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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
3/27/2015 6:11:29 PM

Islamic State attack on Italy coming



Photo by: Gregorio Borgia

The Islamic State may be looking to turn more of Rome into ruins. (AP Photo)

- - Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Islamic State terrorist group likely will launch an attack on Italy within weeks, not months, according to a senior Libyan government official.

Aref Ali Nayed, Libya’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said in an interview that one likely method of attack would be to use stolen Libyan airliners now believed to be in the hands of Islamists in Libya.

“The horrific video showing 21 Coptic Christians beheaded in Libya contained a direct threat from ISIS to Rome,” said Mr. Nayed, using an acronym for the terrorist group. “The threat of ISIS to Italy could become a reality in a matter of weeks rather than months.”

The Islamic State could use two attack methods, the ambassador said. The first would be for Libya-based terrorists to infiltrate Italy by using one of the many boats carrying undocumented Libyans to Italy. Once in Italy, the terrorists could regroup and carry out an attack.

“Second, ISIS could weaponize a civilian airliner or small military aircraft in Libya, loading it with explosives and/or chemical weapons.” Mr. Nayed said. “Rome is one hour from the ISIS-controlled airport in Sirte.”

U.S. intelligence agencies warned in September that Islamist militias in Libya have taken control of nearly a dozen commercial jetliners that remain unaccounted for.


Intelligence reports circulated in late August included warnings that one or more of the aircraft could be used in a regional suicide attack coinciding with the Sept. 11 anniversary. No attacks using hijacked airliners took place last year.

A U.S. official familiar with the reports in September said “there are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing” and that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks showed what could be done with hijacked planes.

Mr. Nayed said the recent attack in Tunisia that was claimed by the Islamic State shows that the group is capable of conducting coordinated and effective attacks with speed and precision from Libya.

“Their attacks are increasing in both frequency and scope, and we must take their threat against Italy and Southern Europe very seriously,” the ambassador said.

Mr. Nayed, a senior adviser to Libya’s prime minister for national security, also said the terrorist group appears to be part of a continuum of ever-more radical Islamists ravaging the oil-rich North African country since the ouster of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Libya is in very real danger of becoming an ISIS garrison and an ATM for ISIS operations in Syria and Iraq,” he said in a December speech. “There is a good chance that Libya’s oil wealth was siphoned off by Islamists and provided oxygen for the growth of ISIS during the recent Islamist regime. It certainly has not been used to make our country a better place for Libyans.”

Two key Libyan cities appear to be in the Islamic State’s hands, including the coastal cities of Derna, long an outpost of Islamist terrorists, and Sirte.

Mr. Nayed, considered a top candidate to lead Libya’s next interim government, has been visiting Washington this week to lobby for Western support in the battle against the Islamic State and to warn about the danger of terrorist attacks.

An Islamic scholar who received his early education in Iowa and Toronto, Mr. Nayed has denounced the Islamic State for its perversion of the Muslim religion.

“What we are witnessing is pure fascism using the vocabulary and trappings of Islam but without a scintilla of the profound knowledge and spirit of Islam,” he said in the speech.

“Our faith teaches us not to kill others; these people glorify killing,” Mr. Nayed said. “Our faith teaches us not to hate; these people promote hatred. Our faith teaches us to respect women; these people debase women. Our faith teaches us to help one another; these people oppress others. ISIS is the antithesis of Islam. It is the enemy of Islam in the guise of Islam.”

SAUDI NUCLEAR DETERRENT

Security analysts say disturbing signs are emerging that Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman bin Abdulaziz, is moving ahead with plans for creating a nuclear deterrent against Iran in anticipation that the nuclear deal being negotiated in Switzerland will not prevent Tehran from building atomic weapons.

The signs included visits this month to Riyadh by regional leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and several Persian Gulf potentates.

However, the visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif garnered the closest attention from U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Unlike the arrivals of the other leaders, King Salman personally greeted Mr. Sharif at Riyadh airport March 4 in a sign of the closeness between the two states.

