Paris under attack

[Outbehindthebarn]

I noted and respect the opinions (thoughts) expressed by you and David Wild. (facts?)

Given that you've never met me, and know nothing about me..........I'm surprised that you nonetheless can say that you have zero respect for me (your right, of course).

Left views? Sorry, you lost me there. My posts were only about presenting a more detailed picture of the significant situation unfolding (what CNN does not present).

David Wild's first post includes numerous derogatory remarks. I'm confident that he could have expressed his views on a higher plane than that.

Is there a deleted post somewhere?

[kscarbel2]

It is about the spread of Islam, if it was not the Middle East country's would welcome them the same as they did the Kuwaitis during the gulf war. Now this is sounding like a conspiracy theory or plot line from the showtime series Homeland, but it is not.

Follow the trail of the Muslim Brotherhood "Obama secretly backing Muslim Brotherhood" http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/3/inside-the-ring-muslim-brotherhood-has-obamas-secr/?page=all

"Is Saudi Arabia warming up to the Muslim Brotherhood?" http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/saudi-arabia-warming-muslim-brotherhood-150727121500912.htmlBackground on the Muslim Brother Hood

The Muslim Brotherhood created a manifesto about this that was found by the FBI during a raid and was made public as it was used as evidence trail. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-judge-hands-downs-sentences-holy-land-foundation-case. Read the manifesto which can be found here and at other websites http://www.clarionproject.org/Muslim_Brotherhood_Explanatory_Memorandum shows the intent.

Some good info that can further enlighten the average American, who otherwise, is unaware,

The White House feels the Muslim Brotherhood is a tolerable entity it can deal with, as opposed to the more violent. Good luck with that.

Saudi Arabia is against any other Muslim entity that could unseat their control in the region.

[kscarbel2]

Ahmed Mohamed: 'Clock boy' seeks $15 million from city and school

BBC / November 23, 2015

A boy who was arrested for taking a homemade clock to class is seeking $15 million from his city and school.

Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was held by police and suspended from his school in Texas because his teacher mistook the clock for a bomb.

His lawyer said that the incident sparked threats against the teenager and left him deeply traumatized.

The Muslim teenager and his family have since moved to Qatar, having accepted a full scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

His lawyers are asking for $10 million from the city of Irving, Texas and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District, saying that Ahmed was "publically mistreated" and remains scarred.

In addition to the compensation they want an apology, saying that in the aftermath of the arrest, he received threatening emails and feared for his safety, causing "severe psychological trauma".

The lawyers will file a civil action suit if the school does not comply within 60 days, they said.

"Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless. The only reason for the overreaction was that the responsible adults involved irrationally assumed that Ahmed was dangerous because of his race, national origin and religion," the lawyers wrote in a letter to the City of Irving.

Ahmed told reporters at the time it was "very sad" that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.

His arrest was sharply criticized, and he received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House.

He also met Google co-founder Sergey Brin and officials from Turkey, Sudan and Jordan.

Officials defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.

TIME Magazine named Ahmed among its "30 Most Influential Teens of 2015" list.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The people at the school thought it might be a bomb, perhaps because it looks exactly like a ......bomb.”

[41chevy]

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said .....

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/gingrich-obama-worse-national/2015/11/21/id/703118/?ns_mail_uid=68241458&ns_mail_job=1644112_11232015&s=al&dkt_nbr=ijlvwwcd

[kscarbel2]

U.S. issues global travel warning, sees 'increased terrorist threats'

Reuters / November 23, 2015

The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning U.S. citizens of the risks of traveling because of what it described as "increased terrorist threats."

"Current information suggests that (Islamic State), al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions," the department said in a warning posted on its website.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/worldwide-caution.html

[Outbehindthebarn]

Ahmed Mohamed: 'Clock boy' seeks $15m from city and school

BBC / November 23, 2015

A boy who was arrested for taking a homemade clock to class is seeking $15 million from his city and school.

Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was held by police and suspended from his school in Texas because his teacher mistook the clock for a bomb.

His lawyer said that the incident sparked threats against the teenager and left him deeply traumatized.

The Muslim teenager and his family have since moved to Qatar, having accepted a full scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

His lawyers are asking for $10 million from the city of Irving, Texas and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District, saying that Ahmed was "publically mistreated" and remains scarred.

In addition to the compensation they want an apology, saying that in the aftermath of the arrest, he received threatening emails and feared for his safety, causing "severe psychological trauma".

The lawyers will file a civil action suit if the school does not comply within 60 days, they said.

"Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless. The only reason for the overreaction was that the responsible adults involved irrationally assumed that Ahmed was dangerous because of his race, national origin and religion," the lawyers wrote in a letter to the City of Irving.

Ahmed told reporters at the time it was "very sad" that his teacher thought his clock was a threat.

His arrest was sharply criticized, and he received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House.

He also met Google co-founder Sergey Brin and officials from Turkey, Sudan and Jordan.

Officials defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.

TIME Magazine named Ahmed among its "30 Most Influential Teens of 2015" list.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The people at the school thought it might be a bomb, perhaps because it looks exactly like a ......bomb.”

I love it when Bill Mahr and I agree.

[kscarbel2]

Want to be a big Syria supporter and raise that country’s flag? Then go back to Syria. While you’re there, you can help fight for that country which apparently still holds your unwavering patriotism.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allentown's Syrian community asks why city rejected Syrian flag-raising permit

Lehigh Valley Live / April 2, 2015

Members of Allentown's Syrian community filled city council chambers Wednesday wanting to know why their Syrian flag-raising permit has been denied for a second year.

Aziz Wehbey, president of the American Amarian Syrian Charity Society in Catasauqua, said members of the city's Syrian community have been holding an annual flag raising ceremony since 1974 to honor Syria's independence from France.

The flag raising is held April 17, and organizers asked the city to hold the ceremony in the plaza outside city hall at Fourth and Hamilton streets.

The city has denied the permit the last two years, which Wehbey argues is discriminatory against the Syrian community, considering the city allows other similar ceremonies. The brief ceremony was instead held in Catasauqua last year, and Whitehall Township officials said this year they would welcome the ceremony, Wehbey said.

City officials reportedly denied the permit last year after a stabbing occurred during a protest against the Syrian government, according to Wehbey. He said many local Syrians support President Bashar al-Assad.

Wehbey and Tino Babayn, who said he contacted the mayor's office after the permit was denied this year, said the administration rejected the permit this year, citing a list maintained by the U.S. State Department. City Managing Director Fran Dougherty declined comment, deferring to a statement from city spokesman Mike Moore.

"Syria has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department," Moore said in the statement, adding flag-raising ceremonies have not been held in recent years at city hall. "The city of Allentown does not raise flags of countries that are on that list at city hall."

The other countries on the list cited by city hall include Cuba, Iran and Sudan.

Babayn noted Syria has been on the list since 1979 and that city mayors, including Mayor Ed Pawlowski, have attended previous Syrian flag-raising ceremonies.

