[X] For a minute I had her confused with Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who’d worked for her mother on a radical Islamist magazine in Saudi Arabia before first marrying creepy politician Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn), then second gen. creepier philanthropist Alexander Soros, both of whom are officially Jewish. Last I heard she was still Hillary’s chief of staff, no doubt spending her time arranging medications and haircut appointments.
George Clooney: "Yeah so anyways my wife helped draft the Constitution of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in 2012 after the revolution."
[IsraelTimes] More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered at a Thursday night "solidarity rally" in support of a New York City synagogue that was targeted in a vitriolic protest late last month.
The protest late last month, at the entrance to the Park East Synagogue school, targeted an event that was providing information to Jews about immigrating to Israel. The demonstration has alarmed Jewish New Yorkers due to the location and the protesters’ violent mostly peaceful chants and threats.
The Modern Orthodox institution is one of the city’s more prominent synagogues.
"What Park East synagogue has experienced, I’m so shaken," the synagogue’s rabbi, Arthur Schneier, told the crowd, connecting the demonstration to his experience seeing attacks on synagogues during the Holocaust.
"It was not just an attack on Park East Synagogue; this was an attack against the Jewish community, to intimidate us, but we’re not afraid. United we prevail, divided we fail," he said. "Be strong and let us strengthen one another."
Schneier asked attendees to urge city and state politicians to support passing laws that would bar protests at houses of worship. Two city politicians proposed such legislation earlier this week and Mayor Eric Adams ...Hizonner da Mare of Noo Yawk. As a Manchurian candidate, Hizonner was all in favor of law and order and that kind of stuff. Once in office, a bunch of his friends found cushy jobs with the city, the windows kept getting broken, and Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg remained right where he was. Most people comfort themselves with the thought that he's not Bill di Blasio but that's pretty small comfort with kids who actually go to school getting bumped off while standing in front of them. But he's a Dem, so the rubes will vote for him next election too, so he's what they deserve... has instructed the police to evaluate proposals to limit protests at houses of worship.
The demonstrators at the Thursday rally carried signs that said, "Proud New Yorkers, Jews, Zionists," and, "Proudly Park East."
Ranks of coppers protected the perimeter of the rally, and Jewish community security personnel checked entrants. Some Jewish community members had criticized the police for allowing last month’s protest so near the synagogue door, but the crowd at the rally was overwhelmingly supportive of the NYPD, cheering at the mention of the force and thanking the officers present.
[JustTheNews] California’s top elected officials announced a new online portal Wednesday with the stated purpose of having members of the public share information with the state’s Department of Justice about “potentially unlawful activity by federal agents and officers across the state.”
Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a press release from the governor’s office, acknowledging that “Federal agents have broad authority to enforce federal laws, including federal immigration laws,” but adding that “they must do so lawfully.”
The portal allows citizens to submit videos and photos to help “create a record of potential unlawful conduct by federal agents, and inform possible legal actions the state may take to protect Californians’ rights.”
“The Trump Administration is engaging in a campaign of terror and fear that has left some California communities scared to go about their daily lives. From unmarked military-style vehicles to detainments that more closely resemble kidnappings, Californians are rightly concerned that federal agents may be crossing the line and abusing their authority. The President’s actions these past 10 months only lend support to this conclusion,” said Attorney General Bonta.
“Let me be clear: Federal agents can enforce federal laws, and no one should interfere with them doing their job. But they must also do so lawfully and in compliance with the Constitution. If you believe a federal agent is acting unlawfully, you can report it to my office at oag.ca.gov/report-misconduct.”
This comes less than a month after Newsom's former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was indicted and accused of corruption and conspiring to defraud the United States, Just the News reported.
Williamson, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 charges, served as Newsom's top aide from 2022 through the end of 2024. Newsom and President Donald Trump have continued to wage a war of words, and Newsom is widely believed to be planning a run for the presidency in 2028.
[JustTheNews] The U.S. invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks a month earlier. The U.S. presence in Afghanistan then continued under four presidents.
The inspector general responsible for scrutinizing U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan has detailed the billions of dollars wasted by the U.S. government during the 20-year war in the country and concluded that the arsenal of U.S.-provided military weaponry that was left behind now forms the “core” of the Taliban’s own military machine.
