Category Archives: DOJ, DC and inside the Beltway

Terror at the Olympics in Brazil?

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Brazil police arrest 10 men pleading ISIS allegiance, search for two more

WashingtonTimes: RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)— Federal police in Brazil have ordered the detention of 12 people who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group via social media.

Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes told journalists in Brasilia on Thursday that 10 had been arrested and two more were being sought.

Moraes says police acted because the group had been discussing the use of weapons and guerrilla tactics to potentially launch an attack during the Olympics, which begin Aug. 5.

The arrests were made in the southern states of Sao Paulo and Parana. Moraes says there were no specific targets for attack.

Last week, Brazil’s interim government’s top military aide said the concerns with terrorism had “reached a higher level” after the attacks of six days ago in Nice, France.

Previously, this website predicted these conditions at the Olympics.

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In part from the NYT’s: The Federal Police said in a statement that the suspects belonged to a group called the Defenders of Sharia. Agents from an antiterrorism unit are investigating the group’s activities in the several states, including Rio de Janeiro, where the Games will take place.

In part from the NewYorkDailyNews: The arrests were made in 10 different states, including Sao Paulo and Parana in the southern part of the country, and it was not clear whether the suspects knew each other beyond their online contacts. Moraes said there were no specific targets for an attack.

Moraes said they had all been “baptized” as Islamic State sympathizers online and that none had actually traveled to Syria or Iraq, the group’s stronghold, or received any training. Several were allegedly trying to secure financing from the group, known by the acronym ISIS.

The justice minister added that one of the suspects communicated with a Brazilian store in an alleged attempt to by an AK-47  assault rifle, apparently the most concrete action taken toward a possible attack.

Last week, Brazil’s interim government’s top military aide said the concerns with terrorism had “reached a higher level” after the attacks of six days ago in Nice, France.

The Failed Coup in Turkey Still Matters

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Turkey has been an important member of NATO since 1952. The United States maintains an estimated 60 nuclear weapons there. The big question is whether relations between Turkey and Russia will be fully restored and there are facts telling us that per a weekend telephone call, both Russian and Turkey are blaming the United States for the coup with different motivations.

At the NATO summit just two weeks ago, President Obama and other NATO leaders reiterated that “deterrence and defense, based on an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities, remains a core element of our overall strategy.”

Only U.S. nuclear forces are shared within the alliance, and they remain under U.S. control but are matched with allied air crews from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Weapons are stationed in those countries to maximize the demonstration of alliance solidarity. If the weapons are in the U.S. and we have to choose to send them, enemies might think they could give us second thoughts (like Obama had about the Syria red line). That’s destabilizing. Even the perception that the United States would not honor its NATO pledge would dangerously erode Europe’s security.

The most effective nonproliferation policy has actually been security guarantees by the United States to its allies. Several countries — including Germany, Japan and South Korea — have the ability to build nuclear weapons but have chosen not to because they trust in our commitment to defend them. If the U.S. were to withdraw weapons from Turkey, it would be a further signal to already worried allies that the United States can no longer be relied on as a security partner. And that could easily lead countries like Turkey to develop nuclear weapons of their own. More here from NYT’s.

The airbase named Incirlik in Turkey was built by the United States and it is a coalition airbase. So far as reported by the Department of Defense, Erdogan turned off the power source to Incirlik in defiance of the failed coup and closed the airspace stopping all sorties by coalition nations. John Kerry worked the phone diligently to restore airspace permission but Incirlik now is operating under generated power until Erdogan has completed his purge of the military and restores confidence in his loyal forces.

Meanwhile, there are some interesting facts still emerging regarding the coup. The government of Turkey provided electronically upon request by John Kerry the evidence that Fethullah Gulen was behind the coup.

MEE/ ISTANBUL, Turkey – A list reportedly found in the pocket of a colonel suggests highly detailed planning was involved in the failed coup attempt launched in Turkey on Friday night.

The lengthy list, seen by Middle East Eye, designates military officers who were set to take over the running of critical posts once the coup was successful.

Positions mentioned on the list include those of treasury undersecretary, Turkish Airlines general manager, managers for Istanbul’s two airports, managers for the state-run broadcaster TRT and news agency Anadolu, the Ankara mayor’s post, head of police and interior minister among many others.

