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Eastern Syria Becoming a New Al Qaeda Haven
By Bill RoggioNovember 24, 2009 4:43 PM
US intelligence officials are concerned that Syria is becoming an al Qaeda haven, as the terror group becomes increasingly intertwined with Ba’athist groups operating from Iraq’s neighbor to the west.
Al Qaeda has refocused its efforts to build an infrastructure in eastern Syria after its network in Iraq was decimated by Iraqi and US security forces from 2007 to 2009, and now the organization is partnering with former Ba’athists from Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“A major concern is that eastern Syria will begin to look like northwestern Pakistan,” where al Qaeda has joined forces with the Taliban and directs attacks to destabilize Afghanistan, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal.
In late 2008, the situation in eastern Syria came to a head when US special operations forces struck at al Qaeda’s facilitation network in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, just five miles from the Iraqi border. US troops killed Abu Ghadiya, al Qaeda’s senior facilitator, and his senior staff during the October 2008 raid.
After Ghadiya was killed, al Qaeda sent a senior ideologue from Pakistan to Syria to partner with a dangerous operative who runs the network that funnels foreign fighters, cash, and weapons into western Iraq. Sheikh Issa al Masri is thought to have entered Syria in June 2009, where he paired up with Abu Khalaf, a senior al Qaeda operative who has been instrumental in reviving al Qaeda in Iraq’s network in eastern Syria and directing terror operations in Iraq, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal.
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BAD NEWS
- ACLU: Obama’s reversal on Patriot Act reform ‘a major travesty’
November 30, 2009 | 11:04 pmKey components in the USA Patriot Act are set to expire at the end of the year, but President Barack Obama is seeking to extend them, reversing his stark opposition in the past to the same provisions.
"The president's reversal on Patriot Act reform is a major travesty," said Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel for the leading civil rights group ACLU, in an interview with Raw Story. "There have been many, many abuses of power in the last four Continue reading ACLU: Obama’s reversal on Patriot Act reform ‘a major travesty’
- Obama maintains secrecy for ‘millions of pages’ of intel documents
November 30, 2009 | 11:00 pmDocuments long classified but scheduled to be released at the end of 2009 will not see the light of day just yet thanks to the Obama administration, according to a published Continue reading Obama maintains secrecy for ‘millions of pages’ of intel documents
- Fighting intensifies in northwestern Taliban strongholds
November 27, 2009 | 8:13 pmFighting has intensified in a region in northwestern Pakistan where the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters dodging the South Waziristan operation have regrouped.
Limited military operations, consisting largely of air and artillery strikes backed by the paramilitary Frontier Corps, are concentrating on Taliban strongholds in a region that borders the Arakzai, Kurram, and Khyber tribal Continue reading Fighting intensifies in northwestern Taliban strongholds
- Taliban Escape South Waziristan Operation
November 26, 2009 | 11:40 amThe Taliban leadership and the bulk of its fighters have eluded the Pakistani military during the current operation in South Waziristan.
