Is defeating the Islamic State impossible? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

To defeat IS, the world needs to hit the core of the group, and this means untying the shroud of knots surrounding it and cutting blood off from IS’ heart. A counter model is needed to fight the IS model, a model that is powerful, modern and shows real respect and appreciation for Islam. With such a model it would be easier to deprive the terrorist entity of sympathizers who might become future operatives. As former IS operative Abu Omar told me, “IS is very clever and smart in attracting people with potential; they know how to talk to them and how to address their ambitions. They are also very smart in exploiting mistakes committed by their enemies, and use these mistakes to prove to their supporters why they are the right choice.” He said, “I was behind their walls; therefore, I understand the mentality. If you really want to finish IS, you need to address people’s concerns, let the sheikhs talk to youths and stop making big mistakes. IS is surviving as the result of the dire mistakes committed by governments of the region.”Defeating IS should not be impossible if the above is addressed and serious military and economic steps are taken to prevent the group from expanding both financially and geographically. This means doing battle on the war fronts and imposing sanctions on countries and individuals financing the group or allowing money to flow to it or buying goods, mainly oil, from territories under its control. Long-term strategic steps must be taken or IS will be here to stay and expand. ​

Source: Is defeating the Islamic State impossible? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Genetic Analysis Indicates Likely Person-to-Person Transmission of Avian Flu | GenomeWeb – Oops!

Human infections of H7N9 influenza emerged in February 2013, with three epidemic waves affecting 17 provinces and cities in China. As of earlier this year, the researchers noted there have been 672 laboratory-confirmed cases with 271 deaths reported.The index patient in their study became ill with a fever, cough, and sore throat last February. After visiting two village clinics, he was admitted to a district hospital for treatment. He was then transferred to a provincial hospital where he was diagnosed with H7N9 through an RT-PCR test. After confirmation, he was moved to a specialist hospital.Meanwhile, the second patient was admitted to the same district hospital for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There, he and a third patient with diabetes shared a room with the index patient. The second patient was discharged following an improvement in his COPD, but he soon became ill and was admitted to the negative pressure ward of a fourth hospital, as he’d been exposed to H7N9.

Source: Genetic Analysis Indicates Likely Person-to-Person Transmission of Avian Flu | GenomeWeb

Terror a Means to an End for Islamic State – SPIEGEL ONLINE

IS strategists look several moves into the future. To defeat the terror group, the West must do the same. It must bring together pro-regime Syrians with the rebels, a project that will not succeed so long as Assad remains in power and which is made all the more difficult by Russia’s intervention. In Iraq, Sunni and Shiite factions divided by fear and hate must be brought together again — though the West can only help, it is the Iraqis themselves that must achieve this. In short, the West — together with Russia, Iran and the Arab Gulf states — must create the conditions that could make a ground offensive against the jihadists possible in the first place.But as long as that doesn’t happen, the world will allow a monster to continue growing. It is a monster that is today applying its battle-tested “Syria Model” of power expansion to Libya. And it is a monster that may even cease launching terror attacks were it left alone to continue expanding its foothold in the Middle East. Because terror, in the final analysis, is but the means to an end for Islamic State.

Source: Terror a Means to an End for Islamic State – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Roadless – Colorado Roadless Rule – Forest Service working for us or Mr. Coal!?!

On April 7, 2015, the Forest Service published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to reinstate the North Fork Coal Mining Area exception of the Colorado Roadless Rule. On November 20, 2015 the Forest Service published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register explaining that the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) , and Civil Rights Impact Analysis (CRIA) are now available for review and public comment.

Source: Roadless – Colorado Roadless Rule

FORGIVENESS AND RACE

First you Survive/ Then you Thrive

forgiveness is a tricky thing.

I see the stereotype of the loving oppressed Black person  as a person co opted by racism and white supremacy.

in the political theater of history it has been the duty of the oppressed to forgive the oppressor, to avoid greater oppression, or to earn the privilege of less oppression without fear of retaliation.

Yes, on a metaphysical level, forgiveness frees me from the hate and anger and hurt of the wrong done to me,

but in history and literature the forgiveness of the wronged Black is given to the oppressive white without atonement or supplication.

and in this type of situation it supports the notion of most white americans that Black people really dont feel pain, hurt etc.

On 9/11 America vowed NEVER AGAIN.

Richard Gere was booed for suggesting we work toward forgiveness.

