The US has never seen a threat this bad.

We are living in precarious times.  If Comey is telling the truth, it says a lot given the CIA's revelations concerning events in 2003 when the US believed an attack on specific infrastructure / cities as very nearly imminent, requiring the US to turn over intelligence to MI6.

Our military has been slashed dramatically, our nuclear stockpile, our navy ... all cut.

And the world's issues have not become less ... more volatility in Syria and a dangerous confrontation with the US /Russia.  In Asia, China and the US - the Chinese government have made war with the US a possible scenario to train for.  Russia is no friend to the US and the feckless 'reset' by Obama/Clinton have not brought us closer ... in fact, we are perilously further apart.  Europe is coming apart, the US is collapsing and will continue to ... and the stability of the world rests not with the feckless UN but with a strong US.

 We face not only al qaida but a still serious threat posed by ISIS, added to the destabilization of mass immigration into the US and the threat of terror on our borders and we are in a far less peaceful and safe world today than in the last thirty years.

TERROR WARNING: Western security facing threat ‘like we have NEVER SEEN’, FBI chief says

THE director of the FBI has warned that Western countries will face an unprecedented threat from a “terrorist diaspora”, even if the US-led coalition crushes the Islamic State.

By Zoe Efstathiou

 

PUBLISHED: 02:12, Wed, Sep 28, 2016 | UPDATED: 04:07, Wed, Sep 28, 2016 

During a US Congress hearing on the terror threat 15 years after September 11, James Comey said that even though America is close to destroying ISIS’ so-called caliphate, militants driven out of the Middle East will settle in other countries in order to commit horrific atrocities.

Mr Comey said: “There will be a terrorist diaspora sometime in the next two to five years like we’ve never seen before.”

Comey said that even though ISIS is being undermined in Syria and Iraq, the threat still continues

He added: “Not all of the Islamic State killers are going to die on the battlefield.”

His chilling predictions were echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Nicholas Rasmussen, director of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, who also testified at the hearing.

Mr Johnson warned that terrorist threats have evolved and that previous attacks had to be directed by terrorists, whereas now they are often simply inspired by terrorist ideology and are carried out by individuals acting alone.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says terrorist threats have evolved

He said that that we now live in a world that “includes the threat of terrorist-inspired attacks” as individuals who live in the West become “self-radicalised” and strive to carry out attacks on home soil.

Johnson said that terror threats from self-radicalised individuals pose complex challenges to security as they can occur with little or no notice and are difficult to detect.

It was revealed that the FBI is currently monitoring nearly 1,000 Americans who are believed to have been radicalised by terrorist propaganda.

The Orlando shootings were carried out by self-radicalised terrorist Omar Mateen

Rasmussen warned that even though the US is defeating ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, the threat post by al Qaeda and its allies remains strong.

Mr Comey noted that ISIS militants present a much greater threat than al Qaeda.

He said that the threat post by ISIS is “10 times that” of al Qaeda, adding: “This is an order of magnitude greater than anything we’ve seen before.”

While the World Withers

While the world teeters uncomfortably on a precipice - on one side a near all out genocide in various countries, and on the other tyrants controlling their people like cannibals control their lunch before preparation.

Mali has turned into a very unstable area.  A coup on March 22 has further exacerbated the problems.  In the north, rebels (read this as Islamic extremists - Tuareg) are advancing on government forces, and at this time Timbuktu has fallen to the rebels.  It seems the government forces are ill equipped and unable to stop the advance of the Islamic forces from the north headed by a former general as well as many soldiers from the Libyan military.

In Syria, apparently peace initiatives have been accepted by Assad.  The US has taken the firm step of declaring that Assad must go.  Hillary Clinton stated on April 1, that "the world will not waiver, Assad must go."   The US government has recognized the Syrian National Council, as representing all Syrians.  It also urged Syrian soldiers to disobey any orders to kill or injure civilians.

Assad cannot go so easily.  There is a great deal more at stake than simply Assad.  Iran is involved, al qaida is involved, the Baath party, the Assad family comes from a tribe that would not only lose power but would be punished by whatever came next.  There is still much bloodshed to follow.  Much.

