Terrorists, Here, There and Here

Houston terror suspect reportedly wanted to blow up Galleria, Sharpstown Mall

ABC: During testimony, we learned he allegedly discussed placing bombs at Houston’s Galleria.

Eyewitness News also obtained photographic evidence used during the bond hearing — photos of what was seized from his apartment and one of Al Hardan allegedly pledging his loyalty to the Islamic State.

A federal investigator testified that Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, wanted to blow up the Galleria and Sharpstown Mall with a remote bomb. According to testimony, Al Hardan would put the bomb in a trash can and detonate it using a cell phone.

They also say he received military training on how to use an AK-47 late last year at a farm just outside of Houston. Agents say the training was conducted with a confidential informant, and the entire event was recorded by federal investigators. More here.

Just this week, Secretary of State John Kerry made this announcement of refugees:

DeptofState: Refugees survive terrible ordeals: torture, upheaval, perilous journeys, and tremendous loss. They are persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group. Today, due to conflict and repression, there are nearly 20 million refugees in the world. For a small number of the most vulnerable of these refugees, the United States strives to provide a new start through refugee resettlement.

It is a tradition that exemplifies American leadership in humanitarian causes around the world, and makes our nation a beacon of hope. That is why Secretary Kerry was pleased to announce today that we will further expand the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to help vulnerable families and individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, offering a safe and legal alternative to the dangerous and irregular journey many are currently taking in the hands of human smugglers. Full statement here

The UK has a border issue very much like that of the United States when it comes to terrorist and smugglers.

Mr Hobbs said the defence of the entire UK coastline, which is around 17,000km, is in the hands of just five customs cutters, decreasing numbers of coastguard vessels and a “paltry number” of police marine units, highlighting the scrapping of Essex Police’s units in 2013.

“If we are going to defend our borders against thousands of migrants including possible terrorist threats then we need to have strong coastal borders and airports – it should not be one at the expense of the other,” he added. Full summary here.

Florida Hezbollah Imam Travels to Syria and Back

Did Mohamad al-Halabi visit his terrorist nephew in Damascus?

FrontPage: Mohamad al-Halabi, a.k.a. Mohamad al-Fouani, the imam of the American Islamic Center of Florida, may operate out of Pompano Beach, Florida, however a good part of his life still resides in the Middle East, including his associations with the terrorist organization Hezbollah. In November, al-Halabi left the shores of the United States to travel to his native home of Syria. While there, he visited family, but were they his Hezbollah family?

Recently the American Islamic Center of Florida or AICF moved from Boca Raton, where it had been a part of the community since 2003, to its new location in Pompano Beach. It seems the move has also prompted Mohamad al-Halabi, the Shiite mosque’s imam, to go by another name, that being Mohamad al-Fouani.

For the mosque and the imam it is a new beginning, though it is not enough to shake al-Halabi’s – or al-Fouani’s – radical past, no matter how much he attempts to conceal his identity from law enforcement or others. Full story here.

Lastly but certainly not least, we have normalized relations with Iran and just what does Iran do and what is the future?

Tehran Acknowledge 200 Thousand Armed Youth in Five Countries

In the first official confession of the presence of Iranian Armed youth, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari, acknowledged training tens of thousands of Shiite youths, whom he called the armed revolutionary generation, for jihad in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Jafari said, at the funeral of Hamid Reza Asadullah, a leader in the Revolutionary Guards who was killed in Syria, that the positive outcome of the developments and events in the region is the training of about two hundred thousand armed young troops and the major role these troops are playing in the countries of the region.

Jafari added that he is looking forward to encourage the third generation of the revolution to support the Iranian Guardian Jurist, pointing out the importance of the presence of Iranian youths in battles of Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
The IRGC works outside Iran through the Quds Force, which is led by General Qassem Soleimani. Remarkably, it does not have any military force, yet it prepares and trains all the Revolutionary Guards’ institutions for use when needed.

The IRGC used to include four major forces, which are the Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy, and Missile Force. Recently, and according to an expert who observes Iranian affairs, the IRGG introduced its fifth force, which is the “Electronic, Intelligence and Cultural Deterrence Force”.

The expert told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Guards work in Syria through military advisers who monitor operating rooms. The Guards’ fighters who head towards supporting the Syrian regime had no regulatory decisions; however, they are experienced in battling and have worked in advanced operating rooms.

Who is Still Left at Gitmo, Names Provided

Of 93 detainees left at Gitmo, the Pentagon Press Secretary says 34 approved for transfer and 49 eligible for transfer review. 10 face criminal charges. By the way, the owner of this website, www.founderscode.com offers prayers and condolences to all those families who lost a warrior in the war on terror while capturing these detainees, including those sailors on the USS Cole.

Frankly, the whole mess of Ash Carter and the White House releasing these detainees is a political tragedy. Personally,  we should all call for the resignation of Ash Carter.