Nidal Yacoub, of Whitehall Township, said those in attendance Wednesday were not there to talk about politics. The Syrian flag represents Syria, which the local community has been celebrating for years before the current regime was in power, he said.

Ernie Atiyeh said Wednesday was the first time he heard about the permit being denied and that he was appalled by a decision that segregates the Syrian community.

"God rest his soul, I'm glad my father's not here to hear this," Atiyeh said.

City council did not comment on the issue. City council President Ray O'Connell said after the meeting that he respected everyone's concerns, but doubted there was little city council could do about the permit.

"The administration has made a decision and it's their decision to make," he said.

[Outbehindthebarn]

Want to be a big Syria supporter and raise that country’s flag? Then go back to Syria. While you’re there, you can help fight for that country which apparently still holds your patriotism.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allentown's Syrian community asks why city rejected Syrian flag-raising permit

Lehigh Valley Live / April 2, 2015

Members of Allentown's Syrian community filled city council chambers Wednesday wanting to know why their Syrian flag-raising permit has been denied for a second year.

Aziz Wehbey, president of the American Amarian Syrian Charity Society in Catasauqua, said members of the city's Syrian community have been holding an annual flag raising ceremony since 1974 to honor Syria's independence from France.

The flag raising is held April 17, and organizers asked the city to hold the ceremony in the plaza outside city hall at Fourth and Hamilton streets.

The city has denied the permit the last two years, which Wehbey argues is discriminatory against the Syrian community, considering the city allows other similar ceremonies. The brief ceremony was instead held in Catasauqua last year, and Whitehall Township officials said this year they would welcome the ceremony, Wehbey said.

City officials reportedly denied the permit last year after a stabbing occurred during a protest against the Syrian government, according to Wehbey. He said many local Syrians support President Bashar al-Assad.

Wehbey and Tino Babayn, who said he contacted the mayor's office after the permit was denied this year, said the administration rejected the permit this year, citing a list maintained by the U.S. State Department. City Managing Director Fran Dougherty declined comment, deferring to a statement from city spokesman Mike Moore.

"Syria has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department," Moore said in the statement, adding flag-raising ceremonies have not been held in recent years at city hall. "The city of Allentown does not raise flags of countries that are on that list at city hall."

The other countries on the list cited by city hall include Cuba, Iran and Sudan.

Babayn noted Syria has been on the list since 1979 and that city mayors, including Mayor Ed Pawlowski, have attended previous Syrian flag-raising ceremonies.

Nidal Yacoub, of Whitehall Township, said those in attendance Wednesday were not there to talk about politics. The Syrian flag represents Syria, which the local community has been celebrating for years before the current regime was in power, he said.

Ernie Atiyeh said Wednesday was the first time he heard about the permit being denied and that he was appalled by a decision that segregates the Syrian community.

"God rest his soul, I'm glad my father's not here to hear this," Atiyeh said.

City council did not comment on the issue. City council President Ray O'Connell said after the meeting that he respected everyone's concerns, but doubted there was little city council could do about the permit.

"The administration has made a decision and it's their decision to make," he said.

During the second World War, there was a number of German-Americans who left the US to fight for the Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit//Für das deutsche Vaterland! {For unity and justice and freedom. . .for the German Fatherland!}

Seriously doubt the Syrians have the gonads to do the same.

[kscarbel2]

The wealthy GCC countries of the Arab League don’t want to take in their Muslim brothers in need, considering them to be undesirables.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On September 2, Kuwaiti official Fahad al-Shalami explained why the Gulf Cooperation Council countries* refuse to accept refugees.

* Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

“Kuwait and the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries are too valuable to accept any refugees. Our countries are only fit for [migrant] workers. It's too costly to relocate them [the refugees] here. Kuwait is too expensive for them anyway, as opposed to Lebanon and Turkey, which are cheap. They are better suited for the Syrian refugees. In the end, it is not right for us to accept a people that are different from us. We don't want people that suffer from internal stress and trauma in our country.”

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZbCK95Zu_0

[kscarbel2]

A former Senate Intelligence Committee chairman.........do you think he'd know something?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/bob-grahams-push-for-disclosure-on-saudoi-arabia-and-911-enters/2240999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia 'a critical source of terrorist funding'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/242073

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

[thomastractorsvc]

A former Senate Intelligence Committee chairman.........do you think he'd know something?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/bob-grahams-push-for-disclosure-on-saudoi-arabia-and-911-enters/2240999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia 'a critical source of terrorist funding'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/242073

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

kscarbel2-Seems like you are trying to spin 9-11 now and blame Bush. What does that have to do with what is going on now with Obama foreign policy and with Hillary participation in developing this mess we are in now, Seems like she is covering her tracks and you are trying to help, anything out of that camp is fraught with half truths to spin it around and she will say anything to help herself out.

So why are you not posting the facts? Still posting Spin and diversion from the real issue which is Obama Administration 1. Is a Sympathizer to Radical Islam or 2. Does not care what happens to the United States, either way the out come will be the same, the spreading of Jihad and the deterioration of western civilization.

Is that what you are hoping for?

"Clinton Foundation Donors Got Weapons Deals From Hillary Clinton's State Department"

http://www.ibtimes.com/clinton-foundation-donors-got-weapons-deals-hillary-clintons-state-department-1934187

[41chevy]

 

ACLU Sues Indiana Gov. Pence Over Refusal to Resettle Syrian Refugees

 

Tuesday, 24 Nov 2015

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday sued Indiana Governor Mike Pence over his refusal to allow refugees fleeing Syria's civil war to resettle in the state, saying his position violates federal authority and the U.S. Constitution.

Pence is one of more than 25 governors, mostly Republicans, who have publicly called on President Barack Obama to stop resettling Syrian refugees following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

The governors cited concerns that some refugees could be associated with Islamic State militants.

In the lawsuit, the ACLU said decisions concerning immigration and refugee resettlement are exclusively the province of the federal government and cannot be dictated by state officials.

"Attempts to pre-empt that authority violate both equal protection and civil rights laws and intrude on authority that is exclusively federal," ACLU of Indiana legal director Ken Falk said in a statement.

Pence could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawsuit, one of the first brought by the ACLU, which has promised legal action in many states where governors have said they will turn away Syrian refugees.

The Obama administration has stood by its pledge to admit some 10,000 refugees into the United States over the next year despite calls by governors and congressional Republicans to stop the entry of Syrians fleeing a civil war in their homeland.The U.S. State Department last week confirmed that a refugee family that had been headed to Indiana was relocated to Connecticut, but did not specify the country from which the family came.

Refugee advocates note that candidates for resettlement go through extensive background checks, taking up to two years, before reaching the United States.

The lawsuit in Indiana was brought on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc., a nonprofit corporation that receives federal money to help resettle refugees in the United States.

The United States admitted 1,682 Syrian refugees in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up from 105 admitted the previous fiscal year and projects the admission of up to 75,000 for the new fiscal year. Department of Justice legal experts have said governors do not appear to have legal authority to stop refugees from being settled in their states.

