Category Archives: Military

Obama Applying Every Nasty Political Tactic to Close Gitmo

Posted on by

Bypass Congress, throw in the Iran deal, sanctions, vetoes and more. The White House may even threaten Secretary of Defense Ash Carter with his job as he did with former Secretary Hagel.

A sample detainee:

File:ISN 01103, Mohammed Zahir's Guantanamo detainee assessment.pdf

 

Bid to Shutter Gitmo Roils Pentagon, White House, Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration’s struggling quest to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is mired in state and federal politics. Frustrated White House and Pentagon officials are blaming each other for the slow progress releasing approved detainees and finding a new prison to house those still held.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is facing criticism from some administration officials who complain that he has not approved enough transfers, even though 52 Guantanamo detainees are eligible. Carter’s predecessor, Chuck Hagel, was forced from the Pentagon job in part because the White House felt he was not moving quickly enough to send detainees to other countries.

Two officials said the White House is frustrated because President Barack Obama discussed the issue with Carter when he was hired this year to lead the Defense Department, and they believed Carter was on board with the White House’s plans to act faster.

Other U.S. officials note that Carter has approved some transfers and is pushing his staff to move quickly to get more to his desk. But many other proposed transfers are slogging through the bureaucracy, under review by a long list of defense, military, intelligence and other administration offices. The transfers cannot be approved unless officials believe the detainees will not return to terrorism or the battlefield upon release and that there is a host country willing to take them.

During his two years as Pentagon chief, Hagel approved 44 detainee transfers. Carter, in his first seven months, has transferred six.

Obama has promised to close the facility since he was a presidential candidate in 2008. He said it ran counter to American values to keep people in prison, many without criminal charges or due process.

Opponents have argued the detainees are essentially prisoners of war.

From a peak of 680 prisoners, 116 remain. Finding acceptable places for them has been an intractable problem.

“Finding a solution for these individuals involves complicated negotiations with international partners, extensive consultations with the leaders of the national security and legal organizations and final approval by me,” Carter told reporters.

A key player in the process is Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dempsey, who spent more than three years as a commander in Iraq, continues to be very cautious in his recommendations for transfers. His opinions carry a lot of weight.

According to U.S. officials familiar with the process, Carter recently notified Congress of two transfers, and has four whose files are ready to go to Capitol Hill, likely later this month. Congress has 30 days to review the transfers before they are made public.

A number of U.S. officials familiar with the ongoing discussions spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the subject publicly.

The movement of detainees is only part of the challenge. A greater hurdle will be finding a U.S.-based prison to house the 64 detainees considered too dangerous to be sent to another country. Congress has opposed any effort to bring detainees to America, so Obama’s long-stated goal of closing Guantanamo before he leaves office in January 2017 is more likely to die on the steps of Capitol Hill.

Aware of those objections, the White House last month stalled Pentagon efforts to send a plan to Congress outlining several U.S. prisons that could be upgraded and used for the detainees. Early drafts of the plan included some rough estimates of the costs and the time needed for renovations.

U.S. officials said the administration was worried that sending the plan to Congress could affect the crucial vote on the Iran nuclear deal by infuriating lawmakers who do not want the detainees moved to the U.S. or who adamantly oppose having them in a prison in their state or district. The resolution of disapproval of the Iran deal failed in the Senate, handing Obama a victory on that issue.

Three to five civilian facilities are being eyed as potential sites, officials said. A Pentagon team has gone to military facilities in South Carolina and Kansas to develop better estimates of construction and other changes that would be needed to house the detainees as well as conduct military commission trials for those accused of war crimes.

The visits to the Navy Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina, and the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas triggered immediate outrage from lawmakers and governors there.

Republican Govs. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Sam Brownback of Kansas have threatened to sue the administration if detainees are brought to either state.

Both the House and Senate have pending legislation that would maintain prohibitions on transferring detainees to U.S. facilities. The Senate legislation allows the restrictions to be lifted if the White House submits a plan to close the facility and it’s approved by Congress.

GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has made it known he would consider a comprehensive plan to close Guantanamo, but said it must include answers to a number of tough legal and policy questions, including whether detainees held in the U.S. would have additional rights.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has opposed using the Charleston brig because it is in a populated area.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has said flatly that, “Not on my watch will any terrorist be placed in Kansas.”

Carter has acknowledged the challenge of getting a U.S. facility approved by Congress, but has insisted that some lawmakers have indicated a willingness to consider a plan.

“This would be a good thing to do if – if we can all come together behind a plan to do it,” Carter told reporters. “Our responsibility is to provide them with a plan that they can consider that is a responsible one.”