And our Secretary of State says nothing when she opens her mouth except rubbish.  Those people who have been oppressed and arrested and those killed - the retribution without a stable government would be similar to what existed in Iraq (although not as extreme as between Shia and Sunni).

The winner for this will be al qaida (and I lump loosely all fundamental extremist Islamic groups into this label) and or hizbollah.  If hizbollah wins, Iran wins.  If al qaida wins - everyone loses.  The other option is for Assad to hold on to limited power and an elected parliament take actual power.  This option would forestall total bloodshed and Syria turning into an al qaida outpost or Iranian province.

In the Sudan, the juvenile attempt by the UN to create peace where none can exist.  Sudan had been in the grips of a genocide by the northern Islamic forces seeking to destroy and eliminate all non-muslim peoples.  It was, according to the UN, about water - which is not true.  Think OIL and you would be closer.  They had an election and separated.  There is the North (capital at Khartoum) controlled by Islamic forces, and the South (capital at Juba), controlled by Christian and animist forces.  According to those deluded enough to believe - everyone would get along famously after the division, but alas war continues and potential for a return to the genocide of the 90s and early part of the 21st century is near.

Yemen is another area that has not stabilized - kidnappings and assassinations are common.  Al qaida is responsible for both and in once case, a military base was attacked near a town called Zinijibar where 180 soldiers were killed and 70 abducted.    According to the UN, 3 million or so people are in need of aid.  This has the potential to turn into something much worse.

In Tunis, Islamic forces (again, al qaida as the label I use - Islamic extremist / fundamentalist groups) are pressuring the government through Islamic elected representatives to implement Islamic law and move toward a more centrally directed Islamic state.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (al qaida by my labeling) has ... gasp ... broken a promise (which was never a promise anyway ... to not seek control / power by involvement in presidential elections.  Gasp ... who actually believed them when they initially lied.  They lied when it suited them, when the forces aligned against Mubarek and now that all of his power and those fingers on the buttons in Egypt are out of the way, the Islamists will seize control spreading al qaida throughout North Africa. and down the Eastern coast.

The rift between Islamists and secular parties in Egypt deepened. Five parties accused the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist al-Nour party of dominating the 100-member panel tasked with drafting a new constitution. Boycotting the panel they promised to establish a parallel body to produce their own document.

Friction between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces also increased, with the Brotherhood threatening to topple the current government and warning of a second revolution if the military fails to relinquish power.   The military held power to ensure control over the rising Islamic tide and to pacify European and Western concerns over Islamic influence.  If the military gave up control and the Muslim Brotherhood seized control, the assassination of President Sadat will be complete.  The peace between Israel and Egypt would end and the world would be left with an Islamic power in Egypt that has never held power in Egypt in over 11 centuries.

In Afghanistan, the calm has slowly returned after 17 people were murdered by a US soldier.  According to figures available, more than 15 NATO forces have been murdered by Afghan soldiers turning their guns on them.  The US paid off the victims and their families.  No one paid off the NATO soldiers murdered by Taliban/al qaida instructed/supported/directed Afghan soldiers.

In Ethiopia and Eritrea, problems mounted.  While it seems like it is a world away from the US and our lives here, this unstable area could turn into a conflagration we will be forced to intervene in as the problem is not limited to the two African countries.   Ethiopian troops attacked military bases in Eritrea, claiming they were being used to train insurgents operating in the Afar region. Eritrea accused Ethiopia  of trying to divert attention from the dispute over their common border, and called on the UN to take action against Ethiopia.

Civil war and unrest after the first round of presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau.  The current Prime Minister took the lead with 49 per cent of votes. His opponents denounced fraud in the vote, and vow to boycott the run-off, scheduled for 18 April.  There have been assassinations and kidnappings and just hours after polling closed, the former head of their spy police was assassinated.  Shortly thereafter, the ex-army Chief of Staff asked for refuge in the EU compound in Bissau. 

In China, the ever tolerant regime has arrested six people and shut 16 websites after rumours were spread that military vehicles were on the streets of Beijing.  Doubtful those six people will ever see daylight again and probably many more arrests will follow.  This is what the world could expect from a China in control.