The recent visits by regional heads of state is fueling new concerns about a Sunni-Shiite conflict led by the Saudis against Iranians.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the agency’s concerns about a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia.

Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia remains vehemently opposed to regional power Shiite-led Iran, which is backing Yemen’s Houthi rebels who recently took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

“Don’t forget that the Saudis put up most of the funds that enabled Pakistan to build the bomb,” said former CIA veteran Duane “Dewy” Clarridge, who maintains close ties to intelligence sources in the region.

“There are individuals in both governments that know that, and as a result, the Saudis have dibs on three to four nuclear bombs,” he said.

China has deployed intermediate-range Chinese DF-3 missiles that were paraded for the first time in May. News reports also disclosed last year that the Saudis have purchased medium-range DF-21 missiles, with a range of some 600 miles.

Mr. Clarridge said “the Saudis don’t need Chinese missiles” to hit key targets in Iran, namely oil and water facilities along the coast.

Fred Fleitz, a former CIA specialist on arms proliferation, said the Obama administration’s push for a nuclear deal with Iran will fuel an arms race in the region.

“Iran has continued to pursue nuclear weapons during the talks and will continue to do so with or with a nuclear agreement,” Mr. Fleitz said. “The weak agreement that the Obama administration is pushing will create a more dangerous situation by legitimizing Iran’s nuclear program and allowing it in as little as 10 years to pursue dual use nuclear technologies with no restrictions.”

The current talks with Iran and the deal being pursued “will be deeply destabilizing and could lead to war in Middle East,” he added.

CHINA MARKETS ATTACK DRONE

A brochure from a Chinese state-run company reveals new details about one of Beijing’s attack drones — called the Cai Hong-3 (CH-3), or Rainbow-3 — being offered for sale to foreign customers.

A catalog obtained by the U.S. government from China Aerospace Long-March International reveals details of the CH-3 and a missile-firing variant called the CH-3A.

The catalog provides a rare inside look at China’s drone arsenal. The CH-3 is one of nine drones being offered for sale around the world, ranging in size from very small to large-scale unmanned aerial vehicles. Several drones appear to be knockoffs of U.S.-designed remotely piloted aircraft, including the Predator strike drone and Global Hawk long-range spy drone.

“Featuring high reconnaissance effectiveness, high anti-jamming capability, diversified payloads, integrated reconnaissance/attack, easy operation and simple maintenance, the UAVs can be used for such military operations as battlefield reconnaissance intelligence collection, anti-terrorism combat, no-fly zone patrol, firing calibration, data relay and electronic warfare,” the catalog states.

The drone has been sold to Pakistan and Nigeria, where an armed CH-3A was photographed after it crashed during a mission to hit Boko Haram terrorists.

The CH-3 appears to be a copy of the Jetcruzer small civil aircraft that was built by U.S. company Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures Inc., which sold 30 Jetcruzer 500s to China in 2000.

The Chinese company also is selling two types of missiles to be fired from what it calls an “advanced medium-range UAV system.” The package includes three aircraft and a vehicle-mounted ground control system. The drone can take off and land via a remote pilot and has a retractable nose landing gear.

“The advantages of this UAV system are high reliability, high efficiency and low cost,” the catalog states. “It can be used for various flight missions such as battle zone reconnaissance, artillery fire adjustment, data-link relay, intelligence collection and electronic warfare, etc.

“CH-3A UAV can be equipped with precision guided weapons to complete reconnaissance and strike missions.”

The unarmed version has a range of 1,500 miles and can fly for 12 hours. The missile-equipped variant can fly 621 miles, has a flight time of six hours and can carry up to 400 pounds of bombs.

Among the payloads for use on the CH-3 are a four-lens electro-optical reconnaissance camera, a synthetic aperture radar capable of seeing through clouds and some structures and an airborne electronic warfare system.

The missiles that can be fired from the CH-3A include the company’s AR-1 air-to-ground armor-piercing missile that is laser-guided for precision attacks against tanks, vehicles and fixed structures. It has a range of 3 to 5 miles, with an extended range version up to 10 miles.

Additionally, the drone can carry the FT-1 precision-guided bomb.

