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Israeli officials have taken an American teenager into custody, a State Department spokeswoman confirmed in a statement calling for a “credible” investigation into whether he was beaten by police. “We can confirm that Tariq Khdeir, an American citizen, is being held by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody and strongly condemn any excessive use of force. We are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force.” WTSP, a local Tampa media outlet, explains that...

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, who can argue that our democracy is working the way the Founders intended? And who can deny that most of the blame for dysfunction must fall to the Republican Party? George Washington distrusted all political parties. He warned in his farewell address that, as they alternated power, parties would act in “the spirit of revenge” — rather than, presumably, in the best interests of the nation. The “disorders and miseries” that resulted, Washington feared, would inevitably threaten democracy. Whatever the motivation, Republicans have paralyzed our government in a way that would have shocked...

Believe it or not, it was 10 years ago this month that Barack Obama, then a candidate for the U.S. Senate, introduced himself to America with a speech that shook the Fleet Center in Boston. The main theme of that Democratic convention was the litany of George W. Bush's failures — an unpopular and unending war in Iraq, a faltering image abroad, a stagnating middle class. Obama gave eloquent voice to those frustrations, arguing that all of them could be addressed if only we reunited the electorate. Probably Obama himself would not have guessed then that he would ascend to...

BYLINE: Regarding Al-Baghdadi, who claimed the Islamic Caliphate in Iraq, who is he and is he the Antichrist? Does he fit the bill of the awaited Mahdi and the last Caliph of Islam? I have had inquiries. Ok, here is what we think. Al-Baghdadi was born in Samarra, a largely Sunni city north of Baghdad, in 1971 and is well educated. His nom de guerre is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. His real name is Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri, but now has been changed to “Caliph Abdullah Ibrahim Ibn Awaad Ibn Ibrahim...

According to the US Army Chaplain Corp there are over 3,000 Muslims serving in the US military out of 2,266,883 active military personnel. That is 0.1% (and that’s not including Muslim soldiers like Fort Hood jihadi Major Nidal Hassan or his acolyte Army Pvt. Naser Abdo.) Got that not one percent, not even half a percent – a tenth of a percent so why is the Pentagon holding a gala Ramadan dinner?Considering that America is fighting jihad in all the wars she is engaged in — and jihad is the greatest threat facing the homeland aPreviously Hamas-CAIR has said of...

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State stretching across Iraq and Syria, has vowed to lead the conquest of Rome as he called on Muslims to immigrate to his new land to fight under its banner around the globe. Baghdadi, who holds a PhD in Islamic studies, said Muslims were being targetted and killed from China to Indonesia. Speaking as the first Caliph, or commander of the Islamic faithful since the dissolution of the Ottoman empire, he called on Muslims to rally to his pan-Islamic state. "Those who can immigrate to the Islamic State should immigrate, as...

As ISIS, a group thought to consist of only a few thousand people led by a shadowy figurehead, defeats forces many times its size to capture a large part of Iraq, RT looks into what is ISIS, and how has it achieved its terrifying triumphs. Follow RT's LIVE UPDATES on ISIS offensive in Iraq So, what is ISIS? And is it even ISIS, or is it ISIL? The world’s most committed and fanatical radical organization has only recently gone by its current name, after the unrecognized Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was proclaimed in April last year. Al-Sham...

United States President Barak Obama has extended his best wishes to the Muslim faithful as Ramadan begins all over the world, saying “Ramadan Kareem.” President Barack Obama. Source: Wikipedia “On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslim communities here in the United States and around the world on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan,”Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Sunday.” At 01:55 GMT a White House tweet read: “Ramadan Kareem.” —President Obama extends his best wishes to the Muslim community on the beginning of Ramadan. In...

A perfect example of the blatant hypocrisy of the mainstream media is CNN posting this video entitled, “Who cares what Cheney says?” because of the supposed hypocrisy of entering the Iraq War and criticizing Obama’s abandoning Iraq to ISIS terrorists. Funny how they don’t talk about the massive hypocrisy of former DEMOCRAT Vice President Al Gore, who sold his cable network to oil interests for millions, while shamelessly whining about Global Warming. Or how about his enormous energy-devouring house? Or how about the time HE criticized George H.W. Bush for not going after Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass...

Flattus wrote: It's funny to watch Cons attempt to portray this disaster in Iraq as Obama's issue. Sorry, no sale. Thinking Americans know whose war this is. But it's not surprising to see you run from it.From Ron Paul's column today, referring to Necons:"They cannot admit they were wrong about the invasion being a ‘cakewalk’ that would pay for itself, so they want to blame last week's events on the 2011 US withdrawal from Iraq. But the trouble started with the 2003 invasion itself, not the 2011 troop withdrawal. Anyone who understands cause and effect should understand this."-- Welcome Our...