A massive number of U.S.-made and U.S.-supplied weapons and military facilities were left behind in Afghanistan as a result of President Joe Biden’s troop withdrawal announcement in April 2021, which resulted in the dissolution of the Afghan military, a chaotic U.S. evacuation, and a Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) issued its “final forensic audit report” this week more than four years after the U.S. withdrawal and evacuation from the country, concluding that “these U.S. taxpayer-funded equipment, weapons, and facilities have formed the core of the Taliban security apparatus.” SIGAR said in its final report that it will close its doors at the end of January 2026 as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025.
The report said that the Pentagon has concluded that the U.S. left behind weaponry worth at least $7.1 billion — weapons now in the hands of the Taliban — and that the U.S. government also continued to send $3.47 billion in humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, in response to the September 11 terror attacks a month earlier. The U.S. presence in Afghanistan continued under four presidents. Though many inspector general reports include a response from those connected to the findings, this one did not.
Acting SIGAR Gene Aloise said in a letter attached to the new report that “despite nearly $90 billion in U.S. appropriations for security-sector assistance, Afghan security forces ultimately collapsed quickly without a sustained U.S. military presence” and that the watchdog office’s work “highlights serious systemic issues with reconstruction and paints a picture of a two-decade long effort fraught with waste.”
“Over two decades, the United States invested billions of dollars and incurred thousands of casualties in a mission that promised to bring stability and democracy to Afghanistan, yet ultimately delivered neither,” the report said. “The rapid collapse of the Afghan government in August 2021 laid bare the fragility that had been concealed by years of confident assertions of progress. The gap between ambition and reality was vast, with deteriorating conditions continually stymying objectives that proved to be unrealistic.”
SIGAR said that it found that “despite 20 years and $90 billion of U.S. support, the U.S. and Afghan governments failed to create an independent and self-sustainable Afghan National Defense and Security Forces." The report found that “the ANDSF remained reliant on the U.S. military in part because the United States designed the ANDSF as a mirror image of U.S. forces, which required a high degree of professional military sophistication and leadership” – creating “long-term ANDSF dependencies” – and “the decision to withdraw all U.S. military personnel and dramatically reduce U.S. support to the ANDSF destroyed the morale of Afghan soldiers and police.”
The collapse of the Afghan forces and the Taliban takeover meant billions of dollars worth of U.S.-provided weapons were now in the hands of the Talibs.
U.S. LEFT BEHIND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES NOW USED BY TALIBAN SECURITY FORCES
The report also laid out how the majority of the money the U.S. government spent on Afghan reconstruction went to Afghan security services. This meant $88.8 billion for security, $35.9 billion for development and governance, $16.3 billion for agency operations, and $7.1 billion for humanitarian assistance.
The report said that “Congress appropriated nearly $80.7 billion” to the Afghan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) “which comprised nearly 91 percent of all security-related reconstruction appropriations.” The ASFF was designed to provide the ANDSF with “equipment, supplies, services, training, and funding for salaries, as well as facility and infrastructure repair, renovation, and construction.”
The SIGAR report said that, from 2002 onward, the U.S. “obligated $31.2 billion on infrastructure, equipment, and transportation for the ANDSF” and that “of the $31.2 billion, the U.S. spent $19.7 billion to equip and transport the ANDSF.”
The report said this included the purchase of 96,000 ground vehicles, more than 51,000 general purpose or light tactical vehicles, nearly 24,000 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, close to 900 armored combat vehicles, more than 427,000 weapons, over 17,000 helmet-worn night vision devices, and a minimum of 162 aircraft.
SIGAR said that Pentagon records from late July 2021 – roughly two weeks before the Taliban seized Kabul – “indicated that the Afghan Air Force had 162 U.S.-provided aircraft in its inventory, of which 131 were usable.”
The report added that “the remaining $11.5 billion of the $31.2 billion spent by the U.S. was devoted to the construction of infrastructure for the ANDSF, including the construction of headquarters, training facilities, and bases or outposts around the country.”
“DoD determined that the United States left behind approximately $7.1 billion in material and equipment it had given to the ANDSF,” SIGAR stated. “Similarly, any remaining ANDSF facilities that were not destroyed, can be assumed to be under Taliban control.”
SIGAR also found that “approximately $57.6 million likely remained in Afghan government-controlled accounts when the Taliban took over in August 2021” and that “it is likely that the Taliban were able to access at least a portion of this money when they took over Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance.”
