Tag Archive for: Syria

Here Are All The Times US Troops Have Shot Down Drones And Missiles Launched By Iran-Backed Groups Since October

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  • U.S. forces in the Middle East have shot down at least 50 drones and 11 missiles since the Oct. 17 escalation in attacks by Iran-backed militias, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation tally.
  • U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have come under attack at least 106 times, a Department of Defense official told the DCNF.
  • Meanwhile, naval forces in the Red Sea have defended against 46 attack drones and saved commercial shipping vessels from ballistic missiles the Yemen-based Houthi rebel group fired.

U.S. troops in the Middle East have engaged more than 50 drones and at least 11 missiles, including ballistic missiles, fired by Iranian proxy groups, since the Oct. 17 escalation in attacks, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation tally.

The Iran-backed militias conducting drone and missile attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria and on commercial shipping in the Red Sea have framed their activities as a means of opposing Israel in its war on the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, and Washington’s alleged underwriting of the conflict that began Oct. 7. In the process of defending against those attacks, U.S. forces have downed dozens of drones and missiles targeting or nearing American personnel, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statements, media reports and claims by the militia groups show.

The Pentagon says it aims to prevent a wider war from cascading across the Middle East and has moved to bolster air defenses at bases throughout the region.

A Department of Defense (DOD) official told the DCNF on Friday afternoon the Pentagon has counted at least 106 attacks on U.S. forces Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. CENTCOM has confirmed only six drones successfully intercepted during those attacks, but media reports suggest the number could be much higher.

The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a coalition of various Iran-backed militant groups, through its semi-official Iraq War Media social media channel issued another claim on Friday accompanied by footage of rocket launches.

The first attack took place on Oct. 17, when the U.S. military and coalition forces fended off three explosive-laden drones bearing down on U.S. troops stationed in Iraq in two different incidents, CENTCOM said in a press release. The next day, two sites in Syria hosting American and partner troops came under attack; one of the drones was shot down before it could cause damage, while the other one caused minor injuries to personnel at the al-Tanf coalition garrison.

Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia, had threatened to attack U.S. military bases with missiles, special forces and drones if the U.S. intervened militarily in support of Israel, Reuters reported.

Rockets and drones pummeled the Ain al-Asad air base near Baghdad later on Oct. 19. On Oct. 23, U.S. troops shot down two more kamikaze drones in Syria with unspecified defensive systems, Pentagon officials confirmed. Rockets rained down at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad again on Oct. 24, Reuters reported, citing two Iraqi security sources.

The Pentagon warned Iran and its proxy militias in the Middle East intended to further escalate conflict by attacking U.S. troops based in the region.

Dozens of troops have sustained minor injures, and one American contractor died during a false alarm.

On Oct. 25, one attack was recorded at a location in northern Syria on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported, citing U.S. officials. Three rockets were aimed at the outpost and one landed inside, although no troops were injured.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed dozens of attacks, not all of which have been verified as successful. They continued through November and December.

Christmas day saw the most significant casualty of all the attacks when an explosive drone apparently crashed into Erbil Air Base in Iraq, wounding two American service members and leaving a third in critical condition, the Pentagon said. In retaliation, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes on “Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on UAV activities,” damaging facilities used to make drones and likely killing or wounding multiple militants.

It was the fourth round of airstrikes Biden ordered on facilities associated with the militant groups and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which oversees Tehran’s proxy operations, since Oct. 27.

Additionally, U.S. and coalition forces have defended bases as militants were planning or in the process of conducting strikes, recording casualties.

Separately, U.S. Naval forces in the Red Sea have downed at least 46 attack drones and 11 missiles the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched, according to a DCNF tally. The USS Carney guided-missile destroyer intercepted three land-attack cruise missiles and eight drones that appeared intended to strike Israel on Oct. 19, USNI News reported, citing a preliminary Pentagon after-action report.

Since then, CENTCOM has documented 23 attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, according to a statement. U.S. destroyers and fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier scrambled to respond.

In the latest incident, Houthi rebels on four small boats fired small arms and crew-served guns at U.S. helicopters while attempting to board a Maersk container ship early Sunday, the first time the Pentagon has confirmed Houthi militants directly targeted American military personnel. U.S. helicopters fired back, killing militants and sinking three of the skifs, the military said.

Saturday night, the Gravely shot down two more anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis, according to CENTCOM.

The Pentagon is documenting attacks on international shipping on a case-by-case basis, the DOD official told the DCNF.

“Often times if multiple munitions are fired in quick succession, that would count as once ‘incident.’ However, it really depends on the timing and sequence of events during a period of time,” the official said.

U.S. warships downed drones twice in November and responded to an attempted strike on commercial ship with anti-ship ballistic missiles, CENTCOM has said. Incidents increased in frequency in December; on one occasion, the USS Carney shot down 14 attack drones that came at the destroyer in a wave, without any evidence of warship nearby.

Dec. 3 proved an especially tense day as the UUS Carney guided-missile destroyer responded to three separate distress calls as the commercial ships came under attack from an onslaught of drones and ballistic missiles from areas occupied by the Iran-backed militant group, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. In the process of rendering support to the ships, the Carney downed three Houthi drones but CENTCOM said it was too early to determine whether a U.S. Navy vessel was also a target.

“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security. They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world. We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran,” CENTCOM said in the statement.

U.S. naval assets downed a dozen suicide drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-based cruise missiles the Houthis fired toward the Red Sea over a 10-hour period on Dec. 26, the military said in a statement.

In a statement, the Houthi military spokesperson affirmed the group’s “continued support and support of the Palestinian people as part of their religious, moral and humanitarian duty” and reiterated intentions to attack any commercial vessel tied to Israeli owners or destined for Israel.

Shipping in the Red Sea has decreased dramatically to the Houthi threat, as successful strikes have sparked fires on board merchant vessels and tankers, while U.S. forces continue to take down missiles.

The Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational task force aimed at safeguarding shipping through the critical waterway, on Dec. 18. Major freight companies say they still plan to reroute around Cape of Good Hope, CNN reported.

So far, the Pentagon has not confirmed whether the Houthis aimed for any drones heading directly for U.S. warships to impact on those ships, reportedly to avoid provoking further tensions as the region is simmering over the war between Israel and Gaza. The Biden administration has also refrained from directly targeting Houthi launch sites.

“President Biden’s perceived weakness by our enemies is leading to escalating attacks against our servicemembers and lawful commercial shipping. These attacks will continue until these terrorists understand that their actions will have severe consequences.” Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Investigative reporter, defense.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

U.S. Conducts Second Round Of Retaliatory Airstrikes In Syria As Attacks On Troops Rises To 41

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The U.S. conducted a second round of retaliatory airstrikes at facilities used by Iran’s elite military and Iran-backed groups in Syria on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

Attacks by Iranian-backed militias on bases in Iraq and Syria hosting U.S. troops numbered 41 on Wednesday after at least one more was confirmed, Fox News reported. The retaliatory strikes marked the second time the U.S. has targeted facilities linked to Iran and its proxy militias since the wave of attempted drone and rocket attacks beginning on Oct. 17.

“This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates,” Austin said in the statement. “The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”

President Joe Biden directed the attacks in eastern Syria on weapons storage facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias, the statement said. Two U.S. F-15 fighter jets conducted the airstrikes.

“The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation. U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria,” he added.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Monday characterized the operations as repeated “harassing attacks of drones and rockets.” At least 46 personnel sustained injuries including traumatic brain injuries and minor wounds from shrapnel, headaches, perforated ear drums and other conditions, he said.

AUTHOR

MICAELA BURROW

Investigative reporter, defense.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Two Dozen U.S. Soldiers Injured in Iran-Backed Attacks Last Week

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The ayatollahs are getting impatient that their $6 billion check hasn’t arrived.

The ayatollahs are getting impatient that their $6 billion check hasn’t arrived in the mail. And they do like celebrating the 40th anniversary of their great triumph… the Marine Barracks bombing.

So they spent a little time trying to kill American soldiers. Again.

At least two-dozen American military personnel based in Iraq and Syria were injured in drone attacks last week that officials said were launched by Iran-backed proxy groups.