US President Barack Obama has greeted Muslims across the world on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, describing it as the time for self-reflection and devotion through prayer and fasting. "A time for self-reflection and devotion through prayer and fasting, Ramadan is also an occasion when Muslims around the world reaffirm their commitment to helping the less fortunate, including those struggling because of economic hardship and inequality," Obama said in a statement yesterday. Lauding the role of Muslim organisations in America for their efforts at social empowerment, Obama said: "Here in the US, we are grateful to the...

On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslim communities here in the United States and around the world on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan. A time for self-reflection and devotion through prayer and fasting, Ramadan is also an occasion when Muslims around the world reaffirm their commitment to helping the less fortunate, including those struggling because of economic hardship and inequality.  Here in the United States, we are grateful to the many Muslim American organizations, individuals, and businesses that are devoted to creating opportunity for all by working to reduce...

Original Title:ISIS Holds Military Parade In Mosul -- Threat Matrix Update: ISIS Holds Parade With Captured US Military Vehicles -- Zero Hedge The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham's Ninewa Division continues to crank out images of its conquest of Mosul and the surrounding province. Earlier today, the Ninewa Division released photographs of its forces seizing control of several bases, displaying captured military hardware, and executing Iraqi soldiers. Then, the Ninewa Division published a set of photographs of a military parade in the city of Mosul. The photographs provide a glimpse of the ISIS' military strength in Mosul. Scores...

Opinion: The Third Iraq War By: Cmdr. Daniel Dolan Published: June 24, 2014 12:57 PM Updated: June 25, 2014 2:33 PM In the Naval War College’s Strategy and Policy course students have an opportunity to critically analyze both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). These two historical case studies are commonly referred to by students and faculty alike as the First Iraq War and the Second Iraq War. Now, before us we see the Third Iraq War unfolding. Despite what some pundits and former administration officials are saying America is still playing an active role in Iraq’s wars....

Yes, the Iraq War was a disaster of historic proportions. Yes, seeing its architects return to prime time to smugly slam President Obama while taking no responsibility for their own, far greater, failures is infuriating. But sooner or later, honest liberals will have to admit that Obama’s Iraq policy has been a disaster. Since Obama took office, Iraq watchers - including those within his own administration - have warned that unless the United States pushed hard for inclusive government, the country would slide back into civil war. Yet the White House has been so eager to put Iraq in America’s...

As the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continued its advance toward Baghdad this weekend, the group released a new video that shows that it has a wide reach far outside the borders of Syria and Iraq. On Sunday, ISIS militants took overtook the majority of Anbar province, giving the group control of most of Iraq’s western border. The group advanced quickly, with four towns in the province falling in just two days and Iraqi soldiers fleeing before ISIS arrived. The fall of Anbar, Iraq’s larger province, now gives ISIS the platform to launch an assault against Baghdad. Secretary...

ISIS is bigger, badder, richer, and better organized than any jihadi threat the United States has faced thus far. Its rise represents a foreign policy disaster of the first order. A group more radical than al-Qaeda, better organized, better financed, commanding the loyalty of thousands of dedicated fanatics including many with Western and even U.S. passports? And this group now controls some of the most strategic territory at the heart of the Middle East? Welcome to President Obama’s brave new world. [....] One wishes we had a Republican President right now if only because when a Republican is in the...

The Associated Press reports that 3 Al Jazeera reporters were sentenced to 7 years in prison by an Egyptian court Monday for charges related to terrorism. The basis for the government's charges was support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been declared a terrorist organization, and ousted president Mohammed Morsi. Secretary of State John Kerry called the verdict and sentence "chilling": The verdicts against Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohammed came after a 5-month trial that Amnesty International described as a "sham." The group called Monday's rulings "a dark day for media freedom in Egypt."

May you live in interesting times – Chinese curse As a student of WWII, I was always amazed at how people could watch what happened to Poland (and to a lesser degree, Austria) and allow Germany to become a serious threat to the world. I now understand, because the same scenario is unfolding today as I pen these words, and little is being done about it, nor will it be until world powers reach a “now or never” point regarding their perception of the risk as they did, eventually, after the fall of Poland. But it takes a leader, conspicuously...

Like Birkenstocks and ironic t-shirts, blaming Bush has never gone out of style on the left. When Al Qaeda’s resurgence in Iraq became so obvious that even the media, which had been pretending that Obama’s claims about a successful withdrawal were true, could no longer ignore them, their talking points were all lined up and ready. It was all Bush’s fault.Defenses of the war by pivotal figures like Dick Cheney and Tony Blair only enraged them further. “Why wouldn’t they admit it was all their fault?”But the left’s lazy talking points about Iraq, like their talking points about the economy,...