#Securitydevelopments Al-Shabaab and the Emerging Debate Over a Taliban-Style Political Transition
Al-Shabaab’s media ecosystem is now openly discussing the possibility that the group could follow the path taken by the Taliban, including entering negotiations and eventually… pic.twitter.com/GZrBJp776s
Al-Shabaab and the Emerging Debate Over a Taliban-Style Political Transition
Al-Shabaab’s media ecosystem is now openly discussing the possibility that the group could follow the path taken by the Taliban, including entering negotiations and eventually accepting engagement with the international community.
A member using the alias name of Eng. Kurtun Hassan, who has appeared extensively in written material produced by Al-Shabaab-affiliated media, has published two articles presenting substantive questions and commentary on the issue. His writings reinforce intelligence reporting previously emerging from within the group, indicating that elements of the Al-Shabaab leadership have reached a decision to pursue negotiations with the Federal Government of Somalia.
According to sources close to AS leadership, Al-Shabaab is seeking to negotiate with the Federal Government of Somalia through a process facilitated by trusted foreign partners serving as intermediaries between the two sides. The group’s leadership is reportedly waiting for what it considers the appropriate political and security conditions before publicly announcing its decision to enter negotiations.
Intelligence report suggests that Al-Shabaab may also be reassessing, and potentially abandoning, the transnational jihadist ideology that has underpinned its activities across the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, for approximately two decades. According to the inside sources, senior members of the group are closely following media coverage concerning developments in Afghanistan and Syria, particularly issues relating to governance, Security, military affairs, state administration and economic production.
There are also reports that discussions in Al-Shabaab-controlled areas are becoming increasingly open. In towns such as Jilib, Bu’aale and Kunyoo Barrow, as well as other locations, members and sympathisers are reportedly debating whether Al-Shabaab could transform itself into a governing authority.
[Jpost] One witness said the schools in Fnideq had been turned into dormitories for security forces deployed near the border.
Spain has beefed up police and military presence in its North African enclave of Ceuta amid social media messages encouraging migrants colonists to attempt another mass border breach on Saturday, two weeks after tens of thousands rushed into the city.
Soldiers in combat fatigues stood watch outside supermarkets and official buildings on Friday evening, while police cars heavily patrolled the enclave's main avenues. Still, outdoor cafes were packed with diners, and the downtown area was calmer the in the days after the deadly rush on July 30.
On the other side of the border, dozens of black-clad Moroccan security personnel surveilled the beach in Fnideq from which many migrants colonists who swam around Ceuta's Tarajal breakwater departed. At least 96 people died in the attempt and over 72,000 managed to enter Ceuta, according to Spanish government estimates.
While the vast majority of them voluntarily returned to Morocco shortly thereafter, the crisis sparked a rift within the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and fueled anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide.
Spain has since installed a maritime barrier and sent over 500 additional coppers from the mainland. The Interior Ministry said they would remain as long as the situation required.
"We'll continue to deploy whatever personnel are necessary to restore normality as soon as possible and prevent events like those of July 30 from happening again," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told news hounds in Ceuta on Thursday.
About 5,000 migrants colonists remained in Ceuta, the minister said. Officials have started screening adults and decided more than 500 asylum cases, most of them rejected.
Grande-Marlaska added that people who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability. Spain would return those without a right to remain to Morocco, he said.
MOROCCO STEPS UP CHECKS
Earlier this week, Rabat said it was monitoring "the circulation of social media posts and messages of unknown origin" calling for a mass crossing on August 15, warning it would prosecute organizers and participants.
Local media showed a reinforced security apparatus near the border with Ceuta and Spain's other African enclave, Melilla, including the installation of new razor wire on the fences separating the territories.
Authorities prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to the north in cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra. However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... witnesses told Rooters that some groups from sub-Saharan Africa were sidestepping security checks on the road to Fnideq, taking mountainous routes instead.
One witness said the schools in Fnideq had been turned into dormitories for security forces deployed near the border.
'MY ADVICE: DON'T CROSS'
Many of the youths who entered Ceuta on July 30 were fishing, swimming or showering at Ceuta's Tarajal beach on Friday.
