Never again Iraq to fall under Turkish Rule; regardless how much support you get from NATO

gendarme 1. A member of the French national police organization constituting a branch of the armed forces with responsibility for general law enforcement. 2. Slang A police officer. ========================== Twitter | Search | Log in | Sign up Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @ AdnanDarwash 6,115 Tweets 23 Following 29 Followers View more photos Tweets Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 17h In response to Trump, the 57 Islamic States should stop issuing visas to US citizens for a period of 100 days prior to November election. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 19h The sight of bombed out streets in Syria must please the Israelis. One wish Israeli towns face similar fate for what they have done to Syria View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 19h To Erdogan: Turkish Soldiers near Musil can only be interpreted as an attempt to help ISIS survive another day before they are driven away. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 20h To Erdogan: What can 1000 Turkish soldiers do when 300,000 US-led military force failed to pacify Iraq? View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 21h Anti-Islamic Trump in USA and Anti-Jewish Le Pen in France will ensure that Western politics (albeit not clear yet) will not be the same View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 22h In Iraq, USraeli agents must be careful: In 1958, Iraqis killed the entire Pro-British Royal family and dragged the corpses of UK agents. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 22h Arabs must consider voting for Trump in order to cut US support for Saudi Arabia which has been financing terror in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 22h Arabs must consider voting for Fascist Le Pen against Jewish Sarkozy; to close MOSSAD training schools in France and to cut aids for Israel. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 12 One can easily conclude that all armed groups currently fighting in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen are supported by USraelis and their allies. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 12 Putin hopes to capitalise on the stupidity of the US in waging Jewish wars on Arabs and Muslims and to assert Russia as a Super Power. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 12 The Americans aim to implement an Israeli design to weaken and fragment all countries surrounding Israel using all means including Terror. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 12 The Iranians want to help Al-Assad and Hizbollah in resisting USraeli design to weaken and fragment Syria using armed resistance groups. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 12 The Saudis are implementing USraeli design for Syria which aims at removing AL-Assad, Expelling the Russians and Destroying Hizbollah. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Many Native Americans, Blacks,Vietnamese and Iraqis will attend the funeral: US empire in its death throes: Analyst presstv.com//Detail/2015/1… View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Baghdad the capital of reading has educated nationalists who love Iraq and Palestine. ISIS and its USraeli-Saudi mentors will sink in Iraq. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 @faisalislam Botled water cost more than either Petrol or Milk? View conversation · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 US-imported corrupt Iraqi leaders couldn't challenge Erdogan. Ayatollah Al-Sistani ordered Turkish troops to leave Iraq and they will leave. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Successive US presidents supported Israeli atrocities, while ignoring Muslims' complaints, then foolishly ask "why do they hate us?". View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Which one President Trump bars from US? 1. Friendly Saudi Wahhabi* 2. Hazim Abdul-Kareem ** 3. Moses Issa Abraham* * Muslim ** Christian View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Enhanced Interrogation: The Foreign Office didn't mention in its bid for re-election to the Human Rights Council independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi… ================================== Twitter | Search | Log in | Sign up Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @ AdnanDarwash 6,115 Tweets 23 Following 29 Followers View more photos Tweets Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Spot On: Ken Livingstone says the Saudis are a greater threat to the UK than Russia independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n… View summary · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Only US fools think others are fools: US dodges RT’s question about Turkish troops in Iraq, gets personal — RT USA rt.com/usa/325550-ira… View summary · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 ISIS is A “Saudi Army in Disguise.” shar.es/1GHgf2 via @grtvnews View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 William Hague/Friends of Syria supported Jihadists: Donald Trump claims more Muslims join ISIS than the British Army dailym.ai/1lT52xd View summary · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 Five-star Hotel Syrian Rebels: Rifts overshadow Syria meeting in Riyadh presstv.com//Detail/2015/1… View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 11 CIA awarded ISIS-style terrorist attacks to the likes of Blackwater: ‘From Nazis to ISIL, US profits off war’ presstv.com//Detail/2015/1… View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 Nazis believe the Aryan Race is Ueberall. Similarly, Jews believe they are the Chosen people and God made them superior to others. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 Erdogan as Shameless as Netanyahu: ‘Out of question’: Erdogan rules out Turkish troop withdrawal from Iraq — RT News rt.com/news/325539-ir… View summary · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: Never again Iraq to fall under Turkish Rule; regardless how much support you get from NATO or from your USraeli mentors. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: The Othman Empire was so backward that its mal-dressed and under-paid Gendarmes were robbing impoverished Iraqis. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: The Iraqis were so fed up with the Othoman Empire that they preferred joining the Christian British to fight the Muslim Turks. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: The Othman Empire was so backward that the Iraqis had very few schools or paved roads between AD1534-1918. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: Iraqis have experienced first hand the rule of the backward, narrow-minded and uncivilised Turks between 1534 and 1918. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: During the Turkish/Othman Empire rule of Iraq, only Sunni Muslims were allowed to be government employees. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To Erdogan: The most hated and very cruel Othman Emire ruled Iraq from 1534-1918. It was the darkest era in Iraq history. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 Would NATO, which virtually became an American intervention force, support Turkish incursion in Iraq and assume all relevant consequences? View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 US and Turkey want to stop Iraq defeating ISIS; in Mosul and Ramadi. If Turks insist on keeping troops inside Iraq, hell will break loose! View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 300,000 US Soldiers and mercenaries failed to secure post Saddam Iraq. Sending Arab and Turkish troops to make Muslims kill each other. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 To US Political Zombies: Besides being ruled by Terrorists and Corrupt Criminals; Israelis refuse to recognise Jesus and or Christianity. View details · Reply Retweet Like Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash Dec 10 'Democratic America' Elected Mad Bush I, Imbecile Reagan, Fornicating Clinton, Foxy Nixon and War Mongers (Truman, Kennedy, Bush II, Obama). View details · Reply Retweet Like Load older Tweets Enter a topic, @name, or fullname Settings Help Back to top · Turn images off

Crucifixions and Gruesome Beheadings: Fear of Islamic State make Gulf monarchies set aside differences

ISIS daily profits from oil, theft, human trafficking exceed $3mn – report Published time: September 14, 2014 18:24 Get short URL Reuters / Alaa Al-Marjani Reuters / Alaa Al-Marjani Trends ISIS in Iraq Tags Conflict, Iraq, Military, Syria, Terrorism, Violence Islamic State radicals gain more than $3 million per day just from oil sales, while also earning huge sums from human trafficking and extortion, report US intelligence officials and experts. They are wealthier than any other terror group in history. The Islamic State group which seized huge terrorizes in Iraq and Syria, is now controlling eleven oil fields in both countries, US analysts told AP. They added that the militants are selling oil and other products via old established networks under the noses of Kurdish, Turkish and Jordanian authorities. Islamic State claims execution of UK hostage David Haines, releases video The resources of the Islamic State (IS) exceed that “of any other terrorist group in history,” a US intelligence official told the agency on condition of anonymity. According to the analysts, the illegal oil is usually transported in tanker trucks. “There's a lot of money to be made,” said Dr. Denise Natali, who worked in Kurdistan as an American humanitarian official and is now a senior research fellow at National Defense University. “The Kurds say they have made an attempt to close it down, but you pay off a border guard, you pay off somebody else and you get stuff through,” she added. IS reportedly gets for its smuggled oil about $25 to $60 per barrel. Normally the same amount of oil costs about $100. However the total profit of the extremist group exceeds $3 million a day, said Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center in Qatar. A general view of an oil refinery in Al-Jbessa oil field in Al-Shaddadeh town of Al-Hasakah gorvernate. (Reuters / Stringer) The group also exports illegally the antiquities out of Iraq to Turkey and thus gets hundreds of millions of dollars, added al-Khatteeb. Millions more come from human trafficking as the militants are selling women and children as sex slaves. Other sources of income include extortion payments, ransom from kidnapped hostages, and any kind of theft from the areas taken by IS. “It's cash-raising activities resemble those of a mafia-like organization,” another US intelligence official said, again on condition of anonymity. “They are well-organized, systematic and enforced through intimidation and violence.” ISIS ‘making millions’ out of stolen oil revenues in Iraq According to US officials, the militants started imposing taxes on all kinds of economic activity in the city of Mosul, northern Iraq, even before it was seized by them in June. They threatened death penalties to those who were reluctant to pay. From Mosul alone, IS was reaping $8 million a month from extortion, said an analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations. When the group seized the city, it grabbed millions of dollars in cash from banks, though not the hundreds of millions as initially reported, US intelligence officials say. A general view is seen of Mosul Dam in northern Iraq (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal) A general view is seen of Mosul Dam in northern Iraq (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal) The IS fighters managed to take control of the Mosul Dam in early August. However, persistent US strikes forced the militants out of the area, marking the first significant defeat for them since the US re-entered the conflict with airstrikes. Islamic State jihadists seize Iraq's largest dam, 3 towns in offensive vs Kurds The Islamic State group “has managed to successfully translate territorial control in northern Syria and portions of Iraq into a means of revenue generation,” said one more US intelligence official. The border between Iraq and Turkey has long been a haven for smugglers, and that’s why the group has so much illegal activities, claim the analysts, adding that generations have illicitly moved various goods through the region. ‘Neither Islamic, nor state’: UK Muslim leaders object to extremist group’s name In the meantime, the US officials reportedly noticed one positive tendency as the IS violent tactics have subsequently drawn worldwide attention and funding has diminished. === U.S. sees Middle East help fighting IS, Britain cautious after beheading Sun, Sep 14 20:42 PM EDT image 1 of 6 By Will Dunham and Andrew Osborn WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Washington said countries in the Middle East had offered to join air strikes against Islamic State militants and Australia said it would send troops, but Britain held back even after the group beheaded a British hostage and threatened to kill another. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East to try to secure backing for U.S. efforts to build a coalition to fight the Islamic State militants who have grabbed territory in Syria and Iraq. The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West. The addition of Arab fighter jets would greatly strengthen the credibility of what is a risky and complicated campaign. "We have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition to the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes if that is what it requires," Kerry said. "And we also have a growing number of people who are prepared to do all the other things," he said in remarks broadcast on Sunday on the CBS program "Face the Nation." Offers of Arab air participation have been made both to U.S. Central Command overseeing the American air campaign and to the Iraqi government, a senior State Department official said. The official said the offers were not limited to air strikes on Iraq. "Some have indicated for quite a while a willingness to do them elsewhere," the official said. "We have to sort through all of that because you can’t just go and bomb something." As of Saturday, U.S. fighter jets had conducted 160 air strikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq. The United States will present a legal case before expanding them into Syria, U.S. officials said, justifying them largely on the basis of defending Iraq from militants who have taken shelter in neighboring Syria during its three-year civil war. Australia became the first country to detail troop numbers and aircraft to fight the militants in Iraq. It said it would send a 600-strong force and eight fighter jets to the region but did not intend to operate in Syria. Russia, at odds with the West over Ukraine, has said any air strikes in Syria would be an act of aggression without the consent of President Bashar al-Assad or an international mandate. Britain has often been the first country to join U.S. military action overseas and is under pressure to get much tougher with IS after video footage of the killing of Briton David Haines by the militants was released on Saturday. In footage consistent with the filmed executions of two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, in the past month, they also threatened to kill another British hostage. Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency response committee in London, Prime Minister David Cameron called the killing of Haines, a 44 year-old Scottish aid worker, callous and brutal and hailed him as a "British hero." "We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes," he said, calling IS "the embodiment of evil" and saying his government was prepared "to take whatever steps are necessary" against the militants. SUNNI 'ANVIL' But he did not announce any air strikes, mindful of war-weary public opinion, parliament's rejection last year of air strikes on Syria, and sensitivities surrounding Scotland's independence referendum on Thursday. U.S. allies are skeptical of how far Washington will commit to a conflict in which nearly every country in the region has a stake, set against the backdrop of Islam's 1,300-year-old rift between Sunnis and Shi'ites. Many fear there is not enough emphasis on ensuring the Iraqi government is strong and united enough to overcome sectarian divisions and run the country effectively after any intervention. Britain and the United States have ruled out sending ground troops back into Iraq and Kerry did not say which countries had offered. "We're not looking to put troops on the ground," he said. "There are some who have offered to do so, but we are not looking for that at this moment anyway." On the CNN program "State of the Union," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was asked if the coalition would need ground troops beyond opposition forces in Syria and Kurdish and government forces in Iraq. "Ultimately to destroy ISIL we do need to have a force, an anvil against which they will be pushed - ideally Sunni forces," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. 'EXTREMELY ENCOURAGED' On Thursday, Kerry won the backing for a "coordinated military campaign" from 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states including rich rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar. "This is a strategy coming together as the coalition comes together and the countries declare what they are prepared to do," Kerry said in the interview, taped on Saturday in Egypt. "I've been extremely encouraged to hear from all of the people that I've been meeting with about their readiness and willingness to participate," Kerry added. France has offered to take part in air strikes in Iraq and is expected to give more details this week on what it is willing to do, although its financial resources and forces are already stretched with more than 5,000 soldiers in West Africa. Michael McCaul, a Republican who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, told the same CBS program that Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan told him "he is ready to put his troops into Syria to fight ISIS". Washington could also try to persuade Egypt to put troops in Syria," McCaul said. John Kerry will meet British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during a conference on Iraq in Paris on Monday. The conference brings Iraqi authorities together with about 30 countries and organizations to coordinate their response to Islamic State. “It will also be the first time to really gauge what Russia thinks and is ready to do,” a French diplomat said. The diplomat said Syria was a different case. “The situation is not the same either legally or militarily. We do not want to strengthen Assad, so we have to be sure that strikes there don’t do that,” the diplomat said. “We are ready to help Iraq’s government, which has asked for our help, but not Assad’s dictatorship." (Additional reporting by Jason Szep and John Irish in Paris, Timothy Gardner in Washington, Morag MacKinnon in Perth, Australia and William Maclean in Dubai; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Anna Willard, Peter Cooney and Mohammad Zargham) ============ INSIGHT-Islamic State's financial independence poses quandary for its foes Thu, Sep 11 01:00 AM EDT * Islamic State relies on mixture of taxation, oil sales * Hardline group turns away from private donor route * Militants control commercial centres to generate funding * Focus on blocking external funds will do little, for now By Raheem Salman and Yara Bayoumy BAGHDAD/DUBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Sometimes they came pretending to buy things. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they called, but the message was always the same: "Give us money." Months before they took control of the Iraqi city of Mosul in June, Islamic State militants were already busy collecting money to finance their campaign of setting up a 7th century-style caliphate. The owner of a Mosul grocery store recounted how, when he hesitated to pay, militants exploded a bomb outside his shop as a warning. "If a person still refused, they kidnapped him and asked his family to pay ransom," he said. The shopkeeper, who declined to be identified out of concern for his safety, said he had paid the militants $100 a month six or seven times this year. In return, he was given a receipt that says: "Received from Mr. ...., the amount of ...., as support to the Mujahideen." The shop keeper's tale illustrates how Islamic State has long been systematically collecting funds for a land grab that already includes a stretch of northern Iraq and Syria. Another Mosul worker corroborated the account of IS tactics. "The tax system was well-organised. They took money from small merchants, petrol station owners, generator owners, small factories, big companies, even pharmacists and doctors," said the shop owner who, out of frustration and fear, closed his store and is now trying to make a living as a taxi driver. Learning from their previous incarnation as the Islamic State of Iraq, when they received money from foreign fighters, Islamic State has almost weaned itself off private funds from sympathetic individual donors in the Gulf. Such money flows have come under increased scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury. Instead the group has formalised a system of internal financing that includes an Islamic form of taxation, looting and most significantly, oil sales, to run their 'state' effectively. This suggests it will be harder to cut the group's access to the local funding that is fuelling its control of territory and strengthening its threat to the Middle East and the West. Nevertheless, financing from Gulf donors may prove more critical in months to come, if U.S. President Barack Obama's mission to "degrade and destroy" the group succeeds and the group loses territory and finds itself looking abroad for funds. CONTROLLING COMMERCIAL CENTRES In the eastern Syrian city of Mayadin, an Islamic State supporter who goes by the name of Abu Hamza al-Masri, said the militants had set up checkpoints in the last few months demanding money from passing cars and trucks. The money purportedly goes into a 'zakat' or 'alms' fund, but Abu Hamza admitted some sums go to pay bonuses or salaries of fighters. "Passengers are asked to open their wallets ... in some instances they are threatened at gunpoint if they resist," said another Syrian secular activist in Deir ez-Zor contacted by Reuters via Whatsapp. But extortion is not Islamic State's top money-spinner. Analysts and activists say the majority of the group's money comes from oil sales to local traders from wells under Islamic State control. Luay Al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center who has done extensive research into Islamic State's oil smuggling, says the group now has access to five oilfields in Iraq, each of which have between 40 to 70 oil wells. "They deal with a sophisticated network of middle men, some of whom are affiliated with the (Iraqi) oil companies. They have to pay various checkpoints to move around all these oil convoys and specifically to export the oil to Turkey," Khatteeb said. "It is estimated that now, after recent territory losses, they can produce give or take 25,000 bpd, easily getting them about $1.2 million a day, on and off, even if they sell at a discount price of $25-$60 a barrel," Khatteeb said. This volume of oil production would be on par with a small offshore field on the north slope of Alaska. A high-level Iraqi security official put the number of oilfields under the group's control at four, with a fifth in contest between them and Kurdish peshmerga forces. The group appears to have chosen areas of conquest carefully, with an eye to funding. In the Syrian province of Raqqa, a stronghold of the group, the militants made sure they could effectively manage the area before moving on to conquer territory across the border in Iraq. They moved into Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar province in early 2014, before reaching Mosul in June, a major urban centre. "It's about controlling financial nodes. It's controlling commercial centres, it's controlling roads for checkpoints and there's no surprise in that, because there's significant value in that control. And the more finance you earn, the more you can develop. It's a reinforcing circuit," said Tom Keatinge, a finance and security analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "There's no point in controlling acres of desert. You want to control the financial nodes so that you can continue to expand. You don't want to spread yourself too thin financially before you can operate effectively in an expanded area." LESS RELIANCE ON PRIVATE FUNDS Documents from al Qaeda in Iraq captured by U.S. forces near Iraq's Sinjar town in 2007 included reams of finance and expense reports, showing the group, a predecessor of Islamic State, "relied heavily on voluntary donations", says a 2008 report by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center. The report, "Bombers, Bank Accounts and Bleedout", said the "financial reports and receipts in the Sinjar documents show that the Islamic State of Iraq relied on three sources of funding: transfers from other leaders in al Qaeda in Iraq, money foreign suicide bombers brought with them and fundraising from local Iraqis." The study said it was unclear from the documents whether the funds from locals were given voluntarily. The bureaucratic obsession with accounting proved ironic - while it helped the group track funds, the documents, once in the hands of the U.S. military, helped Washington understand how the financing worked - from the operatives who moved money, to the ones who donated money, to how the money was spent. One lesson learned, the Sinjar documents show, was the need for more reliable financing, especially with countries trying harder to disrupt the flow of funds, Keatinge said. "If you have a sophisticated understanding of financial management like Islamic State or al Shabaab in Somalia, you know very well that relying on diaspora or private donations or funds that can be disrupted by the international community is a risky way to go," said Keatinge. By its own admission, Washington realises funds from outside donors are not as significant a threat as their self-financing methods, but the United States and its allies have been slow to move to cut those sources off. "(IS) receives some money from outside donors, but that pales in comparison to their self funding through criminal and terrorist activities," a senior State Department official said. Ransoms from kidnappings do not seem to compete with oil sales, and not much is reliably known about the amounts they have received. ABC News reported that one U.S. hostage held by Islamic State is a 26-year-old female aid worker, for whom the group has demanded $6.6 million in ransom. British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament he had no doubt that tens of millions of pounds of ransom payments were going to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Focus, a German magazine said in April that France paid $18 million for the release of four French hostages who had been held by Islamic State, citing NATO sources in Brussels. French officials say the French state does not pay ransoms. Then there is crime. IS raided the central bank in Mosul and reportedly seized substantial sums of money, though the figures are disputed. The group apparently allows Iraqis in Mosul to withdraw 10 percent of their bank deposits and give 5 percent of the withdrawn amount, as zakat, or Islamic alms. WHAT CAN BE DONE Kuwait has been one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Syrian refugees through the United Nations. It has also struggled to control unofficial fund-raising for opposition groups in Syria by private individuals. Ahmed al-Sanee, head of charities in Kuwait's Social Affairs ministry, said recently there was "strict monitoring" of unlicensed donation collecting. Finance minister Anas al-Saleh said on Tuesday Kuwait was "committed to international efforts in fighting this terror". "Whomever has been identified by the United Nations as a terrorist, we will be implementing our law on them," he said. Washington has moved to cut off sources of private donations. Last month it imposed sanctions on three men it said funnelled money from Kuwait to Islamic militant groups in Iraq and Syria. Kuwait briefly detained two of the men, both of whom are prominent clerics. "If I were the Chief Financial Officer of IS or ISIS as it was then, I would be watching that development very closely. Because if I were receiving money from the Gulf states, at that point I for sure knew that it would get harder," said Keatinge. NO SIMPLE SOLUTION In the end, squeezing the group's finances will involve a mixture of intelligence and force. Ending the group's control of a given area using military might would remove its ability to raise local taxes, for example. Tracking smuggling routes or Gulf donors, in contrast, would involve local informants. Khatteeb, who is also the director of the Iraq Energy Institute, says Turkey must clamp down on oil smuggling routes through southern Turkey. This would dent a revenue stream Islamic State has used to fund a significant recruitment drive. "Turkish authorities (need) to really pay attention in closing down these markets, put more work in intelligence and enforce the rule of law." In an op-ed last month published in the New York Times Patrick Johnston and Benjamin Bahney of the RAND Corporation argued that strategies that focused on sanctioning international financial activities were unlikely to be effective. The authors say that "the terrorist group's bookkeepers, its oil business and cash holdings" should be the targets of greater intelligence and scrutiny to help "disrupt ISIS's financing and provide additional intelligence on its inner workings." Johnston told Reuters that even with the rapid expansion of Islamic State and its need to pay a larger number of recruits, the group could still make an estimated $100-$200 million surplus this year, given the amount of money it is making. "They're making more money, they have less opposition militarily ... the question is what are they going to do with it?" (Additional reporting by Ned Parker in Baghdad, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, John Irish in Paris, Mahmoud Harby, David French and Ahmed Hagagy in Kuwait; Writing by Yara Bayoumy, Editing by William Maclean and Janet McBride) =============== Fear of Islamic State make Gulf monarchies set aside differences AFP | September 01, 2014, 13.09 pm IST Share inShare0Printer-friendly version Send by email Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. (Photo: AP) Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. (Photo: AP) Dubai: Advances by jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and US calls for a coalition against them have made Gulf monarchies set aside disputes over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, analysts say. Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. "The biggest danger (in the Gulf) comes now from these (emerging) terrorist groups, and not from the Muslim Brotherhood," said Abdulaziz Sager, head of the Gulf Research Centre think-tank. Qatar's relations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sank to a new low in March when the three governments withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, accusing it of meddling in their affairs and supporting the Brotherhood designated as "terrorist" by Riyadh. For Sager, the UAE was "the strictest" against Qatar among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter Sunday that his country's interest lies "in a strong Arab Gulf... sheltered from regional differences." Speaking to reporters following a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers, Kuwait's top diplomat Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah said that the six-months spat with Qatar was on its way to being resolved. He said the ambassadors could return to their posts "at any time", without giving a specific date. The announcement came as Saudi King Abdullah underscored the threat posed by jihadists unless there is "rapid" action. "Terrorism knows no border and its danger could affect several countries outside the Middle East," Abdullah was quoted as telling ambassadors, including the US envoy, on Friday. "If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," he warned. Saudi Arabia follows a strict version of Islamic sharia law. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who took part in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were from the kingdom. Saudi authorities have long feared blowback from jihadist groups, particularly after a spate of Al-Qaeda attacks in the kingdom from 2003 to 2006. IS beliefs supported in Gulf Kuwaiti political analyst Ayed al-Manaa agrees that "we now have a fear which is much bigger than the differences in foreign policies, with IS taking over one third of Syria and Iraq". "IS as an ideology is not only present in (Iraq and Syria). It is present in our countries and is waiting for the opportunity to appear," said Manaa. "The political disputes (with Qatar) are no longer a priority... We live in danger from northeast Syria and northwest Iraq. This is an alarm bell for GCC nations to end their differences." GCC states on Saturday said they are ready to act "against terrorist threats that face the region and the world". The foreign ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE the six GCC states also pledged a readiness to fight "terrorist ideology which is contrary to Islam". However, "we are waiting for more details to understand what is needed" for the coalition proposed by US President Barack Obama, said Sabah. Obama said he was developing a broad plan that would involve military, diplomatic and regional efforts to defeat the IS jihadists who have sown terror through crucifixions and gruesome beheadings. Obama said he would dispatch US Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East to discuss the plan with regional allies, including the Gulf Arab states. Regional expert Frederic Wehrey said that "the GCC does not have the capacity for real expeditionary military operations outside the Gulf. "The question is what military value would they bring beyond the symbolic legitimacy of Arab participation," said Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sagar agrees, pointing out that the participation of GCC leader Saudi Arabia, would be limited to "intelligence" and the kingdom's "ability in influencing public opinion in the Muslim world." Saudi Arabia's top cleric has already branded Al-Qaeda and IS jihadists as "enemy number one" of Islam and warned young Muslims to steer clear of "calls for jihad" issued on "perverted" grounds. ================================ http://www.zemtv.com/2014/08/31/dunya-news-special-transmission-azadi-inqilab-march-10pm-to-11pm-31st-august-2014/ Aaila Ji qadry aur pagal khan amrica ke aur yhoodyuon ke ajent hen jo pakistan ko iraq afghanistan lyebia aur serya bnana chahty hen .aur china se pakistan ke dostana taluqat ko khrab krna in ka mission he.pak army aur 20 kror awam mil kr is aalmy sazsh ko nakam bnayen gye IS wqt aalmy stah pr IMF KE muqabley main china rusia india aur brazil ne mil kr aik nya aalmy bank [brick]bnaya he qadry aur pagal khan amrica ke aur yhoodyuon ke ajent hen jo pakistan ko iraq afghanistan lyebia aur serya bnana chahty hen .aur china se pakistan ke dostana taluqat ko khrab krna in ka mission he.pak army aur 20 kror awam mil kr is aalmy sazsh ko nakam bnayen gye ============ Pakistan protests ease as rival leaders seek negotiated settlement Wed, Sep 03 03:36 AM EDT image 1 of 5 By Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Rival Pakistani politicians on Wednesday explored the possibility of a negotiated solution to weeks of protests aimed at the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that eased after turning violent at the weekend. Thousands had tried to storm Sharif's house in protests led by former cricket star Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, destabilizing the coup-prone nation. But by Wednesday, only a few hundred people were camped out outside parliament in the high-security Red Zone area in the center of the capital Islamabad, with the army protecting key government installations. Sharif has refused to step down, while protest leaders have rejected his calls to come to the negotiating table, creating a dangerous deadlock and prompting fears the military might seize power. But in the latest twist, Khan and Qadri agreed to talk to a committee of opposition politicians seeking to mediate between the government and the protesters and help find a political solution. "The entire nation is disturbed by the ongoing crisis," Siraj-ul-Haq, a conservative Islamist politician leading the mediation effort, said. "(Khan's party) has accepted our request (to hold talks) with an open heart and we are thankful to them." The crisis has taken many turns since protests broke out in mid-August, subsiding at times and erupting in violence again, with most commentators saying it was too early to say whether a negotiated solution was in sight. Violent scenes in the usually quiet capital have alarmed many people in a nation where power has often changed hands though military coups rather than elections, with some officials accusing the military of orchestrating the protests as a way of sidelining or even toppling Sharif - a charge it denies. Few commentators think the army is bent on seizing power again but even if Sharif survives, he would emerge significantly weakened and likely play second-fiddle to the army on key security and foreign policy issues. On Tuesday, parliament threw its weight behind Sharif who has convened a week-long joint session of the chamber where he enjoys a solid majority following last year's landslide election victory. He chaired another session in parliament on Wednesday when more lawmakers were expected to deliver speeches in his support. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Nick Macfie) ===================== An Egyptian man lights a flare in Cairo, April 2, 2011. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh) Tangled web of alliances emerges as Middle East divides into blocs The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 was vital for the restructuring of alliances in the Middle East. That is when the foundations for what were then the two main blocs in the region were laid, leading the way toward a new order that divided the region between pro-US and anti-US countries. Summary⎙ Print The Middle East is divided into three blocs, but all have a common enemy in the Islamic State. Author Ali Hashem Posted September 2, 2014 The fall of Saddam Hussein, the heightened and continuous Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Hezbollah’s rise in Lebanon amid the liberation of south Lebanon and the Syrian-Iranian alliance were all aspects forming the landscape of the resistance and resilience bloc; it raised anti-US mottos and gained grassroots popularity for expressing stances that tickled the dreams of a public that had suffered waves of disappointments during the past half a century. This bloc brought together Islamists, nationalists, leftists and anarchists; it connected Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance factions (for example, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). On the other side of the stage, the moderation bloc addressed the region with what it called realism. This grouping was ready for peace with Israel and had excellent ties with the West, mainly the United States, attracting the liberal elites, ex-leftists, Wahhabi Islamists and businessmen. The bloc presented itself as the only partner the West and the United States could rely on in the region in facing the axis of resistance; it brought under its umbrella Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Palestinian authority, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Egypt, along with other minor countries that were on the sidelines of the events. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005, was a turning point in the relations between the two axes. The moderation bloc, directly and indirectly, accused the Syrian regime of responsibility for the massive truck bomb that ripped apart the Lebanese capital and saw 22 people die along with Hariri. A year and half later, the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel widened the rift. Saudi Arabia accused Hezbollah of launching "uncalculated adventures" that precipitated the latest Middle East crisis. Amid the 2006 war, Qatar entered the resistance axis amid a campaign of support that it led on the diplomatic front, besides the extensive pro-Hezbollah coverage on the new Qatari-owned TV network Al Jazeera. Until March 15, 2011, the map of alliances in the region remained unchanged; however, from the moment people in Syria took to the streets, the resistance bloc started to show cracks. In a few months, Qatar and Turkey both wound up completely on the opposite side of the resistance bloc, though not with the moderation bloc. Before the Syrian revolution, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Tunisia also saw people calling for freedom, where people took to the streets in a phenomenon that came to be known as the Arab Spring. In Egypt, Libya and Tunisia the Muslim Brotherhood helped lead the change, with obvious Qatari support. An unannounced Muslim Brotherhood bloc was formed with the patronage of both Qatar and Turkey; the latter had some issues to settle with the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood. Ankara refrained from providing support against then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, despite its decision later to give full support to the revolution in Syria and to post-revolution Egypt. The Palestinian resistance group Hamas was also part of the coalition, yet it showed a bit of uncertainty by keeping one leg in the resistance and resilience bloc. In Libya the Islamists lost the election, while in Tunisia they lost their influence after a comeback by leftists and nationalists, without being removed from power, while in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood was toppled after the June 30, 2013, demonstrations that led to the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed Cabinet. Qatar, Turkey and Hamas once again found themselves alone with greater pressure from the moderation bloc, given the historic rivalry between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Attempts to recast the resistance bloc were made and pressure was exerted, but many differences blocked confidence building, mainly due to the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. Turkey, Qatar and Hamas built their own bloc, which enjoyed strong influence in the region thanks to its effective media reach and the influence the Muslim Brotherhood still has on the ground in several areas around the region. The revolution turned into a civil war in Syria, reflecting the iron bond that brought together Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. Later, with the spillover of the Syrian crisis into Iraq, Baghdad became the fourth pillar of this bloc, maintaining what Jordan's King Abdullah once described as the Shiite crescent. The grouping changed its name from the resistance and resilience bloc to the resistance and confrontation bloc, a clear indication of the strategy the bloc decided to adopt. Tehran, Damascus and Baghdad, along with Hezbollah, reiterated their accusations against the Qatari-Turkish bloc and the moderation bloc of backing the militants in Syria and Iraq; meanwhile, the other blocs continued to accuse the resistance bloc of committing crimes in Syria and Iraq. After the removal of Morsi as president, the moderation bloc regained Egypt, while retaining control over Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The monarchies showed immunity toward change, except for Bahrain and the eastern parts of Saudi Arabia, yet this wasn’t a game-changing element. Riyadh and Manama accused Iran of fueling the uprising by giving support to the opposition. Iran’s media played a vital role in showing the world what was happening in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia, though there was no solid proof that its support involved anything more than media coverage. With a seeming maximum number of conflicts and crises, a new Middle East order has taken form. The new scenario sees three main blocs fighting each other on several fronts, with each looking to weaken its foes to prevail. The fact is that all three blocs are today facing a tougher enemy that poses a threat to all of them. The Islamic State (IS), which each bloc accuses the other of backing, supporting and financing, seems to be watching the struggle for victory among the warring sides with much content and happiness — for the more they fight and weaken each other, the greater the odds are for IS to prevail. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/region-blocs-new-middle-east-order.html##ixzz3CJExnorG ============================= EXPERT VIEWS: Is Islamic State a flash in the pan? Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 27 Aug 2014 16:00 GMT Author: Alex Whiting More news from our correspondents hum-war hum-peo hum-aid Enlarge image Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate August 10, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said Tweet Recommend Google + LinkedIn Email Print Leave us a comment LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Is Islamic State a flash in the pan, or is it here for the long term? What impact is its expansion in Iraq having on the war in Syria, and the region as a whole? Thomson Reuters Foundation asked three experts for their views: Nigel Inkster is director of transnational threats and political risk at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, chair of the World Economic Forum’s committee on terrorism, and former director for operations and intelligence at MI6; Noah Bonsey is International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on Syria, based in Lebanon; and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, and a student at Oxford University. Islamic State (IS) was formerly called ISIS. It took control of key Iraqi cities like Mosul and Fallujah as part of a broad coalition of groups earlier this year, but it went it alone when it expanded into Kurdistan. 1. Is IS a flash in the pan, or is it here for the long term? Nigel Inkster: Obviously we can’t know for certain, but I’m inclined to think it’s going to be around for some while to come. I think that what we’ve got here is one manifestation of what quite a few analysts have been thinking ... since before 9/11, (that) it’s a generational issue that is going to take a generation, maybe more, to work through. It may mutate, it may take different forms ... but it’s really in many ways the latest manifestation of a jihadist ideology that’s been evolving for quite a few years now. Noah Bonsey: It’s not a flash in the pan. This is a group that has been around in one form or another since the U.S. invasion of Iraq (in 2003). The question is, how big and how powerful will they remain? And that will depend largely on choices made by IS opponents within Iraq, within Syria and by the United States, and regional states who oppose it. In Iraq you have rising animosity among many of ISIS’s Sunni opponents, including (those) that initially welcomed ISIS’s advance against the Iraqi government. But it’s not yet at a stage where it would be easy for an external actor such as the United States to exploit, and so that situation will likely develop. You don’t have an American strategy to deal with Iraq and Syria, or even the ISIS problem within Iraq and Syria, and other actors in the region similarly lack a strategy. What’s important to remember when talking about the region as a whole, is you have to keep in mind the level and extent of political division in this region right now. You have multiple fault lines where tensions are very high. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: I talk about a timescale of years, rather than over the next year or so ... they’ve amassed so much resources, so much territory, so much manpower now. Other insurgent groups (in Iraq) ... are completely unwilling to confront Islamic State ... And the longer they put off confronting IS, the more IS’s power is going to grow and they really face the situation where they could end up like the rebels in Syria in various areas ... where they are confined to marginal resistance. The Naqshbandi Army (a Baathist group in Mosul which is the second most influential group in the Iraqi Sunni insurgency) don’t even want to mention the Islamic State by name in their statements. They go so far as to blame the blowing up of shrines on the “sectarian government”, referring to the central government in Baghdad, and they seem to want to pretend Islamic State doesn’t exist. 2. Will IS be able to hold onto the territory it controls? Nigel Inkster: Possibly not. At the end of the day this was always more about politics in Iraq than anything else. And a lot of the rise of Islamic State was a function of some very dysfunctional politics that were taking place within Baghdad – very, very sectarian and very exclusionary policies have alienated significant constituencies, and it remains to be seen whether, now that (former prime minister) Nuri al-Maliki who was the architect of these policies has stepped aside, something better may take their place. That I think is going to be key to addressing this problem. If we talk about Islamic State ... we’re talking about a hard core of jihadists, but we’re also talking about a pragmatic coalition of disenchanted groups who have attached themselves to Islamic State, more than anything out of despair with the politics of Iraq. And it’s certainly true that Islamic State has taken a lot of territory and commands more real estate and resources than any other Islamist group has yet managed to do, how durable that will prove to be is an interesting question. I suspect actually to some extent it will, because Islamic State achieved a high degree of penetration in cities like Mosul before they actually physically occupied them. There had been a lot of subversion, a lot of extortion taking place within Mosul by Islamic State or the predecessor organisation (ISIS). They’ve tried with some effect to provide some services to the populations they now control, and they’ve not done too badly in some respects, albeit from a pretty low base of expectation. So it’s possible they will be able to maintain some of the territory they’ve occupied. I don’t think all of it. Noah Bonsey: At times it’s easy for us to overstate IS’s power because people look at maps and they see this giant swath (in Syria and Iraq) that’s controlled by IS. Well a lot of that area is sparsely populated, and in general much of IS’s power comes from the weakness in terms of organisation, in terms of arms ... among its opponents. For that reason I think it’s important to take IS seriously but also we don’t want to exaggerate its military capabilities. Even if we assume that that number (of 15,000 to 25,000 IS fighters) is accurate, there is such a dramatic range not just in the level of training and efficiency, but also in the level of commitment to the group and to the cause within those ranks … We’re not talking about a level of manpower that is immovable or irresistible. 3. Given there’s a coalition of rebel groups fighting IS in Syria, and government forces and militias in Iraq, plus Turkish PKK fighters and Western airstrikes, what chance does IS have? Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: They (IS) are very militarily effective, they have advanced weaponry and equipment, they have co-opted people, they span borders. Each of these actors in themselves prove themselves insufficient on a number of counts. The Syrian rebels have their own problems of divisions within their ranks, the fact that they’re fighting on multiple fronts as well, and that their priority is very much for example on making sure that Aleppo doesn’t fall to (Syrian President Assad’s) regime, they don’t have the manpower to push eastwards and retake substantial bits of IS territory. Militarily the (Iraqi) army is quite incompetent at urban warfare, the Shia militia really aren’t much better either. They have been fighting in areas like the surroundings of Fallujah and Tikrit for months now but they still haven’t dislodged IS from either. So really I think the key issue is the IS would have to break up internally. There could be a number of scenarios that could trigger that – let’s say (IS leader) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi got killed, there’s a very big question of who would succeed him. Other Sunni insurgents in Iraq really do have to turn against IS as soon as possible and have a coordinated effort against them, and there’s no sign of that happening at the moment and the longer they put that off – if they do plan to fight IS – then the worse it will become. Ultimately the IS is ruling a failed state. They might be the world’s richest terrorist group, but they are one of the world’s poorest states. They’re ruling a vast population spanning borders and it’s not like they have the resources to improve quality of life in a substantial way. But also you would really need to have internal breaking up of the IS from within, or someone is going to have to put troops on the ground to deal with this problem – it’s not going to go away through air strikes, and arming those you want to support. 4. Has IS lost wider Sunni support in Iraq as a result of the atrocities it has committed? Nigel Inkster: These (atrocities) in and of themselves may not necessarily alienate populations depending on what else happens (and whether their own needs are being met), which at the moment to some extent they are. I suspect at the end of the day, Islamic State policies will end up alienating substantial sections of the population they’re aspiring to control, but we’ll have to see. I don’t think we should assume that a re-run of the 2007 Anbar awakening (a rebellion of Sunni tribes against al Qaeda in Iraq) is likely to happen, because the conditions that made that possible simply don’t exist any more in the form of a very substantial U.S. military commitment. If it does happen I suspect it is likely to be more piecemeal this time around. It probably will happen at some point, there are signs it already is in some areas. We have to bear in mind that a lot of the effect of Islamic State has been psychological through a very carefully thought out and executed media campaign (to spread fear). Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: Some of those who might have welcomed them into Mosul, for example, have regrets now when they see IS blow up shrines and things like this. On the other hand, (IS) can intimidate people, but they can also co-opt people with some forms of social outreach ... distribution of gifts during Eid, provisions of meat and other commodities. 5. How has IS’s expansion in Iraq affected the war in Syria? Nigel Inkster: They’ve established a significant presence within the northeast of (Syria). But there they are much more one of a number of contending parties, and it’s not axiomatic that they have or can expect to continue to have the upper hand. And we’ve now seen that an Assad regime that was broadly content to let these jihadist groups run on the basis that they proved the essential Assad argument that this was a fight against jihadist extremists, we’ve now seen the Syrian state starting to attack IS positions in Syria for the first time. I think that the Iranians will simply not let the Assad regime fold ... The Syria we had before 2011 has gone and it’s not coming back, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Assad will be driven out or lose territory to the point where his regime is no longer tenable. Noah Bonsey: Its gains in Iraq have fuelled subsequent gains in Syria to the extent that it was able to defeat a pretty strong alliance of rebel forces throughout the province of Deir al-Zor within the space of a few weeks. IS is now fighting to expand westward, fighting to take back areas north of Aleppo that they had lost. There’s no question that gains in Iraq have strengthened the group overall and helped fuel its expansion in Syria. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: It’s really reinforced the break-up of the country. The rebels in particular are now by far the weakest force. They are suffering a huge amount of fragmentation. For example, the Islamic Front is pretty much on the verge of collapse. Assad doesn’t have the ability to crush (IS). He doesn’t have sufficient manpower ... He could crush the rebels in the west of Syria and re-take Aleppo, but he couldn’t re-conquer the entirety of Syria. 6. Is there a danger that the conflict will spread to Turkey? Nigel Inkster: In a situation of such instability as we’ve now got, pretty much anything is possible. But I think that Turkey probably has the capacity to keep this within bounds – it certainly has got the technical capability to do it. I think again it’s going to be more about politics. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: Not yet. IS know that many of the goods (basic commodities) they end up distributing come in via the Turkish border, and they wouldn’t want to disrupt that ... Although they took Turkish hostages in the Mosul area, there is no evidence that they want to start attacking Turkish territory yet. There are charity organisations that for the sake of humanitarian services go into IS territory to distribute things to locals, and IS doesn’t interfere with that. 7. What impact is IS having on the region as a whole? Nigel Inkster: One of the things that IS has majored on and very, very consciously emphasised in their own propaganda is the end of the Sykes-Picot era, the destruction of that line on a map. And I think the geography of this region looks as if it is going to be rearranged for better or worse. Effectively I think that the Kurdish region has become more autonomous, less attracted to remaining part of Iraq, I think the Shia and the Sunni (in Iraq) are more alienated from one another than before, and the post-World War One borders I don’t think are coming back. What does that mean? Very hard to say. But what I think it means is a very fluid and very messy situation which is going to take quite some time to settle down. ===== In northeast Syria, Islamic State builds a government Thu, Sep 04 01:38 AM EDT image By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - In the cities and towns across the desert plains of northeast Syria, the ultra-hardline al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State has insinuated itself into nearly every aspect of daily life. The group famous for its beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions provides electricity and water, pays salaries, controls traffic, and runs nearly everything from bakeries and banks to schools, courts and mosques. While its merciless battlefield tactics and its imposition of its austere vision of Islamic law have won the group headlines, residents say much of its power lies in its efficient and often deeply pragmatic ability to govern. Syria's eastern province of Raqqa provides the best illustration of their methods. Members hold up the province as an example of life under the Islamic "caliphate" they hope will one day stretch from China to Europe. In the provincial capital, a dust-blown city that was home to about a quarter of a million people before Syria's three-year-old war began, the group leaves almost no institution or public service outside of its control. "Let us be honest, they are doing massive institutional work. It is impressive," one activist from Raqqa who now lives in a border town in Turkey told Reuters. In interviews conducted remotely, residents, Islamic State fighters and even activists opposed to the group described how it had built up a structure similar to a modern government in less than a year under its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reuters journalists are unable to visit the area for security reasons. The group's progress has alarmed regional and Western powers - last month U.S. President Barack Obama called it a "cancer" that must be erased from the Middle East as U.S. warplanes bombarded its positions in Iraq. But Islamic State has embedded itself so thoroughly into the fabric of life in places like Raqqa that it will be all but impossible for U.S. aircraft - let alone Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish troops - to uproot them through force alone. BRIDE OF THE REVOLUTION Last year, Raqqa became the first city to fall to the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. They called it the "Bride of the Revolution." A variety of rebel groups ranging from hardline Islamists to religious moderates held sway in the city, although Islamists clearly dominated. Within a year, Islamic State had clawed its way into control, mercilessly eliminating rival insurgents. Activists critical of the group were killed, disappeared, or escaped to Turkey. Alcohol was banned. Shops closed by afternoon and streets were empty by nightfall. Communication with the outside world - including nearby cities and towns - was allowed only through the Islamic State media center. Those rebels and activists who stayed largely "repented", a process through which they pledge loyalty to Baghdadi and are forgiven for their "sins" against the Islamic State, and either kept to their homes or joined the group's ranks. But after the initial crackdown, the group began setting up services and institutions - stating clearly that it intended to stay and use the area as a base in its quest to eradicate national boundaries and establish an Islamic "state". "We are a state," one emir, or commander, in the province told Reuters. "Things are great here because we are ruling based on God's law." Some Sunni Muslims who worked for Assad's government stayed on after they pledged allegiance to the group. "The civilians who do not have any political affiliations have adjusted to the presence of Islamic State, because people got tired and exhausted, and also, to be honest, because they are doing institutional work in Raqqa," one Raqqa resident opposed to Islamic State told Reuters. Since then, the group "has restored and restructured all the institutions that are related to services," including a consumer protection office and the civil judiciary, the resident said. BRUTALITY AND PRAGMATISM In the past month alone, Islamic State fighters have broadcast images of themselves beheading U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff as well as captive Kurdish and Lebanese soldiers, and machine-gunning scores of Syrian prisoners wearing nothing but their underwear. But the group's use of violence has not been entirely indiscriminate. The group has often traded with businessmen loyal to Assad when it has suited its interests, for instance. According to one fighter, a former Assad employee is now in charge of mills and distributing flour to bakeries in Raqqa. Employees at the Raqqa dam, which provides the city with electricity and water, have remained in their posts. Islamic State's willingness to use former Assad employees displays a pragmatism residents and activists say has been vital to its success holding onto territory