Free Republic

The Institute for the Study of War September. 18, 2014 On September 18, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) launched a complex attack likely targeting the Adala Prison in Baghdad’s Kadhmiyah neighborhood in northern Baghdad. According to the Baghdad Operations Command, the attack was intended to break into the prison but was foiled. ISIS also launched another attack in Baghdad’s Iskan neighborhood that likely targeted the offices of the Iraqi Shi’a political group and militia, the Badr Organization.Institute for the Study of War The Attack ISIS’s attack included mortar rounds, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs), and Suicide Borne...

In a new ISIS video released this morning, abducted British journalist John Cantlie, criticizes the West for its portrayal of the jihadi group and the danger of heading toward “the abyss of another war with the Islamic State.” In a three-minute 20 second clip posted on YouTube called “Lend Me Your Ears,” Cantlie, 43, who formerly worked as a reporter for The Sunday Times, The Sun, and The Sunday Telegraph, is sitting in a dark room in an undisclosed location, where he says he seeks to dispel ‘manipulated truths’ conjured by the Western media regarding the Islamic State. Cantlie, who...

September 17, 2014 FoxNews.comTop U.S. homeland security officials said Wednesday that the Islamic State is an imminent terror concern for this country, but they remain intently focused on an array of deadly threats, especially Americans becoming indoctrinated on the Internet and executing a “limited, self-directed attack.” “It’s no longer necessary to actually meet someone from Al Qaeda,” FBI Director James Comey said on Capitol Hill. “Someone can actually do it in their pajamas in their basement.” Comey said he expects that such Internet activity will “dominate” his tenure at the agency. He made his remarks during a House Committee on...

Mufid A. Elfgeeh, a 30-year-old man who owns a food store in upstate New York, has been arrested and charged with funding Islamic terrorist group ISIS, attempting to send jihadists to fight with them in Syria and even plotted to gun down U.S. troops, according to Federal authorities. The Democrat & Chronicle reports that Elfgeeh is the nephew of Abad Elfgeeh, an ice-cream shop owner who was arrested in Brooklyn in 2003, after being accused of being deeply involved in a terrorism network. Authorities alleged that Abad Elfgeeh funneled millions of dollars to his homeland of Yemen and had links...

Women Jihadi fighters are unassuming. Burqa clad, they travel in groups, often with other women and children. They could easily conceal bombs, and seeing that they have US passports, this raises the frightening prospect that they could be sent back to the US on Suicide Bombing missions. The recruitment of women in the U.S. is done by radicalized members of the community or online, again demonstrating ISIS’ recruitment capability using social media and other technology platforms. Women are the new face of Jihad, which will keep evolving in this war of ideology.

Sisters speak out at In Defense of Christians Inaugural Summit. Sometimes it takes a David to defeat a Goliath – or, in this case, unassuming nuns to speak where the media remain silent. Speaking out for Christians persecuted in the Middle East, Mother Olga Yaqob and Sister Hatune Dogan slammed the American media for keeping silent. The nuns spoke with MRC during the In Defense of Christians (IDC) Inaugural Summit in Washington, D.C. Sept. 9-11. Both told the stories journalists ignore: of refugees displaced and Christian girls “repeatedly raped” and “misused” – some as young as 5-years-old. Mother Olga of...

Jerusalem calls the move 'an unfortunate surrender to economic interests.’ First Fox Sports – Middle East wiped Israel off the map, then – following complaints – it got rid of the map altogether. The sports network broadcasts in Israel, and a weekly schedule can be found online, especially important for American football fans interested in knowing what games will be broadcast on any given Sunday. Up until Thursday morning, the website had a “select your country” button that accessed a drop-down list of 23 countries in the Middle East, from Algeria, through KSA (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), all the...

REDIPUGLIA Italy (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday the spate of conflicts around the globe today were effectively a "piecemeal" Third World War, condemning the arms trade and "plotters of terrorism" sowing death and destruction.

Ever notice how some things seize Barack Obama emotionally more than others? Notice how Obama listens to some more than others? Obama's speech yesterday was seen by some as a "surrender." “By making such a point about ‘no ground troops,’ the President did two very bad things. First, he reduced the enemy’s uncertainty about our intentions. Second, he gave a global impression that he needed to promise ‘no ground troops’ to the American people because he thinks that otherwise his political position is so weak that he couldn’t get support for an air war. This is a bad mistake: it...

At least three young Minnesota women are now believed to have traveled to Syria to give aid to the ISIS terror group responsible for the brutal beheadings of American journalists, MailOnline has learned. The trio left some three weeks ago, Omar Jamal, a leader of the Somali community in the state capital, St. Paul, tells MailOnline. They said they intended to become nurses tending to fighters injured in ISIS' violent surge in Syria and Iraq. The news comes as 19-year-old suburban Denver woman Shannon Conley who federal authorities say intended to wage jihad has pleaded guilty to trying to help...

