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The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles and has aimed them at Tel Aviv, the British Sunday Times reports. According to the report, Syria is preparing to strike Israel in case the Jewish State launches another attack on its territory. The army has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out, according to the Sunday Times. The information was reportedly obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles, which are capable of carrying a warhead of a half a...

Military Response Questioned in Benghazi Attack The latest Congressional hearing on the attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya focused on whether the U.S. military could have responded more quickly to end the assault. (May 8) WASHINGTON (AP) — Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the conservative base and undercut the Democrats' early favorite for president in 2016.Strategists in both parties disagree on the issue's power to influence elections next year and beyond. But after eight months of trying, Democrats are still struggling to move...

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a newspaper interview Saturday he won't step down before elections and that the United States has no right to interfere in his country's politics, raising new doubts about a U.S-Russian effort to get Assad and his opponents to negotiate an end to the country's civil war. In the capital Damascus, a car bomb killed at least three people and wounded five, according to Syrian state TV. It said bomb experts dismantled other explosives in the area. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, said eight people were killed,...

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Syrian strongman Bashar Assad said in a weekend interview to an Argentinean newspaper that Israel is assisting the rebels fighting to topple his regime. “Israel is directly supporting the terrorist groups in two ways,” he said. “Firstly it gives them logistical support, and it also tells them what sites to attack and how to attack them." Assad also told the Clarin newspaper said that rebels had attacked a radar station instrumental to Syria’s antiaircraft defenses against Israel, but gave no further details. The reporter asked Assad if he had any “self-criticisms." He replied: “It’s illogical to carry out self-criticism before...

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute. Why was a diplomatic outpost left so poorly protected? Should the Pentagon have rushed jets or special forces to the rescue when the assault began? Did President Barack Obama's administration obscure the true nature of the terrorist attack to help him get re-elected? Congressional Republicans are poking for evidence of incompetence and cover-up in the ashes of the Sept. 11 anniversary attack....

<p>CEOs of large organizations all face the same problem – driving their agendas in organizations too diverse and geographically dispersed to manage directly.</p> <p>They hire competent managers for their units, set goals and establish clear metrics for evaluating performance. As in politics, competition in business is tough, and CEOs must set ethical boundaries for their managers’ conduct.</p>

Japan Maritime Self Defense Force warships JS Atago, foreground, and JS Shimokita, at Pearl Harbor naval base, Hawaii. The superstructure of a third Japanese warship, the helicopter carrier JS Hyuga, can be seen at right. On the deck of Shimokita are ground vehicles and helicopters – shrink-wrapped to protect against salt air -- that will take part in major amphibious warfare training in southern California.Warships from Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force have making stops at the American naval base at Pearl Harbor for more than two decades. But it’s going to seem strange, indeed, when Japanese ground troops clamor aboard...

“The day after it happened, I acknowledged that this was an act of terrorism.” — President Obama, remarks at a news conference, May 13, 2013 Once again, it appears that we must parse a few presidential words. We went through this question at length during the 2012 election, but perhaps a refresher course is in order. Notably, during a debate with Republican nominee Mitt Romney, President Obama said that he immediately told the American people that the killing of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya “was an act of terror.” But now he says he called it...

The members of the emergency security squad (kitat konenut) at Amona, in the Binyamin region, announced Friday that they are collectively resigning their posts, after police arrested two of them. Police say that the two men had been throwing rocks at Arab marauders near their community, despite the fact that the IDF and police were present. The members of the emergency team have reportedly handed in their guns and communications radio to the army. The two men were under arrest at the Judea and Samaria (Shai) District Friday, but the police said they would be released before the Sabbath. "I...

Bedouin tribes in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula implied on Thursday that they were better off living under Israeli rule and that they have been suffering since Israel withdrew from the region as part of the peace agreement with Egypt. The residents of the Sinai spoke to the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, after local tribesmen kidnapped seven Egyptian security personnel near the city of El-Arish. The seven were kidnapped by an unknown group in north Sinai while en route to Cairo. Local residents said the kidnapping was "retaliation" by Bedouin tribesmen for heavy-handed security policies adopted by the Egyptian interior ministry. Mohamed El-Asati,...