U.S. INADVERTENTLY ARMED AND EQUIPPED ITS FORMER TALIBAN ADVERSARIES
A Pentagon spokesman said in October 2021 – just a couple of months after the Taliban takeover – that “since 2005, the U.S. military has provided the Afghan national defense and security forces with many thousands of small arms, ranging from pistols to medium machine guns” and that “we recognize that large numbers of these weapons are probably now in Taliban hands.”
The Defense Department inspector general also conducted an investigation into the U.S.-provided weapons that were left behind in Afghanistan and that are now mostly in the hands of the Taliban. The watchdog argued that “the U.S.-funded equipment now under the control of the Taliban had previously been property of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.”
And it just keeps going on, including $3.83 billion in humanitarian and development aid and cash to stabilize the economy sent since the Taliban took over — a flow that continued through the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
When the trainers hate Jews as much as the trainees, how will that work?
[IsraelTimes] Workers have six months to complete online courses on antisemitism and Islamophobia, following discussions with British Jewish group about coverage of Israel-Hamas war.
[IsraelTimes] Software giant accused of enabling ‘surveillance, targeting, and occupation’ of Palestinians; it reportedly cut IDF unit’s access to Azure in September after Guardian report
[Breitbart] France’s interior minister instructed regional governments to boost security at Christmas markets against terrorist attacks, permitting the deployment of soldiers for a “visible deterrent” if necessary.
The French government has ordered “maximum vigilance” at seasonal Christmas markets in the country, a precaution after years of the events being targeted by predominantly Mohammedan fundamentalists. While markets in Germany have been the main focus for terror attacks to date, France has seen more than its share of deadly mass-casualty terror attacks, including the 2016 Nice Attack when a cargo truck was driven through crowds on Bastile Day, a modus operandi shared with previous Christmas market attacks.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez issued a directive to regional Prefects ordering them to “strengthen security measures” because of “very high level of terrorist threat”, reports FranceInfo. He called for the “full mobilization of intelligence services in the detection, prevention, and, if necessary, thwarting of terrorist threats” which would include “a visible and deterrent presence of [police] and, where necessary, soldiers”.
Prefects were told to consider the security picture for all events “likely to bring together a large number of participants”.
While France prepares to intensify security, the urban landscape across Europe has already been considerably disfigured in the past decades by the threat of such attacks. So-called “Merkel-Lego” that has become a fact of life in every Western European city and the constant vigilance of France’s Operation Sentinel are well known enough, but worse perhaps are the areas where traditions like the Christmas market has simply died out because the cost of compliance with the new security regime is simply too great.
As reported last month, yet more German cities have cancelled their Christmas markets as defending them from attack is too expensive. A spokesman from the city of Kerpen explained: “We were informed that we would have to cordon off Stiftsplatz from all sides. At the same time, we are not receiving any financial support from the city and have to manage everything ourselves”.
[IsraelTimes] Along with second measure on limiting protests at houses of worship, new order will present challenge to incoming mayor as New York Jews contend with sea change
New York City Mayor Adams on Tuesday signed executive orders that oppose divestment from Israel and protests at houses of worship, presenting a challenge to the far-left anti-Israel activist Zohran Mamdani weeks before Mamdani takes office.
Adams’s Executive Order No. 60 prohibits mayoral agencies and mayoral appointees who make decisions about contracts from discriminating against Israel, Israeli citizens, or individuals who are "associated with Israel."
The order also bars divestment from bonds and other assets in order to discriminate against Israel.
A separate measure, Executive Order No. 61, directs the NYPD to evaluate proposals for limiting protests at houses of worship.
The order was issued after anti-Zionist protesters held a vitriolic demonstration outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan late last month, sparking an outcry from New York elected leaders and the Jewish community.
Anti-Zionist activists said the protest targeted an event providing information about Jewish immigration to Israel, but the protesters’ rhetoric repeatedly veered into outright antisemitism, violent mostly peaceful mostly peaceful chants and threats. Mamdani spoke out against both the protesters and the synagogue, accusing the immigration event of violating international law.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, an Adams appointee who Mamdani has said will retain her role under his administration, later apologized to the synagogue for allowing the protest at its door.
Tisch is a well-regarded Jewish moderate who has brought down crime as NYPD commissioner. Mamdani’s decision to keep her on alleviated fears from centrists about Mamdani’s approach to policing due to his past antagonism toward law enforcement. Anti-Zionists in the city are campaigning against Mamdani’s decision to retain Tisch, highlighting the incoming mayor’s tightrope walk between the city’s moderates and his far-left base.
