Islamic State in the West

Posted on June 30, 2014June 30, 2014 by Denise Simon

If you don’t think that the Islamic State is not a threat to the West or beyond, then you are not paying attention. ISIS/ISIL/IS has full cross border freedom between Iraq and Syria, the borders are gone.

What is more chilling is this is an army of Islam, not just conventional fighters and they are supported with additional fighters from as many as 81 countries, they are supported financially from factions even considered allies to the West but there are thousands pledging full allegiance to this Islamic army and they could be your neighbor. If you don’t believe that then read on.

In case you have no interest to read further, then click here for a simply photo-essay to see the people and countries that are in full solidarity with ISIS. (Photo below is from the ISIS Facebook page, sadly Facebook allows this)

Expressions Of Solidarity With ISIS In The West

In April 2013, a rift was created in the global jihadi movement when the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) announced that it was expanding into Syria and that it was changing its name to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Following this announcement, another jihadi organization in Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), rejected ISIS’s authority, remaining loyal to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. ISIS even challenged Al-Zawahiri himself, refusing to follow his instructions to restrict itself to operating in Iraq. In early 2014, the rift escalated to violent conflict – ISIS versus JN and other jihadi organizations in both Iraq and Syria.

Having taken control of large areas of Iraq in recent months, ISIS is now enjoying increasing shows of solidarity from the Middle East and from across the Muslim world – and also from Western countries. Several factors contribute to its popularity, among them its jihad against the Americans in Iraq prior to its expansion into Syria, when it was ISI; its current struggle against Iraq’s Shi’ite government and its security forces – perceived as apparatuses for Shi’ite suppression of Sunnis; and its war against the Alawi Assad regime, which is an ally of the Shi’ites. ISIS’s activity on these fronts has helped bolster its image as the spearhead in the war against the enemies of Islam within and without the Muslim world, and raised its stature among supporters of global jihad.

Further adding to its popularity are ISIS’s achievements on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, and its image as the only organization today that is actualizing authentic Islamic ideals and striving towards establishing the Islamic idea of a greater caliphate. It casts itself, and its propagandists depict it, as a legitimate sovereign body implementing shari’a law in areas under its control, and spreading Islam by means of jihad, thus forming the core of this future caliphate. Recently, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-‘Adnani even called on Al-Qaeda to swear fealty to his organization, because the “state” it embodies supersedes any organization.[1]

Sympathy for ISIS extends also to its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who is seen by the organization’s fans as the legitimate leader of all Muslims. This is because of his religious education, his lineage, and his jihadi past. As a challenger to Al-Zawahiri, he is considered more charismatic and more capable of leading the Muslim ummah towards the longed-for caliphate. Thus, under Al-Baghdadi’s leadership, ISIS is emerging as an alternative to Al-Qaeda, and is seen as working diligently to actualize the Muslims’ goals without Al-Qaeda’s religion-based reservations about, for example, imposing the jizya poll tax on Christians or conducting mass killings of Shi’ites.

The persecution of ISIS, even by Al-Qaeda, adds to its status in many circles as an “underdog” fighting for the goals of Islam and the good of all Muslims. Additionally, its highly efficient propaganda apparatus circulates videos and publications via jihadi forums and social media, praising itself and criticizing its rivals and opponents.

Westerners Joining And Promoting ISIS

The Westerners who are leaving their home countries to join ISIS in its fight in Iraq and Syria also add to the organization’s prestige, both inside and outside the Muslim world. These volunteers are widely covered by the media in their own countries, and each new arrival also receives a fanfare in the organization’s local press outlets and social media; these volunteers themselves are usually very active users of social media, communicating with friends and family back home as well as followers and engaging in their own efforts to promote and recruit for the organization in the West.