Russia is another explosion waiting to happen.  Obama promising to give to Russia codes for the missile defense system that protects Eastern European countries.  Those eastern European countries are now realizing the Obama administration is tossing them under the Russian bear and they do not like it at all.  Our relations with several countries have already been damaged.  The Polish government has started started leaking details about CIA prisons to embarrass the Obama administration, and the Ukraine has turned from the West and is now trying to make friends with Russia.  It seems that Obama is turning over the Eastern European nations to Russia just as we did in 1945.   Those countries are not happy and they will demonstrate their displeasure with increased disdain for the US. 

This disdain will further embolden Obama - his mantra that we (the US) are not special will further complete this world view - no one will care what we think or say about anything, thereby weakening US foreign policy and world respect for the US.

It is amazing what damage he has done in his 3.5 years.  Doubled the debt, weakened alliances, destroyed several alliances, and divided the US even more.  More jobs have gone abroad, our economy is bankrupt and he plows ahead with programs that will ensure we remain bankrupt.  Meanwhile Islamic forces move across the North of Africa and through the Middle East, toppling governments and installing extremist Islamic regimes.  The Arab Spring that liberals made such a deal about, the spread of freedom and such across North Africa and into the Middle East was actually the Spring of Islamic resurgence, not freedom.  Anyone who believed otherwise was not fully aware of the details and the events on the ground.












obama

Bush Thank You

These people are in Syria.  They may be Kurdish or Turkish, but whatever their history - they are Syrian and they get it.
(not to imply that I believe these people are humanitarians just that they get it. )











obama

Sacking you Cabinet: Egypt, and Jordan ...

I am unsure why these men believe sacking their cabinet will fix anything.  The only 'sacking' they should be contemptaing is their own.

With the US sitting on its collective hands, with a Secretary of State who is shown out of her league, calling all the US Ambassadors together for a meeting (presumably on last month's news about Wikileaks), and a President who is wholly incapable of handling the issues of the day - Egypt is still in meltdown stage.

There is one ray of sunshine is Egypts news - they talk of a million or two million people fitting into that square in Cairo.  The square is 490,000 sq ft.  Assume each person takes up 2 sq ft (very tightly packed) and you get a maximum of 300,000 people who could fit into the square.  Then subtract out the empty spaces (along the edges and in the middles of the square) and that many people are moving, not stationary.  Maybe 200,000.  THAT is not a sizeable percent of Cairo to worry about.  If that many were washed away in, say a large sea, Cairo would not notice. 

Aside from that one bit of sunshine - the protests have apparently spread into Jordan.  The King has sacked his cabinet.  Ooooh, like that will fix anything.

And some reports have the protests / riots spreading into Syria.

And Hillary was calling for democratic transitions in Egypt and Obama called on the government of Egypt to allow any and all opposition to protest peacefully.

Once again - in the ideal state, having a president or Prime Minister elected by the people - ideal.  In this case, Islamists are in orgasmic delight over their prospects - unstable Jordanian and Syrian states, ready for their brand of democracy to step in.  The Islamists already have a due date on El Barredi, he has only long enough to live until he has outlived his usefulness (which is any day - they can always blame it on Mubarak).


The Middle East is nearly ablaze and Obama is ...........



















obama

Obama's Middle East Plan: Syria - a failure.

No friends, and your Middle East policy in shambles.  How is this plan working for you.



Haaretz.com
15:36
24.05.10


Syria: Obama has failed in peace efforts and lost influence in Mideast


Assad's comments come as Obama set to meet with Lebanon PM to raise concerns about alleged Syria-Hezbollah Scud transfer.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday that the United States has lost its influence in the Middle East due to its failure to contribute to regional peace, in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

U.S. President Barack Obama "raised hopes" in the region, said Assad, but has failed to accomplish any significant peace maneuvers.

Assad's comments came just before Obama was to meet with Lebanon Prime Minister Sa'ad al-Hariri to raise Washington's concerns about Syria arming Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon

The Syrian leader met on Sunday with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Damascus earlier Sunday and urged the West to "break its silence" in the face of Israeli "aggression" in the Middle East.

