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The desire of their hearts. I guess you have to cut the left some slack. When the San Bernardino shootings happened, they were so excited at the prospect of a white gunman. Imagine how crestfallen they must have been when the assailants turned out not only to be Middle Eastern Muslims but ISIS sympathizers too. Not only did the shootings not really help to sell gun control, they actually affirmed the notion of Islamic terrorism as a threat on U.S. soil. Nothing is worse than murder that plays into right-wing narratives. So boy howdy, are they excited about this militia...

In the latest development in the ongoing saga of Ammon Bundy's seizure of a Federal wildlife reuge office in Oregon, the members of the militia said they're ready to fight, but they won't say what they would actually do if federal authorities try to remove them by force as reported in the clip below. Video here However, while we noted the shortcomings in Bundy's latest standoff last night, what is even more notable is that as Shepard Ambellas of Intellihub points out, Montel Williams he tweeted that the National Guard should be mobilized to "kill" protesters who have currently overtaken...

BURNS-Law enforcement agencies are remaining mum about plans to end militiamen's occupation of the Malheur Natiomal Wildlife Refuge headquarters. A splinter group of militia in town to support a local ranching family took over the federal office Saturday afternoon in a development that stunned the community and visiting militia. Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said in a statement late Saturday that " a collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution."........ Law enforcement response: During Saturday's rally, not a police officer was visible. And so far law enforcement agencies have not approached the refuge or blocked access...

Tensions over the treatment of two cattle ranchers in Oregon escalated into an armed standoff over the weekend when members of a rightwing militia occupied a wildlife refuge and threatened a confrontation with federal authorities. Ammon Bundy, the son of the Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was at the heart of a notorious showdown over cattle grazing rights last year, was among at least a dozen heavily armed men who seized the headquarters of the Malheur wildlife refuge on Saturday afternoon and said they would stay indefinitely. They occupied the building after an earlier peaceful protest over the treatment of...

A group of militiamen on Saturday occupied the headquarters of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon in support of two brothers who are slated to report to prison on Monday on arson charges - and the protesters don't plan on leaving any time soon, saying it's 'kill or be killed' time. Militia members claimed to have as many as 150 supporters with them at the Malheur National Wildlife refuge building in Princeton, which is federal property managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that was closed for the holiday weekend. They later rescinded the number and said they would...

Grab a coffee, because this is soup-to-nuts. Many people will awaken today to the news of approximately 100 to 150 armed militia taking control of a closed Wildlife Park Headquarters, and not know the full back-story – so here it is: The short summary is: in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers (“Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,) who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven Bundy family and...

BURNS – The strangers carrying the whisper of danger arrived in the vast territory of the Harney Basin just before the holidays. Ammon Bundy once helped his father repulse the government in an armed showdown on a Nevada desert. He was Tasered for his effort. Ryan Payne, an electrician from Montana, joined that same standoff and boasted of organizing civilians into sniper squads that drew a bead on federal agents. And not long ago, Jon Ritzheimer worried the FBI with his threatening rants against Muslims in Arizona and elsewhere, according to press reports. Now, the men say, they are in...

The strangers carrying the whisper of danger arrived in the vast territory of the Harney Basin just before the holidays. Ammon Bundy once helped his father repulse the government in an armed showdown on a Nevada desert. He was Tasered for his effort. Ryan Payne, an electrician from Montana, joined that same standoff and boasted of organizing civilians into sniper squads that drew a bead on federal agents. And not long ago, Jon Ritzheimer worried the FBI with his threatening rants against Muslims in Arizona and elsewhere. Now, the men say, they are in Burns to help Dwight and Steven...

American troops swept into the troubled, predominantly Shiite city of Diwaniyah before dawn on Friday, killing three militia fighters and capturing 27 in the first day of the assault, the military said. The attack — named “Operation Black Eagle” — targeted gunmen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Fighting continued Saturday. … Dozens of people have been killed in Diwaniyah during the past weeks and the attacks have been blamed by residents on the Mahdi Army, al-Sadr’s militia. Many women, accused by the hard-line and fundamentalist militiamen of violating their interpretation of Islamic morality, are among the dead.

