOTZ-6H1rri1lSsj6IzhUyw / http://www.youtube.com/user/SenTedCruz , http://www.youtube.com/user/SenTedCruz/videos ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGOyoe_-BCo [with comments]
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Ted Cruz's Stunningly Stupid Plan for ISIS
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by Sam Seder [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-3jIAlnQmbbVMV6gR7K8aQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/SamSeder , http://www.youtube.com/user/SamSeder/videos ]
Ted Cruz incoherent war plans for ISIS and Iran
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBfx1r1xqiA [with comments]
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Man Crosses U.S. Border Dressed as ISIS Terrorist, Simulates Beheading
Published on Sep 5, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvsye7V9psc-APX6wV1twLg / http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel , http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel/videos ]
Infowars reporter Joe Biggs simulates an ISIS jihadi crossing the US/Mexico border with a fake severed head to show how easy it is for anyone to get into America.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZVMNV4ycs [with comments]
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Sen. Ted Cruz Reacts to President Obama's ISIS Speech on the Kelly File
Published on Sep 10, 2014 by SenTedCruz
September 10, 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hZGCJr6Pto [with comments]
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Graham Weighs in on Obama's Plan to Defeat ISIS
Published on Sep 15, 2014 by USSenLindseyGraham [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLGZMA5Ei2Z8fR1PLEx6yQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/USSenLindseyGraham , http://www.youtube.com/user/USSenLindseyGraham/videos ]
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) weighed in on Obama's plan to combat ISIS, describing his Administration's approach as delusional [Fox News Sunday, September 14, 2014].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxL6_Bp5t3c [no comments yet]
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Lindsey Graham: 'ISIS is Going to Kill Us All!'
Published on Sep 15, 2014 by Sam Seder
Lindsey Graham says we need to bomb ISIS before they come to America and kill us all...
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYAfQURHROI [with comments]
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Graham Discusses U.S. Role in Iraq
Published on Aug 11, 2014 by USSenLindseyGraham
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) discussed the United States' new role in Iraq and called for a sustained air campaign against ISIS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzKICacYAEQ [no comments yet] [the first 4-plus minutes after slightly trimmed starts also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0yVcEOjWOA (with comments) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXg6w7h7pQM (with comments)]
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Lindsey Graham : Warns of possible Nuclear Attack on Charleston or New York Harbor (Sept 10, 2013)
Published on Sep 10, 2013 by SignsofThyComing [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPejB1cCtTCwzi9yk10CR3g / http://www.youtube.com/user/SignsofThyComing , http://www.youtube.com/user/SignsofThyComing/videos ]
SOURCE: http://www.foxnews.com
VIDEO RESPONSE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9cqgO4djY8
News Articles:
Lindsey Graham Implies Failure to Strike Syria May Result in U.S. Getting Nuked
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/08/lindsey-graham-implies-failure-to-strike-syria-may-result-in-u-s-getting-nuked/
Graham: Nukes In Hands Of Terrorists Could Result In Bomb Coming To Charleston Harbor
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/09/03/graham-nukes-in-hands-of-terrorists-could-result-in-bomb-coming-to-charleston-harbor/
Lindsey Graham: Attack Syria Or Iran Will Nuke Charleston
http://www.fitsnews.com/2013/09/06/lindsey-graham-attack-syria-or-iran-will-nuke-charleston/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_zINNF_29k [with comments]
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McCain nostalgic for the good old days when Bush had Iraq won
by Jed Lewison
Thu Sep 11, 2014 at 01:30 PM PDT
After President Obama's speech about ISIL on Wednesday evening, former White House spokesman Jay Carney and current U.S. Senator John McCain got into a somewhat heated argument on CNN. Naturally, as of mid-day Thursday, it was the lead story [ http://images.dailykos.com/images/105299/large/politicoFrontCarney.png ] on Politico, which described it as "Carney's rough first night against McCain." I guess that makes sense given Politico's self-appointed role as Washington's official scorekeeper of all things subjective and trivial, but given that Carney is now just a media figure and that McCain continues to be a U.S. senator, the real story is what McCain said during the exchange [ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1409/10/se.01.html ].
The short version of McCain's argument? In his words:
Fact that they didn't leave a residual force in Iraq, overruling all of his military advisers, is the reason why we're facing ISIS today.
Not only that:
We had it won, thanks to the surge. It was won. The victory was there. All we needed was a force behind to provide support, not to engage in combat, but to supply support, logistics, intelligence.
Which, McCain said, was exactly what George W. Bush wanted to do. And if you don't believe him ...
... you can ask Condoleezza Rice, or George W. Bush.
Carney then pointed out that Iraq didn't want U.S. troops to remain and, more importantly:
I think it is a basically a whitewash of history to suggest that there was not -- were not periods of enormous chaos and fighting and bloodshed in Iraq when there were tens of thousands of troops, of American troops on the ground. That is a fact. [...] The United States of America ask our military to be a permanent occupying force in a country like Iraq.
McCain's response: Oh yes we can. For example:
... [after] the Korean War, we left troops behind. Bosnia, we left troops behind. Not to fight but be a stabilizing force.
We have nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea today, but even if he had 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, it wouldn't change the fact that Iraq is not South Korea, something that McCain stubbornly refused to acknowledge.
But in a way, all of that is a distraction from the most fundamental question: Whether ISIL truly is a big enough threat to America to justify his vision for tens of thousands of troops in Iraq. And his argument for why ISIL does pose such a threat was this:
We had a hearing, and there was testimony from the counterterrorism people and the Department of Homeland Security. There is Twitter traffic right now and Facebook traffic, where they are urging attacks on the United States of America. And there is a great concern that our southern border and our northern border is porous and that they will be coming across.