On May 6, Russia received its first shipment of Sukhoi Su-34 twin-seat fighter-bombers (known by NATO as "Fullback"). The Su-34 is the newest generation of fighter-bombers intended to replace the outdated Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-24s. While the modernization of the Russian Air Force may — and rightfully so — raise a few eyebrows of concern, this alone is not sufficient cause for alarm. Russia’s recent air force maneuvers are, however. On the night of March 29, 2013, two Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 bombers (known by NATO as "Backfires"), escorted by four Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters (known by NATO as "Flankers") passed extremely...

Another key question which must be answered is what important activity was being conducted at our Benghazi mission compound to cause Stevens to have to be there on the night of Sept. 11 to meet the Turkish consul general, even though he feared for his safety? According to various reports, one of Stevens‘ main missions was to facilitate the transfer of military equipment to jihadists and other Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda-affiliated groups fighting the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, which also fought our forces in Iraq. This is a major betrayal that cost the lives of four Americans. Congress...

The area around the World Trade Center was once the center of Arab-American life in New York City. But all that remains of sprawling "Little Syria" are three buildings: a community center, a tenement building and a church. Activists from Save Washington Street are trying to have these fading memories recognized at the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

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The jailed doctor who helped the U.S. track down Usama bin Laden was convicted by a tribal court on bogus charges, according to a classified Pakistani government report. Portions of the voluminous 357-page Abbottobad Commission Report, which has yet to be made public and were obtained exclusively by Fox News, acknowledge Dr. Shakil Afridi’s conviction last year by a government-sponsored Jirga has undermined Pakistan’s credibility. The report calls for Afridi to be given a new trial.

Senior Obama officials tell the US Senate: the 'war', in limitless form, will continue for 'at least' another decade - or two Last October, senior Obama officials anonymously unveiled to the Washington Post their newly minted "disposition matrix", a complex computer system that will be used to determine how a terrorist suspect will be "disposed of": indefinite detention, prosecution in a real court, assassination-by-CIA-drones, etc. Their rationale for why this was needed now, a full 12 years after the 9/11 attack: Among senior Obama administration officials, there is a broad consensus that such operations are likely to be extended at...

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian warplanes struck militant camps in the northeast on Friday in a major push against an Islamist insurgency, drawing a sharp warning from the United States to respect human rights and not harm civilians.

The Inspector General released a report this week and found that 63% of scrutinized IRS applications were withdrawn or were still unresolved. Conservative, Tea Party, pro-Israel and Christian groups were targeted by the IRS. (GRAPHIC-AT-LINK) The Obama IRS refused to grant tax exempt status to Christian and pro-life groups on behalf of the abortion group Planned Parenthood. “In one case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for tax exempt status for Coalition for Life of Iowa. In a phone call to Coalition for Life of Iowa leaders on June 6, 2009, the IRS agent ‘Ms. Richards’ told the group...

A United Nations agency has caused a firestorm after an official of the organization proudly posed with a map that only lists Palestine. The U.N. official posed with the map in which Israel did not exist in Lebanon, and the whole area from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea was listed as "Arab Palestine." During a presentation of German-funded projects in Lebanon earlier this month, Ann Dismorr, the director of the United Nations Agency Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Lebanon, held up the map which included Jordan, Syria and other neighboring countries, but...

Israel Shipyards Introduces the SAAR 72 Mini-Corvette Design Israel Shipyards is expanding the SAAR class of missile boats, extending the range from missile boats into ‘Mini Corvette’ class vessels. The new class is addressing the growing requirements of Israel and other nations in extending maritime control and sovereignty far from their territorial waters. Defense-Update reports from IMDEX 2013. Visit IAI at IMDEX 2013 The Israel Navy is required to expand the security and responsibility over much larger area while doing that with an ageing fleet of Saar 4, 4.5 missile boats and 5 corvettes. If only to maintain the numbers...

