Enemy of my Enemy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

Sitrep: Iraq

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

Update: June 16 1852 hours,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Treasure trove

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

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

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

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

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

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Most disturbing of all —>>>>

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

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

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

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

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2658182/Unmasked-The-public-face-ISIS-terror-army-threatening-destroy-Iraq.html#ixzz34opnxC5c

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

 

 

US Partners with Axis of Evil

(CNSNews.com) – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), issued a rare audio message back on January 21 in which he flatly stated his group’s intention to march on Baghdad and move into “direct confrontation” with the United States.

“Our last message is to the Americans. Soon we will be in direct confrontation, and the sons of Islam have prepared for such a day,” Baghdadi said. “So watch, for we are with you, watching.”

Those talks that John Kerry and his ilk are attending with Iran are not over the nuclear program, at least no this round. They are over the action plan regarding Iraq. In order to become a more friendlier ally with Iran, you can bet additional sanctions against Iran have also been lifted, essentially giving Iran more wealth. Under Barack Obama, pigs officially fly from the Bush doctrine that the United States would never deal in this regard with the Axis of Evil, Iran.

Once a year the State Department is required to publish a comprehensive report on global terrorism listing country by country.  This report was published recently and several expert websites tuned into the report, yet what is most stunning the section of the report on Iran has been deleted after it was published. Now why would that be?

As Baghdad attempts to protect itself from an ISIS confrontation in only a defensive posture, questions need to be asked is just who is really behind the invasion of ISIS in Iraq and just why did this happen when ISIS has been the shadow government already in Iraq for several years.  Hussein was the leader of the Baathist party and it has aligned with ISIS, all intelligence operational groups in the Middle East and those of the West have known this for more than a year.

iraq military

‘The dramatic fashion in which Baathist-backed ISIS has acquired territory in Iraq has caused alarm in Iran, with even usually moderate voices stressing urgent action. A representative for Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most senior marja cleric who has often taken a quietist approach, called for Iraqis to arm themselves against insurgents. Iraqi-born Iranian Ayatollah Mohammad Hashemi Shahroudi, a senior cleric with close ties to Ayatollah Khamenei and influence in Iraq, called on the Iraqi people to unite against terrorism.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) convened a special session to address the issue June 12, Rouhani said that Iran was ready to “fight and combat” terrorism and the head of Iran’s SNSC called for an international response.’

Iran has come under some pressure in international media with the claim that two battalions of the Qods Force — the elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — have entered Iraq. Some reports say they are assisting Iraqi forces and Shia Forces north of Baghdad; others say they are protecting the holy cities of Najaf and Karabala.

Qods Forces commander Qassem Suleimani has reportedly been moving around the battlefront north of Baghdad, reviewing defensive positions, and meeting Iraqi officials in the capital.

In another sign of Iran’s tough stance — and concern — about the Iraqi insurgency and ISIS, Deputy Intelligence Minister Ali Khazei said 30 “agents” of ISIS had been detained across the Islamic Republic in the past month: “The Intelligence Ministry carries out very good and effective measures to counter elements (seeking) to undermine security in the country.”


Iraqi Official: Iran Has Sent 2,000 Basij Militia Into Iraq

A “senior Iraqi official” has said that Iran has sent 2,000 Basij militia to Iraq.

The official said 1,500 Basij crossed the border into Khanaqin in Diyala Province in east-central Iraq on Friday, while another 500 had entered the Badra Jassan area in Wasat Province overnight.

The militia are in addition to two battalions of the elite Qods Force who reportedly went to Iraq earlier in the week to bolster the defense of areas near Baghdad and to protect the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

The detailed map is here for what has been taken by ISIS and what is at risk of ISIS control.

The aircraft carrier the USS George H.W. Bush has been deployed to the Persian Gulf and will be supported by other air assets. Strike plans for these kinds of operations are not new, strike plans are designed in advance for all scenarios and the matter of Iraq is no exception. So when Barack Obama tells us he has asked for options to be developed, that is disingenuous, they always are and have already been presented to him.

Now just who is pulling off the operation and who is cooperating and who is on what side of this war for power in Iraq? We must question and dig for the truth on Maliki, Rouhani and Kerry.

Iran tells lies every day and the Barack Obama administration tells lies every day, so you can bet what is being told and reported is not keeping it real.  The implications for a wider Caliphate and a prolonged Islamic mission is forecasted where Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia have all been very quiet on this matter. Their silence is deafening.

 

Iraq on a Platter, More to Come

Insist that U.S. Border Patrol, ICE, the White House and DHS close the Southern Border NOW. There is disease, there are rapists, there are drugs and more. Any 9-11 type terrorists can hide within the crowded incursion, the insurgency in any Southern border state. Simply said, no one in government can ensure-guarantee our safety. That is a breech of oath and a violation of countless laws.

Barack Obama has delivered Iraq to ISIS, and Lebanon and Jordan are in the sites of the Caliphate. Syria is not save-able. Turkey will align with the ISIS mission when it is over. Israel has no chance except to go it alone. Iran is watching and calculating. 9-11 as we knew it in 2001 is another very real probability.

The Southern border of the United States and there is virtually no control there now, such that anyone is welcome, Barack Obama turned the light from yellow to green and there is a robust organized event underway that terrorists/jihadis are going to state departments of public safety to obtain driver licenses in Latin names to assimilate easier and under the guise of the graces of Barack Obama.

Arabic southern border

ISIS is the top terror organization globally, way beyond that of al Qaeda, AQAP. AQIM, Taliban and Ansar al Sharia where Haqqani is ranked just below ISIS.

The rules in ISIS’ new state: Amputations for stealing and women to stay indoors.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is now effectively governing a large chunk of Iraqi territory. Considering this is a group that al-Qaeda broke ties with for being too extreme, that’s a pretty big deal.

Now, as a de-facto government, they have released a document aimed at civilians in Nineveh, a province in the country’s northeast that contains the major city Mosul. Branded a “Contract of the City,” the document contains 16 notes for residents.

Among the 16 notes are a number of rules ranging from the benign to the worrying. Here are some of the highlights (these are paraphrased, not direct translations):

  • All Muslims will be treated well, unless they are allied with oppressors or help criminals.
  • Money taken from the government is now public. Whoever steals or loots faces amputations. Anyone who threatens or blackmails will face severe punishment (This section also quotes a verse from the Quran (Al-Ma’idah: 33) that says that criminals may be killed or crucified).
  • All Muslims are encouraged to perform their prayers with the group.
  • Drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes are banned.
  • Rival political or armed groups are not tolerated.
  • Police and military officers can repent, but anyone who insists upon apostasy faces death.
  • Sharia law is implemented.
  • Graves and shrines are not allowed, and will be destroyed.
  • A women are told that stability is at home and they should not go outside unless necessary. They should be covered, in full Islamic dress.
  • Be happy to live in an Islamic land.

The document is signed by the “Media Office for Ninawa Province.” You can read the full text in Arabic here.

ISIS Shelling Kurdish Peshmerga-controlled Areas South of Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish Peshmerga leaders say that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has began shelling areas south of Kirkuk, where Peshmerga forces stepped in to fill in deserted Iraqi Army positions.

In response the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Deputy Minister of Peshmerga, Anwar Haji Osman, urged Arab tribes in the region “not to let their territories be used by the ISIS for shelling other areas.”

As ISIS forces take cities and claim to be close to Baghdad – after the Iraqi army collapsed and fled before a threatened onslaught by the militants — Kurdish forces slowly moved in to take control of major roads, as well as Kurdish-majority villages and towns.

Obama’s Rebuke to Iraq

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AQ map and affiliatesisil map