The largest attack carried out against a US base was on Oct. 18 when 20 troops suffered “minor injuries,” after numerous one-way drones targeted al-Tanf Garrison in southeastern Syria, US military officials said, according to the Washington Post.

On the same day, multiple drones also targeted the US and its allies in two different attacks on Ain al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq that left four people with minor injuries, the Washington Post reported. Those injured also returned to duty.

A US citizen working as a contractor died the same day after he went into cardiac arrest during a shelter-in-place order at the base.

The Pentagon has said the groups behind the attacks are supported by Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It’s natural to assume that this is a response to the current situation in the region, but the depressing thing is that it’s not even new.

The two elements that jump out at most people (1. Iran launching attacks on U.S. bases and (2. the White House not even mentioning it… have been around for quite a while.

Here’s my article on it from Jan 2022.

Two more terror drones targeted American forces deployed to fight ISIS at the Al Asad air base. The base has been repeatedly hammered by Iran-backed rocket attacks over the past year, most notably when 14 rockets struck the base over the summer causing several injuries.

There were repeated Iran-backed rocket strikes against Americans in Iraq throughout the last year totaling an estimated 25 separate attacks under the Biden administration.

On September 11, two drones launched an attack on U.S. forces at Erbil International Airport.

Then, as now, the Biden administration limited American military personnel to defensive preventative air strikes against the Shiite terror groups carrying out the attacks.

This was going on long before the current Hamas attack and the Israeli response. Or before we directed more forces to the region.

American soldiers have been killed and worse still, we’re funding their killers. And I don’t just mean with that $6 billion.

While some U.S. conflicts with Jihadists in the region are old news, Kataeb Hezbollah fired rockets at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in 2019, and has bombed U.S. bases in recent years. Kataeb Hezbollah killed two American soldiers in 2020: Army Spc. Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias and Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts.

Politicians and the media have mostly ignored the fact that Americans are continuing to be killed in Iraq, that the Iraqi government is funding their killers, and that we’re funding Iraq.

While Iraq funds Iran’s terror militias, the United States funds the UN Development Programme to “stabilize” Iraq and has invested over $100 million into “conflict, peace and security” funding.

The United States has spent over $1 billion financing the nation’s military while Iraq spends billions financing the Iranian PMU terror militias which are expected to approach a quarter of million Jihadis.

Did you hear any mention of Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts?

On March 14, 2020, Roberts lost his life when enemy fire engaged with his unit at Camp Taji. With rockets flying, Roberts and his friend took cover. They discussed running to a bunker but not without considering if they could make it to safety. Roberts told his fellow Airmen to go and get her body armor. As his friend left, a rocket landed, taking his life. In losing his own, Roberts saved another.

Her body armor.

Do we talk about any of this? No. And then suddenly we notice it and wonder what’s going on. Iran keeps attacking us and trying to kill us. And Biden keeps trying to cut a deal while warning against offending Iran.

AUTHOR

DANIEL GREENFIELD

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Chaos Erupts In Middle East As Israel-Hamas Conflict Surges

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In the wake of Israel’s attacks on Hamas, U.S. forces in the Middle East have endured several attacks as violent protests decrying Israel ensue throughout the region.

Israel is carrying out a sweeping counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas killed over 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped over 100 civilians, including children, during mass terrorist attacks that began on Oct. 7. Protests and violence have flared up in surrounding Middle Eastern nations – despite the Biden administration claiming days before the Hamas attack that the region is “quieter” than it has been in decades.

Mass protests are taking place in Arab nations surrounding Israel, including Libya, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, the latter of which houses the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah. U.S. military forces in regions including Syria, Iraq and the Red Sea have recorded rocket and/or drone attacks from a number of groups, including Islamic Resistance and Houthi forces.

Several of the groups involved in the attacks against U.S. forces are supported and backed by Iran. While Tehran’s role in helping plan the initial Oct. 7 attacks against Israel by Hamas is disputed, it heavily supports the terrorist organization.

“Tehran is bringing various elements of its proxy network online and in place to bail out Hamas, distract Israel, and deter the U.S. from standing with Israel,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior researcher on Iranian security and political issues at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The more Tehran greenlights the involvement of its proxies, the more it is attempting to create a new security architecture in the region to keep America out and Israel bogged down.”

To the northeast, Iranian-backed militants fired rockets at the Ain al-Asad air base hosting Americans in Iraq on Thursday, and a search and rescue operation was subsequently launched by the Iraqi military; it is not immediately clear if casualties or injuries were sustained during the attacks. Another base was attacked via rocket fire near the international airport in Baghdad on the same day.

The al-Asad base came under attack earlier in the week after U.S. troops staved off incoming kamikaze drones on Tuesday. In Syria, two U.S. military sites housing American and allied troops fell under attack from drones on Thursday; incoming drones were shot down by personnel at the al-Tanf coalition garrison, with one servicemember sustaining injuries. Militants also fired rockets at the Conoco base in the Deir al-Zor region of Syria after it fell under siege from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Thursday.

A U.S. naval destroyer operating in the Red Sea shot down an incoming hive of drones and cruise missiles launched by Houthi terrorist forces in Yemen on Thursday, the AP reported. The drones were “potentially” headed for Israel, according to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

“These small-scale attacks are clearly concerning and dangerous,” Ryder said on Wednesday. “We’re going to do everything necessary to ensure that we’re protecting our forces. And  if and when we choose to respond, we’ll do so at a time of our choosing.”

Hezbollah has warned the U.S. against increasing its support of Israel, and has launched several small-scale attacks over its southern border, including missile attacks and gunfire toward IDF, according to Fox News. IDF has increased its presence at the border with troops and tanks as tensions with Hezbollah rapidly escalate, according to The Associated Press.

Hezbollah warned Israel on Wednesday it is “thousands of times stronger” than it was before, according to Reuters; the Iranian-backed terrorist group consists of approximately 100,000 fighters, leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah claimed. It also has a stockpile of weaponry and boasts precision-guided missiles that could hit any target in Israel.

After it was reported without evidence that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza, Hezbollah called for a “day of unprecedented anger” and violent protests ensued near the U.S. embassy in Lebanon starting Wednesday. Security forces fired tear gas and water cannons into crowds of protestors who broke through barbed wire and fencing leading to the embassy, according to Reuters.

Mass Palestinian protests are occurring in several Arab nations surrounding Israel, including Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Turkey and Jordan, according to the Associated Press. The State Department issued a “Worldwide Caution Security Alert” to U.S. citizens traveling overseas on Thursday amid the risk of further terrorist attacks and violence.

Demonstrations also took place in Iran, where protestors can be seen burning the Israeli flag and chanting “death to Israel,” NBC News reported on Tuesday. All of the unfolding chaos, from attacks against U.S. forces to the ongoing protests against Israel, can be traced back to Tehran, according to Shoshana Bryen, senior director of the Jewish Policy Center.

“Iran is the center of the conflict. The religious leadership believes it is destined to control Islam, and then the rest of the world. They’re not ‘crazy,’ they’re believers,” Bryen told the DCNF. “Without an international determination to thwart Iran’s goals, the region will not see peace regardless of the outcome of Israel’s present war in Gaza.”

Bryen said that when the war between Israel and Hamas concludes, the chaos will reflect poorly on the Biden administration, which has been accused by lawmakers and foreign policy experts of taking a concessionary stance toward Iran.

“When the history of the current horror in Israel is written, it will be clear that the administration’s oil sanctions waivers, unfreezing assets, ignoring Iranian arms sales to Russia, and ignoring the suffering of the Iranian people under the mullahs gave Tehran the sense that it was driving events,” Bryen told the DCNF. “And Hamas had the same sense in Gaza.”

The Biden administration said on Oct. 7 – two days before the brutal Hamas terrorist attacks – that the Middle East is “quieter today than it has been in two decades.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

JAKE SMITH

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

The Killing of Western Civilization

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The Hamas terrorist attack on Israel was just a recent atrocious assault against Western civilization, a war that started a hundred years ago. In fact, I have been writing about that global cabal, which was waging WWIII against Western civilization for forty-two years.  “This global cabal is capable of anything. They are already responsible for the deaths of millions. They use lies as easily as they breathe. Everywhere they have gone, there is death and destruction.” If you read my column: Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America published October 6, 2023, one day prior to the Hamas attack, you will learn about this global cabal—I called them a new “Axis of Evil” under the Russian umbrella.

