skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Syria rebels say caliphate 'null and void'
World Jul. 01, 2014 - 05:18AM JST
JAPANTODAY
Rebel fighters of the al-Sham Brigade in a training session in the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor, on March 25, 2014 AFP
BEIRUT —
Syrian rebels, including the main Islamist factions, said Monday the creation of a caliphate by the Islamic State (IS) was “null and void”.
“We see that the announcement by the rejectionists of a caliphate is null and void, legally and logically,” the groups said in a statement, using a pejorative term to refer to the extremist Islamic State.
Among the signatories was the Islamic Front, Syria’s biggest rebel coalition, and Majlis Shura Mujahideen al-Sharqiya, an alliance that includes the al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
The statement, signed by the religious bodies of each rebel group, went on to say that the Islamic State’s announcement “changes nothing in terms of how we perceive them, or how they we will deal with them”.
The signatories of the statement have all been at war with IS—previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—since January.
Syria’s rebels initially welcomed IS among their ranks in their bid to oust President Bashar al-Assad, but they turned against the jihadist group because of its systematic abuses and its quest for hegemony.
The statement comes a day after the ruthless Islamic State declared a “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria, declaring its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “the caliph” and “leader for Muslims everywhere”.
AFP
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
01072014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
ISIS Terror Threat to US Targets 'High,' Say Officials
By Richard Esposito, Robert Windrem and Tom Winter
NBC NEWS
First published July 1st 2014, 6:59 am
ISIS, the Islamist terror group that now controls much of Syria and Iraq, poses an “extremely high” terror threat to U.S. targets, and has the bomb-making skills and foreign fighters needed to strike U.S. and other Western interests, according to multiple U.S. intelligence officials.
“While trying to rank threats or compare them to previous threat periods is a hazardous endeavor,” said one former U.S. counterterrorism official, “the current threat coming out of ISIS -- and Syria more broadly -- is extremely high.” While the opposition in Syria and Iraq is diverse, said the official, there are “sub elements” within it that are “especially worrisome because of their commitment to attack the West.”
Another senior counterterrorism official added that in recent weeks, “ISIS has accumulated tens of millions in wealth, large amounts of military equipment and ordnance, and has expanded the safe haven in which it operates.” During this same period, the number of potential U.S. targets in the region –- meaning U.S. military personnel -- has increased.
Both officials noted, however, that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is currently preoccupied with building an Islamic state across a broad swath of Iraq and Syria, not attacking the U.S. at home or abroad. “It’s not his focus right now,” said the second official, even though “al-Baghdadi’s rhetoric alone would suggest that he does have … international ambitions.”
And Rep. Peter King, R.-New York, who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, said there was no known “immediate threat” to the U.S. homeland from ISIS, though the global terror threat is mounting as more and more groups like ISIS pop up in Africa and the Middle East.
U.S. officials tell NBC News that about 70 Americans have traveled to Syria to fight alongside opponents of the Assad regime and about a dozen are currently active. Some have returned to the U.S.
The FBI tells NBC News that it is investigating “a handful” of individuals who have traveled to Syria from the Minneapolis region.
British officials say their concern about domestic terrorism from ISIS and other foreign fighters in Syria is higher due to the larger number of British residents who have traveled back and forth to Syria. They estimate 400 to 500 British “foreign fighters,” including Muslim converts, have gone to Syria, and about two thirds have come back to the U.K.
Image: A fighter of the ISIS holds a flag and a weapon on a street in Mosul Reuters
A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul on June 23, 2014.
“The threat picture here is even greater than the U.S. and it creates a situation that is difficult, complex and of great concern,” said one British official. The official noted that the threat needed to be viewed as one that impacted all of Europe.
If ISIS were to attack Western targets, the job is made easier by access to the huge quantity of military supplies now available in Iraq and Syria, and access to the kind of potential attackers – passport holders in Western countries -- who can move unnoticed in the U.S. and Europe.
Said one expert, “The number of potential attackers is significantly greater than we have seen from any other safe haven since 9/11.”
ISIS has also not been degraded by the kind of military action, including drone strikes, that has killed militants in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.
“The lack of U.S-led disruptive activity means that elements in Syria and Iraq have greater freedom to plot than in any other safe haven,” said the expert.
First published July 1st 2014, 6:59 am
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
01072014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
Iraq Drives New US Policy in Syria
Catherine Maddux
June 30, 2014 3:49 PM
VOA
One direct byproduct of the rapid advancement of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq is a revamped U.S. policy in Syria.
Last week, President Obama asked Congress to authorize $500 billion in direct assistance to train and equip what it calls "appropriately vetted elements of the moderate Syrian armed opposition."
That's a dramatic turnaround for Obama, who has tried to keep his distance from the civil war in Syria, which has become more complex and deadly – including the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.
So, why now?
"The ISIS [ISIL] stampede into Iraq has, I think, concentrated the minds of the president and policy makers in the administration, and perhaps made them realize that are current policy in Syria isn't working," says Michael Crowley, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for TIME.
In its authorization request, the White House cited “growing spillover effects of the Syrian conflict” among its reasons for aiding some Syrian rebels. ISIL militants are headquartered in the northern Syrian city of Allepo.
Just under two years ago, in late 2012, says Crowley, Obama was presented a plan supported by Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta and David Petraeus to step up training and arming of the rebels in Syria.