 

Criminal Network Tactics on Europe’s Refugee CrISIS

Posted on by

ISIS Terrorist Arrested in Stuttgart “Refugee” Center; “Boxes” of Fake Syrian Passports Intercepted

 

An ISIS terrorist posing as an “asylum seeker” has been arrested by German police in a “refugee” center in Stuttgart, and German customs officers have seized boxes containing Syrian passports being smuggled into Europe.

masked-ISIS

According to a report carried by RTL’s German language service, the terrorist is a 21-year-old Moroccan using a “false identity” who had registered as an asylum seeker in the district of Ludwigsburg. He was identified after police linked him to a European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish authorities. He is accused of recruiting fighters for ISIS, where he acted as a contact person for fighters who wanted to travel to Syria or Iraq.

This first confirmed arrest of a bogus “asylum seeker” came simultaneously with the admission by a German finance ministry spokesman that “boxes” of fake Syrian passports, destined for sale and distribution to the hordes of nonwhite invaders seeking to settle in Europe as bogus “war refugees,” had been seized.

That news, carried in a report by the German Tagespiegel newspaper, also revealed that 10,000 fake Syrian passports were seized by police in Bulgaria, on their way to Germany.

The finance ministry official said both genuine and forged passports were in the packets intercepted in the post. Possession of these passports is a vital part of claiming “asylum” as “war refugees.”

The Tagespiegel also revealed that the fake Syrian passports are being sold for about $1,500 each—and the fact that many of the “refugees” can afford to buy multiple passports is yet another indication of the bogus nature of their claims to be “asylum seekers.”

Significantly, the Tagespiegel article continued, “It is not only Syrians who are interested in Syrian passports. Refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan want to become Syrian in order to secure their recognition as asylum seekers in Western Europe. According to press reports, nine out of ten refugees who came from Macedonia to Serbia claimed they were Syrians.”

The trade in fake Syrian passports was also confirmed by the head of the EU frontier police, Fabrice Leggeri, in a recent interview with the Europe 1 TV station.

Leggeri told Europe 1 that the trade in fake Syrian passports originated in Turkey. “There are people who are now in Turkey, buying false Syrian passports because they have obviously realized that it is a windfall since Syrians get asylum in all Member States in the European Union,” he said.

“People who use false Syrian passports often speak in Arabic. They may originate in North Africa or the Middle East, but have the profile of economic migrants.”

*** Second Tactic

Muslim Migrants Converting to Christianity to Improve Asylum Chances

Muslim migrants in Germany are converting to Christianity “in droves” in the hope it will improve their chances of winning asylum.

Hundreds of Iranians and Afghanis have been baptised at Trinity Church, a Lutheran church in Berlin, where Pastor Gottfried Martens offers a three-month “crash course” for new converts.

AP reports on one baptism where Martens asked Iranian refugee Mohammed Ali Zonoobi: “Will you break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam?” To which Zonoobi fervently responded: “Yes”.

Martens then baptised him “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” Mohammed renamed himself Martin.

Martin Zonoobi, a carpenter from Iran, arrived in Germany with his wife and children five months ago. He is one of many who have converted, with many claiming true belief has prompted them.

However, Pastor Martens admits that some convert just to improve their chances of winning asylum in Germany – as Christians who have apostatised from Islam they are likely to suffer heavy persecution if they are sent home.

Martens says motive is not important, however. “I know there are – again and again – people coming here because they have some kind of hope regarding their asylum,” he said.

“I am inviting them to join us because I know that whoever comes here will not be left unchanged.”

Many are so taken by the Christian message that they end up genuinely changing their beliefs anyway, Martens says. He adds that of those who have converted, only around one in ten stop attending church afterwards.

Although being Christian alone does not mean they will automatically win asylum – Merkel has even said that Islam “belongs in Germany” – many hope this will be enough to sway authorities.

None will openly admit converting just for asylum purposes as it could lead to them being deported as Christian coverts, possibly facing the death penalty when they return home.

Martens’s church is now reporting a surge in the congregation from 150 two years ago to more than 600 now. Some of the migrants coming to be converted are travelling from places as far afield as Rostock on the Baltic coast.

There no official figures on how many Muslims have converted to Christianity in Germany over the past few years, and the number is still tiny compared to the country’s four million strong Muslim population. Nonetheless, Martens describes the rate of conversions as a “miracle”.

He also claims to have at least 80 people, mostly migrants, waiting to be baptised.

Zonoobi’s wife Afsaneh, now known as Katarina, said the Christening marks a new beginning.

