Free Republic

Many of the graphic images being shared on social media are really from Syria or Iraq, finds the broadcaster. […] “A #BBCtrending investigation has found that many of these images are not from the latest conflict and not even from Gaza. Some date as far back as 2009 and others are from conflicts in Syria and Iraq.” …

The German government is expecting around 175,000 people to file applications for asylum this year, the highest number in two decades. Regional politicians are acting surprised, but there have been signs of this development for years now. […] The refugees in Germany are fleeing many things: the civil war in Syria, the recent wave of terror in Iraq, torturous regimes but also, in many cases, a life of poverty and no prospects, be it in Africa or as a member of the Roma minority in Serbia. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) estimates that as many as 175,000...

Expert warns Middle East turmoil could sting U.S. WASHINGTON – A top U.S. Defense Department analyst under President Bush says ISIS, the Islamic jihadists creating a Muslim caliphate in Iraq and beyond, could use the Mexican border to infiltrate America, and it could happen “sooner rather than later.” At a time when thousands are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally each day, the risks might never be higher, said Michael Maloof, now a senior staff writer for WND and expert on the Middle East. He said there are risks to the economy and the nation’s health. And he warned the Iraq...

The Eurasian Politician - Issue 5 (April-September 2002) THE ROOTS OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM Antero Leitzinger (March 2002) This article intends to trace the roots of Islamic terrorism, with special focus on Afghanistan. Notes are added on practical and philosophical problems of world media in finding the right track. From systematic errors in revealing little details, to serious misconceptions about basic facts and principles, we can relatively easily learn how much of "common knowledge" rests actually on superficial research and popular myths. Instead of becoming critical and aware of the traps laid around the issue, both Islamists and Islamophobes fail to...

Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports. In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom. The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally...

Top News Story Teheran 'secretly trains' Chechens to fight in RussiaCon Coughlin(Filed: 27/11/2005)Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports.In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom.The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down...

Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports. In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom. The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally...

Russia has given Iran its bear hug and warns Israel and the West that an attack on Tehran would be considered an attack on Moscow. The threat heightens the prospect of World War III in the event of a military strike on Iran. “Iran is our neighbor,” Russia's outgoing ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told reporters in Brussels. “And if Iran is involved in any military action, it’s a direct threat to our security.”

Oracle Commentaries 7/22/2006 Urgent Intelligence Update UNCOVERED: RUSSIAN-SYRIAN-IRANIAN AXIS For students of Bible prophecy, even the title of this communiqué should set off alarm sirens. I just received some electrifying intelligence data. First, from the Debka-Net-Weekly’s briefing. And second, from some personal intelligence sources (I carefully guard) that confirm Debka’s report. Russia, Iran and Syria have entered a defense pact that is in the process of altered the balance of power in the entire Middle East. Russia’s part in the pact has been kept relatively secret for a long time. But the facts reveal a long steady Russian commitment...

Russia has insisted it is opposed to moves by the United States and its allies to impose sanctions against Iran. At a meeting in Moscow, Russian officials met delegates from the US, Britain, France, Germany and China to discuss the latest moves in Iran's disputed nuclear programme. Afterwards Russian spokesman Mikhail Kamynin insisted that neither the sanctions route nor the use of force would lead to a solution of the problem. In Washington, the Bush administration says further action is needed. White House spokesman Scott McLennan said: "Violations and failures by the regime to comply with its international obligations run...

ast November Russia signed $1bn contract for export of weapons to Iran. Under the contract Russia is to supply the Tehran regime with 29 surface-to-air missile systems Tor-M1 (SA-15 GAUNTLET) and a consignment of military boats, and to upgrade Iran's Soviet-made bombers and fighter jets, in 2006. The deal was declared to be another triumph of Russian defense firms and the Rosoboronexport arms dealer as it is worth of about one fifth of arms export revenues for 2005.Test Meanwhile the deal raised concerns in the West. Russian analysts said the main reason was the West's "military plans" over Iran. They...

