And this is a surprise to who?

(CNN)  Two former detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba were arrested by Belgian police in a counterterrorism operation targeting a recruiting network for al Qaeda in Syria.

They were arrested Wednesday night along with three others as they were about to break into a house to raise funds in the town of Hoboken, near Antwerp, a senior Belgian counterterrorism official told CNN.

“We have dismantled a serious recruiting network for Syria,” the official told CNN. (more…)

He’s not telling his Islamic followers to stop the barbaric executions, that appears OK; what he’s asking them to do is to stop recording and sharing video of the executions – apparently, that’s creating a bad image. 

This announcement follows a video a few days ago where a few-month-old baby was wrapped in an explosive vest and detonated during an teaching exhibition to show how it’s done.

(Via Daily Mail) ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has issued a decree banning the barbaric execution videos his militants have become famous for – because he’s worried about their image.

Al-Baghdadi is said to have sent a letter to all of his media offices saying they were no longer allowed to show graphic, violent scenes in their carefully edited videos, which caught the attention of the wider world with the emergence of ‘Jihadi John’ in 2014.

He is said to have claimed the decision was based on not offending other Muslims, who might think the videos are scary for children.

(more…)

(Via WRCB) “We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the honorable servicemembers and police officers who were victims of the shooting our son committed on Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee— our community, and one we have loved for over twenty-five years. 

Our prayers go out to the victims’ families, friends, and everyone who is affected by this tragedy. There are no words to describe our shock, horror, and grief. 

The person who committed this horrible crime was not the son we knew and loved.  (more…)

Supernova levels of “gaslighting” at work.   It sure would be problematic for the administration that has done little (ie. nothing) to combat growing islamic extremism if ISIS was reflected as the cause of 5 marines killed in Tennessee.

As a consequence, ignore the social media of Abdulazeez; ignore the connections to radical Islam and his radical mosque; ignore the visits to Jordan and Yemen; ignore his glorification of the Islamic State (ISIS) on his social media.  Ignore all that stuff folks, the FBI says – nothing to see here folks, move along, move along.  “Lone wolf”, gotta be.

WASHINGTON DC – Authorities are declining to link the shootings in Chattanooga, Tenn., that killed four Marines on Thursday to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) despite a suggestion from the House Homeland Security Committee chairman that the gunman was inspired by the terror group.

“At this time, we have no indication that he was inspired by or directed by anyone other than himself,” Ed Reinhold, the FBI agent in charge, said of the shooter, identified as 24-year-old Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, during a news conference Friday.

Reinhold added that law enforcement will continue explore any potential link to terror groups. (more…)

Excerpts from Reuters looking into the travel of Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, as well as outlining his local Mosque and affiliates.  It would be interesting to see a complete timeline of the past 24 months relating to this specific “domestic terrorist”.

Oddly, at least initially, is the sense the foreign aspects of Abdulazeez being less enthusiastically investigated/researched, by media, than say – the Tsarnaev brothers.  My gut is telling me the Fathers’ domestic terror link has something to do with the larger Holy Land Foundation case (ie. Muslim Brotherhood in North America) … 

(Reuters) U.S. authorities believe the suspect in the fatal shootings of four Marines in Tennessee visited Jordan last year and possibly Yemen as well, two U.S. government sources said on Friday, as investigators looked for any connection to Islamist militants.

Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, who the FBI identified as the shooter, died on Thursday after he killed the Marines and wounded three other people in a rampage at two military facilities in Chattanooga.

Investigators believe Abdulazeez may have family in Jordan, making a visit to that country highly likely, one of the sources close to the probe said. He may have made several stops, and a visit to Yemen has not been ruled out. (more…)

Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez stands with fighting coach Scott Schrader after winning silver at the North American Grappling Championships in this undated photo. Provided by Schrader (link)

Mohammod Youssof Abdulazeez, age 24,   has been identified by the FBI as the gunman who fatally shot four Marines and wounded a police officer on Thursday in shootings at two military recruiting and training centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

NBC News reports that Abdulazeez is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Kuwait. He was born in 1990.  He came to the United States in 1996 with his parents.

CBS News reports that he/his family, were from Phoenix, Arizona. The Associated Press says he lived in Hixson, Tennessee, which is a community in Chattanooga. (more…)

Sex – Lies – and Benghazi Tentacles

Jill Kelly is a woman who became entangled in the General Petraeus / Paul Broadwell affair story which exploded immediately following the Benghazi attacks in 2012. The affair was used by the White House to remove the CIA Petraeus risk.

Jill Kelly was threatened by Paula Broadwell during Broadwell’s affair with Petraeus. Once the affair was exposed, the media outed Jill Kelly as the original source to the FBI who uncovered the sordid affair.

Kelly then filed a lawsuit against the FBI for releasing her identity to the public via the media. The source of that media leak was, in essence, traced to then pentagon attorney Jeh Johnson, who later became DHS Secretary.

Last September (2014) we noted that the lawsuit by Jill Kelly would carry some very interesting possibilities via judicial discovery. Today a federal judge postponed DHS Head Jeh Johnson being compelled to testify in the ongoing lawsuit. (more…)

(Via Reuters )The jury in the Colorado movie massacre trial have reached a verdict after two days of deliberations in the case of 27-year-old gunman James Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, a court spokesman said on Thursday.

Holmes could face the death penalty if convicted of multiple counts of murder and attempted murder for opening fire inside a packed midnight premiere of a Batman film at a Denver area multiplex in July 2012, killing 12 people and wounding 70. (read more)

GUILTY – read more

BREAKING NEWS: Iran, major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal – Iranian diplomat

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 14, 2015

Marking an achievement sought for years, Iran and six world powers reportedly have agreed to a deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling international sanctions.

The historic deal, which was reported early Tuesday in Vienna, comes after years of wrangling between Iran and the U.S. and other world leaders who have long demanded that Iran suspend its nuclear program — which critics say could be used to build a nuclear arsenal — in exchange for tens of billions of dollars in economic sanction relief.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for domestic purposes, but members of the U.N. Security Council say the nation has the infrastructure to one day produce significant amounts of weapons-grade plutonium. (more…)

(Via ABC News) The estranged son of a respected Boston police captain was arrested July 4 by FBI agents as part of a counter-terrorism operation against alleged ISIS-inspired domestic terrorists, federal officials told ABC News today.

Alexander Ciccolo, 23, of Adams, Mass., was taken into custody on gun charges after buying two pistols and two rifles from an undercover FBI confidential informant, federal officials said. In a search of his apartment, officials reported they found it loaded with possible bomb-making equipment including a pressure cooker, a variety of chemicals, an alarm clock, along with “attack planning papers” and “jihad” paperwork. FBI agents said he used the name Abu Ali al-Amriki and neighbors said he was a recent convert to Islam.

“This is a very bad person arrested before he could do very bad things,” one senior federal official briefed on the arrest told ABC News. (more…)