INTELLIGENCE: Do You Want That With Lies? - StrategyPage.Com
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The U.S. Navy will have to get used to working in oceans where other nations challenge American control of the sea — a change of focus after more than a decade of desert warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
February 18, 2016, 8:29 AM (IDT)
A ceremony marking the first transfer of Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile batteries to Iran, which was scheduled to be held Thursday at a Russian naval base in the port city of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea with the defense ministers of the two countries in attendance, was cancelled at the last minute. A senior official at the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday night that "The beginning of deliveries of the first consignment of Favorit missile systems cannot take place since the Iranian side has not paid the price enshrined in the contract." There is no doubt that it was a very unfriendly statement intended to hurt the Iranians at a time when the Iranian defense minister, Gen. Hossein Dehghan, is visiting Moscow.
The Week Magazine |
Ex-NSA, CIA chief Michael Hayden sides with Apple in FBI iPhone encryption fight
The Week Magazine Apple and the U.S. government are gearing up for a public and legal battle over FBI Director James Comey's demand that Apple give the FBI a tool to break the passcode on San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone, a tool Apple argues create a ... and more » |
February 18, 2016, 10:38 AM (IDT)
Islamic State may be in possession of 10 grams of the dangerous radioactive isotope "Ir-192" that were stolen from an Iraqi laboratory last year, and it may try to use the material for a "dirty bomb", reports said Wednesday. The reports were based on correspondence between Iraqi government ministries in November 2015. The laboratory in Rafidhia, Basra province, belongs to an American company working in Iraq's oil and gas sector.
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February 18, 2016, 11:42 AM (IDT)
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday morning that the Syria-based Kurdish YPG militia was responsible for the deadly bombing in Ankara the previous day in which 28 people were killed and dozens were wounded. He said nine people had been arrested on suspicion of helping carry out the attack and are now being investigated by the security forces. "The attack in Ankara was carried out by the PKK using a person who infiltrated into Turkey from Syria," the prime minister said in a speech. About an hour later, a Turkish military convoy was struck by a powerful roadside bomb detonated by remote control, leaving at least eight people dead.
A Marine wrongfully accused of killing civilians says that President Obama’s new Afghanistan war commander is unqualified to lead coalition forces.
In January President Obama tapped Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson to lead the war in Afghanistan, as the administration confronted the possibility of a long-term troop presence in the country. Nicholson, an Army Ranger, sailed through Senate confirmation on Feb. 4.
The hasty confirmation disappointed retired Marine Major Fred Galvin.
“It is never good for a foot soldier when this guy is in charge,” Galvin told the Washington Free Beacon in a telephone interview from his Kansas home. “I don’t consider him a military leader. He’s a politician.”
In 2007 Galvin was in charge of the Marine Corps’ first special operations unit to be deployed to combat, a development that encountered resistance from within the Corps and the special operations community.
Galvin said he could deal with bureaucratic infighting in the lead up to the unit’s deployment to Afghanistan. What he did not expect was the betrayal that followed a March 4 ambush that year, which left more than a dozen Afghans dead, as reported by Military Times. A suicide attacker set off a car bomb targeting Galvin’s convoy before small arms fire erupted from both sides of the street. The Marines escaped with just one casualty after returning fire.
Within 24 hours the ambush had morphed into an alleged war crime, with villagers claiming that drunken Marines had sprayed gunfire into crowds of unarmed civilians. The military launched two investigations, but ordered Galvin’s unit out of Afghanistan before they were completed. The Marines denied any wrongdoing, saying they engaged only military targets.
A third, related investigation that concluded in April backed up the Marines’ account of the attack. Major Robert V. Urquhart Jr., a senior officer in a military police unit that answered to Nicholson, submitted a report to senior leadership on April 9, 2007.
“MSOC F received a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) followed by a complex ambush from both sides of the road,” Urquhart said in the report, which Galvin provided to the Washington Free Beacon. “Vehicles 1 & 2 returned fire to suppress enemy forces and positions.”
