This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Terror War

  • Iraq claims that Ramadi is “fully liberated”

    Iraq claims that Ramadi is “fully liberated”

    Ramadi

    Fox News reports that the Iraqi city, Ramadi, has been liberated from ISIS forces which took the city from Iraqi troops just a few months ago;

    However, Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of military operations in Anbar, said that troops had only retaken the [central government] complex itself, and parts of the city remained under ISIS control.

    The complex was thought to have been the last holdout for a few dozen ISIS militia members who had tried to slow the Iraqi advance through the city with snipers and improvised explosive devices.

    “Yes, the city of Ramadi has been liberated. The Iraqi counter-terrorism forces have raised the Iraqi flag over the government complex in Anbar,” joint operations spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rahsool said in a statement broadcast on state televiison.

    The Iraqi government claims that most civilians had evacuated the city before the hostilities began and that the focus will now be on restoring government services so the city can be rebuilt. You might remember how a few months ago, the Obama Administration downplayed the loss of the city as unimportant.

  • ISIS militia behead rival ISIS fighters in Afghanistan

    The Associated Press reports that some ISIS fighters have beheaded other ISIS rivals in the Achin district of Afghanistan and placed the disembodied noggins along the road through the area.

    According to Ghalib Mujahid, the governor of the Achin district in Nangarhar, each group beheaded at least four fighters from the rival group who were captured during battles on Saturday.

    […]

    The killings reflect rampant lawlessness in this remote part of Afghanistan. It is not unusual for powerful Afghan figures and politicians to control personal militias, though the central government and international organizations such as the United Nations have expressed concern about a proliferation of armed groups that are not part of the government’s security force.

    The ISIS-on-ISIS action threatens popcorn stocks worldwide – you should buy yours now to beat the rush.

  • Afghan police failed those airmen

    The Stars & Stripes reports that initial reports from the troops who were there, those six airmen who we’ve been talking about the last few days, the six who died in a suicide bomber attack can be laid at the feet of the Afghan policemen whose job it was to provide security for the team;

    According to U.S. personnel familiar with the incident, Afghan national police had failed to thoroughly search the suicide bomber and his vehicle before allowing him to proceed through the patrol. The Airmen were all with the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, a military law enforcement unit.

    The six deaths marked the single largest loss of American life at the hands of the enemy since NATO officially ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last year.

    When this administration began talking about withdrawal from Afghanistan back in 2009, I warned on this blog that the biggest danger to US forces was leaving too few troops behind so that they would have to depend on Afghans or other foreign forces for their security and my prediction was born out in this case.

    This administration is trying to fight the war against terror on the cheap, but the cost is in blood and paid for by the troops. Either fight the war in the way it needs to be fought or just pull the Hell out. The next president is going to have to make the decisions, but the Obama Administration has a responsibility to the troops who have provided him with the only successes of his terms in office. Stop making decisions based on political expediency.

  • KIAs In Afghanistan Identified

    Jonn and I each wrote earlier about the recent suicide bombing IVO Bagram that claimed 6 US personnel.  The identities of those individuals killed have now been released.  Those KIA were:

    • Maj. Adrianna M. Vorderbruggen, 36, assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 9th Field Investigations Squadron, Eglin AFB, FL.

    • TSgt. Joseph G. Lemm, 45, assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing, Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, NY.

    • SSgt. Louis Michael M. Bonacasa, 31, assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York.

    • SSgt. Michael A. Cinco, 28, assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 11th Field Investigations Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, TX.

    • SSgt. Chester J. McBride, Jr., 30, assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL.

    • SSgt. Peter W. Taub, 30, assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 816, Ellsworth Air Force Base, SD.

    Rest in peace, airmen.  May God comfort your surviving friends and family.

  • Even More “Good News”

    Remember a few days ago when we found out that Da’esh had captured a Syrian passport machine and a stock of blank Syrian passports?  Well, guess what?

    It’s apparently not only Syrian passports that Da’esh can counterfeit.

    German newspaper Welt am Sonntag recently reported that Western intelligence sources believe Da’esh also has acquired the ability to counterfeit Libyan and Iraqi passports.  They further believe that Da’esh has acquired “tens of thousands” of such blank passport forms.

    Welt am Sonntag also reported that Da’esh has already begun using counterfeit passports to raise funds.  They’re reportedly selling them for 1500 Euros each.