Further evidence of its sweeping popularity was the June 19, 2014 “One Billion Muslims Support ISIS” campaign, which urged ISIS sympathizers worldwide to express their support for the organization on Friday, June 20, and even devised a special Twitter hashtag for the purpose. The campaign elicited considerable response from supporters in numerous participants, who posted images and videos expressing their support for ISIS.[2]

This Western support for ISIS is crucial to the group’s propaganda efforts; in addition to swelling the ranks of its fighters and bringing in funds and logistical support, it increases its prestige and deters its rivals.

Elements Used In Expressions Of Support For ISIS

These expressions of solidarity with ISIS on social and other media use common ISIS symbolism. They include posters of support for it and for Al-Baghdadi; the use of the slogan baqiya wa-tatmaddad, “will remain and spread”;[3] the black tawhid flag, widely used by other global jihad elements; and ISIS nasheeds, or Islamic songs.

Other expressions of solidarity include: photos of ISIS posters next to Western landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, the Atomium building in Brussels, and the Coliseum in Rome; photos of ISIS posters alongside Western passports; and other images shared on social media. All these add to ISIS’s image of an organization on the rise, and may also indicate its expansionist ambitions.

Thank you to MEMRI for their good work and message here.

Not Flat-footed, Repeat, Not Flat-Flooted

Posted on June 21, 2014June 21, 2014 by Denise Simon

In spite of pulling all U.S. forces out of Iraq in 2011, the United States did leave behind an unknown number of covert intelligence personnel that were tasked to work the ground in Iraq keeping a ear to actions in Iraq and Syria all with the knowledge of Maliki. Not withstanding, the U.S. also maintained a surveillance drone operation in Iraq since the exit of forces.

The drone operations and the intelligence operations were on-going for the last few years and Maliki approved. The information was selectively shared with Iraqi leadership knowing full well that Maliki was connected to the hip to Iran. A nasty conundrum for sure.

At the core of the ISIS conflict in Iraq is the same condition that occurred in Syria and the Obama regime knew full well what was brewing and chose to delay, ignore and actually dismiss, deferring all pro-active measures for the sake of the renewed talks and pending partnership with Iran over several objectives most of which was the re-tooling of the nuclear weapons program and lifting sanctions.

In the meantime, the Obama regime has chosen to not work diligently with Maliki since the U.S. departure from Iraq to ensure any acceptance of the Kurds and the Sunnis into a government coalition which would have prevented what we are seeing in Iraq today, frankly the Obama regime has been dismissive of the same for four years of Assad in Syria.

Iran has been driving the civil war in Syria with the help of Russia supplying weapons to Assad making Syria the incubation location for jihadis from 81 countries to gain fighting skills and a salary such that Western country leadership is deeply concerned over the threat that well trained fighters will return to home countries inciting more Islamists to join the network and widen the range of threats to individual national security.

Not one ally of the United States much less including the United States has chosen to target the core of the spreading Caliphate in the Middle East, Iran. This now begs the question, what are countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and others to do with what has manifested at the hands of Iran?

The crystal ball tells us there is an epic war brewing between the Persians and the Arabs, between the Sunnis and the Shiites. Nothing in the history of the last 60-70 years will compare to what may come.

Drawing back the curtains to allow some sunlight on the matter of Syria and Iraq some key items must be noted.

1. Follow the money. The United States has many tools to track money movement globally and they do. Beyond watching the money movement, the United States also maintains the evidence of the powerful groups and individuals that are behind the funding of terror networks and even more the banks that are cooperating with the networks. In short our own Treasury system has the evidentiary trail and advises the same to the United Nations, the National Security Council and the International Monetary Fund, hence none of this is a secret. Two of the most complicit countries in supplying large, LARGE sums of funds to terror networks come out of Kuwait and Qatar and the individuals involved.

2. The intelligence community has been on top of the actions by Ansar al Sharia, the Army of Islam, ISIS, AQAP and others. Reports and proven evidence is provided daily and is collaborated several times a day with other allied intelligence organizations that includes Germany, Israel, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland and more. The technology to track activity in the Middle East is augmented by journalists on the ground in the action as well as intel personnel integrated with factions on all sides of the fight. To date the will and interest to analyze, summarize activity and create an action plan has all been ignored.

