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Jet5

Russian MoD announces Al-Nusra leader gravely injured by airstrike, 12 commanders killed - UPDATE


RT
Wed, 04 Oct 2017 19:46 UTC
Su-34
© Eugene OdinokovSu-34 jet
The leader of Al-Nusra has been critically injured in an airstrike carried out by the Russian Air Force, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that at least 12 Al-Nusra field commanders had been killed in the same attack.

Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the Commander-in-chief of Tahrir al-Sham, a terrorist group formed after the collapse of the Al-Nusra terrorist organization, was targeted by the Russian airstrike, the ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said.


Julani "sustained shrapnel wounds and is in a critical condition after losing his arm, according to information from multiple independent sources," Konashenkov added.

The airstrike killed at least 12 Al-Nusra field commanders and some 50 members of the group's security detail, the ministry's spokesman said, adding that Julani's aide was also killed in the Russian strike.

Comment: (UPDATE) The terrorist organization formerly known as Al-Nusra announced that al-Jolani is alive and well. They didn't provide any recent photographs or footage to support their statement.

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Clipboard

U.S. publishes handbook on how to counter "Russia's hybrid-warfare strategy"


Sputnik
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 18:20 UTC
american soldier
© AFP 2017/ TARIK TINAZAY
The Russian New Generation Warfare Handbook has recently emerged on the Internet; the US magazine National Interest described it as something that explains how the US Army should "defeat Russia's hybrid-warfare strategy."

The authors of the handbook, published by the website publicintelligence.com earlier in September, said that it will be mainly centered on the so-called "Russian threat."

The 68-page publication contains photographs and data on Russian equipment that could be used to conduct an asymmetric warfare and that could be involved in "Russian operations in Ukraine and Crimea," according to the National Interest's Michael Peck.

The Russian newspaper Izvestia, in turn, reported that "the handbook in fact repeats all the common clichés of American propaganda, specifically focusing on the 'hybrid war' that the Russian army is allegedly waging."

Comment: Russia's response:
"We paid attention to the media coverage of Pentagon's handbook on 'Russian new generation warfare,' including so-called 'hybrid operation'... We are concerned with the fact that the document of the US Department of Defense, which is designed for internal use, includes serious assumptions of military clashes between US and Russian armed forces. The concrete methods of training military personnel for [military] actions against Russian Armed Forces are proposed [in the document]. Such evidence of training US servicemen for direct military conflict with Russia is very alarming, especially considering the current difficult security situation in Europe," [Nikolay Lakhonin, the spokesman of the Russian embassy in the United States] said.

The spokesman stressed that the two countries needed "pragmatic cooperation" on key security issues, not "the circulation of scary stories." He noted that the contents of the handbook contradicted the constructive nature of meetings between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Of some passing relevance: Report claims US war machine 'outdated and unprepared for war'

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Che Guevara

7 independence movements that the European Union isn't pleased with

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Thu, 05 Oct 2017 09:53 UTC
independence movement
Catalonia continues to press on with its independence movement, much to the dismay of Spain and the European Union. Catalonia is not the only region in the EU demanding more autonomy or independence.

Here seven regions in the European Union that may seek separation, and cause more fragmentation in an already weakened Europe.

1. Scotland, Britain

Scotland
In 2014, Scotland had a historic referendum on leaving the United Kingdom resulting in a narrow 55 percent vote against leaving the UK.

Comment: Whether for economic, social or cultural reasons (or all of the above) these regions no longer want to be so closely tied to the increasingly bureaucratic, authoritarian and dysfunctional governance that makes up the EU. And who could blame them.

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Card - MC

Catalonia independence referendum: Big banks moving headquarters out of Catalonia

Shehab Khan
Independent
Fri, 06 Oct 2017 18:11 UTC
A decree from the government has made it easier for companies to move their bases out of the area.
caixa
© REUTERS/Yves HermanA man walks past a Caixa bank branch in Barcelona, Spain October 6, 2017.
Spain's third largest bank has said it will move its headquarters from Catalonia amid increasing tensions in the region regarding an independence referendum.

CaixaBank has made the decision following a decree from the government in Madrid that has made it easier for companies to move their bases out of the area.

The Barcelona-based lender will now relocate to Valencia and is following in the footsteps of Sadabell, a bank which has moved out of Catalonia and relocated to Alicante.
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Cell Phone

White House suspects Kelly's personal cellphone was compromised

Josh Dawsey, Emily Stephenson and Andrea Peterson
Politico
Thu, 05 Oct 2017 18:02 UTC
John Kelly
© Susan Walsh/Asociated PressChief of staff John Kelly told staffers the phone hadn’t been working properly for months, according to the officials.
White House tech support discovered the suspected breach after Kelly turned his phone in to tech support staff this summer.

White House officials believe that chief of staff John Kelly's personal cellphone was compromised, potentially as long ago as December, according to three U.S. government officials.

The discovery raises concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on Kelly's phone while he was secretary of Homeland Security and after he joined the West Wing. Tech support staff discovered the suspected breach after Kelly turned his phone in to White House tech support this summer complaining that it wasn't working or updating software properly. Kelly told the staffers the phone hadn't been working properly for months, according to the officials.

White House aides prepared a one-page September memo summarizing the incident, which was circulated throughout the administration.
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Gear

Pentagon stops paying salaries to Kurdish Peshmerga

Jack Detsch
Al-Monitor
Fri, 06 Oct 2017 19:49 UTC
Peshmerga forces
© REUTERS/Azad LashkariPeshmerga forces stand in line to vote during the Kurds' independence referendum in Sheikh Amir village, Iraq, Sept. 25, 2017
The US government has stopped paying Kurdish peshmerga fighters' salaries after a yearlong agreement expired over the summer, and there are no current plans to renew it.