Yes, this global cabal is the new” Axis of Evil,” under the Russian umbrella: Cuba, China, North Korea, Syria, Iran and Venezuela. But only people who read my columns or books know that. Iran is a Russian proxy and to know Iran you have to know Russia and its Intel. Because there are the patterns of Soviet Socialism, Russia implements into all its proxies, including the terror groups, especially in the Mideast: ISIS, Taliban, al-Qaeda, Hezb’allah, Hamas, and others. That was the essence of Stalin’s legacy: brainwashing Muslims groups, and marring Islam with Communist ideology. That way we got a Fascist-Jihad of Stalinist era in the 20th century. A misleading system of disinformation, an instrument designed by Stalin was executed by all his devoted disciples after his death. To educate America, I have been writing about that system of Stalinist Soviet Socialism, which I called Soviet Fascism, for the last forty-two years…

The new “Axis of Evil—the Evil Doer” has not been known to the vast majority of Americans. Yes, all mentioned above terror groups have the same parents–the Russian Intel. The KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov 1967-1982 has designed two-states solution in the Mideast, when the KGB has begun controlling Hamas—anti-Semitism has united them. The same unity had been achieved for all terror groups in the 20th century. We have dealt with strategic partnerships against Western civilization. Russian expansion of Soviet Socialism, which I called Soviet fascism was the goal for the Mideast region. I have been writing this story of the people’s suffering, griefs, and killings to make you familiar with the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer for forty-two years. You can find the details in my columns…

Forty-two years is a pretty long-time and I am tired, very tired of being alone writing to educate and convince the American people with my poor English. Nobody helped me. I was writing about terrorist Russia and its expansion of terrorism throughout the globe. A devoted disciple of Stalin/Andropov Vladimir Putin was doing that for the last thirty years… I couldn’t believe a word, listening from the actively-destructive Biden’s team, I don’t trust them… Can you imagine how excited I’ve become reading the column with the warning, I was yelling for forty-two years:

“People living in modern civilization—especially in the West—play by the rules, live within their means, love their families, and cherish their children’s future. We get up in the morning, go to our jobs, or to our tasks, not thinking about any threats that may be formulating to destroy our lives. And yet, the threats are there, and they persist. For those of us who do our research and read what these enemies are plotting against us—and we do have enemies—we start to understand how dangerous they really are, these globalist elites. They have told us numerous times, both in print and in speech, what they are planning. And yet they are ignored when all we have to do is take them seriously and act accordingly.” War Is Upon You, By Ray DiLorenzo, Canada Free Press, October 8, 2023 

The author described the current events in the world, as if he came from the society of Soviet Socialism. But he didn’t indicate any specific country, only a new foreign predicament in America. He loves America, and is suffering watching how America loses its moral compass. I felt an alarm and pain in his every word. I believe, he read my columns or books and now expressing his sincere warning to Americans and the world:

“Anyone can see that society is changing, and not for the better. The Greatest Generation is long gone. The self-image and desire generation of fifty years ago, especially in government, is hanging on by threads, unwilling to give in to time and poor decisions. We are now witnesses to a society and a generation no longer American, heavily influenced by social media, with narcissism transformed into amorality, hysteria, self-indulgence, and violence.” By Ray DiLorenzo– Friday, October 6, 2023

Meanwhile the killing in Israel is going on… I’d like to remind you of the Vietnam war, because the Russian military Doctrine is active here in the Hamas assaults of Israel. Do you remember the Vietnam War? The North Vietnamese used the tunnels for unexpected access and assaults against the South Vietnamese. You can see exact the same Russian Doctrine used against Israel by Hamas. History is the mother of all sciences and I know who helped the North Vietnamese. I had a client, a Soviet pilot, who participated in the Vietnam War. You can find this story in my books and articles. There is another Stalinist Doctrine: “No lives matter.” Have you heard Hamas tell Palestinians to stay in Gaza and not evacuate: for Hamas “No lives matter,” Stalinist Doctrine is alive and well in the 21st century Mideast. The Russian tentacles are all over the region and the globe.

“No lives matter” under Soviet Fascism!

The picture of Stalin, the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century is here.

The Republican Ignorance

“Those who don’t know Stalinist legacy of the 20th century will pay a dear price for their ignorance. “I wrote that one day prior to the Hamas invasion: Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America: The Stalinist Mexican Cartels, October 6, 2023. I had in mind Fox News and the firing of two talented men: Dan Bongino and Tucker Carlson. I knew that Putin was preparing something bad. I wrote it purposely to alert the ignorant and remind them about Holocaust of Jews by German-Nazis. It is for a reason I have been writing about Soviet Fascism for decades. Russia is a terrorist, anti-Semitic country with close and long-term relations to all Middle Eastern countries through its KGB, which was implementing Soviet Fascism there, while the FBI didn’t know Russia and the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer, I’ve been writing about for decades. I had to write it–the FBI has not protected us!

Moreover, “According to a White House pool report, President Biden told the two dozen who were in attendance why he decided to run for president in 2020. He mentioned Charlottesville and the events that transpired there in 2017 as his reason for running.” Joe Biden has a meltdown that leaves Democrats sick with worry, The Federalist Wire, September 26, 2023. Reading this information my antenna went up. As a matter of fact, I was writing about Charlottesville in many columns: like Jan.6, on Capitol Hill, Charlottesville was the KGB’s Mafia/Army—Evil Doer operation to build a fascist movement in America.    

A Controlled Opposition  

Charlottesville happened in August 2017, in Unite the Right, the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In fact, it was the KGB operation in cahoots with the Democrat Party to establish and built a fascist movement in America. The designers and organizers were the Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe and the FBI deputy Director Andrew McCabe. I wrote this in my column: Origin of the Washington Spy Ring and the Swamp, March 31, 2018:

“Yes, firing Andrew McCabe was the beginning of a huge international case of conspiracy against the U.S.A, because those two are the accomplices of the crime or even crimes. To investigate the case, you have to know the KGB well and I’ll try to give you some tips. It was Andropov’s idea to invent a “controlled opposition.” The KGB had practiced it in Russia for many years. It is very simple to achieve, just infiltrate the opposition with a couple of people, promote them to the leadership and act in a way that is beneficial for your initial design. That exact move was realized and implanted in America. The result you see in August 2017, in Unite the Right, the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.’’

It was the time for the FBI to do their job. But as we found out today the FBI didn’t want to do the job and the Democrat Party had been left not being exposed… I don’t want to impose my opinion and conclusion, I rely on each of you to make your own decision, watching Biden/Obama and their team for many years. We are living in the predicament of global disinformation where truth is hard to find. By the way, the House of Representatives, the only Republican power, has no Speaker for 12 days, because of the same dysfunctional FBI. I hope, sooner or later the truth will shine to disinfect the globe, I hope…You can read my columns for free now.

Don’t be surprised by the large-scale rally at the U.S. Colleges and Universities in defense of Hamas. Just watch TV. Have you heard about the group Students for Justice in Palestine? They are sponsored by Hamas and Iran.  And they are not alone, there are a hundred of these organizations around the world. Please, read about one of them:

National Students for JUSTICE IN PALESTINE

Supporting over hundred Palestine solidarity organizations across occupied Turtle Island, we aim to develop a student movement that is connected, disciplined, and equipped with the tools necessary achieve Palestinian liberation

Please, pay attention to the last two words—Palestinian liberation. These words should bring your memory back to Yasser Arafat, President of Palestinian Liberation Organization–PLO. Arafat’s lieutenant Abbas is still there. To make a long story short, read my columns and learn that Yasser Arafat was recruited by the KGB’s Mafia/Army in 1957. The cycle of War Crimes committed by the Russian Government and its KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer is in front of the world. Now, as usual I rely on people’s imagination and knowledge…

Today I receive an email from Rep. Chip Roy–This is existential.