it has captured. They have been helped by experts who have come from countries including in North Africa and Europe. The man Baghdadi appointed to run and develop Raqqa's telecoms, for instance, is a Tunisian with a PhD in the subject who left Tunisia to join the group and serve "the state". Reflecting Islamic State's assertion that it is a government - rather than simply a militant group that happens to govern - Baghdadi has also separated military operations from civilian administration, assigning fighters only as police and soldiers Instead, Baghdadi has appointed civilian deputies called walis, an Islamic term describing an official similar to a minister, to manage institutions and develop their sectors. Administrative regions are divided into waliyehs, or provinces, which sometimes align with existing divisions but, as with the case of the recently established al-Furat province, can span national boundaries. Fighters and employees receive a salary from a department called the Muslim Financial House, which is something like a finance ministry and a bank that aims to reduce poverty. Fighters receive housing - including in homes confiscated from local non-Sunnis or from government employees who fled the area - as well as about $400 to $600 per month, enough to pay for a basic lifestyle in Syria's poor northeast. One fighter said poor families were given money. A widow may receive $100 for herself and for each child she has, he said. Prices are also kept low. Traders who manipulate prices are punished, warned and shut down if they are caught again. The group has also imposed Islamic taxes on wealthy traders and families. "We are only implementing Islam, zakat is an Islamic tax imposed by God," said a jihadi in Raqqa. Analysts estimate that Islamic State also raises tens of millions of dollars by selling oil from the fields it controls in Syria and Iraq to Turkish and Iraqi businessmen and by collecting ransoms for hostages it has taken. BAGHDADI CALLS THE SHOTS At the heart of the Islamic State system is its leader, Baghdadi, who in June declared himself "caliph", or ruler of all the world's Muslims, after breaking with al Qaeda. Residents, fighters and activists agree Baghdadi is now heavily involved in Raqqa's administration, and has the final word on all decisions made by commanders and officials. Even the prices set for local goods go back to him, local sources say. Residents say Baghdadi also approves beheadings and other executions and punishments for criminals convicted by the group's Islamic courts. On the battlefield, fighters describe him as a fierce and experienced commander. The Syrian fighter said Baghdadi led major battles, such as one to retake a Syrian military base known as Division 17 in July, the first in a series of defeats the group dealt to Syrian government forces in Raqqa province. "He does not leave the brothers. In the battle to retake Division 17 he was also slightly wounded but he is fine now," the fighter said. "He is always moving. He does not stay in one place. He moves between Raqqa, Deir al-Zor and Mosul. He leads the battles." NEXT GENERATION JIHAD Although pragmatism has been a key to the group's success, ideology is also vital to the group's rule. By declaring the caliphate and setting up a "state", Baghdadi aimed to attract foreign jihadis and experts from abroad. Supporters say thousands have responded. At the same time, wealthy Islamists from across the world have sent money to Raqqa to support the caliphate, jihadis say. According to sources in Raqqa, the group maintains three weapons factories mainly designed to develop missiles. Foreign scientists - including Muslims from China, fighters claim - are kept in a private location with bodyguards. "Scientists and men with degrees are joining the State," said one Arab jihadi. The group has also invested heavily in the next generation by inducting children into their ideology. Primary, secondary and university programs now include more about Islam. The group also accepts women who want to fight - they are trained about "the real Islam" and the reasons for fighting. Islamic education groups are held in mosques for newly arrived fighters, who, according to militants in Raqqa, have flocked to Islamic State-controlled territory in even greater numbers since Baghdadi declared the "caliphate". "Every three days we receive at least 1,000 fighters. The guest houses are flooding with mujahideen. We are running out of places to receive them," the Arab jihadi said. (Editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Giles Elgood) === Islamic State kidnaps 40 men in Iraq's Kirkuk region: residents Thu, Sep 04 10:20 AM EDT image BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants kidnapped 40 men from a town in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on Thursday, dragging the men into cars before driving off, residents said. Residents of the Sunni Muslim town of Hawija said by telephone they did not know why the men had been taken, from a district on the edge of the town. They added that Islamic State, which controls Hawija, had not faced any resistance from its inhabitants. Islamic State has seized hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian soldiers as well as members of other insurgent groups, journalists and civilians. Some have been sold for ransom and others have been killed. The group launched a lightning advance through northern and central Iraq in June, declaring an Islamic caliphate. With the help of U.S. air strikes, Iraq's army and Kurdish forces have been able to push the fighters back from some areas. The Ministry of Defense said on Thursday on state television Iraqi forces had killed three "leaders" of Islamic State in three separate attacks on Mosul and Tel Afar in the north. (Reporting by Raheem Salman and Oliver Holmes; editing by Andrew Roche)

ISIS jihadists demolish mosques, shrines in northern Iraq

The people of Amerli near Tuz Khurmato have been under siege by ISIS for over 3 weeks now, still holding out but in desperate need of help Shia militias have joined forces with Iraqi government troops to recapture the town of Balad, north of Baghdad http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28322645

Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎The‬ Khilafah is NOT merely a name. The Khilafah is a state of significance, and the Shariah has stipulated the methodology for it's establishment and the manner for it's Ahkam(rulings) extraction for ruling, politics, economics and international relations...and it is not a mere announcement in name only that is broadcasted on websites or printed. visual or audio media outlets. Rather it will be a great event that will shake the entire world, and it's roots will be stable in the ground, its authority will maintain security internally and externally on that land, and will implment Islam within it and will carry Islam to the world through Dawah and Jihad... Original Arabic Source: https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/310905275744223/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎Khilafah‬: Where are the components, authority, security and protection? The organisation that has announced the Caliphate has neither auhority, in either Syria or Iraq, nor did it achieve security and protection internally or externally, even more they have given allegiance (bayah) to a Khaleefah who is unable to declare himself even publicly rather his situation has remained hidden like the situation prior to the declaration of the State! And this is contradictory to what the Messenger of ALlah SAW did. Peace and Blessings upon him was permitted to hide in the Thawr Cave before the state, but after the state, he took care of affairs, led the armies, judged in disputes and sent envoys and received them publicly; thus the situation differed before and after the state... Thus the announcement by the organisation of the Khilafah is mere rhetoric without any weight, it is similar to those who announced the Khilafah previously, without authenticity on the ground or components, rather to satisfy something within themselves, so there was some who declared themselves as a Khaleefah and others who declared themselves as a Mahdi, and so on... without having the components, authority, security or protection...! Original Arabic Source: https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/310647612436656/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta The ‪#‎Khilafah‬ must have obvious authority. Any organisation that seeks to announce the Khilafah in an area is obliged to follow the Methodology of the Prophet SAW in it, and from it is that this organisation should have the obvious visible authority on the place, where it can maintain security internally and externally, and that this area should have the components of a state in the area where the Khilafah is announced....This is what the Prophet SAW performed when he established the Islamic State in Medina Al-Munawarra: the authority was with the Prophet SAW and the internal and external security was with the authority of Islam and it had the components of a state in the surrounding area. Arabic original source: https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/310423319125752/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta O People of ‪#‎Mesopotamia‬ (‪#‎Iraq‬)… “Leave it, its rotten” ------------------------------ O people of Mesopotamia this matter will not be reformed except with a remedy from the start: ruling by what Allah has revealed, and jihad in the name of Allah ... holding fast to the rope of Allah and breaking the bond with the enemies of Allah... and the rejection of sectarianism and madh’habism«دَعُوهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُنْتِنَةٌ»“Leave it, its rotten”,Bukhari narrated from Jabir... Quit the titles of sectarianism and madh’habism, and hold on to the name that Allah named us (هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ) “Allah named you ‘Muslims’”]Al-Hajj: 78[.So return to Him and establish His state, the rightly guided Khilafah, by it you will be glorified, and by it you will address the clouds once again, and by it you will return servants of Allah as one brotherhood… (إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ )“Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind].”[ Qaf: 37 ] النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/pb.154433208058098.-2207520000.1404912457./309683972533020/?type=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta O People of ‪#‎Iraq‬… Do not incline towards America and Europe ---------------------------------- The guide does not lie to his people, and Hizb ut Tahrir is a sincere advisor to you, so do not incline towards America and Europe, they will not give you any weight, but they are serious in inflicting you with fatal wounds ... so that they create three entities in Iraq that are connected together by a worn-out bond in a nominal state as a prelude to cut this bond in the later stages... We are able to understand the direction of the poisoned arrows of America and the West at us ... But for the people of Iraq to accept that, and even struggling to achieve it, and all of them seeking the help of America in that, then this is a widespread evil. (وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ ثُمَّ لَا تُنْصَرُونَ)“And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped.” [Hud: 113].You are one Ummah that is prohibited from being fragmented. (وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا)“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.” [Al-i-Imran: 103]. And you are prohibited to dispute, otherwise your strength would collapse and your enemy will become greedy with you. (وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ)“... and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart...” [Al-Anfal: 46]. ******* النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/309322372569180/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎Iraq‬: ‪#‎Islam‬ has unified you but you seek diaspora?! ------------------------ Islam has unified you for centuries, and its Banner has shaded you for a long period of time, so you were strong and dignified. You shared the Good together, and you fought the Evil together... Your country is the land of tournaments; the land of al-Qadisiyah, the land of al-Buwaib the Persian Yarmouk, the country of Haroon al-Rashid and al-Mu’tassim, the country of Salah al-Din, the country of the conquerors, the former and the subsequent Allah willing. The undivided Iraq is strong by its people, and the torn Iraq is weak by its rips... If the Kurds assume that the presence of a Kurdistan region or a state of Kurdistan will bring them dignity, it would not exceed a short period, but will lead to their death after a while... And if the Sunnis assume that the existence of a territory that belongs to them in the Northern and Western Iraq will bring them a decent living, it would not exceed a worthwhile period, and then misery and hardship will inflict afterwards... If the Shiites assume that the presence of the territory that belongs to them in the South will bring them the power of tyranny it would only be for a short time, and then matters shall return to weakness and humiliation. النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/309017185933032/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎Iraq‬: O Muslims... O Arabs... O Kurds... O Sunnis... O Shiites... O People of ‪#‎Mesopotamia‬... Your blood has been shed, your wealth looted and your homes, rather your Mosques destroyed, and Iraq has become a failed fragile state that does not block a meddling hand... Is there not among you a man of reason to reflect on what happened? Do not you see that America and their alliances, agents and followers ... All exasperate the sedition (fitneh), so it boils then trickles down into three branches, three rips, three territories: Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites, that are not gathered by any relation except by a thin thread or much less...! Is not it so? Do you not wonder how America has protected the Kurdistan region? And how Bremer implanted in its constitution the seeds of the ‘madh’habism’ (school of thought) and sectarian-based system? Do not you wonder how America created in the current government a tyrant in power who infuses the sectarian strife without modesty or shame? Do not you wonder how America is watching the situation and feeding it for the Kurds to diverge from the Arabs, and the Sunnis to diverge from the Shiites? Do not you wonder how America meets with Britain, the agents and the followers, and everyone is marching in the direction of feeding into this sedition (fitneh), this with the knowledge that the interests of America and Britain are different, but they meet on tearing Muslims lands?! النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎Iraq‬ and its Divisions! Whoever reflects on the current events sees them as an episode in a series of episodes that were not only initiated by America with its occupation of Iraq, but also before the occupation, since America imposed no-fly zones in North of Iraq in 1991, where Kurdistan became a quasi-state region! And when America occupied Iraq in 2003, the American governor of Iraq, Bremer set a constitution carrying the seed of dismantling Iraq that made him utter with confessional and sectarian-based quota system. The seed continued to grow until the month of 12/2011, when America exited Iraq with its military appearance but remained in it with its security and political reality, wherein the tree of sedition blossomed. Then America fueled it placing an intolerant sectarian tyrant at the head of the government in Iraq. So Maliki deliberately crushed the areas of Northern and Western Iraq, and tyrannized and oppressed in unprecedented brutality, whenever it receded, he ignited again with provocative acts and sayings to aggravate those areas ... And the sectarian incitement