Hardline cleric takes charge of Somali militiamen By Mike Pflanz, East Africa Correspondent (Filed: 26/06/2006) Islamic militia in control of much of southern Somalia yesterday appointed a hardline cleric on Washington's most wanted list as its supreme leader. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was named as the head of the Islamic Courts Union's "consultation committee", replacing the more moderate Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. Mr Ahmed, a former teacher who led the alliance in taking control of Mogadishu earlier this month, is being given a lesser role. Mr Aweys's elevation raises doubts about a deal negotiated last week with the interim government, based...

So where is Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army now? After taking serious losses against American and Iraqi forces and cynically hiding behind Shiite Islam’s most holy shrine in Najaf, these cowards have melted back into Iraqi society. Or have they? There are many questions to be answered regarding al-Sadr’s future, as he most certainly will oppose the growth of democracy in Iraq. Will al-Sadr and his thugs be held accountable for the violent crimes they committed in Najaf? During their reign of terror, they apparently held a kangaroo court. After Iraq’s top Shiite, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, pressured al-Sadr to...

A series of truces agreed on last month, encompassing Mr Sadr's stronghold in al-Thoura, Baghdad's eastern slum, as well as the Shia holy cities and other towns further south, are still holding. His own home turf in the capital has been more peaceful than it has been for months. Former fighters are now being paid to collect rubbish, plant trees, direct traffic and help the Iraqi police. The new government has promised to pay for a new sewage system so that the slum detritus will no longer flow past Baghdad's grimmest tenements. Outside the city, the clergy behind Mr...

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) - American troops fought militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday in Najaf and Karbala, though the confrontations in the two holy cities in Iraq's southern Shiite heartland were less intense than in previous days. The U.S. military also announced the deaths of five soldiers, including three killed by rebel attacks. U.S. troops are trying to disband the cleric's army and sideline its radical leadership before handing power to a new Iraqi government June 30. Al-Sadr is a fierce opponent of the U.S.-led occupation who launched an uprising last month and faces an arrest warrant...

KARBALA, Iraq - Heavy gunfire and huge explosions resounded Thursday as American forces battled Iraqi militiamen near a gold-domed shrine that is one of the most sacred sites for Shiite Muslims. Thick smoke rose over the city center. The fighting continued during a surprise visit to Baghdad by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld who was seeking to calm the storm over abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers. He was accompanied by Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and some of the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s most senior lawyers. Pentagon officials arranged meetings...

Accused Mont. Militiamen Plead Innocent GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Three men who allegedly belong to a militia group that authorities say was plotting to kill Montana public officials have pleaded innocent to federal firearms charges. Steven N. Morey, 44, James Riley Day, 60, and John W. Slatter, 53, appeared in court Friday and were ordered held pending detention hearings Wednesday. Federal authorities say the men, all of the Kalispell area, are suspected of belonging to a militia group called "Project 7," which refers to Flathead County license plate numbers that begin with the numeral seven. In 2002, authorities said they...

Shia militiamen killed in clash with British troops By Fakher Haider in Basra and Philip Sherwell (Filed: 09/05/2004) Shia gunmen clashed with British troops in Basra yesterday, ordering locals to stay at home as the rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attempted to open a new front against Coalition forces. Three British soldiers were wounded and two militiamen killed as hundreds of his Mahdi army fighters launched a series of orchestrated hit-and-run attacks, apparently aimed at taking over much of Iraq's second city. Shi'ite militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr carry the coffin of a Mehdi militiaman. Bursts of gunfire and explosions...

Looters run amok in Basra as British hunt militiamen By Terri Judd near Basra 08 April 2003 Basra appeared to fall finally into British hands yesterday. Emerging from their tanks, parked besides a Saddam Hussein mural, the British soldiers accepted yellow and pink carnations from a crowd of people who cheered and gave them the thumbs-up. It was a reaction mistakenly expected at the start from a city that had swiftly revolted against the Iraqi regime 12 years ago only to be crushed. For the British – responsible for the southern city as the Americans forged north to Baghdad –...

Militiamen may be imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay By Paul Waugh in London and Donald Macintyre in Qatar 01 April 2003 Captured Iraqi paramilitaries will be segregated from regular prisoners of war and could be sent to Guantanamo Bay for questioning, British Government sources confirmed yesterday. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, told the Commons that 8,000 Iraqi PoWs were being held. But the prospect of so-called "irregulars" being sent to Camp X-Ray at the American naval base in Cuba could trigger a row between London and Washington. Senior British officers have made clear they would prefer plain-clothes fighters, paramilitaries and Fedayeen...