Category Archives: Terror

Unexplored Territory with Russia for the White House

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U.S. intelligence agencies are expanding spying operations against Russia on a greater scale than at any time since the end of the Cold War, U.S. officials said.

The mobilization involves clandestine CIA operatives, National Security Agency cyberespionage capabilities, satellite systems and other intelligence assets, officials said, describing a shift in resources across spy services that had previously diverted attention from Russia to focus on terrorist threats and U.S. war zones.

U.S. officials said the moves are part of an effort to rebuild U.S. intelligence capabilities that had continued to atrophy even as Russia sought to reassert itself as a global power. Over the past two years, officials said, the United States was caught flat-footed by Moscow’s aggression, including its annexation of Crimea, its intervention in the war in Syria and its suspected role in hacking operations against the United States and Europe.

U.S. spy agencies “are playing catch-up big time” with Russia, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. Terrorism remains the top concern for American intelligence services, the official said, but recent directives from the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have moved Russia up the list of intelligence priorities for the first time since the Soviet Union’s collapse. More from the Washington Post.

Centcom commander: ‘Trust deficit’ with Russia

(CNN) Strains in the US-Russia relationship were on full display Wednesday as officials across Washington aired their concerns about Moscow — a partner on some fronts, a problem on others, perhaps best described as a US “frenemy.”

White House officials, cabinet members and military officials raised questions about how committed Russia is to a nascent Syrian ceasefire agreement, pointed to its invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the international order, spoke about their distrust of Moscow and flatly labeled it a “bad actor” in cyberspace.
“The Russia relationship is extraordinarily complex,” said Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“It’s a country that counts and we are working to fashion a relationship that works with them,” Pandolfe said at a security conference arranged by the Institute for the Study of War. He cited areas where Washington and Moscow have cooperated — on the Iran nuclear deal, on sanctioning North Korea and most recently on the ceasefire arrangement in Syria.
“And yet,” Pandolfe said, “there’s another side to this relationship and that’s the transgressions.”
Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama’s assistant for Homeland Security, on Wednesday addressed one of the most recent suspected transgressions — the apparent role of Russian hackers in a breach of Democratic National Committee emails.
“Look, we know Russia is a bad actor in cyber space, just as China has been, just as Iran has been,” Monaco said in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said that “folks will have to stay tuned” as to whether Russia would be “named and shamed” for the attacks.
She added a warning: “Nobody should think that there is a free pass when you are conducting malicious cyber activity, just like they shouldn’t think there is a free pass on terrorists.”
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who has repeatedly expressed skepticism about Russia’s intent in Syria, offered a measured response when asked about the ceasefire plan Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
“We’ve got a ways to go to see whether it will be implemented,” Carter said, “but if it is, it will mean that the suffering of the Syrian people is eased. It will mean that Russia gets on the right side of things in Syria, not on the wrong side, and that’s good news.”
Some of the military’s highest-ranking officers, speaking at the Institute of War’s security conference, were less circumspect about Russia’s role in the ceasefire, a deal reached Friday between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
RELATED: Syria: Temporary ceasefire begins amid skepticism
Under that agreement, if calm holds until Monday, the US and Russia would establish a joint operations center to target ISIS fighters in Syria. It would require the US military to share information with Russian forces and has drawn some resistance from the Pentagon.
Asked about the agreement, Pandolfe responded, “This isn’t an agreement of trust. There is a deficit of trust. And I think we all understand why that is.”
The top US military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel, described himself as “very realistic” about the prospects of US-Russian cooperation and also pointed to “a trust deficit.”
“It is not clear to us what their objectives are,” said Votel, commander of US Central Command, who praised the agreement for providing an opportunity to reduce the violence in Syria. The Russians “say one thing and then they don’t necessarily follow up on that.”
The Centcom commander explained that the arrangement was taking the military into relatively new territory.
“We don’t have lot of experience with this,” he said, adding that they would have to start very deliberately, establishing a process and “ways of passing information back and forth.”
It remains to be seen whether the cooperative effort will work, he said. “I trust that our political leadership will do the right things and make the right calls about whether we should continue to do this or whether we should step away,” Votel said.

Towns of Refugees in America/Jordan and the Dollars

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This Syrian conflict was in the hands of several governments to solve before this historic humanitarian crisis. Now, the Obama administration has turned the destiny of a country and millions over to Russia and Iran. There is no relief or end in sight. There is a truce/cease fire underway but no combatant from any side is moving while the humanitarian wake of destruction and refugee crisis is global. Not a single solution has been drafted by all world leaders to stop the death and hostilities.

Related reading: The Refugee Haven South of Seattle

Nearly 40% of Tukwila’s population is foreign-born. Go here for a sample U.S. town photo essay.

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John Kerry and USAID to Syria:

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry announces nearly $439 million in new U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian funding for Syria and neighboring countries.

United Nations (UN) convoys reach all 18 UN-designated besieged areas in Syria with emergency relief assistance.

Syrian Democratic Forces offensive to retake Menbij town in Aleppo Governorate from ISIL displaces an estimated 47,000 people.

Key Developments

On July 12, Secretary Kerry announced nearly $439 million in new humanitarian funding for Syria and neighboring countries, bringing total USG humanitarian assistance to date to nearly $5.6 billion. The announcement included nearly $255.6 million from State/PRM and $77.6 million from USAID/FFP to support humanitarian efforts in Syria and neighboring countries, as well as more than $105.3 million from USAID/OFDA for humanitarian assistance activities inside Syria.

