UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.N. expert panel has concluded that a shipment of rockets and other weapons that was seized by Israel came from Iran and represents a violation of the U.N. arms embargo on Tehran, according to a confidential report obtained by Reuters on Friday.
The finding comes just days ahead of the next round of negotiations in Vienna between Iran and six world powers aimed at securing a deal that would gradually lift international sanctions on Tehran — including the arms embargo — in exchange for curbs on the controversial Iranian nuclear program.
Despite Israel’s public statements that the seized arms were destined for Gaza — an allegation that Gaza’s governing Islamist militant group Hamas dismissed as a fabrication — the experts said the weapons were being sent to Sudan.
The experts do not speculate in the report about why the arms were being sent to Sudan, a country which Western diplomatic and intelligence sources have told Reuters has in the past been a conduit for Iranian arms shipments to other locations in Africa, as well as the Gaza Strip. (more…)

Marie Harf is rapidly making a name for herself. Unfortunately it might not be quite the name she had in mind.

Always proud of @statedeptspox; she deals in facts #attacksareabadgeofhonor

— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) June 8, 2014

Rand Paul talks to Candy Crowley and outlines what we have been saying.    I’ve got a hunch that Rand Paul knows about Operation Zero Footprint – – – his soft poking, under the guise of questions about sending arms to Turkey, at Hillary Clinton in 2013, was a shot across her bow letting her know that he knows what she doesn’t want anyone to know…..
…. I also think Rand Paul knows how valuable this knowledge is; and he has made the political decision to hold it back as a deadly arrow in his 2016 quiver in the hopes she is the Dem candidate. Think about it.
Watch:

On a side note I also find it hilarious that Candy Crowley doesn’t actually think about the magnitude of what Rand Paul is saying, and pause and ask him “how so“?
She is so focused on her CNN/DEM talking points she doesn’t even break stride when something so significant is said in front of her.   She just accepts it without query or qualm… “Oh, ok then, we’re continuing to arm ISIS, lets move on“… It’s quite funny actually. (more…)

Exceptional article from Elliott Abrams outlining President Obama’s abject failure in the Middle East and the risks he has created.   Make sure to read the entire article – well recommended.

(Via Politico) There’s always Tunisia. Amid the smoking ruins of the Middle East, there is that one encouraging success story. But unfortunately for the Obama narratives, the president had about as much as to do with Tunisia’s turn toward democracy as he did with the World Cup rankings. Where administration policy has had an impact, the story is one of failure and danger.
The Middle East that Obama inherited in 2009 was largely at peace, for the surge in Iraq had beaten down the al Qaeda-linked groups. U.S. relations with traditional allies in the Gulf, Jordan, Israel and Egypt were very good. Iran was contained, its Revolutionary Guard forces at home. Today, terrorism has metastasized in Syria and Iraq, Jordan is at risk, the humanitarian toll is staggering, terrorist groups are growing fast and relations with U.S. allies are strained. (more…)

IRAQ – The Iraqi military ran out of Hellfire missiles six days ago, and though the U.S. is rushing more missiles into the country, Iraq has only two modified Cessna aircraft to launch them in their battle against the radical Islamic militia ISIS.
ISIS has captured 28 tanks and shot down three helicopters, a significant percentage of the government force, and the militia killed an entire Iraqi Security Force brigade in the last couple of days at the border with Syria, which ISIS now controls.
The losses have left the Iraqi military with no offensive capability, and no real air force.
With the brigade at the border at Al Qaim wiped out, ISIS now controls the territory from Rubiya to Al Qaim. The tribes in Al Qaim tried to fight them, but ISIS unleashed a major artillery barrage, then a major assault, and they could not hold the back.
(more…)

There is a lot more to this story surrounding the capture of Ahmed Abu Khattala, A LOT MORE.

