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Israel claims control of Ali al Taher after weeks of Hezbollah attacks and failed handover efforts
The IDF says it cleared Hezbollah fighters from underground infrastructure in south Lebanon’s Ali al Taher Ridge and achieved operational control above and below ground. Hezbollah denied losing the strategic position. The battle exposed the limits of Lebanese government efforts to secure the site through negotiation and prompted an Iranian threat of direct retaliation.
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IDF captures Hamas security chief, reports 29 Gaza ceasefire violations Aug. 19–Sept. 3
Israeli special operations forces captured a senior Hamas security official in a September 1 operation in the Katiba area of western Gaza City. The raid came as the US-backed Board of Peace’s stabilization plan and Hamas disarmament agreement, which had prompted Israel to scale back strikes in response to reported ceasefire violations, appeared to falter.
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Kurdistan Region concerned over US support amid Iran’s continued attacks
The latest report that the US is cutting funding for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq’s Peshmerga military force comes as Washington prepares to withdraw forces from Iraq and Iran continues its campaign of drone and missile attacks against the KRG.
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White House, Caracas release details on historic US-Venezuela oil deal
President Donald Trump announced on August 28 that the United States had reached a sweeping oil agreement with Venezuela that grants American interests majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. The US described the agreement as part of a 25-year strategy to expand US access to Venezuelan energy resources while building…
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The UN Monitoring Team’s latest report: Where the global jihad stands now
Generation Jihad guest host Edmund Fitton-Brown, FDD senior fellow and former coordinator of the UN Monitoring Team, talks with Colin Smith, the Monitoring Team’s current coordinator, about what the latest 1267 report shows about Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their affiliates, plus how the report is built and the challenges of keeping the spotlight…
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Top Islamic State spokesman killed in Yemen
Abu Hudhayfah al Ansari, who has been the official Islamic State spokesman for three years, was reported killed in a joint Saudi-Yemeni special forces raid in Hadhramaut Governorate. The Islamic State has yet to comment on Ansari’s status.
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Iranian-backed militia in Iraq sets ‘conditions’ for disarmament
Iraq’s efforts to bring the weapons of Iranian-backed militias under state control are facing a new challenge as one of the country’s groups, Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada, has laid out conditions for disarmament. The debate comes amid continued US pressure on Baghdad to disarm the groups, a looming coalition withdrawal deadline, and renewed efforts by…
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What is the Axis of Aggressors doing in Europe and the Middle East?
China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in “unprecedented” cooperation, empowering Russian aggression in Ukraine and making the regime in Iran more lethal and resilient. Generation Jihad guest host Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), discusses these relationships and impacts with John Hardie, deputy director of FDD’s…
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Iranian-backed Iraqi militias may seek to delay disarmament
Iraq’s efforts to disarm the country’s Iranian-backed militias appear to be facing growing political resistance as some factions seek to delay or avoid a September deadline. The debate comes as Washington continues pressing Baghdad to bring all weapons under state control.
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Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announce its dissolution
The dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main US-backed anti-Islamic State group in Syria, ends more than a decade of Kurdish-led autonomy in the country’s northeast, as the SDF’s military, security, and civilian institutions are integrated into the state.
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US rescinds Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
On August 24, the United States formally rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, marking a milestone in Washington’s effort to improve relations with Damascus. The decision came as the US has sought to advance security talks between Syria and Israel.
All Articles
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Exodus and Ascent
As the Iraqi government continues their attempts to pull the leaders of the Sunni led insurgency from the battlefield and into the political spectrum, the insurgency continues to lose the power to influence the future of Iraq via violence. Robert F. Worth of the New York Times reports Sheik Harith al-Dari, “a leading spokesman for Iraq’s disaffected Sunni Arabs” and leader of the Sunni Muslim Scholars Association is negotiating with the government to bring in Sunni fighters. The Muslim Scholars Association has openly supported the insurgency and has called for the boycott of the January election. While al-Dari’s demands are…
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Great Games
The United States’ worldwide military posture provides valuable information how the US plans to address present and future threats. The US redeployment from the European theater marks the end of the Cold War strategy of protecting Europe from the threat of the now-defunct USSR. The shift of American forces to the East – Central Asia and the Middle East, and South – the Horn of Africa, reflects the new areas of concern for the United States. In the Asia Times, Ramtanu Maitra documents the proliferation of US bases in Central Asia, and posits the purposes are to surround Iran (a…
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Out of the Bottle
“The democratic genie is out of the bottle”. An update on the status of democratic progress in the Middle East, and how the United States is leveraging diplomacy to promote democracy in the region.
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Shifting Zarqawi
Osama bin Laden’s push for attacks in the United States by Zarqawi highlights several weaknesses in the current state of al Qaeda; a lack of experienced operatives and military and political pressure have forced the organization to modify its operations.
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Dealing with the Devil
The Tel Aviv terrorist attack threatens to destroy the most recent truce between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Islamic Jihad has taken credit for the suicide bombing, and Israel believes the order to conduct the attack was given from Syria. Israel indicated it would not retaliate at this time in order to give the Palestinian Authority the chance to hunt for the murderers. The door remains open for Israeli action inthelikely event the Palestinian Authority does not act in good faith. Palestinian Authority President Abbas believes Hezbollah is involved: Abbas angrily accused a “third party” of orchestrating Friday’s attack to…
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The Syrian Keystone
“It’s strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it.” Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Muslim Leader of the Lebanese Opposition Walid Jumblatt succinctly explains why Iraq is the political keystone, as well as the geographic keystone, to addressing the…
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The Sunnis’ Cards
As reported yesterday, the Sunnis are frightened over the prospects of being frozen out of the new Iraqi government, and now wish to participate in drafting the new Iraqi Constitution, which is one of the main tasks of the newly elected Iraqi Assembly. Control of the Assembly and the appointment of the Presidency Council requires a supermajority of two-thirds of the Assembly, and the passage of the Constitution requires the approval of the Iraqi people. The Shiite factions (which should not be looked at as a homogenous voting block) took about 50% of the vote, and the Kurdish factions about…
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The Blitz
The recent wave of violent attacks, which killed over a hundred Iraqi Shiites, has inspired fear in a segment of the Iraqi population. It isn’t the Shiites shaking in fear, however. Reality is beginning to dawn on the Iraqi Sunnis, and it is a reality they were not prepared to face: As the Shiite majority prepared to take control of the country’s first freely elected government, tribal chiefs representing Sunni Arabs in six provinces issued a list of demands – including participation in the government and drafting a new constitution – after previously refusing to acknowledge the vote’s legitimacy. “We…
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The Grip on the Levant
Lebanese politics gets interesting in the wake of the assassination of former Primer Minister Harari. Mr. Harari was a wealthy and influential Lebanese politician and businessman who positioned himself as an opposition leader to the existing pro-Syrian Lebanese government. While a previously unknown terrorist group (“The Organization for Victory and Jihad in the Levant”) has claimed credit for the murder, Syria is strongly suspected to have murdered Mr. Harari. But the Arab and European media refuses to rule out the usual suspect: let’s blame the Jews! The Lebanese government refuses to sanction an international investigation, even though it is believed…
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Courting Indian Country
Russia has indicated that it will continue with assisting Iran’s nuclear program, increasing the likelihood of a nuclear-armed Iran. Between the soft efforts of the European Union 3 (EU-3) to stop the Iranian nuclear program and Russia’s encouragement and support, the Mullahs of Iran are sure to continue their quest to become a nuclear power. The impact of Russia’s support of Iran’s nuclear program is both far-reaching and short sighted. Russia is indicating that it is separating itself from the West by co-opting the theocratic regime of Iran. Russia’s myopia is clear: they do not recognize the interrelated threat from…
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Motivations
Please accept my apologies for not living up to my promise of posting here regularly while working at Easongate. I have written a post over at Easongate to explain why I have devoted so much time to such a seemingly insignificant topic many would not understand to be related to the war. It is titled “Motivations”, and I expound further on the “information war”, which I mentioned the other day, and how we can fight it. Justin will be filling in for me when he can (I greatly appreciate this) and I will attempt to post as well if time…
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Stalling for Time
The Islamic Republic of Iran has indicated it has no intentions of halting or dismantling its nuclear program. In fact, the negotiations with the European Union 3 (EU-3) are merely designed to ensure that Iran retains its nuclear program. Ali Agha Mohammadi, the spokesman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has stated as such: “Iran will never scrap its nuclear program, and talks with Europeans are intended to protect the country’s nuclear achievements, not negotiate an end to them, an Iranian official said Wednesday.” Despite a recent agreement with the EU-3 to suspend its enrichment programs, Iran is testing crucial…
