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

Category: Terror War

  • White House: 15,475 combat troops deployed

    White House: 15,475 combat troops deployed

    last convoy out of Iraq

    The Obama Administration reported to Congress, in it’s semi-annual report, that 15,475 US combat troops are deployed in the war against terror, whatever it’s called these days, according to USAToday, as quoted in the Stars & Stripes. The largest contingent is in Afghanistan where 10,500 are deployed – that’s about 1400 more than six months ago;

    Also, 3,550 troops remain in Iraq, and small teams are already in northern Syria to train and advise local opposition troops. The report says up to 50 new personnel “may be deployed in Syria as circumstances warrant.”

    The U.S. deployed 350 personnel to Turkey in July in order to support air strikes from Incerlik Air Force Base, and added 375 more in November.

    U.S. troops are also conducting counter-terrorism operations in the African nations of Niger (350 troops) and Cameroon (300 troops). Since June, the U.S. has also conducted counterterrorism operations in Somalia, Yemen, Djibouti and Libya

    There are also operations being conducted in the Philippines, but I don’t see numbers for that deployment.

  • Congress may authorize war against ISIS

    Congress may authorize war against ISIS

    The Hill reports that Congress has finally decided that maybe they’ll authorize the use of force against ISIS, you know, since we’ve already had US casualties in that war. One authorization introduced today is bipartisan and bicameral;

    Reps. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the legislation, a companion bill to a measure in the Senate offered by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

    It would expire after three years unless reauthorized, repeal the Iraq War authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) and be the sole authorization for the war against ISIS.

    I’m just wondering how people like Bernie Sanders will vote. Remember he voted against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq last time when he was in the House. But now he wants to be the president, so….

    “However one may define it, we are in a war right now,” said Rigell, who noted that with a new House Speaker, lawmakers may be more amenable to tackling difficult issues in a bipartisan manner.

    “We must not fear ISIS nor should we fear the debate about how to defeat ISIS,” he said.

    “Congress has been absent,” added Welch. “It’s time that Congress did its job.”

    Flake agreed that some colleagues “just don’t want to get on the record here,” but he said they would do their best to bring it to a vote.

    60% of Democrats in the House and 42% of Democrats in the Senate voted against the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq, I wonder if they’ll be more receptive to a Democrat President and the war he created.

  • Another San Bernardino Update

    Well, we now know a bit more about what’s going on with Enrique Martinez – the guy who bought some of the weapons used by the two terrorist bastard murders who killed 14 and wounded 20+ in San Bernardino.

    Specifically, we know that he and the deceased male terrorist bastard apparently discussed perpetrating an attack in the LA area back in 2012.  They backed out when another unrelated group of four got busted for a similar reason nearby.

    I’m guessing that means that the deceased female terrorist bastard didn’t have to do much to radicalize her deceased husband.  But maybe I’m wrong.

    We also know that Martinez either had converted or was in the process of converting to Islam.  Can’t say I’m surprised to hear that, either.

    Finally, we now know that Martinez is cooperating with investigators, but is also expected to face charges in this case.  Both of those are IMO “good things”.

    Personally, I hope he ends up facing capital charges – and since people were killed by the guns he allegedly supplied, gets the needle if convicted.  But maybe that’s just me.

  • Carter ready to help Iraqis in Ramadi

    Carter ready to help Iraqis in Ramadi

    Stars & Stripes reports that Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that US forces in Iraq are “prepared to assist the Iraqi army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the job” in Ramadi, where he claims that the Iraq Army has made gains against ISIS fighters in the city.

    But the Obama administration’s approach is not enough, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the committee’s chairman, who called for U.S. troops to be inserted into Iraqi units closer to the front lines to offer advise and call in airstrikes.

    “What we do need in Iraq is several thousand additional U.S. troops to improve and accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, especially Sunni tribal fighters and embed to advise Iraqi units closer to the fight, call in airstrikes from forward positions, and conduct counter-terrorism operations,” McCain said, adding later “there are 20,000 to 30,000 of them. They are not giants.”

    Defending the president’s approach, Carter said deploying a large U.S. force to drive the militants from Iraq and neighboring Syria would not ensure lasting stability in the region.

    While I agree that we should not send thousands of US troops to Iraq to refight the war there, I also must express disappointment with the Obama Administration. Carter says that he intends to ask regional partners to do more in this fight. Why hasn’t that been done already? The Saudis and the Gulf States have done very little compared to the West in this war to save the region from an Islamic hegemony, the Caliphate that threatens the Kingdom. No one in the region, besides Jordan and Turkey, have taken on the refugee problem, the least they could do is provide some ground forces to send into the meat grinder. When Hussein was at the gates of their pleasant little kingdoms, they ponied up troops.