Numbers At A Glance

13.5 million

People in Need of Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

6.5 million

IDPs in Syria

4 million

People Reached per Month by USG Assistance in Syria

4.8 million

Syrian Refugees in Neighboring Countries

2.7 million

Syrian Refugees in Turkey

1 million

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

657,433

Syrian Refugees in Jordan

249,395

Syrian Refugees in Iraq

Humanitarian Funding

To Syria Humanitarian Response
FY 2012 – FY 2015

USAID/OFDA $976,897,915
USAID/FFP $1,860,224,887
State/PRM $2,731,442,290
TOTAL $5,568,565,092

Advocacy from the International Syria Support Group’s (ISSG) Humanitarian Assistance Task Force has helped the UN and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) access a number of areas unreached by humanitarian agencies in years, including the besieged towns of Darayya and Douma in Rif Damascus Governorate.

As of July 5, UN interagency convoys and humanitarian airdrops had delivered emergency assistance, including emergency food rations and monthly food parcels, nutrition supplements, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) items, health and medical supplies, and other relief commodities, to more than 941,800 people in hard-to-reach, besieged, and other priority cross-line locations throughout Syria.

USAID/FFP partner the UN World Food Program (WFP) conducted 65 high-altitude humanitarian airdrops to the besieged city of Dayr az Zawr between April 10 and July 7, delivering more than 1,157 metric tons (MT) of food assistance and nearly 37 MT of nutrition supplements for approximately 110,000 people. On July 8, WFP initiated airlifts from Damascus to the city of Qamishli in Al Hasakah Governorate, marking the first of 25 planned rotations to deliver emergency food commodities to populations in the city.

INSECURITY AND POPULATION DISPLACEMENT

Northern Syria

Persistent armed conflict, compounded by Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) and Government of the Russian Federation (GoRF) aerial attacks, continues to negatively affect millions of Syrians, particularly in Aleppo Governorate. Despite the SARG announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire on July 6 for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, SARG forces advanced on the strategically located Mallah Farms in Aleppo on July 7. The SARG also increased airstrikes and shelling on Castello road—the primary supply route into opposition-held eastern Aleppo city—and the adjacent Aleppo towns of Anadan, Haritan, Kafr Hamra and Khan al-Assal, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). SARG forces had nearly encircled eastern Aleppo city as of July 8, effectively entrapping more than 300,000 civilians.

Military advances by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and increased aerial bombardment on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-held town of Menbij in Aleppo had prompted the displacement of at least 47,000 civilians from the city and surrounding villages as of July 8, according to OCHA. An estimated 65,000 others remain in the town, which was nearly encircled by the SDF as of early July. The majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled toward northern towns in Menbij sub-district, Abu Qalqal sub-district to the south of Menbij, the Jarablous border crossing with Turkey, and to opposition-controlled areas of Aleppo. OCHA estimates that an additional 216,000 people could be at risk of displacement in Menbij District if SDF make additional territorial gains. Relief organizations have expressed concern regarding their ability to provide emergency humanitarian services to the affected population due to the limited reach of the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in ISIL-controlled areas in Menbij and other areas of Aleppo.

On May 27, ISIL initiated a rapid offensive in northern Aleppo’s Azaz corridor, capturing the strategic towns of Jibreen and Kafr Kalbein and causing significant displacement of civilian populations. Although armed opposition groups had recaptured Kafr Kalbein and Jibreen from ISIL forces as of June 8, the violence had prompted approximately 16,150 people to flee within and from Azaz sub-district and 6,000 people to flee to Aleppo’s Afrin District as of early June. The UN estimates that 306,000 people reside in the Azaz corridor, including at least 163,000 IDPs.

While the conflict in Azaz forced humanitarian organizations to limit staff movement and temporarily halt some emergency response activities in the area, WFP successfully distributed pre-positioned food rations for more than 30,000 IDPs, and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided health services in IDP transit areas.

On June 12, SARG–GoRF airstrikes hit a local market and the only remaining bakery in the city of Idlib, Idlib Governorate, killing at least 20 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Between May 30 and June 9, an escalation of SARG–GoRF airstrikes in and near the city of Idlib displaced more than 15,000 people to neighboring towns and villages, OCHA reported. The increase in airstrikes around the city of approximately 250,000 civilians resulted in the temporary suspension of education activities and the nationwide routine immunization campaign, as well as the closure of local markets in Idlib. Humanitarian organizations operating in the Idlib sub-districts of Bennish, Idlib, and Maar Tamsrin provided new arrivals with ready-to-eat food rations, safe drinking water, and other emergency relief items, according to OCHA.

As of mid-June, SARG military operations in the southern countryside of Ar Raqqa Governorate had displaced an estimated 9,000 people from several villages south of Ath-Thawrah town to Western Salhabyeih and Kderian towns in the eastern countryside of Ar Raqqa, according to the UN.

Southern and Western Syria

On July 3, a barrage of bombs hit the Khan Eshieh Palestinian refugee camp in Rif Damascus, destroying a childfriendly space that provided education, psychosocial support, recreation, and hygiene awareness activities for up to 1,000 children in the camp, according to the UN. The airstrikes also killed three people and wounded five others in the area, according to international media. USG partners UNICEF and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provide humanitarian assistance to the camp’s residents, including 9,000 Palestinian refugees, issued a press statement condemning the escalation of violence and called on the parties to the conflict to protect the lives of Palestinian refugees and all civilians. The ongoing insecurity has severely constrained humanitarian access to Khan Eshieh since 2013.