Who’s still held at Guantánamo

Here is a list of 93 detainees currently held at Guantánamo.

McClatchy Newspapers and the Miami Herald consulted court and other public records as well as sources in tandem with secret U.S. military intelligence summaries provided by WikiLeaks to determine who was still being held there.

Clicking on the name will take you to a U.S. intelligence profile provided to McClatchy Newspapers by Wikileaks, an assessment of each captive drawn up by the prison that their attorneys generally dispute.

In many cases, the summary also includes a photo of the detainee.

In January 2010, a federal, Obama administration task force sorted the detainees into separate categories, whose status we’ve incorporated into this list and are updating with decisions of the 2013 and 2014 Periodic Review Boards.

Of the 93 captives, 34 are approved for transfer in one fashion or another.

Of the 93 captives, 34 are approved for transfer in one fashion or another and 49 others are in a continue-to-detain status but have not been charged with a crime.

The last 10 captives have cases being handled through military commission proceedings — two through plea bargains and one who had been convicted of war crimes that were overturned although he is still held as a convict serving a life sentence.

Note: No intelligence summary was available for two men listed below because they were processed at the prison after the era that the WikiLeaks documents captured. In their place we provide links to the Defense Department news releases announcing their arrival at Guantánamo.

Spellings of names may vary from other documents, reports. So we’ve included the U.S Internment Serial Number, or ISN, along with a form of each captive’s name.

ISN27 Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman, Yemeni. He won his habeas corpus lawsuit on Feb. 24, 2010 but lost after the U.S. government appealed to the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, which overturned the release order on March 29, 2011. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN28 Moath al Alwi, Yemeni. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on Dec. 30, 2008, denying his habeas corpus petition. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner. A national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, upheld that status on Oct. 26, 2015.

ISN29 Mohammed al-Ansi, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN30 Ahmed al-Hikimi, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN31 Mahmud al-Mujahid, Yemeni, arrived the day the prison opened, Jan. 11, 2002. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for transfer, with security arrangements, Jan. 9, 2014.

ISN33 Mohammed al-Adahi, Yemeni. He won his habeas corpus lawsuit on Aug. 17, 2009 but lost when the government appealed the decision and the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the decision on July 13, 2010, and lost again at the federal court Aug. 7, 2014. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN37 Abdel Malik Abdel Wahab al Rahabi, Yemeni, arrived the day the prison opened, Jan. 11, 2002, as a suspected Osama bin Laden bodyguard. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. A national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, upheld that status on March 5, 2014 but a subsequent review cleared him for release on Dec. 5, 2014, if conditions permit. The board recommended that, if he is resettled in a third country, he be joined by his wife and daughter, who was born after his capture.

ISN38 Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi, Tunisian, arrived the day the prison opened, Jan. 11, 2002. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN39 Ali Hamza al Bahlul, Yemeni, arrived the day the prison opened, Jan. 11, 2002. A military commission convicted him of war crimes on Nov. 3, 2008 and sentenced him to life at Guantánamo for working as Osama bin Laden’s media secretary in Afghanistan. His Pentagon appellate attorneys systematically got that conviction overturned, although the military would say after the decision whether he remained segregated as a convict at Guantánamo’s Camp 5 Convict’s Corridor.

ISN40 Abdelqadir al-Mudhaffari, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN41 Majid Abdu Ahmed, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN44 Mohammed Ghanem, Yemeni, arrived the day the prison opened, Jan. 11, 2002. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN63 Mohammed al-Qahtani, Saudi. He was subjected to such cruel “enhanced interrogation techniques” at Guantánamo that a senior Pentagon official, Susan Crawford, told The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward that she concluded he was tortured in U.S. custody, and in May 2008 dropped charges against him alleging he was a co-conspirator in the Sept. 11 plot. He’s been at the Guantánamo prison since February 2002, according to leaked military documents. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial.

ISN91 Abdel al-Saleh, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN115 Abdul Rahman Salih Nasir, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN128 Ghaleb Nasser Bihani, Yemeni. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on Jan. 28, 2008, denying his habeas corpus petition, and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that decision on Jan. 5, 2010. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for transfer, with security arrangements, on May 28, 2014.

ISN131 Salem bin Kanad, Yemeni who considers himself a Saudi. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. A national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, upheld that status on May 21, 2014.

ISN153 Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman, Yemeni. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN167 Ali Yahya Mahdi Abdo, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN178 Tariq Ba Odah, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN189 Falen Gherebi, also called Rafdat Muhammad Faqi Aljj-Saqqaf, a Libyan. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN223 Abd al-Rahman Abdu Abu Ghayth Sulayman, Yemeni. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on July 20, 2010, denying his habeas corpus petition. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN235 Saeed Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah Serem Jarabh, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for transfer, with security arrangements, March 5, 2015.

