2273-ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? | View Thread

"Run away ISIS, we'll crush you," the soldiers chanted, a week after they drove out the extremists.

But these soldiers are not part of Iraq's National Army. Instead, they're volunteers with a Shiite Muslim militia known as the Badr Brigade.

"Our guns all come from the Iraqi Defense Ministry," said Badr Brigade Commander Essam Yahya Hussein, who ran a grocery store before he joined the fight six months ago.

The U.S. spent $20 billion training and arming the Iraqi army. Now many of its weapons are in the hands of these unchecked militiamen.

CBS News correspondent Holly Williams
CBS NEWS

But with the Iraqi army in disarray, they have the best track record of defeating ISIS in central Iraq. The villages around Al Muqdadiyah are battle scarred and the local people have all fled. The battle for Al Muqdadiyah lasted four days, and when ISIS was finally defeated its fighters fled over hills where they've now regrouped.

The Badr Brigade may be effective, but they were born of Iraq's bloody civil war and their notorious death squads are implicated in the torture and murder of thousands of Sunni Muslims.

Last week, they were accused of shooting more than 70 unarmed Sunni men in Al Muqdadiyah- a video appears to show the aftermath.

"It's not true," said the militia leader when we asked him about the alleged massacre. "The civilians are our brothers."

Despite their murky past the Badr Brigades are being given unprecedented power by Iraq's Shiite dominated government. General Ali Al-Wazir commands the Iraqi Army's 20th Battalion, but now he and his men - along with their American weapons and equipment - have been put under the command of the leader of the Badr Brigade.

General Ali Al-Wazir walks with CBS News correspondent Holly Williams
CBS NEWS

"But you're national army and he's part of the Badr organization," I said.

"He was given the job by the prime minister," General Al-Wazi told me. "Everybody knows it."

As for Iran, its officials have admitted that their Quds special forces are fighting against ISIS in Iraq. That means, in Iraq, the U.S. is on the same side as both Badr - an infamously brutal militia - and Iran. It's a connection that shows just how complicated the battle against ISIS has become.