The UN reports that clashes between the ISIL-affiliated Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and opposition groups had displaced up to 12,000 people in western Dar’a Governorate between February and early June. Ash Shajara District in Yarmouk Valley is the most-affected district in Dar’a, where relief agencies continue to provide humanitarian assistance despite insecurity and related access challenges.

SARG forces have continued to bombard the besieged town of Darayya in Rif Damascus with aerial attacks and ground assaults since the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the town on June 9. From June 8 to 16, SARG forces dropped an estimated 300 barrel bombs on the town, according to local media.

On May 23, ISIL carried out a series of coordinated attacks in Latakia and Tartus governorates, killing between 80 and 150 people and wounding at least 100 others, according to international media reports. The SARG controls the majority of Latakia and Tartus, which host a large Alawite population, as well as Russian military bases. Nearly 378,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance and approximately 23,700 people live in collective centers in Latakia, according to the UN’s 2016 Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO). In Tartus, the HNO identified more than 258,500 people in need of humanitarian assistance. Relief organizations maintain sufficient resources to respond to these caseloads in both governorates.

HUMANITARIAN ACCESS

The total population living in both UN-designated hard-to-reach and besieged locations in Syria rose to nearly 5.5 million people as of June 23—an increase of approximately 900,000 people since January 2016. The UN added the neighborhood of Al Wa’er in the city of Homs, Homs Governorate, to the list of besieged areas on May 27, increasing the number of people living under siege from 408,200 people to an estimated 592,700 people. In late June, the UN revised the number of people living under siege from 592,700 people in 19 locations to 590,200 people in 18 locations due to a re-evaluation of population estimates in Rif Damascus’ Kafr Batna sub-district and the removal of the Rif Damascus town of Zabadin from the list of besieged areas. The UN also revised the total number of people living in hard-to-reach areas, including besieged locations, from fewer than 4.1 million people to nearly 4.9 million people due to the designation of Aleppo’s Kobane town and new locations in northern Ar Raqqa and northern and central Al Hasakah governorates as hard-to-reach, as well as re-evaluations of population estimates in other locations.

On June 9, the UN and SARC delivered emergency food aid to the besieged town of Darayya for the first time since the town came under SARG siege in 2012. The nine-truck interagency convoy delivered food and wheat flour for approximately 2,400 people, roughly half the estimated population, as well as other emergency relief supplies for 4,000 people, according to the UN.

On June 10, a UN interagency convoy delivered emergency food, wheat flour, and nutrition supplies to approximately 24,000 people in the besieged city of Douma in Rif Damascus’ Eastern Ghouta region for the first time since May 2014. The convoy also delivered health, hygiene, and other emergency relief items for approximately 40,000 people.

On June 23 and 27, the UN completed two convoys to the hard-to-reach town of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo, delivering nutrition, health, and hygiene items, as well as other humanitarian supplies, for approximately 22,500 people. In addition, a 30-truck interagency convoy delivered food and nutrition items for 50,000 people in Afrin District on June 16.

With recent interagency convoys to Darayya and Douma, at least one UN interagency convoy had reached all 18 besieged locations between February and June, with some locations reached multiple times. Yarmouk neighborhood in Damascus is the only besieged location that UN interagency convoys have not reached directly; however, UNRWA has assisted 19,000 people in Yarmouk indirectly through 30 convoys carrying emergency relief items to the nearby neighborhoods of Babilla, Beit Sahm, and Yalda since January 2016; however, the last such convoy occurred on May 25.

Persistent advocacy from the ISSG’s Humanitarian Assistance Task Force since February has enabled the UN, in collaboration with the SARC and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to conduct 94 humanitarian assistance convoys and 65 airdrops in Syria, delivering relief assistance to an estimated 941,825 people as of July 5. Accessed populations include 354,150 people in 18 besieged areas, 537,675 people in more than 14 hard-to-reach locations, and 50,000 people in priority cross-line areas. Although insufficient, the number of people reached in hard- to-reach and besieged locations to date in 2016 represents a significant increase as compared to 2015 when the UN delivered humanitarian aid to only 30,000 people in two besieged areas. The improvement can be attributed to increased cross-line deliveries by both UN agencies and NGOs, including USG partners.

The UN and greater international humanitarian community continue to request immediate access to provide life-saving assistance to approximately 62,000 people besieged in Idlib’s Al Fu’ah and Kafrayya towns and the Rif Damascus towns of Madaya and Al Zabadani to prevent a further deterioration of the food security situation in the four towns.

FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

Across Syria, WFP provides food to more than 4 million people every month through road transport, cross-line convoys, high-altitude airdrops, and cross-border food deliveries. Between April 10 and July 7, WFP conducted 65 high-altitude humanitarian airdrops to the besieged city of Dayr az Zawr, delivering more than 1,157 MT of food assistance, including nearly 37 MT of nutrition supplements, for approximately 110,000 people. To date, the assistance delivered via airdrops has provided every registered household with a complete monthly food parcel, sufficient to support a family of five for one month.

