Declaring 'new beginning,' EU, Turkey seal migrant deal

Sun Nov 29, 2015 | 3:16 PM EST Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussel, Belgium, at which the EU will seek Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeastern Europe, November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussel, Belgium, at which the EU will seek Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeaste... Reuters/Yves Herman + Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk attend a news conference after a EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk attend a news conference after a EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 201... Reuters/Yves Herman + (L to R) Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talk to French President Francois Hollande during an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (L to R) Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talk to French President Francois Hollande during... Reuters/Eric Vidal + Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann (L), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) talk before a group photo at an EU-Turkey summit, in which the EU seeks Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeastern Europe, in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann (L), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) talk before a group photo at an EU-Turkey summit, ... Reuters/Yves Herman + Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of an EU-Turkey summit, in which the EU seeks Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeastern Europe, in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Thierry Monasse/Pool Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of an EU-Turkey summit, in which the EU seeks Turkish help to s... Reuters/Thierry Monasse/Pool + (L to R) German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and French President Francois Hollande during an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (L to R) German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and French President Francois Hollande during an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Bel... Reuters/Eric Vidal + German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium, November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Vidal German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium, November 29, 2015. Reuters/Eric Vidal Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussel, Belgium, at which the EU will seek Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeastern Europe, November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman Greek Prime Minister AlexisTsipras arrives at the EU-Turkey summit in Brussel, Belgium, at which the EU will seek Turkish help to slow the influx of migrants into southeaste... Reuters/Yves Herman + Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk attend a news conference after a EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and European Council President Donald Tusk attend a news conference after a EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 201... Reuters/Yves Herman + › Declaring 'new beginning,' EU, Turkey seal migrant...X By Francesco Guarascio and Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey will help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the EU in a deal struck on Sunday that the Turkish prime minister called a "new beginning" for the uneasy neighbors. Leaders of the 28 European Union states met Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels on Sunday evening to give their collective political blessing to an agreement hammered out by diplomats over the past few weeks. A key element is 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in EU aid for the 2.2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, intended to raise living standards and so persuade more to stay put rather than attempt often perilous crossings to the Greek islands and the EU. "The EU is committed to provide an initial 3 billion euro of additional resources," the EU and Turkish leaders said in a joint statement. "The need for and nature of this funding will be reviewed in the light of the developing situation." The final wording was a compromise between the EU, which offered 3 billion euros over two years, and Turkey, which had pushed for the same amount annually. Now the money, as French President Francois Hollande said, will paid out bit by bit, giving a possibility of a total more or less than 3 billion. Also on offer to Ankara, which has driven a hard bargain but wants to revive relations with its European neighbors as it faces trouble in the Middle East and from Russia, is a "re-energized" negotiating process on Turkish membership of the EU -- even if few on either side expect it to join soon. And many Turks could also benefit from visa-free travel to Europe's Schengen zone within a year if Turkey meets conditions on tightening its borders in the east to Asian migrants and moves other benchmarks on reducing departures to Europe. "Today is a historic day in our accession process to the EU," Davutoglu told reporters on arrival. "I am grateful to all European leaders for this new beginning." DESPERATION Aware of a sense of desperation in Europe for a solution to a crisis that has called into question its own cohesion and the future of its Schengen passport-free travel zone, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has driven a hard bargain. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Related Coverage Europe, Turkey agree migration deal, leaders say The deal involves Turkish help, including through naval patrols and border checks, in handling the flow of migrants to the EU, expected to reach 1.5 million people this year alone, and the EU offering cash and restarting talks on EU accession. "Results must be achieved in particular in stemming the influx of irregular migrants," the joint statement read. "Both sides will, as agreed and with immediate effect, step up their active cooperation on migrants who are not in need of international protection, preventing travel to Turkey and the EU ... and swiftly returning migrants who are not in need of international protection to their countries of origin." Summit chairman Tusk stressed that the meeting was primarily about migration rather than improving Turkish ties, which have been strained in recent years as Erdogan has used a powerful electoral mandate to consolidate his power. Critics say he has abused the rights of opponents, media and minority Kurds. "Our main goal is to stem the flow of migrants to Europe," Tusk said. The Europeans, none more so than German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are under pressure to manage the biggest influx of people since World War Two, the bulk of them to Germany. The crisis has helped populist opponents and set nations against each other, straining the open borders of the EU. Before the summit itself, Merkel met leaders of some other EU states which have taken in many refugees and said afterwards they had discussed how they might resettle more of them directly from Syria rather than wait for families to reach the EU via dangerous smuggling routes across the Mediterranean. She said they had discussed no figures. German media reports had spoken earlier of up to 400,000 Syrians being resettled. Measures the EU has taken have done little to control migrant movements. While winter weather may lower the numbers for a few months, it is also worsening the plight of tens of thousands stuck by closing borders in the Balkans. Sunday's summit, called just days ago as Brussels tried to clinch a deal offered over a month ago, has been complicated by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border. Related Coverage Merkel confirms 3 billion euro deal with Turkey on migrants Highlights: Leaders' comments at EU-Turkey summit That has complicated European efforts to re-engage with Moscow, despite a continued frost over Ukraine, in order to try to advance a peace in Syria that could end the flight of refugees and contain Islamic State. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said tension between Ankara and Moscow over the downing of the warplane were of "enormous concern". The EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the incident should not affect the prospect of finding a political deal on Syria. Islamic State's attack on Paris on Nov. 13 has heightened calls in the EU for more controls on people arriving from Syria. Merkel has forced the pace in securing a deal with Turkey that has left critics of Erdogan's human rights policies uneasy. The German leader defended her stance: "If we are strategic partners, we must of course discuss openly with each other those issues on which we have questions, concerns or criticism." (Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold, Gabriela Baczynska, Jan Strupczewski, Alastair Macdonald and Ercan Gurses in Brussels; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Hugh Lawson)

Otto von Bismarck: US & its allies are planting the seeds of their own destruction in the end.

Otto von Bismarck From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Bismarck (disambiguation). Otto von Bismarck Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1990-023-06A, Otto von Bismarck.jpg 1st Chancellor of Germany In office 21 March 1871 – 20 March 1890 Monarch Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II Deputy Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Karl Heinrich von Boetticher Preceded by Post created Succeeded by Leo von Caprivi Minister President of Prussia In office 9 November 1873 – 20 March 1890 Monarch Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II Preceded by Albrecht von Roon Succeeded by Leo von Caprivi In office 23 September 1862 – 1 January 1873 Monarch Wilhelm I Preceded by Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen Succeeded by Albrecht von Roon Chancellor of the North German Confederation In office 1 July 1867 – 21 March 1871 President Wilhelm I Preceded by Post created Succeeded by Post abolished Foreign Minister of Prussia In office 23 November 1862 – 20 March 1890 Prime Minister Himself Albrecht von Roon Preceded by Albrecht von Bernstorff Succeeded by Leo von Caprivi Personal details Born 1 April 1815 Schönhausen, Prussia (in modern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) Died 30 July 1898 (aged 83) Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Political party Independent Spouse(s) Johanna von Puttkamer (1847–1894; her death) Children Marie Herbert Wilhelm Alma mater University of Göttingen University of Berlin University of Greifswald[1] Profession Lawyer Religion Lutheranism Signature Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states (excluding Austria) into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. With that accomplished by 1871 he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to preserve German hegemony in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, remained at peace. For historian Eric Hobsbawm, it was Bismarck who "remained undisputed world champion at the game of multilateral diplomatic chess for almost twenty years after 1871, [and] devoted himself exclusively, and successfully, to maintaining peace between the powers."[2] In 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890 (except for a short break in 1873). He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in defeating his arch-enemy France. In 1871 he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the "Iron Chancellor." German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. Juggling a very complex interlocking series of conferences, negotiations and alliances, he used his diplomatic skills to maintain Germany's position and used the balance of power to keep Europe at peace in the 1870s and 1880s. He was the master of complex politics at home. He created the first welfare state in the modern world, with the goal of gaining working class support that might otherwise go to his Socialist enemies. In the 1870s he allied himself with the Liberals (who were low-tariff and anti-Catholic) and fought the Catholic Church in a culture war. He lost that battle as the Catholics responded by forming a powerful Centre party and using universal male suffrage to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck then reversed himself, ended the culture war, broke with the Liberals, imposed tariffs, and formed a political alliance with the Centre Party to fight the Socialists. A devout Lutheran, he was loyal to his king, who in turn gave Bismarck his full support, against the advice of his wife and his heir. While Germany's parliament was elected by universal male suffrage, it did not have real control of the government. Bismarck distrusted democracy and ruled through a strong, well-trained bureaucracy with power in the hands of a traditional Junker elite that comprised the landed nobility of the east. Under Wilhelm I, Bismarck largely controlled domestic and foreign affairs, until he was removed by young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890. Bismarck, an aristocratic Junker himself, had an extremely aggressive and domineering personality. He displayed a violent temper and kept his power by threatening to resign time and again. He possessed not only a long-term national and international vision but also the short-term ability to juggle many complex developments simultaneously. As the leader of what historians call "revolutionary conservatism,"[3] Bismarck became a hero to German nationalists; they built hundreds of monuments glorifying the iconic symbol of powerful conservative leadership. Historians generally praise him as a statesman of moderation and balance who kept the peace in Europe, and was primarily responsible for the unification of Germany and