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 2/3/2015 10:45:12 AM
	In Face Of ISIS Onslaught, US Rushes To Support Sunni Anbar Militias By Erin Banco on February 02 2015 5:53 PM Islamic State militants advance on Iraq's Anbar province. Islamic State/ Anbar Media Office After suffering a highly visible defeat with the loss of the Syrian the city of Kobane last week, the Islamic State group is refocusing its efforts on gaining ground where its opponents are weakest, and concentrating on Sunni-dominated areas of Iraq that lack government protection. But with new U.S. support, militias in Sunni-majority areas like Anbar province are preparing to take on the radical group. A senior official from Anbar province visited Washington last week and revealed to Iraqi media the U.S. had agreed to support Anbar security forces in their fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. The news of U.S. support broke as ISIS shifted its main thrust from battlefields in Syria to vulnerable areas in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Sunni militias are "being systematically armed" by the U.S. and even the Iraqi government, said a source close to one of the largest new Sunni militias in Anbar, who requested to remain anonymous for security purposes. The Iraqi Army is largely absent from those areas after years of tension between local Sunnis and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite who used the army to oppress them. The local Sunni tribes began arming themselves last year in the face of the ISIS advance, buying weapons and ammunition from Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militia fighters. Now, the U.S. is ramping up its effort to help the Sunnis take on ISIS and will train Sunni tribal groups at the Ain al-Assad military base west of Baghdad, Iraqi news outlets reported. The U.S. State Department told International Business Times the support was part of the Overseas Contingency Operations' Iraq Train and Equip Fund. That fund allocates money to the Iraqi military, to the Kurdish military, and to training and equipping tribal forces. As part of the fiscal year 2015 budget, the U.S. allocated more than $24 million of the fund to tribal security forces, according to State Department documents, as part of an effort to help them form the basis of an Iraqi national guard. About $18.5 million was allocated to a force of tribal fighters in Anbar, recruited through a mobilization program designed by the Iraqi government. The State Department announced Monday it would ask for even more money for the program in fiscal year 2016. Sources embedded in the Anbar militias said they began to receive U.S. weapons several months ago. IBTimes reported in December the militias in western Iraq were developing strength and organizing themselves into forces that could take on the Islamic State group. Until they received U.S. support, the Sunni tribes in Anbar had received a few small shipments from the central government. A Kurdish news outlet, Rudaw, reported in December the U.S.-led coalition had approved the formation of a 50,000-strong tribal force in the western part of the country to fight ISIS. The chairman of Anbar's provincial council, Sabah Karhout, said the coalition would "bear the expense of training and arming" the tribal force, since the Iraqi military isn't popular in the area. "The [Shiite]-dominated [military] is not particularly welcome in Anbar and other majority Sunni areas because of past excesses and sectarian activities, and poor combat performance," a State Department budget document said. "Armed tribal forces fighting on their own territory and among their own people offer both a more effective, motivated force and encouragement to like-minded tribal forces to initiate their own insurrection against ISIL." But other Sunni-majority regions in the country, such as Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, are less committed to fighting ISIS. Sunni tribal chiefs near Kirkuk pledged allegiance to the Islamic State's self-described caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, last week. According to local Kurdish sources, ISIS is using its alliances with Sunnis in Kirkuk, first established in June, to gain greater access to positions from where it can attack Kurds. (International Business Times)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 2/3/2015 10:54:56 AM
	ByHOLLY WILLIAMSCBS NEWSFebruary 2, 2015, 7:13 PM Armed with U.S. weapons, infamous militia beating ISIS AL MUQDADIYAH, Iraq - In Al Muqdadiyah they're celebrating victory over ISIS. The Badr Brigade chants as they celebrate a recent victory against ISIS CBS NEWS "Run away ISIS, we'll crush you," the soldiers chanted, a week after they drove out the extremists. But these soldiers are not part of Iraq's National Army. Instead, they're volunteers with a Shiite Muslim militia known as the Badr Brigade. "Our guns all come from the Iraqi Defense Ministry," said Badr Brigade Commander Essam Yahya Hussein, who ran a grocery store before he joined the fight six months ago. The U.S. spent $20 billion training and arming the Iraqi army. Now many of its weapons are in the hands of these unchecked militiamen. CBS News correspondent Holly Williams CBS NEWS But with the Iraqi army in disarray, they have the best track record of defeating ISIS in central Iraq. The villages around Al Muqdadiyah are battle scarred and the local people have all fled. The battle for Al Muqdadiyah lasted four days, and when ISIS was finally defeated its fighters fled over hills where they've now regrouped. The Badr Brigade may be effective, but they were born of Iraq's bloody civil war and their notorious death squads are implicated in the torture and murder of thousands of Sunni Muslims. Last week, they were accused of shooting more than 70 unarmed Sunni men in Al Muqdadiyah- a video appears to show the aftermath. "It's not true," said the militia leader when we asked him about the alleged massacre. "The civilians are our brothers." Despite their murky past the Badr Brigades are being given unprecedented power by Iraq's Shiite dominated government. General Ali Al-Wazir commands the Iraqi Army's 20th Battalion, but now he and his men - along with their American weapons and equipment - have been put under the command of the leader of the Badr Brigade. General Ali Al-Wazir walks with CBS News correspondent Holly Williams CBS NEWS "But you're national army and he's part of the Badr organization," I said. "He was given the job by the prime minister," General Al-Wazi told me. "Everybody knows it." As for Iran, its officials have admitted that their Quds special forces are fighting against ISIS in Iraq. That means, in Iraq, the U.S. is on the same side as both Badr - an infamously brutal militia - and Iran. It's a connection that shows just how complicated the battle against ISIS has become. © 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 2/3/2015 3:51:16 PM