Active fighting in eastern Aleppo and Ar Raqqa and the closure of border crossings between Al Hasakah Governorate and Iraq and Turkey between January and mid-June have disrupted internal supply routes to Al Hasakah, contributing to a deteriorated food security and humanitarian situation in the governorate. On July 8, WFP airlifted 40 MT of emergency food commodities, including bulgur, pulses, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil, to the town of Qamishli in Al Hasakah Governorate. The delivery also included Plumpy’doz, a specialized nutrition product used to treat and prevent child malnutrition. WFP is prioritizing more than 75,000 people to receive food assistance, primarily displaced families living in shelters and unfinished buildings, as well as female-headed households. The UN estimates that 275,000 people in Al Hasakah are in need of humanitarian assistance but have been cut off from food and other basic supplies for more than six months.

On June 1, a seven-truck SARC convoy delivered limited food and nutrition supplements for 2,500 people in Al Wa’er, where vulnerable populations are in urgent need of emergency relief assistance, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Needs and Population Monitoring initiative. Al Wa’er had not received large-scale humanitarian assistance from the UN since March 2016 due to SARG denials of UN requests to deliver aid. The population lacks access to outside markets, and a general absence of basic supplies and food commodities has led to a deteriorated food security situation. Local health facilities lack medical supplies, two area hospitals are operating at limited capacity with intermittent access to electricity, and IOM reported a number of cases of malnutrition among children, as well as a high frequency of respiratory infections. SARG forces have severely restricted civilian movement and humanitarian access to Al Wa’er since 2013.

As of June, the national average price of a standard food basket had increased by 9 percent as compared to April, according to a WFP mobile vulnerability analysis and mapping survey, primarily due to the start of Ramadan and intensified conflict throughout the country. In May, intensified clashes and airstrikes severely disrupted supply routes to Aleppo, Al Hasakah, Hamah, and Idlib governorates, resulting in higher prices and a limited availability of many staple foods. The price of standard food baskets in Aleppo, Al Hasakah, and Idlib had increased by 13.8 percent, 32.6 percent, and 36 percent, respectively. Standard food baskets in Dayr az Zawr Governorate continue to register the highest prices at 112,384 Syrian pounds, or approximately $239.

In the besieged Rif Damascus towns of Arbin, Darayya, Madaya, Saqba, and Al Zabadani, as well as Dayr az Zawr, poor households lack adequate access to safe drinking water, and many local bakeries remain non-operational, according to WFP. At the governorate level, households from Aleppo, Hamah, and Rif Damascus exhibited the highest incidence of inadequate food consumption in March. In addition, the survey results indicate that food consumption frequency and dietary diversity is worse among households displaced within the past year.

Through cross-border activities from Turkey, members of the Food Security and Livelihood (FSL) Cluster—the coordinating body for humanitarian food security and livelihood activities, comprising UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders—reached more than 1 million people in northern Syria with emergency food assistance and 1 million people with bread and flour deliveries in May. Nearly 57,000 people in northern Syria also benefited from food vouchers, cash-for-work programs, and other livelihoods activities implemented by the FSL Cluster.

HEALTH

As of June 2016, Physicians for Human Rights had documented 365 attacks on nearly 260 health facilities in Syria, as well as the deaths of 738 medical workers since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. Of these attacks, SARG forces were responsible for at least 289, resulting in an estimated 667 medical personnel killed.

Since May 1, the UN and its partners have received increasing reports of attacks on health care facilities, including the destruction of a hospital in Tartus on May 23, as well as attacks on three medical facilities in eastern Aleppo city between June 8 and 14; two of the health facilities in eastern Aleppo collectively provide nearly 5,000 consultations per month. In addition, SARG–GoRF airstrikes on a Médecins Sans Frontières-supported hospital killed 15 people and wounded 20 others on June 13.

Members of the Health Cluster provided more than 5,800 people in Syria with medical referrals and more than 46,400 people with outreach consultations in May, according to OCHA. In addition, Health Cluster members supported nearly 26,900 minor and major surgeries and provided medical training to more than 640 doctors, nurses, and midwives in northern Syria.

With the support of local committees, the Health Cluster initiated repair operations in May for health facilities damaged or rendered inoperable during April, according to OCHA. Relief agencies rehabilitated the first floor of Al Quds hospital, allowing for the resumption of emergency healthcare services for civilians in eastern Aleppo city. Two other damaged health facilities in Aleppo also resumed medical activities.

WASH

With support from UNICEF, an international NGO completed an underground wastewater network in Jordan’s Za’atri refugee camp in mid-June. The completed project, which began in November 2015, provides all 80,000 camp residents with access to private toilets and septic tanks, reducing health hazards and improving WASH conditions in the camp. In addition, the NGO conducted hygiene promotion and community mobilization activities to raise hygiene awareness among community members.

The Bab Al-Nayrab water station in Aleppo, damaged by airstrikes on April 29, resumed water pumping operations in early May. As of May 22, the station was pumping water to an estimated 20,000 households in the western Aleppo city and some neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo city, according to the UN.

REFUGEE ASSISTANCE

Approximately 3.7 million Syrian children have been born since the conflict began in 2011, including more than 151,000 children born as refugees, according to a UNICEF report. The report estimates that the conflict is affecting 8.4 million children—more than 80 percent of all Syrian children—either within the country or as refugees. In addition to severe protection issues, UNICEF cites education as a primary concern for conflict-affected children, noting that more than 2.8 million Syrian children are not attending school.