The majority of the names chosen for appointments are drawn from the country’s air force and the gendarmerie. Factions from within these two forces were the ones most heavily involved in the coup attempt.

The list also included changes to positions within the military establishment.

Government officials say that followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in the United States, are behind this attempted coup.

Gulen, a former ally turned foe of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), became the government’s public enemy number one they tried to implicate Erdogan and his close circle in corruption allegations.

One of the names on the list, Mikail Gullu, a military attache at the Turkish embassy in Kuwait, was arrested at Damman airport in Saudi Arabia on Sunday following a request from Ankara and is expected to be deported shortly.

Gullu appears on the list as the designated general manager of the state-owned armament development and production factory.

Among other high-profile names on the list is Sercan Gurcan, and colonel and commander of the gendarmerie in Istanbul province. More here from MiddleEastEye.

More details on how the Turkish military operated and the planned actions during the coup.

The Coup: An Air Force Led Assault with a Limited Ground Component

(Inpart): The planning for the coup appears to have begun months ago, but was implemented hastily, after MIT learned of the plot at 4:00 PM on Friday. Despite this, the putschists were able to marshal air and armor units to carry out a near synchronized attack on pre-designated points in Istanbul, Ankara, and the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris, where Erdogan was on holiday. The leader, according to Sabah, was Muharrem Kose, a retired colonel. General Mehmet Disli, a retired two star general in the land forces and the brother of an AKP member of parliament reportedly ordered the start of the military operation, setting in motion a complicated operation that involved air and ground units and a number of current and retired senior officers. To date, 103 admirals and generals have been arrested (out of a total of 358), which corresponds to 28 percent of the total in the Turkish Armed Forces.

The military aspect of the coup began around 10:00 PM, first with the closing of the two Istanbul bridges connecting the European continent with Asia. Simultaneously, up to six  F-16s from Akinci, an airbase some 12 miles north of Ankara, began a series of supersonic passes over Turkey’s capital city, refueling from four tankers flown from Incirlik Air Base, near the city of Adana. There are reports that F-16s from Diyarbakir air base also joined, perhaps providing two of the six F-16s. Incirlik has been a home to U.S. Air Force units since the 1950s. Lately, it has served as the hub for the U.S.-led air war against the ISIL. The base, since 1980, is under the command of a Turkish officer.

The F16s were soon joined by at least two Cobra attack helicopters and an additional Sikorsky SU-70 tasked — it appears — with strafing TURKSAT, Turkey’s main satellite television provider, as well as Golbasi, the headquarters for Turkey’s elite, special police forces. The putschists also sent eight cargo aircraft from Kayseri to Malatya airbase with weapons for the plotters, according to the military blog, The Aviationist — a detail since confirmed in  Murat Yetkin’s column in Hurriyet Daily News.

The F-16s also attacked the Turkish parliament and Erdogan’s palace while ground forces advanced on the prime minister’s residence. All three buildings sustained some damage, but the Parliament building was the most heavily damaged. Meanwhile, in Istanbul, land forces, most probably based somewhere nearby, did fire on protesters on one of the two bridges spanning the Bosphorus in the opening hours of the coup. Some of those who had come out to demonstrate against the unfolding operation were killed.

These events moved in parallel to three commando teams in three additional helicopters, based at Cigli air base near Izmir, flying to the hotel where Erdogan was presumed to be staying. The soldiers in one helicopter either fast roped into the building or landed nearby (depending on the source), but Erdogan’s security team had moved him to hotel nearby, missing the assault teams, according to Karim Shaheen, by some 25 minutes to an hour. Many more details here from WotR.

Looking Ahead to the Democrat Convention

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Want to know how to hunt #DonkeysAroundTown? << — No Joke, go here for the rules of the contest.

NYT’s: The Democratic convention, which begins in Philadelphia on July 25, will start with speeches from Michelle Obama, the first lady, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who competed against Hillary Clinton for the nomination and endorsed her last week. Also speaking on the first night will be Astrid Silva, a Mexican immigrant and young so-called “Dreamer” who benefited from President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy.