building its world-renowned bureaucracy and army. =============================================== Secret Stupid Saudi-US Deal on Syria October 27, 2014 eClinik Learning 4 Comments The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, is said to establish a Caliphate which would include Israel as an autonomous region known as Greater Israel. We have seen how the US Air Force planes were deliberately air-dropping critical logistics into ISIL controlled territories. The world should be watching what would happen in Baghdad as the US troops formally turn control of the city over to the ISIL terror group of the CIA in a few days from now. Palestine should be returned to Palestinians. Syria should be allowed to determine which way they want to go. The Secret Stupid Saudi-US Deal on Syria. Oil Gas Pipeline War The Kerry-Abdullah Secret Deal By ​​​​F. William Engdahl Global Research, October 26, 2014 Boiling Frogs Post The details are emerging of a new secret and quite stupid Saudi-US deal on Syria and the so-called IS. It involves oil and gas control of the entire region and the weakening of Russia and Iran by Saudi Arabian flooding the world market with cheap oil. Details were concluded in the September meeting by US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Saudi King. The unintended consequence will be to push Russia even faster to turn east to China and Eurasia. One of the weirdest anomalies of the recent NATO bombing campaign, allegedly against the ISIS or IS or ISIL or Daash, depending on your preference, is the fact that with major war raging in the world’s richest oil region, the price of crude oil has been dropping, dramatically so. Since June when ISIS suddenly captured the oil-rich region of Iraq around Mosul and Kirkuk, the benchmark Brent price of crude oil dropped some 20% from $112 to about $88. World daily demand for oil has not dropped by 20% however. China oil demand has not fallen 20% nor has US domestic shale oil stock risen by 21%. What has happened is that the long-time US ally inside OPEC, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been flooding the market with deep discounted oil, triggering a price war within OPEC, with Iran following suit and panic selling short in oil futures markets. The Saudis are targeting sales to Asia for the discounts and in particular, its major Asian customer, China where it is reportedly offering its crude for a mere $50 to $60 a barrel rather than the earlier price of around $100. [1] That Saudi financial discounting operation in turn is by all appearance being coordinated with a US Treasury financial warfare operation, via its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in cooperation with a handful of inside players on Wall Street who control oil derivatives trading. The result is a market panic that is gaining momentum daily. China is quite happy to buy the cheap oil, but her close allies, Russia and Iran, are being hit severely. The deal According to Rashid Abanmy, President of the Riyadh-based Saudi Arabia Oil Policies and Strategic Expectations Center, the dramatic price collapse is being deliberately caused by the Saudis, OPEC’s largest producer. The public reason claimed is to gain new markets in a global market of weakening oil demand. The real reason, according to Abanmy, is to put pressure on Iran on her nuclear program, and on Russia to end her support for Bashar al-Assad in Syria.[2] When combined with the financial losses of Russian state natural gas sales to Ukraine and prospects of a US-instigated cutoff of the transit of Russian gas to the huge EU market this winter as EU stockpiles become low, the pressure on oil prices hits Moscow doubly. More than 50% of Russian state revenue comes from its export sales of oil and gas. The US-Saudi oil price manipulation is aimed at destabilizing several strong opponents of US globalist policies. Targets include Iran and Syria, both allies of Russia in opposing a US sole Superpower. The principal target, however, is Putin’s Russia, the single greatest threat today to that Superpower hegemony. The strategy is similar to what the US did with Saudi Arabia in 1986 when they flooded the world with Saudi oil, collapsing the price to below $10 a barrel and destroying the economy of then-Soviet ally, Saddam Hussein in Iraq and, ultimately, of the Soviet economy, paving the way for the fall of the Soviet Union. Today, the hope is that a collapse of Russian oil revenues, combined with select pin-prick sanctions designed by the US Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence will dramatically weaken Putin’s enormous domestic support and create conditions for his ultimate overthrow. It is doomed to fail for many reasons, not the least, because Putin’s Russia has taken major strategic steps together with China and other nations to lessen its dependence on the West. In fact the oil weapon is accelerating recent Russian moves to focus its economic power on national interests and lessen dependence on the Dollar system. If the dollar ceases being the currency of world trade, especially oil trade, the US Treasury faces financial catastrophe. For this reason, I call the Kerry-Abdullah oil war a very stupid tactic. The Kerry-Abdullah secret deal On September 11, US Secretary of State Kerry met Saudi King Abdullah at his palace on the Red Sea. The King invited former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Bandar to attend. There a deal was hammered out which saw Saudi support for the Syrian airstrikes against ISIS on condition Washington backed the Saudis in toppling Assad, a firm ally of Russia and de facto of Iran and an obstacle to Saudi and UAE plans to control the emerging EU natural gas market and destroy Russia’s lucrative EU trade. A report in the Wall Street Journal noted there had been “months of behind-the-scenes work by the US and Arab leaders, who agreed on the need to cooperate against Islamic State, but not how or when. The process gave the Saudis leverage to extract a fresh US commitment to beef up training for rebels fighting Mr. Assad, whose demise the Saudis still see as a top priority.” [3] For the Saudis the war is between two competing age-old vectors of Islam. Saudi Arabia, home to the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, claims de facto supremacy in the Islamic world of Sunni Islam. The Saudi Sunni form is ultra-conservative Wahhabism, named for an 18th Century Bedouin Islamic fundamentalist or Salafist named Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The Taliban derive from Wahhabism with the aid of Saudi-financed religious instruction. The Gulf Emirates and Kuwait also adhere to the Sunni Wahhabism of the Saudis, as does the Emir of Qatar. Iran on the other hand historically is the heart of the smaller branch of Islam, the Shi’ite. Iraq’s population is some 61% majority Shi’ite. Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad is a member of a satellite of the Shi’ite branch known as Alawite. Some 23% of Turkey is also Alawite Muslim. To complicate the picture more, across a bridge from Saudi Arabia sits the tiny island country, Bahrain where as many as 75% of the population is Shi’ite but the ruling Al-Khalifa family is Sunni and firmly tied to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the richest Saudi oil region is dominated by Shi’ite Muslims who work the oil installations of Ras Tanura. An oil and gas pipeline war These historic fault lines inside Islam which lay dormant, were brought into a state of open warfare with the launching of the US State Department and CIA’s Islamic Holy War, otherwise known as the Arab Spring. Washington neo-conservatives embedded inside the Obama Administration in a form of “Deep State” secret network, and their allied media such as the Washington Post, advocated US covert backing of a pet CIA project known as the Muslim Brotherhood. As I detail in my most recent book, Amerikas’ Heiliger Krieg, the CIA had cultivated ties to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood death cult since the early 1950’s. Now if we map the resources of known natural gas reserves in the entire Persian Gulf region, the motives of the Saudi-led Qatar and UAE in financing with billions of dollars the opposition to Assad, including the Sunni ISIS, becomes clearer. Natural gas has become the favored “clean energy” source for the 21st Century and the EU is the world’s largest growth market for gas, a major reason Washington wants to break the Gazprom-EU supply dependency to weaken Russia and keep control over the EU via loyal proxies like Qatar. The world’s largest known natural gas reservoir sits in the middle of the Persian Gulf straddling part in the territorial waters of Qatar and part in Iran. The Iranian part is called North Pars. In 2006 China’s state-owned CNOOC signed an agreement with Iran to develop North Pars and build LNG infrastructure to bring the gas to China.[4] The Qatar side of the Persian Gulf, called North Field, contains the world’s third largest known natural gas reserves behind Russia and Iran. In July 2011, the governments of Syria, Iran and Iraq signed an historic gas pipeline energy agreement which went largely unnoticed in the midst of the NATO-Saudi-Qatari war to remove Assad. The pipeline, envisioned to cost $10 billion and take three years to complete, would run from the Iranian Port Assalouyeh near the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, to Damascus in Syria via Iraq territory. The agreement would make Syria the center of assembly and production in conjunction with the reserves of Lebanon. This is a geopolitically strategic space that geographically opens for the first time, extending from Iran to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.[5] As Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar put it, “The Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline – if it’s ever built – would solidify a predominantly Shi’ite axis through an economic, steel umbilical cord.”[6] Shortly after signing with Iran and Iraq, on August 16, 2011, Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Ministry of Oil announced the discovery of a gas well in the Area of Qarah in the Central Region of Syria near Homs. Gazprom, with Assad in power, would be a major investor or operator of the new gas fields in Syria. [7] Iran ultimately plans to extend the pipeline from Damascus to Lebanon’s Mediterranean port where it would be delivered to the huge EU market. Syria would buy Iranian gas along with a current Iraqi agreement to buy Iranian gas from Iran’s part of South Pars field.[8] Qatar, today the world’s largest exporter of LNG, largely to Asia, wants the same EU market that Iran and Syria eye. For that, they would build pipelines to the Mediterranean. Here is where getting rid of the pro-Iran Assad is essential. In 2009 Qatar approached Bashar al-Assad to propose construction of a gas pipeline from Qatar’s north Field through Syria on to Turkey and to the EU. Assad refused, citing Syria’s long friendly relations with Russia and Gazprom. That refusal combined with the Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline agreement in 2011 ignited the full-scale Saudi and Qatari assault on Assad’s power, financing al Qaeda terrorists, recruits of Jihadist fanatics willing to kill Alawite and Shi’ite “infidels” for $100 a month and a Kalishnikov. The Washington neo-conservative warhawks in and around the Obama White House, along with their allies in the right-wing Netanyahu government, were cheering from the bleachers as Syria went up in flames after spring 2011. Today the US-backed wars in Ukraine and in Syria are but two fronts in the same strategic war to cripple Russia and China and to rupture any Eurasian counter-pole to a US-controlled New World Order. In each, control of energy pipelines, this time primarily of natural gas pipelines—from Russia to the EU via Ukraine and from Iran and Syria to the EU via Syria—is the strategic goal. The true aim of the US and Israel backed ISIS is to give the pretext for bombing Assad’s vital grain silos and oil refineries to cripple the economy in preparation for a “Ghaddafi-”style elimination of Russia and China and Iran-ally Bashar al-Assad. In a narrow sense, as Washington neo-conservatives see it, who controls Syria could control the Middle East. And from Syria, gateway to Asia, he will hold the key to Russia House, as well as that of China via the Silk Road. Religious wars have historically been the most savage of all wars and this one is no exception, especially when trillions of dollars in oil and gas revenues are at stake. Why is the secret Kerry-Abdullah deal on Syria reached on September 11 stupid? Because the brilliant tacticians in Washington and Riyadh and Doha and to an extent in Ankara are unable to look at the interconnectedness of all the dis-order and destruction they foment, to look beyond their visions of control of the oil and gas flows as the basis of their illegitimate power. They are planting the seeds of their own destruction in the end. William Engdahl is author of A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics in the New World Order. He is a contributing author at BFP and may be contacted through his website at www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net where this article was originally published. Notes: [1] M. Rochan, Crude Oil Drops Amid Global Demand Concerns, IB Times, October 11, 2014 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/crude-oil-drops-amid-global-demand-concerns-1469524 [2] Nihan Cabbaroglu, Saudi Arabia to pressure Russia Iran with price of oil, 10 October 2014, Turkish Anadolu Agency, http://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/402343–saudi-arabia-to-pressure-russia-iran-with-price-of-oil [3] Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes, Deal With Saudis Paved Way for Syrian Airstrikes: Talks With Saudi Arabia Were Linchpin in U.S. Efforts to Get Arab States Into Fight Against Islamic State, Wall Street Journal, September. 24, 2014, http://online.wsj.com/articles/deal-with-saudis-paved-way-for-syrian-airstrikes-1411605329?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories [4] POGC, North Pars Gas Field, Pars Oil and Gas Company website, http://www.pogc.ir/NorthParsGasField/tabid/155/Default.aspx [5] Imad Fawzi Shueibi , War Over Gas–Struggle over the Middle East: Gas Ranks First, 17 April, 2012. http://www.voltairenet.org/article173718.html [6] Pepe Escobar, Why Qatar Wants to Invade Syria, Asia Times, September 27, 2012, http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32576.htm [7] Ibid. [8] F. William Engdahl, Syria Turkey Israel and the Greater Middle East Energy War, Global Research, October 11, 2012, http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-turkey-israel-and-the-greater-middle-east-energy-war/5307902 source » Would you like to like to have your own eClinik at home? You can easily defeat cancer, AIDS and help your body cure all known and unknown illnesses without using drugs, at the comfort of your own home. This is our experience. Find out more about it here. Every download of our eBook, Towards Healthcare Emancipation – Premium Edition, provides additional funding to our next project. If you haven’t done so, please like our FB page to encourage others to learn more about our work. Thank you very much for your valuable support. Mabuhay! ==========================================================