Up to 250,000 children residing in besieged areas have inadequate access to education, food, health services, or safe drinking water, according to a recent report from Save the Children. The report notes that conditions have worsened in recent months and that children are dying due to a lack of food and medicine—which, in some cases, is stored in warehouses directly outside the besieged area. According to the report, more than 20 percent of aerial bombardments in 2015 occurred in areas now categorized by the UN as besieged and more barrel bombs are dropped in besieged areas than other locations. Save the Children has urged an immediate end to siege tactics by parties to the conflict and called for sustained humanitarian access, free movement of civilians, and medical evacuations. The NGO also called for the de-linking of access negotiations from cessation of hostilities negotiations.

In January and February, WoS Protection Sector members reached nearly 261,000 people, including nearly 90,000 people via cross-border operations from Turkey, with prevention, mitigation, response, and capacity building programs—such as case management services, frontline responder training, and psychosocial support. Gender-based violence interventions have reached 38,600 people, already exceeding the figure targeted in the 2016 HRP. The WoS Protection Sector aims to provide protection support to 7.2 million people within Syria in 2016.

REFUGEE ASSISTANCE

Iraq

In mid-June, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government authorities reopened the Fishkhabour border crossing between Iraq and Syria’s Al Hasakah Governorate to cross-border humanitarian and commercial traffic and to individuals in need of medical assistance seeking to enter Iraq, according to USG partners.

Jordan

The number of Syrian refugees stranded on the Jordanian side of the Syria–Jordan border, in an area known as the berm, has tripling in recent months to more than 80,000 people, including an estimated 70,000 people at the Rukban border crossing point and at least 10,000 people at the Hadalat border crossing point, as of late June. The population at the berm includes large numbers of extremely vulnerable people—more than half are children.

Moreover, the security situation at the berm has deteriorated considerably. On June 21, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a Jordanian military outpost near Rukban, resulting in the death of seven Jordanian military personnel. The attack prompted the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to declare the entire Jordan–Syria border a closed military zone and to close the border temporarily, hindering relief activities.

Lebanon

On June 27, suicide bombers attacked the predominantly Christian village of Al Qaa in Lebanon, near the Lebanon– Syria border, killing five people and wounding more than 12 others, according to international media reports. Al Qaa is also located near the Mashareeh Al-Qaa area, which hosts informal Syrian refugee settlements. Although anti-refugee rhetoric has escalated and local authorities have imposed curfews for refugees, USG sources report that relief agencies have not received any reports of violence against Syrian refugees.

OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

On March 15, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) announced an additional €445 million—nearly $500 million—in humanitarian assistance for individuals affected by conflict in Syria. The funding will support life-saving projects, including emergency food assistance and health care services, implemented by response organizations in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Syria. Since 2012, ECHO has contributed more than $2 billion toward response activities benefitting individuals affected by the conflict.

CONTEXT

Following the commencement of peaceful demonstrations against the SARG in March 2011, President Bashar alAsad pledged legislative reforms. However, reforms failed to materialize, and SARG forces loyal to President alAsad began responding to demonstrations with violence, leading armed opposition groups to retaliate.

At a November 2012 meeting in Doha, Qatar, Syrian opposition factions formed an umbrella organization—the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, also known as the Syrian Coalition (SC). The USG recognized the coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people on December 11, 2012. On March 19, 2013, the SC established the Syrian Interim Government, which opposes the SARG and is based in decentralized locations throughout opposition-held areas of Syria.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted UNSC Resolution (UNSCR) 2139 on February 22, 2014, pressing the SARG and other armed actors to allow unfettered humanitarian access for relief aid workers in Syria. The resolution identified priority areas for emergency relief aid, and the UN is releasing monthly reports tracking progress on implementing the resolution’s objectives and access gains, as well as persistent access impediments.

On July 14, 2014, the UNSC unanimously adopted UNSCR 2165, authorizing UN cross-border and cross-line delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict-affected populations without SARG approval. The resolution permits the UN’s use of four border crossings from Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq—in addition to other crossings already in use by UN agencies—for delivery of humanitarian assistance into Syria. The resolution also establishes a monitoring mechanism under the authority of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and with the consent of the neighboring countries to ensure that deliveries across these border points contain only humanitarian items. In December 2015, the UNSC unanimously adopted UNSCR 2258, which renewed the mandate of UNSCR 2191 and will remain active until January 10, 2017.

UNRWA has registered approximately 560,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, with more than 80 percent living in and around Damascus. Intense fighting in and around Palestinian camps and neighborhoods has significantly affected Palestinian refugees in Syria. UNRWA estimates that approximately 60 percent of Palestinian refugees are displaced within Syria, with a further 110,000 Palestinian refugees are displaced to neighboring countries. Syria also hosts an estimated 24,000 Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers, primarily in the greater Damascus area, as well as more than 3,200 refugee persons of concern from other countries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ODNI Report on Released Gitmo Detainees

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In an attempt to prevent the closure, Congress is now voting on a bill preventing further transfers of inmates until a new defense policy bill is passed.

Currently, 61 detainees still remain at the detention camp, following the release of 15 in August, the largest single transfer under the Obama administration. Additionally, 16 others have been cleared for transfer.