During their talks, Assad denounced "the ongoing Israeli threats to ignite wars and undermine the stability in the region."

"The region has changed and the West's policy in the area is no longer acceptable, keeping silent over Israeli violations is no longer acceptable," Assad told Kouchner, according to Syria's official news agency SANA.

"If the West wants security and stability to be established in the Middle East, [it] must start to play an effective role to contain Israel and put an end to its extremist policies," Assad said.

The Syrian president also told Kouchner that the Western countries pushing for harsh United Nations sanctions against Iran should understand that Tehran's contentious nuclear program was aimed at civilian and not military pursuits, according to SANA.

"The countries involved need to change their attitude to Iran's civil nuclear program, because this agreement is an important opportunity to reach a diplomatic solution and prevent a tragic dispute in the region and the world at large," said Assad.

Also Sunday, Syria defied Western pressure over its support for the militant group Hezbollah and said it would not act as a policeman for Israel to prevent weapons from reaching the Lebanese Shi'ite movement.

"Did Israel ever stop arming itself, did it stop instigating violence or making military maneuvers," Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said after meeting his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle. "Why are arms forbidden to Arabs and allowed to Israel?"

Citing Israeli occupation of Arab land and the technical state of war between Syria and Israel, Moualem said the Damascus government "will not be a policeman for Israel".

"Israel is beating the drum of war. In the absence of real peace every thing is possible," he added.

Syria, a country Washington says is critical for Middle East peace, has shown no signs of withdrawing backing for Hezbollah, which is also supported by Iran, although the issue has clouded rapprochement between Damascus and Washington.

The row intensified when President Shimon Peres last month accused Syria, which borders Lebanon, of sending long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah.

Syria said it only gives Hezbollah political backing and that Israel may be using the accusation as a pretext for a military strike.

"A Scud missile is as big as this room. How could it be hidden and smuggled with Israeli planes and satellites all over the region?" Moallem asked, adding that cumbersome Scuds were not suited to Hezbollah's guerrilla tactics.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
middle east

Syria - Not so innocent after all - Says IAEA - Final report

Final IAEA report: Syrian site hit by Israel resembled an atomic reactor
November 19, 2008

The final report of the International Atomic Energy Agency Wednesday, Nov. 19, says the Syrian complex bombed by Israel 14 months ago bore features resembling those of an undeclared nuclear reactor. “Significant” amounts of man-made uranium particles were found in situ. Those features include the proximity of the site to the adequate pumping capacity of cooling water required by a reactor.

This report will be submitted the nuclear watchdog board meeting in Vienna on Nov. 27-28. Damascus is accused of failing to produce requested documentation to support its declaration about the nature of the building and refusing follow-up IAEA visits to three other locations suspected of harboring possible evidence linked to Israel’s target.









Syria

Israel: Impediment to Peace?

Iran - says it now has enough material for a nuclear weapon.
Hizbollah - has been buying Iranian and Syrian weaponry and stocking up
Hamas - since forever has been firing rockets into Israel, although has stepped up attacks in recent months.
Fatah - can't decide what its purpose is - to fight Israelis or get killed by Hamas killers.
Attacks from west bank on Israel increased
Palestinians broke through into Egypt and in the course of the breakdown in Egyptian control, has secreted back into Israel stockpiles of weapons during a period of 'truce'.

Syria has surrounded Lebanon, emasculating whatever facade existed as to independence.

And what is it Israel is supposed to do? A better question, what will they do, and who, honestly, can blame them. Not I. They have tolerated about 300 rocket attacks more than I would have even contemplated tolerating. The impediment Mr. Carter, is everyone else. Not Israel (understanding that Israel can and should take actions to remove propaganda from PAL TV, and make concessions while taking firmer action).







Hamas fires long-range rockets at Israel
Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:00pm EST

5:01am EST
By Abed Shana


GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists fired long-range rockets at a southern Israel city on Friday after an Israeli air strike on their Gaza stronghold in the 11th day of skirmishes that threaten a five-month-old truce.