3. The United States has been training for several years un-vetted individuals in countries such as Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey on anti-terrorism tactics as well as fighting skills. In the matter of being ‘un-vetted’ it should be noted that foreign leadership maintains full authority to choose who participates and the United States is not allowed any influence on the selection. This is an important condition due to the fact that many Islamists have no real loyalty to a cause, only a loyalty to having an income and a need to follow any faction where they feel safer under false promises. There have been many recorded conflicts of leadership within terror cells and mistrust is prevalent.

4. The United States has military personnel and intelligence people that perform forensic analysis after all operations. They gather any and all evidence left behind that includes hard-drives, thumb drives, hard copy documents, written war plans origination of the weapons used, cell phone tracing, terror network online chat forums and social media. Names, dates, actions, threats, operations, missions and more are collected and passed down range and up range for consideration. Not only are agencies such as the Department of Defense, the State Department, ODNI, Joint Chiefs, the National Security Council, Ambassadors and the United Nations provided assessments of conflicts, each agency has their own personnel that does all the same work. There is no lack of intelligence on the ground, on the internet or within the banking/monetary funding system.

In summary, no government especially the United States was caught flat-footed, it was caught with their compass pointing to indifference. As the Caliphate spreads and Iraq is all but lost, one must understand that we will see the same words in the next chapter as the United States exits Afghanistan.

Iran, China and Russia have moved up significantly in the global power ranking at that hands of ignorance of the West. While the core concern is oil and energy resources controlled by adversaries, these are necessary national security concerns for the West for survival of their economies and to date, no one leadership has had the stomach or the forward-thinking agenda for diplomatic objectives in the last six plus years. Get ready, the cost of transportation, economic output, labor costs and the cost of energy are all slated to rise such that new charts for measurement failure will need to be created.

Being flat footed was a choice and a costly choice for a dim future outlook.

Enemy of my Enemy

Posted on June 17, 2014June 17, 2014 by Denise Simon

Late Monday, Barack Obama had a White House meeting on Iraq that included John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, Eric Holder, and national security advisor Susan Rice. Also attending were U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.

Many issues and deals appear to be afoot as the matter of Iraq and ISIS has many components which curiously there seems to be a lot of silence from other Gulf States like UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

In the meantime and I wrote several days ago, the meeting in Geneva of the P5+1 over Iran’s nuclear program had a real side-bar agenda and that was in fact allied countries colluding with Iran to gain at least cooperation on the Shiite vs. Sunni war in Iraq.

While we cannot estimate how far these discussions advanced, we must begin to look deeper such that Iran is being completely legitimized and accepted by the West surely putting other countries on alert, least of which is Israel.

It defies logic that while the United States does not have an embassy in Tehran, Hillary Clinton attempted to create a virtual embassy (an online version) and that failed, however the United Kingdom has announced their plan to re-open their embassy in Tehran.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague): In February, I updated the House on progress in our bilateral relationship with Iran, following the appointment of non-resident Chargés d’Affaires in November 2013 (Official Report 24 February 2014 col 26). I said then that our decision to end formal protecting power arrangements was a sign of our increasing confidence in conducting bilateral business directly rather than through our Swedish and Omani intermediaries.

Over the past four months, we have continued to expand our bilateral engagement. British and Iranian officials have paid regular visits to each other’s capitals. This has enabled us to resolve a range of practical matters concerning our embassies. And it has allowed us to discuss a broad range of issues, including areas where we and Iran have sharply differing views.

Our two primary concerns when considering whether to reopen our embassy in Tehran have been assurance that our staff would be safe and secure, and confidence that they would be able to carry out their functions without hindrance. There has never been any doubt in my mind that we should have an Embassy in Tehran if the circumstances allowed. Iran is an important country in a volatile region, and maintaining embassies around the world, even under difficult conditions, is a central pillar of the UK’s global diplomatic approach. On Saturday I telephoned Foreign Minister Zarif to discuss the progress we have made to date and our common interest in continuing to move forward in the UK-Iran bilateral relationship.