The Biden administration is allowing over 10,000+ illegal crossings a day – mostly adult males from 150+ countries, including these latest numbers from CBP:

  • Syria: 538
  • Yemen: 139
  • Iran: 659
  • Iraq: 123
  • Afghanistan: 6,386
  • Lebanon: 164
  • Egypt: 3,153
  • Pakistan: 1,613
  • Mauritania: 15,594
  • Uzbekistan: 13,624
  • Turkey: 30,830

As we watch what is going on in Israel right now, how can we be safe in America without securing our border?

My fellow Americans!

The U.S.A. is under an existential threat—we have Hamas and the KGB’s Mafia/Army—the Evil Doer with their deadly activities on our soil! The Killing of Western Civilization is on a progress, before your eyes!

Equip yourselves with knowledge and act decisively! Save the American Constitutional Republic for our children, grandchildren, and the world!

To be continued www.simonapipko.com and atwww.drrichswier.com/author/spipko/

©2023. Simona Pipko. All rights reserved.

Biden regime said it killed ‘senior al-Qaeda operative’ in Syria, but he was really just a farmer

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If this had been done by Trump, he would be getting impeached again. But the Biden regime will pay no price for this criminal activity.

Biden Says He Killed a Senior Al Qaeda Operative. It Turns Out He May Have Been a Poor Farmer.

by Jack Montgomery, The National Pulse, May 19, 2023

U.S. government officials appear to be climbing down from claims that a man slain in a Hellfire missile strike in Syria on May 3rd was a “senior Al Qaeda leader.” Similar to the drone strike that killed an aid worker’s family after Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, the truth appears to be that the deceased was just a poor farmer in a field.

In early May 2023, Pentagon officials boasted about the kill, carried out by a Predator drone, but even the Washington Post now reports they are walking back their claims, with evidence mounting that the man they killed was an ordinary civilian.

“We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official,” one defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted to the newspaper.

Another, also anonymous official conceded “the strike did not kill the original target” as well, yet insisted they still “believe the person to be al-Qaeda.”

But Charles Lister, the Middle East Institute’s director for Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism, told WaPo the the White Helmets organization attended the scene “[v]ery quickly after this strike” and “identified the individual with his name and his profession.”

“Locals came forward to say, this guy’s always been a farmer. He’s never had any political activities; he’s never had any affiliation with armed groups,” Lister said, noting that the “pace and breadth of such push-back was actually quite unusual.”

WaPo identified the victim as 56-year-old Lotfi Hassan Misto, and interviewed eight people including his brother and son, who insist he was an ordinary man whose “whole life was spent poor.”

“If they claim that he’s a terrorist, or that they got someone from al-Qaeda, they’re all liars,” Misto’s brother said….

AUTHOR

ROBERT SPENCER

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Antifa Members from U.S. went to Syria to Fight Alongside Kurdish Marxist Groups

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Communism is an internationalist movement, so this comes as no surprise. It would be illuminating to know what other training Antifa has received, who are its funding sources, and whether it has any connection, in light of the increasingly manifest Leftist-Islamic alliance, with jihad groups. Once they’re in Syria, it wouldn’t be hard to make such connections, and that may have been why they went there, instead of anywhere else in the world where they could have met up with violent Marxists. These Kurdish Marxist groups fought against the Islamic State (ISIS), but wouldn’t have any problem with other jihad groups that share its determination to destroy the free societies in the West.

“DHS Investigates Alleged Antifa Protesters as Terrorists Trained in Syria,” by Daniel Villarreal, Newsweek, August 3, 2020 (thanks to the Geller Report):

An intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that anti-fascist activists (Antifa) are being investigated as possible terrorists with affiliations to Syria, even though no self-identified members of the loosely-affiliated Antifa protest movement have either been proven to commit any murders or carry out any terrorist attacks.

The July 14 report, entitled “The Syrian Conflict and its Nexus to the U.S.-based Antifascist Movement,” states “ANTIFA is being analyzed under the 2019 DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence,” according to a copy of the document obtained by the progressive political magazine The Nation. It received a copy from someone who previously worked on DHS intelligence.

The report details more than half a dozen people identified with various far-left causes who have personally visited Syria to fight alongside Kurdish factions. The factions include the YPG, the People’s Defense Unit; the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party; and the Peshmerga, military forces that provide security for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region. None of these organizations are currently listed by the U.S. as terrorist groups.

“There appears to be a clear connection … between ANTIFA ideology and Kurdish democratic federalism teachings and ideology,” the report stated. “(U.S. Customs and Border Protection) concern about and interest in these individuals stems from the types of skills and motivations that may have developed during their time overseas engaged in foreign conflicts.”…

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump to Macron: ‘Would you like some nice ISIS fighters? You can take everyone you want’

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In saying this, Trump appears to be aware that taking Islamic State jihadis back is a suicidally stupid move, one that all to many European countries are willing to make. As is clear from the context of this exchange, the establishment media is eager for Western countries to play Russian roulette in this way.

“Macron says time for Turkey to clarify ambiguous stance on Islamic State,” by Michel Rose, Reuters, December 3, 2019:

…In an at times awkward news conference with Trump, Macron appeared exasperated when the U.S. president said he would pass the question to Macron on whether France should do more to bring French ISIS fighters home.

Paris has about 400 nationals, including around 60 fighters, held in northern Syria. It has refused to bring adults home saying they must face trial where their crimes were committed.

“Would you like some nice ISIS fighters? You can take everyone you want,” Trump said in a light-hearted tone.

Visibly irritated, Macron responded, saying “let’s be serious” and argued that number of foreign fighters from European countries was small, and that it would be unhelpful to focus on them rather than on the broader problem.

“It is true you have fighters coming from Europe but this is a tiny minority and I think the number one priority, because it’s not finished, is to get rid of ISIS and terrorist groups. This is our number one priority and it’s not yet done,” he said.

Trump suggested Macron had not answered the question.

“This is why he is a great politician because that was one of the greatest non-answers I have ever heard, and that’s OK,” Trump said.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column with video is republished with permission. © All rights reserved.

Contrary to media myth, Trump did not betray the Kurds

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A bit of common sense and clear thinking amid the current hysteria, from Caroline Glick.

“Trump did not betray the Kurds,” by Caroline B. Glick, Israel Hayom, October 11, 2019:

The near-consensus view of US President Donald Trump’s decision to remove American special forces from the Syrian border with Turkey is that Trump is enabling a Turkish invasion and double-crossing the Syrian Kurds who have fought with the Americans for five years against the Islamic State group. Trump’s move, the thinking goes, harms US credibility and undermines US power in the region and throughout the world.

There are several problems with this narrative. The first is that it assumes that until this week, the US had power and influence in Syria when in fact, by design, the US went to great lengths to limit its ability to influence events there.

The war in Syria broke out in 2011 as a popular insurrection by Syrian Sunnis against the Iranian-sponsored regime of President Bashar Assad. The Obama administration responded by declaring US support for Assad’s overthrow. But the declaration was empty. The administration sat on its thumbs as the regime’s atrocities mounted. It supported a feckless Turkish effort to raise a resistance army dominated by jihadist elements aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

President Barack Obama infamously issued his “red line” regarding the use of chemical weapons against civilians by Assad, which he repudiated the moment it was crossed.

As ISIS forces gathered in Iraq and Syria, Obama shrugged them off as a “JV squad.” When the JVs in ISIS took over a third of Iraqi and Syrian territory, Obama did nothing.

As Lee Smith recalled in January in The New York Post, Obama only decided to do something about ISIS in late 2014 after the group beheaded a number of American journalists and posted their decapitations on social media.

The timing was problematic for Obama.

In 2014 Obama was negotiating his nuclear deal with Iran. The deal, falsely presented as a nonproliferation pact, actually enabled Iran – the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism – to develop both nuclear weapons and the missile systems required to deliver them. The true purpose of the deal was not to block Iran’s nuclear aspirations but to realign US Middle East policy away from the Sunnis and Israel and toward Iran.

Given its goal of embracing Iran, the Obama administration had no interest in harming Assad, Iran’s Syrian factotum. It had no interest in blocking Iran’s ally Russia from using the war in Syria as a means to reassert Moscow’s power in the Middle East.

As both Michael Doran, a former national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration and Smith argue, when Obama was finally compelled to act against ISIS, he structured the US campaign in a manner that would align it with Iran’s interests.

Obama’s decision to work with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in northern Syria because it was the only significant armed force outside the Iranian axis that enjoyed congenial relations with both Assad and Iran.