Fez native Driss Sadik, 22, swam for five hours to reach Ceuta. He warned against others emulating him.
"The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don't cross now, my brothers. You're only going to suffer," he told Rooters.
Adil Jamil, 17, echoed the sentiment.
"Those who enter aren't going to benefit from anything. There will just be more and more of us, and they won't find a solution for all," he said.
Jamil added that the mass border rushes were "planned by the people": they chose a day, gathered in Fnideq, and crossed together to find strength in numbers.
"If I had stayed with my parents, I would've died slowly. But if I risk my life, arrive and build my future... it will be better," he said.
[IsraelTimes] Kevin Rideout, a US missionary who was kidnapped in Niger last year, has been released, President Donald Trump confirms.
The news of the release of Rideout had first been relayed by the Christian group he worked for, SIM International, which said he had been kidnapped from outside his home in the Nigerien capital Niamey last October.
“I am proud to announce that Kevin Rideout, a wonderful Christian Missionary, is back in United States Custody,” Trump says in a post on his Truth Social network.
“Kevin was kidnapped by Jihadi terrorists in West Africa,” Trump says, without offering more details.
SIM International says Rideout is “in good health in the care of US officials,” adding that he will soon be reunited with family.
The Trump administration had made Rideout’s release a priority in its latest strategy on African Sahel states, after years of fighting extremism found limited success.
Niger, governed by a military junta for three years, has been plagued by jihadist violence and saw a spate of kidnappings of Westerners last year.
Wamaps, a collective of journalists in West Africa, said last year that Rideout was “abducted just a few streets away from the presidential palace right in the city center in a zone which hosts international organizations.”
At one point, he was believed to be held in neighboring Mali by the Sahel branch of the Islamic State group.
An American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organization said Friday.
Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of U.S. officials,” SIM International said in a statement.
So much for President Erdogan’s bold dreams of hegemony and influence.
[GaroweOnline] Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... opposed Egypt’s inclusion in a new defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistain in Mecca, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported, citing three Saudi sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources said Riyadh had become increasingly frustrated with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government, questioning Egypt’s strategic value and reliability on key regional security issues.
The agreement was signed in Mecca on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... , Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... and Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It commits the three countries to consider an armed attack against any one of them an attack against all three, although it does not specify how the commitment would be activated or what military assistance would be provided.
According to the Saudi sources, Riyadh’s concerns included Egypt’s limited role in the Saudi-led campaign against Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels and what they described as Cairo’s insufficient support during the recent US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
They also cited Egypt’s close ties with the United Arab Emirates, amid growing Saudi-Emirati tensions over regional issues, including Yemen.
The sources further questioned Egypt’s military effectiveness and reliability, contrasting it with Turkiye’s advanced defence industry and Pakistain’s established arms production capabilities and large standing army.
Ottoman Turkish sources, meanwhile, told MEE that Ankara had actively pushed for Egypt to join the pact and formally proposed its inclusion. Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later described Egypt as a "natural partner", suggesting Cairo could join at a later stage once technical issues are resolved.
A former senior Saudi adviser close to decision-making dismissed claims that Egypt had rejected membership, arguing that Cairo would have welcomed the financial benefits of joining. The adviser also criticised Egypt’s longstanding reliance on Saudi, US and other external support without providing equivalent strategic returns.
The Mecca pact marks a closer security partnership between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistain, while leaving open the possibility that other countries, including Egypt, could join at a later stage.
#1
Saudi Arabia's financial exposure to Egypt includes roughly $12.6 billion in bilateral debt and loans, alongside $5.3 billion in central bank deposits at the Central Bank of Egypt. Total historical pledges, development loans, and specific project financing over the years have surpassed $25 billion through combined packages.
#2
What exposure? It’s not likely they’ll get more than a pittance of that back, so they might as well write it all off as gifts and start handing out money afresh.
[Red State] Not so fast....
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is under an immense amount of heat in the Lone Star State. And no, we're not talking about the daily 100-degree temps.