ISN240 Abdullah Yahia Yusif al Shibli, Saudi-born Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN242 Khalid Ahmad Qasim, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN244 Abdul Latif Nasir, Moroccan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN249 Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad al-Hamiri, Yemeni. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN257 Umar Bin Hamza Abdulayev, Tajik. Cleared for release through both Bush and Obama administration review processes, his lawyer notified the federal court that he fears for his life if repatriated. If a third country can’t be found to resettle him safely, he says, he’d rather spend his life in U.S. detention.

ISN309 Muieen Adeen al-Sattar, born in the United Arab Emirates. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN321 Ahmed Yaslam Saijid Kuman, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN324 Mashoor al Sabri, Yemeni. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention Feb. 3, 2011, denying his habeas corpus petition. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board , lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for transfer, with security arrangements, April 17, 2015.

ISN434 Mustafa Abdul Qowi Abdul al-Shamiri, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN440 Mohammed Ali Fowza, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN441 Mansoor Abdul Rahman al Dayfi, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for resettlement, with security arrangements, on Oct. 28, 2015.

ISN461 Abd Al-Rahman Mohammed Al-Taty, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN498 Muhammad Ahmad Said Haydar, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN508 Salman Yahya Hassan Muhammad Rabeii, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN509 Muhammad Nasir Yahya Khusruf, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN522 Yassim Qasim Muhammad Ismail Qasim, Yemeni. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention April 8, 2010, denying his habeas corpus petition, and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that decision on April 8, 2011. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN535 Tariq Mahmud Ahmad el Sawah, Egyptian. In 2008, a Bush administration era Pentagon prosecutor swore out conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism military commissions charges for allegedly serving as an al Qaeda explosives expert in a now defunct version of the military commissions. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. Subsequently, the war court’s chief prosecutor declared the material support charge no longer viable. Internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial. But on Feb. 12, 2015, a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board declared him approved for transfer, “with appropriate support, including medical care” and security assurances.

ISN550 Walid Said Bin Said Zaid, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN560 Hajawali Mohmad, Afghan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN566 Masour Mohamed Mutaya Ali, Saudi-born Yemeni. An Obama administration task force in January 2010 designated him as cleared for release.

ISN569 Suhail Abdo Anam Shorabi, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN576 Zahir Omar Hamis Bin Hamdoun, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN578 Abdul Aziz al-Suwedy, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN682 Ghassan al-Sharbi, Saudi. During the Bush administration he was designated for trial by a now defunct version of the military commissions using a crime, providing material support for terror, that the war court prosecutor considers no longer viable. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial.

ISN685 Abdul Razak Ali, Algerian. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention as June 23, 2011, denying the habeas corpus petition of this Taliban government media spokesman, governor and Cabinet minister. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN694 Sufiyan Barhoumi, Algerian. During the Bush administration he was designated for trial by a now defunct version of the military commissions. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on Sept. 3, 2009, denying his habeas corpus petition, and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that decision detention on Jun. 22, 2010. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial.

ISN695 Omar Mohammed Khalif, Libyan. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention May 28, 2010, denying his habeas corpus petition. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. But a national security parole panel, called a Periodic Review Board, lifted the “forever prisoner” designation and declared him approved for transfer, with security arrangements, Aug. 20, 2015.

ISN696 Jubran Qahtani, Saudi. During the Bush administration he was designated for trial by a now defunct version of the military commissions using a crime, providing material support for terror, that the war court prosecutor considers no longer viable. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial.

ISN702 Ravil Mingazov, Russian. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime. He won his habeas corpus lawsuit on May 13, 2010. The U.S. government appealed to the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, which in 2012 sent the habeas petition back to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., for reconsideration. The case hasn’t been re-heard. His story has garnered more attention in the United States than many Guantánamo captive, in part because of offers by communities in western Massachusetts and Berkeley, Calif., to offer him asylum resettlement, were U.S. law to allow it.

ISN708 Ismael Ali Faraj al Bakush, Libyan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN728 Abdul Muhammad Ahmad Nassir al-Muhajari, Yemeni. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN753 Abdul Zahir, Afghan. In 2006, the Bush administration designated him for trial by military commissions in charges the Obama administration had dismissed without prejudice. Charges included attacking civilians, aiding the enemy and conspiracy for allegedly attacking a civilian vehicle, injuring three journalists, and supporting the Taliban and al Qaeda forces in hostilities against coalition forces in Afghanistan. Internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial. His lawyer is arguing in federal court that, with combat over in Afghanistan he should be released.

ISN760 Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian who got to Guantánamo Aug. 5, 2002. He won his habeas corpus lawsuit on March 22, 2010 but the U.S. government appealed to the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, which on Nov. 5, 2010 ordered the lower court to review his detention with a different standard. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime. Little, Brown, the U.S. publishing house, released his memoirs based on declassified accounts written at the prison in southeast Cuba. Written in English, the book “Guantánamo Diary” was translated into about two dozen languages and distributed in that many countries.