escalated with the creation of the Shiite armed militias, and in return focusing on ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) as being Sunni terrorism, although the movements that have entered Mosul and Tikrit and the others were from several movements, including ISIS... And the matter did not stop at this point, but the neighboring countries raced in highlighting sectarianism... all in the implementation of US policy, and marching behind it Britain, then the agents and the followers who do not want Iraq to be a unified entity, but want it to be a fragmented feuding divergent entity, killing each other! And each party clings stubbornly to have a territory, and the calls for provinces and divisions became publicly proclaimed... And because events occur without concealment, the Kurdistan region realized the reality of the situation, and therefore at a time the rebels controlled Mosul, the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan region came to fully control Kirkuk and the surrounding areas. Reuters quoted on 15/06/2014 Fuad Hussein, Barzani's chief of staff, as saying: "Iraq has entered a new phase that is completely different than before control of Mosul and that the Kurds will discuss how to deal with this new Iraq." النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/308043542697063/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta ‪#‎Iraq‬ and its Divisions! Whoever reflects on the current events sees them as an episode in a series of episodes that were not only initiated by America with its occupation of Iraq, but also before the occupation, since America imposed no-fly zones in North of Iraq in 1991, where Kurdistan became a quasi-state region! And when America occupied Iraq in 2003, the American governor of Iraq, Bremer set a constitution carrying the seed of dismantling Iraq that made him utter with confessional and sectarian-based quota system. The seed continued to grow until the month of 12/2011, when America exited Iraq with its military appearance but remained in it with its security and political reality, wherein the tree of sedition blossomed. Then America fueled it placing an intolerant sectarian tyrant at the head of the government in Iraq. So Maliki deliberately crushed the areas of Northern and Western Iraq, and tyrannized and oppressed in unprecedented brutality, whenever it receded, he ignited again with provocative acts and sayings to aggravate those areas ... And the sectarian incitement escalated with the creation of the Shiite armed militias, and in return focusing on ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) as being Sunni terrorism, although the movements that have entered Mosul and Tikrit and the others were from several movements, including ISIS... And the matter did not stop at this point, but the neighboring countries raced in highlighting sectarianism... all in the implementation of US policy, and marching behind it Britain, then the agents and the followers who do not want Iraq to be a unified entity, but want it to be a fragmented feuding divergent entity, killing each other! And each party clings stubbornly to have a territory, and the calls for provinces and divisions became publicly proclaimed... And because events occur without concealment, the Kurdistan region realized the reality of the situation, and therefore at a time the rebels controlled Mosul, the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan region came to fully control Kirkuk and the surrounding areas. Reuters quoted on 15/06/2014 Fuad Hussein, Barzani's chief of staff, as saying: "Iraq has entered a new phase that is completely different than before control of Mosul and that the Kurds will discuss how to deal with this new Iraq." النسخة العربية https://www.facebook.com/Ata.abualrashtah/photos/a.154439224724163.1073741827.154433208058098/308043542697063/?type=1&relevant_count=1 Sheikh 'Ata Bin Khalil Abu Rashta Regarding what has been Declared by ‪#‎ISIS‬ about the Establishment of the ‪#‎Khilafah‬ (Translated) To all the brothers and sisters who sent inquiries about the declaration of the organization’s establishment of the Khilafah State... and my apologies for not writing your names, they are too long to list… Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatahu, We have previously duly sent an answer and I reiterate: (Dear Brothers and sisters, 1. Any organization that seeks to announce the Khilafah in an area is obligated to follow the Methodology of the Prophet (saw) in it, and from it is that this organization should have the obvious visible authority on the place, where it can maintain security internally and externally, and that this area should have the components of a state in the area where the Khilafah is announced…. This is what the Prophet (saw) performed when he established the Islamic State in Madina Al-Munawarra: the authority was with the Prophet (saw) and the internal and external security was with the authority of Islam and it had the components of a state in the surrounding area. 2. The organization that has announced the Caliphate has neither authority, in either Syria or Iraq, nor did it achieve security and protection internally or externally, even more they have given allegiance (bayah) to a Khaleefah who is unable to declare himself even publicly rather his situation has remained hidden like the situation prior to the declaration of the State! And this is contradictory to what the Messenger of Allah (saw) did. Peace and Blessings upon him was permitted to hide in the Thawr Cave before the state, but after the state, he took care of affairs, led the armies, judged in disputes and sent envoys and received them publicly; thus the situation differed before and after the state… Thus the announcement by the organization of the Khilafah is mere rhetoric without any weight, it is similar to those who announced the Khilafah previously, without authenticity on the ground or components, rather to satisfy something within themselves, so there were some who declared themselves as a Khaleefah and others who declared themselves as a Mahdi, and so on ….without having the components, authority, security or protection! 3. The Khilafah is a state of significance, and the Shariah has stipulated the methodology for its establishment and the manner for its Ahkam (rulings) extraction for ruling, politics, economics and international relations….and it is not be a mere announcement in name only that is broadcasted on websites or printed, visual or audio media outlets. Rather it will be a great event that will shake the entire world, and its roots will be stable in the ground, its authority will maintain security internally and externally on that land, and will implement Islam within it and will carry Islam to the world through Dawah and Jihad. 4. The announcement which occurred was mere rhetoric, which will not increase or decrease in the reality of the state structure. The organization is an armed movement before the announcement and after the announcement. Its circumstance is like other armed movements who fight with others and with the regimes, without any of them being able to attain any authority in Syria or in Iraq or both of them. Had any of these factions, including ISIS, actually been able to establish its authority in an appropriate area, with the components of a state, and subsequently announced the establishment of a Khilafah and it implemented Islam, then it would have been deserving of study to see if the Khilafah actually was established according to the Shariah rules, and then it would have been followed, and that is because the establishment of the Khilafah is a Fard upon all the Muslims and not just on Hizb ut Tahrir, so whoever rightfully establishes it will be followed... However the matter is not like this, rather all the armed movements are militias, which includes ISIS, have neither the elements of state or authority on the ground nor security and protection. Therefore, the announcement by ISIS of the establishment of a Khilafah is mere rhetoric, which is undeserving even of observation as to its reality, since it is visible… 5. However, what is deserving of study and observation are the negative impact of this announcement, regarding the idea of Khilafah among the ordinary people; since the notion of the Khilafah shatters from its mighty position and its great significance for the Muslims. It will plunge from that to a feeble idea, as simply a way of venting frustration by some individuals, so one of them will stand in an open square or in a village and announce that he is the Khaleefah and then he will relegate assuming that what he has done is good! It will lose the importance and greatness of the Khilafah will erode in the hearts of these ordinary people; and it will become no more than a beautiful word, uttered but devoid of any substance…This is what requires observation and especially at this time as the establishment of the Khilafah draws closer than ever before and the Muslims are waiting for it eagerly, and they are seeing Hizb ut Tahrir progressing in the path of the Prophet (saw) in how he established the state in Madina al Munawarra... and they see the live and meaningful interaction, between the Hizb and the Ummah that embraces it. Therefore the Muslims realize from this interaction the meaning of the brotherhood in Islam and they will rejoice with the success of the Hizb in establishing the Khilafah and the wellness in care-taking of affairs and that this would be a genuine Khilafah on the methodology of the Prophethood… At this time this announcement came, it gave an obscure picture if not distorted on the actual reality of the Khilafah in the minds of ordinary people… 6. All of this raises a question, rather several questions ….about the timing of this announcement when the people who made the announcement have no authority, through which they maintain security and protection internally and externally. In fact they only announced simply on Facebook and the media… such timing is dubious, and especially since these armed groups are not established on an ideological structuring allowing for easy penetration and the entry of the evil ones from the East and West, and it is known that the West and East plot against Islam and the Khilafah, and it matters that they distort its image, because they haven’t been able to obliterate its name. They are vigilant that the Khilafah remains merely a name without any weight. Whereas the mighty occurrence that will stun the Kuffar becomes merely a joke for the enemies. 7. Despite the actions of the evil ones, we declare to the enemies of Islam in the East and West and their agents and their ignorant followers that the Khilafah which had led the world for centuries is well-known and not unknown, impregnable in spite of plot and conspiracy. ﴿وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ﴾ “They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but Allah is the best of planners.” [Surah Al-Anfaal 8:30] Allah the All Powerful the Victorious has guided a party for the Khilafah, that includes men for whom neither trade nor sale can divert from the remembrance of Allah, they embrace the Khilafah with their hearts, hearing and sight, they prepare for it with what is needed, and extracted its ruling (ahkam) and its constitution from the source of Islam, including its structure in the governance and administration. They marched to establish it by following exactly the methodology of the Messenger of Allah (saw)... They are, by the Permission of Allah, the shield that resists any distortion, they are the rock upon which the conspiracies of the Kuffar and their agents and followers are shattered by, by the strength of Allah, they are the aware politicians who by the strength of Allah (swt) resist the plot of the enemies of Islam and Muslims and turned it back on its head, ﴾ ﴿وَلَا يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ “But the evil plot does not besiege except its own authors.” [Surah Faatir 35:43] O My Dear Brothers and Sisters The matter of the Islamic Khilafah is great and its matter enormous, and its establishment will not be mere news in the fraudulent media, rather by the will of Allah (swt) it will be an earthquake that will shake the international order and it will change the face and direction of history… And the Khilafah will return on the methodology of Prophethood as was foretold by the Prophet (saw) and those who will establish it will be like the ones who established the first righteous Khilafah, pure and pious, the Ummah will love them and they will love the Ummah, and they will pray for it and the Ummah will for them, and they will be happy to meet the Ummah and it will be happy to meet them, not that it will hate their presence within it…. This is how the people of the coming Khilafah on the methodology of the Prophethood will be. Allah (swt) will give it to those who are worthy of it, and we make Duaa to Allah that we be from its people, and we make Dua to Allah to enable us to establish it, فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُمْ بِهِ﴾ ﴿ “Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded” [Surah At-Tawba 9: 111] Do not despair from Allah, Allah will neither waste any efforts that you made, nor reject that the Duaa that you make to him, nor dash the hope that you reposed in Him. Therefore, help us through more effort thus proving to Allah your goodness, so He will increase you with goodness, and do not allow mere rhetoric to slow down your serious work. Wassalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatahu Third of Ramadan 1435 AH 01/07/2014 CE Your Brother) End of the answer which I sent earlier. I pray that this answer is sufficient, May Allah grant you success and help you, and May Allah guide us to the righteous matter. Your Brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah 04 Ramadan 1435 AH 02/07/2014 CE