The armed wing of the Islamist group said it fired five Grad rockets, the longest-range weapon it has used against the Jewish state. Israel said they hit Ashkelon, north of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast, with no casualties.


Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the flare-up since November 4, in which 12 Hamas militants have been killed by Israeli forces and scores of rockets fired into Israel. But both shied away from declaring an end to the Egyptian-brokered truce.


"We will continue to forcefully defend Israeli soldiers and citizens, to thwart attempts to stage attacks when we discover them," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said. "At the same time, if the other side wants to continue the calm we will definitely give it positive consideration."
Hamas took a similar stand.


"Up to this moment we are committed to the ceasefire," said Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader. "Self-defense and resistance" would continue. "We are waiting for the Israelis. If they are really committed (to a truce) we have to address that frankly."


The 1960s-era Soviet-made Grad rocket has a range of 25 km (15 miles). Two of them struck Ashkelon.


Earlier, Palestinian medics said two Hamas fighters were wounded in an Israeli air strike, which a military spokesman said was in response to an earlier rocket attack.


After the air strike, Hamas said it fired eight shorter-range Qassam rockets aimed at the city of Sderot.


Two Qassams hit, causing damage to buildings, an Israeli police spokesman said. One Israeli was treated for shrapnel wounds and a number of people suffered shock.


NEXT MOVE


Israel's caretaker prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in a statement after consultations with defense chiefs that Israel would not tolerate the rocket fire. It would continue to apply economic pressure on Hamas through border crossings.


Israel has not allowed humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip since November 4, when its troops raided the territory to destroy what the army described as a tunnel built by militants to kidnap Israeli soldiers.


Six Hamas gunmen were killed in the raid. Militants responded to the incursion with rocket salvoes.


Israel said the crossings would remain shut for now.


United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel to allow urgently fuel and humanitarian aid into Gaza, where 750,000 Palestinians are in need of food.


Short of fuel, Gaza shut down its sole power plant, and rationed electricity it gets from Israel and Egypt. Some Gaza bakeries posted notices on Friday limiting the purchase of bread, although no major shortages were reported.


The EU also urged Israel to let aid supplies through.


"I am profoundly concerned about the consequences for the Gazan population of the complete closure of all Gaza crossings for deliveries of fuel and basic humanitarian assistance," External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.


Israeli troops also killed four gunmen in a raid on Wednesday, prompting more rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza.


Hamas is in conflict with the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is negotiating with Israel on peace terms.


The rift between them widened in 2007 as Hamas took control of Gaza. Egypt brokered the Israel-Hamas truce, but Palestinian unity talks it is mediating faltered earlier this month.














Israel

Syria - Not so innocent after all - Says IAEA

IAEA finds man-made uranium traces at Syrian site bombed by Israel
DEBKAfile Special Report
November 10, 2008, 10:37 PM (GMT+02:00)

A senior Vienna-based diplomat reported Monday, Nov. 10, that the latest findings are significant enough for the nuclear watchdog to place Syria right after North Korea and Iran on its agenda for further investigation. Last June, UN inspectors collected the soil samples which yielded the uranium traces from al Kibar in northern Syria, where a nuclear reactor under construction was razed by Israel in Sept. 2007.

DEBKAfile’s sources report that even if the uranium traces found at bombed site were slight, they are damning because they were clearly man-made – not natural ore - and must have been brought in by an outside source, possibly North Korean visitors. These outsiders would have had only one reason to be there: to assist in the construction of a nuclear facility for Syria and inspect the work in progress.






Syria

US - Syria II

Syria confirms the attack took place, claims 8 people including 4 children were killed.

Other sources say 7 men.
I am inclied to believe that between 12-20 people were killed including several children who were put in harms way by the adults who used them as shields.

I am also inclied to believe that the US took at least two people into custody.

They had to be VERY high value targets for the US to launch the action.

VERY HIGH.





SUKKARIYEH, Syria (AP) - A resident of the village that was the scene of a U.S. raid says he saw at least two men taken into custody by American forces and whisked away by helicopter.
The villager spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his life.

Another villager at the site displayed amateur video footage he took with his mobile phone that shows four helicopters flying toward them as villagers point to the skies in alarm.