The Pakistani military had billed the South Waziristan offensive, which was launched in the eastern half of the Taliban-controlled tribal agency on Oct. 17, as the decisive battle that would break the back of the group. Instead, the leadership of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, including its leader Hakeemullah Mehsud and its South Waziristan commander Waliur Rehman Mehsud, have escaped to neighboring tribal areas, and the terror attacks in Pakistan Continue reading Taliban Escape South Waziristan Operation
- Al Qaeda Opens New Training Camp in Yemen
November 23, 2009 | 5:49 pmAl Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has opened a new training camp in the South. The new camp highlights Yemen's value to al Qaeda in waging its global terror Continue reading Al Qaeda Opens New Training Camp in Yemen
- Fallujah’s Infants Suffer From Sharp Rise in Birth Defects
November 23, 2009 | 5:43 pmDoctors and officials in Fallujah are appealing to the international community for an investigation into the unnatural increase in birth defects, 5 years after two major battles between the U.S. military and Sunni militia groups took place Continue reading Fallujah’s Infants Suffer From Sharp Rise in Birth Defects
- Dems’ Health Bills Would Adopt New Mammogram Guidelines
November 22, 2009 | 11:28 pmTask Force Has Influenced Government Policy in the Past
The Democrats downplaying the gravity of new recommendations for breast cancer screening have left out an inconvenient fact: their health care bills would automatically adopt Continue reading Dems’ Health Bills Would Adopt New Mammogram Guidelines
- Army Data Shows Constraints on Troop Increase
November 22, 2009 | 11:16 pmIf President Obama orders an additional 30,000 to 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, he will be deploying practically every available U.S. Army brigade to war, leaving few units in reserve in case of an unforeseen emergency and further stressing a force that has seen repeated combat deployments since Continue reading Army Data Shows Constraints on Troop Increase
- In The Trenches on Climate Change, Hostility Among Foes
November 22, 2009 | 11:32 amStolen e-mails reveal venomous feelings toward skeptics
Electronic files that were stolen from a prominent climate research center and made public last week provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battle to shape the public perception of global Continue reading In The Trenches on Climate Change, Hostility Among Foes
- Al-Qaeda in Iraq regaining strength
November 22, 2009 | 11:21 amBAGHDAD -- The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq has rebounded in strength in recent months and appears to be launching a concerted effort to cripple the Iraqi government as U.S. troops withdraw, Iraqi and American officials Continue reading Al-Qaeda in Iraq regaining strength
- British Army Investigated for Torture and Murder in Iraq
November 22, 2009 | 1:54 amClaims that British soldiers tortured and murdered up to 20 prisoners after a battle with Iraqi insurgents are to be scrutinised at a public inquiry.
Concern that the Army covered up the most serious accusation of war crimes that it has faced has prompted Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, to order the independent Continue reading British Army Investigated for Torture and Murder in Iraq
- Suicide Bomber Strikes in Western Afghanistan
November 21, 2009 | 3:24 pmBy Bill Roggio November 20, 2009 9:13 AM
Taliban suicide bombers struck for the second day straight throughout Afghanistan.
Today a suicide bomber driving a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a market in Farah City, killing 17 people and wounding 29. A second suicide bomber killed five bodyguards of a member of parliament in an attack north of Kabul.
Provincial officials in Farah said a senior police official, who was killed in the explosion, was the target of the suicide attack. Two of the senior police official’s bodyguards were also killed in the attack.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf denied responsibility in a phone call to Reuters.
But the governor of Farah province said the Taliban back down from taking responsibility Continue reading Suicide Bomber Strikes in Western Afghanistan
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 Archive for BAD NEWS »
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GOOD NEWS
- Rwanda: First Landmine Free Country
December 8, 2009 | 6:13 pmRwanda has been declared free of landmines – the first country to achieve this status.
The announcement was made at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World in Colombia. Hundreds of people have been killed and horrifically injured by landmines in Rwanda. Landmines were laid between 1990 and 1994 in Rwanda and over the past three years more than over 9,000 have been destroyed by Rwandan
Continue reading Rwanda: First Landmine Free Country
- China Opens First Official Gay Bar
December 8, 2009 | 5:18 pmThe Chinese government is opening an official bar for gay men as part of local authorities’ efforts to fight HIV and AIDS. The bar is based in Dali, a town in the south western Yunnan province. Yunnan has the country’s highest rates of HIV and AIDS, according to official data. The government said it funded the 120,000 yuan (17,500 US dollar) project to reach out to the gay community in China and break social stigma against gay
Continue reading China Opens First Official Gay Bar
- UK and France Propose Climate Fund for Poor
November 27, 2009 | 8:53 pmUK PM Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have proposed a multi-billion-dollar fund to help developing nations deal with climate change.
Mr Brown said the $10bn (£6bn) fund should also be used to help developing nations cut greenhouse gas
Continue reading UK and France Propose Climate Fund for Poor
- Pakistan captures wanted South Waziristan Taliban commander
November 27, 2009 | 8:18 pmPakistani security forces recently detained a mid-level Taliban commander who was wanted by the government.