After weeks of a 21st century version detente between Washington and Moscow over the declining state of affairs in Syria, and possibly looking at a joint situation to the ongoing civil war that has gripped the nation, it appears Russia has decided to stop cooperating and continue supplying their allies within the Assad regime. According to two U.S. media reports: Russia has deployed at least a dozen warships to its Mediterranean Naval base in the Syrian City of Tartus and sent a large shipment of anti-ship missiles to the Assad regime, which could be used to defend against any potential...

Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that US and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. On Thursday, Syria's official news agency SANA reported that five Russian warships had crossed the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea. A Russian Navy spokesperson said this was the first time in decades that Pacific Ocean Russian warships sail in the area.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The U.S. Navy is putting underwater drones through wartime-style drills as part of international mine-clearing exercises in the Persian Gulf following similar maneuvers by Iran. The U.S.-led exercises, which began last week, include operations by the unmanned SeaFox devices, which are equipped with sonar and an explosive charge designed to shoot and destroy mines. It is part of the Navy's plans to increasingly deploy automated surveillance and protection systems, including aerial drones. Navy commanders insist the exercises, comprising more than 41 nations, are not intended solely against possible Iranian threats. But Iran has previously warned it...

Report: Russia sends Assad 'ship killing missile' Russia delivers Yakhont missiles, warships to Assad; Lavrov: Arms deal won't change regional balance of power Russia sold advanced Yakhont antiship cruise missiles to Syrian President Bashar Assad, outfitted with an advanced guidance system that makes them more effective than the older version of the missile Russia sold to Syria, The New York Times cited two American officials as saying on Thursday. These missiles will allow Syria to thwart any attempt by international forces to reinforce Syrian rebels by imposing a naval embargo or no fly zone, Nick Brown the editor in chief...

This is the emotional moment a British soldier who survived the worst ever battlefield injuries while serving in Afghanistan collected his MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson lost both legs and suffered more than 40 injuries, including brain damage which affected his memory and speech, in a bomb attack in 2006. The paratrooper has since defied medical opinion by teaching himself to walk again for short distances using crutches. And his determination was exemplified today as was he able to proudly stand to receive his honour.

Al-Hamad, who is Wahhabi (extremist Sunni) and harbors a sectarian hatred for Alawite and Shiite Muslims, said he has another gruesome video of his killing a government soldier from the Alawite faith. “Hopefully we will slaughter all of them [Alawites]. ... Human Rights Watch (HRW), which validated the video, released a report on May 13 identifying al-Hamad as a well-known commander responsible for the recent cross-border shelling of a Shi‘ite Lebanese village that killed two. The organization called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the Syria situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for all war crimes...

Having once had the highest approval rating going back to Truman, George W. Bush left office with an appalling 34 percent approval rating – the same as Jimmy Carter. He could not attend the Republican Party’s 2008 National Convention for fear of hurting the party’s election chances. With the recent opening of his Presidential Library, Bush’s approval rating hit a seven-year high of 47%, but that was downplayed as a trend of Americans looking on their presidents more fondly after they’ve left office. And intense disapproval of Bush’s handling of a number of issues, including the war in Iraq and...

A man identified on Twitter as Abul Ala and claiming to be a Salafist-Wahhabist cleric, has decreed women should not turn on air conditioners or coolers at home, in the absence of their husbands... "turning on the cooler ventilator is prohibited for women in the absence of their husbands" because "the woman's act is very dangerous, and may bring about immorality in the society. When she turns the cooler on, someone may notice her presence home, and this might bring about immorality". ... In April, a Salafist cleric called Sheikh Yasir al-Ajlawni posted a YouTube video claiming the rape of...

May 17, 2013 The Clinton Scandal Playbook and Benghazi By Tom Thurlow The punditocracy is pulling out its collective hair, wanting to know why there have apparently been multiple layers of cover-ups in the evolving Benghazi story. An early scandal from the Clinton administration, the so-called “Travelgate” scandal, may be instructive.Recall that in the 1993 firings of employees at the White House Travel Office, a determination was made early on by the new president Bill Clinton and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton that the Travel Office workers, who served at the pleasure of the president, could be fired and that the...