Contact Bill Gertz on Twitter at @BillGertz.


(The Washington Times)



"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
3/28/2015 12:42:23 AM

Bama: a sight and stench of death after Boko Haram defeat

AFP

An aerial view shows the northeastern town of Bama, Nigeria on March 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Nichole Sobecki)


Bama (Nigeria) (AFP) - The devastation is visible from the air in Bama. Corrugated iron roofs lie ripped off among charred debris, the walls of the houses blackened with soot or in ruins.

On the dusty roads that separate properties in the second-biggest town in Borno state, northeast Nigeria, the sight -- and smell -- is much worse, with evidence of atrocities everywhere.

The Nigerian military forced out Boko Haram from Bama earlier this month. As they did so, locals who managed to escape said the Islamists set fire to homes, including the emir's palace.

But clearly much worse happened -- and the evidence is on the streets, beneath them and in the parched fields beyond.

Troops find the decomposing body of a man in a sewer, in the fetal position surrounded by trash and human waste. Soldiers cover their noses as more remains are found elsewhere.

"You can see dead bodies," Bama resident Abdul Maliki Yakuba told AFP. "If you go around the town you can see dead bodies. Many people have been killed."

Battle-hardened troops find the scale of the slaughter hard to comprehend.

"It's unbelievable that human beings could do this to fellow human beings," said Lieutenant Colonel Abu Bakar Haruna. "You can see on the bridge, just bodies littered.

"In the town you saw bodies all over. So it's something that someone can just say, 'why?', 'how?'. And it's a difficult thing."

- 'A horrible battle' -

Testimony previously gathered from residents who fled Bama bear witness to the horrors of life under Boko Haram's self-proclaimed caliphate after they took over the town last September.

"Bama was hell," mother-of-four Jummai Mumini recalled on March 16 in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, 73 kilometres (45 miles) away where she fled as the military inched closer.

Others said dozens of women who were forced to marry Boko Haram fighters were slaughtered by their "husbands" before the battle began.

Dozens of women's bodies littered the streets, the Islamists adamant that they would not allow their wives to re-marry men who did not share their radical ideology, residents said.

Many of the estimated 7,500 people who fled are now in Maiduguri, in a makeshift camp of little more than a few dilapidated buildings in a clearing of neem trees on the outskirts of the city.

Many are children, the girls dressed in the long hijab and colourful print wrappers widely seen in the region, the boys in oversized men's shirts, thin-waisted jeans and worn flip-flops.

Not everyone has fled Bama, though. Those who remain have set up on pavements, prayer mats, bags and jerry cans of fuel or water spread out on the burnt earth.

Others seek shelter from the harsh sun in the shade of a burned-out car, watching and waiting as camouflaged troops roll by in armoured personnel carriers.

Off-duty soldiers languish in plastic chairs. A tank lies idle in the sand after what Haruna called "a horrible battle".

"We did our best to ensure that we expelled the BHTs (Boko Haram terrorists) from Bama, and we have successfully done that," he said.

"And by the grace of God we'll ensure that we maintain security and ward off their efforts to come into Bama again."

- 'We just need help' -

Security is still uppermost in the minds of both the military and locals, with Boko Haram pushed out of the town but to who knows where.

Three men discovered trying to enter Bama are blindfolded and bundled into a pick-up truck; troops carefully inspect the former emir's palace, which Boko Haram used as a headquarters.

Repeat raids by the militants are feared, despite Nigeria's military and its coalition partners Chad, Cameroon and Niger finally making gains and recapturing territory.

"You will see the level of alertness of the troops here," said Nigeria's military spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade.

"You will see that every approach is being manned. There is regular patrol, very aggressive patrol, not just within the town but also the suburbs.

"And this is in anticipation of subsequent threats. We're not giving chances at all. This town must not fall again."

For the people of Bama, security is everything if they are to rebuild their shattered lives and allow those who fled in fear of their lives will return.