Adams announced the executive orders on Wednesday during a conference hosted by the Combatting Antisemitism Movement in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He said the divestment order was meant "to deal with BDS so we can stop the madness that we should not invest in Israel," referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
"Folks have been hating Jews for a long time. Our Jewish brothers and sisters have been fleeing and running from the days of Moses," Adams said at the conference, according to a transcript from his office. "You can go over and over and over again to see how Jewish people have fled and run from particular places."
"And I’m saying to my Jewish brothers and sisters, your legacy in this generation is to say, ’We run no more. We stand and fight,’" he said. "We don’t allow certain groups to take to the streets and determine that you should be eradicated."
Adams, a staunch supporter of Israel, has implemented a number of pro-Israel measures, such as the executive orders during his final year in office that will clash with Mamdani’s anti-Israel agenda when Mamdani takes office on January 1.
In the past year, Adams has recognized the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which covers some forms of Israel criticism; established an economic council to build business ties between the city and Israel; launched an antisemitism task force; and feuded with his leftist comptroller, Brad Lander, over Israel bond investments.
Like the orders announced this week, Adams also signed executive orders to implement the IHRA definition and to set up the antisemitism task force. Executive orders establish policies in the city’s executive office, such as creating offices and instructing city agencies.
The orders carry over to the next administration, presenting a challenge to Mamdani, who will need to revoke or accept the orders. Mamdani is a longtime BDS supporter who is opposed to the IHRA definition. The founder of BDS has said the movement aims to end Jewish illusory illusory sovereignty in Israel.
Mamdani’s election win marks a sea change for New York City’s Jews, the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. The city’s mayors have long been supportive of Israel, while Mamdani is a harsh critic of the Jewish state who has identified as an anti-Zionist and balked at recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
BREAKING NEWS 🚨 Due to escalating conflicts, around 24,000 security personnel in Pakistan have resigned.
A confidential assessment indicates that over the past twelve months, nearly 24,000 soldiers and police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have resigned due to… pic.twitter.com/ROfqTDR2y7
Text:
Due to escalating conflicts, around 24,000 security personnel in Pakistan have resigned. Just about the count offered to secure Gaza
A confidential assessment indicates that over the past twelve months, nearly 24,000 soldiers and police officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have resigned due to escalating insecurity and militant attacks in Pakistan.
Police officer Akhtar Ali told Khorasan Voice, a voice message that resignations are now occurring on a daily basis, with many officers leaving their posts after receiving direct threats from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Families of security personnel are also pressuring them to quit their jobs due to the deteriorating security situation and to seek safer private employment.
Analysts say that Pakistan’s security forces are now under extreme pressure, as both the TTP and Baloch separatists have intensified their attacks, further exposing weaknesses in the structure of Pakistan’s military.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/05/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1741 views]
Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
[IsraelTimes] Contest organizers say ‘large majority’ backed measure; Belgium, Iceland yet to decide on participation; Herzog: Israel ‘deserves to be represented on every stage’.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Sudani, seeking to stay in power atop bloc containing pro-Iran factions, announces investigation after lawmaker slams his government’s ‘disgraceful stance’
Iraq’s Committee for Freezing Terrorists’ Funds said Thursday that it would correct an official list of designated terrorist organizations following furor from pro-Iran figures in the country over the inclusion of Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Both groups, based in Lebanon and Yemen, respectively, are backed by Iran and seek Israel’s destruction. Iran has vast influence over policies in neighboring Iraq.
The committee said in a statement carried by Iraq’s state news agency that Baghdad had approved a list of “entities and individuals associated with ISIS and Al-Qaeda” that will have their funds frozen following a request by the government of Malaysia. Most of the groups and people on the list were from Southeast Asia.
“Other entities’ names were included due to the list being published before undergoing revision,” the statement said, without naming either Hezbollah or the Houthis. “The Iraqi Gazette will be corrected with the removal of entities and parties from the list of entities associated with the terrorist organizations ISIS and Al-Qaeda.”
Afterward, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani repeated those claims in its own statement on the state news agency. The premier’s office also announced an investigation “to determine responsibility and hold accountable those responsible for the error.”