Despite the findings of his investigators in April, Nicholson publicly accused the Marines of being a “stain on our honor” in a May video conference given to the Pentagon press corps. He acknowledged that Galvin’s convoy was the victim of a suicide bomb, but said that “in the ensuing fight a number of civilians were killed.” He told reporters that he met with families of the “19 dead and 50 wounded” to issue a public apology, as well as consolation payments to compensate for the losses.
“I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people,” Nicholson told reporters. “The death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor and on the memory of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people. This was a terrible, terrible mistake …That is not what America stands for.”
Galvin said that Nicholson’s public statements undermined his right to a fair trial. The investigative reports were then presented to a three-member Court of Inquiry. After more than three weeks, the court cleared Marines of any wrongdoing, concluding that they were returning fire following a hostile ambush. The headlines on the court’s findings paled in comparison to the many stories written about Nicholson’s remarks. Galvin said that he and his Marines found their career prospects stifled after the incident and have had trouble coping in civilian life because of the “false allegations.”
“There was a rush to judgment. Everything was stacked against us. This guy [Nicholson] was the catalyst for taking a 120-man unit out of Afghanistan,” Galvin said. “Nobody would touch us. We were radioactive. He condemns people who were innocent and he never apologized to us.”
Gen. Nicholson did not return requests for comment submitted through the Pentagon and NATO.
Galvin is not the only Marine tied to the incident who said that Nicholson is unfit for command.
Retired Col. Steve Morgan, who was on the three-member Court of Inquiry, said that Nicholson’s public statements made him skeptical of Galvin’s innocence at the start of the proceedings.
Retired Col. Steve Morgan, who was on the three-member Court of Inquiry, said that Nicholson’s public statements made him skeptical of Galvin’s innocence at the start of the proceedings.
“I thought the Marines screwed up. When I walked in the courtroom I generally agreed with Nicholson,” he said. “You’re thinking the Marines were running around like a bunch of loose damn fools … why would the commander make such a strong statement if he didn’t have substantive facts to back it up?”
By the end of the proceedings, Morgan concluded that the facts backed up Galvin and called into question Nicholson’s integrity. Morgan pointed to testimony by Nicholson where he stated he could not recall the exact date of the video conference despite the fact that reporters wished him a happy 50th birthday on the call.
“That’s a pretty big hallmark. His testimony was self-serving and part of his testimony bordered on, not outright perjury, but a very large integrity gap,” Morgan said. “He’s a bad officer. All Fred wants to do is take care of his Marines. All Nicholson wants is his next promotion. He’s a threat to morale.”
Galvin said that Nicholson should try to make amends by issuing a public apology along the lines of “the facts prove that these Marines are innocent and I said something that was prejudicial to the investigation.”
“Congress and the president are relying on him to tell the truth about what’s going on in Afghanistan: knowing what he did to us, would you feel confident that he’s going to tell the truth?” Galvin said. “He made it look to the press that we perpetrated the My Lai Massacre. He has a chance now to stand up and be a leader and apologize.”
The post Marine: New U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Threw Us Under the Bus appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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February 18, 2016, 11:22 AM (IDT)
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu met UK Cabinet Office Minister Matthew Hancock on Wednesday and expressed his gratitude for the British government's ban on boycotts of Israel by public authorities.
Hancock said "we are publishing new guidance for public authorities in the UK that makes clear that discriminating against members of the WTO, including Israel, is wrong and it is illegal and it must stop."
The guidance issued on Wednesday said such boycotts are "inappropriate" as they "undermine good community relations, poisoning and polarising debate, weakening integration and fuelling anti-Semitism." It added that public bodies "found to be in breach of the regulations could be subject to severe penalties."
Hancock said "we are publishing new guidance for public authorities in the UK that makes clear that discriminating against members of the WTO, including Israel, is wrong and it is illegal and it must stop."
The guidance issued on Wednesday said such boycotts are "inappropriate" as they "undermine good community relations, poisoning and polarising debate, weakening integration and fuelling anti-Semitism." It added that public bodies "found to be in breach of the regulations could be subject to severe penalties."
BAGHDAD (AP) - A leading militia spokesman says Iraq's government has decided to cut the number of state-financed paramilitary forces due to a shortage of funds.