2015 Thomson/Reuters

[kscarbel2]

Putin: Downing of Russian jet over Syria "a stab in the back" by terrorist accomplices

RT / November 24, 2015

Turkey backstabbed Russia by downing the Russian warplane and acted as accomplices of the terrorists, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Earlier a Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down by Turkish fighter jets near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey claimed that the plane violated Turkish airspace and did not respond to warnings. Russia insists that the plane stayed in the Syrian airspace.

One of the two pilots of the downed Russian warplane was killed by a rebel group as he was parachuting down on the ground after ejecting from the plane. The fate of the second pilot remains unknown. A Russian marine was also killed on Tuesday during an operation to rescue the two downed pilots.

“This incident stands out against the usual fight against terrorism. Our troops are fighting heroically against terrorists, risking their lives. But the loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists,” Putin said.

Putin said the plane was hit by a Turkish warplane as it was traveling at an altitude of 6000 meters about a kilometer from the Turkish border. It was hit by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet. The crash site is four kilometers from the border. The plane posed no threat to Turkish national security, he stressed.

Putin said the plane was targeting terrorist targets in the Latakia province of Syria, many of whom came from Russia.

Russia has for a long time been aware of oil going from Syria under the control of terrorists to Turkey, Putin said. The money finances terrorist groups.

“IS has big money, hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, from selling oil. In addition they are protected by the military of an entire nation. One can understand why they are acting so boldly and blatantly. Why they kill people in such atrocious ways. Why they commit terrorist acts across the world, including in the heart of Europe,” said Putin.

The downing of the Russian warplane happened despite Russia signing an agreement with the US to prevent such incidents in Syria, Putin stressed. Turkey claims to be part of the US-led coalition fighting against IS in Syria, he added.

The incident will have grave consequences for Russia’s relations with Turkey, Putin warned.

“We have always treated Turkey as not only a close neighbor, but also as a friendly nation,” he said. “I don’t know who has an interest in what happened today, but we certainly don’t.”

"The fact that Turkey did NOT try to contact Russia in the wake of the incident and rushed to call a NATO meeting instead is worrisome," Putin said. "It appears that Turkey wants NATO to serve the interests of ISIS," he added.

[41chevy]

Russia and Turkey. hmmm. .Turkey borders on the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Putin could use a base on the Med. Sure change the balance of power in the Med.

[carlotpilot]

Keep your powder dry folks. This is getting serious.

[kscarbel2]

It’s a tangled web that has put dark clouds on the horizon.

Turkey has been consistent in pursuing its own agenda: to pretend to be fighting ISIS while actually fighting the Kurds.

Though Turkey ostensibly joined the anti-ISIS campaign last July, its aircraft have dropped 80% of their bombs on the Kurds fighting ISIS in Northern Syria and North Western Iraq.

Thus, Turkey has been pursuing its own agenda, pretending to be fighting ISIS while settling scores with one of the two parties that are actually capable of fighting ISIS on the ground (the other being the Syrian Army).

Russia says that if one of its two aircraft indeed entered Turkish airspace, it wasn’t for more than 17 seconds. That Turkey already had fighters in the air, waiting for the chance to support the ethnically Turkish “Turkmen” in northern Syria, appears to be a set-up. And bringing NATO into the fracas is a blatant misuse of the organization.

No doubt some in Turkey are upset over how Russia is stepping on the financial veins of ISIS, the sensitive subject of who profits from ISIS’s oil smuggling. Turkish Socialist party member Gursel Tekin says ISIS’s smuggled oil is exported to Turkey by BMZ, a shipping company controlled by Bilal Erdogan, the son of Turkey’s president (a violation of UN Security Council resolution 2170).

If Syria’s Turkmen want to be in bed with Turkey, they should relocate to Turkey. Shooting a defenseless pilot descending by parachute is a cowardly act, and a violation of international law.

Alwiya al-Ashar, the Turkey-supported Turkmen militia allegedly in possession of one of the downed pilots, has been fighting alongside other rebel groups, including the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, in Latakia province which runs to the sea along the Turkish border in the north-west. Alwiya al-Ashar is linked to a Turkish and CIA-backed logistics supply program that funnels small arms, ammunition, and cash for salaries to rebel groups across northern Syria.

Meanwhile, the Kurds are no angels either. Amnesty International has accused Kurdish forces in northern Syria of razing Arab and Turkmen villages to the ground in Hasakah and Raqqa provinces, where fighters had retaken territory previously held by the ISIS.

"They pulled us out of our homes and began burning the home … they brought the bulldozers .... They demolished home after home until the entire village was destroyed," said one villager.

The Kurds threatened to call in US air strikes if villagers refused to leave.

The Kurdish fighters have been backed in their fight against ISIS by the U.S., which arms them and provides air cover.

[kscarbel2]

The purpose-designed A-10 Warthog ground-attack aircraft clearly has no equal, and yet it’s a symbol of strife inside the Pentagon.

Reuters / November 24, 2015

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels launched an attack late last month on Islamic State militants near the town of Hawl in northern Syria. They regained control of roughly 100 square miles of territory, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

“It was a fairly straightforward, conventional offensive operation,” Army Colonel Steve Warren told reporters via video conference from Baghdad, “where we estimated … several hundred enemy [fighters] were located in that vicinity.”

Warren continued his description. “There was a substantial friendly force — well over 1,000 participated in the offensive part of this operation. And they were able to very deliberately execute the plan that they had made themselves.”

Two types of U.S. warplanes, both optimized for precision attacks in close coordination with ground troops, were critical to the Syrian rebels’ success, Warren revealed. “We were able to bring both A-10s and a Spectre gunship to bear,” he said, “… It can only be described as devastating …. it killed nearly 80 enemy fighters and wounded many more.”

Video shot by a correspondent from the Kurdish Hawar News Agency showed A-10s wheeling over the battlefield as rebel fighters advanced.

The lumbering Spectre gunship, basically a cargo plane with side-firing guns, is one of the Air Force’s favorite aircraft. It’s the beneficiary of billions of dollars in new funding to buy new models and upgrade older ones.

But the twin-jet A-10, an ungainly-looking, single-pilot plane with thick, straight wings and a massive, nose-mounted cannon, is out of favor with Air Force leaders — despite being vitally important to the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State. The flying branch’s top generals and civilian officials have fought for years to get rid of all 300 A-10s and divert their operators and budget to other initiatives. Meanwhile, a grass-roots effort led by current and former U.S. ground troops and bolstered by key lawmakers has protected the A-10, also known by its nickname “Warthog.”

Why the Warthog fell out of favor, and how the plane endures despite the Air Force’s eagerness to retire it, reveals deep schisms within the U.S. military as it continues its war against Islamic extremists while also retooling to deter high-tech Russian forces.

The A-10 is one plane that’s clearly helping Syrian fighters retake their homes from Islamic State. Yet it’s also a uniquely evocative symbol of strife inside the Pentagon.

The A-10 is a product of the 1940s. During World War II, the German and Soviet air force both fielded warplanes specifically designed for attacking enemy ground forces in close proximity to friendly troops.