Obama deployed around a thousand forces to Syria. Their limited numbers and radically constrained mandate made it impossible for the Americans to have a major effect on events in the country. They weren’t allowed to act against Assad or Iran. They were tasked solely with fighting ISIS. Obama instituted draconian rules of engagement that made achieving even that limited goal all but impossible.

During his tenure as Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton hoped to revise the US mandate to enable US forces to be used against Iran in Syria. Bolton’s plan was strategically sound. Trump rejected it largely because it was a recipe for widening US involvement in Syria far beyond what the American public – and Trump himself – were willing to countenance.

In other words, the claim that the US has major influence in Syria is wrong. It does not have such influence and is unwilling to pay the price of developing such influence.

This brings us to the second flaw in the narrative about Trump’s removal of US forces from the Syrian border with Turkey.

The underlying assumption of the criticism is that America has an interest in confronting Turkey to protect the Kurds.

This misconception, like the misconception regarding US power and influence in Syria, is borne of a misunderstanding of Obama’s Middle East policies. Aside from ISIS’s direct victims, the major casualty of Obama’s deliberately feckless anti-ISIS campaign was the US alliance with Turkey. Whereas the US chose to work with the Kurds because they were supportive of Assad and Iran, the Turks view the Syrian Kurdish YPG as a sister militia to the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Marxist PKK has been fighting a guerilla war against Turkey for decades. The State Department designates the PKK as a terrorist organization responsible for the death of thousands of Turkish nationals. Not surprisingly then, the Turks viewed the US-Kurdish collaboration against ISIS as an anti-Turkish campaign.

Throughout the years of US-Kurdish cooperation, many have made the case that the Kurds are a better ally to the US than Turkey. The case is compelling not merely because the Kurds have fought well.

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has stood against the US and its interests far more often than it has stood with it. Across a spectrum of issues, from Israel to human rights, Hamas and ISIS to Turkish aggression against Cyprus, Greece, and Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean, to upholding US economic sanctions against Iran and beyond, for nearly 20 years, Erdoğan’s Turkey has distinguished itself as a strategic threat to America’s core interests and policies and those of its closest allies in the Middle East.

Despite the compelling, ever-growing body of evidence that the time has come to reassess US-Turkish ties, the Pentagon refuses to engage the issue. The Pentagon has rejected the suggestion that the US remove its nuclear weapons from Incirlik airbase in Turkey or diminish Incirlik’s centrality to US air operations in Central Asia and the Middle East. The same is true of US dependence on Turkish naval bases.

Given the Pentagon’s position, there is no chance that the US would consider entering an armed conflict with Turkey on behalf of the Kurds.

The Kurds are a tragic people. The Kurds, who live as persecuted minorities in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, have been denied the right of self-determination for the past hundred years. But then, the Kurds have squandered every opportunity they have had to assert independence. The closest they came to achieving self-determination was in Iraq in 2017. In Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurds have governed themselves effectively since 1992. In 2017, they overwhelmingly passed a referendum calling for Iraqi Kurdistan to secede from Iraq and form an independent state. Instead of joining forces to achieve their long-held dream, the Kurdish leaders in Iraq worked against one another. One faction, in alliance with Iran, blocked implementation of the referendum and then did nothing as Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk was overrun by Iraqi government forces.

The Kurds in Iraq are far more capable of defending themselves than the Kurds of Syria. Taking on the defense of Syria’s Kurds would commit the US to an open-ended presence in Syria and justify Turkish antagonism. America’s interests would not be advanced. They would be harmed, particularly in light of the YPG’s selling trait for Obama – its warm ties to Assad and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps….

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. © All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Hope Restored for Syria’s Christians?

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Just before Christmas, it appeared the United States was on the verge of quickly withdrawing remaining U.S. troops from Syria, a move which would have thrown the safety, security, and religious freedom of the area into doubt. Now, thankfully, the quick withdrawal isn’t so sure.

When President Trump announced this decision, FRC expressed concern — as did a number of the president’s supporters — about the religious freedom implications of this move. If the United States moves out, ISIS, Turkey, Iran, and other Islamist groups move in. As our own General Jerry Boykin pointed out to CBN News, among the vulnerable are Christian communities, including those made up of former Muslims, who would undoubtedly receive the brunt of ISIS’s rage if the group is allowed to fester and again conquer freed areas of Syria. Syrian Christians also appealed directly to fellow believers in the United States, asking not to be abandoned now, after our support enabled them to fight for some semblance of freedom.

As General Boykin told Fox News over the Christmas break, while he “wants the president to succeed,” he believes it would be a mistake to pull U.S. troops out of Syria this quickly. Aside from the shame of again abandoning our allies the Kurds, any genocide that occurs due to our withdrawal would destroy President Trump’s legacy on ISIS and the Middle East. It makes sense that the president would want to fulfill this campaign promise, but the United States needs to make sure ISIS is fully defeated.

It appears the president is listening. Following his initial statement about a “quick” withdrawal, Trump more recently announced that the withdrawal would take four months. After a recent lunch with the president, Senator Lindsey Graham (who shares our concerns about the move), said Trump “told me some things I didn’t know that make me feel a lot better about where we’re headed in Syria.” President Trump “promised to destroy ISIS. He’s going to keep that promise,” Graham said. “We’re not there yet. But as I said today, we’re inside the 10-yard line and the president understands the need to finish the job.”

One of the vulnerable areas is known as the Federation of Northern Syria, which is a modern religious freedom miracle — permitting those of all religions (including former Muslims) to live out their faith (something quite rare in the Middle East). Those cultivating this miracle want to build religious freedom for everyone over the long-term — the type of allies the United States needs as we seek to promote religious freedom around the world. Failure to support the work of such allies will inevitably result in destabilization, only causing more people to flee and seek refuge elsewhere.

Aside from the actual problems associated with a quick pull-out, the optics of this potential move are very bad. It appears President Trump spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan who had threatened to invade Northeastern Syria, and now the United States is planning to pull out. Even if the two leaders have some kind of agreement to protect the Kurds, this looks bad, because Erdogan cannot be trusted. Compounding all this is the fact that our withdrawal could lead to Iran’s increased presence, which will further threaten Israel. Yet now, with the Saudis ready to spend big money to re-build some of Syria, President Trump has a perfect opportunity.

It remains to be seen how this will all play out. With his announcement that our troops will now be withdrawn more slowly, it appears the president recognizes some of the concerns we and others have pointed out, and we are optimistic he will continue to take them into account. In supporting religious freedom models like the Federation of Northern Syria, and helping build them elsewhere in the region, President Trump has an opportunity for a truly historic legacy in the Middle East.

Tony Perkins’ Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.

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EDITORS NOTE: This column with images by FRC is republished with permission.

Syrian refugee complains that her brothers can’t come to U.S. from Saudi Arabia

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What is wrong with this sob story?

This Syrian family and the brothers left behind were in Saudi Arabia (one of the brothers had already emigrated to S.A.). Saudi Arabia is a safe country!  Therefore, why are these people now the responsibility of the US taxpayer? They weren’t living in some sqaulid camp.

They were in arguably the richest country in the Middle East!

So tell us again why Saudi Arabia couldn’t house millions of Muslim refugees in their tent cities reserved for the brief Hajj period? Instead we are taking Syrian ‘refugees’ from S.A.!
SA tent city

From the San Diego Union-Tribune.

It is worth reading the whole article because there are lots of useful nuggets and some important comments by critics of the program (besides the story of a Syrian family that came to the U.S. as ‘refugees’ from Saudi Arabia!)

By the way, I’m sure many of you are saying—yes! If we must have them, keep them in California!

Even though overall arrival numbers in fiscal 2017 dropped by more than half from the previous year, San Diego County continued its legacy as the California county that took in the most refugees.

In a year that began with a promise of more refugees than ever before coming to the U.S. and ended with an ongoing court battle over how many and whom the president could block from coming, about 1,500 refugees resettled in San Diego County, according to data from the State Department. That’s down from just over 3,100 the year before, and it’s the only time that number has dipped below 2,000 in the last decade.