So because some militant fanatics are using Twitter and Facebook to encourage attacks against America, and because McCain believes our border is porous, we should essentially fight the Iraq War all over again? Yeesh. That makes about as much sense as ... saying that Sarah Palin is the most-qualified person in America to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1329014/-McCain-nostalgic-for-the-good-old-days-when-Bush-had-Iraq-won [with a version minus the last 3-plus minutes of the complete-segment YouTube embedded above [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs9rvVKWggI {with comments}] embedded, and comments]
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Major Contradictions In Obama's Speech On ISIS Last Night - Sarah Palin - Hannity
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by
NSTP - Wake The Hell Up America! [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6I4fNoqxXIkXyrCXvn2rzw / http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthShoreTP , http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthShoreTP/videos ]
Major Contradictions In Obama's Speech On ISIS Last Night - Sarah Palin - Hannity
[and see e.g.:
Sarah Palin on war: 'Go big or go home'
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1329007/-Sarah-Palin-on-war-Go-big-or-go-home
Sarah Palin: 'I Owe America A Global Apology'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/sarah-palin-apology_n_5810808.html ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXC-nAIAB54 [with comments] [the Palin portion also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVdPXZyEMRQ (with comments)]
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Wow: Sarah Palin At Her Most Incoherent
Published on Aug 11, 2014 by Sam Seder
If you're not already a paying subscriber to the Sarah Palin Channel, we're about to blow your mind. Sarah Palin releases her most incoherent video yet…
Filling in for Sam Seder: Majority Report contributors Michael Brooks and Matt Binder
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdlbCczU6dM [with comments]
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When Is a Religion Not a Religion?
by disinterested spectator
Thu Sep 11, 2014 at 09:23 AM PDT
During President Obama’s address to the nation explaining the need to go to war against ISIL (to use his preferred acronym), he made a point of declaring that ISIL was not Islamic: “No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim,” he said. Considering that Obama’s own religion has a long history of doing precisely that, beginning with Joshua’s genocidal slaughter of every man, woman, child, infant, and assorted animals in the Promised Land, what are we to make of this claim?
For a start, we might regard this as a distinction arising from two fundamentally different ways of understanding the world, that of idealism and realism. The idealism/realism opposition is adaptable to different contexts with surprisingly different meanings, but as I am using the terms, an idealist is someone who understands the world in terms of how things ought to be, whereas the realist accepts the world as it is, at least in his understanding of it.
Let me begin with an example from my youth, the attitude toward rock ‘n’ roll during the 1950s. I remember a lot of people who did not like rock ‘n’ roll saying that it was not music. Sometimes they would soften this bald assertion with a qualifier, by saying, “Rock ‘n’ roll is not really music,” thereby acknowledging that it had some of the features normally associated with music, in that sounds were produced with musical instruments, but that these sounds nevertheless did not rise to the level of actually being music. At the time, I thought this was rather a strange way of talking. I wondered why they did not simply say that it was bad music, rather than that it was not music at all. Of course, one could go further and say that it is just a matter of taste, but that is a tangential point. What is important is that those who said rock ‘n’ roll was not music were idealists. They had a conception of music that was more important to them than the particular instances of music one finds in the world. And if some of those instances did not measure up to that conception, they were not worthy of the name. Realists, on the other hand, figure that music is whatever they find it to be, and while some of it is good, some of it is bad.
Sometimes the idealist takes the first instance of a thing in his experience to be its essential nature. The first musicals I ever saw were Oklahoma! (1955) and The King and I (1956), for such musicals were quite popular in the 1950s. As a result, anyone my age who is an idealist is likely to take such movies as defining instances. Years later, when I watched Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), I could see that this was a different kind of musical, and I subsequently learned that it is referred to as a backstage musical, where the music takes place on stage or during rehearsals, as opposed to expressionist musicals, where disembodied orchestras accompany people singing and dancing in ways never found in real life. Rather than make this simple distinction, however, I have known people my age who, like me, were exposed to expressionist musicals in youth, and insist that backstage musicals were not really musicals. Had they seen the backstage musicals first, they would doubtless have said that it was the expressionist musicals that were really not musicals.
But first instances do not always determine the ideal. In matters of love, for example, early instances of this passion are usually short-lived and somewhat painful. But the idealist does not take this first experience of love to be its essence. When he gets older, he says it was not really love, not true love, but just puppy love. In this case, the idealist separates the part about love that he likes from the part he does not like. Then he purifies it some more by saying that true love never dies, and that it is devoid of all selfish feeling. By the time he gets through with it, he begins to find that love is rare, and if he goes too far down this path, he will become disillusioned and say that there really is no such thing. He would rather deny that love exists than forsake the ideal conception he has of it. A realist, on the other hand, figures that love is what he finds it to be. The world is full of love, as far as he can see, and much of it is bad. It usually lasts just long enough to have a baby or two, and then it vanishes. The idealist says that love is not the feeling of passionate desire we experience in the beginning, but the enduring affection that takes its place. The realist says that is why people have affairs, because affection is boring, and what they want is to be in love again.
The perennial question as to whether men and women can be friends breaks along the divide between idealist and realist. The idealist purifies friendship so much that it scarcely exists between those of the same sex, let alone between the opposite sex, where sexual desire can be disruptive in one way or the other. As a result, he is likely to conclude that men and women cannot be friends. The realist, on the other hand, finds a world full of friendships between men and women, and he simply notes that such friendships are a little more tenuous on account of the ways in which sex can intrude.
And so it is with religion. The idealist begins with his own religion, purifies it, and makes this the standard against which all others are measured. If they do not live up to his ideal conception, then they are not really religions. The realist looks at history and present variations of religious faith, and he accepts that there are all sorts of religions, many of which he may regard as evil. And so, given this distinction, it is clear that Obama is an idealist. He prefers to say that ISIL is not a religion, that it is not Islam or a sect or even a version of Islam.
But there must be more to it than that. In an important fifteen-minute speech to the nation as to why we are going to war, he felt it necessary to express his idealist position that ISIL was not a religion, when he need not have brought the subject up at all. In all likelihood, he wanted to avoid the characterization of this being a religious war, in part to protect Muslims in this country against discrimination and violence, and in part to mollify the nations of the Middle East that might be a little sensitive in this matter.
If so, there may be an unfortunate consequence in refusing to recognize the religious nature of ISIL. One of the disadvantages of being an idealist is that the failure to recognize the way the world is can lead to a serious miscalculation. Let us reconsider an earlier example. It may not matter much what people say about music and musicals, but in matters of love the idealist is more likely to be made miserable by love than the realist. When a marriage results in divorce, the idealist may blame his wife or he may blame himself, but he never blames love. As a result, he only learns that he should never have married her, not that he should never have married at all. Furthermore, by expecting more from love than is actually found in the world, the idealist is more likely to be disappointed.