    It looks to me like the Arabs and this president are hoping that the next president will be forced to have the US fight in Iraq all over again.

  • Ibrahim Qosi, Gitmo alum, commands AQ in Yemen

    Ibrahim Qosi, Gitmo alum, commands AQ in Yemen

    Ibrahim Qosi

    According to Long War Journal, Ibrahim Qosi accepted a plea deal in 2010 with Guantanamo prosecutors to cooperate with them and they released him to his home in the Sudan in 2012. In 2014, he rejoined Al Qaeda and he rose through the ranks and is an important leader in the organization’s branch office in Yemen. He joined the organization in 1990 and as a legacy member, he has no intention of leaving, apparently.

    A leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) threat assessment and other declassified files documented Qosi’s extensive al Qaeda dossier. In the threat assessment, dated Nov. 15, 2007, US intelligence analysts described Qosi as a “high” risk to the US and its allies.

    “Detainee is an admitted veteran jihadist with combat experience beginning in 1990 and it is assessed he would engage in hostilities against US forces, if released,” JTF-GTMO found.

    From the New York Times when he was released;

    The former prisoner, Ibrahim al-Qosi, arrived at the Khartoum airport aboard a United States Air Force jet late Tuesday, according to an Associated Press report from Sudan that cited a local radio station. It said he was met by his father and brother, and told the station that he had a difficult time in “unfair detention in the infamous Guantánamo prison.”

    In a statement, the Defense Department said: “The United States coordinated with the government of Sudan regarding appropriate security and humane treatment measures. In accordance with statutory reporting requirements, the administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer al-Qosi to Sudan.”

    So, yeah, this whole strategy of doing the opposite of President Bush is working well, ain’t it?

  • Afghan mechanics missing in Georgia

    David and Eggs send us links to the story of two missing Afghans who were training at Moody Air Force Base. They didn’t show up for training on Monday;

    Two male Afghan air force students did not report for duty yesterday at their regular maintenance training at Moody AFB in Valdosta, Georgia. Both are assigned to the 81st Fighter Squadron. They have been at Moody since. February 2015 and were screened prior to their arrival in the United States more than a year ago. The students have trained alongside American counterparts for the entirety of 2015 and do not pose any apparent threat. There is a well-coordinated process among federal agencies to locate the individuals as quickly as possible and return them accordingly to the proper authorities to manage their present situation.

    They may be a threat to Bovidae-Americans, however.

  • And In Other San Bernardino News . . . .

    Jonn’s already provided today’s financial update on the terrorists, so I’ll stick to info concerning events the day those two radical terrorist bastards murdered 14 innocent people and wounded 20+ others.

    Remember those pipe bombs the terrorist bastards left in the facility they shot up? You know, the ones they left behind rigged for remote detonation which (thankfully) didn’t go off?

    Well, authorities think they know why the bombs were left behind.  Investigators now  believe those bombs were intended to target first responders.  Had the bombs gone off as designed, the death toll could have been higher – much higher.

    Investigators are unsure why the bombs didn’t go off as planned.  Facility sprinklers and a problem with the remote to be used to detonate them are the current theories.

    Anyone still believe this was “workplace violence”?  Or doubt it was a deliberate terrorist attack?

  • $28,500 magically appears in terrorists’ bank

    Fox News’ Catherine Herridge reports that the investigators found a fairly large deposit into the bank account of the pair of terrorists in San Bernadino, California two weeks before their rampage that resulted in the deaths of 14 people;

    The deposit came via Utah-based WebBank.com, which describes itself as “a leading provider of national consumer and commercial private-label and bank card financing programs” on a nationwide basis. On or about Nov.20, Fox News is told [whats-his-name] converted $10,000 to cash, and withdrew the money at a Union Bank branch in San Bernardino. Afterwards, in the days before the shooting, there were at least three transfers of $5,000 that appear to be to [whats-his-name]’s mother.

    The loan and large cash withdrawal were described to Fox News by the source as “significant evidence of pre-meditation,” and further undercut the premise that an argument at the Christmas party on Dec. 2 led to the shooting.

    Fox News is also told that investigators are exploring whether the $10,000 cash withdrawal was used to reimburse Enrique Marquez, the man who bought the two semiautomatic rifles used in the San Bernardino shootings.

    Some of the money ended up whats-his-names’ mother’s account a few days before the attack. It also looks like whats-his-name paid Enrique Marquez for the rifles he used – that the rifles were purchased legally by Enrique Marquez, but they were illegally transferred to whats-his-name, since those types of guns require a record of transfer and a paper trail in California. There’s also a question about who illegally modified the weapons, whats-his-name or Marquez. Marquez checked himself into a mental facility on the day of the attack, but it seems that he’s answering law enforcement’s questions now.