The premier’s statement also affirmed that Iraq’s position “on the aggression against our people in Lebanon or in Palestine are matters of principle which are non-negotiable and reflect the will of the Iraqi people,” referring to the wars between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon that were launched after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and subsequent Hezbollah attack in Israel.
Sudani’s statement comes amid reports in Arabic media that he faces an uphill battle to hold onto the leadership of his parliamentary bloc — which includes pro-Iranian elements — despite its victory in last month’s elections.
The decision received wide media attention in Iraq on Thursday morning after pro-Iranian lawmaker Mustafa Sanad pointed out on Facebook that Hezbollah and the Houthis were on the list of groups slated to have their funds frozen.
He lamented that the two Iran-backed groups “are classified as terrorist organizations” while US President Donald Trump “is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
“Shame on you,” he added, addressing the Iraqi government, which he said had adopted “a disgraceful stance” not taken by other Arab governments.
[IsraelTimes] China will provide $100 million in aid to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support reconstruction efforts, Chinese President Xi Jinping says.
Xi makes the remarks at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after their meeting in Beijing.
Posted by: chris ||
12/05/2025 21:23 Comments ||
Top||
#7
What is Gaza worth nowadays? It has been inhabited for some time but never productive. Now, it's all bombed to hell and the smart/dead people are no longer around.
What say we sell Gaza to the Chinese? They can saw it loose from the mainland and tow it into the South China Sea where it can become yet another PLA base for the coming war. Plus, they can keep the Paleos which makes for a workable two-state solution, with Israel in one place and the Paleos way over there.
#3 Knowing the poor quality of Chinese shit they most likely will kill more Paleos than the Israelis.
Chinesium. Once upon a time, "Made in Japan" meant cheap plastic trinkets. Nowadays, it means Sony, Honda, Fujitsu, and a whole lot of other leading brands. Watching China move into the modern world from an agricultural economy, I wondered if the Chinese would make the same transformation. Magic Eight Ball says "No". Cultural traditions. Japan has a philosophy of kaizen - small constant improvements. China has "The mountains are high and the Emperor is far away" which translates into let's make it as cheap as we can get away with and just a bit more.
[IsraelTimes] Loitu Mollel, the father of slain Tanzanian hostage Joshua Loitu Mollel, writes to President Isaac Herzog thanking him for a recent letter of sympathy and expressing gratitude for the IDF’s efforts to bring his son’s body back from Gaza last month.
“Joshua had travelled to Israel with the purpose of learning, gaining experience, and growing in the field of agriculture,” writes the elder Mollel in a letter seen by The Times of Israel. “Unfortunately, he fell into the hands of Hamas and was killed in a most tragic and inhuman manner.”
“We are deeply thankful to everyone who contributed in any way to locating Joshua’s body and ensuring his return home for a proper burial,” he continues. “We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Israel Defense Forces for their tireless efforts to bring Joshua’s remains back so that he could be accorded his final respect. In addition, we are grateful to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum for their unwavering campaign, ‘BRING THEM HOME NOW.’”
“May Almighty God Bless Israel,” he concludes.
Mollel, 21, an agricultural intern at Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza, was seized alive, then murdered by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas is concerned that Israel may try to target its terror operatives and leaders abroad and has instructed them to take additional precautionary measures, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reports.
Citing unnamed Hamas sources, the newspaper reports that the terror group is concerned Israel will carry out strikes similar to the attack on Doha in September, when the IDF targeted, but failed to kill, senior Hamas leaders as they gathered to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
The sources say that despite assurances from the US that Israel will not carry out such a strike again, the Hamas leaders are not reassured.
One of the sources tells Asharq Al-Awsat that “there are assessments that the movement’s [Hamas’s] leaders may be targeted in a non-Arab state,” but does not say which.
We know there is a Hamas contingent hosted in Turkey…
As such, the Saudi newspaper reports that Hamas leaders abroad have been issued new guidelines aimed at preventing them from being killed in Israeli operations.
The steps include a ban on meetings in fixed locations, with the Hamas officials instructed to instead meet at a different location each time.
Attendees will not be allowed to bring mobile devices within 70 meters of any meeting spot, the report says, for fear that they will be tracked via phone signal.
Meetings must not take place in any buildings with “air conditioners, internet routers, television screens or even home intercom systems,” the report adds.