By not recognizing that ISIL is a religion, we are underestimating what we are going up against. It is precisely because ISIL is a religion that they are so dangerous. We may prevail against ISIL in this war simply because we are so powerful, but one thing we lack is their total commitment. I do not know whether Joe Scarborough is an idealist, but I suspect he shares Obama’s view about ISIL not being a religion from what he has said on several occasions. In particular, he has expressed amazement at the way these terrorist groups never seem to learn that when they anger Americans by attacking us, we end up destroying them. To me, the answer is obvious. They do it because they believe that they are carrying out the will of Allah. If we kill them, they die as martyrs, and they will be honored in Paradise.
I say this without irony. They do not only half believe the way most people do, including, I suspect, Joe Scarborough and President Obama. They believe completely, and with a faith so strong that we here in secular American can scarcely appreciate.
A long time ago, Fox News instituted the practice of refusing to use the expression “suicide bomber,” a policy I assume is still in place. Instead, people who blow themselves up in a marketplace are referred to as “homicide bombers.” The first thing that is striking about this is that the word “homicide” really adds no information to the word “bomber,” except perhaps to keep us from thinking about an airplane. People who use bombs invariably kill people, or at least intend to. Maybe in a movie like The Fountainhead (1949), Howard Roark can blow up a building without hurting anybody, but that is strictly a fictional fantasy. The word “suicide” used to modify the word “bomber,” on the other hand, adds a great deal of information. Someone who is willing to die to in order to detonate a bomb is far more dangerous than someone who is willing to set off the bomb provided he stands a fair chance of surviving. Presumably, Fox replaced this very useful adjective “suicide” with the redundant “homicide” because they wanted to emphasize the harm that is caused to others, but in so doing, they suppress the much more important fact that these suicide bombers truly believe in their cause, believe that they have right on their side, believe that Allah will be pleased.
I am sadly one of the very small minority that is opposed to this war. But if fight we must, it would be nice if we were a little more realistic about the nature of the enemy, an enemy who cares more about what they are fighting for than we do, because they are fighting a war of religion.
© Kos Media, LLC (emphasis in original)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1328989/-When-Is-a-Religion-Not-a-Religion [with comments]
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The King Of Lies: ISIS Is Not Islamic
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel
Alex covers Obama's war rally speech and the promise to attack ISIS in Iraq and violate Syria's national sovereignty as the war on terror enters a new and unprecedented phase. Alex also looks at evidence that boots are already on the ground in Iraq and embedded with local fighters.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh5Rk6UMX0M [with comments] [excerpted at "President's Speech Shows Obama Is An ISIS Collaborator", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfGyzRLLNs (with comments)
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The Strange Irony Hidden Among The Highest Ranks Of ISIS
In this photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters of the Islamic State parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq.
(AP Photo)
By Charlotte Alfred
Posted: 09/12/2014 9:25 am EDT Updated: 09/12/2014 9:59 am EDT
As the Islamic State group continues to wreak havoc across Syria and Iraq, the group has become synonymous with extreme religious zealotry. Yet the militant group ironically has strong alliances with members of former dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath regime and its highest ranks are filled with former Saddam loyalists [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/world/middleeast/army-know-how-seen-as-factor-in-isis-successes.html ].
"Baathism is fundamentally a secular, pan-Arab movement, which the pan-Islamist movements have been at odds with for decades. This is not a natural alliance," Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism expert at the New America Foundation, told The WorldPost.
While the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL, wants to create a religious regime across national borders, the Baathists want to reassert the power they had before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But they both claim to champion Sunni interests in opposition to former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's autocratic and sectarian leadership.
The pragmatic alliance has been a major force in helping the Islamic State achieve its goals. When the group seized a string of cities in Iraq earlier this year, it was the former generals of Saddam's army who provided much of the military expertise [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/world/middleeast/former-loyalists-of-saddam-hussein-crucial-in-helping-isis.html ].
The Islamic State's extremism, however, is now causing rifts in the alliance, with Baathist and Islamic State fighters competing for dominance [ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/08/uk-iraq-islamic-state-mosul-idUKKBN0FD1AA20140708 ]. In July, a group of former Saddam followers released a statement denouncing the persecution of minorities, which served to distance the group from the Islamic State's tactics, analysts told Foreign Policy [ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/21/the_re_baathification_of_iraq ]. And in late August, the news site Niqash reported [ http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3527 ] that Sunni militia and tribal leaders were plotting to wrest control of the city of Fallujah from their Islamic State allies and roll back the group's extremist mandates.
"The Baathists have a lot of blood on their hands -- they are no shrinking violets," Fishman said. "The difference is that their goals are more secular and nationalist. They will certainly torture and kill, but they want support from minority groups and tribal groups."
"The Baathist camp wants political engagement, while the Islamic State wants war," he added.
The rift between former Saddam cronies and the religious insurgents may be America's best chance to weaken the Islamic State, Foreign Policy notes [ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/21/the_re_baathification_of_iraq ].
"It's great news not just politically, but in stopping the scourge of ISIS taking over vast portions of Iraq and terrorizing the population," a Human Rights Watch senior researcher told the site.
Yet the outcome also depends on whether militias can actually overpower Islamic State fighters.
"It doesn’t seem likely that the rest of the Sunni military opposition will be able to turn against ISIS successfully," jihadist expert Aymenn al-Tamimi recently told the London Review of Books [ http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n16/patrick-cockburn/isis-consolidates ]. "If they do, they will have to act as quickly as possible before ISIS gets too strong."
Copyright ©2014 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/isis-baathist-alliance_n_5792172.html [with comments]
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Who’s Paying the Pro-War Pundits?
Retired General Anthony Zinni, retired General Jack Keane and former Bush administration official Fran Townsend
Talking heads like former General Jack Keane are all over the news media fanning fears of ISIS. Shouldn’t the public know about their links to Pentagon contractors?
September 12, 2014
http://www.thenation.com/article/181601/whos-paying-pro-war-pundits [with comments]
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Al-Qaida's Syrian Cell Alarms U.S. More Than Islamic State Militants
President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the Cross Hall in the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. In a major reversal, Obama ordered the United States into a broad military campaign to â??degrade and ultimately destroyâ? militants in two volatile Middle East nations, authorizing airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, as well as an expansion of strikes in Iraq.
(AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)
By By KEN DILANIAN and EILEEN SULLIVAN
Posted: 09/13/2014 10:54 am EDT Updated: 09/13/2014 2:59 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — While the Islamic State group is getting the most attention now, another band of extremists in Syria — a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe — poses a more direct and imminent threat to the United States, working with Yemeni bomb-makers to target U.S. aviation, American officials say.
At the center is a cell known as the Khorasan group, a cadre of veteran al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan who traveled to Syria to link up with the al-Qaida affiliate there, the Nusra Front.
But the Khorasan militants did not go to Syria principally to fight the government of President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials say. Instead, they were sent by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to recruit Europeans and Americans whose passports allow them to board a U.S.-bound airliner with less scrutiny from security officials.
In addition, according to classified U.S. intelligence assessments, the Khorasan militants have been working with bomb-makers from al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security. The fear is that the Khorasan militants will provide these sophisticated explosives to their Western recruits who could sneak them onto U.S.-bound flights.
The Obama administration has said that the Islamic State group, the target of more than 150 U.S. airstrikes in recent weeks, does not pose an imminent threat to the continental U.S. The Khorasan group, which has not been subject to American military action, is considered the more immediate threat.
Because of intelligence about the collaboration among the Khorasan group, al-Qaida's Yemeni bomb-makers and Western extremists, U.S. officials say, the Transportation Security Administration in July decided to ban uncharged mobile phones and laptops from flights to the U.S. that originated in Europe and the Middle East.
The Khorasan group's plotting with al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate shows that, despite the damage that years of drone missile strikes has done to the leadership of core al-Qaida in Pakistan, the movement still can threaten the West. It has been rejuvenated in the past year as al-Qaida offshoots have grown in strength and numbers, bolstered by a flood of Western extremists to a new terrorist safe haven created by Syria's civil war.
That Yemen affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been able to place three bombs on U.S.-bound airliners, though none has succeeded in downing the aircraft.
"The group's repeated efforts to conceal explosive devices to destroy aircraft demonstrate its continued pursuit of high-profile attacks against the West, its increasing awareness of Western security procedures and its efforts to adapt to those procedures that we adopt," Nicholas Rasmussen, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, recently told a Senate panel.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, first disclosed during a Senate hearing in January that a group of core al-Qaida militants from Afghanistan and Pakistan was plotting attacks against the West in Syria.
But the group's name, Khorasan, or its links to al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate, which is considered the most dangerous terrorist threat to the U.S., have not previously been disclosed.
Khorasan refers to a province under the Islamic caliphate, or religious empire, of old that included parts of Afghanistan.
Many U.S. officials interviewed for this story would not be quoted by name talking about what they said was highly classified intelligence. Some lawmakers who have been briefed on the Khorasan group threat were willing to discuss it in general terms. One member of Congress who declined to be identified in order to discuss intelligence matters used the group's name in conversations with a reporter.
The CIA refused to confirm the group's name or any details in this story.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, declined to name the group. But he described concerns among intelligence officials about "an unholy mix of people in Iraq and Syria right now — some who come from AQAP, some who come from Afghanistan and Pakistan, others from the Maghreb" in North Africa.
"They can combine in ways that could pose a greater threat than their individual pieces. And that's something we worry about," said Schiff, D-Calif.
U.S. officials have identified some members of the Khorasan group, but would not disclose the individuals' names because of concerns they would hide from intelligence-gathering.
Intelligence officials have been deeply concerned about dozens of Americans and hundreds of Europeans who have gone to fight for various jihadist groups in Syria. Some of those Westerners' identities are unknown and therefore they are less likely to draw the attention of intelligence officials when they purchase tickets and board a crowded jetliner heading for European and American cities.
AQAP's master bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, is believed to have built the underwear bomb that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on a passenger jet over Detroit in December 2009.
Al-Asiri is also believed to have built two bombs hidden in printer cartridges placed on U.S.-bound cargo jets in 2010, and a body bomb that was acquired in a 2012 operation involving Saudi, British, and U.S. intelligence agencies.
U.S. intelligence suggests al-Asiri and his confederates are constantly trying to tweak their bomb designs so that the explosives can get past airport security and also detonate successfully.
The TSA ban on uncharged laptops and cellphones stemmed from information that al-Qaeda was working with the Khorasan group to pack those devices with hard-to-detect explosives, a U.S. official said.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/13/syria-obama-isis_n_5815388.html [with comments]
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SHOCKING Demonic Photos of Obama!
Published on Sep 13, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel
Viral photos show Obama with multiple 'devil horns' during speech on ISIS.
Related:
http://www.infowars.com/the-truth-about-isis-obamas-war-speech/
http://www.infowars.com/obama-wants-500-million-to-arm-isis/
http://www.infowars.com/obama-plans-to-fight-isis-by-arming-isis/
http://www.infowars.com/shocking-demonic-photos-of-obama/
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeikRJezD9U [with comments]
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106148792 and preceding and following
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Published on Sep 10, 2014 by The White House [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYxRlFDqcWM4y7FfpiAN3KQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse , http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse/videos ]
Speaking from the State Floor in the White House on September 10, 2014, President Obama addressed the nation on the situation in Iraq and the United States’ strategy to degrade and defeat ISIL, a terrorist organization.
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Statement by the President on ISIL
State Floor
September 10, 2014
9:01 P.M. EDT
My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.
As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.
Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We can’t erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. And that’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL -- which calls itself the “Islamic State.”
Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.
In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists -- Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.
So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East -- including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our Intelligence Community believes that thousands of foreigners -– including Europeans and some Americans –- have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.
I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we’ve conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.
But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. And that’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.
Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.
First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.
Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American servicemembers to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi security forces. Now that those teams have completed their work –- and Iraq has formed a government –- we will send an additional 475 servicemembers to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission –- we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We’ll also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control.
Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I call on Congress again to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its own people -- a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.
Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to further mobilize the international community around this effort.
Fourth, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.
So this is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity. And in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria, to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.
My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL, but I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.
Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.
My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks, through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back, America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.
Our technology companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day –- and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.
Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine their own destiny. It is America –- our scientists, our doctors, our know-how –- that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so that they can’t pose a threat to the Syrian people or the world again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, and tolerance, and a more hopeful future.
America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia, from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East, we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding.
Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform –- pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and servicemembers who support our partners on the ground.
When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here’s what one of them said: “We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people.”
That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety, our own security, depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation and uphold the values that we stand for –- timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.
May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/10/remarks-president-barack-obama-address-nation
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvRd17vXaXM [with comments] [also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spIWGoNZnaU (with comments)]
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Sen. Ted Cruz Discusses ISIS Strategy on the Situation Room
Published on Sep 10, 2014 by SenTedCruz [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOTZ-6H1rri1lSsj6IzhUyw / http://www.youtube.com/user/SenTedCruz , http://www.youtube.com/user/SenTedCruz/videos ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGOyoe_-BCo [with comments]
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Ted Cruz's Stunningly Stupid Plan for ISIS
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by Sam Seder [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-3jIAlnQmbbVMV6gR7K8aQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/SamSeder , http://www.youtube.com/user/SamSeder/videos ]
Ted Cruz incoherent war plans for ISIS and Iran
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBfx1r1xqiA [with comments]
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Man Crosses U.S. Border Dressed as ISIS Terrorist, Simulates Beheading
Published on Sep 5, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvsye7V9psc-APX6wV1twLg / http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel , http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAlexJonesChannel/videos ]
Infowars reporter Joe Biggs simulates an ISIS jihadi crossing the US/Mexico border with a fake severed head to show how easy it is for anyone to get into America.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZVMNV4ycs [with comments]
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Sen. Ted Cruz Reacts to President Obama's ISIS Speech on the Kelly File
Published on Sep 10, 2014 by SenTedCruz
September 10, 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hZGCJr6Pto [with comments]
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Graham Weighs in on Obama's Plan to Defeat ISIS
Published on Sep 15, 2014 by USSenLindseyGraham [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLGZMA5Ei2Z8fR1PLEx6yQ / http://www.youtube.com/user/USSenLindseyGraham , http://www.youtube.com/user/USSenLindseyGraham/videos ]
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) weighed in on Obama's plan to combat ISIS, describing his Administration's approach as delusional [Fox News Sunday, September 14, 2014].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxL6_Bp5t3c [no comments yet]
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Lindsey Graham: 'ISIS is Going to Kill Us All!'
Published on Sep 15, 2014 by Sam Seder
Lindsey Graham says we need to bomb ISIS before they come to America and kill us all...
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYAfQURHROI [with comments]
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Graham Discusses U.S. Role in Iraq
Published on Aug 11, 2014 by USSenLindseyGraham
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) discussed the United States' new role in Iraq and called for a sustained air campaign against ISIS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzKICacYAEQ [no comments yet] [the first 4-plus minutes after slightly trimmed starts also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0yVcEOjWOA (with comments) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXg6w7h7pQM (with comments)]
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Lindsey Graham : Warns of possible Nuclear Attack on Charleston or New York Harbor (Sept 10, 2013)
Published on Sep 10, 2013 by SignsofThyComing [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPejB1cCtTCwzi9yk10CR3g / http://www.youtube.com/user/SignsofThyComing , http://www.youtube.com/user/SignsofThyComing/videos ]
SOURCE: http://www.foxnews.com
VIDEO RESPONSE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9cqgO4djY8
News Articles:
Lindsey Graham Implies Failure to Strike Syria May Result in U.S. Getting Nuked
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/08/lindsey-graham-implies-failure-to-strike-syria-may-result-in-u-s-getting-nuked/
Graham: Nukes In Hands Of Terrorists Could Result In Bomb Coming To Charleston Harbor
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/09/03/graham-nukes-in-hands-of-terrorists-could-result-in-bomb-coming-to-charleston-harbor/
Lindsey Graham: Attack Syria Or Iran Will Nuke Charleston
http://www.fitsnews.com/2013/09/06/lindsey-graham-attack-syria-or-iran-will-nuke-charleston/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_zINNF_29k [with comments]
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McCain nostalgic for the good old days when Bush had Iraq won
by Jed Lewison
Thu Sep 11, 2014 at 01:30 PM PDT
After President Obama's speech about ISIL on Wednesday evening, former White House spokesman Jay Carney and current U.S. Senator John McCain got into a somewhat heated argument on CNN. Naturally, as of mid-day Thursday, it was the lead story [ http://images.dailykos.com/images/105299/large/politicoFrontCarney.png ] on Politico, which described it as "Carney's rough first night against McCain." I guess that makes sense given Politico's self-appointed role as Washington's official scorekeeper of all things subjective and trivial, but given that Carney is now just a media figure and that McCain continues to be a U.S. senator, the real story is what McCain said during the exchange [ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1409/10/se.01.html ].
The short version of McCain's argument? In his words:
Fact that they didn't leave a residual force in Iraq, overruling all of his military advisers, is the reason why we're facing ISIS today.
Not only that:
We had it won, thanks to the surge. It was won. The victory was there. All we needed was a force behind to provide support, not to engage in combat, but to supply support, logistics, intelligence.
Which, McCain said, was exactly what George W. Bush wanted to do. And if you don't believe him ...
... you can ask Condoleezza Rice, or George W. Bush.
Carney then pointed out that Iraq didn't want U.S. troops to remain and, more importantly:
I think it is a basically a whitewash of history to suggest that there was not -- were not periods of enormous chaos and fighting and bloodshed in Iraq when there were tens of thousands of troops, of American troops on the ground. That is a fact. [...] The United States of America ask our military to be a permanent occupying force in a country like Iraq.
McCain's response: Oh yes we can. For example:
... [after] the Korean War, we left troops behind. Bosnia, we left troops behind. Not to fight but be a stabilizing force.
We have nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea today, but even if he had 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, it wouldn't change the fact that Iraq is not South Korea, something that McCain stubbornly refused to acknowledge.
But in a way, all of that is a distraction from the most fundamental question: Whether ISIL truly is a big enough threat to America to justify his vision for tens of thousands of troops in Iraq. And his argument for why ISIL does pose such a threat was this:
We had a hearing, and there was testimony from the counterterrorism people and the Department of Homeland Security. There is Twitter traffic right now and Facebook traffic, where they are urging attacks on the United States of America. And there is a great concern that our southern border and our northern border is porous and that they will be coming across.