The German Stuka and the Soviet Sturmovik airplanes were both highly maneuverable, heavily-armed, tough-built and easy to fly and maintain. They could take off from dirt airstrips near the frontlines, fight their way through enemy defenses and linger over the battlefield searching for targets, which they could attack with devastating barrages of gunfire and bombs.

In the 1960s, the U.S. Air Force decided it needed an airplane that could perform a similar role. In the years between the Korean War in the early 1950s and the conflict in Vietnam, the flying branch had reconfigured itself for waging nuclear war in Europe. It traded in its low- and slow-flying ground-attack planes in favor of fast but lightly built jets, whose main job was essentially to lob a single atomic bomb at the Soviet Union — as the world ended around it.

But the Vietnam War was fought with conventional weaponry. Nuclear bombers weren’t suited to the dirty work of blasting enemy ground forces during close gun battles. “Lacking a tested tactical doctrine to deal with such warfare, the Air Force had to hammer out one in combat,” Lieutenant Colonel Ralph A. Rowley wrote in a 1976 Air Force study.

“The Air Force modified old aircraft and equipment to meet close air support needs,” Rowley explained. “Attrition took its toll of these aged planes, with the communists in Vietnam countering their tactics and shooting quite a few down. The answer seemed to lie in the development of an aircraft expressly for close air support.”

In 1966, the Air Force began developing a new, purpose-built ground-attack plane. Pierre Sprey, then a young aerospace engineer working for the secretary of defense, helped shape the new plane’s design. For inspiration, he looked to the World War II Stuka and Sturmovik.

“The ability of the Stuka and Sturmovik,” Sprey said, “operating out of dirt fields up near the troops, to fly five sorties or more per day under combat crisis conditions proved to be an enormous force multiplier.”

The Air Force evaluated two prototypes and, in 1973, selected the A-10 from Fairchild Republic, a now-defunct airplane manufacturer. Today Northrop Grumman owns the A-10 design, which stands out among other warplane models for its thick construction, high-mounted engines (to protect them from ground fire) and huge, nose-mounted 30-millimeter cannon, which can spew one-pound, armor-piercing projectiles at a rate of roughly 60 per second.

The A-10 is perhaps most interesting for what it is not. It’s subsonic, meaning it can’t exceed the speed of sound like so many other warplanes can. Unlike the Air Force’s other fighters, it’s not suited for a combat pilot’s most prestigious role, battling other planes in the air. It’s blunt, blocky and, by Air Force standards, ugly. In many ways, the Warthog is the antithesis of a modern jet fighter. Hence its lowly nickname compared to the F-15 “Eagle,” F-16 “Viper,” F-22 “Raptor” and F-35 “Lightning.”

Fairchild built more than 700 Warthogs for the Air Force through 1984, for the low price of just $21 million each in today’s dollars. By contrast, a new F-35 stealth fighter costs more than $100 million each today.

By 1984, the Vietnam War was long over, of course. Instead of flying into battle with Vietnamese insurgents, the A-10s deployed in Europe and South Korea and prepared to battle Soviet and North Korean tank armies in the event the Cold War turned hot.

When the Soviet Union began to collapse in 1989, so did the Air Force’s support for the A-10. The flying branch proposed to retire the Warthogs and replace them with F-16s. Then in August 1990, Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait and the United States and its allies rushed forces to first defend neighboring Saudi Arabia, and later liberate Kuwait.

When Operation Desert Storm against Iraq kicked off in January 1991, 144 Warthogs flew a third of all attack missions, accounting for half of all the Iraqi targets the Air Force destroyed. Warthogs even shot down two Iraqi helicopters with their 30-millimeter cannons. In light of the A-10’s success in Desert Storm, the Air Force quietly dropped plans to ground the planes — at least for the time being.

For the A-10, Desert Storm represented the start of a quarter-century of almost uninterrupted combat. Warthogs took part in U.S.-led air campaigns in Bosnia in 1994 and 1995, Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan starting in 2002, Iraq beginning in 2003, Libya in 2011 and Syria starting with the Oct. 31 battle near Hawl.

By all accounts, the pilots who fly the Warthogs and the soldiers and Marines on the ground that the A-10s support love the ungainly plane. Flying low, A-10 pilots can maintain constant visual contact with troops on the ground — an impossible feat for the crews of faster jets. The Warthog also carries enough ammunition to fire its gun for more than 20 seconds straight — five times longer than an F-35 stealth fighter can shoot. Doled out in quick bursts, 20 seconds-worth of ammo can keep an A-10 in the fight for hours.

One intense air-ground battle in Afghanistan on July 24, 2013 illustrated the Warthog’s strengths. Sixty soldiers were on patrol along an Afghan highway when one of their vehicles overturned, forcing the troops to circle up and encamp for the night.

“As the sun rose, the unit began to receive heavy fire from a nearby tree line,” Staff Sergeant Stephenie Wade, an Air Force journalist, reported in a story for the Armed Forces News Service. “The members were pinned behind their vehicles and three of the soldiers suffered injuries. The unit was under fire and the wounded members needed a casualty evacuation so they called for close-air support.”

Two A-10s based at Bagram air base near Kabul raced to assist. When a low-level pass failed to frighten off the attackers, the Warthog pilots took careful aim — and opened fire. “Even with all our [top-of-the-line] tools today, we still rely on visual references,” the lead pilot told Wade. “Once we received general location of the enemy’s position, I rolled in as lead aircraft and fired two rockets to mark the area with smoke. Then my wingman rolled in to shoot the enemy with his 30-millimeter rounds.”

“We train for this, but shooting danger-close is uncomfortable, because now the friendlies are at risk,” the second A-10 pilot said. “We came in for a low-angle strafe, 75 feet above the enemy’s position and used the 30-millimeter gun — 50 meters parallel to ground forces — ensuring our fire was accurate so we didn’t hurt the friendlies.”

After two hours of unrelenting aerial bombardment, the insurgents finally withdrew, leaving behind 18 dead. All the Americans survived and made it back to base. After the pilots landed, they went to the hospital to visit one of wounded soldiers they had helped save.

“He was laying there and next to him was a picture of his high-school girlfriend,” the lead pilot recalled. “We were glad knowing we helped get him home alive. He said, ‘Thank you for shooting those bad guys.'”

But all the praise from ground troops didn’t seem to matter to Air Force leaders. With costs rising for the new F-35 and overall budgets flattening owing in part to the 2011 Budget Control Act, also known as “sequstration,” in late 2013 the flying branch proposed to begin retiring all 300 A-10s remaining in service. They plan to take the last off the flight line in 2019. This despite an continuing program to upgrade the Warthogs’ electronics and weaponry and replace their wings — theoretically extending their usefulness into the 2030s.

The Air Force claimed that grounding the A-10s would save $4 billion over five years that it could then spend on new planes, including F-35s and new bombers and aerial-refueling tankers. Shuttering the Warthog squadrons would also free up hundreds of airmen for other, higher-priority jobs maintaining and flying other aircraft, the flying branch claimed.