	Murdered Japanese journalist's peace tweet goes viral AFP February 3, 2015 Tokyo residents walk past a big screen reporting that Islamic State militants had killed Kenji Goto, whose poignant tweet on the virtue of being calm is spreading on social media Tokyo (AFP) - A poignant tweet by murdered journalist Kenji Goto on the virtue of being calm was spreading rapidly on social media Tuesday, days after he was apparently beheaded by Islamist militants. "Close your eyes and remain patient. It's over once you get angry or yell. It is almost like praying. Hating is not the role of humans; judgement is God's domain," Goto's four-year-old tweet read. "It was my Arab brothers who taught me this," he tweeted in Japanese on September 7, 2010. By early Tuesday afternoon, the message had been retweeted more than 26,000 times in Japanese, with English versions also widely circulated. Goto's brutal killing by militants from the Islamic State movement has provoked an outpouring of emotion in Japan, a country that previously considered itself far removed from the violence that afflicts Western nations facing off against Muslim militants. In a statement on Sunday, his mother cautioned against this emotion becoming destructive. "I believe this sorrow must not create a chain of hatred," said Junko Ishido. Goto's killing was announced in a video posted late Saturday by IS militants and came a week after his friend and fellow captive Haruna Yukawa was beheaded. Jordanians take part in a candlelight vigil to condemn the killings of Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto by the Islamic State group outside the Japanese embassy in Amman on February 2, 2015 The 47-year-old freelance journalist, who established his own video production company in 1996, had supplied documentaries on the Middle East and other regions to Japanese television networks. Much of his work had focused on the plight of children in war zones. The hostage drama erupted after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged $200 million in aid for refugees fleeing IS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq during a tour of the Middle East last month. Militants initially demanded the same sum in exchange for Goto and Yukawa, whom it had been holding for months, equating Abe's pledge to setting Japan against the IS. Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said Monday Tokyo had had "no intention at all" of paying the ransom. During the fraught period between the emergence of the first video and Goto's murder, the Japanese government had refused to make explicit its position on payment of a ransom. It was unclear how serious IS was about negotiating. After beheading Yukawa, the group switched its demand to the release of a failed female suicide bomber, Sajida al-Rishawi, sitting on Jordan's death row, in exchange for Goto.
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 2/3/2015 3:59:24 PM
	Hezbollah faces hard choices between fighting Israel, Sunnis By BASSEM MROUE9 hours ago FILE - In this July 25, 2014, file photo, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaks during a rally to mark Jerusalem Day or Al-Quds day, in the southern suburb of Beirut. Hezbollah’s ambitions are spreading far beyond its Lebanon home as the militant Shiite movement appears increasingly bent on taking on Sunni foes across the Middle East. But the regional aspirations also are taking a heavy toll and threatening to undermine support at home. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File) View Gallery BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah's ambitions are spreading far beyond its Lebanon home as the militant Shiite movement appears increasingly bent on taking on Sunni foes across the Middle East. It has sent thousands of its fighters into Syria and senior military advisers to Iraq, helped Shiite rebels rise to power in Yemen and threatened Bahrain over its abuse of the Shiite majority. Related Stories Arab League blast Lebanon's Hezbollah criticism of Bahrain Associated Press Israeli strikes kill 6 Hezbollah fighters in Syria Associated Press Hezbollah under pressure to act after Israeli strike Reuters Six Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli strikeAFP Israeli strike in Syria kills senior Hezbollah figures Reuters But the regional aspirations also are taking a heavy toll and threatening to undermine Hezbollah's support at home. The group has suffered significant casualties, there is talk of becoming overstretched, and judging by the events of recent days, even a vague sense that the appetite for fighting the Israelis is waning. In the recent confrontation, Israel struck first, purportedly destroying a Hezbollah unit near the front line of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Among the seven dead on Jan. 18 were an Iranian general, a top Hezbollah commander and the son of another former commander in chief. A heavy Hezbollah retaliation appeared inevitable. Yet when it came last Wednesday, Hezbollah's revenge was relatively modest: two Israeli soldiers dead, seven wounded. The choice of location — a disputed piece of land excluded from a U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel — suggested to some that Hezbollah's mind remains focused on more distant fronts. The Hezbollah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, seemed to allude to criticism that Hezbollah's taste for foreign adventurism is weakening its appetite for fighting Israel. In his speech Friday, Nasrallah said Israel had incorrectly thought that "Hezbollah is busy, confused, weak and drained. ... The resistance is in full health, readiness, awareness, professionalism and courage." It is part of a complex equation for Hezbollah: On the one hand, many Lebanese resent the group for embroiling their vulnerable country in ruinous wars with Israel. But on the other, all shades of Muslim opinion see the Jewish state as a common enemy that Hezbollah forced, in 2000, to end an 18-year occupation in south Lebanon. In