HatTip Weasel Zippers – This is the same thing that happened in Egypt under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.
IRAQ – One of the last Christian strongholds in Iraq came under attack this week, and its last remaining citizens are making a desperate plea to the United States for help.
Until this week, Qaraqosh was a town where Christians from other parts of Iraq could find refuge. But late Wednesday night, ISIS rebels started shelling Qaraqosh, provoking a mass exodus on Thursday.
According to various reports, anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 citizens have fled. The Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Petros Mouche, has remained behind with around 1,000 of the town’s inhabitants who do not have cars or other means of leaving. (more…)

BREAKING NEWS: Benghazi terror suspect pleads not guilty http://t.co/b9JgqwAznv

— Fox News Alert (@foxnewsalert) June 28, 2014

WASHINGTON DC – Ahmed Abu Khatalla, the Libyan militant accused of directing the 2012 attack on Benghazi, was indicted Saturday on a charge that could lead to the death penalty, the Justice Department said.
Abu Khatalla pleaded not guilty on Saturday, the Associated Press said, after being flown to Washington by helicopter early Saturday morning and then taken to the federal courthouse. U.S. special forces captured him about two weeks ago, and authorities have since been questioning him offshore aboard the USS New York. (read more)

Note – interesting choice of venue to hold the Benghazi terror suspect “Washington DC”. 

WASHINGTON – Ahmed Abu Khatallah, one of the men accused the deadly Benghazi attack is now on U.S. soil, officials confirmed Saturday to Fox News.
Khatallah is being held at a federal courthouse in D.C. amid tight security, Department of Justice spokesman William Miller said.
Khatallah is accused of being involved in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Libya that lead to the deaths of former U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and former navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. (more…)

For *this* specific White House to make such a claim, against the visible history of their previous positions, one can only reasonably conclude the “Bathtub Principle” is being applied to the current al-Qaeda situation in Iraq.
This administration only feigns ignorance when feigning ignorance benefits their position and is part of their larger strategy.  “Wha,.. who… us”?  
WASHINGTON DC – Senior Obama administration officials’ closed-door briefing to senators Tuesday night revealed that the White House did not anticipate and was not prepared for the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which has wreaked havoc in Iraq and seized many key cities in recent weeks.

Top State Department and Defense Department officials joined senators Tuesday evening for a briefing on the quickly developing chaos in Iraq and future U.S. plans for a response.
Sources familiar with the brief said that the administration officials repeated talking points issued over the past several days in both open and closed door meetings and had trouble communicating a concrete plan for response. (more…)

About 10 days ago we were discussing the following video:

We were going back and forth about whether those eight field artillery units were M198 (U.S. modern service), or Type59 (Iraqi army).
Unfortunately the answer comes today from Zero Hedge who has better pictures of the units during a recent ISIS parade in Mosul.

Definitely U.S. Military M198’s.   Unfortunately meaning they can hit Baghdad, or any other target, accurately from around 10 miles out.
(source)

IRAQ – In its march to Baghdad, ISIS seized the heavy weapons of a modern army. Now, the jihadists are attacking Iraq’s biggest air base – and could soon be able to attack from the sky.

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is threatening to take control of Balad Airbase, Iraq’s largest airfield and one of America’s most important military outposts during its occupation of the country.
Today, Balad still has plenty of vehicles and aircraft on the base that any terrorist group would covet, including Russian-made transport helicopters, surveillance planes, and a fleet of pickup trucks fitted with heavy machine guns. (more…)

As with all complex stories the valuable discoveries come with time.

We now have a pretty good understanding of who, what, where, and why surrounding the 9/11/12 attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi Libya. We are also better positioned to understand why, or perhaps more importantly why not, certain actions were taken before, during, and in the immediate aftermath of the attack itself.

We know from the Bret Baier interview with Hillary Clinton that she was physically located at her 7th floor office in Washington DC on the night of the attack. Unfortunately we also know during the November 2012 Thanksgiving holiday a mysterious fire took place in that building. Well, actually directly above her exact office – cause undetermined.
A “fire” which preceded an unfortunate slip and fall for the Secretary, resulting in a concussion, which led to the discovery of a blood clot, that ultimately delayed her congressional testimony before a Senate Hearing into the events of the night in question.
We know the Libyan uprising began on February 10th of 2011, and we also know that sometime around the end of February 2011 President Obama signed a presidential directive authorizing the State Dept and CIA to begin a covert operation to arm the Libyan “rebels”.
We know the “rebels” were positioned in two strategic places. Benghazi, and the port city of Darnah, both located in Eastern Libya.
We know this covert operation came to be known as “Operation Zero Footprint“, and fell under the military command authority of NATO not (important to repeat), NOT, the U.S. Military. (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

(Via CNN) ISIS militants continued their violent march toward Baghdad over the weekend from the north and the west. At least 70% of Anbar province is now under the control of ISIS, two security officials in the region told CNN.
 
 
ISIS is on a mission to create an Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and in Syria.
Militants have taken over the Tal Afar airbase in northern Iraq as well as the city of Tal Afar, officials said.
On Monday, Iraqi troops prepared to recapture the airbase, Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abu al-Waleed said. “At least 1,000 Iraqi troops have amassed to the north of Tal Afar and are firing rockets at militants in control of the city,” he said. (more…)

Unless of course you consider Obama arming Libyan Islamic Fighting Groups like Ansar Al Sharia and al-Qaeda extremists, while operating as al-Qaeda’s air force and blowing up Libya’s government in 2011 might have something to do with it.
But wait… it gets better… he also said:

“We do not share the view of the Egyptian government about links between the Muslim Brothers and terrorist groups like ISIS [the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq]. [Egyptian leaders] need to include, and find ways to reach out to, the Muslim Brothers. … With regard to the challenge that the Muslim Brothers pose, I would characterize it more as a political challenge than a security challenge.”

Because the Muslim Brotherhood killing thousands of Coptic Christians, instituting Sharia Law, and crucifying people on trees in front of the presidential palace is mere political protest… or something.  Yes, Ketchup Boy has outdone himself with this Mid-East visit.
CAIRO – US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington is “not responsible” for either the crisis in Libya, or violence in Iraq, where militants of the Al-Qaeda offshoot group ISIS are capturing cities one by one. (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…)