At least 27 dead after Islamists seize luxury hotel in Mali's capital

Fri Nov 20, 2015 | 6:56 PM EST About 27 dead after Islamists seize hotel in Mali's capital 12:25 PM EST | 01:21 At least 27 dead after Mali hotel siege About 27 dead after Islamists seize hotel in Mali'...X By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Around 27 people were reported dead on Friday after Malian commandos stormed a hotel seized by Islamist gunmen to rescue 170 people, many of them foreigners, trapped in the building. The jihadist group Al Mourabitoun, which is based in the desert north of the former French colony, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it worked with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Mali has been battling Islamist rebels for years. A security source said the siege was over by around 4 p.m. local time (1630 GMT) and two militants were dead. A United Nations official said U.N. peacekeepers searching the hotel had made a preliminary count of 27 bodies. The government held an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday night and was expected to give an official death toll later. "At first I thought it was a carjacking. Then they killed two guards in front of me and shot another man in the stomach and wounded him and I knew it was something more," said Modi Coulibaly, a Malian legal expert who saw the assault start. State television showed troops brandishing AK47s in the lobby of the Radisson Blu, one of the capital Bamako's smartest hotels and beloved of foreigners. A body lay under a brown blanket at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Peacekeepers saw 12 dead bodies in the basement of the hotel and another 15 on the second floor, the U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. He added that the U.N. troops were still helping Malian authorities search the hotel. The U.S. State Department said one American had been killed. Earlier, the White House said it was working to locate all Americans in Mali, and it offered to help with an investigation and urged its citizens to limit their movements around Bamako. A man who worked for a Belgian regional parliament was also among the dead, the assembly said. France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he was not aware of any French nationals killed. Minister of Internal Security Colonel Salif Traoré said the gunmen burst through a security barrier at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT), spraying the area with gunfire and shouting "Allahu Akbar", or "God is great" in Arabic. The attacks are a slap in the face for France, which has stationed 3,500 troops in northern Mali to try to restore stability after a 2012 Tuareg rebellion which was later hijacked by al Qaeda-linked jihadists. They also put a spotlight back on veteran militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar months after he was reported killed. Mali president says 21 dead in Bamako hotel attack One American killed in attack in Mali: U.S. State Dept Al Mourabitoun, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb carried out Mali attack: U.S. government source BURSTS OF GUNFIRE Bursts of gunfire were heard as the assailants went through the hotel room by room and floor by floor, one senior security source and a witness told Reuters. Some people were freed by the attackers after showing they could recite verses from the Koran, while others managed to escape or were brought out by security forces. One of the rescued hostages, celebrated Guinean singer Sékouba "Bambino" Diabate, said he had overheard two of the assailants speaking English as they searched an adjacent room. "We heard shots coming from the reception area. I didn't dare go out of my room because it felt like this wasn't just simple pistols - these were shots from military weapons," Diabate told Reuters by phone. "The attackers went into the room next to mine. I stayed still, hidden under the bed, not making a noise," he said. "I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'." RELATED VIDEO Video 02:03 First images after gunmen take hostages at Mali hotel; rescue operation underway Video 00:49 Obama: U.S. monitoring situation in Mali The raid on the hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices, came a week after Islamic State militants killed 130 people in Paris. Twelve Air France (AIRF.PA) flight crew members were in the hotel but all were brought out safely, the French national carrier said. A Turkish official said five of seven Turkish Airlines staff had also managed to flee. The Chinese state news agency Xinhua said three Chinese citizens had been killed in the attack. PRESIDENT RETURNS Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cut short a trip to a regional summit in Chad, his office said. Mali hotel attack puts veteran militant back in spotlight White House condemns attack in Mali, offers to help investigate U.S. urges Americans to limit movements in Bamako after attack Northern Mali was occupied by Islamist fighters, some with links to al Qaeda, for most of 2012. They were driven out by a French-led military operation, but sporadic violence has continued in Mali's central belt on the southern reaches of the Sahara, and in Bamako. One security source said as many as 10 gunmen had stormed the building, although the company that runs the hotel, Rezidor Group, said it understood that there were only two attackers. Al Mourabitoun has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, including an assault on a hotel in the town of Sevare, 600 km (375 miles) northeast of Bamako, in August in which 17 people including five U.N. staff were killed. One of its leaders is Belmokhtar, blamed for a large-scale assault on an Algerian gas field in 2013 and a major figure in insurgencies across North Africa. In the wake of last week's Paris attacks, an Islamic State militant in Syria told Reuters the organisation viewed France's military intervention in Mali as another reason to attack France and French interests. "This is just the beginning. We also haven't forgotten what happened in Mali," said the non-Syrian fighter, who was contacted online by Reuters. "The bitterness from Mali, the arrogance of the French, will not be forgotten at all." (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Additional reporting by Adama Diarra, Joe Penney and Kissima Diagana in Bamako, Makini Brice in Dakar, John Irish in Paris, Washington and United Nations bureaus; Writing by Joe Bavier and Ed Cropley; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Andrew Roche, Toni Reinhold) ================== Reuters Breaking News: U.N. peacekeepers at Mali hotel saw 27 bodies World News liveblog Reuters live coverage of events around the world. Follow @ReutersWorld on Twitter for top news and @ReutersLive for live video events. Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. More: Al Qaeda-affiliated group claims Mali hotel attack Hostage freed from Mali hotel says attackers spoke English by cassandra.garrison 2:21 AM Comment ↑ 2 Two attackers involved in storming of hotel in Mali capital killed. Wounded civilians being evacuated: security sources by cassandra.garrison 2:54 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Hostage situation at Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's Bamako over: security sources by cassandra.garrison 2:53 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.N. peacekeepers saw 27 bodies at Mali hotel - U.N. official United Nations peacekeepers saw some 27 bodies on two separate floors of a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako that was attacked on Friday, a U.N. official told Reuters, citing preliminary information. The peacekeepers saw 12 corpses in the basement of the hotel and another 15 on the second floor, the official said on condition of anonymity. He added that the U.N. troops were still helping Malian authorities search the hotel. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols) by cassandra.garrison 2:46 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.N. peacekeepers on scene at Mali hotel saw some 27 bodies; information still preliminary and search of hotel continues: U.N. official by cassandra.garrison 2:39 AM Comment ↑ 0 No more hostages being held at Mali Bamako hotel-Malian official All remaining hostages at the Malian siege where at least three people died are now safe and out of the Radisson Blu in Bamako where they had been held, ministerial adviser Amadou Sangho told French television station BFMTV. "These people have been taken under the wing of the civil authorities," he said. Earlier Malian commandos stormed the luxury hotel after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. He added the operation was undertaken "uniquely" by Malian forces. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Andrew Callus) by cassandra.garrison 2:30 AM Comment ↑ 0 UK Prime Minister @Number10gov PM: My thoughts are with those caught up in the #Bamako attack. We stand with our partners around the world in the fight against terrorism. 10:33 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply by cassandra.garrison 2:26 AM From the directer of SITE Intel Group: Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 1)#AlQaeda supporters celebrate #Malihotelsiege: #ISIS “should learn a thing or two”;“may allah give[attackers]…strength to kill more& more” 10:33 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 2) #Shabaab fighter:"Lions who carried out #MaliAttack separated Muslims from Christian in order to protect the inviolable blood of Muslims" 10:37 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite Rita Katz @Rita_Katz 3) Belmokhtar reaffirmed pledged to #AQ, but a section of Mourabiton, headed by Adnan al-Sahrawi, pledged to #ISIS in May 2015 10:27 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite 1 of 3 by cassandra.garrison 2:16 AM Comment ↑ 0 Belgian man dies in Bamako hotel siege - regional assembly A Belgian working for the Wallonia-Brussels regional parliament died during an attack and hostage-taking at a luxury hotel in Bamako, Mali, the parliament said on Friday. The parliament on its website named the official as Geoffrey Dieudonne, who had been attending a convention in Mali for three days. It said it did not have further details about his death. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop) by cassandra.garrison 2:14 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Malian official tells BFM TV that there are no more hostages being held at Bamako hotel. by cassandra.garrison 2:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 Al Qaeda-affiliated group claims Mali hotel attack Reuters An African jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on a luxury hotel packed with foreigners in the Malian capital Bamako. by cassandra.garrison 2:07 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Belgian regional assembly says one of its officials died in Bamako hotel siege. by cassandra.garrison 2:04 AM Comment ↑ 0 Ambassade des Etats-Unis au... SECURITY MESSAGE FROM THE US EMBASSY IN BAMAKO: The security incident at the Radisson Hotel is ongoing and all U.S. citizens are encouraged to continue sheltering in place. The U.S. Embassy is discouraging any movement around the city unless it is travel to a safer location (i.s. such as your home). Continue monitoring local media for updates and adhere to the instructions of local authorities. 20 November 2015 Comment Share Comment ↑ 0 Here is the tweet Reuters is citing in this story about an African jihadist group affiliated with al Qaeda claiming responsibility for the Mali attack. Step News Agency @Step_Agency #مالي #Mali #عاجل جماعة #المرابطون تتبنى عملية احتجاز الرهائن في فندق #راديسون بلو بالعاصمة #باماكو #خطوة 9:23 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by cassandra.garrison 1:59 AM Comment ↑ 0 Too soon to say whether Mali situation related to Paris attacks -US envoy A U.S. presidential envoy to the coalition battling Islamic State said on Friday that it was too soon to speculate whether the hostage situation in Mali was related in some way to the attacks in Paris last week. "It is too really to soon to speculate" on whether the attacks may be related, Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk told MSNBC. "The groups in Mali aren't particularly connected to the ISIS groups," he added, using an acronym for Islamic State. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann and Megan Cassella; Editing by Susan Heavey) by cassandra.garrison 1:50 AM Comment ↑ 0 Six U.S. citizens among those recovered in hotel: U.S. military Reuters Six U.S. citizens are among the people who have been recovered from the Radisson hotel in Mali where attackers took 170 people hostage on Friday, a U.S. military spokesman said. by cassandra.garrison 1:46 AM Comment ↑ 0 McGurk says militant groups in Mali not particularly connected to Islamic State: MSNBC by cassandra.garrison 1:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: U.S. presidential envoy McGurk says too soon to speculate whether Mali attack may be related in some way to Paris attacks: MSNBC by cassandra.garrison 1:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 Just one week after the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande has turned his attention to the ongoing Islamist extremist incident in Mali, saying everything possible is being done to free hostages in a Bamako hotel. Rough Cut-subtitled (no reporter narration). by natalie.armstrong 1:35 AM Comment ↑ 0 John Kirby @statedeptspox U.S. citizens in #Bamako are encouraged to contact family & adhere to instructions of local authorities & monitor local media. #MaliAttacks 2:21 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:34 AM Comment ↑ 0 John Kirby @statedeptspox We are aware U.S. citizens might be present Radisson Hotel in Bamako, #Mali. @USEmbassyMali working to verify this information #MaliAttacks 2:19 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:33 AM Comment ↑ 0 Six U.S. citizens among those recovered in hotel - U.S. military Six U.S. citizens are among the people who have been recovered from the Radisson hotel in Mali where attackers took 170 people hostage on Friday, a U.S. military spokesman said. Army Colonel Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, also said that U.S. special forces were assisting in the incident in the capital city of Bamako. Dozens of people were reported to have escaped or been freed, but at least three were dead. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reporting by Warren Strobel; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Susan Heavey) by cassandra.garrison 1:25 AM Comment ↑ 1 Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures Gunmen attack a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako, taking 170 people hostage https://t.co/I6q3QjEKfJ https://t.co/pchkytZwsd 9:49 AM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by cassandra.garrison 1:20 AM Comment ↑ 0 ian bremmer @ianbremmer Mali: 342 killed in terror this year https://t.co/d9RcRVB8uZ 2:32 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 1:15 AM Comment ↑ 0 BREAKING: Supporters of al-Qaeda-affiliated group claim responsibility for attack in Mali: Twitter posting by cassandra.garrison 1:15 AM Comment ↑ 0 Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed Reuters Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. by cassandra.garrison 1:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 Mali hotel attackers dig in on seventh floor, gunfire heard BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Heavy gunfire was heard from inside a luxury hotel in Mali's capital on Friday as soldiers advanced to free hostages held by Islamist fighters barricaded in on the building's seventh floor, a witness and security source said. "Security forces are operating inside and are clearing each floor bit by bit and freeing hostages who are in their rooms," the security source said. "There are dozens, even around a hundred, still inside." by jamillah.knowles edited by cassandra.garrison 1:13 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. President Barack Obama says U.S. officials are monitoring the situation in Mali where Islamic militants stormed a hotel and took hostages. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). by natalie.armstrong 1:10 AM Comment ↑ 0 Malian special forces stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. Rough Cut by jamillah.knowles 1:07 AM Comment ↑ 0 Gunmen storm Mali hotel | Reuters.com Reuters by cassandra.garrison 1:06 AM Comment ↑ 1 U.S. military spokesman says 6 American citizens are among those recovered in hotel by jamillah.knowles 1:04 AM Comment ↑ 0 French Special forces are on site at hotel in Bamako since early this afternoon - Defence Minister by jamillah.knowles 1:02 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. spokesman says U.S. special forces helping in Mali hotel incident by jamillah.knowles 1:01 AM Comment ↑ 0 Foreign Office (FCO) @foreignoffice #Mali: Updated travel advice https://t.co/b1XtnaAK1D British nationals advised to remain indoors & follow instructions of local authorities. 1:23 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 12:51 AM Comment ↑ 2 Radisson Blu @RadissonBlu Our priority is the safety of those in Bamako, #Mali. Phone lines have been established for concerned families https://t.co/A9unKXdSmr 1:05 PM - 20 Nov 2015Reply Retweet Favorite by jamillah.knowles 12:50 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. State Department says U.S. citizens might be present at Mali hotel, working to verify. by jamillah.knowles 12:47 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. military helping move civilians to safety in Mali -U.S. official WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Some U.S. military personnel in Mali were helping move civilians to secure locations amid an attack at a luxury hotel in Bamako, a. U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday. About 25 American military personnel were in Bamako when Islamist gunmen stormed the hotel, the official said, adding that there has not yet been a formal request for U.S. military assistance. by jamillah.knowles 12:43 AM Comment ↑ 0 Mali hotel gunment have dug in on building's seventh floor as special forces advance - Security source by jamillah.knowles 12:40 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says some military personnel assisting first responders with moving civilians to secured locations. by jamillah.knowles 12:35 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says about 25 U.S. military personnel were in Bamako at the time of the hotel incident. by jamillah.knowles 12:34 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Defense official says no formal request yet for U.S. military assistance in Mali hotel incident by jamillah.knowles 12:32 AM Comment ↑ 0 Security forces drive near the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. Gunmen shouting Islamic slogans attacked a luxury hotel full of foreigners in Mali's capitalBamako early on Friday morning, taking 170 people hostage, a senior security source and the hotel's operator said. REUTERS/Adama Diarra Gunmen attack luxury hotel in Mali capital, 170 taken hostage BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Islamist gunmen stormed a luxury hotel packed with foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, taking 170 hostages in a former French colony that has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. A senior security source said some of the hostages had been freed after being made to recite verses from the Koran. The French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three hostages had been killed. The raid on the Radisson Blu hotel, which lies just west of the city centre near government ministries and diplomatic offices in the former French colony, comes a week after Islamic State militants killed 129 people in Paris. The identity of the Bamako gunmen, or the group to which they belong, is not known. Read more. by jamillah.knowles 12:29 AM Comment ↑ 6 Radisson Blu says 136 still in Mali hotel following attack BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Some 124 guests and 12 employees remained inside the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital on Friday hours after suspected Islamist gunmen attacked the building and took 170 people hostage, the company said in a statement. "Our highest concern is the safety of all our guests and employees in the hotel. We are in constant contact with the authorities there and will share further information with you when we have it," a statement on the hotel's website said. by jamillah.knowles 12:29 AM Comment ↑ 0 Eighty hostages freed as special forces storm Mali hotel BAMAKO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Eighty hostages held by Islamist gunmen have been freed from a luxury hotel in Mali's capital as government special forces moved floor by floor to clear the building, Mali's state broadcaster and a security source. "The attackers are still inside. We're hearing gunfire from time to time," said a witness outside the Radisson Blu hotel. by jamillah.knowles 12:24 AM Comment ↑ 0 Heavy gunfire heard from inside hotel in Mali capital where special forces are seeking to free hostages - witness by jamillah.knowles 12:21 AM Comment ↑ 0 124 guests, 13 staff still inside Radisson Blu hotel in Mali capital following gun attack - company statement by jamillah.knowles 12:16 AM Comment ↑ 0 U.S. Special Forces assisting in Mali hotel rescue - CNN by jamillah.knowles 12:08 AM Comment ↑ 0 Hostage freed from Mali hotel says attackers spoke English CONAKRY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A famous Guinean singer who was among 170 people taken hostage on Friday by Islamist gunmen in the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, said he heard attackers in the next room speaking English. "I heard them say in English 'Did you load it?', 'Let's go'," singer Sékouba 'Bambino' Diabate, who was freed by Malian security forces, told Reuters in Conakry. "I wasn't able to see them because in these kinds of situations it's hard." by jamillah.knowles 12:02 AM Comment ↑ 6 PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Fifty elite armed French police officers will head to Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen attacked a luxury hotel and took hostages in the Malian capital, a gendarmerie spokesman said. "The departure is imminent," said the spokesman. Forty of the men are from the GIGN, (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group), an elite armed group trained to intervene in such circumstances. The other 10 are forensic and criminal experts, he said. They are going "to advise and support Malian security forces in terms of intervention," an interior ministry spokesman said. by jamillah.knowles 11:58 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Obama briefed on Mali attack by security advisor: White House official U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed by his national security advisor on an attack and hostage incident at a luxury hotel in Mali's capital, a White House official said on Friday. Obama, who is currently in Malaysia, had asked his team to keep him apprised of the ongoing situation, having spoken to National Security Advisor Susan Rice, the official told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending a regional summit. More. by jamillah.knowles 11:49 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Still image from video shows the lobby of the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. REUTERS/REUTERS TV by jamillah.knowles 11:20 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu says five Turkish Airlines crew rescued from Mali hotel, authorities in contact with two others. by jamillah.knowles 11:13 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 3 Hostage freed from Radisson Blu hotel in Mali capital says he heard attackers speaking English. by jamillah.knowles 11:07 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 1 Air France says crew staying at besieged Bamako hotel are safe PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Twelve Air France crew members staying at a hotel in Bamako where Islamist gunmen had taken hostages are now safe, the French airline said on Friday. As a precaution, Air France flights from and to Bamako for Friday have been cancelled, it said. by jamillah.knowles 10:56 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 1 Still image from video show a hostage rushed out from the Radisson hotel in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2015. REUTERS/REUTERS TV by jamillah.knowles 10:55 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 0 Eighty hostages freed so far from luxury hotel in Mali capital amid special forces operation - State Broadcaster by jamillah.knowles 10:48 PM yesterday Comment ↑ 10 < Newest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... Oldest > Powered by ScribbleLive Content Marketing Software Platform World News Photo Commandos storm luxury Mali hotel attacked by Islamists, dozens freed BAMAKO Malian commandos stormed a luxury hotel in Bamako on Friday after Islamist gunmen took 170 people including many foreigners hostage in the capital of the former French colony, which has been battling rebels allied to al Qaeda for several years. | Video Tapped phone led Paris attack leader to his death | Video Obama says summit to focus on Islamic State militancy Russian, Syrian, jets bomb Islamic State-held eastern Syria: monitor » More News Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution ============================================ Where Does ISIS Get All Those Tanks, Weapons And Shiny New Toyota Trucks? U.S. Treasury Dept. wonders By Elizabeth Parker Global Research, November 19, 2015 Reverb Press 8 October 2015 ISIS Toyotas Yikes! Those evil, marauding terrorists from ISIS are still at large, but fear not: ISIS can’t escape from the U.S. and our allies for long. And when we get ’em, we’re going to kick their