Possible terror threat closes U.S. embassies on Sunday

[lovetotravel]

Seems a lot of people will be eating crow after this plot was foiled. Great job for the intelligence agencies. They had it spot on.

[Publicus]

Seems a lot of people will be eating crow after this plot was foiled. Great job for the intelligence agencies. They had it spot on.

And it looks like an excellent season for crow this year - they're as bountiful in supply as are the cynics.

We have to buy the crow for the determined and fiercely unrelenting cynics, but I don't mind. I know a supplier where I can buy at cost and by the gross.

[chuckd]

Seems a lot of people will be eating crow after this plot was foiled. Great job for the intelligence agencies. They had it spot on.

And it looks like an excellent season for crow this year - they're as bountiful in supply as are the cynics.

We have to buy the crow for the determined and fiercely unrelenting cynics, but I don't mind. I know a supplier where I can buy at cost and by the gross.

You liberals seem to like "spiking the football" when you believe you have accidentally stumbled into doing something right.

I seriously doubt the powers that be were at all concerned about this happening anywhere except where it did happen. They knew what was going to take place and where it would take place. If you had ever spent any time in the Middle East you would know most expats get out of Muslim countries during Ramadhan. The closure of all those embassies was theatric at best considering the timing of this incident...i.e. Eid Al Fitr holidays and all that. The Embassies were closed anyway!

There was never any threat to anybody other than in Yemen.

[SinglePot]

Seems a lot of people will be eating crow after this plot was foiled. Great job for the intelligence agencies. They had it spot on.

And it looks like an excellent season for crow this year - they're as bountiful in supply as are the cynics.

We have to buy the crow for the determined and fiercely unrelenting cynics, but I don't mind. I know a supplier where I can buy at cost and by the gross.

You liberals seem to like "spiking the football" when you believe you have accidentally stumbled into doing something right.

I seriously doubt the powers that be were at all concerned about this happening anywhere except where it did happen. They knew what was going to take place and where it would take place. If you had ever spent any time in the Middle East you would know most expats get out of Muslim countries during Ramadhan. The closure of all those embassies was theatric at best considering the timing of this incident...i.e. Eid Al Fitr holidays and all that. The Embassies were closed anyway!

There was never any threat to anybody other than in Yemen.

You seriously doubt anything that Obama gets involved with.

Unless I read your posts and your payoff line incorrectly.

[chuckd]

You liberals seem to like "spiking the football" when you believe you have accidentally stumbled into doing something right.

I seriously doubt the powers that be were at all concerned about this happening anywhere except where it did happen. They knew what was going to take place and where it would take place. If you had ever spent any time in the Middle East you would know most expats get out of Muslim countries during Ramadhan. The closure of all those embassies was theatric at best considering the timing of this incident...i.e. Eid Al Fitr holidays and all that. The Embassies were closed anyway!

There was never any threat to anybody other than in Yemen.

You seriously doubt anything that Obama gets involved with.

Unless I read your posts and your payoff line incorrectly.

Guilty as charged.

You can trust the most transparent administration in US history" if you wish.

I do not choose to do so.

[Publicus]

You liberals seem to like "spiking the football" when you believe you have accidentally stumbled into doing something right.

I seriously doubt the powers that be were at all concerned about this happening anywhere except where it did happen. They knew what was going to take place and where it would take place. If you had ever spent any time in the Middle East you would know most expats get out of Muslim countries during Ramadhan. The closure of all those embassies was theatric at best considering the timing of this incident...i.e. Eid Al Fitr holidays and all that. The Embassies were closed anyway!

There was never any threat to anybody other than in Yemen.

You seriously doubt anything that Obama gets involved with.

Unless I read your posts and your payoff line incorrectly.

Guilty as charged.

You can trust the most transparent administration in US history" if you wish.

I do not choose to do so.

Chronic, compulsive cynic.

[SinglePot]

And whilst Mr Obama is in power he has responsibility to ensure security for all US citizens whether they like him or not.

Up to you buddy.

Obama ain't worth it......

[chuckd]

You liberals seem to like "spiking the football" when you believe you have accidentally stumbled into doing something right.