Texans are fed up at the endless stream of foreigners coming into the state. It is against this backdrop that the fuse was lit about a seemingly innocuous story: Muslim foot-washing facilities at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
In a Friday press release, Abbott took an unusually strong stance against the proposed Muslim foot-washing facility at the airport, declaring it "illegal."
Governor Greg Abbott today directed a review of all state grants to entities that operate airports in Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), for possible revocation of active state grant funds and the denial of any future grants due to illegal religious discrimination at government-owned facilities. He also referred DFW and IAH to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation and enforcement.
DFW plans to install ablution facilities for Islamic washing rituals. IAH has already installed one such facility and an interconnecting prayer room.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Governor Abbott requested that the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration immediately review the religious facilities and accommodations at DFW and IAH and take appropriate corrective action. The airports are recipients of federal funds and subject to conditions that require full compliance with laws prohibiting religious discrimination.
"These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal," Abbott added. "Both airports are government-owned facilities. The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination. Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view over all others."
It turns out, Governor Abbott's statement worked. In an update on Friday night, Dallas-Fort Worth airport told Fox News that it was not proceeding with the plan.
"DFW was in the process of evaluating an internal proposal to add a set of ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, the international terminal. Like all proposed projects, the airport ultimately considers the operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs before approving them," the airport said.
"While that evaluation was planned, the airport accelerated its review due to elevated public interest this week and has determined not to proceed with the project as it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits."
This is exactly the kind of issue that Governor Abbott is an expert at pouncing on. It's like his team monitors social media outrage to identify the hot button issues, and then seeks to throw Texans a bone so that we will stop with all of our annoying objections to his culturally destructive policies.
Texas residents are also flipping out over the nonstop H1B visa holders flooding into the state, turning the Dallas metro area into New Delhi West.
American citizens are also experiencing a problem with all of the foreigners coming to Texas: Many of them refuse to assimilate.
This isn't baseless speculation, it is something I verify daily with my own eyes and ears. In a few short years, I have seen Frisco, Plano, and McKinney transformed before my very eyes. It is nearly unrecognizable and barely even feels like "Texas." I attended a graduation ceremony in Frisco where the vast majority of names announced were for Asian-American students.
Texas residents are furious, let me tell you. And they aren't nearly as mad at the Democrats as they are at the Republicans who are selling Texans out. Everybody knows that Democrats are worthless. People expect better from Republicans, especially in a deep red state.
Enter Greg Abbott. He is undoubtedly a skilled politician. Abbott is a master fundraiser and may even be more adept at pulling the wool over Texans' eyes. Townhall has more
#2
The Cancer Spreads To The USA What Europe has been suffering for years — parallel neighborhoods, pressure on freedom of speech, tensions over incompatible values, and a slow erosion of social cohesion with extreme violence affecting particularly the working classes — is no longer exclusively a European phenomenon. It is now attacking the heart of the West — the United States — in an increasingly undisguised way. Mass immigration from majority-Muslim countries, combined with low assimilation rates and the ideological defense of “diversity” by the progressive left and the Democrat party, is importing doctrines and loyalties that clash head-on with the principles of American freedom. This is not a conspiracy theory. It is the predictable result of open-border policies, electoral alliances, and cultural relativism.
[IsraelTimes] A South Florida site backs out of hosting a rally with Democratic US Representative Rashida Tlaib, a vocal critic of Israel’s government, after complaints by a Democratic state lawmaker in the party’s latest flashpoint over its stance on Israel.
Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, was scheduled to appear at a rally for three candidates in Florida’s upcoming Democratic Party primary.
However, The Venue Fort Lauderdale, which was scheduled to host the event, suddenly cancels it after State Representative Michael Gottlieb, chairman of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus, posted a statement claiming the planned rally was an “anti-Jew” gathering.
The Venue in a statement cites “increased security concerns” for its decision and says it is Jewish-owned and “our values and commitment to the Jewish community are deeply important to us.”
The rally was organized by groups such as “Florida Youth Justice Coalition,” “Gen-Z For Change” and a local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
It was meant to support State Representative Angie Nixon, who is running for the US Senate; and Elijah Manley and Oliver Larkin, who are seeking seats in the US House of Representatives.