Hopefully by now you’ve been able to digest the revelations within “Operation Zero Footprint“.  If not, you might want to read this first before continuing.
The substantive issues with Khattala surround known associations in the lead up to September 11th 2012, and the almost simultaneous issues in Egypt around President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The explosive events in Egypt and Libya, leading up to the night of the Benghazi attack, cannot be detached from each other because the Islamist participants in the events are inherently linked.
Where the real story forks is how the Libyan crisis evolves immediately after the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12.  That’s where the arms shipment(s) to Syria via Turkey become the primary problem for the administration.
While Ahmed Abu Khattala carried out his role in the operation in Libya, he is of Egyptian origin and speaks with an Egyptian dialect.  His ideology and associations spring from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Top Row: Muhammed al-Zawahiri, Abu Khattala, The Blind Sheik
Middle Row: Cairo Protest 9/11/12 for Blind Sheik release, Egyptian President Morsi
Bottom Row: Morsi with Kerry, Morsi with Hillary, Morsi with Bill Clinton

I’m working on tying it all together so people can have a greater understanding of what role Khattala played not only in the Benghazi attacks, and why he was such a central figure to the Benghazi State Dept./CIA operatives, but how he was such a central figure in the years previous to carrying out the Ansar Al Sharia operation. (more…)

Sorry to be so cynical – – but against the backdrop of Ahmed Abu Khatallah’s arrest, and reports he is giving intel to interrogators, and knowing what White House risk is potentially present within that intelligence, it’s a little curious that half of the “Gang of Eight” would be summoned to the White House.

President Obama is notorious for ignoring congressional leadership.  As a matter of historical reference he *rarely* (twice in six years) summons them for conversation.   Consequently, amid the slow boat back from Benghazi, the transparency of this takes on a whole new meaning…

WASHINGTON DC – President Barack Obama told Capitol Hill’s “Big Four” leaders Wednesday afternoon that he doesn’t intend to seek congressional authority for any action in Iraq.

Returning to the Capitol after huddling with Obama at the White House for about an hour, both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the president had pledged to keep Congress in the loop. But McConnell said that the president won’t ask lawmakers to weigh in on whatever course of action he chooses.
“We had a good discussion,” McConnell said, adding that Obama “indicated he didn’t feel he had any need for authority from us for steps that he might take. And indicated he would keep us posted.” (more…)

This should not come as a surprise.   Think about it.   If one of our air assets was shot down by a U.S. stinger missile – the administration would be in a real conundrum.

WASHINGTON (WSJ) —President Barack Obama decided against immediate air strikes on marauding Sunni extremists in Iraq, opting instead to pursue strategies such as providing intelligence to the Iraqi military, addressing the country’s political divisions and seeking support from regional allies.
Mr. Obama will convene a White House meeting Wednesday with Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate to brief them on what officials call this new comprehensive approach. (more…)

If you’ve been wondering why the progressive side of the political continuum have been a little soft on the terror group ISIS in Syria/Iran, you only need to look at what they do when ISIS takes control of a municipality.
A strong argument can be made that ISIS leaders are merely Mid-east variants of Bloomberg, Clinton and Obama type progressives.

• Nanny Statist Bloomberg wants laws to ban soda freedom to advance physical health;   Nanny ISIS invokes strict non-alcohol laws to advance physical health.

• Nanny Statist Michelle Obama want laws to control school lunch menus for the health of the collective;  Nanny ISIS invokes strict no-smoking laws for the health of the collective.

https://twitter.com/MsIntervention/statuses/477052551213613056
(more…)

Against the backdrop of Obama’s bumbling Mid-East policy exploding on the Global Headlines, and considering Ahmed Abu Khattala had been living quite openly in Benghazi for the past two years, the timing of this arrest seems more than a little suspect.

Abu Khattala (pictured above)  spent two leisurely hours on Thursday evening at a crowded luxury hotel, sipping a strawberry frappe on a patio and scoffing at the threats coming from the American and Libyan governments.   (New York Times – 2012)

Abu Khattala was the commander of an Islamist militia group called the Abu Obaida bin Jarrah Brigade.  His Arabic dialect is of Egyptian origin, and it would be reasonable to assume he coordinated the Benghazi attack with his Egyptian counterparts.
Abu Khattala was/is closely associated with an Egyptian radical named Tarek Taha Abu Al-Azm. 
Azm is a terrorist operative in the Jamal network, ignored by Western Media yet within Egypt widely believed responsible for directing the Benghazi attack.  Azm, was formerly imprisoned in Egypt, and released by the Morsi government as soon the Muslim Brotherhood rose to power in the early spring of 2011.   
Occam’s Razor infers Abu Khattala (in Libya) collaborated with Abu Azm (network leader in Egypt) on the events of 9/11/12.  Azm spearheaded the Cairo Embassy protest under the auspices of the Blind Sheik release (which was fronted by Mohammed al-Zawahiri), while Khattala attacked the joint State Dept/CIA compound in Benghazi.   (more…)