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The Nature of the Beast
One of the most appalling reported acts of exploitative terrorism was perpetrated during last Sunday’s election in Iraq. Stymied by the Coalition and Iraqi security restrictions in place to reduce violence at the polls, the Iraqi “resistance” used a wheelchair bound child with Down’s Syndrome as a suicide bomber to murder Iraqis hoping to vote (hattip Free Will Blog via Chester): The official, Falah al-Naqib, said a handicapped child was used to carry out one of more than three dozen suicide attacks on election day. “A handicapped child was used to carry out a suicide attack on a polling site,”…
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No Delay
Election Day in Iraq is a little over a month away, and the violence against the Iraqi people and interim government increases. Last week, two election workers were gunned down in cold blood. Today, Muhammad Abd al-Hussein, a secular Iraqi politician critical of Syria was murdered, and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the most influential Shiite party narrowly missed an assassination attempt which killed over a dozen people. Critics of the upcoming election on January 30 state that more time is needed to establish security in the Sunni regions, give the Sunni political parties time to enter the election…
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Cutting Costs
Belmont Club looks at the mortar attack on the mess hall in Mosul, and the media and European inclination to misrepresent, and in some cases ignore wholesale the nature of the Islamofascist enemy and the deeds of Saddam’s regime. The goal of the enemy in Iraq is to reduce our will to fight and push for the withdrawal of American troops, and the media’s portrayal of the Islamofascists as a legitimate ‘resistance’ only helps their cause by weakening support for the Iraqi people both domestically and internationally. The price American would pay for abandoning Iraq would be steep; however the…
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Terror TV
Charles Johnson of little green footballs links to an article on the banning of Al-Manar (The Beacon), the satellite television station of Hezbollah. The United States government has officially designated Al-Manar a terrorist organization, and the broadcast of Al-Manar will not be allowed to be carried on American satellites. Any persons or companies collaborating with Al-Manar would be subject to American laws and sanctions. The designation of Al-Manar as Foreign Terrorist Organization/Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity was a long time coming, as the network has a history terrorist activities. Samples of Al-Manar’s “programming” include hatred towards America and Israel, the…
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The Chain Gang
As the Iraqi elections approach, the interim government has decided to press forward with the trial of members of Saddam’s former Ba’athist regime. Twelve senior leaders will be the first to be tried, including Ali Hassan al-Majid (AKA Chemical Ali) and Tareq Aziz. These men wielded great power in Saddam’s Iraq. Tareq Aziz was Saddam’s Foreign Minister who circled the globe meeting with foreign leaders, and was accustomed to the finest comforts the world had to offer. Chemical Ali was Saddam’s cousin and hatchetman, the secretary of the Ba’ath party who was responsible for the gassing of the Kurds and…
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The Persian Approach
Dr. Kaveh Afrasiabi, professor of political science at the University of Tehran has published an article outlining Iran’s strategy against a possible confrontation with the United States. As Colt stated in Thursday’s Winds of War Briefing, the article is a “rather optimistic (from the mullahs’ perspective) look at how Iran would fight back” , but if this is the best face Iran can put on its ability to fight the American military, it should not be very comforting to the mullahs. Dr. Afrasiabi begins the article by discussing a recent Iranian military exercise that ‘mesmeriz[ed] foreign observers, who have described…
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Osama Speaks to Saudi Arabia
(This post will be updated with a link to the full transcript when it is available.) Osama bin Laden has released a new videotape where he praises the attacks in Jeddah, calls for the overthrow of the Saudi government and exhorts his followers to attack the lifeblood of the Middle East – oil and the infrastructure used to extract, refine and deliver it. The full transcript is not yet available, however the excerpted portions are quite revealing. On the attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda has already claimed credit for this attack, bin Laden merely…
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The Philadelphi Warren
Last November Belmont Club reported on the scope of the Palestinian’s subterranean war along the “Philadelphi Route”, the border between Gaza and Egypt controlled by the Israeli Defense Force. While tunnels are typically used for smuggling of weapons, ammunition, drugs and terrorists, the IDF believed a tunnel pointed at one of their outposts in Rafah collapsed before it could be used in an attack. This Sunday, Palestinian terrorists succeeded in using a tunnel to strike at Israeli soldiers. Five Israeli-Arab Bedouin soldiers were killed and six wounded after two suicide bombers (a curious waste of manpower, why no remote detonation?)…