Summary of the Reengagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Wednesday, September 14, 2016
From the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

Summary of the Reengagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

The Director of National Intelligence submits this summary consistent with direction in the Fiscal Year 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act, Section 307, which states:

(a) “The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, shall make publicly available an unclassified summary of,

(1) intelligence relating to recidivism of detainees currently or formerly held at the Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense; and

(2) an assessment of the likelihood that such detainees will engage in terrorism or communicate with persons in terrorist organizations.

(b) Updates – Not less frequently than once every 6 months, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Secretary of Defense, shall update and make publicly available an unclassified summary consisting of the information required by subsection (a) and the number of individuals formerly detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who are confirmed or suspected of returning to terrorist activities after release or transfer from such Naval Station.”

Section 307 (a) (1) Intelligence relating to recidivism of detainees currently or formerly held at the Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense.

**

Reengagement of Former Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) Detainees as of 15 July 2016
Total Pre-22 January 2009a Post-22 January 2009
Detainees Transferred 693* 532 161
Confirmed of Reengaging 122 of 693 (17.6%) 113 of 532 (21.2%) 9 of 161 (5.6%)**
Dead – 30 of 122 29 1
In custody – 25 of 122 25 0
Not in custody – 67 of 122 59 8
Suspected of Reengagingb 86 of 693 (12.4%) 75 of 532 (14.1%)** 11 of 161 (6.8%)**
Dead – 3 of 86c 2 1
In custody – 18 of 86 18 0
Not in custody – 65 of 86 55 10

a Executive Order 13492 was signed on January 22, 2009 to determine the disposition of the 240 detainees then remaining at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

b The Defense Intelligence Agency assesses five additional detainees are suspected of reengagement.

c Due to a coding error this number was previously reported as 4.

*An additional nine detainees died while at GTMO, and one was transferred to New York for trial, was convicted, and is now imprisoned in Colorado.

**Each of these categories includes detainees who were transferred pursuant to a court order.

Section 307 (a) (2) An assessment of the likelihood that such detainees will engage in terrorism.

Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at GTMO will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred. Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations could pose problems. While enforcement of transfer conditions may deter reengagement by many former detainees and delay reengagement by others, some detainees who are determined to reengage will do so regardless of any transfer conditions, albeit probably at a lower rate than if they were transferred without conditions.

Section 307 (a) (2) An assessment of the likelihood that such detainees will communicate with persons in terrorist organizations.

Former GTMO detainees routinely communicate with each other, families of other former detainees, and previous associates who are members of terrorist organizations. The reasons for communication span from the mundane (reminiscing about shared experiences) to the nefarious (planning terrorist operations). We assess that some GTMO detainees transferred in the future also will communicate with other former GTMO detainees and persons in terrorist organizations. We do not consider mere communication with individuals or organizations—including other former GTMO detainees—an indicator of reengagement. Rather, the motives, intentions, and purposes of each communication are taken into account when assessing whether the individual has reengaged.

Definition of “Terrorist” or “Insurgent” Activities. Activities such as the following indicate involvement in terrorist or insurgent activities: planning terrorist operations, conducting a terrorist or insurgent attack against Coalition or host-nation forces or civilians, conducting a suicide bombing, financing terrorist operations, recruiting others for terrorist operations, and arranging for movement of individuals involved in terrorist operations. It does not include mere communications with individuals or organizations—including other former GTMO detainees—on issues not related to terrorist operations, such as reminiscing about shared experiences at GTMO, communicating with past terrorist associates about non-nefarious activities, writing anti-US books or articles, or making anti-US propaganda statements.

Definition of “Confirmed” Activities. A preponderance of information which identifies a specific former GTMO detainee as directly involved in terrorist or insurgent activities. For the purposes of this definition, engagement in anti-US statements or propaganda does not qualify as terrorist or insurgent activity.

Definition of “Suspected” Activities. Plausible but unverified or single-source reporting indicating a specific former GTMO detainee is directly involved in terrorist or insurgent activities. For the purposes of this definition, engagement in anti-US statements or propaganda does not qualify as terrorist or insurgent activity.

Who is Stopping the Giveaway of the Internet?

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Stop Obama’s Internet giveaway

Ending ICANN could lead to censorship

By Jenny Beth Martin – – Wednesday, September 14, 2016

WashingtonTimes: The development and maintenance of the open Internet has been one of the greatest boons to the enhancement of free speech and free commerce since time began. But if the Obama Administration has its way, both will be threatened in the very near future – unless Congress acts by the end of this month to block the Obama Internet Give-Away. Will it?

Russia, China and Iran don’t have a First Amendment, and their governments regularly clamp down on free speech. So why would we want to end American protection of the open Internet and transfer it to Moscow, Beijing and Tehran instead?

On Oct. 1, the Obama administration plans to end the U.S. Government contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. Doing so would kick off a transition that could irreparably harm the open Internet, leading to censorship abroad that could, quite realistically, lead to censorship right here in the United States. Under this transition of Internet oversight, China, Russia and Iran, which have all demonstrated their contempt for Internet freedom by blocking websites and restricting Internet access to their own citizens, would be newly empowered to block specific websites from users all over the world, including in the United States.

Let’s back up.

The Internet was originally launched as a project of the U.S. Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the 1960s. Then, in the 1980s, access to ARPANET was expanded courtesy of U.S. taxpayer-funded grants via the National Science Foundation, and, eventually, the Internet as we know it was developed.