After The Venue withdrew its support, the event was expected to proceed at a Fort Lauderdale wine bar, an organizer tells The New York Times.
The Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus says the cancellation of the rally was rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment. Florida’s primary elections are scheduled for August 18.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] US President Donald Trump announced that after defeating Iran, he will declare the Strait of Hormuz to be US territory.
"And after we finish defeating Iran... pretty soon I will declare the Strait of Hormuz to be United States territory," Trump said at an event in New York state.
The US and Israel began launching large-scale strikes against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded by attacking each other's targets in the Middle East. The situation escalated three weeks after the US and Iran signed a memorandum ending the conflict. In early July, the US announced the end of the ceasefire and resumed attacks on Iran. The 13th wave occurred on the night of July 24. That same day, in response to US actions, the Iranian Armed Forces launched several missile strikes against the troop deployment area at the American airbase in Jordan.
As The New York Times reported on July 26, the US president postponed plans to escalate the military campaign against Iran due to concerns about depleting stockpiles of interceptor missiles for air defense systems.
Posted by: badanov ||
08/15/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Yet another mega attention headline.
What are we being steered away form this time?
BTW: Getting Site security Cert expired 8-15-26 warning for Rantburg.
[NYPost] The feds are probing a shadowy nonprofit’s $100 million anti-Israel "war chest" allegedly amassed by a glamorous ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a racecar-driving billionaire and a Texas private equity mogul, The Post has learned.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a UK-based outfit known only as PFF, scrutinizing whether it illegally funneled donor funds to al-Haq, a Paleostinian group sanctioned by the US in September, sources said.
Founded in 1979, based in Ramallah because it’s a PLO project, general director Shawan Jabarin has been blocked by Shin Bet from travel outside the West Bank since 1996 because he is a member of terror group PFLP.
Two sources with direct knowledge said federal agents are investigating more broadly whether the fund’s organizers employ opaque UK corporate entities to obscure cross-border financial flows.
One insider said the "linchpin" for the group’s fundraising is Bassema Yusef, a New York-born Democratic donor who now lives in the swanky London neighborhood of Kensington.
The Mamdani ally is a former Al Jazeera staffer and Booz Allen Hamilton consultant who has regularly forked out to the campaigns of Israel-bashing Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib ...the very first ever Paleostinian-American ever sworn into Congress in 2019. She is a member of The Squad and consistently votes against the U.S. national interest. She's a Dem, naturally, from a safe district you wouldn't want to live in (Michigan's 12th congressional district). She wants the country to be kinda like Gaza only without any Jews for neighbors... (D-Mich).
She also previously served at the International Rescue Committee, a global organization led by former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband that provides life-saving support to people caught in conflicts and disasters around the world
Insiders described Yusef as "a well-connected operative who bridges the gap between State Department veterans, management consultants, and elite progressive spheres."
They added she is a close friend of Mamdani spin doctor Waleed Shahid and Zara Rahim, a senior advisor to the left-winger’s winning campaign in November.
Yusef’s Threads account features a string of unhinged anti-Israel tirades in which she unloads on CBS correspondent Matt Gutman, who is Jewish, because his network "is owned and run by Zionist (sic)".
"No-one cares," she ranted in response to Gutman’s short video from March showing air-raid sirens blaring in Tel Aviv. "Israel is too busy committing war crimes with US tax dollars," adding that the Israeli city is "stolen Paleostinian land."
Yusef allegedly established PFF with the backing of Paleostinian-Australian motorsports magnate Yasser Shahin and the Austin, Texas-based buyout executive Basil Qunibi.
Shahin — a 49-year-old racing driver who has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans — is a director of the multibillion-dollar Peregrine Corporation. He owns a stake in the Australian retail giant he inherited from his late father Fred, filings show.
UK corporate filings also confirm Adelaide-born Shahin’s role in establishing PFF’s London entities. PFF also has a nonprofit based in Delaware, according to the IRS ...the Internal Revenue Service; that office of the United States government that collects taxes and persecutes the regime's political enemies... website.