“The fact that we remained the largest county, it definitely makes us proud to continue the tradition of San Diego being a safe haven,” said Etleva Bejko, director of refugee and immigration services for Jewish Family Service, a resettlement agency.

Where refugees resettle once the U.S. agrees to take them is a complicated decision-making process that factors in whether they already have family living here, which agencies have the bandwidth to support them and which places have infrastructure in place to help them succeed. That often means that places like San Diego that already have large populations of people from a country will continue to take refugees from that country. [Multiplier effect! Like Ft. Wayne in my previous post—ed]

San Diego County has been known for leading the state in refugee arrivals since large numbers of Iraqis fleeing war began arriving in late summer of 2007.

Confirmation again! Federal resettlement contractors paid by the head!

Bejko said her organization has had to reorganize support efforts because of the overall decreases in arrivals. Resettlement agencies receive funding based on the number of refugees that they help.

[….]

Three members of the Tarakji family, originally from Damascus, Syria, were some of the few who made it to the U.S. after the travel ban. The slowdown in accepting refugees has separated them from two other members of their family.

Catholic Charities resettled mother Alshifaa Hammoush, 52, father Manaf Tarakji, 58, and daughter Maria Tarakji, 21, in April. Two sons, Yasser Tarakji, 29, and Yaman Tarakji, 27, remain in Saudi Arabia.

They had already been trying to immigrate to the U.S. to reunite with their extended family who live in San Diego County when the war in Syria broke out. [They hit the jackpot because the refugee category is the most desirable way to get into the country. They get their hands held by a federal contractor who helps them get all of their welfare (not available to other categories of legal immigrant)!—ed]

After bombing destroyed the pharmacy where Hammoush worked and scared off Manf Tarakji’s clients for his electronics repair business, and a car exploded outside their building, the family fled in 2013 to Saudi Arabia, where the oldest son was already living and working.

Once in Saudi Arabia, they couldn’t continue the process to get family-sponsored green cards.

They stayed there in limbo, unable to fully establish new lives because they were on visitor visas that they had to renew every three months, until they were accepted as refugees to the U.S. Yaman Tarakji was separated into his own refugee case because of his age, and he is still waiting for processing.

The oldest brother, Yasser Tarakji also tried to apply but never heard back from the U.N. agency that registers refugees.

[….]

Still, separation from the two sons is painful for all of them. Whenever Maria Tarakji looks at photos from their last day together in Saudi Arabia, her eyes wet with tears.

“The U.S. was accepting refugees forever. It’s unfair to do this now,” Maria Tarakji said. “It’s really hard to live here, and our brother is not here.”

She said she’s had to take responsibility for tasks that her brothers used to handle, like choosing an internet router.

Both brothers work in computer programming and repair.

Continue reading here.

See my San Diego archive here.  It wasn’t too long ago that we reported that the IRC there was involved in some housing fraud controversy.

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EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is of the Tarakji family: son Yaman Tarakii, 27; father, Manaf Tarakji, 58; mother, Alshifaa Hammoush, 52; son Yasser Tarakii, 29; and daughter Maria Tarakji, 21. The father, mother and daughter arrived in the U.S. in April as Syrian refugees. Two sons are still in Saudi Arabia (Courtesy Photo)

After Iran occupies Syria, it will destroy Europe and North America

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There is a long term plan at work here aimed at destroying the West and it can work.

Iran and Russia plan to destroy Western Europe, the U.S. and Canada by means of a new wave of millions of Syrian Sunnis fleeing to the West to escape the Shiite takeover of Syria.

In my weekly column two months ago, I claimed that Iran is the real victor in the Syrian civil war. Using the war against ISIS as a smokescreen, it is taking over large swathes of Syrian territory, mainly in the scarcely populated middle and eastern parts of the country. In the more fertile and densely populated west of Syria, there are Iraqi, Afghan, and Iranian Shiite militias augmenting Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who were given carte blanche to do whatever Hassan Nasrallah decides to do there.

Assad’s strength continues to increase as ISIS and the other rebel forces lose ground. The brutality of Russian involvement and the cruelty of Shiite militias overcame the anti-Assad forces, the turning point occurring when in 2015, Turkey’ s Erdogan was forced by Russia to cease his aid to the rebels and ISIS. Today, although Erdogan is an unwilling ally of Russia, Alawite Assad still sees him, justifiably, as an Islamist enemy.

The Kurds of northeast Syria, treated as below third class citizens until 2011, will never agree to live under Arab mercy once again and it is reasonable to assume that should Syria remain an undivided country under Assad’s rule, the Kurds will preserve relative autonomy in their region – or fight the regime for their rights.

That is certainly a problem, but the main issue facing a united Syria is going to be the drastic demographic changes the country is going to face.

First of all, about half of Syria’s citizens – close to 10 million – are refugees, half located in Syria and the other half in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, other Arab countries, Europe, North and South America, Australia and even Israel. Syrian refugees who reached points outside the Arab world will in all probability stay put, benefiting from the secure and orderly lives they can now lead. On the other hand, the 3.5 million now in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are awaiting the end of hostilities in order to return to their homes.

Those expectations may be dashed, however, because Syrian reality is totally changed, and large parts of its cities are in ruins after six and a half years of a cruel and bloody war. Countless bombs dropped from planes and helicopters, artillery and tank barrages, mines and explosives planted by both sides have made much of urban Syria, where most of the fighting took place, unsafe to live in. In Homs, Aleppo, Adlib, Hamat and many other cities, entire neighborhoods will have to be razed and their infrastructure rebuilt from scratch.

Decades and billions of dollars are needed to rebuild the country and I, for one, do not see the world’s nations standing on line to donate the necessary funds. Refugees will not agree to switch their tents in Jordan for ruined buildings lacking basic infrastructure in a desolate and destroyed Syria.

The other reason the refugees will not return is their justified fear of the new lords of the land – the Shiites. Iran has been moving Shiites from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan to Syria for a long time in a clear attempt to change the demographic makeup of the country from the Sunni majority it had before the civil war broke out in 2011. The issue could not be more clear because it is no secret that the pre-civil war Sunni majority considered the Alawite rulers heretic idol worshippers who had no right to live in Syria, much less rule over it.

The Alawites know well that the Sunnis rebelled against them twice: The first time was from 1976 to 1982, a rebellion that took the lives of 50,000 citizens. The second time, slowly drawing to an end, has cost the lives of half a million men, women, children and aged citizens of Syria. The Alawites intend to prevent a third rebellion and the best way to do that is to change the majority of the population to Shiites instead of Sunnis. They will not allow the Sunni refugees to return to their homes, leaving them eternal refugees whose lands have been taken over by the enemy. Iran, meanwhile, will populate Syria with Shiites from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

This ethnic cleansing is the Ayatollah’s dream come true, the dream that sees a Shiite crescent drawn from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. This will cover the eastern Arab world from the north, while the war in Yemen is being fought in order to create a parallel southern crescent, entrapping Saudi Arabia and Jordan between the two. With the help of Allah, both those countries and Israel, the Small Satan, will soon fall into the hands of the Shiites, while Europe and America do nothing because who cares when Muslims fight other Muslims?

The Shiite majority in Syria will play along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, their natural allies, and it is possible that some form of federation might be created between the two in order to push the Lebanese Christians out of the picture, “persuading” them to flee to other countries, leaving Lebanon to its “rightful” Shiite masters. This explains Nasrallah’s eager willingness to fight on Syrian soil as well as the opposition of those against Nasrallah to his involvement there.

The new demographic situation in Syria will convince the Sunni refugees that they have no place to which to return. They will try their best to be allowed to leave Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey for any country, preferably North America and Europe, willing to allow them entry. I predict a process that is the exact opposite of the one the world expects to take place when “peace” breaks out in Syria: Instead of refugees returning to their birthplace, expect the mass flight of Sunni refugees from the region, and expect a heightened incidence of Islamist terror in the countries that allow them in.

The reasons are obvious:

1. Former ISIS and rebel forces will infiltrate along with the refugees, because they, too, are Sunni. They are filled with fury and hatred for the Western countries who were part of the coalition that fought ISIS or stood by without aiding the rebels. Some of them will continue their Jihad on European and North American soil. Expect shootings, explosives and ramming attacks against citizens of these countries.