So because some militant fanatics are using Twitter and Facebook to encourage attacks against America, and because McCain believes our border is porous, we should essentially fight the Iraq War all over again? Yeesh. That makes about as much sense as ... saying that Sarah Palin is the most-qualified person in America to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1329014/-McCain-nostalgic-for-the-good-old-days-when-Bush-had-Iraq-won [with a version minus the last 3-plus minutes of the complete-segment YouTube embedded above [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs9rvVKWggI {with comments}] embedded, and comments]
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Major Contradictions In Obama's Speech On ISIS Last Night - Sarah Palin - Hannity
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by
NSTP - Wake The Hell Up America! [ http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6I4fNoqxXIkXyrCXvn2rzw / http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthShoreTP , http://www.youtube.com/user/NorthShoreTP/videos ] Major Contradictions In Obama's Speech On ISIS Last Night - Sarah Palin - Hannity
[and see e.g.:
Sarah Palin on war: 'Go big or go home'
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1329007/-Sarah-Palin-on-war-Go-big-or-go-home
Sarah Palin: 'I Owe America A Global Apology'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/sarah-palin-apology_n_5810808.html ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXC-nAIAB54 [with comments] [the Palin portion also at e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVdPXZyEMRQ (with comments)]
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Wow: Sarah Palin At Her Most Incoherent
Published on Aug 11, 2014 by Sam Seder
If you're not already a paying subscriber to the Sarah Palin Channel, we're about to blow your mind. Sarah Palin releases her most incoherent video yet…
Filling in for Sam Seder: Majority Report contributors Michael Brooks and Matt Binder
This clip from the Majority Report, live M-F at 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://majority.fm/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdlbCczU6dM [with comments]
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When Is a Religion Not a Religion?
by disinterested spectator
Thu Sep 11, 2014 at 09:23 AM PDT
During President Obama’s address to the nation explaining the need to go to war against ISIL (to use his preferred acronym), he made a point of declaring that ISIL was not Islamic: “No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim,” he said. Considering that Obama’s own religion has a long history of doing precisely that, beginning with Joshua’s genocidal slaughter of every man, woman, child, infant, and assorted animals in the Promised Land, what are we to make of this claim?
For a start, we might regard this as a distinction arising from two fundamentally different ways of understanding the world, that of idealism and realism. The idealism/realism opposition is adaptable to different contexts with surprisingly different meanings, but as I am using the terms, an idealist is someone who understands the world in terms of how things ought to be, whereas the realist accepts the world as it is, at least in his understanding of it.
Let me begin with an example from my youth, the attitude toward rock ‘n’ roll during the 1950s. I remember a lot of people who did not like rock ‘n’ roll saying that it was not music. Sometimes they would soften this bald assertion with a qualifier, by saying, “Rock ‘n’ roll is not really music,” thereby acknowledging that it had some of the features normally associated with music, in that sounds were produced with musical instruments, but that these sounds nevertheless did not rise to the level of actually being music. At the time, I thought this was rather a strange way of talking. I wondered why they did not simply say that it was bad music, rather than that it was not music at all. Of course, one could go further and say that it is just a matter of taste, but that is a tangential point. What is important is that those who said rock ‘n’ roll was not music were idealists. They had a conception of music that was more important to them than the particular instances of music one finds in the world. And if some of those instances did not measure up to that conception, they were not worthy of the name. Realists, on the other hand, figure that music is whatever they find it to be, and while some of it is good, some of it is bad.
Sometimes the idealist takes the first instance of a thing in his experience to be its essential nature. The first musicals I ever saw were Oklahoma! (1955) and The King and I (1956), for such musicals were quite popular in the 1950s. As a result, anyone my age who is an idealist is likely to take such movies as defining instances. Years later, when I watched Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), I could see that this was a different kind of musical, and I subsequently learned that it is referred to as a backstage musical, where the music takes place on stage or during rehearsals, as opposed to expressionist musicals, where disembodied orchestras accompany people singing and dancing in ways never found in real life. Rather than make this simple distinction, however, I have known people my age who, like me, were exposed to expressionist musicals in youth, and insist that backstage musicals were not really musicals. Had they seen the backstage musicals first, they would doubtless have said that it was the expressionist musicals that were really not musicals.
But first instances do not always determine the ideal. In matters of love, for example, early instances of this passion are usually short-lived and somewhat painful. But the idealist does not take this first experience of love to be its essence. When he gets older, he says it was not really love, not true love, but just puppy love. In this case, the idealist separates the part about love that he likes from the part he does not like. Then he purifies it some more by saying that true love never dies, and that it is devoid of all selfish feeling. By the time he gets through with it, he begins to find that love is rare, and if he goes too far down this path, he will become disillusioned and say that there really is no such thing. He would rather deny that love exists than forsake the ideal conception he has of it. A realist, on the other hand, figures that love is what he finds it to be. The world is full of love, as far as he can see, and much of it is bad. It usually lasts just long enough to have a baby or two, and then it vanishes. The idealist says that love is not the feeling of passionate desire we experience in the beginning, but the enduring affection that takes its place. The realist says that is why people have affairs, because affection is boring, and what they want is to be in love again.
The perennial question as to whether men and women can be friends breaks along the divide between idealist and realist. The idealist purifies friendship so much that it scarcely exists between those of the same sex, let alone between the opposite sex, where sexual desire can be disruptive in one way or the other. As a result, he is likely to conclude that men and women cannot be friends. The realist, on the other hand, finds a world full of friendships between men and women, and he simply notes that such friendships are a little more tenuous on account of the ways in which sex can intrude.
And so it is with religion. The idealist begins with his own religion, purifies it, and makes this the standard against which all others are measured. If they do not live up to his ideal conception, then they are not really religions. The realist looks at history and present variations of religious faith, and he accepts that there are all sorts of religions, many of which he may regard as evil. And so, given this distinction, it is clear that Obama is an idealist. He prefers to say that ISIL is not a religion, that it is not Islam or a sect or even a version of Islam.