So U.S. taxpayers paid for the creation, and development, and maintenance of the Internet. It is, in a very real sense, American property.

Article IV of the U.S. Constitution reads in part: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States …”

So under what authority, exactly, does President Obama claim the authority to make a decision on the disposition of a U.S. property – to wit, the Internet – without explicit permission from Congress?

Perhaps as important a question to ask is, where in the world are congressional leaders on this, and why are they not screaming bloody murder about yet another executive overreach by this overreach-hungry president?

Enter Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has introduced S. 3034, the Protecting Internet Freedom Act. Rep. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin has introduced a companion bill, H.R. 5418, in the House. The bills would simply prohibit the Commerce Department from moving forward on its plan unless it first wins congressional approval.

Similar legislation blocking the transfer of domain registration authority has been included in the government’s annual funding bills for the last few years. The current prohibition expires on Sept. 30. If that prohibition – embodied nicely in the Cruz-Duffy legislation – is not enacted again before Oct. 1, the administration believes it can do whatever it wants.

Cruz believes otherwise, and will be chairing a hearing of his Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts on Wednesday morning to examine the subject further. The hearing, entitled “Protecting Internet Freedom: Implications of Ending U.S. Oversight of the Internet,” will begin at 10 AM.

Moreover, Cruz wants to add the provisions of his bill to the upcoming Continuing Resolution, the one piece of legislation Congress must pass and send to the president before September 30. That’s a smart play on his part.

And it would be a smart play on the part of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan to agree to add it. They’re already going to have a tough enough time winning votes for passage from among the more conservative elements of their respective GOP caucuses; adding the Cruz-Duffy provision blocking the proposed Obama Internet Give-Away would add a sweetener that could woo enough conservatives to allow the measures to pass without the leaders’ having to move left in search of Democrat votes.

And would Harry Reid or Barack Obama be so determined to give away U.S. control over the Internet that they’d be willing to shut down the government to get their way? Is that a fight either one of them would want to play out in public just five weeks before a crucial election?

Most importantly, though, Ryan and McConnell should move on the Cruz-Duffy legislation simply because it’s the right thing to do.

 

The Internet was conceived, built, developed, and grown to fruition long before Barack Obama became president. It was done at the hands of U.S. scientists and engineers, working with funds taken from U.S. taxpayers. The Internet is U.S. property. President Obama has no authority to give it away without explicit authority granted him by the U.S. Congress.

Sen. Cruz and Rep. Duffy understand that. Do leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan?

 

Illegal Immigrant Children in US Gangs and Slavery

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Unaccompanied minors swelling ranks of American gangs, say experts

FNC: surge of unaccompanied children coming across the southern border could be swelling the ranks of one of America’s most dangerous gangs, either as fresh recruits or hardened sleepers, according to federal authorities.

Some 227,149 unaccompanied children have been apprehended at the border over the last six years, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. They remain in federal custody until a sponsor can be located, at which time they are often sent to communities where they are ripe for recruitment by Latin gangs such as the infamous MS-13.

“Our safety standards have increased,” Andrea Helling, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told FoxNews.com. “In the last few months screening procedures of children and sponsors has increased in their intensity which we hadn’t done previously.”

Federal law requires the Department of Homeland Security transfer children under 18 to the custody of Helling’s agency until they are released to an appropriate sponsor, usually a relative, while their immigration cases are adjudicated. Some observers say that, at the least, the process sends a steady stream of loosely supervised youths lacking in language and coping skills right into the waiting arms of criminal gangs. At worst, the unaccompanied minors were already initiated into the gangs before they arrived at the border.

MS-13 is believed to be among the largest street gangs on New York’s Long Island, and more than 250 members have been convicted on federal felony charges since 2003. Federal prosecutors there have pinned more than 20 murders on the violent gang.

Meanwhile, over the last year, Long Island has received 2,093 unaccompanied children, and between October 2013 and July 2016, all of New York received 12,478 children from Central America. The overwhelming majority of the kids are not criminals and likely have competent sponsors. But some are.

In June 2015, MS-13 members and El Salvadoran immigrants Jose Cornejo, 17, Bryan Larios, 18 and Joel Escobar, 17, all of Brentwood, N.Y. were charged with the brutal rape of a 16 year-old girl on a local golf course.

Earlier this week, Joshua Guzman, 15, was shot and killed in the Long Island city of Hempstead. While not an unaccompanied immigrant, the boy’s father, Raul Guzman, told Newsday his son was under pressure to join a gang. Police believe his murder may be related.

“We’re looking at the possibility,” said Lt. Richard LeBrun, spokesman, Nassau County Police Department, that Guzman’s murder could be gang related.

MS-13 has a foothold in numerous other communities, where unaccompanied minors are being sent. Texas, which has seen a spike in MS-13 crime has received 15,999 over the same period. The 2015 Texas Department of Public Safety Gang Threat Assessment found MS-13 boasts some 800 members, and authorities explicitly blamed the flood of unaccompanied children being placed in the state.

“The influx of illegal alien gang members crossing the border into Texas in 2014, along with reports of extremely violent murders committed by its members in the Houston area, positions the gang as one of the most significant gang threats in the state for this upcoming year,” the report stated.

Other areas that have seen an influx in MS-13 crime are Maryland, Texas, and Virginia. Fairfax County, Va. has seen a 160 percent increase in MS-13 related incidents through April compared to the previous year.

