Current Events and Links

US, NATO mark formal end of Afghanistan mission

Dec. 28, 2014 - More than thirteen years after the start of the war in Afghanistan (following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks), Gen. John Campbell, commander of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced the formal end of the war and the beginning of a new international mission, called Resolute Support.

"Resolute Support will serve as the bedrock of an enduring partnership" between NATO and Afghanistan, Campbell told an audience of Afghan and international military officers and officials, as well as diplomats and journalists.

Source: Fox

Update 12/31/14 - Taliban claim NATO 'defeat' in 13-year Afghan war - SpaceWar

Prophetic Significance of America's Wars

World Trade Center reopens for business 13 years after 9/11 devastation

Nov. 3, 2014 - Occupants of the rebuilt One World Trade Center will start moving into the new 104-story, $3.9 billion skyscraper that dominates the Manhattan skyline. The structure was erected at "ground zero" where more than 2,700 people died on Sept. 11, 2001,

The eight-year construction of the 1,776-foot high skyscraper came after years of political, financial and legal infighting that threatened to derail the project.

Source: Fox

Pentagon ‘suppressed’ finds of chemical weapons in Iraq

Oct. 15, 2014 -

American troops who fought in Iraq were injured after exposure to chemical weapons abandoned by Saddam Hussein, the New York Times reported Tuesday night. The Pentagon “suppressed” the finds of the weapons, the paper said.

Source: Washington Post

Panetta unloads on White House for pulling US forces out of Iraq

Oct. 3, 2014 - In his upcoming book, "Worthy Fights," Leon Panetta, former Defense Secretary (and former CIA Director), explains that when the U.S. withdrew all troops from Iraq some Iraqi leaders privately wanted a contingent of U.S. forces to stay behind. The US the Defense and State departments also wanted to leave a residual force. However, the President's team at the White House "pushed back," . . .

. . . and those on our side viewed the White House as so eager to rid itself of Iraq that it was willing to withdraw rather than lock in arrangements that would preserve our influence and interests.”

Source: Fox

Leon Panetta: How the White House Misplayed Iraqi Troop Talks - Time

ISIS Baghdad March: Islamic State 1 Mile Away From Iraqi Capital

Oct. 1, 2014 - Canon Andrew White, representing Iraq’s only Anglican church in Baghdad, warned that the ISIS group is only about one mile away from Baghdad, and Iraq's own army is not able to stop the attack.

The advance by ISIS toward Baghdad shows that the group isn't weakening despite U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq. ISIS executed 300 Iraqi soldiers last week during their march toward the Iraqi capital and attempted to break into a prison in northern Baghdad.

Source: International Business Times

Reports: ISIS Within a Mile of Baghdad - NewsMax

Gen. Hayden: Obama's Lack of Participation on Intel Problematic - NewsMax

US air strikes in Syria 'destroy IS tanks'

Sept. 26, 2014 - Ongoing air strikes, led by the US, destroyed four tanks and damaged another in Syria and struck seven IS positions in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Danish government is sending fighter jets to help the campaign - but only in Iraq - and the UK will have a vote today about possible air strikes in Iraq.

Source: BBC

Report: Khorasan Leader, 9/11 Plotter Killed by US Strike in Syria - NewsMax

Military analyst: ISIS 'will never be destroyed' - 'The violent element is in the DNA of Islam' - WND

Russia threatens to retaliate against U.S. military - WND

US, allies target ISIS oil supplies in Syria

Sept. 25, 2014 - Airstrikes were conducted yesterday by the U.S. and Arab allies against a dozen small oil refineries in eastern Syria. The refineries were used by ISIS to fuel its vehicles and to fund its operations.

Source: Fox

Obama to address UN as Britain considers joining airstrikes

Sept. 24, 2014 - President Obama is speaking at the UN on the topic of unity against the threat of ISIS in the Middle East.

the U.S. expanded its action into Syria Monday evening with the help of five Arab allies. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates joined the U.S. in carrying out airstrikes, while Qatar played a supporting role.