But there must be more to it than that. In an important fifteen-minute speech to the nation as to why we are going to war, he felt it necessary to express his idealist position that ISIL was not a religion, when he need not have brought the subject up at all. In all likelihood, he wanted to avoid the characterization of this being a religious war, in part to protect Muslims in this country against discrimination and violence, and in part to mollify the nations of the Middle East that might be a little sensitive in this matter.
If so, there may be an unfortunate consequence in refusing to recognize the religious nature of ISIL. One of the disadvantages of being an idealist is that the failure to recognize the way the world is can lead to a serious miscalculation. Let us reconsider an earlier example. It may not matter much what people say about music and musicals, but in matters of love the idealist is more likely to be made miserable by love than the realist. When a marriage results in divorce, the idealist may blame his wife or he may blame himself, but he never blames love. As a result, he only learns that he should never have married her, not that he should never have married at all. Furthermore, by expecting more from love than is actually found in the world, the idealist is more likely to be disappointed.
By not recognizing that ISIL is a religion, we are underestimating what we are going up against. It is precisely because ISIL is a religion that they are so dangerous. We may prevail against ISIL in this war simply because we are so powerful, but one thing we lack is their total commitment. I do not know whether Joe Scarborough is an idealist, but I suspect he shares Obama’s view about ISIL not being a religion from what he has said on several occasions. In particular, he has expressed amazement at the way these terrorist groups never seem to learn that when they anger Americans by attacking us, we end up destroying them. To me, the answer is obvious. They do it because they believe that they are carrying out the will of Allah. If we kill them, they die as martyrs, and they will be honored in Paradise.
I say this without irony. They do not only half believe the way most people do, including, I suspect, Joe Scarborough and President Obama. They believe completely, and with a faith so strong that we here in secular American can scarcely appreciate.
A long time ago, Fox News instituted the practice of refusing to use the expression “suicide bomber,” a policy I assume is still in place. Instead, people who blow themselves up in a marketplace are referred to as “homicide bombers.” The first thing that is striking about this is that the word “homicide” really adds no information to the word “bomber,” except perhaps to keep us from thinking about an airplane. People who use bombs invariably kill people, or at least intend to. Maybe in a movie like The Fountainhead (1949), Howard Roark can blow up a building without hurting anybody, but that is strictly a fictional fantasy. The word “suicide” used to modify the word “bomber,” on the other hand, adds a great deal of information. Someone who is willing to die to in order to detonate a bomb is far more dangerous than someone who is willing to set off the bomb provided he stands a fair chance of surviving. Presumably, Fox replaced this very useful adjective “suicide” with the redundant “homicide” because they wanted to emphasize the harm that is caused to others, but in so doing, they suppress the much more important fact that these suicide bombers truly believe in their cause, believe that they have right on their side, believe that Allah will be pleased.
I am sadly one of the very small minority that is opposed to this war. But if fight we must, it would be nice if we were a little more realistic about the nature of the enemy, an enemy who cares more about what they are fighting for than we do, because they are fighting a war of religion.
© Kos Media, LLC (emphasis in original)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/11/1328989/-When-Is-a-Religion-Not-a-Religion [with comments]
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The King Of Lies: ISIS Is Not Islamic
Published on Sep 11, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel
Alex covers Obama's war rally speech and the promise to attack ISIS in Iraq and violate Syria's national sovereignty as the war on terror enters a new and unprecedented phase. Alex also looks at evidence that boots are already on the ground in Iraq and embedded with local fighters.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh5Rk6UMX0M [with comments] [excerpted at "President's Speech Shows Obama Is An ISIS Collaborator", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfGyzRLLNs (with comments)
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The Strange Irony Hidden Among The Highest Ranks Of ISIS
In this photo taken Monday, June 23, 2014, fighters of the Islamic State parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road in the northern city of Mosul, Iraq.
(AP Photo)
By Charlotte Alfred
Posted: 09/12/2014 9:25 am EDT Updated: 09/12/2014 9:59 am EDT
As the Islamic State group continues to wreak havoc across Syria and Iraq, the group has become synonymous with extreme religious zealotry. Yet the militant group ironically has strong alliances with members of former dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath regime and its highest ranks are filled with former Saddam loyalists [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/world/middleeast/army-know-how-seen-as-factor-in-isis-successes.html ].
"Baathism is fundamentally a secular, pan-Arab movement, which the pan-Islamist movements have been at odds with for decades. This is not a natural alliance," Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism expert at the New America Foundation, told The WorldPost.
While the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS or ISIL, wants to create a religious regime across national borders, the Baathists want to reassert the power they had before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But they both claim to champion Sunni interests in opposition to former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's autocratic and sectarian leadership.
The pragmatic alliance has been a major force in helping the Islamic State achieve its goals. When the group seized a string of cities in Iraq earlier this year, it was the former generals of Saddam's army who provided much of the military expertise [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/world/middleeast/former-loyalists-of-saddam-hussein-crucial-in-helping-isis.html ].
The Islamic State's extremism, however, is now causing rifts in the alliance, with Baathist and Islamic State fighters competing for dominance [ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/08/uk-iraq-islamic-state-mosul-idUKKBN0FD1AA20140708 ]. In July, a group of former Saddam followers released a statement denouncing the persecution of minorities, which served to distance the group from the Islamic State's tactics, analysts told Foreign Policy [ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/21/the_re_baathification_of_iraq ]. And in late August, the news site Niqash reported [ http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3527 ] that Sunni militia and tribal leaders were plotting to wrest control of the city of Fallujah from their Islamic State allies and roll back the group's extremist mandates.
"The Baathists have a lot of blood on their hands -- they are no shrinking violets," Fishman said. "The difference is that their goals are more secular and nationalist. They will certainly torture and kill, but they want support from minority groups and tribal groups."
"The Baathist camp wants political engagement, while the Islamic State wants war," he added.
The rift between former Saddam cronies and the religious insurgents may be America's best chance to weaken the Islamic State, Foreign Policy notes [ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/21/the_re_baathification_of_iraq ].
"It's great news not just politically, but in stopping the scourge of ISIS taking over vast portions of Iraq and terrorizing the population," a Human Rights Watch senior researcher told the site.
Yet the outcome also depends on whether militias can actually overpower Islamic State fighters.