Moscow sells Tehran 29 anti-missile systems, cites secret Al Gore agreement as justification WASHINGTON – Russia has signed a deal with Iran to sell 29 of its Tor M-1 anti-missile systems, a development that will complicate any planned pre-emptive attack on the rogue nation's nuclear facilities, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The system would theoretically permit Iran to intercept some cruise missiles as well as airborne missiles that U.S., Israeli or other western countries might use in an effort to keep the terrorist-supporting nation from developing nuclear weapons or using them. The sale was confirmed by a source at the...

Russia threw Iran a diplomatic lifeline yesterday by publicly defending it against the West’s demands that it be held accountable for its nuclear programme. After two days of heated debate among the 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, the Kremlin said that it was prepared to block moves by the European Union to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for possible punitive action. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted that the issue could be resolved through diplomatic means. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said: “While Iran is co-operating with the IAEA, while...

Originally published by the Jerusalem Post. For most Westerners, Turkey is a hard nut to crack. How can you understand a state sponsor of terrorism that is also a member of NATO? How can you explain Turkey’s facilitation of Kurdish independence in Iraq in light of Turkey’s hundred-year opposition to Kurdish independence? What is Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan trying to accomplish here? Is he nuts? On the terrorism support front, today Turkey vies with Iran for the title of leading state sponsor of terrorism. First there is Hamas. Last week an Israeli security official told the media that...

Israel is ready to meet any Jordanian request to help fight off Islamist insurgents who have overrun part of neighboring Iraq, an Israeli official said on Friday, although he believed Jordan was capable of defending itself. Asked to elaborate on the statement, Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said potential Israeli assistance could include sending troops or arms, though he saw that as unlikely. "We have an interest in ensuring that Jordan does not fall to, or be penetrated by, groups like al Qaeda or Hamas or ISIS," he told Reuters. "If, God forbid, there is a need, if such a...

The Israel-Palestinian Authority (PA) peace process is dead, according to Martin Indyk, formerly the U.S. special Middle East envoy who resigned from his post last week. Speaking to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg in his first interview since stepping down, Indyk said that there is strong dislike between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "There is a deep loathing of each leader for the other that has built up over the years," Indyk said in the interview, which was published Thursday. "'Loathing' may be too strong [a word] for how Netanyahu feels about Abu Mazen (Abbas -ed.),"...

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Sunni militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), is said to have been severely injured in the raging battle forcing him to flee to neighbouring Syria. According to a report in the Iraqi news network Al Sumaria, the insurgent leader was injured during a raid led by Iraq's Shiite-led security forces in the west of Anbar. "The Iraqi security forces carried out an operation in the city of Qaim on the border with Syria based on accurate intelligence and with the help of the Air Force where the leader of...

Islamic State vs. Qaeda: Declaration of Caliphate may set off dangerous competition Desperate to retain its preeminent role, Qaeda may be driven to carry out fresh attacks on Western targets to prove it remains relevant. Middle East Online By Michel Moutot and Michael Mainville – PARIS Inevitable confrontation looms in the horizon The declaration of an Islamic caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria is a direct challenge to Al-Qaeda and could set off a dangerous contest for the leadership of the global jihadist movement, experts say. Desperate to retain its preeminent role, the movement behind September 11 may be...

‘Islamic State’ seizes major Syria oil field on Iraq border By seizing Al-Omar oil field, IS now controls most oil and gas fields in oil-rich Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. Middle East Online ‘Islamic State’ devours Syrian territory without fight BEIRUT - The jihadist Islamic State seized control Thursday of a major Syrian oil field on the Iraqi border, as rival fighters withdrew, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. By seizing the Al-Omar oil field, IS now controls most oil and gas fields in the oil-rich Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, most of whose countryside is also under its...

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that none of the U.S. troops who recently arrived in Iraq will take part in battles, though they will be able to defend themselves. "None will perform combat missions," he said. Insurgents in Iraq appear to be stretched, having difficulty with supplies and consolidating gains they have made, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday. Meanwhile, Iraq's security forces have been "stiffening." U.S. assessment teams are studying whether there are options for military strikes on insurgents, Dempsey said. Dempsey dismissed the notion that there...