cartoonist/woman/gay/Christian-hating Jihadi butts from here until Sunday. There’s just one problem. If we’re at war with ISIS, why do we keep supplying them with tanks, weapons, Humvees and shiny new Toyota trucks? CNN reports: “They’re hard to miss. Packed with ISIS fighters and heavy weapons, Toyota pickup trucks and SUV’s are featured prominently in ISIS propaganda videos.” According to ABC, the U.S. Treasury Dept.’s Terror Financing unit has finally taken notice of the endless parades of shiny, new Toyota trucks starring in ISIS’s propaganda videos, and they’ve launched an investigation. Toyota’s U.S. spokesman Ed Lewis told reporters this is part of a larger inquiry into supply chains and capital flows in the Middle East. Lewis promised Toyota’s full cooperation, and assures us that they’d never sell to terrorists. “Toyota has a strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities, and we have procedures and contractual commitments in place to help prevent our products from being diverted for unauthorized military use.” Whew. What a relief. Toyota trucks: The jihadists’ truck of choice. CNN tracked down Jonathan Schanzer — who used to track terrorist finances for the U.S. Treasury Dept. and who’s now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies — to find out more. Schanzer explained that rugged outdoorsmen and off-roaders aren’t the only ones who love their Toyota trucks: “Toyotas is the truck that Jihadists choose for when they want to go to war. It’s the same thing with Kalashnikovs [Russian automatic rifles more commonly known in the U.S. as AK-47s].” And how to these ISIS terrorists get their hands on these bad boys? Schanzer suspects they just boldly walk into the car dealerships and pay cash! “I think they’re buying them, probably, through formal channels. They’re probably going right into the dealerships and purchasing them, and not identifying as ISIS. Who would?” Oh, and although Toyotas are the Jihadist’s truck of choice, they won’t object to a Ford or two. We’d love to see the look on this U.S. plumber’s face after seeing what Schanzer suspects ISIS picked up at an auction. As if to thumb their noses at us, they didn’t even bother to remove the former owner’s information from the front passenger side’s door. Schanzer adds ISIS’s avid Toyota truck acquisition is just one example of how ISIS operates like “a combination of a mafia gang and a major corporation.” In other words, like a major corporation. Here’s the video with CNN’s report. ISIS also has tons of U.S. weapons, vehicles and other military gear. Toyota trucks aren’t all ISIS has managed to buy, capture or scavenge from us. In June, CNBC reported that so far we’ve accidentally furnished the Islamic State with at least $219.7 million worth of weapons, vehicles and other military supplies and gear — and that’s just the stuff we know about. Based on various reports, CNBC came up with the following laundry list of supplies the U.S. has so kindly provided to ISIS so far. ◾2,300 Humvee armored vehicles at $70,000 each: $16 million ◾40 M1A1 Abram tanks at $4.3 million each: $172 million ◾52 M198 Howitzer mobile gun systems at $527,337 each: $2.7 million ◾74,000 Army machine guns at $4,000 each: $29 million TOTAL: $219.7 MILLION in military weapons, vehicles, and other supplies and gear for ISIS. How does the Islamic State get hold of all these U.S. weapons? We deliver them, either directly or through the tattered remnants of Iraq’s military. Jeremy Salt, a political analyst in Ankara, Turkey, gives RT.Com quite the scathing earful: “Do you think the Islamic State’s advance would have been so successful without access to this U.S. military hardware by mistake, by default? Let me just briefly revise the history of American blunder over the past couple of years with regard to weapons ending up in the hands of Islamic State.” Salt then reminded us of our nation’s major blunders for supplying weapons to ISIS for the past couple of years. ◾Accidental air-dropping of weapons and supplies intended for the Syrian Kurds into Islamic State territory. ◾This didn’t just happen once, it happened several times. ◾Weapons and supplies seized by ISIS during the falls of Mosul (Iraq), Ramadi (Iraq), AND Palmyra (Syria). Salt doesn’t even bother explaining how the George W. Bush administration created ISIS by invading Iraq on false pretenses and chasing off all those heavily armed and well-trained Baathist soldiers. But he does ask how it’s even possible that U.S. intelligence and the military — both of which are among the most sophisticated in the world — could have possibly NOT seen what was coming. What Salt says here about ISIS’s routing of Palmyra also applies to the sack of Mosul and Ramadi. “Are we seriously to believe the United States couldn’t see them coming? Didn’t see those pickup trucks racing across the Syrian Desert? When they create massive plumes of dust, for one thing? Then they get to Palmyra, and they take over the city.” Salt has a point. How could we have possibly missed miles of vehicles chock-full of masked ISIS militants waving guns and black flags while churning up choking clouds of desert dust visible from miles around? It’s almost as though we’ve ignored all this on purpose. As for President Barack Obama, he’s made some smart moves. But how can he slam the brakes on a runaway crazy train that’s been lurching headlong for decades? After all, Reagan’s the one who armed and trained Al Qaeda back when they fought the former USSR as the Mujahideen resistance fighters. Also, we helped Saddam Hussein take power in Iraq in 1963, and Hussein was on the CIA’s payroll since at least 1959. And then we overthrew him and allowed the region to devolve into chaos because George W. Bush isn’t into “nation building.” Here’s the video with the news report from RT on ISIS’s acquisition of U.S. military supplies, weapons, gear and vehicles.

Islamist militants take hostages in Sydney cafe, display black jihadist flag

Sydney siege: Man Haron Monis’s wife Amirah Droudis has bail revoked, is taken into custody Amy Dale The Daily Telegraph December 22, 2014 8:28AM Amirah Droudis in jail after bail revoked •Bail revoked for Amirah Droudis •Judge: There were ‘unacceptable risks’ if she went free THE court has just revoked the bail for Amirah Droudis, with sheriffs taking her immediately into custody. But her solicitor Justin Lewis has said he believed Judge Graeme Henson was only going to determine whether he could hear the application today, and not make a decision on revoking bail. Judge Henson found there was “an unacceptable risk” Droudis may fail to appear in court as a way of trying to avoid a lengthy jail term if convicted of murder. “I’ve made my decision, I’m afraid,” Judge Henson told Mr Lewis. The court found the “unacceptable risk” Droudis posed could not be mitigated by tight conditions. She will appear in Penrith Court in February. Man Haron Monis and Amirah Droudis. Man Haron Monis and Amirah Droudis. Amirah Droudis is on bail charged with the murder of Man Haron Monis' ex-wife Amirah Droudis is on bail charged with the murder of Man Haron Monis' ex-wife. Picture: Ross Schultz Earlier in the day, Prosecutor John Pickering SC told the state’s Chief Magistrate, Judge Graeme Henson, that “irrespective of her compliance on bail” the magistrate who initially granted bail “may not have [had] a full appreciation of the risk.” Mr Pickering cited videos where Droudis has declared “support at the Bali bombing, or 9/11, or some of her views relating to sexual assault.” He said the videos, combined with the serious murder charge against her, warrant a review of bail. But her solicitor Justin Lewis declared the application “frivolous” and said in the videos could be interpreted as her “reading out, or being a spokesperson on behalf of Monis.” Judge Henson commented that it was clear Monis was “the driving force” in the relationship. The court heard the description of the killer of Noleen Hayson Pal “is extremely closely aligned with the physical appearance of Ms Droudis.” Earlier, he closed the court doors to media as he views a 90 minute video made by Amirah Droudis. As Droudis’ lawyer Justin Lewis described the DPP’s application to revoke bail as “frivolous,” the court made the decision the video could not be watched by media. AFGHANI MURDERERS BIKIE GANG EMERGING IN SYDNEY DAD ‘ATTACKED’ AMBOS TREATING SON’S SEVERED LEGS DPP counsel John Pickering SC told the court “the context of the video” goes to “her willingness to act on Monis’ behalf.” A police statement of facts relating to the murder of Noleen Hayson Pal has been tended to the court, along with the sentencing remarks for Droudis and Monis case involving the sending of letters to the families of killed Australian soldiers. A blind was placed over the clear part of the Downing Centre courtroom door while the footage is being played. Earlier, Droudis was granted a few hours to view tapes made by her, which the DPP are using as evidence her bail should be revoked. Amirah Droudis arrives at the Downing Centre. Picture: Britta Campion Amirah Droudis arrives at the Downing Centre. Picture: Britta Campion Pickering SC said the tape, which does not address last week’s siege, was the “mainly” the reason behind this morning’s bail review application. The court also heard the brief of evidence in her case for the murder of Monis’ ex wife was “nearly complete.” Her lawyer asked for the review to be adjourned to another date, saying they were only told of the application at 10:30pm on Friday, and that she wanted to brief a silk to appear for her. “It’s an impossible situation,” he said. But the state’s chief Magistrate Graeme Henson has instead given Droudis a few hours to look at the evidence. He said the court must not “be overborne by the tragedy of the moment,tragic though it is.” “Justice within the democracy...should be applied justly and fairly to all,” Judge Henson said. A decision was made earlier today by Judge Henson that he would hear the case. “He had more time and capacity to hear the case,” a statement from the Chief Magistrate’s office said. Earlier today Droudis arrived at court ahead of the bail review, lodged following her partner’s fatal siege of the Lindt cafe. Accompanied by an unidentified male, Droudis refused to answer any questions from a large media pack. Last week, Attorney General Brad Hazzard asked the DPP to lodge a review of her bail ahead of a trial for the murder of Noleen Hayson Pal, the ex wife of her partner Man Haron Monis. Mr Hazzard said he wanted to know “whether any aspect of her being on bail has been examined in all detail.” Monis, 50, had been on bail for accessory to Ms Pal’s murder when he took 17 people hostage inside the Lindt cafe last Monday. Cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson were killed, with Monis shot dead after police stormed the cafe just after 2am on Tuesday. Amirah Droudis arrives at the Downing Centre.Picture: Britta Campion Amirah Droudis arrives at the Downing Centre.Picture: Britta Campion The 35 year old kept her head down as she walked into the Downing Centre local court about 9am. Chief Magistrate Judge Graeme Henson will hear this morning’s application. Earlier, Ms Droudis arrived at her Belmore home by taxi just after 8am and left a few minutes later to begin what could have been her last walk as a free woman. Wearing sunglasses and a dark hoodie, Ms Droudis was silent as she walked down the street with a male chaperone towards a silver Camry this morning. Amirah Droudis arrives at the Downing Centre. Picture: Britta Campion Amirah Droudis today. Amirah Droudis today. Picture: Ross Schultz ================ Iran warned Australia about Sydney attacker Man Haron Monis, the gunman behind the 16-hour hostage standoff in Sydney, Australia, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and himself, was well known to Iranian authorities. The self-styled "sheikh," who left Iran for Australia in 1996, had abused Australia’s political system to gain immunity from prosecution in Iran, where he was a wanted man. Summary⎙ Print Sydney hostage-taker Man Haron Monis had long been wanted by Iran for fraud. AuthorArash KaramiPosted December 16, 2014 According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham, “The psychological history and condition of this individual, who for more than two decades was a refugee in Australia, was repeatedly presented to Australian officials.” Afkham did not elaborate, but Haron Monis’ history while in Australia paints a clear picture of him as unstable and a charlatan posing as a religious man. Before changing his name, Haron Monis was Mohammad Hassan Manteghi. As early as 2008, the Australian Shiite community warned federal agents he was an imposter posing as a Shiite ayatollah (in fact, they said there were no ayatollahs in Australia at the time) and no one had ever heard of the two names he was using, "Ayatollah Borujerdi" and "Sheikh Haron." He was, however, in the news at the time for harassing family members of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan. Before his conversion to Sunnism to take up the cause of the Islamic State group, Haron Monis had faced a number of legal battles, including numerous charges of sexual assault — under the guise of religious "healer" — and accessory to the murder of his ex-wife in Australia. Fars News Agency reported that Iran had requested via Interpol that Haron Monis be extradited in 1996 for “heavy financial fraud,” but that the request was denied when Haron Monis claimed that he would be persecuted in Iran for his “liberal” views. He was eventually granted political asylum in Australia. A search of Interpol did not bring up anyone by the various names he used, but foreign-based Persian-language Manoto reported that Haron Monis was wanted in a $200,000 fraud case. Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) also claimed that Haron Monis had been wanted by Iran. Interestingly, while most Western media outlets published images of Haron Monis dressed in traditional Shiite clerical garb, IRNA's choice shows a man in sunglasses wearing a white jacket over a black shirt with white stripes and white pants. Australian media outlets had long bought into Haron Monis’ branding of himself as “liberal.” In January 2001, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National program profiled Haron Monis, before his name change: “While in Sydney, we talk to Ayatollah Manteghi Borujerdi, an Iranian cleric espousing a liberal brand of Islam — dangerously liberal, as his views have led to his wife and two daughters being held hostage in Iran.” The Fars article, headlined, “The con artist who was not returned to Iran under the excuse of ‘political asylum,’” also criticized the Western media for emphasizing his Iranian nationality. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/12/iran-warned-australia-sydney-attacker-unstable-con-artist.html##ixzz3M8YlEWJm ======================= Police storm Sydney cafe to end hostage siege, three dead Mon, Dec 15 16:51 PM EST image 1 of 32 By Lincoln Feast and Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed. Police have not publicly identified the gunman but a police source named him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan and who was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. During the siege at the Lindt cafe in Sydney's central business district, hostages had been forced to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack. Heavy gunfire and blasts from stun grenades filled the air shortly after 2 a.m. local time (10.00 a.m. ET on Monday). Moments earlier, at least six people believed to have been held captive managed to flee after gunshots were heard coming from the cafe, and police said they made their move in response. "They made the call because they believed at that time if they didn't enter there would have been many more lives lost," said Andrew Scipione, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales. An investigation would determine whether hostages were killed by the gunman or died in cross-fire, Scipione told reporters just before dawn. Police said a 50-year-old man, believed to be the attacker, was killed. A man aged 34 and a 38-year-old woman were also dead, police said. Four other hostages were wounded. So far 17 hostages have been accounted for, including at least five others who were released or escaped on Monday. "To the people of Sydney, this was an isolated incident ... Do not let this sort of incident bring about any loss of confidence of working or visiting our city. It was the act of an individual," said Scipione. Leaders from around the world had expressed their concern over the siege, including Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada, which suffered an attack on its parliament by a suspected jihadist sympathizer in October. Medics tried to resuscitate at least one person after the raid and took away several wounded people on stretchers, said a Reuters witness at the scene. Bomb squad members moved in to search for explosives, but none were found. Television pictures showed the attacker appeared to have been armed with a sawn-off shotgun. Monis was found guilty in 2012 of sending offensive and threatening letters to families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, as a protest against Australia's involvement in the conflict, according to local media reports. He was also facing more than 40 charges of sexual assault. A U.S. security official said the U.S. government was being advised by Australia that there was no sign at this stage that the gunman was connected to known terrorist organizations. Although the hostage taker was known to the authorities, security experts said preventing attacks by people acting alone could be difficult. ​The Sydney siege underscores the dangers of "lone wolf terrorism", said Cornell University law professor Jens David Ohlin, speaking in New York. "There are two areas of concern. The first is ISIS (Islamic State) fighters with foreign passports who return to their home countries to commit acts of terrorism," he said. "The second is ISIS sympathizers radicalised on the Internet who take it upon themselves to commit terrorist attacks to fulfill their radical ideology. We are entering a new phase of terrorism that is far more dangerous and more difficult to defeat than al Qaeda ever was." ON ALERT Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, has been on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East or their supporters. News footage showed hostages holding up a black and white flag displaying the Shahada, a testament to the faith of Muslims. The flag has been popular among Sunni Islamist militant groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda. The incident forced the evacuation of nearby buildings and sent shockwaves around a country where many people were turning their attention to the Christmas holiday after earlier security scares. In September, anti-terrorism police said they had thwarted an imminent threat to behead a random member of the public and days later, a teenager in the city of Melbourne was shot dead after attacking two anti-terrorism officers with a knife. The siege cafe is in Martin Place, a pedestrian strip popular with workers on a lunch break, which was revealed as a potential location for the thwarted beheading. In the biggest security operation in Sydney since a bombing at the Hilton Hotel killed two people in 1978, major banks closed their offices in the central business district and people were told to avoid the area. Muslim leaders urged calm. The Australian National Imams Council condemned "this criminal act unequivocally" in a joint statement with the Grand Mufti of Australia. (Additional reporting by Jane Wardell, Matt Siegel, Swati Pandey, Wayne Cole and Jason Reed in Sydney and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Mike Collett-White and Dean Yates; Editing by Mark Bendeich) ============================ Hostages held in Sydney cafe, Islamic flag seen in window: local TV Sun, Dec 14 19:25 PM EST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hostages were being held inside a central Sydney cafe where a black flag with white Arabic writing could be seen in the window, local television showed on Monday, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants. Australia, which is backing the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, is on high alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by home-grown fighters returning from fighting in the Middle East. Part of Martin Place, home to the Reserve Bank of Australia, commercial banks and close to the New South Wales (NSW) state parliament, was closed off by armed police. Live television footage showed patrons inside a cafe standing with their hands pressed against the windows. A black and white flag similar to those used by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria was also visible. NSW Police tweeted: "A police operation is underway in Martin Place, Sydney's CBD. People are advised to avoid the area." Dozens of police including a SWAT team were setting up and a couple of hundred people were being held back by cordons. Trains and buses were stopped and roads were blocked in the area, with train operators saying there had been a bomb threat at Martin Place. (Reporting by Lincoln Feast and Matt Siegel; Editing by Paul Tait and Dean Yates) =============== Islamist militants take hostages in Sydney cafe, display black jihadist flag Published time: December 15, 2014 00:19 Edited time: December 15, 2014 01:15 Get short URL A screenshot from live feed by Channel 7 A screenshot from live feed by Channel 7 Australia, Iraq, Military, Police, Syria, Terrorism, Violence A police operation is underway at a café in the Australian city of Sydney, where hostages are being held by unknown attackers and a black jihadist flag can be seen. It comes amid Australia’s backing of the US-led operation against the Islamic State. At least 13 hostages are believed to be held inside the café. There was no immediate confirmation of the exact number of assailants. The gunmen’s attack, which took place in Sydney’s central business district, forced nearby buildings in Martin Place – including the Reserve Bank of Australia – to go on lockdown. “A police operation is underway in Martin Place, Sydney’s CBD. People are advised to avoid the area,” New South Wales (NSW) police tweeted. Meanwhile, live TV footage showed people standing inside a café with their hands pressed against the windows. At least one of the attackers was caught on camera wearing a traditional Islamic cap. The hostages were forced to hold a black flag with an Arabic inscription, prompting fears that ruthless Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants were behind the attack. Dozens of police, including a SWAT team, were dispatched to the scene, and a couple hundred people were held back by cordons amid the evacuation of nearby buildings. The flag – which appeared different from the one typically used by ISIS – was identified as the shahada, or the statement of Islamic faith. The shahada itself contains religious inscription “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of the God.” However, it has been used by various jihadi groups over the years. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the situation “deeply concerning,” adding that everything is being done to respond to the incident. “This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner,” Abbott said in a statement. He added that the National Security Committee of Cabinet is currently being briefed on the situation. The prime minister has spoken to NSW Premier Mike Baird, offering him all possible Commonwealth support and assistance. DETAILS TO FOLLOW =================

ISIS– Largest, Richest $2Billion Terror-Based Enterprise: Financial Sophistication Rivaling Wall Street

ISIS– Largest, Richest $2Billion Terror-Based Enterprise: Financial Sophistication Rivaling Wall Street September 28, 2014 Bizshifts-Trends 1 Comment Share ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ) is the world’s largest, richest terrorist organizations, ever. It’s a self-sustaining enterprise that runs mainly on extortion and crime networks, hostages, oil, donations… According to Martin Chulov; ISIS has grown from a ragtag band of extremists to perhaps the most cash-rich and capable terror group in the world with a $2 billion jihadist network. The scale of ISIS resources is unprecedented: A terrorist organization while ruthless, but still able to occupy large areas of territory, quickly… for example; it controls several major cities in Iraq, which it occupied in just three days, it holds parts of several other cities and continues to menace still other cities throughout Iraq and Syria: It’s quite an accomplishment… According to Michael Knights; some estimates of ISIS’s wealth are overstated, for example; the $2 billion estimate that’s been floating around is too high, but that’s not to say ISIS isn’t raking in a fair amount of cash– between $2 million and $4 million per day… ISIS is a wealthy terrorist movement or better yet an effective financial enterprise, which it run very much like a large-scale Mafia type protection rackets business across much of Iraq. isis thFE6WPNIS This group has fashioned a small army out of a mix of foreign and local fighters, established oil refining and trafficking operations, and even collects taxes…. Despite longstanding rumors that ISIS has foreign patrons in Gulf States such as; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, there is little evidence that it ever depended on foreign largess… While there may be some foreign money flowing to ISIS, stopping these transnational flows will not stymie the group. Whatever its international influences, ISIS raises most of its money from the territories it feeds off of, making the problem of beating back the group exceedingly difficult… According to Howard J. Shatz; ISIS raises much of its money just as a well-organized criminal gang would: It smuggles, it extorts, it skims, it fences, it kidnaps and it shakes down. Although supposedly religiously inspired, its actions are more like those of an organized criminal cult… To quote a U.S. mobster; you don’t get ahead just by being thugs but at some point you must also learn to be a racketeer as well… ISIS’ most important revenue source is the smuggling of oil from the oil fields it controls in Syria and Iraq. It has been reported to control about a dozen oil fields along with several refineries. Estimates of revenue vary, but a range of $1 million to more than $2 million a day is reasonable… ISIS is a formidable fund-raiser. To its disadvantage, the group is also a formidable spender. It pays regular salaries to members based on family size and even has promised to maintain those payments if the member is killed or captured… It also pays rent for some members and medical expenses, maintains safe-houses and buys weapons and other equipment. As cash-based organization, it also has to guard against internal corruption, which is documented in the group’s own records… Historically, ISIS’ main outside revenue has come in small donations from local and foreign supporters… And while donations from the Gulf countries may have been welcome additions, neutralizing donations from wealthy Gulf sources will have little effect on their activities… In the article Who finances ISIS? by Andreas Becker writes: ISIS is recognized as the richest terrorist organization in the world, ever… Iraqi officials estimate that the group now has about $2 billion in its war chest. What remains controversial is where bulk of its money comes from… Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting the ISIS jihadis… According to Charles Lister; there is no publicly accessible proof that governments of any state has been involved in the creation or financing of ISIS as an organisation… Others take a different view. According to Günter Meyer; the most important source of ISIS financing to date has been support coming out of the Gulf states, primarily Saudi Arabia but also Qatar, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates… Additional key financing sources are the oil fields of northern Syria: ISIS was able to get the oil fields under their control, where they use trucks to bring oil across the border into Turkey– oil is an important source of funding for them… untitled According to Charles Lister; ISIS is largely able to fund itself, and it has established local networks in their occupied territories that generate a continuing flow of money, for example; systematic extortion of small businesses as well as large companies, such as; construction firms… and if the rumors are true, even local government representatives… Also, it levies taxes in the areas that it fully controls… However, one of ISIS’ biggest financial coup so far was the looting of the central bank in Mosul, which brought them equivalent of about $429 million in cash. Additional banks in Mosul and other areas under ISIS control were also plundered… With $429 million, ISIS could pay 60,000 fighters $600 a month for a whole year… Also, ISIS fighters looted much equipment that U.S. left for Iraq military, like; weapons, vehicles… Also, with their financial power, it’s relatively easy for ISIS to buy high-quality weapons on international armaments markets… In the article Iraq Interrogation Reveals ISIS Has $2 Billion in Financing by Cathy Burke writes: The interrogation of a trusted messenger for ISIS, led Iraqi commanders to a treasure trove of information on the terror group and its staggering $2 billion in finances… According to officials; before Mosul, ISIS’ total cash and assets was about $875 million, then afterwards, with the money they robbed from banks and the value of the military supplies they looted, its estimated that they added another $1.5 billion to that… In less than three years, the extremists morphed from a ragtag band of militants into the most cash-rich terror group in the world, and they are accomplishing these feats all by themselves– these are very industrious people… According to some intelligence officials; there are no state actors behind ISIS– they just don’t need one… In the article Who’s Funding ISIS? by Robert Windrem writes: There is a small but steady flow of money to ISIS from rich ‘individuals’ in the Gulf with Qataris being the biggest suppliers, according to some U.S. officials… According to one expert; these rich individuals serve as ‘angel investors’ for the most violent militants, providing ‘seed money’ that helped launch ISIS and other jihadi groups… These rich Arabs are like what ‘angel investors’ are to high-tech start-ups, except they are interested in starting up groups who want to stir up hatred: Groups like al-Nusrah and ISIS are better investments for them. The individuals act as high rollers early, providing seed money. Once the groups are on their feet, they are perfectly capable of raising funds through other means, like; kidnapping, oil smuggling, selling women into slavery… According to intelligence official; any outside funding represents a small fraction of ISIS’s total annual income… The largest source of cash now is oil smuggling along the Turkish border, with ISIS leaders willing to sell oil for as little as $25 a barrel, a quarter of the going world price. Since other previously lucrative sources, such as; kidnapping for ransom… is not as profitable as it once was. isis-finance In the article Islamic State: Where Does Jihadist Get Its Support? by Michael Stephens writes: Much has been written about the support Islamic State (ISIS) has received from donors and sympathizers, particularly in the wealthy Gulf States… Indeed the accusation I hear most from those fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria is that Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are solely responsible for the group’s existence. But the truth is more complex and needs exploring… It’s true that some wealthy individuals from the Gulf have funded extremist groups in Syria, many taking bags of cash to Turkey and simply handing over millions of dollars at a time… This was very common practice in 2012 and 2013 but has since diminished and is at most only a tiny percentage of the total income that flows into Islamic State coffers in 2014. Islamic State (ISIS) has put in place what appear to be beginnings of quasi-state structures – ministries, law courts, even a rudimentary taxation system… ISIS has displayed a consistent pattern since it first began to take territory in early 2013… Upon taking control of a town it quickly secures the water, flour and hydrocarbon resources of the area, centralizing distribution and thereby making local population dependent on it for survival… To understand how the Islamic State economy functions is to delve into a murky world of middlemen and shady business dealings, in which ‘loyal ideologues’ on differing sides spot business opportunities and pounce upon them… ISIS exports about 9,000 barrels of oil per day at prices ranging from about $25-$45 (£15-£27): It’s a traditional war economy… The point is that ISIS is essentially self-financing; it cannot be isolated and cut off from the world because it’s intimately tied into regional stability in a way that benefits not only itself, but also the people it controls… In the article Where ISIS Makes Its Money by Tyler Durden writes: ISIS uses oil wealth to help finance its terror operations. Here’s how they do it… According to ‘Iraq Energy Institute'; the army of radical Islamists controls production of 30,000 barrels of oil a day in Iraq and 50,000 barrels in Syria… By selling the oil on the black market at a discounted price of $40 per barrel (compared to about $93/ barrel in free markets), ISIS takes in $3.2 million/day… According to James Phillips; oil revenue gives ISIS a solid economic base that sustains its continued expansion… The oil revenue, which amounts to nearly $100 million/month, allows ISIS to fund its military, terrorist attacks– and attract recruits from around the world… To be successful in counter-terrorism efforts, Phillips said; U.S. and its allies must push the Islamic State out of the oil fields it has captured and disrupt its ability to smuggle the oil to foreign markets… isis thU6XKINS5 Here’s how Phillips said the ISIS oil operation works: ISIS sells oil to consumers in territory it controls, roughly the size of Maryland, inside Syria and Iraq. The terrorist group also sells oil to network of smugglers that developed in the 1990s during Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s rule; that network smuggled oil out of Iraq to Turkey to avoid sanctions imposed by the UN. ISIS also reportedly sells oil, through middlemen, to Assad regime… When it comes to making a fast buck, the Middle East has no shortage of ‘strange bedfellows’ willing to do business with each other… The growth of ISIS has been quite incredible: They are armed with– modern weapons, large fighting army, and an effective organization. All of which is bought and paid with real money supplied through a highly sophisticated funding strategy… According to Senator Rubio; ISIS’s criminal activities– robbery, extortion, and trafficking– have helped them become the best funded terrorist group in history. The wealth has helped expand their operational capacity and incentivized both local and foreign fighters to join them… ISIS has the resources, weaponry, and operational safe havens to continue to threaten the stability of the region, as well as; U.S., Europe, other nations’ national security interests…

Wave of attacks in Shi'ite parts of Baghdad kill 35

14 dead as holdout Iraq tribe repels jihadists . AFP 31 minutes ago An Iraqi policeman makes his way on the rubble of a building targeted earlier this month by a jihadist attack in the town of Dhuluiyah, north of Baghdad, on September 17, 2014 An Iraqi policeman makes his way on the rubble of a building targeted earlier this month by a jihadist attack in the town of Dhuluiyah, north of Baghdad, on September 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Ahmad Al-Rubaye) Baghdad (AFP) - A jihadist attack on an Iraqi tribe that has held out for weeks against Islamic State militants has left at least seven dead on either side, police and medics said Wednesday. The IS group has been unable to conquer the neighbourhood of Jubur, named after the tribe that resides there, in the Sunni Arab town of Dhuluiyah 90 kilometres (55 miles) north of Baghdad. "They attacked Jubur from three directions last night and the clashes lasted until morning," said a senior police officer in Dhuluiyah. "Their attack was unsuccessful but there were casualties," he said, seven in each camp, including a jihadist fighter who detonated a suicide vest. The police officer added that 30 people were wounded in the pro-government camp, including some civilians. Residents contacted by AFP gave the same casualty toll. A medic in the nearby town of Balad confirmed that the hospital there had received the bodies of seven fighters killed by the jihadists overnight. Jubur, which played a prominent role in the formation of US-backed Sunni tribal forces to combat IS's previous incarnation in 2005-2007, has received support from the Iraqi army and allied militias. Its leaders say the neighbourhood needs more assistance, including air strikes from the US-led international coalition bombing jihadist targets in other parts of Iraq. ========== Wave of attacks in Shi'ite parts of Baghdad kill 35 Tue, Sep 30 16:30 PM EDT image BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 35 people were killed in a wave of car bomb and mortar attacks in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraqi police and medical sources said. It was one of the most violent days the capital has witnessed since U.S.-led forces began bombing Islamic State insurgents in Iraq last month. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but Islamic State, ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants who seized swathes of northern Iraq in June, claimed several suicide bombings in the capital earlier this year. Two car bombs exploded in busy streets in the al-Horreyya district, killing 20 people and wounding 35, according to the police and medical sources. There was also a mortar attack in the Sab al-Bour neighbourhood of northern Baghdad that killed five people and wounded 15. Later on Tuesday, at least seven people were killed and 18 wounded when a car bomb exploded in the mainly Shi'ite Zaa'faraniya district of southeast Baghdad, police said. Three mortars also landed in the Shi'ite al-Shula district in the capital's northwest, killing three people and wounding 12, police said. Baghdad has witnessed relatively few attacks compared to the violence in other areas hit by Islamic State's offensive though bombs still struck the capital on a fairly regular basis. Mortar rounds have a short range compared to rockets, indicating the assailants fired from near the districts. Security sources say Islamic fighters have tried to use farmland northwest of Baghdad to approach Shi'ite districts. There were also several small-scale attacks in predominantly Shi'ite areas across the country. In the southern oil hub of Basra, a parked car bomb exploded in a parking lot, setting ablaze five cars but causing no casualties, police said. In the town of Kifil, near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, at least one person was killed and three wounded by a car bomb. And in Kerbala, a car bomb blast on a busy street wounded at least seven people and torched a police car, police said. In the Kurdish-controlled town of Khanaqin, 140 km (100 miles) northeast of Baghdad, at least four Kurdish security members were killed and 12 wounded in a bomb attack on their patrol, police and medics said. U.S.-led forces started bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq in August and Washington expanded the campaign to Syria last week in an effort to defeat the well-armed insurgents who have swept through Sunni areas of both Iraq and Syria. Washington hopes the air strikes, conducted with help from European allies in Iraq and Arab air forces in Syria, will allow government and Kurdish forces in Iraq, and moderate Sunnis in Syria, to recapture territory. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Dominic Evans) ================================= Special Report: Wheat warfare - Islamic State uses grain to tighten grip in Iraq Tue, Sep 30 07:18 AM EDT image 1 of 4 By Maggie Fick SHEKHAN Iraq (Reuters) - For Salah Paulis, it came down to a choice between his faith and his crop. A wheat farmer from outside Mosul, Paulis and his family fled the militant group Islamic State early last month. The group overran the family farm as part of its offensive that captured vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq. Two weeks later, Paulis, who is a Christian, received a phone call from a man who said he was an Islamic State fighter. “We are in your warehouse. Why are you not here working and taking care of your business?” the man asked in formal Arabic. “Come back and we will guarantee your safety. But you must convert and pay $500.” When Paulis refused, the man spelled out the penalty. “We are taking your wheat,” he said. “Just to let you know we are not stealing it because we gave you a choice.” Other fleeing farmers recount similar stories, and point to a little-discussed element of the threat Islamic State poses to Iraq and the region. The group now controls a large chunk of Iraq’s wheat supplies. The United Nations estimates land under IS control accounts for as much as 40 percent of Iraq’s annual production of wheat, one of the country’s most important food staples alongside barley and rice. The militants seem intent not just on grabbing more land but also on managing resources and governing in their self-proclaimed caliphate. Wheat is one tool at their disposal. The group has begun using the grain to fill its pockets, to deprive opponents – especially members of the Christian and Yazidi minorities – of vital food supplies, and to win over fellow Sunni Muslims as it tightens its grip on captured territory. In Iraq’s northern breadbasket, much as it did in neighboring Syria, IS has kept state employees and wheat silo operators in place to help run its empire. Such tactics are one reason IS poses a more complex threat than al Qaeda, the Islamist group from which it grew. For most of its existence, al Qaeda has focused on hit-and-run attacks and suicide bombings. But Islamic State sees itself as both army and government. “Wheat is a strategic good. They are doing as much as they can with it,” said Ali Bind Dian, head of a farmers’ union in Makhmur, a town near IS-held territory between Arbil and Mosul. “Definitely they want to show off and pretend they are a government.” The Sunni militants and their allies now occupy more than a third of Iraq and a similar chunk of neighboring Syria. The group generates income not just from wheat but also from “taxes” on business owners, looting, ransoming kidnapped Westerners and, most especially, the sale of oil to local traders. Oil brings in millions of dollars every month, according to estimates by Luay Al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. That helps finance IS military operations – and is why IS-held oilfields in Syria are targets in U.S.-led airstrikes. “Islamic State presents itself as exactly that, a state, and in order to be able to sustain that image and that presentation, which is critical for continued recruitment and legitimacy, it depends on a sustainable source of income," said Charles Lister, another visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. SEIZING CROPS AND LIVESTOCK In early August, Kurdish farmer Saeed Mustafa Hussein watched through binoculars as armed IS militants shovelled wheat onto four trucks, then drove off in the direction of Arab villages. Hussein said he does not know what became of his wheat. But he knows that IS runs flour mills in areas it controls and he believes that his wheat was likely milled and sold. He had 54 tonnes of wheat on his farm in the village of Pungina, northeast of Arbil, wheat he had been unable to sell to a government silo or private traders because of fighting in the area. The militants also took 200 chickens and 36 prized pigeons. "What made it worse was that I was helpless to prevent this, I couldn’t do anything. They took two generators from the village that we had recently received from the Kurdish government after a very long process," said Hussein. Residents are too scared to return even though Kurdish fighters are now in control. "We think the Islamic State laid mines to keep us from going back," said neighbor Abdullah Namiq Mahmoud. There are scores of similar stories at displacement camps across Kurdistan. "We escaped with our money and gold but left our wheat and furniture and everything else," said farmer and primary school teacher Younis Saidullah, 62, a member of the tiny Kakaiya minority. "Everything we built for 20 years using my salary and our farming: It's all gone. We are back to zero," he said, sitting on the floor of a tent at a United Nations-run camp on the outskirts of Arbil. MILITARY AND ECONOMIC POWER After Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait triggered Western sanctions, the then-Iraqi dictator built a comprehensive subsidised food distribution system in Iraq. That was expanded under the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food program. Joy Gordon, a political philosophy professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut and author of the 2010 book “Invisible War: The United States and the Iraq Sanctions,” estimates that two-thirds of Iraqis “were dependent primarily or entirely” on food subsidies between 1990 and 2003. The system survived the U.S. invasion and years of violence. Now fully run by the Iraqi government, it has been plagued in recent years by “irregular (food) distributions” that have cut dependency, according to a June report by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. A former U.S. Department of Agriculture economist estimates that about quarter of Iraqis living in rural areas were dependent on subsidised food before the latest violence, while another quarter used it to top up food they bought. IS is demonstrating that controlling wheat brings power. As its fighters swept through Iraq’s north in June, they seized control of silos and grain stockpiles. The offensive coincided with the wheat and barley harvests and, crucially, the delivery of crops to government silos and private traders. IS now controls all nine silos in Nineveh Province, which spans the Tigris river, along with seven other silos in other provinces. In the three months since overrunning Nineveh’s provincial capital Mosul, IS fighters have forced out hundreds of thousands of ethnic and religious minorities and seized hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat from abandoned fields. A SILO UNDER ATTACK One target was the wheat silo in Makhmur, a town between the cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. The silo has a capacity of 250,000 tonnes, or approximately 8 percent of Iraq’s domestic annual production in 2013. IS attacked Makhmur on August 7. But even in the weeks before that, the group had found a way into the silo and the Iraqi state procurement system. Abdel Rizza Qadr Ahmed, head of the silo, believes that IS forced local farmers to mix wheat produced in other, IS-controlled areas into their own harvest. The farmers then sold it to Makhmur as if it all had been grown locally. In the weeks before the attack, the silo purchased almost 14,000 more tonnes than it had in 2013. That extra wheat is worth approximately $9.5 million at the artificially high price Baghdad pays farmers. Ahmed believes IS was looking to make money from the wheat and ensure there was bread available for Sunnis in the areas it controlled. Ahmed said it was not his job to investigate the source of the grain, just to buy it. “We just take the wheat from the farmers and we don't ask 'Where did you get this from?'" he said. Huner Baba, local director general of agriculture, said he too believed that traders and farmers had sold wheat from outside the region. But Baghdad usually pays its wheat farmers around two months after they deposit their produce and so wheat farmers around Makhmur – and therefore IS – had not yet been paid by the time IS militants entered the town on June 7 and, according to Baba, headed for the silo. The militants were met by Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, and fighters from the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). After IS took the silo, Baba said, they installed snipers there. He speculates that the militants believed U.S. warplanes would not strike the facility, which is in the center of town. “They want to get people on their side especially the Arabs. Maybe that’s why they didn’t do anything to the wheat, not to anger people,” he said. IS held Makhmur for three days before the Kurdish fighters and U.S. air strikes on IS positions – though not on the silo – drove them out. U.S.-led air strikes did hit grain silos in the northern Syrian town of Manbij on Sept 28. A group monitoring the war said the aircraft may have mistaken the mills and grain silos for an Islamic State base. There was no immediate comment from Washington. SMOOTH TRANSITION In many ways, IS is replicating in Iraq strategies it developed in Syria. In the year it has controlled the town of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, for instance, IS militants say they have allowed former employees from Assad’s regime to continue to run its mills. The group has set up a wheat "diwan," or bureau, in charge of the supply chain, from harvesting the crop to distributing flour. The same push to keep things running smoothly can be seen in Iraq. IS fighters have regularly avoided destroying government installations they have captured. When IS took over Iraq's largest dam it kept employees in place and even brought in engineers from Mosul to make repairs. Baghdad, too, has tried to minimise upheaval. Hassan Ibrahim, head of Iraq's Grain Board, the Trade Ministry body responsible for procuring Iraq’s wheat internationally and from local farmers, said that government employees in IS-held areas keep in regular touch with head office. Some staff in IS areas even come to Baghdad every couple of weeks, he said. In the past few weeks, he said, IS fighters had disappeared from some areas in Mosul and Kirkuk because of the U.S.-led air strikes. “The situation is stable,” he said, with IS fighters mostly happy to allow state employees to continue to run the silos. “I give instructions to my people to try to be quiet and smooth with those people because they are very violent people. It is not good to be violent with violent people because they will come to kill you. Our aim is to keep the wheat.” After IS’s June offensive, Ibrahim was ordered to suspend salaries for workers in IS areas. “But this troubled me," he said. "I cannot have the mills stopping. I need people to stay there like guards to convince the Islamic State that wheat is important for everybody.” Ibrahim says he convinced his bosses to keep paying salaries. A Trade Ministry spokesman confirmed that all government employees in Mosul had been paid their salaries “through state banks in Kirkuk, as it’s safer and under government control.” Ibrahim is now worried about farmers who have not been paid for the wheat they delivered in the weeks before the grain was seized by IS. He said the Grain Board and the Trade Ministry were trying to pay farmers either living in IS-held areas or recently displaced from them. "We would like to help the farmers, but not IS," he said. WINNING HEARTS AND STOMACHS In some places, the IS stranglehold on wheat appears to be winning support among Sunnis. Ahsan Moheree, chairman of the government-affiliated Arab Farmers Union in Hawija, says IS has gained in popularity since its fighters took over. Baghdad’s dismissive attitude towards the country’s Sunni Arabs had forced people towards IS, he said. But IS’s ability to provide food had also helped. “They distribute flour to the Arabs in the area. They get the wheat from the Hawija silo ... And they run the mill and they distribute to people in a very organised way,” he said. Even those who have fled IS see wheat as one reason for the group’s strength. “Nowadays a kilo of wheat is 4,000 or 5,000 dinars ($3.45 - $4.30). It used to be 10,000 to 11,000 dinars,” said Joumana Zewar, 54, a farmer who now lives in Baharka camp outside Arbil. IS and Sunni Arabs are selling the wheat they stole “for very cheap. It’s cheap because they stole it.” Zewar called a friend in Mosul to check on the latest prices. “The price of foods and bread is very cheap,” the friend said. Islamic State had taken control, and as in Syria, was dictating prices. “They are the government here now. They are going to the bakeries and saying, ‘Sell at this price.’” THE YEAR AHEAD The big worry now is next season’s crop. In Nineveh province, home to the capital of the group’s self-declared caliphate, 750,000 hectares (1.8 million acres) should soon be sown with wheat and 835,000 hectares with barley, an Iraqi agriculture ministry official said. The official said that the province normally has 100,000 farmers. But thousands have fled. Iraqi farmers normally get next season’s seeds from their current harvest, keeping back some of the wheat for that purpose. IS controls enough wheat so finding seeds should not be a problem. It also controls Ministry of Agriculture offices in Mosul and Tikrit which should have fertilizer supplies. But getting the seeds and fertilizer into the right hands will be a problem. Mohamed Diab, director of the World Food Program's Regional Bureau for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, said that it is "highly unlikely" that displaced farmers would return. "The picture is bleak regarding agriculture production next year," he said. "The place where displacement has happened is the main granary of the country." That’s especially true for non-Sunni Arab farmers. Those who have remained on their land just outside IS-held territory fear the militants will soon take their villages, and their harvested but unsold crops. Even if that does not happen, they say, they will not plant after the first rain, which typically comes at the end of September or in early October. Farmers in the town of Shekhan, nestled among sun-bleached wheat fields, say they have no hope of getting the seeds, fertilizer and fuel needed to plant because the provincial government in Mosul is under IS control. "The real problem is how to get seeds to those inside Mosul and surrounding areas,” said Nineveh Governor Atheel Nujaifi, who believes production will drop next season. Bashar Jamo, head of a local farmers' cooperative, is also worried.

“The most important thing to us is agriculture, not security. Maybe (IS) will have a state, maybe an army, but all we need is to be able to farm.”

(Additional reporting by Ned Parker and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Maha El Dahan in Abu Dhabi and Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Editing by Michael Georgy and Simon Robinson) =====================