“The A-10 and the close-air support mission have always been seen as lower priorities that take money away from favored programs,” said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information, part of the Project On Government Oversight in Washington. [“For the Air Force, it’s not an emotional issue: it’s a sequestration-driven decision,” explained General Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff. “We don’t have enough money last year or this coming year to fund all of the things that we currently have in our force structure.” The Air Force said it would reassign F-15s and F-16s — and eventually F-35s — to support the ground troops.

The flying branch justified the plan to get rid of the A-10 on technological grounds. “Ten years from now, we must be a more modern Air Force,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told the Washington Post. “We have to buy new [aircraft], and we have to keep advancing the ball on technology so that we stay ahead of our potential adversaries around the world.”

The Government Accountability Office questioned the Air Force’s assertion that retiring the A-10s would save billions of dollars. “The Air Force has not fully assessed the cost savings associated with A-10 divestment or its alternatives,” the agency reported. “Our analysis found that the Air Force’s estimated savings are incomplete.”

Indeed, the brute-simple Warthog costs just $17,000 per flight hour for fuel and maintenance. An F-16 costs $22,000 per hour. An F-35 costs almost double the Warthog — $32,000 per hour. And an F-15 costs even more, roughly $42,000 for every hour it’s in the air. The A-10 is cheap.

And the best at what it does — even if it is old. The F-15 and F-16 lack the A-10’s powerful cannon, capacious ammunition storage, toughness and ability to loiter low over the battlefield. Fast and lightly built, the F-15 and F-16 are best suited for penetrating deep behind enemy lines to quickly drop bombs then escape. They’re also good at engaging enemy aircraft, something a Warthog pilot in his slow-flying plane should seek to avoid.

To make sense of the Air Force’s vendetta against its own warplane, you have to understand the “dominant theory of warfare” inside the service. The Air Force, which is regarded as the most intellectual of the U.S. armed forces, tends to endorse seemingly logical conceptions of war. During World War II, the Air Force believed it could force Germany to surrender by bombing key nodes in its oil, transportation and manufacturing infrastructure. But the German economy proved resilient and, in fact, it took a massive Allied ground assault to defeat the Nazis.

For much of the Cold War, the Air Force’s main job was to plan for, and be prepared to bring about, the end of the human race through nuclear holocaust — an undertaking that, fortunately, has so far proved entirely academic. By contrast, close air support is all about supporting ground forces as they — and not the Air Force — do the decisive work of defeating the enemy, one bloody and chaotic engagement at a time.

Viewed this way, close air support is antithetical to the deepest Air Force traditions. “They don’t understand the nature of the mission,” said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Brown, a retired Warthog pilot. So it’s no wonder service leaders are so eager to dispose of their best warplane for the job.

“Air Force divestment of the A-10 will create potential gaps in close air support,” the Government Accountability Office warned. Worried that the Air Force would take away their key means of solid air cover, soldiers, Marines and frontline Air Force air controllers got organized. They talked to their friends and family members, their government representatives and the media.

A grass-roots community sprang up around the A-10 on social media. The Facebook page for the “Save the A-10″ group quickly got 33,000 likes. Its administrators urged fans to contact lawmakers on key congressional committees.

Reprieve

The public pressure worked. Congress barred the Air Force from retiring A-10s in 2015 and 2016. When the Air Force tried to circumvent the law and cancel $22 million in software upgrades necessary to keep the A-10s flying, a strongly-worded letter from Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), compelled service officials to continue the software work. Air Force leaders responded by fighting a rear-guard action against A-10 proponents. In January 2015, Major General James Post, the deputy chief of Air Combat Command, which oversees most of the Air Force’s A-10s, told airmen that talking to Congress about the Warthog was an act of “treason” as long as the flying branch was trying to retire the plane. Lawmakers were mortified. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), demanded an investigation. Three months later, the Air Force fired Post from his leadership position.

At the same time, the Air Force tried to suppress an official documentary video about the A-10 that frontline pilots and controllers had shot in Afghanistan, and which showed Warthogs coming to the aid of troops under heavy enemy fire. Someone leaked the documentary to blogger Tony Carr, a retired 22-year-Air Force veteran, and it quickly racked up tens of thousands of views.

“The service likely strangled this production” Carr wrote, “because the powerful message it conveys would have been inconvenient to narratives insisting the A-10 should be retired.”

The Air Force’s efforts came to naught in any case. Congress refused to budge. And the harder the Air Force pushed against the A-10, the more attention the media lavished on the ugly plane — and the more public support for the Warthog swelled.

In early November, the Air Force appeared to back down. General Herbert Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command, told reporters that the service was considering moving the Warthog’s retirement date back two or three years. “Keeping around the airplane a bit longer is something that’s being considered based on things as they are today and what we see in the future,” Carlisle said.

It’s not hard to see why the Air Force changed its mind. Besides facing intensive public and congressional opposition, the world is far different — some might say more dangerous — than it was in 2013.

Since then, Russia has invaded Ukraine. Islamic State has advanced across Iraq and Syria. Even while it was plotting to decommission the Warthogs, the Air Force was sending the heavily-armed planes all over the world in response to new crises.

In 2014, A-10s deployed to Kuwait to support U.S.-backed Iraqi troops battling Islamic State in northwestern Syria. Twice in 2015, A-10s toured Eastern Europe as part of the Pentagon’s European Reassurance Initiative — in essence, a U.S. military surge into Europe to bolster resident North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. And in October, Warthogs deployed to Turkey to cover rebel forces fighting Islamic State in Syria — and proved crucial to the rebels’ victory near Hawl.

Not only do Congress and the American public stand by the unglamorous, venerable attack plane — it’s as if the world, with all its messy, grinding ground wars, conspired to demand the A-10’s continued service.

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that our potent A-10 Warhog should be under the U.S. Army’s Aviation Branch to support troops on the ground, just as U.S. Marine Corps’s air arm supports the Marine on the beachhead.

However, President Truman’s Key West Agreement of 1948 stated that, in light of the Air Force’s creation, the Army would only be allowed to retain fixed-wing aircraft for reconnaissance and medical evacuation purposes. As we all look back now, clearly the policy does not reflect the needs of today, and should be immediately changed.

That our government has not already done so displays a senseless lack of commitment to the lives of U.S. Army soldiers on the battlefield.

The Air Force doesn’t want it.........the U.S. Army’s Aviation Branch needs it. No rocket scientists needed to see what should be done here.

[kscarbel2]

To form an opinion on this, it’s important to hear both side of the story to gain a more rounded understanding.

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Turkey’s downing of Russian bomber a planned provocation

RT / November 25, 2015

The downing of a Russian warplane in Syria by Turkey appears to be a pre-planned provocation, the Russian Foreign Minister said. Ankara failed to communicate with Russia over the incident, he added.

“We have serious doubts that this act was unintentional. It looks very much like a preplanned provocation,” Lavrov said, citing Turkey’s failure to maintain proper communication with Russia, the abundance of footage of the incident and other evidence.