“Now we are free and can be ourselves,” she said.

“Most important, I am so happy that our children will have a good future here and can get a good education in Germany.”

*** Third Tactic

Since 2013, human smuggling of Syrians and other Middle Easterners into is viable industry

With The Help Of Smugglers, Syrian Refugees Sneak Into Europe

The 27-year-old Syrian, who once smuggled arms for Syrian rebels, is now waiting in Istanbul for a human smuggler to get him to Europe. He says his name is Mohammed. He does not offer a second name. He will go by air, he says, the safest route. He has paid a smuggler more than $8,000, and he’s sure he will get to Austria.

In the past week, he connected seven friends with smugglers.

“I know that most of them made it,” he says, with a tight smile. He is traveling light. Everything he owns is in a backpack.

“I am leaving Syria under a lot of pressure,” he explains.

He seems exhausted by the waiting. Twenty days ago, he got into a fight with an al-Qaida-linked group while helping a friend in the Syrian town of Sarqib. Mohammed says he killed two of their men.

“I needed to leave Syria because I was facing death,” he says.

He joins a surge of Syrian refugees smuggled to Europe. Many are from Syria’s educated, professional class, and have the means for the underground routes. The preferred destination is northern Europe, where economies are strong and the Syrians believe they can start over again.

The numbers seeking asylum in European Union countries doubled this year to more than 36,000, according to EU officials. The journey is long, but the travel is safe, depending on how much you are willing to pay.

Air routes are top of the line. The price tag for Sweden, the most desired destination, is $16,000.

The most dangerous route is by sea, where smugglers sell space on overcrowded fishing boats. The Italian coast guard recently rescued 120 mostly Syrian refugees off the Italian coast. In October, 30 Syrians drowned in a shipwreck between Malta and Italy.

More than 2 million Syrians have fled their homeland since Syria’s civil war broke out more than two years ago. Most have resettled in neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Many believed it was a temporary move. But as the war grinds on, some Syrians are making a different calculation. There may be nothing to go home to for years.

Negotiating The Best Deal A Matter Of Life And Death

Over the past several months, the Syrian exodus has increasingly focused on Europe. For many, the journey starts in Turkey, where the human smuggling trade has long flourished.

In the Fatih district of Istanbul, past an outdoor market and down a narrow alley, the tea houses and kabob shops caters to Syrian refugees.

The menus are in Arabic, and so are the conversations. This is the place to make contact with a smuggler and begin the negotiations over price and destination. The tables are full. Syrian men drink sugary tea and swap stories about the best routes and prices.

Abdel Ghani, a medical technician from Qamishli, in northern Syria, sold his house to finance his trip. He’s on his third try.

“It becomes an addiction. I would try 100 times,” he says and shakes his head and laughs at his latest failed attempt. His smuggler got him a fake Swiss passport, but the birthdate made him 20 years older than his actual age.

He grew his beard, tried to stick out his lip like the man pictured in the passport. He made it to the Istanbul boarding gate before his documents were spotted as fakes.

He watched other Syrian families with fake passports board the plane. His documents were confiscated, but he wasn’t detained.

“I’m going to try again the day after tomorrow. I hope to get to Sweden,” he pledges.

Another Syrian at the table, a real estate agent before the revolt, says he sold everything he owned, and paid a smuggler $35,000 to get his wife and daughters to Germany. The trip took four months to arrange. He interviewed more than one smuggler.

“I had to pick a smuggler for my kids; it’s a matter of life and death,” he says, noting that his family arrived safely in Germany a month ago. “We got the right smuggler.”

Every part of a smuggled trip is a matter of luck. Hiring the right smuggler is only the first hurdle; getting into Europe is just the beginning of the journey.

There’s been a surge in the number of Syrians arrested in Romania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Thousands of Syrian refugees are languishing in Greek detention camps. These are the perils of the route to northern Europe that begins with an air ticket, but usually involves trains, buses and sometimes a final border crossing on foot.

As Demand Rises, So Do Prices

A smuggler, who gives his name as Abu Salman, doesn’t want to talk in the restaurant. He invites us to a shabby hotel lobby next door. He’s in his 50s, wearing a frayed gray suit. He says he owned a successful restaurant in Syria before the revolt. Now, his trade is in people.

“There are Turks we’ve been working with; there is a relationship of trust,” he says.

Since February, Abu Salman says he has arranged for more than 500 Syrians to get to Europe. Most made it, though 150 are still stuck in Bulgaria.

As he explains the business, his cell phone rings. His cousin is calling from the Netherlands, where he just arrived.