"We just need help from the government to help rebuild the town, so that these people will come back to the town," said Yakuba.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
3/28/2015 12:53:32 AM

Israel says to release Palestinian tax funds, US welcomes

AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pictured during the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office on January 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/Oded Balilty)


Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel said Friday it will release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax funds it has withheld from the Palestinian Authority as a punitive measure.

The United States swiftly welcomed the move, which could help disarm tensions with Washington and the international community after a polarising Israeli election campaign.

"We welcome the decision of the prime minister of Israel to release withheld tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority," said US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke.

"This is an important step that will benefit the Palestinian people and will help stabilise the situation in the West Bank."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said revenues accumulated over three months, frozen by Israel since January in retaliation for a Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), would be transferred after normal deductions for services.

But it did not say whether Israel would be resuming the normal monthly payment of around $127 million (118 million euros) in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) reacted with caution.

"Until now we haven't received any money, nor have we officially been informed of anything," PA spokesman Ihab Bseiso said.

The Middle East peacemaking Quartet welcomed the Israeli move.

"It is absolutely the right decision both for the improvement of the conditions of Palestinians on the ground and for Israel," Quartet envoy Tony Blair said in a statement.

"I hope this will be the first of many steps, on both sides, that will mean we can work with renewed vigour to create the conditions for proper negotiations as we progress towards a two-state solution," he said.

The Israeli decision comes 10 days after Netanyahu was reelected and subsequently chosen to form the next government following a campaign in which he pledged to continue settlement activity and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, which exacerbated tensions with Washington.

Netanyahu later back-tracked on remarks opposing a two-state solution, while plans for construction in east Jerusalem -- which the Palestinians want as the capital of a future state -- were put on hold.

- French resolution -

The Israeli decision will help to sustain the PA, which faces financial collapse without tax revenues that constitute some two-thirds of its annual budget, excluding foreign aid.

The move to release the funds took into consideration "humanitarian concerns" and "an overview of Israel's interests at this time", the Israeli statement read.

"Given the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, one must act responsibly and with due consideration alongside a determined struggle against extremist elements," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

On Wednesday, the Palestinians will formally become members of the ICC and can proceed with legal action at the court based in The Hague against Israeli officials.

They have said they intend to pursue Israeli war crimes allegedly committed during last summer's war in Gaza, as well as Israel's policy of building settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.

A Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace is the international community's vision for an end to the decades-long conflict.

The White House has said it may withdraw crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the UN Security Council as it reevaluates its position.

Such a move could prove problematic for Israel if the Palestinians resubmit a draft resolution setting an end date for the Israeli occupation.

Meanwhile, France is sponsoring a draft resolution that would seek to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday that discussions on a text would start "in the coming days".

In December, the Security Council rejected a resolution that would have set a deadline for reaching a final peace deal and paved the way to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Fabius told reporters: "Obviously the two parties must discuss, but the discussion must be backed by an international effort."

Israel has long maintained that direct talks with the Palestinians are the best framework for advancing peace talks and has bristled at UN involvement to set a timeframe for a deal.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
3/28/2015 1:08:17 AM

Iraq paramilitaries freeze Tikrit ops over US strikes

AFP

Iraqi government forces vehicles are positioned on the western outskirts of Tikrit, on March 27, 2015, during a military operation to retake the city from Islamic State group jihadists (AFP Photo/Ahmad al-Rubaye)


Awja (Iraq) (AFP) - Key groups in Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation forces, which have played a leading role in the ongoing assault on Tikrit, are freezing their participation in offensive operations, commanders said Friday.

While the move appeals to Washington, which wants distance from militias accused of human rights abuses, it will also blunt the offensive capabilities of pro-government ground forces in the battle to retake Tikrit from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

The United States launched its first air strikes in support of the Tikrit operation on Wednesday, sparking the freeze by militia units in the Popular Mobilisation forces, or Hashad al-Shaabi in Arabic, which had repeatedly voiced opposition to American intervention.

Several commanders from the Badr organisation, a militia whose leader Hadi al-Ameri is a senior figure in the Hashed al-Shaabi, said fighters were pulling back but not out of the operation.

