[Extensive Regional Back-Story after Presser and MSM report] – Earlier today Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford held a press conference to discusses the four U.S. deaths during a mission in Niger on October 3rd and 4th.  General Dunford walks through the initial timeline as an investigation is ongoing:

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WASHINGTON — An emerging theory among U.S. military investigators is that the Army Special Forces soldiers ambushed in Niger were set up by terrorists, who were tipped off in advance about a meeting in a village sympathetic to local ISIS affiliates, three U.S. officials who have been briefed on the matter told NBC News.
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Less than nine months after taking the oath of office – today President Donald Trump announces the defeat of Islamic State fighters in their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa is “a critical breakthrough” in a worldwide campaign against the militants.

October 21, 2017 – Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Defeat of ISIS in Raqqah
I am pleased to announce that the Syrian Democratic Forces, our partners in the fight against ISIS in Syria, have successfully recaptured Raqqah the terrorist groups self-proclaimed capital city. Together, our forces have liberated the entire city from ISIS control.
The defeat of ISIS in Raqqah represents a critical breakthrough in our worldwide campaign to defeat ISIS and its wicked ideology. With the liberation of ISISs capital and the vast majority of its territory, the end of the ISIS caliphate is in sight.

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It should not be forgotten that President Obama’s National Security Adviser Susan Rice previously stated that Bergdahl: “served his country with honor and distinction.”  Now today:

ABC – Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy via his attorney Monday.
Bergdahl, 31, was charged after he disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in June 2009 and was held in captivity by the Taliban until May 2014.  A judge said Bergdhal’s maximum possible punishment would be life in prison, but he has not been sentenced yet. (read more)

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Had this been any other president and this would be leading the nightly news.  Eight months after taking office and changing the battle strategy, ISIS loses control over their self-declared capital in Raqqa, Syria.
Over the weekend a convoy of ISIS fighters surrendered in Raqqa leaving approximately 200-300 fighters to mount their last stand to the death.

According to Reuters and CBS reports the liberation of Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State, has not yet been declared by the U.S. coalition, yet the declaration remains only a formality.  U.S.-backed militia forces are celebrating as the final house-to-house clearing takes place to get rid of the remaining ISIS remnants.

(Via CBS) – RAQQA, Syria — There’s been no official declaration of victory, but U.S.-backed fighters in Raqqa aren’t waiting for one.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is finished in Raqqa, they said, after hundreds of extremists surrendered over the weekend.

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Against growing immigration policy backlash, early results in the Austria election show the center-right People’s Party (OVP), led by Sebastian Kurz, winning with around 31 percent of the vote.  The second place party, Freedom Party (FPO), with around 27% is even more euro-skeptic and nationalistic minded.  The Social Democrat Party, the former lead party, has dropped to third place with around 26%.

(Via Express UK) The People’s Party (OVP) got 30.2 per cent of the vote, according to exit polls from Austrian news channel ORF.
Mr Kurz’s party is tough on migration, easy on taxes and widely Eurosceptic after rebranding itself over the last few months to propel its popularity in the wealthy Alpine nation.
He is expected to form a coalition with the right-wing populist Freedom party (FPO), who got 26.8 per cent of the vote, according to the latest projections.
Speaking after 85 per cent of the votes were counted, he told his cheering supporters: “Today we have won a huge mandate to change this country, and I promise you I will work with all my energy for change.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears with Mari Bartiromo to discuss the Iranian nuclear agreement and specifically President Trump’s call for revised security terms.
For those who travel through the deep geopolitical grass, this interview is particularly important as Netanyahu outlines the ‘why now’ aspect.  Note specifically how the Prime Minister frames the economic leverage strategy we have discussed –Backstory Here– and how the regional allies President Trump has assembled are all in concert with the larger objectives.  It’s actually a little surprising to see Netanyahu ‘out’ the Big picture.

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In the background, and as a direct counter to how President Trump is using the Trump Doctrine of economic leverage, you will note that China, Russia, Iran and other state adversaries are creating a financial network to avoid their exposure to U.S. trade currency leverage.  Their strategic action is what’s driving up the value of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin as tools to avoid Trump’s leverage and Secretary Mnuchin’s aligned economic policy influence.
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President Trump delivers remarks from the White House discussing Iran and the ongoing certification process for the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
One of the key aspects in the outlined policy is the definition of Iran’s Republican Guard as an official terrorist organization.  This designation positions the official military of a Nation State as terrorist groups.

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Well, well, well… the entire previous weeks claims about the timeline and structure of Stephen Paddock and how he carried out the Mandalay Bay Massacre just changed a full 180 degrees today when Sheriff Joseph Lombardo dropped a statement that Paddock did not begin shooting until his advanced preparation was interrupted by Mandalay Bay security officer Jesus “Jose'” Campos.
According to the latest stunning revelation by Sheriff Lombardo, security guard Campos was responding to a door alarm notification, presumably from a fire exit door being opened by suspect Paddock on the 32nd floor.  Upon reaching the floor, Campos noticed the hotel room suite door was ajar, and heard the sound of drilling (he didn’t knock).

Paddock was drilling a hole in a door (“adjacent room”) when Campos walked in at 9:59pm.  That’s when Paddock opened fire on Campos wounding him in the leg.  Immediately thereafter is when Stephen Paddock broke out the windows and opened fire on the crowd below.
This latest revelation is explosive because it shows Paddock was interrupted in the act of preparing for the attack, and not during the commission of the attack itself.
This explains a great deal about the event and why so many advanced preparations appeared not to have been utilized.  Unused ammunition, body armor, weapons etc.
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UPDATE:

The incident in #ExhibitionRoad #SouthKensington earlier is not being treated as a terror-related incident. It is a road traffic collision.

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 7, 2017

Life With Jihad – Another possible terrorist attack today in London England as a cab driver intentionally plows into a group of pedestrians outside the London Natural History Museum. It appears his rampage was hampered by the bollards and barricades recently put into place as a security precaution.

[Details from Daily Mail] Several people have been injured after a car mounted the pavement and mowed down pedestrians outside the Natural History Museum in London this afternoon.
A man was pinned down by security guards and arrested by police in the heart of the capital’s museum land in Kensington.
Hundreds of terrified tourists fled the scene as the black Toyota Prius – a registered minicab – careered into a sign before ultimately crashing into a crowd of as many as 10 people as it hit a silver car, according to witnesses.

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A Canadian Jihadist, a U.S. Pakistani extremist, and an Islamic Filipino money-man walk into Times Square…

(Via NBC) Authorities have cuffed three men in connection with an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to target concerts, landmarks and crowded subways in New York City in 2016, federal prosecutors announced Friday afternoon.

Three men — Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen based in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old Philippines citizen — were all arrested on terror-related charges in the alleged plot that would have targeted New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2016, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim.

El Bahnasawy was detained on May 21, 2016, after he traveled to Cranford, New Jersey, to carry out the attacks; he has since pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism offenses. Haroon had allegedly made plans to travel to New York to join El Bahnasawy and was arrested in Pakistan. Salic, who allegedly wired money to the U.S. to fund the attack, was arrested in his home country.

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