“There was a delay of a month,” explains Abu Salman. His cousin had to spend time in Bulgaria and Serbia before finally getting to the Netherlands. The delays add to the cost. But this still counts as a success. Abu Salman is building a reputation.

“People are starting to call me from Syria, ‘Please make all the arrangements,’ they say,” according to Abu Salman.

The prices are rising as the demand grows.

“It used to be $6,000 for a boat to France,” he says. Now it’s $10,000, and some smugglers are asking for more. But desperate Syrians continue to sell everything they have and pay whatever it takes.

Iran, Qods Force, Russia, the Game-changer

Posted on by

Protecting the Iranian nuclear sites?

Wendy Sherman sat with John Kerry every day during the Iran talks. This is a short interview and a must watch. She has bought into believing Iran.

Meanwhile, there is Russia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The missile deal:

Russia, Iran Ready to Sign S-300 Delivery Contract in Near Future

Fars News Agency

Originally published at
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940618001360

Posted on by

TEHRAN (FNA)- A contract between Moscow and Tehran on the delivery of Russian S-300 missile defense systems to Iran will be signed in the near future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

“The negotiations are continuing, the contract will be signed in the near future. All political decisions have been made, there are no obstacles there,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Sputnik news website.

In 2007, Iran signed a contract worth $800mln to buy five Russian S300 missile defense systems.

But the deal was scrapped in 2010 by the then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev under the pretext of the UN Security Council sanctions, although the UN embargoes did not include defensive military systems.

Iran filed a $4bln lawsuit against Russia in the international arbitration court in Geneva.

Moscow then struggled to have the lawsuit dropped, including by offering the Tor anti-aircraft systems as replacement, media reported in August, adding that the offer was rejected by Tehran.

Yet, some reports said the Antei-2500 could be a better solution. The system does not formally fall under the existing sanctions against Iran while still being useful for the Middle-Eastern country.

While the S-300 was developed for the use by missile defense forces, the Antei-2500 was specifically tailored for the needs of ground forces, which could also be an advantage for Iran, known for its large land force.

Later, Iran rejected the offer, stressing that it would not change its order.

The S-300 is a series of Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems produced by NPO Almaz, all based on the initial S-300P version. The S-300 system was developed to defend against aircraft and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defense Forces. Subsequent variations were developed to intercept ballistic missiles.

The S-300 system was first deployed by the Soviet Union in 1979, designed for the air defense of large industrial and administrative facilities, military bases, and control of airspace against enemy strike aircraft.

In the meantime, Iran designed and developed its own version of the S-300 missile shield, known as Bavar (Belief) 373. The Iranian version has superior features over the original Russian model as it enjoys increased mobility and reduced launch-preparation time.

In April, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced that Iran would receive the S-300 air defense systems from Russia in 2015.

“We will sign the contract for the delivery of S-300 air defense systems with the Russian side during an upcoming visit to Moscow in the current year,” Brigadier general Dehqan said prior to his departure to Moscow to take part in 2015 International Moscow Security Conference.

He noted that the Iranian Defense Ministry had studied the details of the S-300 contract and the air defense system would be delivered to Iran before the end of 2015.

“What is important is that since the beginning of talks about this contract, the Americans and the Zionist regime voiced their opposition to the sale of S-300 systems and called for a halt to the implementation of the contract,” Brigadier General Dehqan said.

In April, President Putin removed the ban on the delivery of the missile shield to Iran.

Following the announcement, Brigadier General Dehqan said “the decree came as an interpretation of the will of the two countries’ political leaders to develop and promote cooperation in all fields”.

Putin’s decision was announced hours after relevant reports said the Kremlin also plans to supply China with the advanced S-400 air defense system.

Putin said during a meeting with Iran’s Admiral Shamkhani that his decision to deliver the sophisticated S-300 air defense missile systems to Tehran set a role model at global class that every nation should remain loyal to its undertakings.

“The decision which was taken today bears this clear message that all countries are necessitated to remain committed to their undertakings,” Putin said at the meeting in Moscow.

In January, Tehran and Moscow signed an agreement to broaden their defensive cooperation and also resolve the problem with the delivery of Russia’s S300 missile defense systems to Iran.

The agreement was signed by General Dehqan and his visiting Russian counterpart General Sergei Shoigu in a meeting in Tehran in January.

The Iranian and Russian defense ministers agreed to resolve the existing problems which have prevented the delivery of Russia’s advanced air defense systems to Iran in recent years.

The two sides also agreed to broaden their defense cooperation and joint campaign against terrorism and extremism.