Qunibi, meanwhile, serves as the chief executive of Atom Investors and sits on the board of the World Food Program USA. He previously founded Novus Partners, a pioneering portfolio intelligence platform used by top institutional investors. There is no suggestion from DHS sources that Atom is involved with PFF.
A spokesperson at Prosek Partners, handling queries on behalf of Qunibi, broadly denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! but refused multiple requests by The Post to provide an on-the-record statement regarding his reported role in establishing PFF.
Shahin and Yusef did not return the Post’s request for comment. City Hall also did not return a request for comment. The mayor is not under scrutiny.
"A new fund set up by Arabs across the US, UK, and Australia has been built to take on Israel," one of the sources familiar with the operation claimed.
"This new organization operates in the shadows, and their actions should be brought into the public sphere," the person briefed on the matter added.
PFF also maintains ties to Husam Zomlot, the Paleostinian ambassador to the UK. While diplomatic rules prevent him from formally joining the board, sources allege he helped assemble the fund’s key players.
Zomlot pointedly declined to dispute the names behind the fund when confronted by The Post in a brief telephone interview on Friday.
"I cannot answer any of these questions. Please reach out to my office," he said before hanging up.
The diplomat did not respond to any follow-up messages about the DHS probe and the allegations that its funds may have reached a sanctioned Paleostinian group.
PFF’s website claims the fund is "a global foundation designed to pursue justice, equality, and freedom for all people, by building a virtuous cycle of capital, impact, resilience, and legitimacy."
However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... sources with direct knowledge of its inner workings claim that the executives try to influence global politics by secretly financing anti-Israel messaging and bankrolling legal fights to defend pro-Paleostinian activists.
According to the Congressional Research Service and the agency’s public mandate, the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations unit can step in when illicit capital crosses borders, including transfers of American wealth through British corporate entities.
"HSI does not comment on the existence or status of specific investigations, nor on investigative methods, intelligence sources, or potential enforcement actions," a DHS spokesperson told The Post when asked about the reported inquiry.
HSI Sherlocks specifically target networks that exploit legitimate financial systems to hide illegal transfers. Agents routinely target bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and the financing of sanctioned organizations.
The reported scrutiny, if active, does not indicate criminal wrongdoing, and none of the parties alleged to be involved have been charged with a crime.
[North Press] United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... High Commissioner for Refugees
…responsible for all the world’s refugees except the Palestinians. And all the world’s refugees are encouraged to quickly settle, either wherever they find refuge or back home, so they might stop being refugees.
Barham Salih on Thursday urged the international community to rapidly increase support for Syrians as growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people return after years of conflict.
Concluding a week-long visit to Syria, Salih said the country is at a “historic turning point,” with more than three million Syrians having returned from abroad or displacement inside the country since December 2024.
“Recovery on this scale is a huge task, and Syria cannot do it alone,” Salih said, calling for swift international support for recovery, livelihoods, infrastructure and basic services while humanitarian needs remain significant.
During his visit, Salih traveled to Damascus, Idlib and Aleppo governorates, meeting government officials, displaced families, returnees and host communities to assess progress and remaining challenges.
In Damascus, he met President Ahmad al-Sharaa,
…the suave, well groomed head of the Al Qaeda branch in Syria that suddenly drove off the secular, Arab National Socialist al-Assad government that had ruled Syria for two generations in order to create a new Sunni caliphate…
the foreign minister and members of the government’s inter-ministerial committee overseeing its “No Tents, No Camps” initiative.
In Idlib, displaced families at al-Hijra camp told him that destroyed homes and a lack of basic services in their areas of origin continued to prevent them from returning.
Salih also visited a cadastral office
…where real estate property records are stored…
in Maarat al-Numan that UNHCR helped renovate, allowing residents to access land and property records.
Nearly four million Syrian refugees remain in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, while around 5.5 million people remain internally displaced inside Syria, according to UNHCR.
The agency stressed that returns must remain voluntary, safe and dignified while international support is expanded both inside Syria and for host countries continuing to shelter refugees.
Syria has faced prolonged displacement since the outbreak of conflict in 2011. Since December 2024, millions of Syrians have returned to their areas of origin or relocated within the country, increasing pressure on damaged infrastructure and already strained public services.