Source: Fox

Terror, array of crises top complex agenda as UN meet kicks off - Times of Israel

US, Arab allies launch first wave of strikes in Syria

Sept. 23, 2014 - The U.S. and five Arab allies began aisrtrikes in Syria, employing bombs and cruise missiles to destroy 14 Islamic State targets. . .

. . .including the group's fighters, training camps, headquarters and command-and-control facilities, and armed vehicles. The operation involved a combination of fighter jets, bombers, Predator drones and Tomahawk missiles launched from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

Source: Fox

U.S. Bombs ISIS Sites in Syria and Targets Khorasan Group - NBC

Targeted by U.S. airstrikes: The secretive al-Qaeda cell plotting an ‘imminent attack’

Sept. 23, 2014 -

In addition to a broader campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State targets across Syria on Monday night, the United States also pounded a little-known, but well-resourced al-Qaeda cell [the Khorasan group] that some American officials fear could pose a direct threat to the United States.

Source: Washingon Post

Khorasan: Muhsin al-Fadhli - the man leading a terror group more feared by US officials than Isis - Some American experts say the al-Qaeda-linked group Khorasan poses a greater threat than Islamic State itself - Independent - UK

Top military official opens door to ground troops in ISIS fight, despite Obama pledge

Sept. 16, 2014 - Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the international coalition that is being formed to fight ISIS without the use of US ground troops is the right thing to do for now, but if it fails to be effective ...

"then I of course would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces."

Source: Fox

U.S. Mission to Destroy ISIS Doesn’t Faze Extremists - Time

'Launch An All Out Attack On Isis' Kissinger Urges Obama - International Business Times

Tel Aviv: ISIS Is Merely the Latest Threat to the Jewish State - Newsweek

Texas Sheriff: Reports Warn Of ISIS Terrorist Cells Coming Across The Border - CBS - Houston

ISIS' Apocalyptic Magazine Vows to Attack Israel, US Troops as It Conquers Persia, Rome and Arab States - Christian Post

Islamic State secretly near Israel border, Syrian rebel group says - Times of Israel

John Kerry Testifies: ISIS 'Must Be Defeated, Period' -NewsMax

New allliance from hell: Boko Haram and ISIS - WND

U.S. Expands Airstrikes on Islamic State Targets in Iraq

Sept. 16, 2014 - In the first expansion of air strikes since President Obama's vow to degrade and destroy ISIL, U.S. aircraft bombed Islamic State fighters near Baghdad.

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff of California will today introduce a formal authorization of “all necessary and appropriate force” against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Source: BusinessWeek

International Support Grows for U.S.-led Campaign Against Islamic State

Sept. 15, 2014 - Many nations have agreed to assist in the campaign to break the strength of the Islamic State. The U.S. and the U.K. have vowed to destroy the group, and many other countries, including leading Middle East countries say they will join the coalition and help with air strikes.

Military experts doubt that the problem can be solved by air strikes alone. Gen. Michael Hayden, a former CIA director, told Fox News, "It is my estimation, that after all the dust settles…I'm betting we're up to around 5,000 [soldiers] by the end of the year" in Iraq. "

It is not clear what the next steps will be and the extent of military forces that the supporting countries will commit.

Source: Wall Street Journal

White House claims Arab nations offer to join airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, Syria - Fox

Islamic State crisis: World leaders pledge Iraq support - BBC

World Coalition Building on ISIS: 'No Time to Lose' - NewsMax

World leaders in Paris to strategize against Islamic State - Times of Israel

Iran: U.S. strikes in Syria will set Middle East ablaze - Haaretz

'Insider Attack' at Afghanistan Military Base Kills at Least One US Soldier, Wounds 15

Aug. 5, 2014 -

A man dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire Tuesday on foreign troops at a military base [Camp Qargha], killing at least one U.S. soldier and wounding 15, including a German brigadier general and "about a dozen" Americans, authorities said.

Source: NewsMax

Man in Afghan uniform kills U.S. general - USA Today