Russian build-up in Syria part of secret deal with Iran’s Quds Force leader

FNC: As the Pentagon warily eyes a Russian military build-up in Syria, Western intelligence sources tell Fox News that the escalated Russian presence began just days after a secret Moscow meeting in late July between Iran’s Quds Force commander — their chief exporter of terror — and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Fox News has learned Quds head Qassem Soleimani and Putin discussed such a joint military plan for Syria at that meeting, an encounter first reported by Fox News in early August.

“The Russians are no longer advising, but co-leading the war in Syria,” one intelligence official said.

The Quds Force is the international arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, involved in exporting terrorism to Iran’s proxies throughout the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Intelligence sources told Fox News that — in addition to the previously reported arrival of nearly 50 Russian marines, 100 housing units and armored vehicles delivered by a stream of massive Antonov-124 Condor military transport aircraft and two Russian landing ships in Syria — the Russians have delivered aviation, intelligence and communications facilities to deploy a powerful offensive force.

Officials who have monitored the build-up say they’ve seen more than 1,000 Russian combatants — some of them from the same plainclothes Special Forces units who were sent to Crimea and Ukraine. Some of these Russian troops are logistical specialists and needed for security at the expanding Russian bases.

“Imagine how the Americans came to Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the same kind of build-up. They bring everything, they build everything they need,” the intelligence official said.

The shadowy Iranian commander Soleimani visited Moscow from July 24-26 — just 10 days after the nuclear deal was announced, despite a travel ban and U.N. Security Council resolutions barring him from leaving Iran. He met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin to discuss arms deals. But Fox News has since learned that the Russian and Iranian leaders were also discussing a new joint military plan to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad, a plan that is now playing out with the insertion of Russian forces in Syria.

There are indications that Soleimani is not only involved in the Russian build-up in Syria, but may be leading the operation, though he has not been seen in Syria recently.

The Russians want to protect their interests in Syria. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the Russians had $4 billion in outstanding arms contracts with the Syrian government. The Russian Navy has maintained a base in Syria since the 1970s. This week, an image also surfaced purporting to show Nusra Front fighters standing by a Russian-supplied aircraft at a captured Syrian air base.

U.S. defense sources tell Fox News that most of Russia’s heavy military equipment has arrived by sea onboard Russian amphibious transport ships. Those ships began arriving in the Syrian port of Tartous in recent days. U.S. officials have confirmed a total of eight military cargo planes from Russia landed in the past few days outside Latakia, a port city on the Mediterranean, becoming an almost daily occurrence.

Onboard those vessels: Russian armored vehicles, tanks, helicopters, unmanned drones that can be armed and used for intelligence gathering. Western intelligence sources also confirm that the Russians have sent a mobile air traffic control system, communication/listening units, and pre-built housing units.

Fox News has learned that the Russian units include  members of the Airborne Rifle brigade, the equivalent of U.S. Army Rangers.

The reason that the Iranians are increasingly concerned about Assad’s future is that they do not want a situation in which the Islamic State makes its way to Lebanon unchallenged, posing a threat to Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, according Western sources. This makes the Iranians natural allies of the Russians.

Iran, these sources say, wants Syria to serve as its buffer zone between ISIS and Hezbollah.

Few think Russia’s military build-up denotes an intent by Russia to join the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. Despite downplaying the reports last week, the State Department and Pentagon are now so concerned by Russia’s presence that Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart twice this week to express his misgivings about the escalating conflict.

 

Last February, Intercepted Phone Call Warned Europe of Refugee Crisis

Posted on by

It is taught to empathize with those desperate fighters of Islamic State, they have no hope, no jobs, no values.

Europe stood still and did nothing to prepare for the fight in the Middle East, they ignored the warnings, ignored the beheadings, ignored the intelligence, ignored the kidnappings, the rapes, the seized territory, simply Europe went politically correct and froze in fear.

Islamic State warned Europe and Europe fell to the psychological warfare, the chaos and the prophecy.

ISIS threatens to send 500,000 migrants to Europe as a ‘psychological weapon’ in chilling echo of Gaddafi’s prophecy that the Mediterranean ‘will become a sea of chaos’

  • Italian press today published claims that ISIS has threatened to release the huge wave of migrants to cause chaos in Europe if they are attacked
  • And letters from jihadists show plans to hide terrorists among refugees 
  • In 2011, Muammar Gaddafi ominously predicted war would come to Libya
  • He was deposed in a violent coup and killed in October of the same year 
  • Islamic State executed 21 Egyptian Christians on Libyan beach this week
  • Crisis in Libya has led to surge in number of migrants heading for Europe

 

ISIS has threatened to flood Europe with half a million migrants from Libya in a ‘psychological’ attack against the West, it was claimed today.