Karim al-Nouri, the spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group made up predominantly of Shiite militias, told the Associated Press that around ...
One Man's Syrian Resistance by By ROGER COHEN
The West has capitulated. Syria is a land of the dead and the dying, in need of heroes to redeem humanity.
February 18, 2016, 3:36 AM (IDT)
The IDF has declined comment on the report that three Israeli missiles struck Syrian military outposts on the road between Damascus and the southern Syrian town of Daraa, where rebel positions are under heavy Russian and Syrian air attack. The Syrian army and Hizballah have denied the report. If it is confirmed, it would indicate the Israeli has drawn a line against the approach to its northern border of Syrian, Iranian and Hizballah forces and a flood of refugees from the fighting..
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February 18, 2016, 1:59 PM (IDT)
Russia's FSB intelligence service announced Thursday that it had arrested 14 people suspected of belonging to an international network that produced fake passports and other documents for ISIS terrorists traveling between Syria and Russia. A special investigation unit of the interior ministry and the intelligence service arrested the suspects after a wide-ranging operation that collected enough evidence to put them on trial. The suspects were found to be in possession of large anmounts of printing plates, stamps and advanced means for producting fake documents. The suspects operated secretly by switching identities, addresses and cellular telephones as well as frequently using encryption programs.
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
ANKARA BOMB ATTACK
A bomb attack in Turkey’s capital has left at least 28 people dead and 61 injured. A vehicle full of explosives detonated by a military convoy of buses filled with soldiers close to the Parliament building yesterday. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which the country’s president has vowed to retaliate against. [BBC; New York Times’ Ceylan Yeginsu]
Turkey’s prime minister has blamed the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia for the attack, saying it was conducted with logistical support from the PKK. [BBC] “Blaming the PKK when things go wrong is a natural government reflex,” reports Simon Tisdall, examining the likely suspects in the attack. [The Guardian]
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attack, calling for the perpetrators to be “swiftly brought to justice.” [UN News Centre]
An explosion targeting a military convoy in the country’s southeast has killed at least six people. Constanze Letsch provides the details at the Guardian.
IRAQ and SYRIA
Turkey launched airstrikes targeting Kurdish militant camps in the north of Iraq overnight, a response to the Ankara car bomb attack which officials have initially pinned on the PKK. [Reuters] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country would continue to shell Kurdish forces across the border in Syria, despite calls from western allies, including the US, to halt it. [Wall Street Journal’s Dion Nissenbaum]
Hundreds of armed rebels have crossed the Turkish border and are headed to Azaz in northern Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebels hope to assist insurgents in the wake of Kurdish gains. [AFP]
“Highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year has sparked fears among Iraqi officials that it could be used as a weapon if it falls into the hands of the Islamic State. [Reuters]
A meeting between representatives from Moscow and Washington has been delayed until tomorrow. The delayed meeting, intended to organize the cessation of hostilities, will make it unlikely that an actual ceasefire will come into effect on Friday as originally planned. [Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung and Erin Cunningham]
Russia is believed to have deployed the TU-214R to Syria, an aircraft thought by the US to be one of Moscow’s most advanced for reconnaissance and surveillance. [CNN’s Barbara Starr]
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that the Islamic State’s use of chemical weapons is watched “very closely,” and that it is something which America takes “action” against. [The Hill’s Kristina Wong]
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that intensified fighting in Syria and threats of escalated force risk undermining efforts to restart peace negotiations and finding a political answer to the five-year-old conflict. [AP]