I seriously doubt the powers that be were at all concerned about this happening anywhere except where it did happen. They knew what was going to take place and where it would take place. If you had ever spent any time in the Middle East you would know most expats get out of Muslim countries during Ramadhan. The closure of all those embassies was theatric at best considering the timing of this incident...i.e. Eid Al Fitr holidays and all that. The Embassies were closed anyway!

There was never any threat to anybody other than in Yemen.

You seriously doubt anything that Obama gets involved with.

Unless I read your posts and your payoff line incorrectly.

Guilty as charged.

You can trust the most transparent administration in US history" if you wish.

I do not choose to do so.

Chronic, compulsive cynic.

Publicus:

I consider your post a personal insult. You have lost what little respect I had remaining for your intellect with this personal attack.

You have shown your true colors.

Edited August 8, 2013 by chuckd

[Steely Dan]

You seriously doubt anything that Obama gets involved with.

Unless I read your posts and your payoff line incorrectly.

Guilty as charged.

You can trust the most transparent administration in US history" if you wish.

I do not choose to do so.

Chronic, compulsive cynic.

Publicus:

I consider your post a personal insult. You have lost what little respect I had remaining for your intellect with this personal attack.

You have shown your true colors.

As he did with me earlier, disgraceful resort to ad-hominim attacks are sadly a reflex action among some liberals, as per my signature quote.

[Publicus]

Now, now boyz.

Let's keep a level head.

it's just that I'd bet you'd agree, "[E]xtremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

Of course, one person's virtue is another person's vice.

Or izzit vice-versa?

[Scott]

Please stay on topic and stop with the personal remarks. People have the right to their opinion, but the opinions expressed should be about the topic, not other posters.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

[Publicus]

U.S. Embassy and Consulate offices are considered "hard" targets, i.e., targets that are highly protected, thoroughly guarded, reinforced structures that terrorists long ago had given up trying to hit. The old terrorists instead had to focus on the "soft" targets such as night clubs, hotels, shopping markets etc.

Now, however, the new gang on the Arabian Peninsula which has a regional reach has focused again on the "hard" targets. This present group of terrorists are more advanced and developed than the terrorists of the bin Laden period. The Arabian peninsula gangs are a particularly virulent bunch.

We're going to have to hammer 'em hard and without letup to force them to stay busy keeping their heads down and burying their dead.

US orders most officials out of Lahore, Pakistan

http://news.yahoo.com/us-orders-most-officials-lahore-pakistan-025809425.html

The State Department is ordering nonemergency government personnel to leave the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan.

A U.S. official says the departure has been ordered because of a threat specific to the Lahore mission

Officials say the presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups poses a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout that country.

[Publicus]

The proliferation during recent months of prison break-ins to free terrorist militants, organized by terrorists on the Arabian peninsula, have reversed the status quo of al Qaida and other terrorist organizations being suppressed.

The organized plans of prison break-ins in several badly governed countries is the work of the terrorists of the Arabian peninsula. The break-ins have resurrected several active terrorist networks, the most virulent ones in particular.

Prez Obama was right when he said al Qaida was decimated after the kill mission, Operation Neptune Spear, went into Pakistan to take out bin Laden and dump his corpse into the sea.

Recent developments by the Arabian peninsula terrorists have changed the situation on the ground. The post bin Laden brand of terrorists are both well organized and the most virulent terrorists we have seen to date.

Pakistan Jailbreaks: Peshawar Next?

http://thediplomat.com/the-pulse/2013/08/08/pakistan-jailbreaks-peshawar-next/

So what is the most secure place on earth? Fort Knox? Guantanamo Bay detention camp? A high security prison in Pakistan housing high-profile convicted terrorists and criminals?

Scratch option three. On July 30, more than 100 armed extremists from Tehrik -i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered Dera Ismail Khan, a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Accompanied by more than 50 large vehicles and motorcycles, the men were armed with assault rifles, rocket launchers, hand grenades, time bombs, homemade remote control bombs and suicide vests.

