Free Republic

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, speaking at a discussion with all the service chiefs before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, told the crowd that ISIS “looked an awful lot like something much more than a terrorist group.” August 2014, the United States looked at ISIS only as a terrorist group and developed a military strategy to take on ISIS as a terrorist group. The Obama Regime--or its Ghost writer Ben Rhodes--mistakenly called ISIS the JV squad, ignoring the possibility that the group was developing an infrastructure and a government. Obama advisors also failed to...

Once part of one of the most brutal dictator's army in the Middle East, over 100 former members of Saddam Hussein's military and intelligence officers are now part of ISIS. Now they make up the complex network of ISIS's leadership, helping to build the military strategies which have led the brutal jihadi group to their military gains in Syria and Iraq. The officers gave ISIS the organization and discipline it needed to weld together jihadi fighters drawn from across the globe, integrating terror tactics like suicide bombings with military operation

Image that accompanied Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's audiotape announcing the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The flag was originally al Qaeda in Iraq's banner, but has been adopted by other al Qaeda affiliated and associated groups. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group. The emir of al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Abu Bakr al Baghdadi (also known as Abu Dua), has announced a new brand for his organization's efforts: the "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant." The new name replaces all previous brands used by al Qaeda's affiliates in Iraq and Syria, including the...

Italian intelligence officials who secured the release of two hostages in Iraq are working with their British counterparts to try to free Kenneth Bigley, the captive Briton. They believe that Sunni Muslim insurgents who kidnapped Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, the aid workers freed last week, have links with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Tawhid wal Jihad, the group holding Mr Bigley. The engineer, 62, was captured 16 days ago with two American colleagues, who have been beheaded. An Italian diplomat said: "Italy's intelligence is working very closely with Britain's to lend every assistance to free the hostage. It has...

DUBAI, Oct 16 (AFP) - A statement attributed to the group of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most-wanted man, claimed on Saturday that it had beheaded 11 members of the Iraqi police and national guard. "Today alone, your brethren were able to decapitate 11 apostates ... affiliated to the so-called national guard and police force," said the statement attributed to the military wing of the Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group and posted on one of the main Islamist websites. The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed, nor could the claim of beheadings be verified. The statement...