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Kenyan military planners duped Al-Shabaab into believing that a land invasion of their last remaining bastion of Kismayu was imminent before making an amphibious landing from the sea. While Al-Shabaab planned its defences based on that assumption, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) in the Horn of Africa country, was training at sea. “As the KAF (Kenya Air Force) engaged in aerial attacks the other forces were moving in by sea, from where they were to disembark. Essentially, it was intended to divert attention, especially from the Al-Shabaab. That’s why you (the...

SEPTEMBER 14--In remarks stressing that the U.S. government had “absolutely nothing to do with” the anti-Islam film that has touched off violence in the Middle East, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday sought to quash Arab concerns that the “disgusting and reprehensible” movie was somehow produced or condoned by American officials. However, Clinton’s attempt to distance the U.S. from “Innocence of Muslims”--and, by extension, its felonious producer--may be complicated by the revelation that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula became a government informant after his 2009 arrest for bank fraud, The Smoking Gun has learned. Though many key documents from the U.S. District...

On Wednesday September 12, 2012 blogger Speak With Authority discovered that five days before 9-11, the US State Department sent out a memo announcing no credible security threats against the United States on the anniversary of 9-11. The Overseas Security Advisory Council, who posted the memo, is part of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security under the U.S. Department of State. The OSAC memo said: Terrorism and Important Dates Global 9/6/2012 OSAC currently has no credible information to suggest that al-Qa’ida or any other terrorist group is plotting any kind of attack overseas to coincide with the upcoming anniversary of September...

Al Qaeda is reportedly exploring a new way to attack the U.S., encouraging terrorists to make homemade “fire bombs” to start massive wildfires in California and the western U.S. Al Qaeda magazine gave step-by-step instructions on how to build and use an “ember bomb,” which sends flaming embers out into the dry fields. Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson said that’s when CAL FIRE jumped into action. “The magazine had very specific outlines and drawings and details on how to create that ‘fire bomb,’ so we felt it was in our interest to go ahead and put that together and determine what...

Investigative journalist Yassin Musharbash, a reporter with the German newspaper Die Zeit, was the first to report on the documents. One plan: to seize passenger ships. According to Musharbash, the writer "says that we could hijack a passenger ship and use it to pressurize the public." Musharbash takes that to mean that the terrorists "would then start executing passengers on those ships and demand the release of particular prisoners." The plan would include dressing passengers in orange jump suits, as if they were al Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and then videotaping their execution.

Reposting of Background...AP Release:U.S. abandons plans to keep troops in Iraq**********************************EXCERPT***********************************BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline, The Associated Press has learned. The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite ongoing concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability.The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that...

Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen has confirmed the deaths of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, the young American propagandist killed alongside him in a U.S. drone strike late last month. Al-Qaeda has also criticized the Obama administration for killing U.S. citizens, saying doing so “contradicts” American law. “Where are what they keep talking about regarding freedom, justice, human rights and respect of freedoms?!” the statement says, according to a translation by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist Web sites.

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) -- Following a day of dramatic developments in Libya, President Barack Obama said Sunday night that the situation there had reached a "tipping point" and that control of the capital was "slipping from the grasp of a tyrant." He called on Moammar Gadhafi to accept reality and relinquish power.

A Libyan mourner fires shots in the air at a cemetery on August 12 during the funeral of five rebels killed in the battle for the control of the oil-rich town of Brega. Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Rebels said Saturday that they were gaining traction in a series of offensives in several parts of Libya controlled by ruler Moammar Gadhafi -- claims that the Libyan government swiftly disputed. Heavy gunfire was heard in al-Zawiya, located about 33 miles west of Tripoli, where rebels had arrived. Rebels entered the city center and managed to cut off the road to Tripoli, they...