2. Some of the refugees will not find work and live on the economic and social fringes of society, in poverty-stricken Islamist neighborhoods which have already existed for years in many European cities, and where the local police fear to tread. Poverty and life on the fringe of society will turn some of the Muslim young people into easy prey for terrorist organization recruiters who arouse the desire for Jihad by describing the accepting host countries as decadent societies infected with permissiveness, prostitution, alcohol, drugs, materialism and corruption. They present the countries that allowed the immigrants entry as having done so to take advantage of them as industrial slaves, garage hands, cashiers and other degrading occupations, while the privileged citizens are lawyers, accountant, businessmen and homeowners w ho take advantage of the migrants in humiliating ways. It is only a matter of time until young Muslims, especially those who were taught that “everyone is equal” in Western schools, enlist in terrorist organizations.

3. Countries which allow in refugees will suffer a higher crime rate as a result, including violence in public places, sexual attacks and harassment, housebreaking, car theft, substance abuse, unreported work to avoid paying taxes and illegal construction. This will all occur at the same time these countries expend a larger part of their budgets on social services for the refugees, from child allowances to unemployment, health and old age benefits. At this point in time, the percentage of second and third generation immigrants populating the prisons in Western Europe is significantly larger than their percentage in the general population.

4. Increased economic, social and security problems in Europe and North America as a result of the rise in the number of migrants will lead to a rise in the strength of the right and the extreme right. This will in turn lead to more social tensions in the West. Members of Parliament whose only wish is to be re-elected will adapt their parliamentary activity – especially the laws they promote – to the expectations of the rapidly Islamizing constituencies, sacrificing their own people’s interests on the altar of their political careers. Many Europeans, aware of their elected leaders’ betrayal, will despair and leave those socially and economically deteriorating countries. This will increase the rate at which Europe turns into an Islamic region.

And that is how the agreements Iran and Russia will soon coerce Syria into accepting are going to start a chain reaction increasing the number of refugees and pulling Europe down to a point of no return, without the world understanding what is going on. The Atlantic Ocean is not wide enough to protect North America from this debacle crossing the sea.

This is how the Iranian Ayatollahs intend to destroy the heretic, permissive, drunk and materialistic West. More of the unfortunate Syrian millions will find themselves exiled to the heretic countries hated by the Ayatollahs, and Iran will operate from Syrian soil to vanquish Europe and America.

Written in Hebrew for Arutz Sheva, translated by Rochel Sylvetsky, Senior Consultant and op-ed editor of Arutz Sheva English site.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is a of Iran’s national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012, a day before the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo.

A Middle East Grand Bargain Must Create Kurdistan by Sherkoh Abbas and Robert Sklaroff

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President Trump’s itinerary during his first overseas trip revealed both his goal and its attendant strategy—although it remains officially unstated—as he tries to fashion a durable end to the Syrian civil war and the birth of a restructured region.

In the process of touching-base with the nerve-centers of each of the three major Middle East religions, he attempted to eliminate the Islamic State without empowering Iran.

Conspiratorial Liberals yelp when he recruits Russia, and acolytes of the Obama Administration condemn his having maneuvered around Tehran.

But he must defang the ayatollahs, lest they ally with North Korean missile-rattlers and threaten World War III.

This is why he keeps an armada in the Gulf, while maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Sea of Japan and encouraging Beijing to block Pyongyang from nuke-testing, for he must stretch the depleted military in theaters a half-globe apart until it has been rebuilt.

And that’s why he has embedded Americans with Kurdish forces attacking Raqqa, for it is impossible to be a “player” without having placed pieces onto the board.Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the U.S. national security adviser, was triggered to inform Turkey on May 1st  that the Kurds were to receive heavy machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons, and armored cars after the Turks had lethally-bombed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria the prior Tuesday. That reflected autocrat Erdo?an having again  “distracted”  world attention from targeting the primary target, the Islamic State.

Accommodating this major reconfiguration of regional forces, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia saw no need to arm the Syrian Kurds, but said Moscow would maintain working contacts with them.

Secretary of Defense James “Jim” Mattis had decided to arm the Kurds directly rather than via any regional country, finally reversing Obama’s following-from-behind intransigent passivity.

He is implementing key aphorisms derived from his storied career defending America.

Indeed, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) recognized arming the Kurds constitutes “an immense milestone.”

In the process, Mattis has recognized The Road to Defeating the Islamic State Runs through Kurdistan, an essay—illustrated by a settlement-map—that succinctly details the historic, military, economic, religious and political implications of this overdue stance.

Visiting Trump in this charged atmosphere, Erdo?an chose the wrong time to be bellicose against Israel and America.  His post-referendum dictatorial effort to promote Jihad was again manifest through two decrees; one that expelled more than 4,000 civil servants and another that banned television dating programs.

That these actions were  not being well-received. That was reflected in the fact that the latter two hyperlinks [al-Monitor and Aljazeera] are from Arab websites, suggesting welcome-recognition of a tilt toward inter-alia the Sunni Gulf states, plus Qatar, the locale of a major American military presence over NATO-aligned Ankara ,which is increasingly aligning with Iran against the potential for Kurds to achieve independence.

That  would serve as the culmination of battle-plans we have proposed for almost a decade.  In 2008, we identified  Kurds as  an “invisible people”  and   advocated confronting the major source of global terrorism,The Road to Iran Runs through Kurdistan – and Starts in Syria. In 2015, we showed why the United States cannot evade this trouble-spot,[The Pathway to Defeating ISIS Runs Though Kurdistan – And Starts in America. In 2013, we  concluded The Kurds can lead a reconstituted  Syria, at peace with all of her neighbors.  In 2014, we suggested NATO Must Help the Kurds Now.

That is  why Kurds are seeking recognition of their enormous military sacrifice and their unique political feat, noting their carefully-constructed federal system in Rojava;  the area of Northern Syria comprised of four self-governing cantons.

Resolving vague territorial claims would yield a regional Diaspora in Turkey, Iran, and Russia, although Stalin purged much of the USSR-population a half-century ago.

Recognizing that Russia has unilaterally created safe-zones, and buzzed American jets near Alaska and Crimea, it will remain vital to coordinate militaries functioning in close-quarters, to ensure spheres of influence do not inadvertently trigger  conflict.

If America retracts support for anti-Islamist Kurds, Erdo?an will be free to promote his brand of Muslim Brotherhood ideology; the dangerous ramifications of which have been explored [Islamophobia: Thought Crime of the Totalitarian Future].

NATO can reassure Turkey that creation of an independent Kurdistan south of its border, joining with the federated section of northern Iraq, will remove inordinate fears that secession-agitation will persist on its eastern reaches.

Turkey needs to accept this type of endpoint, for its military killed six members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in air strikes in northern Iraq .

What really irks Erdo?an is that “U.S. arming Syrian Kurds shattered Turkey’s Ottoman Empire ambitions. ” Both  America and Turkey will face a de-facto proxy-war unless Erdogan heeds the more conciliatory tone struck by his Prime Minister.

The schism between the United States and Turkey was illustrated during their press  event.  These leaders deemed different entities as “terroristic”.  Trump cited PKK; whereas Erdo?an cited YPG/PYD .

This perhaps explains the anguish expressed by Turkish security guards, when they beatprotesters—primarily Kurds and Armenian outside t their D.C. embassy .

We suggest the following blueprint should be followed to prompt Moscow to help oust Iran from Syria . It would allow the Kurdish-plurality in northwestern Syria to extend its governance to the Mediterranean Sea, blocking Turkey from expansionist temptations.

The multi-front war against Islamists is recognized by Western leaders such as US Senator Ted Cruz (R, Texas) and globally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—to have supplanted the Cold War paradigm of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Perhaps the ultimate method to illustrate the wisdom of this approach is to discount an oppositional paradigm, such as the false claim that American involvement in Syria would merely be a manifestation of Western Imperialism in Rojava.

Instead, America should  implement Point 12  of Woodrow Wilson’s 14-Point Plan that advocated establishing Kurdistan more than a century ago.

At  long last, America Must Recognize Kurdistan  by serving as midwife for a new country [assuming this is the electoral outcome of the originally scheduled September 25 plebiscite sponsored by the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq. That  would assist in finally defeating  the Islamic State.  This would offer immediate and long-term geo-political  dividends.