Who is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terrorist group ISIL (file photo) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terrorist group ISIL (file photo) Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:28AM GMT By Kevin Barrett Related Interviews: 'US must be held accountable over ISIL' 'Iraq moving to form unity govt.' The largely unknown leader of the Takfiri terrorist group ISIL has declared himself “caliph” of Islam and rightful ruler of the world’s nearly two billion Muslims. Al-Baghdadi’s declaration was met with a barrage of ridicule. Observers pointed out that al-Baghdadi declared himself Caliph while wearing a Rolex wristwatch – a symbol of enslavement to Western materialist consumer culture. Muslim scholarly authorities – even those deluded enough to support the “Syrian rebels” – have unanimously repudiated Baghdadi’s bogus caliphate. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the best-known pro-Syrian-rebels TV scholar, dismissively rejected Baghdadi’s claim. Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s Al-Nahda Party, called Baghdadi’s self-promotion “reckless,” “deceptive,” and “ridiculous.” The most important group working to restore the caliphate, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, said Baghdadi’s proclamation distorted the reality of what a caliphate is supposed to be. Even Assem Barqawi, the spokesperson for the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front – an erstwhile ally of ISIL in the Syrian war – spurned al-Baghdadi’s claim, and ripped ISIL for its brutality. In short, al-Baghdadi and ISIL have no support whatsoever among Muslims. They are loathed even by their fellow ultra-Salafis, Wahhabis and Takfiris. Yet the self-proclaimed “caliph” and his roughly 2000 ISIL followers have been relentlessly promoted by the Zionist-dominated Western media and terror-industry think tanks. For example, terror expert William McCants of the Brookings Institution told the New York Times: “ISIS is now officially the biggest and baddest global jihadi group on the planet… Nothing says ‘hard-core’ like being cast out by Al Qaeda.” A naive, angry young Muslim who saw this in the New York Times might get the idea that ISIL is cool. That’s exactly what the Zionist New York Times and the Zionist Brookings Institution want. Zionist propagandist Sheldon Filger – who treasonously shilled for Israeli citizen Stanley Fischer’s appointment as head of the American Federal Reserve – is also shilling for al-Baghdadi. Filger writes: “The lessons of history itself should compel us to take Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's promise to wage a ferocious worldwide war of vengeance against those he sees as the enemies of God with the utmost seriousness. His sermon in Mosul may very well mark the opening shots of the Third World War...” Worse yet, al-Baghdadi and ISIL are not just being hyped – they are also being armed, trained, and dressed in identical black Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uniforms. The money is coming from US taxpayers, CIA drug-money slush funds, and CIA-asset Persian Gulf oil sheikhs. Why are the CIA and the Zionists supporting ISIL and promoting al-Baghdadi’s fake caliphate? And why does Israel provide support and medical treatment to ISIL terrorists in Syria? This paradoxical situation – a self-proclaimed “caliph of Islam” who has no support among Muslims, but massive support from Zionists and imperialists – points to an ineluctable conclusion: ISIL is a manufactured fake-opposition group. So who manufactured ISIL – and how? Circumstantial evidence suggests that al-Baghdadi may have been mind-controlled while held prisoner by the US military in Iraq. The American and Zionist authorities are scrambling to hide the fact that al-Baghdadi spent more than five years in US custody. Why would they engage in such a cover-up unless they had something big to hide? Wikipedia, a tool of the Zionist wing of the CIA, is peddling the following falsehood: “According to US Department of Defense records, al-Baghdadi was held at Camp Bucca as a ‘civilian internee’ by US Forces-Iraq from early February 2004 until early December 2004, when he was released. A Combined Review and Release Board recommended an ‘unconditional release’ of al-Baghdadi and there is no record of him being held at any other time.” This may not be an outright lie. There may indeed be “no record” of the fact that al-Baghdadi was held and treated by a secret CIA mind-control unit at Camp Bucca from 2004 until 2009. The records of such a “fabricate a fake ‘radical Muslim’ leader through mind control” operation would undoubtedly be destroyed or concealed behind a high-level National Security classification. But is such a thing really possible? Sadly, yes. CIA mind control technology has made tremendous strides since it began in the 1950s with the lavishly-funded MK Ultra program. MK Ultra was closed around 1960 because it had achieved its objective: Power over the human mind such that a brainwashed “Manchurian candidate” assassin could be created. That is, an ordinary human being, after CIA treatment, could be made to kill someone – anyone – without the slightest conscious awareness of his actions. The most notorious “Manchurian candidate” is Sirhan Sirhan, the mind-control slave who was set up as a patsy in the CIA’s murder of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. The CIA also has a track record of creating cults – and their charismatic leaders. The Reverend Jim Jones, an anti-establishment clergyman, was turned by CIA mind-control into a fire-breathing, charismatic puppet-master, who convinced hundreds of people to join him in a mass suicide. Ironically, the puppet-master was himself a CIA puppet; the mass suicide was a CIA experiment designed to discover whether a large group of political dissidents could be so totally controlled that they would kill themselves on command. This experiment, like the murder of RFK, was a success. More recently, the CIA has been conducting Nazi-style mind-control experiments on Muslim inmates in Guantanamo and other terror prisons. Jon Ronson – a mainstream journalist and bestselling author who generally keeps his humorous distance from “conspiracy theories” – discovered in 2003 that Guantanamo inmate Jamal al-Harith and others had been subjected to torture and “silent sound” mind-control experiments while in US custody. In her book The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein shows that CIA torture is not designed to elicit information. Its real purpose is to “break” the subject so he or she can be mind-controlled. Douglas Rushkoff’s book Coercion explains how CIA mind control works: The subject is “broken,” then the CIA interrogator presents himself as a substitute parent figure and seizes total control of the subject’s mind. That is how Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times in a single month, was convinced by his mind-control torturers that he was involved in the 9/11 attacks. The secrecy surrounding al-Baghdadi’s five years in US custody strongly suggests that the self-proclaimed “caliph of Islam” is actually a Muslim version of Jim Jones. His “Islamic State” is a Muslim Jonestown. It is designed to mass-suicide Islam by turning Muslims against each other. Fortunately, the world’s Muslims are not drinking the kool aid. KB/HJL Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America's best-known critics of the War on Terror. Dr. Barrett has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications. Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin, where he ran for Congress in 2008. He is the co-founder of the Muslim-Christian-Jewish Alliance, and author of the books Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie (2007) and Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters (2009). His website is www.truthjihad.com. More articles by Dr. Barrett ====== Iraq headed for chaos unless politicians unite, U.N. says Sat, Jul 12 11:33 AM EDT image By Ahmed Rasheed and Maggie Fick BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers backed by Shi'ite militias fought Sunni rebels for control of a military base northeast of Baghdad on Saturday as a U.N. envoy warned of chaos if divided lawmakers do not make progress on Sunday toward naming a government. Forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched an early morning push to repel Islamic State militants who fought their way on Thursday into a military base on the edge of Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital. Heavy fighting raged for hours and was continuing on Saturday afternoon, local security sources said. Sources at the morgue and hospital in the nearby town of Baquba said they had received the bodies of 15 Shi'ite militia fighters transferred after the morning's fighting. State TV also reported that 24 "terrorists" had been killed. Seven civilians including children from nearby villages were killed by helicopter gunship fire, police and medics said. The Sunni militants had moved toward the base after seizing the town of Sadur just to the north, another security source and eyewitnesses said. They were equipped with artillery and mortars and drove vehicles including captured tanks and Humvees. In the western city of Falluja, a hospital received three bodies and 18 wounded people on Saturday after army helicopters bombed the city, government health official Ahmed al-Shami said. Kurdish peshmerga security forces attacked Islamic State positions in Jalawla late Friday night, killing at least 15 militants and three Kurdish security personnel, spokesman Halgurd Hikmat said. The town, in the eastern province of Diyala near the Iranian border, was seized by insurgents last month. Bickering lawmakers in Baghdad are under pressure from the United States, the United Nations and Iraq's own Shi'ite clerics to form a new government swiftly to deal with the Sunni insurgency, which seized territory in the north and west last month, and has held it in the face of ground and air attacks. Few doubt that an inclusive government is needed to hold Iraq together, but there is no consensus on who should lead it. The national parliament elected in April met for the first time on July 1 but failed to agree on nominations for the top three government posts. The U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said the country could plunge into chaos if parliament fails to move forward on a government in a next session now set for Sunday. He also urged lawmakers to turn up, after fewer than a third attended the first session when Sunnis and Kurds walked out after Shi'ites failed to nominate a premier to replace Maliki. MALIKI SITTING TIGHT Most of Iraq's Sunnis and Kurds demand Maliki leave office, and Shi'ites are divided, but he shows no sign of quitting. Under a system created after the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the prime minister has always been a member of the Shi'ite majority, the speaker of parliament a Sunni and, with one exception, the occupant of the largely ceremonial presidency has been a Kurd. With politics in Baghdad paralyzed, and Maliki continuing in a caretaker role, the fighting rages on. The death toll rose to 30 on Saturday from a suicide bomb attack on Friday at a Kurdish-controlled checkpoint on the southern edge of Kirkuk province, where families fleeing violence in Tikrit and other areas overrun by militants last month were waiting to pass through. Maliki's opponents accuse him of ruling for the Shi'ite majority at the expense of the Sunni and Kurdish minorities, and want him to step aside. Senior Shi'ite parliamentarian Bayan Jaber, a former interior and finance minister, said on Thursday that he hoped the Shi'ite National Alliance bloc, in which Maliki's State of Law coalition is the biggest group, could agree on its nominee for prime minister before Sunday's meeting. But he said that if Maliki remained the sole nominee, "the problem will remain". Prominent Sunni Arab lawmaker Dhafer al-Ani said this week that "partition of Iraq will be the natural result" if the Shi'ite bloc could not put forward another candidate. "If they insist on Maliki as the prime minister, then we will withdraw from the government," he said. "I believe that it would be hard for any Sunni politician to raise his hand and vote for Maliki as prime minister for a third term." The head of the Kurdish Gorran bloc, Aram Sheikh Mohammed, said Kurdish factions would attend Sunday's session, but the prospects of progress were poor. "If Maliki nominates himself, I think neither the Sunnis nor Kurds will nominate their candidates (for speaker and president)," he said. Kurdish forces seized two oilfields in northern Iraq from a state-run oil company on Friday. SECTARIAN KILLINGS The political deadlock raises fears that Iraq could splinter along ethnic and sectarian lines, a reality already playing out in parts of the country. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, urged fighters on Friday to respect the rights of all Iraqis, regardless of sect or politics. There have been many reports of disappearances and suspected mass killings since the insurgents' offensive began last month. A prominent man in the Sunni majority town of Buhriz, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad was kidnapped from his home on Friday night and found dead hours later, police said. Tensions are high in Sunni areas north of Baghdad where Islamic State militants have lashed out at communities they see as supporting government forces. Iraqi security forces and government affiliated militias appear to have unlawfully executed at least 255 prisoners over the past month in apparent revenge for killings by Islamic State fighters, a Human Rights Watch report said. (Additional reporting by Raheem Salman, Dominic Evans and Reuters TV in Baghdad, Kamal Namaa in Ramadi, and Isabel Coles in Arbil; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Kevin Liffey and David Evans) ======================================================================= View translation أمريكا تعاقب شركة اماراتية لبيعها مواد نفطية الى الحكومة السورية. الامارات تواصل النفاق السياسي ، تعلن دعم المقاومة وفي السر تدعم بشار ! America punish the UAE company to sell oil products to the Syrian Government. Political hypocrisy continues, the support of the resistance in support of Bashar! نـفــود الدهـيـم ‏@nfuod · Jul 5 View translation إعتقال وتعذيب 3 قطريين في #أبوظبي حسبهم الله ونعم الوكيل، إن الله يمهل ولا يهمل! Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr, Saturday, his support for the State of law coalition candidate for the Premiership as the largest bloc in the national coalition, noting that "the nomination is valid within the coalition would be a Pope to end suffering, Sadr said in a statement that" Although brother Maliki has plunged himself and takes us with security rhetoric long but great political crises, and in particular the cooperation of the Iraqi judiciary in the largest coalition bloc replaced most, but with all this I think that you should To submit a candidate prime are brothers of the State of law coalition and especially after Al-Maliki last that he would renounce the Premiership if the candidate from the State of law. " Sadr said that "the candidate must be from the State of law coalition as the largest bloc within the National Alliance which was not previously" disagree, noting that "If the nomination is valid from within a State of law, especially after the Iraqi Parliament waived brother Osama Al-nujaifi, thankfully this would be Pope to end the suffering of his exalted". Sadr stressed the need to "respect and activating the National Alliance within legal frameworks, national and otherwise it will be blank the content, and do not be consequences as unique by the hand without the other," stressing "the national spirit and parental top purpose and names of characters and clusters". Http://bashaer.iq/permalink/5113.html Forum on the Gospels (Translated by Bing) ISIS jihadists demolish mosques, shrines in northern Iraq (PHOTOS) Published time: July 05, 2014 17:18 Blast, Iraq, Politics, Religion, Security, Terrorism Islamic militant sect, ISIS, which has been rampaging across the north and west of Iraq since last month, has been demolishing sacred sites such as shrines and mosques around the historic northern city of Mosul in Nineveh province. Photographs from the area posted online under the banner “Demolishing shrines and idols in the state of Nineveh” depicted mosques being turned into piles of rubble – explosives deployed against Shiite buildings - and bulldozers flattening the shrines. At least four shrines to Sunni Arab or Sufi figures have been destroyed by the bulldozers, according to AFP. The structures had been built around graves of Muslim saints. Six Shiite mosques have also been destroyed using explosives. “We feel very sad for the demolition of these shrines, which we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers,” 51-year-old Mosul resident Ahmed told AFP. “They are landmarks in the city,” he said. Local residents verified that buildings had been destroyed and two cathedrals occupied to the agency. Crosses at the front of Mosul’s Chaldean cathedral and Syrian Orthodox cathedral were removed and replaced with the black flag of the Islamic State. Follow RT's LIVE UPDATES on the Iraq crisis The city of Tal Afar, approximately 70km west of Mosul, was also targeted, with a Shiite Huseiniya temple being blown up. One of the shrines destroyed had survived a prior targeting by the group on June 24. “Dozens of men, women and children formed a human wall and surrounded the sacred shrine of Sheikh Fathi in al-Mushahada neighbourhood of western Mosul and prevented the terrorists from storming it,” Ninawa tribal council deputy head Ibrahim al-Hassan told Al-Shorfa shortly after the incident. Sheikh Fathi’s shrine – one of Mosul’s most important, dating back to 1760, was among those destroyed. Mosul was captured on June 10 when Sunni militants drove Iraq’s army out of the city. Thousands of civilians