Lavrov added that many Russian partners called the incident “an obvious ambush.”

Earlier in the day, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu slammed Russia for "attacks on Turkmen" in Syria, which according to Ankara preceded the incident with the downed Su-24.

The Russian FM said the region where the incident happened is not just home to Turkmen people. There are also hundreds of foreign fighters affiliated with known terrorist groups and elements of their infrastructure such as weapons depots and command points there, he said.

“I asked [Turkish FM Çavuşoğlu] whether Turkey’s close attention to this region, including the calls to create a buffer zone there, was motivated by a desire to protect this infrastructure from destruction. I didn’t receive any reply to this question,” Lavrov said.

He added the downing of the Russian warplane occurred shortly after a series of airstrikes on terrorist oil convoys and facilities by the Russian Air Force. Lavrov said the incident “sheds new light” on the issue.

The Russian diplomat criticized NATO for failing to express condolences to Russia over the loss of its troops lives.

“Very strange statements were voiced after a NATO meeting called by the Turks, which didn’t express any regret or condolences and in effect were aimed at covering up what the Turkish Air Force did yesterday,” Lavrov said. “A similar reaction came from the European Union.”

Lavrov reiterated the statements of the Russian Defense Ministry, which denied Ankara’s allegations that the Russian warplane had violated Turkish airspace.

He added that even if Turkey’s words were taken on face value, its actions contradict its own position expressed in 2012, after Syria took down a Turkish military plane. At the time, then-Prime Minister Erdogan told the Turkish parliament that a short incursion into another nation’s airspace cannot justify an attack on it.

Lavrov said Turkey should have done more to communicate with Russia prior to and right after the incident.

The Russian minister said there was a question of American involvement in the downing of the Russian plane. According to his sources, the US demands all members of the anti-IS coalition led by Washington, who use US-made military aircraft, coordinate all deployments with the US military.

“I wonder if this demand of the Americans covers… Turkey. If it does, I wonder whether Turkey asked permission from the US to fly its US-made planes and take down – let’s say 'an unidentified' – plane over Syrian territory,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov said the problems at the Turkish-Syrian border could be solved by simply closing it, as suggested by French President Francois Hollande during his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington.

“President Hollande suggested measures to close the Turkish-Syrian border to stop the flow of militants and finances to terrorists. It’s remarkable that President Obama didn’t react to it. I believe it’s a good suggestion and that during the visit tomorrow President Hollande will tell us details. We are prepared to consider these measures in earnest. Many people say that sealing the border would effectively eliminate the terrorist threat in Syria,” Lavrov said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCv3mRQLk1U#t=123

[kscarbel2]

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark explains that the existence of the Islamic State helps Sunni countries Turkey and Saudi Arabia geostrategically, by countering the shi'ite powers: Iran, Iraq and Syria.

"All along there’s always been the idea that Turkey was supporting ISIS in some way… Someone’s buying that oil that ISIS is selling, it’s going through somewhere, it looks to me like it’s probably going through Turkey, but the Turks haven't acknowledged that."

“Let’s be very clear: ISIS [iSIL] is not just a terrorist organization, it is a Sunni terrorist organization. It means ISIS blocks and targets Shia, and that means it’s serving the interests of Turkey and Saudi Arabia even as it poses a threat to them,” Clark said.

"There’s no good guy in this, this is a power struggle for the future of the Middle East," concluded Clark.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark responded to yesterday’s shoot down of a Russian fighter jet by pointing out that Turkey is supporting ISIS.

Clark said there was a “larger context” to the incident, pointing out that ISIS is a Sunni terrorist organization and therefore targets Shia nations.

“That means ISIS is serving the interests of Turkey and Saudi Arabia even as it poses a threat to them because neither Turkey or Saudi Arabia want an Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon bridge that isolates Turkey and cuts Saudi Arabia off,” said Clark.

Asked whether he agreed with Vladimir Putin that Turkey was aiding ISIS, Clark responded, “All along there’s always been the idea that Turkey was supporting ISIS in some way,” before going on to accuse Ankara of funneling ISIS terrorists through Turkey and buying ISIS’ stolen oil in the black market.

“Someone’s buying that oil that ISIS is selling, it’s going through somewhere, it looks to me like it’s probably going through Turkey,” said Clark, before also going on to accuse Putin of supporting terrorists through his allegiance with Bashar Al-Assad.

“There’s no good guy in this, this is a power struggle for the future of the Middle East,” concluded Clark.

As we previously highlighted, $800,000,000 worth of ISIS oil has been sold in Turkey, a supposed U.S. ally. ISIS trucks are routinely allowed to cross back and forth between the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa and Turkey.

As Nafeez Ahmed documents, a large cache of intelligence recovered from a raid on an ISIS safehouse this summer confirms that “direct dealings between Turkish officials and ranking ISIS members was now ‘undeniable.’”

A former ISIS communications technician also told Newsweek that part of his job was to, “Connect ISIS field captains and commanders from Syria with people in Turkey on innumerable occasions.”

“ISIS commanders told us to fear nothing at all because there was full cooperation with the Turks,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DecIAlW9t9o

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RT / November 27, 2015

Journalists from the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet were arrested Tuesday for reporting on the Turkish government’s illegal supplying of weapons to radical terrorists in Syria.

The editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara correspondent Erdem Gul were arrested for publishing photos of weapons being transported to Syria by Turkish intelligence (National Intelligence Organization, aka MİT)

The trucks belonging to MİT were stopped by a prosecutor who sought to have the gendarmerie (military unit assigned to police duties) search the vehicles in the southern Turkish province of Adana in January 2014 before they crossed into Syria. Claiming that the trucks were carrying “humanitarian aid to Turkmens” in the war-torn Syria, the Turkish government accused the followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen in the state’s judiciary and security institutions of illegally ordering the search.

On May 29, Cumhuriyet published photographs taken by the police and gendarmerie forces, showing artillery shells, mortar bombs and machine gun ammunition hidden in crates below boxes of medicine on the trucks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on live TV described the newspaper’s action as “espionage and treason”.

Turkey has claimed it was sending medicine and other items for civilian use. However, the published photographs proved that underneath the medicine was heavy arms.

Once published in the newspaper, Erdogan said: "So what if it’s arms?

In another statement, President Erdogan said “So what if these are arms, we’re helping out the Turkmens in the region.”

Journalists from Cumhuriyet newspaper accused by Erdogan of treason say they were doing their job, and alerted the public of what was going on in Turkish policy.

After the newspaper broke the story, the government imposed a media blackout on the event.

[kscarbel2]

“We cannot take any more refugees in Europe. That’s impossible,” French prime minister Manuel Valls told journalists today.

Meanwhile in Sweden, the locals are burning down the refugee centers, 17 so far (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315739/The-tranquil-Swedish-village-living-hell-refugee-invasion-locals-migrants-throw-stones-children-aged-five-need-POLICE-ESCORT-school.html). The Swedish government, which had gotten approval from its over-taxed people, now will finally begin to limit the refugee inflow.