The U.S. State Department still formally considers Iran a State sponsor of terror as do allies, so what is the explanation of this new friendship?

A priority of Obama Administration policy has been to reduce the perceived threat posed by Iran to a broad range of U.S. interests. Rouhani’s election has also improved prospects for an end to the 34 years of U.S.-Iran estrangement. On September 27, 2013, President Obama and Rouhani spoke by phone—the first leadership level contacts since the 1979 Islamic revolution— Rouhani has not, to date, satisfied the aspirations of those Iranians who see his presidency as an opportunity to achieve an easing of repression and social restrictions.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. What can we now expect in the coming years from Barack Obama? The Islamic Jihad is at least 14 years ago, question is how much longer are we going to accept this war and defeat as the United State IS the only country historically that was proactive to maintain the equilibrium of the world?

Sitrep: Iraq

Posted on June 16, 2014June 16, 2014 by Denise Simon

Update: June 16 1827 hours, President drafts letter to Hill leaders regarding the War Powers Act — sending 275 U.S. Armed Forces personnel to Iraq for security at US embassy.

Update: June 16 1852 hours,

‘It is possible that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters acquired stinger missiles from army bases they have taken over in recent days, the sources said. The Stinger missile is a shoulder-fired surface-to-air weapon that is used against aircraft. As ISIS forces have advanced through Iraq, concerns have increased that more U.S.-made weaponry could fall into the hands of the radical group.

Iraqi intelligence officials said ISIS fighters managed to take control of two big weapons depots late last week holding some 400,000 items, including AK-47 rifles, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells and mortars. A quarter of the stockpiles were quickly sent to Syria in order to help the group’s comrades there, they said.’

Update: June 16 1916 hours, Barack Obama putting together plans to shift war dollars from Afghanistan to Iraq.

While there is the obvious reports via the media on Iraq, there is much more to report. Here goes:

I’m told that US drones will begin strikes from later today – Iraqia TV is reporting that US confirmed armed drones may be used in Iraq.

TUZ KHURMATU – The Kurdish Peshmerga said on Sunday that a security belt they have created on the southern edges of Tuz Khurmatu has prevented the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from bringing their fight to the Kurdish areas.

A Peshmerga officer in the area also told Rudaw that the ISIS have contacted them by courier, saying, “If you don’t attack us, we would not attack you.”

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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today ordered the amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde into the Arabian Gulf. CVN 77 CBG has arrived in the Persian Gulf and is flanked by USS Philippine Sea a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser and USS Truxton an Arleigh Burke missile destroyer. The USS Mesa Verde is a San Antonio class amphibious transport dock which is equipped to deliver a fully equipped battalion of up to 800 Marines is dispatched to the Persian Gulf.

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Both John Kerry and Hillary’s policy wonk Mike Morrell both agree that it is prudent to ally with Iran to take on the ISIS insurgency in Iraq. Iran was once again listed and summarized by the State Department as a state sponsor of terror.

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As the Kurds/Peshmerga are generally allies of the United States, they have been dispatched to Iran to collaborate a joint agreement to take on the Shiite factions in Iraq as long as everyone leaves the Kurds alone. This is easily be an Iranian ploy.

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It is already been proven historically that releasing detainees from Guantanamo is not a good idea. While some have returned to the fight, others have been working diligently in other countries to not only recruit but to fund-raise. Imagine the possibilities for the newly released Taliban 5. New arrests are occurring.

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Treasure trove

The treasure trove included names and noms de guerre of all foreign fighters, senior leaders and their code words, initials of sources inside ministries and full accounts of finances. “We were all amazed, and so were the Americans,” a senior intelligence official said. “None of us had known most of this information.”