US-led airstrikes continue. The US and coalition military forces carried out eight airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Feb. 16. Separately, partner forces conducted a further 13 strikes on targets in Iraq. [Central Command]
SURVEILLANCE, PRIVACY and TECHNOLOGY
Apple-FBI encryption battle. The San Bernardino court order is limited to one device, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest yesterday, adding that the ruling does not mean asking Apple for a “back door” to the device. [BBC]
Both sides in the spat are “bracing for the legal fight ultimately to reach the Supreme Court,” reports Devlin Barrett and Daisuke Wakabayashi, and preparing for the case to potentially prompt Congress into action. [Wall Street Journal]
Apple has unlocked encrypted data for law enforcement at least 70 times since 2008, reports Shane Harris, citing a case similar to the San Bernardino order in New York last year. [The Daily Beast]
“Apple leads the charge on security, but who will follow?” asks Jenna McLaughlin, commenting on the response from Silicon Valley to Tim Cook’s statement, which was “less effusive” than many civil liberties activists. [The Intercept]
“In the long run, the tech companies are destined to emerge victorious.” Farhad Manjoo argues for why companies like Apple, Google and Facebook “hold most of the cards in this confrontation.” [New York Times]
“I think Apple should help the FBI get into terrorists’ phones,” opines Nellie Bowles, arguing that “if our lives are lived through our phones now, how can law enforcement do its job if it can’t get into them.” [The Guardian]
Former national security adviser, Tom Donilon has been named by President Obama as the lead on a new federal commission charged with enhancing cybersecurity nationwide. [The Hill’s Jordan Fabian and Cory Bennett]
GUANTANAMO BAY
Yemeni detainee Walid bin Attash’s request to fire the lawyers representing him at the 9/11 pre-trial hearings at Camp Justice, yesterday, was refused by the presiding judge. Bin Attash has decided to boycott proceedings from now on. [Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg]
Australia has “violated the rights of David Hicks by keeping him in jail,” the UN has said. Hicks was convicted in the US in 2007 on charges of “providing material support for terrorism,” though it later emerged that he was forced to accept a plea bargain. Having spent several years in Guantánamo Bay he was transferred to an Australian prison to continue his sentence, despite serious concerns about the fairness of US procedures. [UN News Centre]
“Islam is innocent of this group and its actions.” Younis Chekkouri, released from Guantánamo Bay after 13 years and now back in his home county of Morocco, speaks to Samia Errazzouki and Lori Hinnant about his time in detention and his hatred of Islamic State. [AP]
GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz has said he thinks there is a “profound risk” that President Obama will return Guantánamo Bay to Cuba by the end of the year. [Politico’s Eliza Collins]
The “21 century’s boundless war will span generations, at least in courtrooms.” The attorney of a high-profile suspected terrorist has predicted that his substantive civilian appeal will not be heard until 2024, an example of the “sluggish justice” which everyone appears to “take for granted.” [Miami Herald’s Michael Doyle]
SOUTH CHINA SEA
The US intends to have a “very serious conversation” with China concerning its increasing militarization of the South China Sea, Secretary of State John Kerry has said. [Washington Post’s Simon Denyer; BBC] Beijing has accused the US and its Asian allies of “hyping up” China’s deployment of missile defense systems, claiming there is an “ulterior motive” for the accusations. [The Guardian]
The EU has also warned China that it must bear in mind a ruling expected later this year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague concerning China’s territorial dispute with the Philippines. China has said that it rejects the authority of that court, despite the fact that it has ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the law on which the case rests. [Reuters’ David Brunnstrom]
Satellite photos obtained by the Washington Post show China’s military construction on several islands in the South China Sea.