ISN762 Obaidullah, Afghan. During the Bush administration he was designated for trial by a now defunct version of the military commissions. Attorney General Eric Holder has also approved his trial by the new revamped military commission. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention Oct. 19, 2010. His lawyer is arguing in federal court that, with combat over in Afghanistan he should be released.

ISN768 Ahmed Muhammed Haza al Darbi, Saudi. He pleaded guilty to terror charges Feb. 20, 2014 as an accomplice in the 2002 terrorist attack against the French oil tanker, MV Limburg, carried out while Darbi was already at Guantánamo. He agreed to testify at the war court in exchange for return to a Saudi prison in 2018 and a maximum 15-year sentence begun Feb. 20, 2014.

ISN836 Ayub Murshid Ali Salih, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN837 Bashir Nasir Ali al-Marwalah, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN838 Shawqi Awad Balzuhair, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN839 Mussab Omar Ali al-Madhwani, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on Dec. 14, 2009, denying his habeas corpus petition., and a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld his indefinite detention on May 27, 2011. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN840 Hayil al-Mithali, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN841 Said Salih Said, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Oct. 28, 2002. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 30 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN893 Tawfiq Nassar al-Bihani, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Feb. 6, 2003. A federal judge upheld his indefinite detention on Sept. 22, 2010, denying his habeas corpus petition. A list included in the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 50 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. His brother, Ghaleb, is ISN 128, also lost his unlawful detention case. In January 2010, a federal task force approved him for conditional return to his homeland, a third country or transfer to the United States if the prison camps in Cuba are closed. It said he was eligible for conditional release, if the security situation in Yemen improves — or a viable third-country settlement or rehabilitation program is found.

ISN975 Bostan Karim, Afghan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. His lawyer is arguing in federal court that, with combat over in Afghanistan he should be released.

ISN1017 Omar Mohammed Ali al-Rammah, Yemeni. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN1045 Mohammed Kamin, Afghan. During the Bush administration, he was designated for trial by military commission. The Obama administration considered the case and in 2010 put him in the category of “Law of War detainee,” a forever prisoner, until the Periodic Review Board concluded in September 2015 that he can be released. His lawyer had argued in federal court that, with combat over in Afghanistan, he should be released.

ISN1094 Saifullah A. Paracha, Pakistan who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A former U.S. green card holder, he is also the eldest of the Guantánamo detainees, according to leaked detention center records. The U.S. Senate Intelligence Commitee ‘Torture Report’ says he was captured July 5, 2003 in an FBI orchestrated operation and while the CIA wanted to take custody of him and interrogated him with so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, the proposal was rejected. He was born in Aug. 17, 1947, and has a history of coronary artery disease. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN1119 Haji Hamidullah, Afghan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee. His lawyer is arguing in federal court that, with combat over in Afghanistan he should be released.

ISN1453 Sanad Yislam al-Kazimi, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 270 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime but internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial.

ISN1456 Hassan Ali Bin Attash,Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. According to leaked military records, he is the youngest of the current detainees. He is also the brother of high-value detainee Walid Bin Attash, held in a different camp. His lawyer says they’ve never seen each other at Guantánamo. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 120 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN1457 Abdu Ali Sharqawi, Yemeni known as Riyadh the Facilitator who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 120 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime but internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial.

ISN1460 Abdul Rahim Gulam Rabbani, Saudi-born Pakistani who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 550 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN1461 Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani, Saudi-born Pakistani who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 550 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN1463 Abdulsalam al Hela, Yemeni who got to Guantánamo Sept. 19, 2004. A chart accompanying the so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘Torture Report’ indicates he was held by the CIA for 590 days or more, apparently separate and apart from his military detention. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee.

ISN3148 Harun al Afghani, Afghan. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial. He’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN10011 Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, Saudi who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as an alleged co-conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. Hear him speak to a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007. Transcript here.

ISN10013 Ramzi bin al Shibh, Yemeni who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as an alleged co-conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him Sept. 11, 2002 in Karachi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. The so-called Senate Intelligence Committee ‘’Torture Report’ also says he was held previously at Guantánamo from September 2003 into April 2004. He went before a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007 but chose to say nothing. You can hear it or read the transcript here.

ISN10014 Walid bin Attash, Yemeni who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as an alleged co-conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him on April 29, 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. Hear him speak to a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007. Transcript here.

ISN10015 Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, Saudi who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as an alleged conspirator in the October 2000 al Qaeda suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Aden, Yemen. The ICRC says he was arrested in October 2002 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The so-called Senate Intelligence Committee “Torture Report” also says he was held previously at Guantánamo from September 2003 into April 2004. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. Hear him speak to a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007. Transcript here.

ISN10016 Zayn al Abdeen Mohammed al Hussein, Palestinian known as Abu Zubaydah. The ICRC says he was arrested March 28, 2002 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial but he’s never been charged with a crime. Hear him speak to a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007. Transcript here.