An Associated Press journalist at the attack site in far eastern Syria on Monday saw the grainy video.

A U.S. military official in Washington confirmed Sunday that special forces had conducted the raid in Syria, targeting al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters. At least seven men died.





Syria






US

US - Syria

The BBC put out a story - calling into question everything and attributing cause where no evidence existed. Suggesting it was election related. What a despicable reporter Mr. Marcus is. What the truth is ... well, the Israeli attack on Syria some time ago - the one Syria reluctantly acknowledged, and then -publicly said that their well armed forces had driven the Israelis away - that attack was to blow up a nuclear site.

This event by US forces was to achieve a purpose and it was successful. What the Syrians say could be anything from:
- the evil jin tried to abscond with our daughters virtue but our manly men stopped them
- the infidels tried to find Saddams WMDs and we prevented them, err, we let them search and they found nothing.
- we killed them all but we shot them so many times their bodies are unable to be displayed.
- they peed their pants as we descended on them howling like banshees and we chased them into the darkness where the jin swallowed them up.

OR ... we could go with something probably CLOSER to the truth




US official confirms Syria raid called by Damascus “serious aggression”
DEBKAfile Special Report
October 27, 2008, 5:12 AM (GMT+02:00)

An American military official said the cross-border raid by helicopter-borne special forces at al Sukkariya near Abu Kemal in N. Syria Sunday, Oct. 26 targeted “the foreign fighter network” that travels through Syria into Iraq. In the first US comment on the incident, the anonymous spokesman hinted at more cross-border action when he said: “We are taking matters in our own hands.” He spoke shortly after Damascus summoned the US and Iraqi envoys to protest the “serious aggression” in which 8 “civilians, including children” were killed and 14 wounded.

Three days earlier, US commander in western Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Kelly, called the Syrian border “an uncontrolled gateway” for fighters entering Iraq. He described the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan as “fairly tight” and referred to US forces’ success in shutting down the “rat lines” in Iraq with help from governments in North Africa. “The one piece of the puzzle where we have not shown success on is the nexus in Syria,” Gen. Kelly said.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report he was referring to help from the Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian governments, as well as Western Europe countries hosting large North African migrants, in drying up the stream of al Qaeda’s recruits for Iraq. However, Syrian president Bashar Assad has frustrated years of US effort to shut down the network operating out of his territory.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report: This was not the first US military incursion of Syria. Previous US strikes on Syrian soil in 2004 and 2005 targeted al Qaeda exit points to Iraq and involved bombardments and clashes with Syrian border units.

These US attacks were discontinued for three years. Sunday’s operation was an extension of the US-Iraqi offensive to purge the northern Iraqi town of Mosul and northern Syria of al Qaeda elements, the jihadists’ last two strong bastions in the region.

According to eye witnesses, 8 US troops dropped by at least 2 helicopters stormed a farm house in Sukkariya and killed 8 people before flying back to Iraq. Damascus announced it held US forces responsible for “this aggression and all its repercussions.” It called on the Iraqi government to launch an immediate investigation into “this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria."

Al Qaeda fighters recently captured by the US military in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul revealed the unabated flow of arms, fighters, cash and explosives from Syria to Iraq. The discovery belied Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem’s assurance to US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice when they met in New York in September that Damascus had halted this traffic.

Abu Kemal is located opposite the al Qaim region of Iraqi Anbar. For most of the five-year Iraq war, it was al Qaeda’s main logistics base for the jihadists fighting in Anbar. Recently this province, finally cleared of terrorists, was handed over to Iraqi forces. Washington is determined not to allow the Syria rat line to destroy one of the great US achievements of the war.

Asked if the incident was compatible with Israel’s talks with Syria, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni commented: Damascus must stop aiding al Qaeda as well two other terrorist groups, Hizballah and Hamas. DEBKAfile’s political sources note that the northern Syrian operation bears strongly on the US presidential campaign 10 days before voting. Both candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, will no doubt comment and if the attacks continue and meet with Syrian reprisal, they could become a focal campaign theme.