ABOUT SHERKOH ABBAS

Sherkoh Abbas is President of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria.

ABOUT ROBERT SKLAROFF

Robert Sklaroff is a physician-activist and supporter of Kurdish self-determination.

This article constitutes the policy of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria, conveyed to America and to the world, representing the Kurds of Syria.

RELATED ARTICLE: Netanyahu, the First World Leader to Endorse Independent Kurdistan, Hits Back at Erdogan for Supporting Hamas

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review.

First time in history the Presidential refugee ceiling has been exceeded thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court

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And, you can thank the Supreme Court for unconstitutionally legislating in its decision late last month. Refugees arriving after today are the responsibility of nine unelected justices.

I showed you here over the weekend that no ceiling has been exceeded in the over 35 year history of the program.

My worry is that what SCOTUS has done has been to literally obliterate the responsibility for refugees the law gives to the President and to Congress by defining a new standard for admittance—to those with “bona fide” relationships—ceiling be damned!

Even if one argues it is temporary, it is still an outrage!  How dare the Supreme Court say that those in a newly coined category—those prospective ‘refugees’ with bona fide relationships—are not a security threat to us!  That is the President’s job! Did the justices even read the Refugee Act of 1980?

But, how do you challenge the Supreme Court?  And, are the contractors secretly cheering because they have longed for the day when the CEILING would become meaningless.

To top it off, there is another legal challenge before the rogue Hawaii judge that might further gum up the works (see Breitbart’s Michael Leahy on that potential legal quagmire, here).

Chaos and confusion reign, just as Clarence Thomas (with Alito and Gorsuch) predicted.

And, this was completely unnecessary because the Trump Administration could have simply lowered the ceiling when they came in to office without any Executive Order.  The most they had to do was notify Congress!

As of yesterday afternoon, we have admitted 50,086 refugees to the US in this fiscal year.

Here is where the 50,086 were placed.

Alaska got 55 and Hawaii got 3.

Here are the top ten ‘welcoming’ states.  LOL! Hawaii is near the bottom as always with 3 whole refugees!

So much for Texas removing itself from the USRAP!

All of my posts on the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision are archived here.

There are many stories in the media today about the ceiling having been exceeded, if there is anything useful (other than the same old babble), I’ll update this post.

What you can say, when they say ______

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I’m asked all the time: What can I do?  What can I do?

This is an excellent example of the kind of thing you can do.  This is a list of talking points thoughtfully prepared by Brenda Arthur of the Charleston, WV Act for America chapter.  As a citizen activist, she put some serious time into preparing this point/counterpoint and made it available for all of you!

PROPONENTS OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT WILL SAY :

1. Your town is losing population. Bringing refugees will revitalize your city.

  • Truth: Saying that Importing third world poverty into our city or state revitalizes it just defies logic and commonsense.
  • The educational level of many refugees is low. They will only qualify for minimum or low wage jobs. Therefore, they will continue to qualify for some form of government assistance such as Medicaid and/or Food Stamps aka SNAP.
  • Big Business uses refugees for cheap labor thereby depressing wages for Americans with low education levels.
  • The cost of educating a refugee child is apprx $10,000+ per year not to mention the additional cost of English language assistance/interpreters and additional tutoring due to a lack of previous education.
  • Refugees often send some of their money out of the country to family left behind. Those remittances that leave the country are dollars unavailable to the local economy. This is never factored in.
  • As the refugee population grows more languages will be required to be provided by the school system. This erodes the quality of the schools and reduces teaching time for American kids whose parents are paying the bill.
  • In towns where the refugee population has grown, parents are finding 17-20 year-olds in class with their children.
  • Some school districts across the country have as many as 81 languages for which they must provide ESL teachers and interpreters.

2. Another selling point by the proponents is that “It is our moral obligation. That’s who we are as a country.”

  • Our tax dollars were never meant to be someone else’s charity .
  • We should aid refugees where they are. For every one brought here we can help 12 people there. The administration of mercy belongs to each of us individually—-not to the government.
  • Our first moral obligation is to our own people.

Arthur created this refugee crimes poster to use as a visual aid when she speaks to groups in West Virginia. You can do this too!

3. OVER 800,000 REFUGEES (since 9/11) HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO THE U.S. AND NO TERRORIST PROBLEMS:

  • Proponents will present the picture that everything is “sweetness and light.” Not true. Many problems are occurring with refugee populations in towns all across America: Gangs, increased drug trafficking, sex slave trade, domestic violence, crime, drug resistant strains of TB, female genital mutilation, and more.
  • Cultural differences are often great and cannot be bridged. Some refugee cultures believe that “honor killing” and rape of non-Muslim women is acceptable.
  • In addition, there have been terrorist acts committed by refugees as well as many crimes. Taxpayers pay for expensive trials, and for those who are sentenced we must bear the cost of imprisonment for many years.

4. NO STATE MONEY IS INVOLVED.

  • Yet another selling point of the proponents is that THERE IS NO STATE MONEY INVOLVED. IT’S ALL FEDERAL MONEY. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, FEDERAL MONEY IS OUR MONEY.  SECONDLY, LET’S DISCUSS THE STATE COSTS: MEDICAID , STATE EMPLOYEES, EDUCATION, INTERPRETERS, AND LIKELY CASH WELFARE PAYMENTS.
  • DON’T TELL ME OR ANYONE ELSE THERE IS NO STATE MONEY INVOLVED WITH THIS PROGRAM. It’s a matter of how much.

TO RECAP:

  • Medicaid–Unreimbursed cost to the state
  • TANF–Cash Welfare payments –Unreimbursed costs to the state
  • Interpreters–Provided to students and other refugees as needed
  • Education–Cost for educating children K-12
  • State Employees’ salaries and benefits who work w/refugees

5. The vetting is very, very rigorous.

  • Former FBI Director, James Comey, Obama’s Special Envoy to the Middle East to fight ISIS, General John Allen, Former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, Mike McCaul, Chairman of Homeland Security in the Congress , and now we know from the leaked Wikileaks documents that even Hillary Clinton herself said at a private meeting in 2013 that the refugees cannot possibly be vetted.
  • Further, Leon Rodriguez, former Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, reluctantly told former Senator Jeff Sessions’ Senate Committee in September 2016 that some of the refugees get in based solely on their testimony alone.
  • Fraud is rampant in the refugee program. Many refugees come from failed states. They have no documentation. We are supposed to believe the lie that everyone is who they say they are.
  • ISIS has sworn to infiltrate the refugee population. They already have.

6. The refugees become self-sufficient within 5 years.

  • The fact is that the Office Of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) defines self-sufficiency in a way that is contrary to the common understanding of the word. A household is considered self-sufficient if it is not receiving “a cash assistance grant”. But other welfare programs do not count under the ORR definition. Thus, ORR considers and reports them as self-sufficient even if they are receiving other forms of government assistance such as: Food Stamps (SNAP), Housing subsidies, or Medicaid .
  • Don’t be fooled. Make them define their terms.

7. Refugees pay taxes.

  • Consider that the average educational level of a Middle Eastern refugee is 10.5 years. That is not even a high school diploma. This means that the likelihood of them earning more than $9-$12 /hour is pretty unlikely. Having a low wage job is most likely. Further, even if they work and pay taxes the fact that the earnings level is low will often make them eligible for continuing government subsidies. There are other points to consider:
  • Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to people whose income is low. Many, if not most, refugees would likely qualify for this.
  • Child Tax Credit up to $1000 per child would apply based on income guidelines. This credit is IN ADDITION to deductions for dependent children.
  • Once the Tax Credits are applied it is possible that they are getting back all or most of the taxes that were paid and potentially more than they paid.

So, there we have it for those of you looking for something to do.  Use Arthur’s points for letters to the editor, arguing with ‘friends’ on Facebook, or when corresponding with your elected officials.

This post is filed in two categories here at RRW:  ‘Comments worth noting’ (here) and in my new category ‘What you can do’ (here).

And, for all of you interested in Arthur’s home state of West Virginia, go here for my archive on the state.

RELATED ARTICLES: 

Crooks, thieves and fraudsters: You will never be told their immigration status

Human Rights Watch badgers Japan to take refugees