Transcripts of telephone intercepts published in Italy claim to provide evidence that ISIS is threatening to send 500,000 migrants simultaneously out to sea in hundreds of boats in a ‘psychological weapon’ against Europe if there is military intervention against them in Libya.

Many would be at risk of drowning with rescue services unable to cope. But authorities fear that if numbers on this scale arrived, European cities could witness riots.

Separately, the militants hope to cement their control of Libya then cross the Mediterranean disguised as refugees, according to letters seen by Quilliam the anti-terror group, reported by the Telegraph.

ISIS had not yet made frightening inroads into Libya when he made this chilling prophecy during his last interview in March 2011.

But the Arab Spring uprising that year sparked a civil war in Libya and opposition forces – backed by NATO – deposed Gaddafi in violent coup just five months after his ominous prediction.

In October 2011, forces loyal to the country’s transitional government found the ousted leader hiding in a culvert in Sirte and killed him.

Four years later, Islamic State kidnapped 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Sirte – Gaddafi’s birthplace – before releasing gruesome footage of their beheading on the shores of the Mediterranean, just 220 miles south of Italy. In it the terrorists warned that they ‘will conquer Rome’.

In response, Italian security chiefs have approved plans to put 4,800 soldiers on the country’s streets to help prevent terrorist attacks.

The statement from the Interior Ministry said they would guard ‘sensitive sites’ until at least June and reports claim 500 will be deployed in Rome – where soldiers are already guarding diplomatic residences, synagogues and Jewish schools.

The troops are also expected to be deployed at tourist venues such as archaeological sites and monuments.

A treaty between Gaddafi and the Italian premier provided for joint boat patrols which curtailed the departure of migrant boats from Libya.

But, as the Libyan despot predicted back in 2011, if the Gaddafis were brought down, Islamists would exploit the power vacuum.

Still holding court in a Bedoin tent while holed up in the fortified citadel of Bab Al Azizya, Gaddafi warned: ‘If, instead of a stable government that guarantees security, these militias linked to Bin Laden take control, the Africans will move en mass towards Europe.’

He added: ‘The Mediterranean will become a sea of chaos.’

That very sea ran red with blood when Islamic State brutally executed 21 Egyptian Christians on its shores.

The accompanying video, released on Sunday, showed the men dressed in orange jumpsuits and shackled – kneeling in the sand before the militants slit their throats and watched them bleed to death.

Egypt retaliated furiously by launching coordinated airstrikes on ISIS targets in Libya.

The European powers were putting their own security at risk by helping the rebels, Gaddafi pointed out.

He told Il Giornale, the Italian newspaper owned by his former friend Silvio Berlusconi he was saddened by the attitude of his friend. They no longer spoke.

‘I am shocked at the attitude of my European friends. They have endangered and damaged a series of great security treaties in their own interest.’

Without his harsh, but effective, regime, the entire North African Mahgreb ‘would become another Gaza,’ he claimed.

The telephone transcripts, seen by Il Messaggero newspaper claimed to provide evidence ‘that IS will use the migrants as a “psychological weapon” against countries that say they want to intervene in Libya, in particular, against Italy.’

‘As soon as our country mentioned armed intervention on Libya the jihadists suggested they let drift, bound for Italy, hundreds of boats full of migrants. The figure discussed is five hundred thousand, most of the 700,000 that are on the coast waiting to board,’ the newspaper reported.

Following the dire threat Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi immediately backtracked from his government’s previous rhetoric saying that ‘it was not the time for military intervention’.

Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said this morning that Italy does not want to embark on ‘adventures, never mind Crusades’ in Libya.

But former President Giorgio Napolitano said that the ‘biggest error’ in the post-Gaddafi’s period was the European Unions ‘lack of involvement’ in the country.

Meanwhile following direct threats on Rome, the commander of Vatican City’s 110-man Swiss Guard said his forces are ready to defend Pope Francis if ISIS attempt a strike .

Colonel Christoph Graf said ‘Following the terrorists’ threats, we’re asking the guards to be more attentive and observe peoples’ movements closely. If something happens we’re ready, as are the men of the Gendarmerie.’

If you dare, click here for the photo essay.

 

Only This Week Obama and Treasury Sanctions Hamas?

Posted on by

Late to the terror table, the inter-agencies and the White House finally take some action on Hamas which has a long history of terror and Iran financially supports Hamas versus Israel.