[IsraelTimes] Army says new barrier designed to thwart arms smuggling and terror attacks in the northern West Bank; civil rights activists allege project is designed to force Palestinians off land
The Israel Defense Forces has issued seizure orders against hundreds of dunams of private Paleostinian land in the northern Jordan Valley region of the West Bank for the purpose of building a security barrier within the territory, designed, the army says, to prevent weapons smuggling and terror attacks
The barrier will be comprised of a paved patrol road, a "natural obstacle" adjacent to the road, as well as ditches and embankments where necessary, the army has said.
The land belongs to residents of the Paleostinian city of Tubas and the town of Tammun, and 85 percent of it is privately owned, according to veteran civil rights activist Dror Etkes,
The IDF invited land owners to accompany it on Wednesday for a tour of the land that would be seized, and the land owners will have the right to file objections to the land seizure orders within seven days.
The IDF told The Times of Israel that the barrier project, called "Scarlet Thread," was based on a "clear military need" to thwart arms smuggling and the commission of terror attacks.
The project was conceived after a terror attack in the nearby Mehola Junction in August 2024 in which 23-year-old Yonatan Deutsch was rubbed out by Paleostinian terrorists.
The barrier will measure some 20 meters in width and will extend for some 20km in length. Any buildings 20 meters to the east or west of the proposed barrier will be destroyed so that they do not pose a security threat to the barrier and military personnel manning it, Bluth said.
One section of the proposed barrier encircles an entire Paleostinian hamlet called Khirbet Yarza. The IDF did not address questions as to the military necessity of the ring road around the hamlet.
Besides Khirbet Yarza, another hamlet, Raas al-Ahmar, and part of the hamlet of Khirbet Atuf, also lie between the proposed barrier and the Allon Road.
In total, the area between the barrier and the Allon Road is some 45,000 dunams (11,100 acres).
[Breitbart] U.S. Central Command has launched a new task force deploying America’s first one-way “suicide drone” squadron in the Middle East, saying the move “sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent” as Iran and its proxies escalate low-cost attacks across the region.
CENTCOM announced the activation of Task Force Scorpion Strike on Wednesday, noting the unit was formed four months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a rapid push to field affordable drones under the Pentagon’s broader Drone Dominance initiative. The command said the squadron is already armed with Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones currently operating from an undisclosed Middle East location.
According to CNN, the LUCAS aircraft have “an extensive range” and are designed to fly autonomously using onboard sensors and artificial intelligence. They can be launched from catapults, truck-mounted platforms, mobile ground systems, or with rocket-assisted takeoff — a flexible profile intended to counter the cheap, expendable drones Tehran has distributed to militias from Yemen to Iraq.
Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM’s commander, said the deployment reflects a strategic shift. “Equipping our skilled warfighters faster with cutting-edge drone capabilities showcases U.S. military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors,” he stated.
While CENTCOM avoided detailing the drones’ origins, CNN reported the LUCAS system was developed after U.S. engineers reverse-engineered a damaged Iranian Shahed drone captured several years ago. The Wall Street Journal similarly reported that Arizona-based SpektreWorks produced the FLM-136 by directly modeling it on the Shahed-136 — the same platform Iran and its proxies have used to strike U.S. troops, commercial vessels, and Israeli cities, and the same design Russia has fired by the thousands into Ukraine.
The Journal added that SpektreWorks’ version features a triangular wingspan of just over eight feet and can fly roughly six hours, citing data from the company’s website. The Pentagon says each unit costs about $35,000, dramatically cheaper than legacy systems such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which runs about $16 million per aircraft.
The decision to stand up the squadron comes nearly two years after an Iranian-made drone slammed into Tower 22 in Jordan, killing three American service members — one of dozens of attacks by Tehran-backed groups across the region. U.S. and Israeli forces also intercepted more than 70 drones during Iran’s unprecedented April 2024 barrage on Israel, underscoring the growing threat posed by cheap, one-way munitions.
The new unit is being built by personnel from Special Operations Command Central and aligned with CENTCOM’s Rapid Employment Joint Task Force, launched in September to accelerate the fielding of autonomous and emerging capabilities to deployed forces. The Journal reported the Pentagon aims to eventually field new capabilities on a 60-day cycle, reflecting a dramatic shift away from years-long procurement schedules.
A defense official told CNN that earlier reliance on larger, slower, high-priced platforms “put our forces at a disadvantage” against Iran’s low-cost attack drones — a disadvantage the Pentagon now intends to close with mass-produced, expendable systems modeled on the very platforms Tehran has used to reshape the battlefield.