The focus of the convention will then shift to families and criminal justice overhaul on its second night, which will feature a speech by former President Bill Clinton. He will be joined by the mothers of police-related violence victims, including Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.

On Wednesday, Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will make the case for why Mrs. Clinton should take the baton from their administration. Finally, Mrs. Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, will address the delegates on Thursday night. More here.

***** For a photo tour of the movements included in the platform meetings, go here….any familiar faces or causes?

BOSTON (AP) – A Kennedy is being added to the list of speakers at the Democratic National Convention.

Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III said Wednesday he was approached by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren about speaking before she’s expected to speak Monday, the first night of the convention in Philadelphia.

Warren has been vetted as a possible running mate for presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

As you read below…..what is missing?
Day 1 of the Orlando Sector meeting

***** Meanwhile the draft of the party platform is outlined below:

2016 Democratic Party Platform DRAFT July 1, 2016

***DRAFT – DELIBERATIVE AND PREDECISIONAL***

Version July 1, 2016 ii

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preamble ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Raise Incomes and Restore Economic Security for the Middle Class……………………………….. 3

Minimum Wage ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Labor …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Equal Pay, Paid Leave, and Caregiving ………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Housing ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Social Security ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Retirement Security……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Postal Service ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

Create Good-Paying Jobs ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Infrastructure ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Manufacturing …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Clean Energy Jobs……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Research, Science, and Technology……………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Small Business ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Youth Jobs………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Fight for Economic Fairness and Against Inequality ………………………………………………………. 8

Fixing our Financial System …………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

Stopping Corporate Concentration ………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Taxes …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Trade …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

Bring Americans Together and Remove Barriers to Create Ladders of Opportunity …….. 10

Racial Justice…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

Racial Wealth Gap …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11

Criminal Justice…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

Immigration………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

Civil Rights ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13

LGBT Rights…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13

Disability Rights ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13

Faith and Service……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Agricultural Communities ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Poverty / Communities Left Behind …………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Honoring Indigenous Tribal Nations ……………………………………………………………………………. 14

People of the Territories……………………………………………………………………………………………… 16

Puerto Rico……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16

***DRAFT – DELIBERATIVE AND PREDECISIONAL***

Version July 1, 2016 iii

 

Protect Voting Rights, Fix Our Campaign Finance System, and Restore Our Democracy 17

Voting Rights ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17

Campaign Finance……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17

Judges………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17

D.C. Statehood ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

Management of Federal Government …………………………………………………………………………… 18

Combat Climate Change, Build a Clean Energy Economy, and Secure Environmental Justice …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18

Clean Energy Economy ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

Environmental and Climate Justice ……………………………………………………………………………… 19

Public Lands and Waters…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20

Provide Quality and Affordable Education…………………………………………………………………… 20

Higher Education ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20

Student Debt……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20

Minority-Serving Institutions………………………………………………………………………………………. 21

For-Profit Schools ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21

Early Childhood, Pre-K, and K-12 ………………………………………………………………………………. 21

Ensure the Health and Safety of All Americans ……………………………………………………………. 22

Universal Health Care ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22

Community Health Centers…………………………………………………………………………………………. 23

Prescription Drug Costs ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

Medical Research ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24

Drug and Alcohol Addiction……………………………………………………………………………………….. 24

Mental Health……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24

Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice ……………………………………………………………………… 24

Public Health…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25

Violence Against Women and Sexual Assault ………………………………………………………………. 25

Gun Violence Prevention ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 25

Principled Leadership …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25

Support Our Troops and Keep Faith with Our Veterans ………………………………………………. 26

Confront Global Threats ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 27

Terrorism………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

Iran ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

North Korea………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29

Russia ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29

Cybersecurity ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29

Non-proliferation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30

Climate Change…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30

***DRAFT – DELIBERATIVE AND PREDECISIONAL***

Version July 1, 2016 iv

 

Protect Our Values………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30

Women and Girls ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 30

Trafficking and Modern Slavery………………………………………………………………………………….. 31

Young People ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31

Religious Minorities…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31

Refugees…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31

Civil Society……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31

Anti-Corruption…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31

Torture……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

Closing Guantánamo Bay …………………………………………………………………………………………… 32

Development Assistance …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

Global Health ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32

HIV and AIDS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

International Labor…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32

A Leader in the World…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

Asia-Pacific ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

Middle East ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

Europe ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34

Americas ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 34

Africa ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

Global Economy and Institutions…………………………………………………………………………………. 34

Soros and Black Lives Matters

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Soros is a dual citizen of Hungary and the United States and the term sedition comes to mind. But then too there is Barack and Hillary as a protector.