"We consider this a break until the coalition issue is resolved," one commander, who gave his name as Baqir, told AFP in Awja, just south of Tikrit.

The Hashed al-Shaabi account for the bulk of the various government and allied forces who have been trying, since March 2, to dislodge diehard IS jihadists holed up in Tikrit.

Baqir said four of the main Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Hashad al-Shaabi -- Badr, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Ketaeb Hezbollah and Saraya al-Salam -- were all halting offensive operations but would still defend positions around Tikrit.

It was not immediately clear whether others of Iraq's myriad militias were on the same page.

Another Badr commander confirmed the pullback, which he said was a result of "international pressure".

Iran had so far been the most prominent foreign partner in Baghdad's largest operation to date against IS jihadists who swept through Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland nine months ago.

- Burning houses -

But the operation was stalling, and the Iraqi government eventually requested strikes by the US-led anti-IS coalition to break the deadlock.

The Pentagon conditioned its intervention on an enhanced role for regular government forces and Friday hailed the withdrawal of "those Shiite militias who are linked to, infiltrated by, (or) otherwise under the influence of Iran".

"What remains on the battlefield now are forces that are under direct control of the ministry of defence," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

The strikes have angered some Shiite militias, which accuse Washington of "hijacking victory" by sending warplanes more than three weeks into the battle for Tikrit.

Iraq turned to the militias to bolster its flagging forces last year, and they have played a major role in operations that have regained significant ground from IS in areas north of Baghdad.

Fighting continued without them in south Tikrit on Friday near the city's hospital. Bursts of gunfire could be heard from Awja and clouds of smoke from shelling or air strikes rose from the city while warplanes flew overhead.

Black smoke also drifted over Awja itself, where one militiaman admitted that they were setting houses alight.

Smoke poured from the windows of one house, while many others in the town were charred black from earlier fires.

A photo of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was born in Awja, lay amid the ashes on the floor of one burned home in the town.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
3/28/2015 1:21:11 AM

Assad 'welcomes' larger Russian naval presence in Syria

AFP

A picture released on March 27, 2015 by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad giving an interview to journalists from various Russian media outlets in the Syrian capital Damascus (AFP Photo/)


Damascus (AFP) - Syria would welcome an increased Russian military presence at its sea ports, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russian news channels published Friday.

"I can say with complete confidence that we welcome any widening of the Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean and on Syrian coasts and ports," including the port of Tartus, Assad said.

"For us, the larger this presence in our neighbourhood, the better it is for stability in this region," he told journalists.

Russia operates a naval base in Tartus along Syria's western shores that includes warships, barracks and warehouses.

Set up under a 1971 security agreement, Moscow has called its Tartus presence "a supply and technical point for the Russian navy".

Assad told the reporters of eight news channels that Russian military support to Syria "has continued" throughout the past four years of war in his country.

He also welcomed Russia's role in hosting a second round of peace talks but said the negotiating parties must not be influenced by external players.

The Western-backed opposition National Coalition which insists on Assad's ouster has announced it will boycott the April 6-9 talks.

"For the success of these talks, the negotiating parties must be independent and must reflect what the Syrian people, with all of their different political views, want," Assad said.

"Today, people would not accept that their future, their fate, or their rules are decided from outside," he said.

"A solution to the Syrian crisis is not impossible -- if the Syrian people sit with each other and discuss, then we'll get results," he said.

Assad said Western countries, including the US, France, and Britain, "don't want a political solution" in Syria and were being "hypocritical".

"To them, a political solution means changing the state, the fall of the state and replacing it with a state that works for them," he said.

"It doesn't matter to us if they say the president will fall or stay ... And it doesn't matter to us if they say a president is legitimate or not," Assad said.

"We take legitimacy only from the people."

More than 215,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict began, nearly a third of them civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

In his extensive interview, Assad also said he hoped for a closer relationship with Egypt.

"We hope we will soon see a Syrian-Egyptian rapprochement," he said, although there was as yet no "real relationship" between the two Arab states.

Assad's comments come days after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, following talks with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Damascus, called for increased cooperation between Iraq, Syria and Egypt.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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