SNIPPET: "U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said the websites of Ansar al-Mujahidin, Shumukh al-Islam and Al Fida — all accredited as official outlets of the terrorist group once led by Osama bin Laden — were knocked off the Internet by cyberattacks in early May. Two of the sites — Ansar al-Mujahidin (as-ansar.com) and Shumukh al-Islam (shamikh1.info) — came back up Monday and Tuesday. The site Al Fida remains down." SNIPPET: "The disruptions are prompting many jihadists to shift from Web forums to Twitter for communications and propaganda messaging."

Russia has shipped an advanced antiship cruise missile to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said on Thursday. Russia has previously provided Yakhont missiles, as the weapon is known, to Syria. But the missiles that were recently delivered are outfitted with an advanced radar that makes them far more accurate, according to American officials who are familiar with classified intelligence reports. The new missile “contributes to Syria’s overall military capabilities, but specifically it would tend to push Western or allied naval activity further off the...

New York officials say they have busted a multi-million dollar cigarette smuggling ring. Officials allege that three of the 16 Palestinian immigrants charged had links to known terrorists. The state's attorney general said investigators had recovered only "a fraction" of the proceeds from sales of more than a million untaxed cartons. The amount of money involved remains unclear, but records show the suspects deposited at least $55m (£36m). The scheme cost the state an estimated $80m in tax revenue, said officials in a press conference on Thursday. The alleged ringleaders, brothers Basel and Samir Ramadan, were arrested on Wednesday in...

A bipartisan group of House negotiators said Thursday it has reached an “agreement in principle” on comprehensive immigration reform legislation. “We have an agreement in principle,” Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.) said as he and five other members of the group emerged from a two-hour meeting late Thursday afternoon.

Fox News’ Megyn Kelly got into a contentious back and forth argument with Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg Thursday afternoon over questions involving whether Obama administration officials deliberately misled the press and the American public on the Benghazi attack talking points. By the end of the segment, Kelly was uncharacteristically screaming at her guest to stop lying. “Come on, Simon!” she shouted. “Can we get some honesty?” The discussion, which also included former George W. Bush speechwriter and conservative columnist Mark Thiessen, revolved around the recently-released emails from the White House that show just how the administration’s talking points were changed...

U.S. officials charged an Uzbek citizen in Idaho with providing bomb-making knowledge and other support to an Islamist militant group, knowing that it would be used in an attack, authorities said on Thursday. Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, a national of Uzbekistan living legally in Idaho, was arrested in Boise and faces a three-count grand jury indictment in Idaho and a single-count indictment in Utah, prosecutors said. They said Kurbanov provided information and money to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group supports establishing strict Islamic rule in Uzbekistan. Authorities said...

Scandal In Libya: A new email dump shows that the White House, contrary to public statements, was heavily involved in editing the Benghazi talking points to remove all references to it being a terrorist attack. The limited, heavily redacted package of emails released by the administration Wednesday is noteworthy for what the emails don't say and reflect a concerted effort by the White House and State Department not to get at the truth but to put something together to help President Obama in an election two months out. The email package begins some 67 hours after the Sept. 11, 2012,...

Campaigners urged President Obama to raise press freedom concerns with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday, but the only media freedom issue raised during their joint press conference was much closer to home—the secret seizure of Associated Press phone records. Under Erdogan’s Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, press freedom has deteriorated sharply. In its annual international assessment of press freedom, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders this year ranks Turkey 154th out of 179 countries, and calls it “currently the world’s biggest prison for journalists.” On the eve of Erdogan’s visit, Reporters Without Borders head Christophe Deloire...

Residents of Beit El in the Binyamin region demonstrated Thursday against the continued rock terrorism against them by Arabs from the adjacent village. Last week, a woman from the community was injured when an Arab boy stood near the perimeter fence and threw rocks into the community. "We really don't understand where the sovereign power is," a resident said. "Enough with this disgrace. We are being discriminated against in order to please Obama." A week does not go by without an attack against Beit El by Arab terrorists. "This is terror and every incident it must be treated like the...