  Related reading: Soros, Gore among W.H. visitors

“George Soros going to bat for Hillary Clinton”.

Politico.  Jump up ^ “Priorities USA Action Contributors, 2016 cycle – OpenSecrets”.

Rush Limbaugh Exposes Who’s Funding Black Lives Matter Anti-Cop Protests

Who the heck is funding Black Lives Matter’s protests?

That’s a question many of us have often wondered. Who has time to protest for days on end in the streets, blocking off highways, among other activities? I’d resort to my default explanation, that they’re all unemployed with nothing better to do, but there are so many of them. Someone must be paying them to protest.

 

A caller into Rush Limbaugh’s show the other day posed that question, and he had an answer that probably won’t surprise you. To quote:

RUSH: The largest benefactor of Black Lives Matter is George Soros.

CALLER: Yes, sir.

RUSH: You know what that is?

CALLER: I do.

RUSH: Well, he’s a very extreme, angry and mean-spirited liberal who is doing his best to destroy capitalism wherever it is in the world. And, of course, since we are the greatest, largest capitalist outpost —

CALLER: He wants to collapse this country.

RUSH: Wants to collapse the country, exactly right.  Don’t ask me why.  My ability to understand these people in that sense, I’ve never understood why people want to tear down the greatest economic engine that has ever been, that enables everything they believe. It enables all their welfare benefits. It enables all of their whatever.  I’ve never understood why they want to tear it down, but they do, and George Soros, the amount of money, I was stunned last week, I’ve learned George Soros has given these people $33 million in the last three or four years, $33 million.

CALLER: That’s a drop in the bucket to what’s coming in for Hillary’s campaign.

And he’s right. The Daily Mail reported back in 2015 on Soros’ $33 million in funding of BLM, noting that “Liberal billionaire George Soros donated $33 million to social justice organizations which helped turn events in Ferguson from a local protest into a national flashpoint. The handouts, revealed in tax filings from Soros’s private foundation, were given to dozens of different groups which weighed in on the crisis.”

Snopes rated the claim as “half-true,” acknowledging that Soros funded a network of groups, some of which engaged in Ferguson-related protest activities. They rated “false” the half of the statement about funds going exclusively to fund Ferguson-related protests, but that seems like a minor quibble.

…. And for some bonus entertainment, Donald Trump had a few brief comments about Soros funding BLM back in March.

Related reading: George Soros, Godfather of the Left Gives $550 Million to Liberal Causes

More Hidden News/Facts on Iran

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Here’s Hezbollah’s game-changing secret drone base

For years, the Lebanese Shi’ite militant organization Hezbollah has incorporated unmanned aerial vehicles into their arsenal, developing perhaps the most sophisticated aerial capabilities of any non-state armed group on earth.

IHS Jane’s has now used Google Maps to locate their airbase in northern Lebanon, according to an analysis published on April 23rd.

Hezbollah is arguably the Arab world’s most capable military force. The group is a direct proxy of the revolutionary regime in Iran, which sends the group perhaps as much as $350 million in aid a year, according to Matthew Levitt’s Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God.

Hezbollah has an estimated 100,000 rockets — an arsenal that likely includes Russian-made precision-guided missiles. Its infusion of fighters is largely responsible for the survival of Syria’s Assad regime after four years of war against ISIS, Al Qaeda, and secular armed groups. Hezbollah has operated cells and smuggling networks on every continent, and it’s the only Arab military force that can plausibly claim a battlefield victory against Israel.

The airbase is alarming evidence of the group’s vaunted operational capabilities — as well as the depth of its relationship with Tehran.