Remember, only Democrats are standing with John Kerry and Barack Obama on the Iran deal. To date, countless indisputable evidence and history still give the Democrats a reason to vote no.

A often repeated sampling from this website, offers up a significant example below.

Treasury Sanctions Major Hamas Leaders, Financial Facilitators and a Front Company

Action Targets Four Individuals and Asyaf International Holding Group for Trading and Investment for Supporting Hamas’ Financial Operations and Terrorist Activities
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today targeted four key Hamas financial facilitators, and a company controlled by one of them pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.  As part of today’s action, Treasury designated Hamas political bureau member Salih al-Aruri and senior Hamas financial officer Mahir Jawad Yunis Salah for acting for or on behalf of, and providing financial support, to Hamas.  In addition, Treasury designated Abu Ubaydah Khayri Hafiz al-Agha and Mohammed Reda Mohammed Anwar Awad for providing financial support to Hamas.  Also designated today is the Asyaf International Holding Group for Trading and Investment (Asyaf), a company controlled by al-Agha.  As a result of these actions, all assets of those designated today that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
“Treasury is committed to exposing and weakening Hamas, its supporters, and its terrorist agenda,” said Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “Today’s action targets key players in Hamas’s international fundraising and operational network.”
In addition to the designations by Treasury today, the Department of State earlier this week designated Hamas operatives Yahya Sinwar, Rawhi Mushtaha, and Hamas military commander Muhammed Deif as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to E.O. 13224.  The U.S. government designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in October 1997 and as an SDGT in October 2001.
Salih Muhammad Sulayman al-Aruri (al-Aruri)
Al-Aruri is a Hamas political bureau member who funds and directs military operations in the West Bank and against Israel.  In the late 1990s, al-Aruri was a key Hamas recruiter and his authority over Hamas military activity extends back to at least the early 1990s, when he served as a commander in Hamas’s military wing.  In 2010, immediately after his release from a 10-year prison term, al-Aruri resumed his military activity for Hamas and reconnected with Hamas political figures. Since 2010, al-Aruri has also maintained longstanding relationships with SDGTs and Hamas political bureau officials Khalid Mishaal and Musa Abu Marzouk.  Since 2011, al-Aruri has maintained a working relationship with Saudi Arabia-based senior Hamas financial officer Mahir Salah, who is also being designated today.  In 2011, al-Aruri facilitated a transfer of funds in coordination with Mahir Salah for the families of convicted terrorists and deceased Hamas fighters.
Since at least 2013, al-Aruri has overseen the distribution of Hamas finances and has been a key financier and financial facilitator for Hamas military cells planning attacks and fomenting unrest.  As of 2014, al-Aruri had authority over Hamas military personnel in the West Bank and was in charge of a Hamas initiative to destabilize the Palestinian Authority in preparation for a Hamas takeover.  He also financed and directed a Hamas cell in the West Bank that sought to instigate clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces.
In 2014, al-Aruri directed and financed Hamas military cells in the West Bank and Jordan and facilitated the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas, including to the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, for the purchase of arms and storage facilities for weapons.
In 2014, al-Aruri publicly praised and announced Hamas’s responsibility for the June 2014 terrorist attacks in which three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank.
As of early 2015, al-Aruri was responsible, along with other Hamas members, for money transfers for Hamas.
 
Mahir Jawad Yunis Salah (Salah)
Salah is a major Hamas financier based in Saudi Arabia and is a dual United Kingdom and Jordanian citizen.  Since at least 2013, Salah has led the Hamas Finance Committee in Saudi Arabia, the largest center of Hamas’s financial activity.  As head of the Hamas Finance Committee, Salah has overseen the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Saudi Arabia to fund the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas activity in Gaza.  As of late 2014, Salah managed several front companies in Saudi Arabia that conducted money laundering activities for Hamas.  Salah is a close associate of SDGT and Hamas political bureau head Khalid Mishaal and has worked with fellow designee al-Aruri.
Abu-Ubaydah Khayri Hafiz Al-Agha (Al-Agha)
Al-Agha is a Saudi Arabian citizen and a senior Hamas financial officer involved in investment, funding, and money transfers for Hamas in Saudi Arabia.
As of December 2014, al-Agha managed an organization that sought financial contributions to finance Hamas from a Palestinian diaspora community.
In recent years, he has been involved in transferring millions of dollars to Hamas in the Gaza Strip using his businesses or businesses in which he holds shares.
Asyaf International Holding Group for Trading and Investment (Asyaf)
Asyaf is a Saudi Arabia-based company managed by al-Agha and used by him to finance Hamas.  Asyaf and its branches are involved in investments and money transfers on behalf of Hamas. Additionally, Asyaf’s branch in Sudan has provided financial services for Hamas since at least July 2005.  At that time, the office’s administrative and executive director was the Hamas security chief in Sudan.
Mohammed Reda Mohammed Anwar Awad (Awad)
Between 2011 and 2014, Egyptian-national Awad, a money exchange owner, was involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars for Hamas and its military wing in the Gaza Strip.
For identifying information on the individuals and entities designated today, click here.