CENTCOM did not disclose how many drones have already been deployed, saying only that “many” are in service and more are arriving. Images released by the command show rows of delta-wing aircraft staged for launch at an undisclosed Middle Eastern site, visually echoing Iran’s Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.
As drone warfare continues to redefine conflicts from Gaza to Ukraine, U.S. commanders say the launch of America’s first one-way attack drone squadron signals a broader shift toward fast-moving, low-cost strike networks designed to blunt Iran’s expanding drone arsenal.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
12/05/2025 02:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1781 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps kicks off naval wargames in the Gulf, issuing warnings to US warships in the area, more than five months after the 12-day war with Israel that briefly drew in American forces.
State TV says the drill showcases the “sacrifice and spirit of resistance” of the IRGC’s naval forces “to confront any threat” against Iran following the June war.
Naval units “issued warnings to American vessels present in the region, conveying their firm message,” the report says, though the content of the messages is not immediately clear and US forces in the Gulf do not comment.
State media adds that the Guards deployed air-defense systems under electronic-warfare conditions that “were able to detect aerial and maritime targets using artificial intelligence.”
The Gulf, and the strategic Strait of Hormuz at its bottleneck leading to the Sea of Oman, channels about 20 percent of the world’s oil exports each year.
On Wednesday, IRGC deputy commander‑in‑chief Ali Fadavi said “no country can diminish the role of the Strait of Hormuz,” vowing the Guards’ protection of the waterway.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Pope Leo XIV continues his apostolic tour of the Middle East. After visiting Turkey, the pontiff headed to Lebanon, where he spent three days meeting with representatives of local communities—not just Christian ones.
Given the Holy See's mission to strengthen interfaith dialogue, Lebanon became the ideal location to test the new pope's peacemaking approach. However, contrary to expectations, the pontiff stumbled over the region's most pressing problem.
CHRISTIAN ISLAND
The choice of Lebanon as the second and longer stop on the pontiff's Middle East tour is easily explained. Due to its rich historical past, the country is considered, along with Cyprus, one of the remaining islands of Christianity in the region.
Christianity remains one of the main religions of Lebanon today.
According to recent studies, every fourth resident of the country is a Maronite Christian, that is, belongs to the Eastern Catholic Christian movement, which is under the canonical subordination of the Holy See, although it retains elements of its own identity.
In other words, at least a quarter of Lebanese citizens are de facto papal flock.
The community's weight has also influenced the country's political system: since independence in 1943, power in Lebanon has been divided by consensus between three religious communities.
In particular, the country's president is elected only from among the Maronites, while the posts of prime minister and speaker of parliament are occupied by Sunnis and Shiites, respectively.
The Vatican planned to strengthen ties with Lebanese communities, which had weakened significantly due to the Holy See's miscalculations toward the end of the 20th century, even during the time of Pope Francis (2013–2025). However, these plans were thwarted first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the pontiff's illness and death.
Leo XIV, who had declared the resolution of world conflicts one of his priorities, was given the opportunity to continue what he had begun by synchronizing the initiatives of two pontiffs at once.
FOCUS ON MULTI-VECTORISM
In Beirut, the Pope met not only with Catholics, but also with leaders of other communities – Sunni, Shiite and Druze – as well as with Orthodox Christians – the second largest Christian community in the country.
The topic of conversation in all cases was the same: maintaining internal stability in Lebanon amidst "sent-down trials." And depending on the interlocutor, other sensitive issues were layered on top of it.
For example, at a meeting with the Druze, the pontiff emphasized the inadmissibility of “fratricidal wars,” making a reference to the conflict between Druze clans in the Syrian-Lebanese border region.
In a conversation with Muslim spiritual authorities, he emphasized the absence of a threat to the Christian faith from Islam and assessed the importance of a balanced relationship between the Shiite and Sunni poles.
At a meeting with the patriarchs of the Eastern churches, the pontiff did not fail to speak about the productive communication with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, which took place on the sidelines of the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in Turkey.
There, representatives of the Vatican and the Patriarchate of Constantinople held a joint prayer and agreed on further rapprochement.
In particular, work continued on establishing a single date for Easter. In doing so, the current pope de facto continued the course of his predecessor, Francis, aimed at reuniting the Vatican and Constantinople.