US cross-border incursions from Afghanistan firing missiles from drones at Taliban and al Qaeda havens in Pakistan are ongoing. The latest attack took place Sunday night killing up to 20 insurgents.









Bad guys lose

BBC: US Attack on Syria

What does it take to be a writer for the BBC?

Not much.

Requirement: A generally Eurocentric view of the world, and an anti-American view of the US.

Helpful: Belief in invisible creatures, jin, leprechauns, and fairies.

Desirable: A belief that whatever the US does, is questionable. That what others do, is almost always in response to the US doing or not doing something.

That everything bad that happens can be traced back to something the US has done, or failed to do.

The above seem to be the requirements to work for the BBC, Guardian, and other English papers.

Mr. Marcus - perhaps a few details to assist you in reconciling your fantasy world with reality:
1) Before the US launched any attack into Syria, both McCain and Obama were told. They are not asked for their permission, BUT they have it explained to them, and if they oppose the action, given all the information available - they may oppose it - afterward. As yet, Obama has not gone public with opposition. That Mr. Marcus should tell you volumes.
2) Yes, before the US launched any such action, the president is involved and must give his ok.
3) In the preceding 24 hours, it is almost certain that the US sent messages to Syria to do whatever it was the US wanted done - catch someone, stop someone, close the border, and Syria refused. They were warned at least 24 hours in advance.
4) The action was done to safeguard advances in Iraq - not in the US. Iranian weapons and supplies come across borders - insurgents, al qaida and otherwise, cross from Syria into Iraq. Iraq has a right to do what is needed to protect its borders and Iraq requested the US take whatever action was required (as we will find out soon enough).
5) Blowing up 8 people in Syria will not gain McCain any points you shirtlifter. Imagine how scared everyone will be of 8 men blown up on their way into Iraq. I can see the world tremble. It will hardly register unless those 8 men are more than simply terrorists or insurgents moving across borders.


And no, the timing is NOT curious - just in your mind, and the minds of little people who do not understand how events transpire in the real world.


***************************************



What could lie behind Syria raid?
By Jonathan Marcus Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News

Syria has said American troops carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people - if the claims are true then this will be the first military incursion by the US into Syrian territory from Iraq.

But its timing is curious, coming right at the end of the Bush administration's period of office and at a moment when many of America's European allies - like Britain and France - are trying to broaden their ties with Damascus.

Whatever the local military factors involved in this US operation, it would be unthinkable to imagine that an incursion into Syria would not require a policy decision at a high-level.

The movement of insurgents and foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq has long been a bone of contention between Damascus and Washington.

The US argument has always been that the Syrians are not doing enough to control the border.

The Syrians have always countered that they are unfairly being blamed for turmoil inside Iraq that is not of their making.

Quite apart from their differences over Iraq, Washington sees Syria as unhelpful in Lebanon and as far too friendly with Iran.

While there have been relatively high-level contacts between the two governments - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meeting the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly just a few weeks ago - they have hardly generated any warmth.

Washington has even been lukewarm to Turkey's efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Syria.

All of this is in marked contrast to European efforts to engage the Syrians.

With French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the lead, a number of European countries have sought to bring Syria in from the cold.

But despite glimmerings of dissent from the State Department, the Bush administration has held firm to its policy of no substantive talks with Syria unless - as the Americans put it - Damascus decides to take a more "positive role" in the region.

With the Bush administration on the way out, this US military incursion may represent something of a parting shot against the Syrians.

It's clear that if Senator Barrack Obama were to win the White House, his key advisers are among the strongest advocates of engaging with the Damascus across a broad spectrum of issues.







Obama




Syria

IAEA and Syria

The brilliance of the UN can never be overstated nor understated - they are on a level beyond mere corrupt governments or incompetent legislatures.

The IAEA is charged with:

- the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Its key roles contribute to international peace and security, and to the World's Millennium Goals for social, economic and environmental development.

Three main pillars - or areas of work - underpin the mission:

Safeguards & Verification: The IAEA is the world's nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to verify that safeguarded nuclear material and activities are not used for military purposes. The Agency is additionally responsible for the nuclear file in Iraq as mandated by the UN Security Council.