****************************************************************************************************************************************

I would point out it's remarkable that, as devastating as terrorism has been in Pakistan, it still takes a great deal to shift Pakistan's momentum away from India as its greatest threat to recognizing terrorism at the greatest threat.

This is excellent news for the United States considering especially the billions of dollars Washington has been pouring into Pakistan during the past decade. It's a very expensive investment, for sure, but perhaps finally beginning to pay off.

In Huge Shift, Pakistan Recognizes Militants As Top Threat

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/01/04/1401461/pakistan-militants/

Under a new military doctrine, Pakistan has now officially recognized that “homegrown militancy” is the top threat that the country faces, replacing neighboring India for the first time.

For decades, it has been an unofficial policy of Pakistan to cultivate ties with militant groups for use as proxies in battles against external enemies.

According to the BBC, the new Army Doctrine talks about unidentified militant groups and their role to create unrest in the country. It also mentions that Pakistani militants have found refuge across the Durand Line in Afghanistan.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Scott
Fair use

[Publicus]

This article pretty much speaks for itself.

It's an excellent presentation, to include an interactive map, so I hope you can access it.

The Sudden and Unexpected Return of the Drone War

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/08/the_sudden_and_unexpected_return_of_the_drone_war_yemen

The drone war is back. Amid fears that al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Yemen are plotting a major attack, U.S. drones reportedly launched three strikes in the country on Thursday alone, killing 12 suspected al Qaeda militants. In fact, the Obama administration is arguably waging its most intense drone campaign ever in Yemen, with nine suspected drone strikes in the last 13 days and six in the last three.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Scott
Edited for fair use

[Publicus]

Apparently and fortunately Snowden's disclosures in the Guardian haven't filtered down to the terrorists groups yet.

Snowden Didn't Exactly Wreck the NSA, New Terror Warning Shows

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/05/snowden_didnt_exactly_wreck_the_nsa_new_terror_warning_shows?wpisrc=obnetwork

Apparently, Al Qaeda didn't get the memo. If Snowden's leaks really did inflict any systemic damage on the NSA's global surveillance apparatus, it may not have been enough to prevent the agency from intercepting key communications between Al Qaeda members about a potential plot to attack U.S. and other Western targets overseas.

A senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy it would be incorrect to assume that terrorist planners, even at the senior level, are so attuned to the intricacies of intelligence gathering that were exposed in press reports that they now understand how to completely secure their communications.

[Publicus]

The forever weakness of the radical Islamic terrorists in their attempts to govern seized territory is that all of them always have no realistic idea or knowledge of how to govern populations that are used to a far more moderate form of Islam or haven't any Islam at all. All al-Qaida experts say this extremism is a permanent Achilles' heel for a terror franchise, i.e., their final destination is always an ideological extreme that almost all occupied populations reject.

All terrorist groups always impose their Sharia law ideology. The terrorist groups - all of them, every one, everywhere - are 100% ideological and always insist the population they control also become 100% Sharia law ideological. To date, very few occupied populations accept this. After all, ideology is a brain disease normal people do not suffer.

Yemen terror boss left blueprint for waging jihad

http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-terror-boss-left-blueprint-waging-jihad-175555744.html

"Try to win them over through the conveniences of life," he writes. "It will make them sympathize with us and make them feel that their fate is tied to ours."

The perhaps surprising hearts-and-minds approach advocated by the 30-something Wahishi, who spent years as Osama bin Laden's personal secretary, is a sign of a broader shift within al-Qaida.

[Steely Dan]

The forever weakness of the radical Islamic terrorists in their attempts to govern seized territory is that all of them always have no realistic idea or knowledge of how to govern populations that are used to a far more moderate form of Islam or haven't any Islam at all. All al-Qaida experts say this extremism is a permanent Achilles' heel for a terror franchise, i.e., their final destination is always an ideological extreme that almost all occupied populations reject.

All terrorist groups always impose their Sharia law ideology. The terrorist groups - all of them, every one, everywhere - are 100% ideological and always insist the population they control also become 100% Sharia law ideological. To date, very few occupied populations accept this. After all, ideology is a brain disease normal people do not suffer.