If Europe stops accepting refugees, will the White House agree to take more?

[kscarbel2]

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had given prior information to the United States of the flight path of the plane downed by Turkey on the Syrian border.

"The American side, which leads the coalition that Turkey belongs to, knew about the location and time of our planes' flights, and we were hit exactly there and at that time," Putin said at a joint press conference with French counterpart Francois Hollande in the Kremlin.

Putin on Thursday dismissed as "rubbish" Turkey's claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian.

"They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible," Putin said. "Instead of [...] ensuring this never happens again, we are hearing unintelligible explanations and statements that there is nothing to apologize about."

------------------------------------------

“We have still not heard any comprehensible apologies from the Turkish political leaders or any offers to compensate for the damage caused or promises to punish the criminals for their crime,” Putin said.

“One gets the impression that the Turkish leaders are deliberately leading Russian-Turkish relations into a gridlock – and we are sorry to see this,” Putin added.

------------------------------------------

A Russian warplane recently entered Israeli-controlled airspace from Syria, says Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. The brief intrusion was resolved quietly, with Yaalon noting “we must not automatically react and shoot them down when an error occurs."

"There was a slight intrusion a mile (1.6 kilometers) deep by a Russian plane from Syria into our airspace, but it was immediately resolved and the Russian plane returned towards Syria," said Yaalon.

"It was apparently an error by the pilot who was flying near the Golan," he said without elaborating when the incident had occurred.

"Russian planes do not intend to attack us, which is why we must not automatically react and shoot them down when an error occurs," said Yaalon.

------------------------------------------

Putin has also accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State jihadist group, whose financing heavily relies on the sale of energy resources.

Putin said there was "no doubt" that oil from "terrorist-controlled" territory in Syria was making its way across the border into Turkey.

"We see from the sky where these vehicles [carrying oil] are going," Putin said. "They are going to Turkey day and night."

"These barrels are not only carrying oil but also the blood of our citizens because with this money terrorists buy weapons and ammunition and then organize bloody attacks," he added.

------------------------------------------

ISIS earns millions of dollars selling oil on the black market in Turkey, says Iraqi parliament member and former national security adviser Mowaffak al Rubaie.

He also said wounded terrorists are being treated in Turkish hospitals.

“In the last eight months ISIS has managed to sell ... $800 million dollars worth of oil on the black market of Turkey. This is Iraqi oil and Syrian oil, carried by trucks from Iraq, from Syria through the borders to Turkey and sold ...[at] less than 50 percent of the international oil price,” said Mowaffak al Rubaie.

“Now this either get consumed inside, the crude is refined on Turkish territory by the Turkish refineries, and sold in the Turkish market. Or it goes to Jihan and then in the pipelines from Jihan to the Mediterranean and sold to the international market.”

“Money and dollars generated by selling Iraqi and Syrian oil on the Turkish black market is like the oxygen supply to ISIS and it’s operation,” he added. “Once you cut the oxygen then ISIS will suffocate.”

The Iraqi Iraqi parliament member said there is “no shadow of a doubt” that the Turkish government knows about the oil smuggling operations. “The merchants, the businessmen [are buying oil] in the black market in Turkey under the noses – under the auspices if you like – of the Turkish intelligence agency and the Turkish security apparatus,” he said.

Citing Iraqi intelligence services, Mowaffak al Rubaie also accused Turkey of providing medical treatment to terrorists in hospitals along the border and at times even in “Istanbul itself.”

“There are security officers who are sympathizing with ISIS in Turkey,” the Iraqi politician believes. “They are allowing them to go from Istanbul to the borders and infiltrate ... Syria and Iraq.”

“There is no terrorist organization which can stand alone, without a neighboring country helping it – in this case Turkey,” Rubaie said, urging Ankara to come clean and join the international efforts to destroy the terror group.

[kscarbel2]

When the Russian bomber was shot down [over Syria], Russia sent out two "search and rescue" helicopters to save the flight crew.

When one of the helicopters landed, it was blown up by militants with a U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missile. The American TOW missile system was provided to the militants by Saudi Arabia, and delivered via Turkey.

Related reading - http://www.businessinsider.sg/syria-rebels-and-tow-missiles-2015-10/?r=US&IR=T

[kscarbel2]

Too often, discussions of any one particular immigration program lack broader numerical context.

Refugee admissions, asylees, and parolees are all additional to our huge annual intake of 1 million green card holders, the 700,000 foreign workers and the 500,000 foreign students.

So before addressing the policy question of whether or not to admit additional groups of refugees, we should first consider our broader immigration situation.

Senator Jeff Sessions

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnkzi9bZ6Xw

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Senator Jeff Sessions Says 12 Asylum Seekers Planned Attacks

International Business Times / November 26, 2015

In an attempt to block President Obama's plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, Senator Jeff Sessions has given 12 examples where radicalized refugees that have slipped through the cracks.

The Alabama Republican released the list ahead of the December appropriations debate, during which Congress will decide how much federal money to give the president's refugee program.

Since the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Republicans have been raising concerns the U.S. could be the target of terror attacks from Syrian refugees admitted into the country as asylum-seekers.

On the list is a Bosnian refugee who traveled to Syria to join ISIS just eleven days after becoming a U.S. citizen, and six of his countrymen who supported terrorists financially from back in the States.

Senator Sessions' list includes refugees who have been arrested or indicted in the past year for aiding terrorist organizations, and include displaced people from Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kenya, and Bosnia.

The 12 refugees arrested, indicted or convicted in year 2015 for terror charges:

A warrant has been out for Liban Haji Mohamed's arrest since January, for providing material support to the terrorist groups Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda. The 29-year-old is believed to have fled the country to join Al-Shabab in Eastern Africa three years ago, via the Mexican border after being put on a no-fly list. A former taxi-cab driver in Washington, DC, Mohamed first came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia.

Carl Ghattas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. Field Office, said it was important to locate Mohamed 'because he has knowledge of the Washington, D.C. area’s infrastructure such as shopping areas, Metro, airports, and government buildings . . . [t]his makes him an asset to his terrorist associates who might plot attacks on U.S. soil.'

Abdinassir Mohamud Ibrahim moved to the United States as a refugee from Somalia in 2007 at the age of 22. In February, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing material support to Al-Shabab. He also admitted to lying on his refugee application, saying he was a member of the minority Awer clan in Somalia that was being persecuted by the majority Hawiye clan. In fact, Ibrahim was part of the Hawiye clan and related 'to known Somali terrorists'.

Abdullah Ramo Pazara came to the U.S. as a Bosnian refugee and left to fight with ISIS in Syria just eleven days after officially becoming an American citizen in 2013. Pazara has not been charged with supporting a foreign terrorist organization because he is believed to be dead, however, six of his fellow Bosnian natives (follows) were arrested for supporting terrorism in the Middle East. According to reports, at the time of his death, Pazara had climbed the ISIS ranks to become a deputy to one of the organization's top commanders.