    The two unidentified terrorists involved in the Stade de France attacks in Paris had fake Syrian passports – though it’s unclear if they obtained them from Da’esh or not.  They used them to enter Europe.

    But don’t worry.  Even though we plan to admit thousands of Syrian “refugees” to the US, we’re completely safe.  We’re subjecting everyone claiming to be Syrian refugees to a “thorough screening”.  And we know our screening process for refugees and other visa applicants is so good that we couldn’t possibly ever admit a terrorist – right?

    Yeah – it certainly is.

  • Iraq forces move to recapture Ramadi

    Iraq forces move to recapture Ramadi

    last convoy out of Iraq

    Ex-PH2 sends us a link to Reuters which reports that Iraqi forces have begun an assault on the city of Ramadi in an attempt to drive out ISIS from the city that Iraq lost to them a few months ago – you remember, I’m sure, that then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Marty Dempsey said that Ramadi wasn’t all that important. Well, it seems that perception has changed.

    The offensive to capture the city center started at dawn, said [spokesman Sabah al-Numani]. Military units crossed the Euphrates river into the central districts using a bridge that was destroyed by the militants and fixed by army engineers, and another floating bridge set up to bring in more forces, he said.”Crossing the river was the main difficulty,” he said. “We’re facing sniper fire and suicide bombers who are trying to slow our advance, we’re dealing with them with air force support.”

    If the attack to capture Ramadi succeeds, it will be the second major city after Tikrit to be retaken from Islamic State in Iraq.

    Yeah, it’s a little harder to take those cities back than it is to defend them properly in the first place.

    According to the article, the US has warned Iraq to avoid using Iranian forces in the assault to avoid Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian violence. That makes no sense to me. Any kind of violence that results in the deaths of ISIS forces is good, sectarian or otherwise. That’s why we won’t be successful anytime soon in Iraq and Syria – the touchy-feely way of fighting a war isn’t conducive to victory over in that region of the world. The Iranians aren’t hindered by their rules of engagement and they’d be as ruthless as the ISIS fighters.

  • Wunderbare.

    Remember those two dead terrorist bastards who killed 14 and wounded 20+ in San Bernardino earlier this month? You know, the case where a US citizen went to a nation with a high level of support for radical Islamic terrorism; found himself a “bride”; and brought her to the US on a spousal visa?  The case where the terrorist “bride” apparently had made past posts on social media supporting violent jihad and indicating a desire to participate in same, but was admitted to the US anyway because checking her social media accounts during the visa approval process was against DHS policy?

    Well, sit down – it gets even “better”.

    When a US citizen wants to bring a foreigner to the US as a spouse, there is a existing requirement in Federal law that the two individuals must have met face-to-face at least once prior to that prospective spouse being granted a visa to enter the US.  The purpose of this requirement is to combat “sham marriage” rackets.

    Well, regarding our two dead terrorists . . . do I really need to spell it out?

    Yeah, you guessed it:  turns out there’s no real evidence that a face-to-face meeting ever happened prior to the spouse receiving her visa.  And it also appears that (1) INS noticed a lack of evidence for such a meeting, (2) asked for more information documenting that such a meeting happened, (3) got nothing . . . but approved her entry into the US on a spousal visa anyway.

    Further, there’s actually rather strong circumstantial evidence that such a meeting likely never happened.

    Fox has a decent story from a couple of days ago detailing the timeline and evidence.  It’s worthwhile reading.

    Oh, and remember the dead terrorists’ friend who acted as straw buyer for the weapons they used in their attack?  Turns out he was getting paid $200 a month for his “marriage” to an in-law of the dead male terrorist.  It certainly looks at this point like that “marriage” was a sham, too.

    “Curiouser and curioser”, said . . . well, damn near anyone with a working brain.

    Yeah, Secretary Johnson – looks like your department’s certainly “got some ‘splainin’ to do.”  About multiple things.

  • 6 US Troops KIA Near Bagram AB

    Fox news is reporting that 6 US troops have been killed in a suicide bombing IVO Bagram AB.  Two additional US personnel are reported to have been wounded, along with an Afghan interpreter.

    The bombing apparently struck a NATO convoy.  It’s the first attack on a NATO convoy since August.  The Taliban has claimed responsibility.

    This Fox News story provides additional details.