In 2003, American soldiers stepped into a bunker in Iraq that was filled with drums, each of which was labeled with a chemical warning in Arabic, along with the international chemical-warning symbol. In May 2004, American soldiers in Iraq, as publicly reported by multiple news agencies, including NBC, were attacked using an improvised explosive device that contained the nerve agent sarin. Artillery shells containing a mustard agent were also found in Iraq in 2004. These are easily discoverable facts, not fantasy. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both define the sarin nerve agent as...

Arab terrorists who in the past served terms in Israeli prisons warned prisoners currently being held for terrorism to watch out for a group of undercover informers seeking to trip them up, who are known as “birds.” The network apparently stretches far and wide, with these "birds" tasked with wheedling out confessions that lead to convictions through a mixture of charm, camaraderie and favors. The “birds” usually pose as terrorists themselves, the Arabs said, as reported by AFP. Ahmed Azzam, 30, says his first exposure to the "birds" was after several unsuccessful Israeli attempts at interrogating him. “When I was...

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni wants punishment for "price tag" operations – as Jewish nationalistic vandalism is called – to be legally defined as terrorism. She is in the process of proposing a law to this effect and is expected to present it to the Cabinet next week. The law would mandate heavy punishment against people convicted of such vandalism and those who express support for it. It will also make it possible for the police and Shin Bet to take harsher measures against suspects in the vandalism, like the measures that are taken against Arab terrorists. Minister of Public Security...

Barack Obama loves the troops… To hold his umbrella. POTUS deploys Marines for rain in Rose Garden with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. (Major Garrett)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department failed to provide the names of some terrorists in the witness protection program to the center that maintains the government's watch list used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the department's inspector general said in a report Thursday. As a result of the department's failure to properly share information, some in the witness protection program who were on the "no-fly" list were allowed to travel on commercial flights, the federal watchdog said. "It was possible for known or suspected terrorists to fly on commercial airplanes in or over the United States and evade...

(CBS News) Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a note claiming responsibility for the April 13 attack on the Boston Marathon, reports CBS News senior correspondent John Miller.

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber rammed his car into a U.S. convoy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 15 people including two American soldiers and four civilian contractors, officials said. The brazen attack made May the deadliest month this year for coalition forces. Cmdr. Bill Speaks, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Secretary, confirmed that the two soldiers from the NATO military coalition who were killed in the bombing were Americans. He would not comment on the nationalities of the civilian contractors. It was the bloodiest attack in the Afghan capital since March 9, when suicide bombers struck...

Egypt: Muslim mob attacks Christians and their businesses The Copts have to know their place: as dhimmis, subservient to the Muslims. That is their place in the new, Obama-endorsed Muslim Brotherhood Egypt. If they don't accept it, the mobs will come. "Mob Attack Copts and their Businesses in Northern Egypt," from the Christian Post, May 15 (thanks to AINA): Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies in Menbal village, Minya in northern Egypt were attacked by a mob, resulting in extensive damage and several injuries. "The thugs attacked my shop, assaulting it with stones. Some of the contents were damaged … they destroyed...

A severe blow for the freedom of speech, and victory for the advance of Sharia blasphemy laws here. "Michigan Federal Judge Allows Muslim Violence to Suppress Christian Speech; Immediate Appeal Filed," from the American Freedom Law Center, May 14: A Michigan federal judge today dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by several Christian evangelists who were violently assaulted by a hostile Muslim mob while preaching at an Arab festival last year in Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Muslim population in the United States. Video of the Muslim assault went viral on YouTube. The American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed...

I had the same thought as Matt Lewis when reading through the news this morning. There’s too much smoke now from the IRS, DOJ/AP, and Benghazi scandals to pretend there’s no fire. If you’re sympathetic to O, it’s time to shift messages from “what fire?” to “Obama should have done more to put out these fires set by other people,” which conveniently leaves Bambi in the virtuous role of firefighter. It’s a classic plea bargain: He’s guilty of negligence, maybe, but of nothing more serious. Lewis: The media is helping. Obama isn’t a bad guy, he’s merely out of the...