Officials, including CIA officers, were still decrypting and analysing the flash sticks when Abu Hajjar’s prophecy was realised. Isis swept through much of northern and central Iraq over three stunning days, seizing control of Mosul and Tikrit.

“By the end of the week, we soon realised that we had to do some accounting for them,” said the official. “Before Mosul, their total cash and assets were $875m. Afterwards, with the money they robbed from banks and the value of the military supplies they looted, they could add another $1.5bn to that.” Laid bare were a series of staggering numbers that would be the pride of any major enterprise, let alone an organisation that was a start-up three years ago.

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The Iranian forces deployed to Kurdistan’s disputed areas and Nineveh province in response to the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) are made up of Kurds, Lors and Turks.

Security sources from Kurdish cities in Iran state that some Iranian soldiers have entered Iraq’s disputed areas and settled there under the excuse of fighting against ISIS. But on Wednesday a number of Iranian soldiers came close to Khanaqin, and they are high military advisors who previously trained Assad’s soldiers in Syria.

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Most disturbing of all —>>>>

He is the smiling chief executioner who dares to bare his face in grotesque videos of himself executing prisoners.

Referred to as the ‘Desert Lion’ by his supporters, Shakir Wahiyib is the public face of the army threatening to destroy Iraq and is the chief executioner of the ISIS terror group.

Unlike many other commanders in the Islamist militant organisation, he appears on camera without covering his face.

Now it is claimed he revels in being a Jihadist poster boy – and has even attracted female admirers from across the Middle East.

Documents discovered in 2007-2007 and published in summary describe al Qaeda in Iraq war plans. The full plan includes 5 steps and is titled the Baghdad Belt.

Obama’s Rebuke to Iraq

Posted on June 12, 2014June 12, 2014 by Denise Simon

The blood and treasure of valiant U.S. troops and allied forces spent in Iraq are fading away. We are sadly witnessing a complete shift to supremacy in the Middle East such that the entire Obama National Security team must be fired, and NOW.

Maliki has begged for air support from NATO and the United States for more than a year. Barack Obama, simply said no. Instead Barack Obama chose to sell Iraq military assets that include fighter jets, weapons and surveillance equipment. There is no other plan to stop the caliphate. except between Barack Obama and John Kerry the only solution is a $5 billion Counter-terrorism Partnership Fund for the Overseas Contingency Operation. This Fund and its design has yet to be fully crafted, it is likely only in concept mode. This does not help Iraq nor does it help NATO.

Meanwhile Turkey is on full alert as their consulate in Iraq has been seized and at least 24 employees of the diplomatic staff there have been kidnapped.

ISIL is moving towards Baghdad, and one of the largest embassies of the U.S. is there. Currently the most proactive measure so far to protect our embassy is to put out travel warnings.

Since the invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces in 2003, Iraq had been the mandate of a multi-national contingent led by the U.S. However, as control began to slip away from this multi-national contingent, and later U.S. troops also started to pull out of Iraq, the Quds Force, which is the special-ops unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran, under the leadership of the enigmatic Major General Qasem Soleimani, by taking advantage of the situation managed to replace the multi-national force.

Dozens of comprehensive reports published in the past couple of years show that Soleimani has been wielding considerable power in Iraq and been enjoying a privileged position behind the political scene in that country. As it seems, he has under his thumb both Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Iraq, and Masoud Barzani, the President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. By exploiting his immense clout in Iraq, he has been tirelessly setting up numerous Shi’ite militia bands and training and equipping them, not only to enhance his influence and maintain his empire in Iraq but also to keep the road to Syria, where many pro-Islamic Republic contingents fight for the Assad regime, secure.

So, perhaps it is easier to explain by just looking at maps. The question now is what comes next? The power struggle is convoluted but it does include Iran’s al Quods force, Kurds, al Nusra, AQIM, Haqqani, Taliban, ISIS, which make up the whole region.