Hamas hatred: New documentary shows Iranian-backed terror group indoctrinating kids

 

 

HAIFA, Israel – A new documentary grimly predicts the role Iran plays in financing terror organizations and the indoctrination of children at military summer camps in the Middle East will significantly increase as a result of the imminent release of huge sums of money to Tehran under the nuclear agreement endorsed by the Obama administration.

“Iran: Billions for Terror?” depicts children blowing up mock Israeli villages and parroting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who is seen telling an adoring Iranian crowd, “The entire world – particularly the world of Islam – is duty-bound and obliged to help the Palestinian people with as many weapons as possible.”

Produced by the Center for Near East Policy Research (CNEPR) and filmed by a team of Arab reporters at various locations in Gaza this summer, one of the most disturbing aspects of the footage is the recent introduction of terror training for little girls. The Hamas summer camps mantra, “We will sacrifice our lives for the sake of Allah” is chanted over and over.

“With billions of dollars of unfrozen assets expected to be unfrozen and available to Iran, Iranian leaders have stated that they will continue to fund Hamas.”

– Promo for “Iran: Billions for Terror?”

“With billions of dollars of unfrozen assets expected to be unfrozen and available to Iran, Iranian leaders have stated that they will continue to fund Hamas,” states a promo for the film. “This film includes interviews with boy and girl child soldiers of Hamas, who describe their intention to destroy Israel with guns, and other weapons.”

Hamas’ relationship with Iran has notably improved over the last few years with funding and weapons from Tehran continuing to reach Gaza. Despite the blockade by Israel and Egypt of the enclave, the munitions  find their way into their hands of Hamas, as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terror organizations.

Hamas counselors such as Hassan Suhare appear on the film, and express no qualms about the training of child soldiers.

“In Gaza there are over 50 camps in which 15,000 children are being trained. [They] underwent weapons and military training,” he said. “We were able to help the kids overcome their fear and then the children opened fire. Yesterday the kids blew up model Zionist [Israeli] villages.”

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is seen proudly declaring, “This camp graduation, celebration, is part of a holy effort and a continued struggle” as girls as young as six are shown dressed in military fatigues and carry replica machine guns.

“Jerusalem will be reconquered only by the weapons of our resistance,” says Esra Halil Juma, a military counselor from the girls’ camp. “I call to the people: “Please point your guns in the face of the enemy until we liberate Jerusalem and build Palestine, Inshallah [with God’s will].”

Sabrin Barakat, another Hamas military girls’ camp counselor adds, “Jerusalem belongs just to the Muslims. The Jews are pigs and don’t have any connections with Al Aqsa and Jerusalem. All they have is a pig pen.”

The Center has for years documented the cruel indoctrination of Palestinian children, as well as the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is charged with running schools in the Palestinian territories. The Center has charged that UNRWA worked with the Gaza teachers union allegedly taken over by Hamas in 1999, but such cooperation and the historical use of UNRWA schools for Hamas military camps has been denied by the UN agency that reportedly faced a shortfall of around $100 million ahead of the recent start of the school year.

“Our education system is entirely independent and we have a completely different schooling system [to Hamas],” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told FoxNews.com earlier this year.” There is no question of Hamas approving anything… We’re educating children after [last summer’s] conflict where hundreds of thousands were displaced.”

David Bedein, director of the Center, told FoxNews.com his group and other advocates finally succeeded this year in getting Hamas barred from summer UNRWA programs. While he believes no UNRWA facilities were used this summer for Hamas camps, he said many of the children participating attend UNRWA schools.

But there have been several notable signs recently that cash-strapped and chronically corrupt Palestinian leaders are souring on UNRWA, which has many regional observers fear the worrying prospect of Iran – flush with funds released as part of the controversial nuclear deal – stepping into the breach and filling the void. There is genuine concern that Iranian funding of its version of child education in Hamas-controlled Gaza and in other areas such as southern Lebanon could accelerate the breeding of a new generation of young jihadists bent on the destruction of Israel.