Four of the Senate’s top voices on foreign policy voiced their support Friday for the Obama administration’s move to formally recognize rebel leaders as the legitimate governing authority of Libya. “We welcome the Administration’s decision to recognize the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate governing authority of Libya,” said Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) in a statement.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Rebel leaders won recognition as the legitimate government of Libya from the United States and other world powers on Friday in a major boost to the rebels' faltering campaign to oust Muammar Gaddafi. Recognition of the rebels, announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting in Turkey of the international contact group on Libya, is an important diplomatic step which could unlock billions of dollars in frozen Libyan funds.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his little outfit “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” are at it again. Hoping to gain traction for what has heretofore been an absolutely pathetic gun control campaign, Bloomberg is rolling out all the stops by trying to scare us into thinking Al Qaeda agents are buying their guns at U.S. gun shows. I’m not kidding: Bloomberg’s latest television ad contains clips of an American-turned-Islamist advising his comrades to buy their weapons at U.S. gun shows. The ad is very, very sloppy, and full of factual errors. Like when the Islamist says, “You can go down to a...

In July 2005, Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri sent a long letter to the group's lead operative in Iraq, urging him to tone down his activities. In Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi had been orchestrating suicide bombings of Shiite Muslim shrines. His followers frequently videotaped the beheading of hostages. Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor who helped organize the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other violence, told Zarqawi he was going too far. "We are in a media battle, in a race for the hearts and minds" of Muslims, wrote Zawahiri, who was named Thursday to succeed Osama bin Laden...

Al Qaeda has released a video urging Muslims who live in the U.S. to take advantage of the easy access to firearms and buy guns to kill Americans. In the two-hour video released Friday, Adam Gadahn, an American-born spokesman for the terror network, cited America as an example where Muslims in the West have tools at their disposal for a holy war against "the enemies of Islam." "America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms," said Gadahn, who is known as Azzam al-Amriki. "You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with...

The Justice Department announced Tuesday the indictment of two Iraqis currently living in Kentucky on terrorism charges that included an alleged plot to deliver explosives and Stinger missiles for use against Americans abroad. Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, were arrested in Kentucky on May 25, and a federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned the 23-count indictment the next day. Each faces life in prison if convicted of the charges. Alwan has been under investigation since September 2009. Over the last eight years, officials say, he allegedly has supported efforts to kill U.S. forces in Iraq,...

Up until exactly 10:30 AM this morning, I personally felt pretty comfortable not seeing the photos of Osama bin Laden. I have a great trust in our Navy Seals and the Pentagon. It would take too large of a government conspiracy to lie about such a monumental claim. Further, if the Pakistanis, who are terrifically embarrassed by this incident, clearly believe Osama bin Laden was killed- than I believe it. Even the terrorist websites, who have every reason to want the legend of bin Laden alive, believe it. Only conspiracy theorists could possibly believe that the U.S. government is lying...

A day after the White House said it will not release the official photo of Usama bin Laden’s body, many are wondering how a handful of lawmakers were duped into believing they saw it. The Obama administration said Wednesday it will not make public the images of the dead Al Qaeda chief, arguing the pictures could incite violence and be used as propaganda by terrorist leaders. White House officials also say DNA evidence confirming the body as Bin Laden’s provides sufficient proof of his death. The announcement came after at least three U.S. lawmakers claimed to have seen what they...

Video August 2007 AFL-CIO Presidential Forum Obama puts a spin on his early remarks about invading Pakistan, and then claims the the American people should have a say in shaping our nation's foreign policy. Both he and Hillary Clinton speak of the importance of fighting Al Queda. Hillary Clinton said, " The last thing we need is to have Al Queda like followers in charge of Pakistan." Is it now OK to have Al Queda in charge of Libya? Now Obama is aiding Al Queda, a sworn enemy of the United States, in the overthrow of the sovereign nation of...

The opposition to military action in Libya is fascinating. President Obama is taking incoming fire from both the left and the right as various agendas collide against neutralizing Moammar Gadhafi. The dissent is all over the place, so let's try to simplify the situation. We begin with a quote from Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." That's true. We have seen it time and again throughout history. When evil is not confronted, it can win, often with devastating results. There is no question that Gadhafi was on the...

Libyan rebels have overcome Muammar al-Qaddafi's forces in strategic oil town of Ajdabiya, seizing control of the city Saturday in a major turnaround for an uprising that appeared to be on the verge of defeat. Libyan government forces pulled out from the city of Ajdabiya following an air assault by Western coalition forces, a senior government official told Reuters. "Without the planes we couldn't have done this. Qaddafi's weapons are at a different level than ours," said Ahmed Faraj, 38, a rebel fighter from Ajdabiya. "With the help of the planes we are going to push onward to Tripoli, God...