The airstrip includes a 2200-foot unpaved runway, several outbuildings, and an antenna that “could potentially be used to extend the range of a UAV ground control station.” (It can be found at 34.3109624, 36.3492857 on Google Maps).

Hezbollah airfield Business Insider via Google Maps

It’s located a few miles south of the town of Hermel in northern Lebanon, and about 10 miles to the west of the border wt ih Syria.

As the Jane’s report notes, the airstrip is too short to accommodate most manned aircraft, while its unpaved surface and mountainous surrounding terrain make it largely off-limits to planes that technically capable of landing on a runway of its length. That means there’s a strong possibility it was “built for Iranian-made UAVs, including the Ababil-3, which has been employed over Syria by forces allied to the Syrian regime, and possibly the newer and larger Shahed-129.”

The Ababil-3 is a small reconnaissance drone with limited range and flight endurance; it’s also been deployed by the Sudanese armed forces in the former Iranian ally’s various civil conflicts. But as The Aviationist notes, the Shahed-129 is superficially similar in design to the US’s Reaper and Predator platforms, and Iranian military officials claim that the drone can carry as many as 8 Sadid missiles.’  Read more here from BusinessInsider

Hezbollah airstrip Google Maps

Yes there is more to know about Iran, that country which is designated by the United States as the largest state sponsor of terror, and the one that the Obama White House normalized relations with and a country forced upon the global stage for economic development. This is the country that can build, is building a nuclear program that is the precursor to nuclear weapons.

Iran Deploys Hezbollah-Trained Afghan Sniper Brigade in Syria

DefenseNews: TEL AVIV — An Israeli intelligence source confirmed Monday that a new unit of Afghan snipers trained by Lebanese-based Hezbollah and financed by Iran is now operating beyond its northern border on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In a July 18 interview, the source said the sniper unit – part of the Afghan Fatemiyoun Brigade – is one of several additional groups of special forces that are being deployed in the fight against the Islamic State organization, also known by its Arabic acronym Da’esh.

“These Afghan Shias are battle-hardened and focused at the moment on fighting Da’esh. But we’re obviously following with interest any introduction of new forces and capabilities in that theater that may turn their attention to us when the time is right for them,” said the Israeli analyst, who insisted on anonymity because the interview did not take place through normal authorization channels.

The Israeli source validated reports earlier this month from Iran’s Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG), that a new group of snipers specializing in camouflage and concealment tactics was now operational in Syria.

According to a July 9 report, Tasnim acknowledged that the unit was part of the Afghan Fatemiyoun Brigade trained by Hezbollah, which operates in Syria under the command of the IRGC.

Another Tasnim report from July 12, translated by Amir Toumaj, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in an account published by the online Long War Journal, noted that “Hundreds of special Fatemiyoun snipers have been deployed to defend sacred shrines across Syria and have joined Fatemiyoun combat units.”

According to Toumaj’s translation, “additional groups of special Afghan forces with advanced training in combat, commando capabilities, guerilla warfare, anti-armor missiles, shoulder-launched missiles, etc. are expected to join” Fatemiyoun ranks.

“The notable point is that the special Fatemiyoun forces have been trained under skilled Afghan instructors who themselves have completed training in special courses under the supervision of skilled Hezbollah forces,” noted the Tasnim report.

According to Toumaj’s research of Iranian media, the IRGC expanded the ranks of Fatemiyoun forces from a brigade to a full division last year; and some 380 have been killed thus far in Syria.

A recent study by Israel’s Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center noted that one year after signing of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Tehran has no intention of reducing its ties to Hezbollah, a designated terror organization.

In its report “Spotlight on Iran” for the week of July 4-17, the Center cited a July 12 interview on state-run Fars TV with Abbas Araghchi, Iranian deputy foreign minister, in which the official characterized the Iran-Hezbollah axis as “a priority… that could not be changed.”

“Araghchi’s remarks reinforce our assessment that no significant change can be expected in the quality and quantity of Iran’s support for Hezbollah, despite its effort to lift the international economic restrictions imposed on the country in recent years,” the Center noted.

It added, “Iran will be prepared to continue paying the diplomatic, media and even financial price in its relations with the United States and the West for continued fostering of Hezbollah as a military-political force and an Iranian proxy.”