ISN10017 Mustafa Abu Faraj al Libi, Libyan. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him on May 2, 2005 in Mardan, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial but he’s never been charged with a crime.

ISN10018 Ammar al-Baluchi, Pakistani who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as an alleged co-conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him on April 29, 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees.

ISN10019 Riduan Isomuddin, Indonesian known as Hambali. The ICRC says he was arrested Aug. 11, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial but he’s never been charged with a crime. Internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial.

ISN10020 Majid Khan, Pakistani. The International Red Cross says this Baltimore area educated man was arrested March 5, 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive, he was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006 and held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. He turned government witness and pleaded guilty to war crimes Feb. 29, 2012, and is held in a separate secret site for cooperating ex-CIA captive witnesses at Guantánamo. There is currently no other. Hear him speak to a military panel at Guantánamo in March 2007. Transcript here.

ISN10021 Mohd Farik Bin Amin, Malaysian known as Zubair. The ICRC says he was arrested June 8, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial but he’s never been charged with a crime. Internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial.

ISN10022 Bashir Lap, Malaysian known as Lilie. The ICRC says he was arrested Aug. 11, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. In January 2010, a federal task force recommended he be considered for trial but he’s never been charged with a crime. Internal Defense Department documents showed that in late 2014 he was still considered a candidate for a war crimes trial.

ISN10023 Hassan Guleed, Somali. The ICRC says he was arrested March 4, 2004 in Djibouti. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN10024 Khalid Sheik Mohammad, Pakistani who’s charged in death-penalty proceedings by military commission as the alleged mastermind in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ICRC says Pakistani authorities arrested him March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. As a former CIA “black site” captive who was taken to Guantánamo in September 2006, he is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees.

ISN10025 Abdul Malik, Kenyan. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.

ISN10026 Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, Iraqi. The Pentagon announced that this former CIA captive was taken to Guantánamo on April 27, 2007. He is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. He was arraigned June 18 and faces non-capital charges at the war court alleging he was commander of al-Qaida’s army between 2002 and 2004. If convicted, could be punished with a maximum of life in prison. No trial date has been set yet.

ISN10029 Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, Afghan. The Pentagon announced that this former CIA captive was taken to Guantánamo on March 14, 2008. He is held in a secret prison where the Pentagon segregates so-called high-value detainees. A multi-agency federal task force classified him in January 2010 as “continued detention pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (2001), as informed by principles of the laws of war,” an indefinite detainee, a forever prisoner.


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article2203501.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

What did WH Give Oman to Take 10 Gitmo Detainees?

There is always the pledge or promise of something, money, weapons, fighter jets or people….some or all of this went with those ten detainees from Gitmo to Oman. Will the White House or the Pentagon tell us? Nah….

Barack Obama bragged that al Qaeda has been decimated but with this release and the growing threat of al Qaeda once again in Afghanistan, this is no longer the case.

In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said the terrorist groups al-Qaeda and Islamic State pose a “direct threat” to Americans but don’t threaten “our national existence.”

“Both al-Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct threat to our people, because in today’s world, even a handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a lot of damage,” he said, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq or Syria, or ISIS, also known as ISIL. “They use the Internet to poison the minds of individuals inside our country; they undermine our allies.”

Hat tip to Zelin of Jihadology:

al Qaeda in the Magrib most recent message

New video message from Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī: “The Islamic Spring #8: The Sun of Victory Shines From Nusantara”




In part from FNC: The Omani Foreign Ministry reportedly described the move as a “temporary stay.”  The administration is banned by law from transferring Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, given the risk in that country. Yemen is not only racked by civil war, but is the home of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. At least three previously released Guantanamo detainees have gone on to become leaders with AQAP in Yemen after leaving the camp.

The transfer also coincides with a recent weapons deal. The terms are classified, but the State Department a week ago approved the proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and supporting equipment to the government of Oman – valued at about $51 million.

U.S. sends 10 Yemeni Guantanamo detainees to Oman

Reuters: Ten Yemeni men held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison were sent to Oman on Thursday, bringing the detainee population below the symbolically important milestone of 100 as President Barack Obama steps up efforts to close the facility before he leaves office.

Their transfer to the Gulf Arab state marked the largest group of prisoners shipped out of the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since Obama began his presidency in 2009 pledging to quickly shutter a prison that has drawn international condemnation.

The Yemenis, all held for more than a decade without charge or trial, were part of a wave of releases that the Obama administration signaled would take place early this year as it prepares to give Congress a plan for closing the facility. Four other detainees were moved out already this month.

Obama, whose term in office ends in January 2017, has vowed to push ahead with his efforts but faces opposition in the Republican-led Congress. Lawmakers have created obstacles to moving any Guantanamo prisoners to facilities in the United States.