The forgiveness of the oppressed is a necessary part of the…

View original post 57 more words

Two Former Homeland Security Secretaries Wrote President Obama on Safely Welcoming Syrian Refugees

Two former Secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security — Janet Napolitano (2009-2013) and Michael Chertoff (2005-2009) — wrote to President Obama today about how we can welcome refugees while ensuring the safety and security of Americans. Here’s what they had to say:

“With respect to refugees seeking to resettle here, it is our view that we can admit the most vulnerable of these refugees into this country safely as long as we do not compromise the already established protections.”

 

Through this process, we forward American values of “openness and inclusive” by helping protect the most vulnerable Syrians.

“First, we consider only the most vulnerable — particularly survivors of violence and torture, those with severe medical conditions, and women and children — for potential admittance to the U.S.”

 

But we’re also working to ensure the safety of Americans at home. According to Secretaries Napolitano and Chertoff, refugees undergo a more rigorous screening process than anyone else we allow into the U.S.

“The process for any refugee seeking entry to the United States requires the highest level of scrutiny fro a law enforcement and national security perspective. The process takes place while the refugees are still overseas, and it is lengthy and deliberate.”

 

Here’s how the two former Homeland Security Secretaries walk us step-by-step through that process:

“Once a candidate is selected they are subjected to biographic and biometric security reviews based on the latest intelligence from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense. If they pass these national security checks, they will then be personally interviewed by specially trained DHS personnel to ensure they are qualified for admittance.”

 

After that, the candidates are subjected to further screening right up to an interview at the border before they enter the U.S.

“They are then subjected to recurrent vetting up to the final point of departure and a final interview at the border before being admitted into the U.S.”

 

That full process is why Secretaries Napolitano and Chertoff concluded that we can both welcome Syrian refugees and ensure our safety:

“The process that is currently in place is thorough and robust and, so long as it is fully implemented and not diluted, it will allow us to safely admit the most vulnerable refugees while protecting the American people.”

 

Learn more about how we can welcome refugees while ensuring our safety. 

Read the full letter from the two former secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security

http://bitly.com/1XcWzRq

 

Here’s What You Need to Know About Our Strategy to Defeat ISIL

There’s no question that the tragic events in Paris underscore the urgency of our campaign to defeat and ultimately destroy ISIL. As President Obama has said, the fight against ISIL will be long — ISIL is a determined, well-resourced, and brutal enemy that aims to establish branches beyond Iraq and Syria, preying on vulnerable populations. 

This is why, at the President’s direction, the U.S. government for more than a year has executed a comprehensive and sustained strategy to defeat ISIL. Since last summer, we’ve built a global coalition of 65 partners who are working together to degrade and destroy ISIL. 

Highlights of our efforts include:

 

Relentlessly pursuing ISIL leaders and going after attack plotters wherever they are:

In the last week, we have taken strikes against notorious ISIL operative Mohammed Emwazi, aka “Jihadi John”, and Abu Nabil, the leader of ISIL in Libya. A terrorist group like ISIL won’t be defeated by a single strike, but these operations should be a clear warning to ISIL that we will go after their leadership and networks throughout the world.

 

Cutting off supply lines and shrinking their safehavens:

We’re intensifying our work with local partners in Iraq and Syria to empower them to take the fight to ISIL. In Iraq and Syria, ISIL has lost more than 20-25 percent of the populated territory they once controlled. Over the past month, Iraqi forces have largely taken back the city of Bayji from ISIL control. Just last week, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces retook the town of Sinjar from ISIL, an important strategic point for ISIL’s supply and communication lines. The global coalition supported the Peshmerga-led offensive with substantial airpower, launching over 50 strikes near Sinjar since November 11. 

We need to keep denying ISIL foreign fighters and cutting its revenue streams — including from oil facilities. And, just as we are shrinking their physical safehaven, we need to deny them digital safehaven and support community partners to provide alternative messages from credible voices to counter ISIL’s twisted message.

 

Enhancing and enabling partners:

We need partners in the fight against ISIL inside Iraq and Syria and around the globe to ensure our gains are sustainable. We are training Iraqi forces and are building the capacity of our partners in northern Syria.  

 

Pushing for a political solution:

We’re also making in-roads in improving inclusive governance in Iraq, and with a group of other nations, working toward a negotiated settlement in Syria to end a conflict that has cost a quarter million lives and displaced millions of people in the region. Because ultimately, a political solution that addresses the chaos that has fueled ISIL’s rise offers the only sustainable path to the group’s ultimate defeat. 

Though we’ve made progress in the fight against ISIL, it remains a very serious global threat. The tragedies in Paris and Beirut and the bombing of Metrojet 9268 make clear that we must continue to relentlessly press the group on all fronts until it is destroyed.

 

ISIL Strategy Pt 1

ISIL Strategy Pt 2