"It doesn’t seem likely that the rest of the Sunni military opposition will be able to turn against ISIS successfully," jihadist expert Aymenn al-Tamimi recently told the London Review of Books [ http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n16/patrick-cockburn/isis-consolidates ]. "If they do, they will have to act as quickly as possible before ISIS gets too strong."
Copyright ©2014 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/isis-baathist-alliance_n_5792172.html [with comments]
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Who’s Paying the Pro-War Pundits?
Retired General Anthony Zinni, retired General Jack Keane and former Bush administration official Fran Townsend
Talking heads like former General Jack Keane are all over the news media fanning fears of ISIS. Shouldn’t the public know about their links to Pentagon contractors?
September 12, 2014
http://www.thenation.com/article/181601/whos-paying-pro-war-pundits [with comments]
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Al-Qaida's Syrian Cell Alarms U.S. More Than Islamic State Militants
President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the Cross Hall in the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. In a major reversal, Obama ordered the United States into a broad military campaign to â??degrade and ultimately destroyâ? militants in two volatile Middle East nations, authorizing airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, as well as an expansion of strikes in Iraq.
(AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)
By By KEN DILANIAN and EILEEN SULLIVAN
Posted: 09/13/2014 10:54 am EDT Updated: 09/13/2014 2:59 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — While the Islamic State group is getting the most attention now, another band of extremists in Syria — a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe — poses a more direct and imminent threat to the United States, working with Yemeni bomb-makers to target U.S. aviation, American officials say.
At the center is a cell known as the Khorasan group, a cadre of veteran al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan who traveled to Syria to link up with the al-Qaida affiliate there, the Nusra Front.
But the Khorasan militants did not go to Syria principally to fight the government of President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials say. Instead, they were sent by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to recruit Europeans and Americans whose passports allow them to board a U.S.-bound airliner with less scrutiny from security officials.
In addition, according to classified U.S. intelligence assessments, the Khorasan militants have been working with bomb-makers from al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security. The fear is that the Khorasan militants will provide these sophisticated explosives to their Western recruits who could sneak them onto U.S.-bound flights.
The Obama administration has said that the Islamic State group, the target of more than 150 U.S. airstrikes in recent weeks, does not pose an imminent threat to the continental U.S. The Khorasan group, which has not been subject to American military action, is considered the more immediate threat.
Because of intelligence about the collaboration among the Khorasan group, al-Qaida's Yemeni bomb-makers and Western extremists, U.S. officials say, the Transportation Security Administration in July decided to ban uncharged mobile phones and laptops from flights to the U.S. that originated in Europe and the Middle East.
The Khorasan group's plotting with al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate shows that, despite the damage that years of drone missile strikes has done to the leadership of core al-Qaida in Pakistan, the movement still can threaten the West. It has been rejuvenated in the past year as al-Qaida offshoots have grown in strength and numbers, bolstered by a flood of Western extremists to a new terrorist safe haven created by Syria's civil war.
That Yemen affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been able to place three bombs on U.S.-bound airliners, though none has succeeded in downing the aircraft.
"The group's repeated efforts to conceal explosive devices to destroy aircraft demonstrate its continued pursuit of high-profile attacks against the West, its increasing awareness of Western security procedures and its efforts to adapt to those procedures that we adopt," Nicholas Rasmussen, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, recently told a Senate panel.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, first disclosed during a Senate hearing in January that a group of core al-Qaida militants from Afghanistan and Pakistan was plotting attacks against the West in Syria.
But the group's name, Khorasan, or its links to al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate, which is considered the most dangerous terrorist threat to the U.S., have not previously been disclosed.
Khorasan refers to a province under the Islamic caliphate, or religious empire, of old that included parts of Afghanistan.
Many U.S. officials interviewed for this story would not be quoted by name talking about what they said was highly classified intelligence. Some lawmakers who have been briefed on the Khorasan group threat were willing to discuss it in general terms. One member of Congress who declined to be identified in order to discuss intelligence matters used the group's name in conversations with a reporter.
The CIA refused to confirm the group's name or any details in this story.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, declined to name the group. But he described concerns among intelligence officials about "an unholy mix of people in Iraq and Syria right now — some who come from AQAP, some who come from Afghanistan and Pakistan, others from the Maghreb" in North Africa.
"They can combine in ways that could pose a greater threat than their individual pieces. And that's something we worry about," said Schiff, D-Calif.
U.S. officials have identified some members of the Khorasan group, but would not disclose the individuals' names because of concerns they would hide from intelligence-gathering.
Intelligence officials have been deeply concerned about dozens of Americans and hundreds of Europeans who have gone to fight for various jihadist groups in Syria. Some of those Westerners' identities are unknown and therefore they are less likely to draw the attention of intelligence officials when they purchase tickets and board a crowded jetliner heading for European and American cities.
AQAP's master bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, is believed to have built the underwear bomb that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on a passenger jet over Detroit in December 2009.
Al-Asiri is also believed to have built two bombs hidden in printer cartridges placed on U.S.-bound cargo jets in 2010, and a body bomb that was acquired in a 2012 operation involving Saudi, British, and U.S. intelligence agencies.
U.S. intelligence suggests al-Asiri and his confederates are constantly trying to tweak their bomb designs so that the explosives can get past airport security and also detonate successfully.
The TSA ban on uncharged laptops and cellphones stemmed from information that al-Qaeda was working with the Khorasan group to pack those devices with hard-to-detect explosives, a U.S. official said.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/13/syria-obama-isis_n_5815388.html [with comments]
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SHOCKING Demonic Photos of Obama!
Published on Sep 13, 2014 by TheAlexJonesChannel
Viral photos show Obama with multiple 'devil horns' during speech on ISIS.
Related:
http://www.infowars.com/the-truth-about-isis-obamas-war-speech/
http://www.infowars.com/obama-wants-500-million-to-arm-isis/
http://www.infowars.com/obama-plans-to-fight-isis-by-arming-isis/
http://www.infowars.com/shocking-demonic-photos-of-obama/
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeikRJezD9U [with comments]
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in addition to (linked in) the post to which this is a reply and preceding and (the extensive other) following, see also (linked in):
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=85825396 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106148792 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106183831 and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106207795 and preceding and following
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106267102 and preceding (and any future following)
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=106299022 and preceding and following
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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