In Oman’s, Muscat, an Omani official was cited by the state news agency as saying the Yemenis had arrived and would remain there for humanitarian reasons until conditions in Yemen, gripped by civil war, allow them to be sent home. Oman, a close U.S. ally, had accepted earlier groups of Guantanamo prisoners.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the transfer followed a “deliberate and careful review.”

“We completed the transfer of 10 Yemenis – roughly 10 percent, that is, of the total remaining Gitmo population – to the government of Oman,” Carter told an audience at the U.S. military’s Southern Command, which oversees the military detention facility.

The 93 prisoners remaining at Guantanamo mark the lowest number since 2002, shortly after then-President George W. Bush opened the facility to house foreign terrorism detainees after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Obama administration officials have said they will focus on repatriating or resettling the 34 Guantanamo prisoners, most of them Yemenis, cleared for release long ago by U.S. authorities.

The United States has ruled out sending the Yemenis home due to Yemen’s chaotic security situation.

Obama campaigned for the presidency in 2008 vowing to close the Guantanamo prison. In his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, he again urged Congress to help him achieve that goal.

“It’s expensive, it’s unnecessary and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies,” Obama said of the prison.

The White House has not said that Obama could use executive powers to shut the prison, bypassing Congress. Some lawmakers have vowed legal action if he does that.

Carter said he had proposed to Obama establishing an alternative location that would bring some detainees – those deemed too dangerous to be transferred – “to an appropriate, secure location in the United States.”

“Congress has indicated a willingness to consider such a proposal,” Carter said.

The Pentagon, in a statement, named the released detainees as: Fahed Abdullah Ahmad Ghazi, Samir Naji al-Hasan Muqbil, Adham Mohamed Ali Awad, Mukhtar Yahya Naji al-Warafi, Abu Bakr Ibn Muhammad al-Ahdal, Muhammad Salih Husayn al-Shaykh, Muhammad Said Salim Bin Salman, Said Muhammad Salih Hatim, Umar Said Salim al-Dini and Fahmi Abdallah Ahmad Ubadi al-Tulaqi.

From the Department of Defense and shame on Secretary Ash Carter, at least former Secretary Chuck Hagel slow walked approvals, eventually costing him his job.

Detainee Transfers Announced

The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of Fahed Abdullah Ahmad Ghazi, Samir Naji al-Hasan Muqbil, Adham Mohamed Ali Awad, Mukhtar Yahya Naji al-Warafi, Abu Bakr Ibn Muhammad al-Ahdal, Muhammad Salih Husayn al-Shaykh, Muhammad Said Salim Bin Salman, Said Muhammad Salih Hatim, Umar Said Salim al-Dini, and Fahmi Abdallah Ahmad Ubadi al-Tulaqi from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Government of Oman.  As directed by the president’s Jan. 22, 2009, executive order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of these cases. As a result of those reviews, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, Ghazi, Muqbil, Awad, al-Warafi, al-Ahdal, al-Shaykh, Salman, Hatim, al-Dini, and al-Tulaqi were unanimously approved for transfer by the six departments and agencies comprising the task force. In accordance with statutory requirements, the secretary of defense informed Congress of the United States’ intent to transfer these individuals and of the secretary’s determination that these transfers meet the statutory standard. The United States is grateful to the Government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the Government of Oman to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures. Today, 93 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay.

EW, Jamming GPS by IRGC vs. U.S. Navy

EW = Electronic warfare is any military action involving the use of the EM spectrum to include directed energy (DE) to control the EM spectrum or to attack an enemy. This is not limited to radio or radar frequencies but includes IR, visible, ultraviolet, and other less used portions of the EM spectrum. This includes self-protection, standoff, and escort jamming, and anti-radiation attacks. EW is a specialized tool that enhances many air and space functions at multiple levels of conflict.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Iran Develops GPS jammer
Iran Unveils Major Achievements in Electronic Warfare

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Tuesday displayed three of its latest and most
important achievements in the field of electronic warfare.

The country’s achievements were unveiled in a ceremony attended by
Khatami-ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Commander General Farzad Esmayeeli.

The hi-tech products which went on display included Shahed Electronic
Warfare Simulator, an electronic warfare tester of Radar systems called
‘Sabah’, and a GPS jamming system all designed and produced by Iranian
experts inside the country.

Electronic warfare is amongst the most crucial elements in air defense and
military observers believe that Iran enjoys an excellent capability in
electronic warfare technology and in designing and manufacturing electronic
warfare systems.