Blogger and activist Raif Badawi, currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in Saudi Arabia for his writings, wrote this in 2011 about the Ground Zero Mosque initiative, calling it, “a blatant affront to the memory of American Society in particular and humanity in general.” Badawi was a vocal critic of Islamic extremism and the intolerance and hypocrisy of many Islamic leaders. “Would we accept that a Christian or Jew assaults us in our own house and then build a church or synagogue in the same area of the attack???? I doubt it,” he wrote. As human rights groups continue to...

TOP ISIL Hustler lives in the White House: President Barack Hussein Obama’s ‘no-strategy strategy’ in dealing with the Sen. Dianne Feinstein described “most vicious, well-funded, militant terrorist organization we have ever seen” turns out to be the name he publicly bestowed upon them from the State Floor of the White House last night: ISIL, (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)—the name the Islamic State gave to itself—if only to show they already include Israel in their ambitious caliphate. The real name of the caliphate-seeking horror cutting throats and decapitating people and sending their executions viral via YouTube is ISIS...

<p>“Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic,” Obama said, speaking from the state floor of the White House residence. “No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.”</p> <p>He added, “And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.”</p>

The United Nations (UN) and Palestinian Authority (PA) on Tuesday called for international donors to supply $550 million to the Hamas terror enclave of Gaza, despite the fact that Hamas has already restarted construction on its terror tunnels to attack Israel. The appeal seeks to repair damage caused in the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, which started in July after Hamas launched a rocket war on the Jewish state. "The scope of damage and devastation is unprecedented in the Gaza Strip," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley in a statement, reports AFP. "The crisis is far from over." Rawley and PA...

The "I" word -- Islam -- shall not be used other than respectfully, as in "the religion of peace."Do the Islamic State (IS) and its terrorist cohorts practice an "extremist" version of Islam? Does Obama know enough about Islam to decide? [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSSn_yRrT4] Video linkSecretary Kerry (consistently with Obama's position), said “The real face of Islam is a peaceful religion based on ‎the dignity of all human beings:” “America’s faith communities, including American Muslims, are sources of strength for all of us. They’re an ‎essential part of our national fabric, and we are committed to deepening our partnerships with them. We’re ‎making these efforts to...

Amir Meshal has a fascinating history. He's originally from New Jersey, but back in 2007 he was detained and interrogated by the FBI in Kenya after escaping from Somalia. Somehow, his travels brought him to Minnesota, and to a mosque in Bloomington, which kicked him out this summer. Friday prayers bring hundreds to the Al-Farooq Youth and Family Center, which is perhaps the largest mosque in the Twin Cities. But not everyone is welcome -- not after Meshal began attending prayer and hanging out earlier this year. In June, the center called police and had Meshal, 31, removed and ticketed...

Topeka (KSNT) – “Life is sacred, life is valuable and just murdering and killing innocent people is one of the worst crimes that humans can commit.” says Imam Omar Hazim He says the beheadings and other acts of ISIS are not in the Quran, and are not reflective of Muslims or Islamic teachings. When it comes to backlash within the community, Imam Hazim says, “Personally, in our community in Topeka, we didn’t have any.” The Islamic Center has been active in the community for years. Hazim says, “This community knows the people of their community, the Muslims of their community,...

This makes for a pathetic LoL of the day: The Institute for Science and International Security is having some acronym woes. The highly regarded nonprofit, non-partisan outfit, which seeks to stop the spread of nukes to other countries and to terrorists, posted a plea Tuesday on its Web site under the heading “Needless Collateral Damage.” It asked that everyone please stop using its acronym, ISIS, “as a shortening for the name of the jihadist terrorist group named, in transliterated Arabic, the Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham.” Sure, that would be really snappy: The “ADAIFAIWAAS,” or maybe just DIFI. (But...

The Slave State Qatar exploits migrant workers to the point where they are considered modern day slaves. Despite having the highest per capita income in the entire world for its citizens, while construction booms in Doha, workers from countries such as Nepal and India work in awful conditions for less than $1 per hour. There are an estimated 1.4 million migrant workers – non-citizens – in Qatar, from countries including India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Under the Kalafa (sponsorship) system, foreign workers cannot change jobs and are often denied the right to leave the country. Workers’ passports are regularly seized...

.....On September 19, 2001, a story ran in the Hyde Park Herald containing then-State-Senator Barack Obama’s response to the 9/11 tragedy. In this piece (quoted in this article from the New Yorker, under the heading “The Speech”), Obama expresses empathy for the murderers! Not anger, not disdain, not a word of sympathy for the victims. His concern was for the murderers..... Quoting Obama in the Hyde Park Herald: "We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of...