Yemen terror boss left blueprint for waging jihad

http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-terror-boss-left-blueprint-waging-jihad-175555744.html

"Try to win them over through the conveniences of life," he writes. "It will make them sympathize with us and make them feel that their fate is tied to ours."

The perhaps surprising hearts-and-minds approach advocated by the 30-something Wahishi, who spent years as Osama bin Laden's personal secretary, is a sign of a broader shift within al-Qaida.

Totalitarians don't rule by consent, unless of course consent is by way of ideological brainwashing. Trying to win a population over is a ruse, any measures taken in getting a population behind them can be taken away once power is cemented. By way of a reminder, Sharia law is considered the word of God and superior to all man made laws, in other words you don't get Sharia lite, but only Sharia by installments, once people realize they don't care for the later installments it is already too late, as the people of Afghanistan discovered, still we can indulge in wishful thinking that the likes of Al Qaeda will truly moderate, if it means an end can be called to the so called war on terror.

[Publicus]

The forever weakness of the radical Islamic terrorists in their attempts to govern seized territory is that all of them always have no realistic idea or knowledge of how to govern populations that are used to a far more moderate form of Islam or haven't any Islam at all. All al-Qaida experts say this extremism is a permanent Achilles' heel for a terror franchise, i.e., their final destination is always an ideological extreme that almost all occupied populations reject.

All terrorist groups always impose their Sharia law ideology. The terrorist groups - all of them, every one, everywhere - are 100% ideological and always insist the population they control also become 100% Sharia law ideological. To date, very few occupied populations accept this. After all, ideology is a brain disease normal people do not suffer.

Yemen terror boss left blueprint for waging jihad

http://news.yahoo.com/yemen-terror-boss-left-blueprint-waging-jihad-175555744.html

"Try to win them over through the conveniences of life," he writes. "It will make them sympathize with us and make them feel that their fate is tied to ours."

The perhaps surprising hearts-and-minds approach advocated by the 30-something Wahishi, who spent years as Osama bin Laden's personal secretary, is a sign of a broader shift within al-Qaida.

Totalitarians don't rule by consent, unless of course consent is by way of ideological brainwashing. Trying to win a population over is a ruse, any measures taken in getting a population behind them can be taken away once power is cemented. By way of a reminder, Sharia law is considered the word of God and superior to all man made laws, in other words you don't get Sharia lite, but only Sharia by installments, once people realize they don't care for the later installments it is already too late, as the people of Afghanistan discovered, still we can indulge in wishful thinking that the likes of Al Qaeda will truly moderate, if it means an end can be called to the so called war on terror.

You and I - and so many others of all political stripes - very well know al Qaida cannot conceivably moderate. Al Qaida are ideologues - ideologues never moderate. Ideology is a brain disease that renders people who suffer it helpless, sort of the same way Altzhiemer's cannot be dealt with. At least not yet.

The strategy in this respect is to preclude al Qaida taking possession of territory to prevent their forcing their ideologies onto other peoples, whether the subjugated peoples actually accept the ideological teachings or not.

To paraphrase a statement from the ancient battle of Thermopylae, we need to fill the sky with drones so that they block out the sun.

[Credo]

This is horrible to say, but I wish the west could reduce it's attraction to terrorists and they could concentrate on eliminating the other sects.

I remember the time during the Iran-Iraq War. It seemed as long as those two nations were fighting it seemed like the rest of the world was a pretty peaceful place.

[simple1]

This is horrible to say, but I wish the west could reduce it's attraction to terrorists and they could concentrate on eliminating the other sects.

I remember the time during the Iran-Iraq War. It seemed as long as those two nations were fighting it seemed like the rest of the world was a pretty peaceful place.

Just as a reminder, Al Qaeda issued two fatwa's justifying their declaration of "war" on Israel, US and NATO member countries. The text is available at the URL below. Al Qaeda also declared "war" on the Saudi/UAE Sunni dictatorships for permitting US/NATO bases and forces on their territory. They do not thank the US for supporting the Iraqi Sunni dictatorship during the Iran/Iraq war.

http://www.heritage.org/research/projects/enemy-detention/al-qaeda-declarations

Edited August 11, 2013 by simple1