Helling said HHS is looking more closely at the sponsors who step forward to take custody of the minors.

“Our responsibility is providing a safe place for these children,” she said.

She said that high-risk children who may have been identified as gang members by DHS would likely be placed in either a staff secure or secure-juvenile detention facility. But even if they are not gang members when they come into the U.S., the risk remains that they could fall prey to recruitment efforts.

****

The other part of the story, the dark side of America:

Human Trafficking—Exploitation of Illegal Aliens

ISSUE BRIEF | AUGUST 2016

FairUS.org: The large and persistent influx of illegal aliens contributes to an environment of vulnerability and abuse. Wherever the law fails to hold people accountable, crime will flourish. The federal government’s failure to effectively address the illegal alien dilemma creates and perpetuates an environment in which exploitation runs rampant.

It is estimated that 17,000 to 19,0001 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. Trafficking is the recruitment and possible transport of persons within or across boundaries by force, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them economically. Victims are lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions. Victims of trafficking are exploited for purposes of commercial sex, including prostitution, stripping, pornography live-sex shows and other acts. However, trafficking also takes place as labor exploitation, including domestic servitude, sweatshop factories, agricultural work and more. After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.

While anyone can become a victim of trafficking, illegal aliens are highly vulnerable to being trafficked due to a combination of factors, including lack of legal status and protections, limited language skills and employment options, poverty and immigration-related debts, and social isolation. They are often victimized by traffickers from a similar ethnic or national background, on whom they may be dependent for employment or support in the foreign country.

The information below, taken from news and government sources, demonstrates the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States and the precarious nature many illegal aliens face. American immigrants seek opportunities far better than these nightmares, but often fall victim to a flawed immigration enforcement system. Human trafficking violates the promise that every person in the United States is guaranteed basic human rights. A critical strategy in ending human trafficking is better enforcement of our immigration laws and improved federal-local cooperation in law enforcement.

Examples of Human Trafficking in the United States

    • June 2016 — Aroldo Castillo- Serrano was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his part in smuggling Guatemalan workers, including minors, and making them work 12 hour days. They were forced to live in cramped conditions and were made to pay off a significant debt incurred by Castillo-Serrano. Ana Angelica Pedro Juan was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in the operation.
    • January 2015 — Rafael Alberto Cardena-Sosa was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for participating in a family run sex trafficking organization. His family member, Carmen Cadena, pleaded guilty and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The two family members are responsible for luring young women and girls from Mexico and illegally smuggling them into the United States. They then imposed a smuggling debt and forced them into prostitution with physical force and death threats.
    • January 2015—Three brothers, Jorge, Ricardo and Leonel Estrada-Tepal pled guilty to sex trafficking charges. The Mexican nationals illegally transported females from Mexico to the United States and forced them to work as prostitutes in various cities. They face sentences ranging from a minimum of ten years behind bars to a maximum of life in prison.
    • September 2014—Charles Marquez was sentenced to life in federal prison for recruiting women in Mexico by placing an advertisement in Ciudad Juarez offering jobs in the United States. Once recruited, he harbored them in motels and forced them into prostitution. He worked with Martha Jimenez Sanchez who faces up to ten years in prison after pleading guilty. Sanchez was released on bond and is awaiting sentencing.
    • May 2013 — German Rolando Vicente-Sapon, an illegal alien, was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for illegally smuggling and trafficking a 14 year old Guatemalan girl to Chattanooga, TN for $2,000 and coercing her into having sex. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.
    • March 2013 — Susan Lee Gross was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in using a massage parlor as a front for a prostitution house. She transported women to work as prostitutes at her parlor and laundered the proceeds. Gross made them travel to various places around the United States. The women were originally from Korea and some were unlawfully present in the United States. Most lacked language and employment skills.
    • March 2013 — Moonseop Kim, who was illegally in the country, pleaded guilty to illegally transporting women from South Korea into Mississippi for financial gain with a sex trafficking organization. He posted an internet ad offering Korean female escort services. He is facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison as well as a deportation following the completion of his prison term.
    • July 2012 — Omelyan Botsvynyuk and Stepan Botsvynyuk were convicted of recruiting workers from Ukraine and forcing them to work through physical violence and threats of sexual assault. The victims never received compensation, but were rather instructed to work until their debts, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, were paid off. They told victims that their families would be kidnapped and forced into prostitution if anyone attempted to escape. The two brothers were found guilty and received sentences of life plus 20 years in prison and 20 years.
    • October 2011 — Edk Kenit and Choimina Lukas pleaded guilty to document servitude and labor trafficking. The Micronesian couple recruited the victim from their home country to become their domestic servant. When she arrived, the couple took her passport in order to compel the victim to work for them. The couple prevented the victim from having friends, going out of the house or participating in social gatherings.
  • January 2011 — Lucinda Lyons Shackleford was indicted on charges of forced labor and document servitude (The withholding of an individual’s legal documents). He promised to take care of the victim after placement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Family Reunification Program, but instead forced him to engage in various types of labor. Shackleford failed to provide him with adequate food or any form of payment for his labor.

Endnotes

  1. Shandra Woworuntu, “My life as a sex-trafficking victim,” BBC News, March, 2016, ; Trafficking in Persons Report, 2007, U.S. Department of State.