Farsi island is an exclusive IRGC base likely with very sophisticated and advanced systems to gain access to communications regardless of platform in the region, all of the Persian Gulf and land based infrastructure. (Just keep in mind, when Iran got their hands on a U.S. drone, where they likely reversed engineered our  systems)

On 4 December 2011, an American Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was captured by Iranian forces near the city of Kashmar in northeastern Iran. The Iranian government announced that the UAV was brought down by its cyberwarfare unit which commandeered the aircraft and safely landed it, after initial reports from Western news sources inaccurately claimed that it had been “shot down”. The United States government initially denied the claims but later President Obama acknowledged that the downed aircraft was a US drone and requested that Iran return it.[2][3]

General Dynamics will deliver Block 1B3 system upgrades over the next five years. The upgrades will be integrated into new and existing Navy ships providing significantly improved situational awareness of the tactical environment surrounding the ship, the company said in a statement Monday.

General Dynamics has been involved with the SEWIP Block 1 program since 2003 and received a low-rate initial production contracts for the SEWIP Block 1B3 in 2014. Work on the contract will take place in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

SEWIP is comprised of capability improvements divided into production blocks. This contract is part of Block 1, which provides enhanced electronic warfare capabilities to Navy ship combat systems improving anti-ship missile defense, counter targeting and surveillance. The block 1B3 system is the final upgrade for Block 1, providing high-gain/high-sensitivity electronic capability.

Electronic warfare system provides greater detection and identification of threats to Navy combat ships.

Military Jamming GPS document is here.

Broken Navigation System Led U.S. Navy Boats Into Iranian Waters

Published 13 January 2016

RFE: The top naval commander for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, has told the Tasnim news agency that an internal investigation found a broken navigation system was to blame for leading two U.S. Navy patrol boats into Iranian waters. The vessels and 10 sailors were seized by Iran on January 12. The U.S. Department of Defense has released file video showing the type of Navy boats that were seized. (U.S. Department of Defense file, Reuters)

The Pentagon Is Worried About Hacked GPS

GPS is a two-edged sword. The Global Positioning System has been the foundation of a revolution in warfare that enables highly accurate smart bombs and navigation systems. With all the furor over civilian casualties caused by smart bombs, imagine what the toll would be without GPS weapons.

On the other hand, GPS is the device that allows civilian drivers to follow its directions while driving off a cliff. Which raises the question: what happens when GPS isn’t available?

It’s a question the U.S. military is taking very seriously. The advent of cheap GPS jammers allows terrorists as well as hostile nations to block navigation signals. Hackers can disrupt the system, while the GPS satellites themselves—even at 12,500 miles high—are potentially vulnerable to anti-satellite weapons. And that’s assuming that America doesn’t wreck its own GPS system; the U.S. Air Force’s plan to develop the next generation of GPS ground control stations has been described by the Pentagon as a “disaster.”

So it is no surprise that the U.S. military is pursuing several backup technologies for GPS. The Air Force and Navy are asking the defense industry to come up with alternatives for when GPS isn’t available.

The Navy, for example, wants a Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) system that allows users to navigate from radio signals when GPS is down. Ironically, one alternative the Navy is proposing is LORAN-C, the radio navigation system that the United States shut down in 2010 because GPS supposedly rendered it obsolete. “Since then, the government has realized that GPS represents a single point of failure which can be denied through unintentional and intentional interference,” explains the Navy, which also notes that the technology can be used by civilian airliners when their GPS navigation has been disrupted.

The Air Force is also looking for a PNT system. Their approach is focusing on pseudo-satellites (pseudolites), ground or airborne transmitters that perform the same function as GPS satellites, but can overpower jamming because they are a lot closer to the user’s location than an orbital GPS station.

Not to be outdone are the people who get themselves into situations where accurately knowing your location is more than a luxury. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which oversees America’s commandos, wants a GPS alternative for its aircraft.

SOCOM does not paint an optimistic picture of current GPS technology. “Some of the issues with the current GPS include blind spots as well as spoofing and jamming of the GPS signal,” states the research proposal. “Additionally, many GPS satellites are outside of their designed lifetime and are likely to become less reliable in the future. Finally, it is uncertain whether current budget cuts will allow the funding needed to launch new GPS satellites.”

No doubt the Pentagon will find alternative technologies, perhaps something that will replace GPS. But the larger question is technological dependence. If the U.S. military, not to mention civilian airliners and ships, are that helpless when GPS is down, then perhaps the problem is with the user as well as the technology.

This should answer some questions when it comes to the IRGC activities on Farsi Island and why 2 riverine boats came into the possession of the IRGC along with 10 sailors. Is it any wonder why Defense Secretary Ash Carter asked Iran to be merciful to our sailors and John Kerry begged forgiveness?

POTUS in 2016, No Lame Duck, Cure Cancer?

What about what Barack Obama said at the 2015 State of the Union? Fact checking:

#LastSOTU FACT CHECK: A Disastrous Foreign PolicyJanuary 12, 2016|Speaker Ryan Press Office

State of the Union: President Obama pushes for cancer cure

 CBS: |In his final State of the Union address, President Obama announced a new national effort to find a cure for cancer and put Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son to the disease, “in charge of Mission Control.”

State of the Union 2016 ~ Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:

Tonight marks the eighth year I’ve come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I’m going to try to make it shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa.