fled as jihadists took control of the city against the Shi’ite majority Baghdad government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Maliki has sworn to defeat the jihadists; on Friday he stated publicly that: “Pulling out of the battlefield while facing terrorist organizations that are against Islam and humanity would show weakness instead of carrying out my legitimate, national and moral responsibility.” “I have vowed to God that I will continue to fight by the side of our armed forces and volunteers until we defeat the enemies of Iraq and its people,” he said. = Baghdad: Self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made an unprecedented appearance in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which his forces helped capture last month, and ordered Muslims to obey him, according to a video posted online. That marks a significant change for the shadowy jihadist, whose Islamic State (IS) group led a lightning offensive that overran swathes of five provinces north and west of Baghdad. The onslaught has alarmed world leaders, displaced hundreds of thousands and piled pressure on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as he seeks a third term in office following April elections. The video posted Saturday showed a portly man clad in a long black robe and turban with a long greying beard addressing worshippers at weekly prayers at Al-Nur mosque in central Mosul. "I am the wali (leader) who presides over you, though I am not the best of you. So if you see that I am right, assist me," said the man, purportedly Baghdadi. "If you see that I am wrong, advise me and put me on the right track, and obey me as long as I obey God." - Pan-Islamic 'caliphate' - Text superimposed on the video identified the man as "Caliph Ibrahim", the name Baghdadi took when the group on June 29 declared a "caliphate", a pan-Islamic state last seen in Ottoman times, in which the leader is both political and religious. The video is the first ever official appearance by Baghdadi, said Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on Islamist movements, though the jihadist leader may have appeared in a 2008 video under a different name. Baghdadi is believed to have been born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971, and joined the insurgency against the US military following the 2003 invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. He spent time in a US military prison and eventually took over leadership of a group, then affiliated with Al-Qaeda and known as the Islamic State of Iraq, in 2010. At the time, the group was believed to be on the ropes, but Baghdadi led it back to prominence. Last year, the organisation expanded into Syria, becoming a major player in the war to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Baghdadi subsequently cut all ties to Al-Qaeda, and his influence now rivals that of that group's global chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Influential Sunni Muslim scholar Yusef Al-Qaradawi, meanwhile, warned that the establishment of a caliphate by "a group known for its atrocities and radical views does not serve the Islamic project". The title of caliph can only be "given by the entire Muslim nation", not by a single group, the cleric added. IS is known for its brutality, executing and crucifying opponents, and photographs emerged Saturday showing its militants demolishing Sunni and Shiite mosques and shrines in Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province. Iraqi security forces wilted when faced with the initial IS-led onslaught, and while they have since performed more capably, they have struggled to retake territory from insurgents. An assault on Saddam's hometown of Tikrit has gone on for more than a week without retaking the city, while a suicide car bomb killed 15 people Friday near the sensitive shrine city of Samarra. The group, formerly called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, renamed itself simply the Islamic State last week. Iraq has reached out for international assistance and Washington has sent military advisers, but Baghdad's request for American air strikes against the militants has been rebuffed. Tehran has also pledged assistance, and state media reported Saturday that an Iranian pilot was killed in Iraq, without providing details on whether he died while flying sorties or fighting on the ground. Maliki's security spokesman, meanwhile, told AFP Saturday that ground forces commander Ali Ghaidan and federal police chief Mohsen al-Kaabi have both been sacked, the most senior officers to be dismissed since the militant offensive began. - Government formation deadlock - The crisis has polarised Iraq's Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, just as their leaders look to form a new government following April elections. Maliki, labelled at home and abroad as authoritarian and sectarian, insisted Friday that he would not give up on his quest for a third term. He pointed to his strong electoral mandate, in which his bloc won nearly three times more seats than its closest challenger. His remarks came after a farcical parliamentary session in which Iraq's various factions -- many of which strongly oppose him staying -- failed to unite and choose a speaker. That sparked criticism from abroad and from the country's top Shiite religious leader. Further highlighting Iraqi disunity, the leader of the country's autonomous Kurds has called on their lawmakers to work towards holding a referendum on independence. The Kurds' long-held dream of statehood has been advanced by the latest crisis, with their forces having moved in to take control of disputed territory they want to incorporate over Baghdad's strong objections. ====== Iraq names moderate Sunni parliament speaker in move to break political deadlock Tue, Jul 15 14:20 PM EDT image 1 of 5 By Isra' al-Rubei'i and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians named a moderate Sunni Islamist as speaker of parliament on Tuesday, a long-delayed first step towards a power-sharing government urgently needed to save the state from disintegration in the face of a Sunni uprising. But after quickly picking Salim al-Jabouri as speaker, lawmakers argued bitterly for hours over his Shi'ite deputy, suggesting they are still far from a deal on a new government or a decision on the fate of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Iraq's army and allied Shi'ite militia launched an assault to retake the executed former dictator Saddam Hussein's home city Tikrit from the al Qaeda offshoot known as the Islamic State and allied militants, who seized it in mid-June during a lightning assault through the north. The stunning advance by the militants over the past month has put Iraq's very survival in jeopardy even as its politicians have been deadlocked over forming a new government since an election in April. Maliki, whose State of Law coalition won the most seats but would need allies to form a government, has ruled since the election as a caretaker, defying demands from Sunnis and Kurds that he step aside for a less-polarising figure. Washington has made clear that setting up a more inclusive government in Baghdad is a requirement for its military support against the insurgency. Under Iraq's governing system in place since the post-Saddam Hussein constitution was adopted in 2005, the prime minister is a member of the Shi'ite majority, the speaker a Sunni and the largely ceremonial president a Kurd. Each of the three is meant to have two deputies, drawn from the other two groups. Picking the Sunni speaker is parliament's first task, but Sunni leaders had previously refused to nominate one until a deal was reached on a prime minister. Parliament now has 30 days to elect a president, who will then have 15 days to nominate a prime minister. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Maliki's predecessor as premier and now head of the National Alliance, a Shi'ite umbrella group that includes Maliki's State of Law bloc and rivals, hinted that a wider deal had been reached: the alliance would vote for Jabouri and expected support from Sunni politicians in return. "It is the nature of any deal that any commitment should be mutual. It doesn't make sense that we support them and they don't support us," Jaafari said. However, he did not specify whether the Shi'ites now intended to nominate Maliki for a third term as prime minister or choose another candidate. Parliament chose Haidar al-Abadi, a member of Maliki's State of Law bloc, as the Shi'ite deputy speaker, but only after three rounds of voting and hours of contentious debate, during which he was unexpectedly challenged for the post by Ahmad Chalabi, a former ally of the United States. Although Chalabi eventually withdrew, his decision to stand suggested ongoing discord within the Shi'ite alliance over how to allocate top posts, perhaps including the premiership itself. However, the decision to award the deputy speaker's post to Maliki's ally Abadi could increase the likelihood that the prime minister steps aside: an aide to a senior Kurdish politician, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that in the past the Shi'ite parties had chosen deputy speakers from outside the prime minister's bloc, to maintain unity among Shi'ite factions. SHARP SWORD Iraq's army and allied Shi'ite militia have managed to halt the advance of Sunni fighters north of Baghdad but have struggled to recapture territory, launching several attempts so far to retake Tikrit. The Defence Ministry said troops launched their latest assault on the Tigris River city, operation "Sharp Sword", at dawn on Tuesday, attacking from the south and battling insurgents in the southern districts. An officer taking part in Tuesday's assault said uniformed volunteer fighters and militia forces, including the Shi'ite Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, were fighting alongside the army while following orders from their own militia commanders. The assault was launched from the village of Saddam's birth, Awja, some 8 km (5 miles) south of the city which the army retook on the night of July 3. Tuesday's initial fighting focused around the Shishin district of south Tikrit, the officer and another soldier said, adding that the army was also heading towards Saddam's former presidential palace compounds, where Islamic State fighters had held captives and run their Islamic court trials. Soldiers were also fighting to take Tikrit hospital on strategic high ground. Across the Tigris River to the east, the army landed paratroopers in Albu Ajeel, a village where Iraqiya state television said some insurgents had fled. One army officer in the fighting said they were surprised the resistance they experienced was less fierce than expected. Five civilians including two young girls and an elderly woman were killed when by stray fire from an army helicopter, a local police officer said. The Sunni insurgency is led by the Islamic State, which shortened its name from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after last month's advance into Iraq and declared its leader caliph - ruler of all Muslims. It now controls a swathe of territory from Aleppo in Syria close to the Mediterranean to the outskirts of Baghdad. In Iraq last month it initially won the support of other armed Sunni groups, including tribal fighters and Saddam loyalists, but there have been signs that those groups are turning against the al Qaeda offshoot in recent days. Residents of a town north of Baghdad found 12 corpses with execution-style bullet wounds on Monday following fighting overnight between Islamic State fighters and the Naqshbandi Army, a group led by Saddam loyalists. Washington hopes a more inclusive government in Baghdad could save Iraq by persuading moderate Sunnis to turn against the insurgency, as many did during the "surge" offensive in 2006-2007 when U.S. troops paid them to switch sides. Two suicide bombers detonated explosive-packed cars at a restaurant on the road between Samarra and Tikrit, a witness said. A doctor at Samarra hospital said 12 soldiers and volunteer fighters were killed in the blast. In the town of Mada'in, southeast of Baghdad, two bombs at an army recruitment centre killed nine people, police and medical sources said. In Yousefiya, also south of Baghdad, four soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb on their patrol. In Falluja, which fell to Islamist militants and other insurgents in January, shelling and air strikes began near dawn and continued through the morning. A doctor at Falluja hospital said five people were killed and 17 wounded, including a child. Helicopters dropped barrels loaded with explosive in the town of Karma, northeast of Falluja, killing four civilians and wounding 22, a source at the town's hospital said. The hospital was later bombed so severely that it could not receive patients, the source said. Fighting has yet to reach Baghdad itself, but the capital is frequently attacked by bombers. Two car bombs in quick succession in the Shi'ite Sadr City district killed 12 people and wounded more than 20, police and hospital sources said. (Additional reporting by a correspondent in Salahuddin province, Maggie Fick in Baghdad, Isabel Coles in Arbil, Kamal Namaa in Anbar province; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Peter Graff) ===============

Reidar Visser says Full Atrticle: http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/the-iraqi-parliament-elects-its-new-speakership/ Claims and counter-claims continue ----- The vote today was historical also for reasons beyond the ongoing struggle against ISIS. Above all, it is the first time in Iraq’s post-2003 history that Iraqi deputies have followed the constitution to the letter and held a separate vote on the parliament speaker and his two deputies.The votes on the new speaker and his two deputies were in themselves interesting, although not much is known about voting patterns because of the secrecy (paper ballots) with which the votes were conducted. Firstly, Salim al-Jibburi (originally of the Sunni Islamist Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) from Diyala and currently part of a wider Sunni alliance headed by Usama al-Nujayfi, the former parliament speaker), won the speakership itself with an impressive 194 votes, far more than the required absolute majority of 165 votes. His challenger, Shuruq al-Abaji (a female MP) from a smaller secular bloc got only 19 votes--- The first deputy vote was more dramatic, with Ahmed Chalabi mounting a surprise internal Shiite challenge to Haydar al-Abbadi of the Maliki list. Abbadi did win the competition with Chalabi 149-107 but that was not enough for an absolute majority. Chalabi then withdrew and Abbadi won the second vote with 188 votes, though 76 deputies voted blank. The bomb represented by the Chalabi challenge may have been an attempt at testing the waters for a forthcoming premier candidacy and his ability to attract votes outside the Shia alliance, although it has been suggested that it is difficult to compare the Abbadi-Chalabi struggle with a future Maliki-Chalabi struggle because Abbadi has more friends than Maliki outside his own faction. At any rate, it was quite impressive for Maliki’s coalition to gain 149 votes for Abbadi in today’s heated political atmosphere, where the advance of ISIS has been so marked that it could now be hurting Maliki more than it is helping him. Perhaps the most important result of today’s vote was the leap of faith that Iraqi politicians conducted. Shiites and Kurds voted for the Sunni Islamist Jibburi as speaker without any guarantees regarding the deputy speakers – not to speak about the president or the PM. This in turn could have positive side effects, and hopefully the president will be duly elected in the same manner and with adherence to the constitutional timeline – 30 days from the first parliament meeting on 1 July.

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