Iraqi Priest: Pulling US Troops Out Was a ‘Bigger Mistake’ Than 2003 Invasion

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A Chaldean Catholic priest who was kidnapped and tortured by Islamic militants a decade ago in Iraq said Tuesday in Washington that while the American invasion of his country in 2003 was a “big mistake,” President Obama’s decision to withdraw American troops in 2011 was “a bigger mistake.”

After Obama ignored his generals’ recommendations and pulled the last U.S. troops out of Iraq, the president boasted that “we’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq… This is an extraordinary achievement, nearly nine years in the making.”

But Fr. Douglas Bazi, a priest at the Mar Elias Catholic Church in the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil, pointed out that the U.S. troop withdrawal was a catastrophe for the indigenous Christian population of Iraq, which numbered 2 million before 2003.

“Now there are less than 200,000,” he said.

European Governments Ignoring Security Warnings?

• “We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of society and law.” — From a leaked German intelligence document.
• The mayor of Molenbeek, Belgium ignored a list she received, one month prior to the Paris attacks, “with the names and addresses of more than 80 people suspected as Islamic militants living in her area,” according to the New York Times. “What was I supposed to do about them? It is not my job to track possible terrorists,” Mayor Schepmans said.
• In October 2015, Andrew Parker, director general of Britain’s Security Service, said that the “scale and tempo” of the danger to the UK is now at a level he has not seen in his 32-year career. British police are monitoring over 3,000 homegrown Islamist extremists willing to carry out attacks on the UK.

The head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), Benedicte Bjørnland, was recently a participating guest at a security conference in Sweden, where she warned against further Muslim immigration.

‘The threat exists’: Vatican on alert for Islamic State attack, says security chief

Rome: The Vatican is on alert in case of an attack by Islamist militants against the city-state or Pope Francis, but officials are not aware of any specific plot, the head of Vatican security said in a rare interview.

“The threat exists. This is what has emerged from conversations with Italian and foreign colleagues,” Domenico Giani told Polizia Moderna, the magazine published by Italian police, when asked if threats from Islamic State militants were credible.

Iran general said to mastermind Iraq ground war

BAGHDAD (AP) — When Islamic State militants retreated from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher last week, the Iraqi military was quick to flaunt a rare victory against the extremist group, with state television showing tanks and Humvees parading through the town and soldiers touring government buildings that had been occupied by the militants since August.

However, photos soon emerged on independent Iraqi news websites revealing a more discreet presence – the powerful Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani – whose name has become synonymous with the handful of victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces. Local commanders said Lebanon’s powerful Shiite Hezbollah group was also on the front lines.

Shiite militias have played a key role in driving the Islamic State group out of the so-called Baghdad Belt of Sunni villages ringing the capital. But the sectarian militias have long been implicated in brutality against the country’s Sunnis, and while they have benefited from U.S.-led airstrikes, their advance could undermine efforts to knit the troubled country together.

Turkish President Declares Lawrence of Arabia a Bigger Enemy than ISIS

In a stunning speech, Erdogan railed against Western “spies” and journalists and seemed to endorse the ISIS plan to redraw the region’s borders.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took on the iconic Lawrence of Arabia Monday in a furious anti-Western diatribe.  The Turkish president compared the outside meddling in the region now to the role the renowned British army officer played during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans during World War I. And Western diplomats here say the tirade bears a rather striking resemblance to some of the propaganda that has come out of the so-called Islamic State, widely known by the acronym ISIS or ISIL.

Last week, stung by Western criticism of Turkey’s conspicuous absence from the U.S.-led air combat against the terror organization, and the refusal of the Turkish government to rescue the besieged town of Kobani, just across the Syrian border, Erdoğan insisted he had no sympathy for the jihadists.

ISIS brutally subdues rebellion in Syria, beheading and crucifying tribesmen who resisted their rule

BEIRUT — Islamic militants have crushed a tribal uprising against their rule in eastern Syria after three days of clashes in a string of villages near the border with Iraq, beheading and crucifying opponents along the way, activists said Monday.

The fighters from the Al-Qaeda breakaway Islamic State group control huge swaths of territory in eastern and northern Syria and are fighting rival rebels, Kurdish militias and the Syrian army for more territory.

Our message to the entire world is that we are the soldiers of the Caliphate state and we are coming Chilling message from IS militants warns the world of their bloody intent in a video celebrating taking control of key locations in Iraq

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Chilling message from IS militants warns the world of their bloody intent in a video celebrating taking control of key locations in Iraq

Video released by the Islamic State (IS) group has shown militants celebrating and raising the black IS flag over buildings and facilities in a number of key Iraqi locations under their control.

The militants took control of Mosul in June, and captured a string of towns and Iraq’s largest hydroelectric dam and reservoir in recent weeks.

Spetsnaz 2: Special operations forces set for combat

Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov recently said that the Ministry of Defence has formed – and is ready to use – the Special Operations Forces; military units trained to perform combat missions both in Russia and abroad. He said the decision was based on the leading nations’ experience in forming, training and using special operations units, including the best-known of them all – the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM).

Such units have completely altered the very concept of special forces and their operating methods. The key difference is that command identifies only the scene of operations, whereas special operations units act autonomously and define their objectives independently in order to accomplish the ultimate mission. They are actively engaged with space and tactical reconnaissance units and involve Army, Air Force and Navy units.

Israel Hints at New Strikes, Warning Syria Not to Hit Back

WASHINGTON — In a clear warning to Syria to stop the transfer of advanced weapons to Islamic militants in the region, a senior Israeli official signaled on Wednesday that Israel was considering additional military strikes to prevent that from happening and that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, would face crippling consequences if he retaliated.

Peace by Thursday or the tanks roll in: Israel sets deadline for truce as it delays ground invasion for 48 hours

Hamas dared. Israel has obliged. We now have a time table for war.

Get ready for an escalation and the possibility of the entire Middle East getting set on fire. The Middle East getting set on fire could bring forth a whole host of things such as retaliatory terrorist strikes on the US homeland to the collapse of economies. This is not a prediction, but a possible scenario, which hopefully will not come to pass.

As explosions terrorise both Palestinians and Israelis for a seventh day running, Israel has put plans for a ground operation in Gaza ‘on hold’ while talks to secure a truce with Hamas militants continue.

While it is understood a Thursday deadline has been set for the Egypt-brokered talks, an Egyptian intelligence source said ‘there is still no breakthrough and Egypt is working to find middle ground.’