While not embracing that proposal, the president has signed off on doing more to bolster acceptable elements of the Syrian opposition very gradually. That reportedly includes supplying rebels with heavy anti-tank weapons and a Central Intelligence Agency program to train a small number of rebels every month in Jordan.
But the new request from Congress is a long way from Obama's "red line" moment, when Assad unleashed nerve gas in 2013, exactly one year after the president warned of serious consequences.
No air strikes were launched.
Crowley points out that just two years after direct training of Syrian rebels was raised, the equation in Syria is a lot of more complicated, casting doubt on how effective a dramatically bolstered training effort might be.
"We're [the United States] more interested in seeing the rebels fight the Islamists than we are in seeing them defeating Assad. It's a real three-dimensional chess game right now," he said.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
01072014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
US says ISIL 'caliphate' claim has no meaning
Date
July 1, 2014 - 5:52AM
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have declared a "caliphate". Photo: Reuters
* Abu Ghraib: a town gripped by fear as ISIL approaches Baghdad
* Iraq crisis: ISIL militants declare 'Caliphate'
Washington: The United States says the declaration by Sunni militants of an "Islamic caliphate" on territory they have seized in Iraq and Syria has "no meaning."
"We have seen these types of words from ISIL before," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, referring to militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
"This declaration has no meaning for the people in Iraq and Syria," she said, adding that the militants - who have now renamed their group the Islamic State - were just trying "to control people by fear."
The White House said the jihadists spearheading the offensive in Iraq had waged "a campaign of terror of gross acts of violence and repressive ideology that pose a grave threat to Iraq's future."
"ISIL is not fighting for a stronger Iraq. ISIL is fighting to destroy Iraq. And that's why you've seen this administration work closely with Iraq's political leaders to encourage them to unite the country as they confront this existential threat," spokesman Josh Earnest said.
With Iraq's parliament scheduled to hold its opening session on Tuesday, Ms Psaki said Washington was "continuing to urge Iraqi leaders to come to an agreement on the critical posts that are key" for the formation of a new government.
The jihadists, in an audio recording released online on Sunday, said their caliphate would spread from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq, and ordered Muslims in those areas to "obey" and pay allegiance to their new leader.
Ever since the Prophet Mohammed's death, a caliph was designated "the prince" or emir "of the believers".
After the first four caliphs who succeeded Mohammed, the caliphate lived its golden age in the Omayyad empire from the year 661 to 750, and then under the Abbasids, from 750 to 1517.
It was abolished in 1924 after the Ottoman empire collapsed.
AFP
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-says-isil-caliphate-claim-has-no-meaning-20140701-zsrk9.html#ixzz369kfuiaY
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
01072014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
U.S. may boost security at airports on intelligence that Syrian terrorists are making 'creative' new bombs to target commercial flights
* The issue on whether to ramp up security was discussed last week during a meeting at the White House with top-level officials from intelligence agencies, ABC News reports
* The agencies are also debating whether to make a public announcement on potential new security measures at airports
* Comes after recent intelligence indicated the 'subset' of extreme terrorists in Syria could be looking to down a U.S. or European-bound plane
* However, the U.S. government doesn't know of a specific target or time frame for an attack
By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 06:55 AEST, 30 June 2014 | Updated: 06:55 AEST, 30 June 2014
Security measures at airports in the United states and abroad may be enhanced on concerns that terrorists in Syria are building a new generation of bombs to smuggle onto planes.
The issue was discussed last week during a meeting at the White House with top-level officials from intelligence agencies, ABC News cites sources as saying.
The agencies are also debating whether to make a public announcement on potential new security measures at airports after more recent intelligence indicated the 'subset' of extreme terrorists in Syria could be looking to down a U.S. or European-bound plane.
New measures: Security measures at airports in the United states and abroad may be enhanced on concerns that terrorists in Syria are building a new generation of bombs to smuggle onto planes (stock photo)
'[This threat] is different and more disturbing than past aviation plots,' one source said.
According to ABC News, the group intends to use one of the thousands of U.S. and European passport holders who have joined the Al Nusrah Front - a particularly extreme group of terrorists in Syria - or other radical groups in the region.
More...
* ISIS extremists in Syria crucify eight rebels from rival group as fierce three-way clashes intensify
* Obama sends CIA to UK to probe terrorist 'breeding ground': President in pointed snub to MI5 over 'lone wolf' mission to interrogate British security experts
However, the U.S. government doesn't know of a specific target or time frame for an attack.
A source told the network the Syrian subset was working alongside operatives from al Qaeda to produce 'creative' new designs for bombs.
The Yemen-based al Qaeda group was responsible for the 'underwear bomb' that failed to denote in a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.
According to ABC, officials garnered the thread of intelligence earlier this year, and have since been discussing how they could increase security measures to address the threat.
It's not clear what they are planning, however a source told the network teh enhancements could include increasing the rates of random screenings at airports, targeting certain types of travelers, or changes in the security lines.
Representative Peter King, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, said security at airports overseas was 'a real concern' to U.S. officials because some do not have the type of security they should have.
He said the federal government needs to be 'very aggressive' is responding to the situation.
'I can't go into all the details but that is very important to do...' King said Sunday on ABC News' 'This Week.'
Read more:
Syria Threat Could Prompt Changes at Airports
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2674315/U-S-boost-security-airports-intelligence-Syrian-terrorists-making-creative-new-bombs-target-commercial-flights.html#ixzz3649FCdX7
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
30062014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