I also understand that because it’s an election season, expectations for what we’ll achieve this year are low. Still, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach you and the other leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. So I hope we can work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who are battling prescription drug abuse. We just might surprise the cynics again.

But tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I’ll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing. Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done.

Who attended as the First Lady, Michelle Obama’s guests? Click here to find out. The DNC Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz instructed several in Congress to bring a Muslim along as a guest and they did. A few of them were associated with terrorism.

The we have retired Army Colonel Allen West as he wrote his summary on the SOTU.

Townhall:  My assessment is that Obama spoke much about nothing that is pertinent to where we find ourselves today in America. His defined policy objectives were criminal justice reform, heroin abuse, our immigration system (meaning amnesty for illegals), gun violence, equal pay, paid leave, and raising the minimum wage.

President Obama talked about giving everyone a “fair shot” at opportunity in a new economy. First of all, who defines what a “fair shot” is? It appears that this is just more coded language for government-guaranteed equality of outcomes. The “every kid gets a trophy mentality” is not what America is about. That ideology is what gave us Carter’s Community Reinvestment Act, and eventually, the financial crisis and meltdown. Government decided that it was their mandate to give a “fair shot” to everyone who wanted to buy a home, and it did not end well. Government works best when it creates the policies that advance individual sovereignty so individuals may pursue their own defined dreams, the pursuit of happiness. Anything else, as we have seen and as President Obama champions, is antithetical to who we are.

Somehow, President Obama failed to address the 40-year low workforce participation rate and the fact that more Americans have been dropped from the workforce under his “fair shot” policies. Obama said nothing about a national debt that threatens the future of America. The poverty and food stamp rolls have exploded in these past seven years. That is not the best of America. It is certainly not the best that we can do. We must grow this economy and we can do so, along with reforming government spending, and eliminating crony capitalism and corporate welfare.

Obama’s vision of the future is centered on an ideological agenda that puts in peril the hopes and aspirations of our children and grandchildren. They will have less economic freedom and certainly less liberty if the Islamic terrorists prevail.

I have additional concerns from President Obama’s final SOTU address. First of all, if our military was so very strong then why did we have 10 U.S. Navy Sailors detained by the Iranians because the engines on two riverine assault boats malfunctioned? That makes no real sense to me. Nor have we taken care of our Veterans. I wear a ring on my salute hand trigger finger to remind me about the 22 Veterans a day who are committing suicide in America. While we know there are problems in our VA system, no major reform has been made and many perpetrators of this heinous wrong still hold their positions.

Obama said nothing about the Taliban’s resurgence and their hold on more territory than any time since 2001. It was just last week that the Taliban had an American Special Forces team trapped in Helmand province, yet Obama cannot bring himself to refer to this as “combat.” Obama’s own former acting CIA Director Mike Morrell testified Tuesday during a House Armed Services Committee that ISIS affiliations have grown far more Al Qaeda’s and that they comprise a legitimate strategic threat to the world and our homeland. There was no mention of ISIS’ most recent attacks in Baghdad and Istanbul. Again, Obama just could not bring himself to say Islamic terrorists or jihadists. In Obama’s mind, they are just “killers and fanatics,” and shutting down GITMO will reduce their recruiting efforts. No, Mr. President, your fecklessness and exhibited weakness emboldens ISIS and their allies which are growing from Boko Haram in Nigeria to Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines. Obama asked for Congress to vote on an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) but first we need a strategic plan to defeat ISIS. He could have articulated that but chose more lofty rhetoric and lecturing instead.

Russia has expanded and is in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria. China is building manmade islands by destroying reef systems and landing planes on these islands. Where are the environmentalists? China is also about to open up its first military base in Africa in Djibouti, as we have announced we are departing. The Iranian nuclear deal is a failure and has only served to empower and fund the number one state sponsor of Islamic terrorism. Iran is now exploiting their new-found strength and becoming a regional hegemony. Hence, the very open schism between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

President Obama talks about “protecting the American people” yet we had the biggest Islamic terrorist attack since 9-11 on his watch, San Bernardino. Before that it was Ft. Hood. And in the U.S., the enemy attacks our men and women in uniform with impunity, such as at the Naval Reserve Support Facility in Chattanooga. In the last week, we have arrested former refugee ISIS supporters in Sacramento and Houston. And who can forget the video of the horrific attempt to assassinate Philadelphia Police Officer Hartnett by an admitted Islamic jihadist. The American people are kind and willing to open up our arms to embrace those fleeing persecution, such as the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Coptics, and Yazidis, but those were not mentioned by President Obama. What the American people will not allow is what is happening in Germany and the rest of Europe. We will not allow a war on our women, as we are seeing there due to a clash of civilizational values, principles, and morals.

I can only wish that President Obama saw the enemy for who it is, and not the ideologically driven “threat” of climate change. Please read his entire response here.