Under the deal negotiated by the Barack Obama administration in July 2016, the United States agreed to pay stipends to some 36,000 Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. The agreement was expected to be renewed over the summer for another year, but US and Kurdish officials tell Al-Monitor that talks stalled as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pursued a divisive referendum on independence and the IS presence in the region began to collapse.

"The department does not currently fund stipend payments for the peshmerga," Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Al-Monitor. "The memorandum of understanding between the Department of Defense and the KRG facilitating stipend support during the Mosul operation expired in July 2017, and the final stipend payment was transferred in early September."

Peshmerga sources flatly accuse the Donald Trump administration of withholding support because of opposition to last month's nonbinding referendum. The United States has taken Baghdad's side in the dispute and refused to recognize the results, which indicate overwhelming support for Kurdish independence.
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Gear

Chinese authorities stepping up their counter-terrorism efforts, reportedly ban copies of Quran - UPDATE

Samer Hussein
Fort Russ News / Agencies
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 19:58 UTC
Armed kids with ISIS flag
Chinese authorities are reportedly stepping up their counter-terrorism efforts.

According to the sources in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, officials have begun collecting copies of the Islamic holy book Quran, as well as the related items, particularly the ones originating from Saudi Arabia, which are said to be inciting the people to commit acts of terrorism.

Copies of Quran and the related items are ordered to be handed over to authorities.

Comment: See also: Update: This story was pushed by CIA front RFE/RL. As Voltaire Network put it today, "Daesh propaganda has been making this charge for two years now." We're glad RFE/RL is keeping up! Here's the real story:
China has also just banned copies of the Koran which have been annotated and commented upon by Islamists which have been in circulation for several years now.

Since 1953 and the alliance between the Political brotherhood between the Muslim Brotherhood and the CIA, the US and the United Kingdom have created confusion between the political plan of the Brotherhood and the Muslim religion [4].


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Briefcase

Judicial Watch suing Justice Dept. for access to Mueller's Russian special counsel budget


Judicial Watch
Thu, 05 Oct 2017 17:44 UTC
Robert Mueller
© Liberty Blitzkrieg
Mueller's budget kept under wraps

Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the budget and administrative records of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-02079)).

The lawsuit was filed after the Department of Justice failed to respond to an July 10, 2017 FOIA request seeking the following:
  1. A copy of the budget prepared and submitted by Robert S. Mueller III or his staff in his capacity as appointed "Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters." Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to 10July2017.
  2. A copy of all guidance memoranda and communications by which the Justice Management Division will review the Special Counsel's Office's "Statement of Expenditures" prior to or for the purpose of making each public. Temporal scope of this request is from 1June2017 to present.
  3. A copy of each document scoping, regulating, or governing the Special Counsel's Office appointed under the leadership of Mueller III. Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to present.
On July 7, 2017, The Washington Post reported that Special counsel Mueller submitted a proposed budget to the Justice Department, "but officials declined to make the document public and committed only to releasing reports of the team's expenditures every six months."
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Eye 2

Another broken promise: US State Dept. withholds aid allocated by Congress to Iraq and Syria religious minorities targeted for genocide

Lauretta Brown
TownHall
Tue, 03 Oct 2017 17:30 UTC
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) held a hearing Tuesday calling attention to the astonishing lack of any U.S. funding going directly to religious minorities in Iraq and Syria who were targeted for genocide by ISIS.

"In the final appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017, Congress required that the U.S. State department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) fund the assistance promised by the administration," Rep. Smith said.

Earlier this year, Congress allocated more than $1.4 billion in funds for refugee aid with specific language to ensure that part of the money would be used to assist religious minority groups, including Christians and Yazidis, who the State Department recognized as victims of genocide in 2016.

"Sadly career staff at the State Department and USAID have ignored the law and thwarted the will of the President, the Congress, and the people we represent," Rep Smith said. "These bureaucrats have refused to direct assistance to religious and ethnic minority communities, even to enable them to survive genocide. This obstruction is unacceptable and I urge Secretary Tillerson and the new USAID administrator, Mark Green, to put an end to it."
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Eye 2

Russian foreign minister says terrorist groups in Syria persist due to 'continued outside support'


Sputnik
Fri, 06 Oct 2017 17:16 UTC
Iraq soldiers Mosul
© Muhammad Hamed/ReutersIraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) gather during an operation to clear the al-Zirai district of Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, January 18, 2017
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov, responsible for counter-terrorism coordination stated that despite steps taken by the UN, Daesh and other terror groups keep receiving weapons, ammunition, military equipment, political cover, 'using counter-terror issues to achieve cynical political and geopolitical objectives'.

Daesh (banned in numerous countries, including Russia) and other terrorist groups appear to continue receiving funding, equipment and other kinds of support from outside sources, despite all measures taken by the United Nations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said.

"Undoubtedly, the crucial challenge that the international community is currently facing is to put an end to ISIL and other terrorist organizations, recognized by the UN, including Nusra Front [banned in Russia, rebranded and eventually merged with other groups]... Unfortunately, in spite of the steps taken by the UN, we can still see that ISIL [Daesh] and, perhaps ever more so, other terrorist groups mentioned, receive funding, equipment and other kinds of material support from outside," the deputy foreign minister said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
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