RUSSIA
Russia has been “flexing its muscles” near UK airspace. Two Russian bombers were intercepted by British fighter jets as they headed toward, but did not enter, UK airspace. Russian military planes have displayed the same behavior “at least six times” in the last year. [BBC; Reuters]
NATO would do well do “bolster Ukrainian deterrence against further adventurism” by Russia, opine former CIA director David Petraeus and John Herbst, suggesting that NATO’s deployment of troops to other Eastern European countries does not remedy the situation in Ukraine. [Wall Street Journal]
Poland and the US are “close friends and allies with a shared history and values.” Witold Waszczykowski, minister of foreign affairs for Poland, makes the case for the US and NATO to support it in resisting Russian aggression. [New York Times]
YEMEN
Houthi fighters have been blamed for the shooting of a Yemeni journalist in the city of Taiz. [The Guardian’s Roy Greenslade]
The UN has again stressed that there is no military solution to the conflict in Yemen, and has called on warring parties to commit to a permanent ceasefire. [UN News Centre]
FRANCE
French Muslim groups are claiming that the government has “overreached” its powers in sanctioning emergency measures such as warrant-less raids of homes and businesses, which have resulted in hundreds of French Muslims being placed under house arrest even when there is insufficient evidence to charge them. [New York Times’ Alissa J Rubin]
Video footage of a senior Belgian nuclear official has been recovered from one of the suspects in the investigation into the terrorist attacks in Paris in November last year. The images were captured by a camera hidden in bushes opposite the official’s home. [AFP]
LIBYA
The US is standing by as Islamic State expands into Libya, opines the Washington Post editorial board, and risks making the same mistakes it made with Syria and Iraq. The Obama administration has vetoed a US military plan to conduct airstrikes and deploy troops in Libya’s capital. [The Daily Beast’s Nancy A Youssef]
“We took a shot, but we could never really confirm his demise.” A “legendary” Algerian militant, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, believed to have been killed in an airstrike in Libya last year, may in fact be alive. The case highlights “the sometimes limited intelligence surrounding strikes” that have become a “hallmark” of President Obama’s counterterrorism strategy, says Missy Ryan. [Washington Post]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
“I did not lie.” Director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has again insisted that he was mistaken, rather than untruthful, in his 2013 claim that the NSA does “not wittingly” collect data on millions of US citizens. [The Hill’s Julian Hattem]
The White House has hit back at Senator Charles Schumer for his criticism of the decision to cut funding to anti-terrorism programs in President Obama’s recent budget request, press secretary Josh Earnest saying that Schumer has lost “credibility” on the issue of national security. [The Hill’s Jordain Fabian]
An Afghan national’s ties to the CIA were the topic of discussion in one classified email chain uncovered on former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s private email server. [Fox News’ Catherine Herridge and Pamela K Browne]
Israel’s top general has advocated that soldiers use only “necessary force” when confronted with attacks from Palestinians. Speaking to Israeli high school students, his comments come as the international community criticizes Israel for using excessive force during the current surge of violence. [AP]
Child soldiers were used by the Taliban in the battle to overtake Kunduz, Afghanistan, last year, according to Human Rights Watch. [New York Times’ David Jolly]
A “constant horror story of allegations” against the UN. The New York Times editorial board say that the UN is failing to protect vulnerable children from sexual abuse by its own peacekeepers.
“No nation should fight global atrocities alone.” Ramesh Thakur discusses the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine fifteen years after the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty presented it. [Washington Post]
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JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's defense minister on Thursday said Israeli forces "cannot be trigger happy" in the face of relentless attacks by Palestinians, echoing similar remarks by the country's military chief a day earlier.
The comments by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot come as Israel has ...
February 18, 2016, 3:06 PM (IDT)
Dore Gold, director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday afternoon to discuss the situation in southern Syria. Gold, the personal envoy of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to Russia regarding the Syrian war, was sent urgently to the Russian capital to convey Jerusalem's concern over the approach of the Russian bombing to Israel's northeastern border, as DEBKAfile reported exclusively. Also in Moscow is Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, who is holding talks with Russian leaders on the tightening of military ties between Tehran and Moscow.
Fortune |
The US vs. Apple: Does the FBI Have a Case?
Fortune The government is frustrated with new iPhone security features that make it near impossible for the FBI or Apple or anyone else (except the phone owner) to crack the password. Now, the feds are asking a federal judge in California to force Apple to ... Apple's Noble Stand Against the FBI Is Also Great BusinessWIRED No, Google Didn't Back Apple In Its FBI Battle. But Maybe You Should.Forbes Apple CEO says helping FBI hack into terrorist's iPhone would be 'too dangerous'Los Angeles Times NPR -CNBC -NBCNews.com all 3,832 news articles » |
WND.com |
Russia warns Turks: We might bomb your troops
WND.com WASHINGTON – Turkey's bombardment of a Syrian airbase recently recaptured by the Syrian Kurds from Islamic jihadists could lead to a direct confrontation with Russia if Ankara decides to send in troops, according to a new report in Joseph Farah's G2 ... |
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