Abdullah Shah Mehsud, who was number 17 on the list of 20 most-wanted Taliban commanders from South Waziristan, was captured by Pakistani forces in the district of Tank. He is an “active member of Hakeemullah Mehsud Group from Shaktoi village near Razmak” in North
Continue reading Pakistan captures wanted South Waziristan Taliban commander
- Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind
November 26, 2009 | 11:31 amFormer CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, pondering a future in politics, is trying to wipe away his image as an enemy of Latino immigrants by positioning himself as a champion of that fast-growing ethnic bloc.
Mr. Dobbs, who left the network last week, has said in recent days that he is considering a third-party run for a New Jersey Senate seat in 2012, or possibly for president. Polls show voters unhappy with both parties, and strategists believe Mr. Dobbs could tap populist anger over economy issues just as Ross Perot did in the
Continue reading Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind
- Obama Offers Fixed Targets for US Emissions Cuts
November 26, 2009 | 1:46 amPresident Barack Obama has given a major boost to next month’s UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen by offering firm targets for cuts in US greenhouse gas emissions. The move, announced today, has been widely welcomed by climate change campaigners. But although they may seem generous, the proposed targets are in fact far from what developing nations and climate scientists have called
Continue reading Obama Offers Fixed Targets for US Emissions Cuts
- Healthy Worker Programs Survive Economic Crisis
November 24, 2009 | 12:03 amNEW YORK (Reuters) – Keeping workers healthy, happy and at work through so-called wellness programs remains a priority for many companies despite financial pressures from the global economic downturn, a survey found on
Continue reading Healthy Worker Programs Survive Economic Crisis
- US Involved in Secret Talks with Senior Taliban
November 23, 2009 | 5:45 pmISLAMABAD: The Obama administration may be close to reversing course on its current strategy in Afghanistan, after our sources quoted as saying that high-level talks with senior Taliban militants are currently
Continue reading US Involved in Secret Talks with Senior Taliban
- Hopes for Copenhagen Climate Summit Boosted
November 22, 2009 | 11:22 pmHopes for the Copenhagen climate summit in December have been boosted after it emerged that more than 60 presidents and prime ministers plan to attend.
There had been concern that no strong agreement would emerge from the talks in Copenhagen.
But observers say the presence of so many leading government figures will radically increase
Continue reading Hopes for Copenhagen Climate Summit Boosted
- Russia Launches Program to Save Tigers Worldwide
November 22, 2009 | 11:36 amMOSCOW — Vladimir Putin has made headlines by championing the endangered Siberian tiger — posing with a cuddly cub and placing a tracking collar on a full-grown female in the wilds of his country’s Far East. Now Russia is helping plan an ambitious program it hopes can double the global tiger population by
Continue reading Russia Launches Program to Save Tigers Worldwide
- As Afghans Resist Taliban, U.S. Spurs Rise of Militias
November 22, 2009 | 11:29 amACHIN, Afghanistan — American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the
Continue reading As Afghans Resist Taliban, U.S. Spurs Rise of Militias
- Women flock to see first female football game in West Bank
November 22, 2009 | 1:42 amAl Ram, West Bank (CNN) — The Faisal al Husseini football stadium was packed, two hours before kick off, with a noisy sea of Palestinian flags and white hijabs.
Football matches are always a big deal in the West Bank, but this game was more significant than most. 10,000 women had flocked to the stadium, on the outskirts of East Jerusalem and a mere few meters from the separation barrier that snakes around the West Bank, to watch a historic football match few would have believed possible just a few years ago: the Palestinian women’s national team were to play Jordan in their first ever home
Continue reading Women flock to see first female football game in West Bank
- Glowing bugs could find landmines
November 21, 2009 | 3:40 pmBacteria which glow green in the presence of explosives could provide a cheap and safe way to find hidden landmines, Edinburgh scientists claim.
The bugs can be mixed into a colourless solution, which forms green patches when sprayed onto ground where mines are
Continue reading Glowing bugs could find landmines
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