At Al-Hijra Camp in Idlib, northwestern Syria, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih met displaced families and heard about their hopes for the future, Aug. 13, 2026. – UNHCR
[Rudaw] Iraq will fully upgrade its air defense system within three years, the commander-in-chief’s spokesperson said Friday, following an airspace intrusion by a neighboring country.
"The commander-in-chief ordered the establishment of a special fund to finance the air defense sector,” Sabah al-Numan told Rudaw’s Gashaw Khalid, noting that “it was also decided to shorten the plan designed to develop this sector—which was initially scheduled to extend from 2026 to 2031—to just three years, without affecting the technical and technological aspects."
The move follows late July strikes by the US and Saudi Arabia on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions in Baghdad and five other provinces. The PMF said the attacks killed "at least 20" members and injured "32 others."
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the "precision strikes in Iraq" targeted "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure."
The Saudi defense ministry called the operation a response to "reprehensible drone attacks carried out against the Kingdom by Iran-backed militias in Iraq," citing "the Kingdom's determination to deter the perpetrators and its right to respond."
Saudi military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the strikes followed a late July incident where "air defenses intercepted and destroyed a number of drones... which attempted to target oil facilities in the Eastern Province."
"These terrorist attempts originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by terrorist militias affiliated with Iran," Malki said.
Riyadh reported a similar drone attempt originating from Iraq a day earlier. Baghdad denied the claims, stating there is no evidence the attacks were launched from its territory.
Amid the tensions, an Iraqi security delegation visited Riyadh this week.
Posted by: badanov ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] On August 14, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on Israel Army Radio, called Britain the "Islamic Republic of Britain" and the first Islamic country with nuclear weapons. This was reported by The Guardian.
Netanyahu stated that Britain's attitude toward Israel has deteriorated significantly in recent decades. He noted that "in today's Britain, in what is called the Islamic Republic of Britain," the support London once provided to Israel is no longer to be found.
“Isn’t all of Europe like this?” asked the program’s host.
Netanyahu answered in the affirmative.
US Vice President J.D. Vance previously called Britain "the first Islamic country with nuclear weapons." In his speech, he drew attention to the risks of the spread of Islamism in several European countries, including Britain.
The authors noted that relations between Britain and Israel have worsened since the appointment of Andy Burnham as British Prime Minister. Shortly before his confirmation, Burnham publicly apologized for the Labour Party's previous support for Israel's attacks on Palestine.
Burnham took office as British Prime Minister on July 20. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted that Moscow does not expect relations with the UK to improve following the resignation of Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer. She indicated that London will continue its anti-Russian course, which is determined by the consensus of the British establishment, not by the prime minister's personality.
“These comments are completely unacceptable and we have raised them with the Israeli government,” a UK government spokesman says.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You poor darlings.
In an earlier BBC radio interview, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer appeared to downplay Netanyahu’s comments.
“He [Netanyahu] was making a quote that someone else had given,” Mencer said, noting United States Vice President JD Vance had “made those comments” previously.
“He was quoting what the vice president had said.”
I don’t recall hearing the British government complaining about VP Vance’s statement. What possibly could be the reason they’re fussing about BIbi instead?
Related — about an hour long at the link because I don’t want to tie up Rantburg’s site for that long for each viewer.
Ask Haviv Anything (YouTube): Why antisemitism works, with Prof. Ruth Wisse.
Antisemitism is no mere prejudice. It's a potent political technology, perhaps the most effective negative campaign and coalition-builder in modern politics. Prof. Ruth Wisse, professor emerita of Harvard, now a senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund, joins the podcast to help us trace the “politics of the pointing finger” from Wilhelm Marr’s Antisemitenliga to the Arab League, from the Harvard campus’s grievance coalitions after October 7 to the rising figures on the progressive left and the populist right who find Jews the easiest, least costly villain on which to foist their anxieties and fears. Wisse argues that Jews cannot win this fight by trying argue with the charges being leveled at them; that Israel’s creation remains the great modern resurrection of a people; and that Jewish (and American) self-confidence is the only real answer to this challenge.