Bosnian war hero Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, who came to the U.S. as a refugee, was charged in February with conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists, with providing material support to terrorists, and conspiring to kill and maim persons in a foreign country.

According to the indictment, Hodzic purchased military equipment to give Pazara (number two on this list) to use when he joined ISIS including 'United States military uniforms, tactical combat boots, military surplus goods, tactical gear and clothing, firearms accessories, optical equipment and range finders, rifle scopes, equipment, and supplies'.

Ramiz Zijad Hodzic's wife, Sedina Unkic Hodzic was also charged in February with conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and providing material support to terrorists. Sedina, according to the indictment, raised funds for ISIS and wired the money abroad. She is also said to have shipped six boxes of U.S. military uniforms, combat boots, tactical clothing and gear, military surplus items, firearms accessories, rifle scopes, optical equipment, first aid supplies, and other equipment to foreign terrorists.

Fellow Bosnian Armin Harcevic was charged in February with conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists, and with providing material support to terrorists. He allegedly collected money from third parties to sent to terrorists abroad.

Like the other Bosnians, Nihad Rosic was charged in February with providing material support to foreign terrorists. But he is also believed to have been planning to leave the country in order to join jihadist in Syria as well. Before his arrest, Rosic was a truck driver and former mixed martial arts fighter, who had a criminal history including a charge for punching a woman in the face while she held a child and beating his girlfriend with a belt.

Bosnian-born Mediha Medy Salkicevic worked at a cargo company operating out of Chicago's O'Hare airport before her arrest in February for providing material support to terrorists. She allegedly raised funds and then wired it to terrorists, along with her own money.

Bosnian Jasminka Ramic faces charges of conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists and providing material support to terrorists.

Abdurahman Yasin Daud was born in a refugee camp in Kenya, to a Somalian family, and eventually came to the U.S. at the age of nine, going on to become a permanent resident. He was arrested along with six others for attempting to flea the country to Syria to join ISIS, according to an criminal complaint filed in April.

Guled Ali Omar was also born in a Kenyan refugee camp to Somalian parents and immigrated to the United States as a child. His older brother Ahmed Ali Omar, left the United States in 2007 to fight with Al-Shabab and another one of his brothers, Mohamed Ali Omar, was convicted in March for threatening federal agents. Omar himself was arrested in April for conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to ISIS. U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Andy Luger, said that Omar previously tried to leave the U.S. and 'never stopped plotting'.

Fazliddin Kurbanov came to the U.S. with his family as a refugee from Uzbekistan in 2009. Kurbanov was reportedly born a Muslim, but his family later converted to Orthodox Christianity. When he came to the U.S., it's believed he converted back to Islam and radicalized.

In August, he was found guilty on charges of conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and possessing an unregistered destructive device. U.S. Assistant Attorney General John Carlin Kurbanov 'conspired to provide material support to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and procured bomb-making materials in the interest of perpetrating a terrorist attack on American soil.'

[kscarbel2]

Figures from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) show the United States has issued green cards to 680,000 immigrants from Muslim countries over the last five years.

The figure, higher than the population of Washington, DC, will repeat itself in the next five years unless immigration policies are changed, according to the DHS.

In response to the 24 state governors who have vowed to block efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in their states following the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) director Robert Carey sent out a letter this week proclaiming that states cannot deny benefits and services to refugees based on their nationality or religion, meaning Syrians cannot be discriminated against.

The letter said states that do not comply with the requirement would be breaking the law and could be subject to enforcement action, including suspension or termination of the federally funded program.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Per Senator Jeff Sessions:

According to published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data, the U.S. issued 680,000 green cards to migrants from Muslim-majority countries in the five-year period from FY2009 through FY2013. Among those receiving green cards are individuals admitted to the United States as refugees, who must apply for adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident (green card) status within 1 year of admission. Refugees have instant access to federal welfare and entitlements, along with local benefits and education services; these costs are not offset.

680,000 is not an estimate of total migration, as it does not include temporary migrants who return home, nor is it an estimate of population change, as it does not include births or deaths, among other considerations. Assuming no change in visa policy, the U.S. can expect to give green cards to another 680,000 more migrants from these countries over the next five years. A green card entitles recipients to access federal benefits, lifetime residency, work authorization, and a direct route to becoming a U.S. citizen.

The numbers could be higher still: Census Bureau data shows migration from the Middle East to be one of the fastest-growing categories. Additionally, if left in place, the President’s refugee plan would substantially boost the annual number of migrants from this region admitted to the U.S. who, in turn, would be able to petition for their relatives to migrate to the U.S. in the future. Refugee and asylee admissions from Iraq, Somalia, and Iran alone contributed 124,000 individuals from FY09-FY13.

Related reading - http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2015/11/subcommittee-chart-u-s-issued-680-000-green-cards-to-migrants-from-muslim-nations-over-the-last-five-years

.

[kscarbel2]

U.S. tightens visa waiver program in wake of Paris attacks

Reuters / November 30, 2015

The White House announced changes to the U.S. visa waiver program on Monday so that security officials can more closely screen travelers from 38 countries allowed to enter the United States without obtaining visas before they travel.

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brunei

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

San Marino

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

United Kingdom

Under the new measures, which were prompted by the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris by Islamic State militants, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would immediately start to collect more information from travelers about past visits to countries such as Syria and Iraq, the White House said.

The changes will "enhance our ability to thwart terrorist attempts to travel on lost or stolen passports," says White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

The DHS would also look at pilot programs for collecting biometric information such as fingerprints from visa waiver travelers, the White House said.

The DHS would also ask Congress for additional powers, including the authority to increase fines for air carriers that fail to verify passport data, and the ability to require all travelers to use passports with embedded security chips, the White House said.

The White House also wants to expand the use of a "preclearance program" in foreign airports to allow U.S. border officials to collect and screen biometric information before visa waiver travelers can board airplanes to the United States.

Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader, said on Monday that lawmakers were interested in requiring all countries in the waiver program to issue “e-passports” with chips and biometrics. One change would be to make sure that passengers were screened against a database of lost and stolen passports.

After the Paris attacks, the House passed a bill that would bar refugees from Syria and Iraq from entering the United States until security officials certify that they are not threats. The bill would cripple Obama's plan to accept 10,000 refugees in the next year and he has vowed to veto it.

But the White House has decided to [ignore the congressional bill barring refugees and] give regular updates to state governors about refugees who resettle in their states, Earnest said.

U.S. officials have quietly acknowledged that they are far more worried about the possibility that would-be attackers from the Islamic State or other militant groups could enter the United States as travelers from visa waiver countries rather than as Syrian refugees.

The U.S. government [allegedly] takes 18 to 24 months to screen would-be Syrian refugees before they are allowed to board flights to the United States.

In contrast, an estimated 20 million people fly to the United States each year from visa waiver countries such as France and Britain.

Officials have acknowledged that a European traveling to Syria to train with a group like Islamic State might be able to later enter the United States without significant scrutiny, if they are not already known to U.S. intelligence or partners such as Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 or France's DGSI.