that sense even Sunnis, who along with Christians and Shiites make a third of the country's population each, could see Hezbollah as a protector. View gallery FILE - In this July 25, 2014, file photo, supporters listen as Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrall … But that was then. Today, many increasingly look to Sunni-majority powers as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as their true backers. "Increasingly, Hezbollah's leadership perceives itself as a Shiite Arab regional actor, placing its commitment to the Palestinian cause on par with its mission as a defender of Shiite political and religious rights in the Arab region," said Randa Slim, a director at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. "The consequence for Lebanon is that at some point the Shiite underpinnings of Hezbollah's regional role will clash with the interests and demands of its non-Shiite, mainly Sunni compatriots." Hezbollah has room to grow as a leading defender of Shiites. But when Nasrallah has tried to make aggressive political proclamations, the results sometimes have backfired. On Jan. 9, Nasrallah harshly criticized Bahrain over its crackdown on a Shiite-led uprising and its arrest of a leading Shiite cleric, Ali Salman. He compared Bahrain to his archenemy Israel, saying it was naturalizing foreigners to make the Persian Gulf island increasingly less Shiite. Nasrallah then issued a veiled threat to Bahrain, although he said protests should remain peaceful. "Weapons can be sent to the most secure countries. Fighters and gunmen can enter and small groups can sabotage a country," he said. View gallery FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, file photo, a Houthi Shiite Yemeni holds a flag of Hezbolla … Hostile reaction swept the Arab world and Lebanon, where even some Shiites complained that threatening Bahrain could spur oil-rich Gulf nations to expel Lebanese Shiites from their soil. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council called Nasrallah's comments "hostile and irresponsible." The 22-nation Arab League accused him of meddling in Bahrain. Hezbollah's largest and most visible commitment is in Syria, where thousands of Hezbollah members are fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces against predominantly Sunni rebels. When Hezbollah first sent fighters to Syria in late 2012, Nasrallah said their role was to defend Shiite holy shrines near the capital, Damascus. Their role expanded to the defense of predominantly Shiite Lebanese residents of Syrian villages. The group now says its main reason to be in Syria is to prevent Sunni extremists from moving into Lebanon. Hardly a week passes without Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV airing funerals for fighters slain in Syria. Last year, a Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Mohammed al-Haj, was killed while on a "jihadi mission" in Iraq. Hezbollah positions in Lebanon also face repeated attacks mostly by an al-Qaida-linked group, the Nusra Front, based on the Syrian side of the border. Their wave of bombings since late 2013 have killed and wounded scores of people, and obliged Hezbollah to employ stiff security countermeasures, including the deployment of plainclothes Hezbollah members around the clock in Shiite business districts south of Beirut. View gallery FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, file photo, Shiite militant group Hezbollah's supporter … In Yemen, security officials say Hezbollah, which has long had a presence, has dispatched increasing number of cadres to the impoverished country since Shiite Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, in September and later the airport. The officials said before the takeover of the capital, Hezbollah had military and security advisers based in the Houthi's stronghold of Saada province near the Saudi border, where the group's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, is based. Analyst Rami Khouri recently wrote in Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper that all the adventurism has come at a political price. "Hezbollah was widely acclaimed in much of Lebanon and the region for leading the battle to liberate south Lebanon from Israeli occupation," he wrote. "Today, the very polarized Lebanese see the party either as the nation's savior and protector — or as a dangerous Iranian Trojan horse." ___ Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Bassem Mroue on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bmroue.
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 2/3/2015 4:08:30 PM
	Reluctant Islamic State fighters choose between death, jail By LORI HINNANT and PAUL SCHEMM1 hour ago In this Dec. 4, 2014 photo, Mehdi "DJ Costa" Akkari, a Tunisian rapper, looks at an image of his brother Youssef, who fought with extremists in Syria and was killed by a U.S. airstrike, in Tunis, Tunisia. While foreigners from across the world have joined the Islamic State militant group, some arrive in Iraq or Syria only to find day-to-day life much more austere and violent than they had expected. (AP Photo/Paul Schemm) View Gallery TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — In Tunis, Ghaith stands furtively on a street corner, his face masked by a hoodie, his tense eyes scanning the crowd for any hint of Islamic State militants. Related Stories Kurds defeat Islamic State jihadists in Syria's Kobane AFP US officials detail Islamic State kills, but hard part ahead Associated Press Japan outraged as video purportedly shows hostage beheaded Associated Press Iraqi libraries ransacked by Islamic State group in Mosul Associated Press Kurds celebrate ousting Islamic State fighters from Kobani Associated Press He chain-smokes as he describes the indiscriminate killing, the abuse of female recruits, the discomfort of a life where meals were little more than bread and cheese or oil. He recounts the knife held to his throat by fellow fighters who demanded he recite a particular Quranic verse on Islamic warfare to prove himself. "It was totally different from what they said jihad would be like," said Ghaith, who asked to be identified by his first name only for fear of being killed. Ghaith eventually surrendered to Syrian soldiers. While foreigners from across the world have joined the Islamic State militant group, some find day-to-day life in Iraq or Syria much more austere and violent than they had expected. These disillusioned new recruits also soon discover that it is a lot harder to leave than to join. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Islamic State group has killed 120 of its own members in the past six months, most of them foreign fighters hoping to return home. Even if they manage to get out, former fighters are considered terrorists and security risks in their own countries. Thousands are under surveillance or in jail in North Africa and Europe, where former militants massacred 17 people last month in terror attacks in Paris. "Not everyone who returns is a budding criminal. Not everyone is going to kill — far from it," said France's top anti-terror judge, Marc Trevidic. "But it's probable that there is a small fringe that is capable of just about anything." View gallery In this Dec. 5, 2014 photo, a young boy uses a plastic bag like a balloon in the low-income Tunis su … The number of French returnees has recently increased, their enthusiasm dented by the reality of militant life and by the allied bombing campaign, according to a top French security official who spoke anonymously because the issue is sensitive. Some foreign recruits have written home to say they are being held against their will, the official said. The Associated Press talked to more than a dozen former fighters, their families and lawyers about life in and escape from Islamic State, many of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Youssef Akkari used to spend hours in his room in Tunisia listening to religious chants and reading, according to his brother, Mehdi Akkari. One day the family received a message that he was going to Syria. But he lost his glasses and couldn't fight, his brother said, so he was put in charge of preaching jihad to new recruits instead. After seven months he began to plot his escape, along with two brothers. The brothers were discovered and killed. Youssef turned himself in to Kurdish fighters and made his way back to Tunisia, where he felt trapped between police harassment and his terror of the vengeful militants. He returned to Syria and died in an airstrike in October. View gallery In this Dec. 5, 2014 photo, Ibrahim Doghri smokes a cigarette in his low-income neighborhood of Mham … The Islamic State group works to prevent recruits from leaving from the time they join. The first step is removing their passports and identity documents. Hamad Abdul-Rahman, an 18-year-old Saudi, said he was met at the Syrian border last summer by militants who escorted him to a training camp in Tabaqa, Syria. "They took all my documents and asked me if I want to be a fighter or a suicide bomber," Abdul-Rahman told AP from prison in Baghdad, where he was shackled, handcuffed and hooded. He chose to fight. In early September, he surrendered to Iraqi forces. An Iraqi defense ministry video shows Abdel-Rahman minutes after his arrest, identifying himself to soldiers. View gallery This Dec. 5, 2014 photo shows a view of the low-income Tunis suburb of Mhamdiya, Tunisia, which has … Another Tunisian recruit, Ali, escaped after he was made a courier in the winter of 2013. He made four courier trips between Syria and Tunisia in three weeks, taking back news, money and propaganda videos. On the last trip to Tunisia, he simply stayed. "I feel like I was a terrorist, I was shocked by what I did," said Ali, dropping his voice low and moving when people approached. His advice for would-be jihadis: "Go have a drink. Don't pray. It's not Islam. Don't give your life up for nothing." The predicament for governments is to figure out whether a recruit is returning home to escape from the Islamic State or to spread its violence. France has detained more than 150 returnees — including eight on Tuesday — and says about 3,000 need surveillance. Britain has arrested 165 returnees, and Germany considers about 30 of its 180 returnees extremely dangerous. There is no way to prove their intentions. "(For many in France), they need to be punished. That's it," said Justice Minister Christian Taubira. "These are the people who can bear witness, who can dissuade others." View gallery In this Dec. 5, 2014 photo, people walk in the low-income Tunis suburb of Mhamdiya, Tunisia, which h … French lawyer Martin Pradel said his client is one of 10 men from Strasbourg who left for Syria last winter to take up arms on behalf of Syrian civilians. But they crossed into territory controlled by militants, who suspected they were spies or enemies. They were jailed for two weeks, then transferred and locked up for another three. Two of the French recruits died in an ambush. The men decided to leave, one by one so as not to draw attention. "They left at night, they ran across fields, they practically crept across the border," Pradel said. His client surrendered to Turkish authorities. Since he lacked ID, he got temporary transit papers from the French embassy. He is now in jail in France, where the government accuses the Strasbourg men of running a recruiting ring for extremists. It was a similar escape for four Frenchmen from Toulouse, according to their lawyers. Pierre Dunac, the lawyer for Imad Jjebali, said the men went to Syria in hopes of helping civilians, but ended up in Islamic State territory and were thrown in jail. One day, Dunac said, their jailer gave them their papers. He told them, "I'm going to pray," and he left them alone right by the door. "They understood that he was letting them leave," Dunac said. "Why? It's astonishing. ... They themselves didn't understand why." The men surrendered to Turkish soldiers and were deported to France. They are now in jail facing terrorism charges. In Tunisia, where close surveillance of 400 returnees is far more common than arrests, Ghaith is now a free man by most measures. But he does not act like one. He neck still bears a scar where his fellow fighters held the knife. "It's not a revolution or jihad," he said. "It's a slaughter." ___ Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut; Jamey Keaten and Nicolas Vaux-Montagny in Paris; Vivian Salama in Baghdad; and Danica Kirka in London contributed. Related video:
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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In Face Of ISIS Onslaught, US Rushes To Support Sunni Anbar Militias

Armed with U.S. weapons, infamous militia beating ISIS

Murdered Japanese journalist's peace tweet goes viral

Hezbollah faces hard choices between fighting Israel, Sunnis

Reluctant Islamic State fighters choose between death, jail