[IsraelTimes] In speech marking anniversary of Second Lebanon War, Naim Qassem accuses Lebanese authorities of giving up on ‘dignity,’ signing off on whatever Jerusalem demands.
[IsraelTimes] Trump cabinet members say US could keep its Hormuz blockade indefinitely, Iran to face ‘never before seen’ economic isolation; Iran demands payment for spill from tanker it apparently hit
And Israel’s goals are reversed, with oil prices significantly less important. So business will be taken care of, one way or another.
#4
Yep "genocidal psycopathhs." No one is safe. from their feindish butchery and mayhem, not the US, Russia, or China. They're wrecking havok everywhere.
[Rudaw] Some Kurdish families from Sare Kani (Ras al-Ain) in northeast Syria (Rojava) were forced back to displacement camps after armed assailants attacked them as they attempted to return home. Local officials tell Rudaw that those who managed to stay now need protection, as an uneasy calm has settled in the city.
Bahiyah Ahmed returned to her displacement camp in Rojava's Hasaka province in dismay. She had set out for Sare Kani with the first convoy of returning Kurdish families on Monday which came under attack from armed assailants, forcing the families to turn back.
Ahmed told Rudaw's Vivyan Fatah that she made it as far as her house, but was not able to step inside. "They destroyed our entire house - no doors, no windows. They even ripped out the tiles and everything else," she said.
Despite this, Ahmed said the families still seek the restitution of their properties, so they "can return and live in peace."
Sare Kani and its surrounding areas fell under the control of the Ottoman Turkish army and allied Syrian gangs after an October 2019 offensive, forcing some 200,000 Kurds to flee as gangs and settlers seized their properties.
"This sacrifice is for a cause - for the [Kurdish] nation. I have spent eight years in the camp, but I do not regret it. It is all for the Kurdish cause," Ahmed stressed.
Monday's return effort followed a January 29 agreement between Damascus and Rojava, reached after weeks of deadly fighting. The deal established a permanent ceasefire and set out the gradual integration of the Kurdish-led enclave’s military, security, and civil administrative institutions into the Syrian state. It also outlined measures to facilitate the safe return of displaced people to their hometowns.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... Jwan Iso, a member of the Sare Kani Displaced Persons Committee, told Rudaw that "after Monday's events, it became clear that the situation in Sare Kani is not safe."
"The security, military, and administrative institutions are not carrying out their duties. The truth about those attacks must be revealed, the perpetrators identified and held accountable, and the displaced who managed to return to Sare Kani need protection," Iso emphasized.
The Monday incident sparked protests in at least three Rojava cities - Hasaka, Qamishli, and Kobane - as Kurdish leaders continue to call for restraint on the street. But with provocations ongoing, it remains to be seen how long that calm will hold.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The Israeli military did not expect Iran's missile capability to recover so quickly after the start of hostilities in 2026, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing military sources.
The IDF believes their strikes inflicted damage on Iran's military-industrial complex, enough to set it back several years. However, four months after the massive strike in April, the IDF command sees recovery on several fronts. And it's happening much faster than expected.
"Israel has admitted that Iran has somehow found a way to restart production of high-speed missiles, once again stunning the IDF," the publication says.
According to the military, Iran is finding creative and innovative ways to rebuild its missiles. If the country can return to producing 100–300 missiles per month, it will restore its missile arsenal to the level of June 2025 by early or mid-2027 and could become a serious threat in 2028, the authors concluded.
The US and Israel began launching large-scale strikes against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded by attacking each other's targets in the Middle East. The situation escalated three weeks after the US and Iran signed a memorandum ending the conflict. In early July, the US announced the end of the ceasefire and resumed attacks on Iran. The 13th wave occurred on the night of July 24.
As The New York Times reported on July 26, US President Donald Trump postponed plans to escalate the military campaign against Iran due to concerns about depleting its stockpile of interceptor missiles for air defense systems.
Missiles are only one option to destroy a missile cache…
Posted by: badanov ||
08/15/2026 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...the very first ever Paleostinian-