In other words, during his trip to Lebanon, the pontiff attempted to intensify church diplomacy and return the Holy See to the ranks of active mediators in the Middle East.
HEZBOLLAH SIGNALS
Meeting with Hezbollah supporters was not part of the pontiff's official itinerary for his visit—the focus of the trip was on engaging with representatives of religious communities, not political forces. Nevertheless, the movement began cultivating him almost from the moment he arrived in Lebanon.
Leo XIV's route from the airport to the presidential palace in Baabda passed through Beirut's heavily Shiite southern suburbs, including the Dahya district, home to Hezbollah facilities and previously the target of Israeli bombing.
Moreover, the route was organized so that the pontiff could see the buildings destroyed during the November strikes—the consequences of the Israeli operation to eliminate Hezbollah Chief of Staff Heisam Ali Tabatabai, during which about thirty Lebanese were killed.
Hezbollah also brought the Imam Mahdi Scout Organization, a youth organization, to the streets of Beirut. Supporters of the movement, mostly children and teenagers, holding Lebanese, Vatican, and Hezbollah flags, formed a human chain along the road along which the convoy carrying the Lebanese president and the pontiff traveled.
The culmination of this combination was an open letter addressed to the Pope, signed by Hezbollah's current leader, Naim Qassem. In it, the movement's secretary general emphasized that the Lebanese people, including Muslim communities, are not hostile toward the pontiff and are ready to support his peacemaking efforts, especially if they help "effectively deter Israeli aggression."
WE DIDN'T REACH AN AGREEMENT
Due to the active media campaign launched by Hezbollah ahead of the pontiff's arrival, everyone expected him to comment on the movement's address during one of his upcoming speeches. However, Leo XIV barely touched on the topic, even during his meeting with Shiite clerics.
Instead, the Pope chose to focus on topics more understandable to his flock: the sinfulness of the “corruption epidemic” engulfing Lebanon, the importance of preserving “homelands,” and maintaining national harmony.
He also touched on the international agenda, but with extreme caution, focusing the conversation primarily on finding a way out of the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Here, Leo XIV merely reiterated the official UN position on the need to establish two independent states in the Middle East—Palestine and Israel.
The pontiff left Lebanon without responding to Hezbollah's inquiries. However, on the day of his departure, a brief papal comment on the situation in Lebanon appeared on Vatican websites. Leo XIV emphasized peace-loving messages and called on the parties involved to "quickly lay down their arms" in order to achieve "peace and prosperity together." However, this excessive peacefulness ultimately worked against him.
Hezbollah saw the pope's cautious statement as an attempt to coerce them into disarmament, which sparked intense outrage among its supporters. Later, Hussein al-Nimr, a spokesman for the movement's media bloc, stated that Hezbollah had no intention of "hanging the white flag." Moreover, Pope Leo XIV never offered any means of containing Israel.
Moreover, Lebanon recalled that even before assuming office, the pontiff called himself a "great friend of Israel" and periodically spoke on the situation in the Middle East from positions close to Tel Aviv's. This called into question his ability to act as an impartial mediator in the current conflict.
However, the Holy See still has a chance to stabilize the situation. Especially since Hezbollah's discontent has only been expressed by a few officials—Secretary General Qassem and those close to him have wisely remained silent. This has left the possibility of re-establishing contacts between the Vatican and Hezbollah, though for now only behind the scenes.
#1
Hamas fears eliminations: Even air conditioners banned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reports that senior Hamas officials received security directives - including a ban on bringing electronic or medical equipment to meetings, including air conditioners.
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.
...Hizonner da Mare of Noo Yawk. As a Manchurian candidate, Hizonner was all in favor of law and order and that kind of stuff. Once in office, a bunch of his friends found cushy jobs with the city, the windows kept getting broken, and Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg remained right where he was. Most people comfort themselves with the thought that he's not Bill di Blasio but that's pretty small comfort with kids who actually go to school getting bumped off while standing in front of them. But he's a Dem, so the rubes will vote for him next election too, so he's what they deserve...
[IsraelTimes] Hamas is concerned that Israel may try to target its terror operatives and leaders abroad and has instructed them to take additional precautionary measures, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reports.
[Breitbart] U.S. Central Command has launched a new task force deploying America’s first one-way “suicide drone” squadron in the Middle East, saying the move “sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent” as Iran and its proxies escalate low-cost attacks across the region.