Safety and Security: The IAEA helps countries to upgrade nuclear safety and security, and to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Work is keyed to international conventions, standards and expert guidance. The main aim is to protect people and the environment from harmful radiation exposure.

Science & Technology: The IAEA helps countries mobilize peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The work contributes to goals of sustainable development in fields of energy, environment, health, and agriculture, among others, and to cooperation in key areas of nuclear science and technology.

In theory just any country cannot have nuclear power / reactors/weapons. The IAEA will investigate and ensure no one is violating any laws.

Just like they did with Iraq.

Just like they did with North Korea.

Just like they have done with Iran.


On September 6, 2007, Israeli war planes attacked and destroyed a site in Syria. The Israelis never said what they did nor whether they did anything. The Syrians denied anyone did anything and if the Israelis had tried to attack anything they were repelled with superior power on the Syrian side.

Well, sort of ... the US has just released secret intelligence data on the nuclear site that had been destroyed. The response of the IAEA - not to be upset with Syria, but rather with the US for not releasing the information sooner and with Israel for not allowing the IAEA time to inspect.

Dr. ElBaradei said “the unilateral use of force by Israel” undermined “the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime.” He also said the American allegations against Syria would be investigated with due vigor.

They would actively investigate - just like they did in North Korea, until they got the bomb. Just like Iran.

The IAEA is neither qualified nor competent to investigate anything. One would not wish to tell the IAEA anything, lest the government in question learn of possible actions against their nuclear sites.

Carter and Hamas

Former president Carter said he was going to meet with Hamas as a private citizen. That is a little disingenuous - private citizens do not get to walk up and meet with Hamas. If they did, don't you think Israel would have tried that one.

So why did he go.

Salvage his legacy. If it worked once - Egypt and Israel, he could do it again. if only you get all people to sit down and discuss their issues. He forgets. Camp David was a failure until the last day. Carter was ready to give up, go home, and watch as the remaining visitors departed. he says so in his memoir 'Keeping Faith' ... but for the final moment when the two sides - without the US - made compromises. It was Sadat that made Camp David a success, NOT Carter.

Carter cannot go back and undo Iran, but he can sort of the single greatest obstacle to peace in the Middle East - Israel. Or so he believes. The left believes that there would be peace BUT for Israel's intransigence. The left believes the word of the Palestinian and Hamas leaders - they accept them at their word, but deny the Israeli government's word.

Interesting conundrum you arrive at when you follow that silly logic. You turn reality upside down and make peace with the killers and criticize the people who desire above all else, peace.

After the democratic elections in which Hamas took over and since Israel has pulled out of Gaza, an average of 10 rockets a day have reigned down upon Israel from Hamas controlled Gaza. This included during the time Carter was meeting with Hamas.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, revitalization, calm, no rocket attacks, no Israeli air raids, no Israeli attacks - quite. Yet Carter blamed the failure of his meetings on Israel, for failing to take part in the meetings.

A difference. But Carter chose Hamas.

When Carter finished his visit, he told the world that Hamas was ready to accept Israel's right to exist if the Palestinian people agreed to peace after a referendum.

Within hours Hamas responded - Carter left without any assurances. Hamas leader Khaled Meshael told a press conference that Hamas would not recognize the Jewish state and would insist on the return of 4.5 million Palestinian refugees.

Syria assisting the US ... in some areas

Exclusive: Dispute over former Iraqi VP Izzat Ibrahim’s reported capture
April 24, 2008, 12:21 AM (GMT+02:00)

Iraqi security sources reported that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 66, who led the Iraqi Sunni Baath underground campaign against the US Army after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, was captured in Salahuddin north of Baghdad. They said that the King of Clubs on the US most wanted deck of cards list was moved to Baghdad and handed over to US forces.

The US military in Baghdad stated: "At this point, we can say that he is not in coalition custody and we have no reports that he was captured by Iraqi security forces either."

DNA tests are being conducted to confirm his identity.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s exclusive counter-terror sources report Syrian police pushed him across the border Tuesday, April 23 in an effort to blunt the impact of disclosures in the US Congress on April 24 about its covert nuclear site which Israeli raiders destroyed last September.