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"So far, the plan has been met with broad acceptance in Washington and NATO headquarters in Brussels. But American officials warned that Mr. Trump could upend the new plan at any time."In other words, when it comes to setting records in Afghanistan (USA! USA!), the news couldn't be more upbeat if the president doesn't interfere (and his administration's peace talks with the Taliban don't somehow get in the way). In fact, there might be even better news lurking just offstage. The Pentagon's "plan," after all, looks strangely like an effort to simply outlast the Trump era in hopes that a future president might be far more intent on record-setting than the present one. General Joseph Votel, who heads U.S. Central Command, which oversees Washington's never-ending wars across the Greater Middle East, may be typical of top U.S. commanders when it comes to such matters. He's not just against the president's urge to withdraw American troops from Syria but envisions a permanent war with ISIS into the distant future -- and he imagines something similar in Afghanistan. As he told the House Armed Services Committee early this month, speaking of a possible U.S. withdrawal from that country, "The political conditions, where we are in the reconciliation right now, don't merit that."
The French Foreign Ministry has summoned the Israeli chargé d'affaires in Paris to account for the "intrusion" of Israeli security forces on the French Institute in Jerusalem on Thursday.
In comments to the press on Friday, the ministry said: "Such acts represent a serious and unacceptable attack on the functioning of our cultural network in Jerusalem. France intends to maintain and develop its dense and long-standing relations with Palestinian civil society."
Most will recall the horrific terrorist training camp discovered last year in New Mexico where a group resided in a filthy situation, filled with firearms and ammunition, and a deceased child. They were originally indicted on September 11, 2018, and two judges dismissed charges against three of the defendants because the office of District Attorney Donald Gallegos failed to schedule a court hearing to prove they had probable cause for their arrest, within 10 days. Everyone could see with their own eyes that this was a terrorist training camp, and feared the worst.
On Wednesday, A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, New Mexico returned a superseding indictmenton March 13 charging Jany Leveille, 36, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 38, Subhanah Wahhaj, 36, and Lucas Morton, 41, with federal offenses related to terrorism, kidnapping and firearms violations.
The Department of Justice press release states, in part:
As alleged in the superseding indictment, these defendants conspired to provide material support in preparation for violent attacks against officers and employees of the United States. According to the superseding indictment, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Hujrah Wahhaj gathered firearms and ammunition, and all of the defendants transported people, firearms, and ammunition across state lines and constructed a training compound where they stored firearms and ammunition. The superseding indictment further alleges that Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Morton constructed and maintained a firing range at the compound where they engaged in firearms and tactical training for other compound occupants, and that Leveille and Morton attempted to recruit others to their cause.
The superseding indictment also charges Leveille, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, and Morton with conspiring to attack and kill officers and employees of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1117. It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that the defendants would kill officers and employees of the United States, specifically, Federal Bureau of Investigation employees, government officials, and military personnel.
The superseding indictment also charges Leveille, Hujrah Wahhaj, Subhanah Wahhaj, and Morton with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. According to the superseding indictment, they kidnapped a child under the age of eighteen in Georgia and transported the child to New Mexico, where they concealed and held the child, resulting in the child's death.
The superseding indictment also includes the charges from the original indictment. All of the defendants are currently in custody awaiting trial.
Perhaps this will set precedent in investigating the 22 Islamic compounds operating throughout the U.S., that FBI documents confirm.
Comment: Evidently some in Israel would agree with the Rabbi, although rather than waiting for the end times to come, it seems they're trying to get them started: