President Obama has absolutely no intention to confront the Iranian ships headed to Yemen; pontifications to the contrary are *ridiculous in the extreme.  Any Navy deployment in the region is pure theater. Nothing more, nothing less…

(*pay attention to Kuwait)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Navy officials say the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming toward the waters off Yemen and will join other American ships prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

The U.S. Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea amid reports that a convoy of Iranian ships may be headed toward Yemen to arm the Houthis. (more…)

It should be noted Al-Shabaab -which is also known as AQNA (al-Qaeda in North Africa)- has previously been conclusively identified as maintaining training bases in Mexico (Report from 2011).  It is the same group responsible for the Kenya Mall attacks and has threatened the Mall of America. 

GARISSA, Kenya — Al-Shabaab gunmen rampaged through a university in northeastern Kenya at dawn Thursday, killing 147 people in the group’s deadliest attack in the East African country. Four militants were slain by security forces to end the siege just after dusk.

The masked attackers armed with AK-47s singled out non-Muslim students at Garissa University College and then gunned them down without mercy, survivors said. Others ran for their lives with bullets whistling through the air.

The gunmen had strapped themselves with explosives, Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said. When Kenyan officers shot at the four, the attackers exploded “like bombs” and shrapnel from the explosions injured officers, he said. (more…)

It is never about the truth, it is always about placing themselves in the best political light. The White House sincerely does not care about the extent of the lies, they simply need to provide their advocates with a political claim to use in their defense.

The White House team (ValJar, McDonough, Blinkin and Rhodes) genuinely felt they could use the Bergdahl release in 2014 as an opportunity to spike the football and claim a patriotic victory. They genuinely thought the U.S. electorate would dance in the streets and give the White House high praise for Sgt. Bergdahl’s release. Hence the grand display in the rose garden with Mom and Dad.

It should be noted (by his own choosing) Bowe Bergdahl has never talked to his parents, not even in the past year since his release. Never talked to them nor met them, not once.

The White House had no idea Bergdahl was considered a traitor by so many people, they were caught completely off-guard. Everything after that has been a strategy of avoidance, obfuscation, misleading statements and political positioning. Including the latest strategy to ‘leak’ information that is absurd, ridiculous and stated only to protect their own image.

Washington (CNN)  Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told the military he left his unit in eastern Afghanistan in July 2009 intending to walk to the nearest U.S. military outpost to report wrongdoing, believing he could not trust his own commanders to deal with his concerns, according to sources familiar with the Army investigation. It is the clearest indication yet of the motive behind his decision to leave his post. (more…)

We noted yesterday how General David Petraeus recently warned the Iranian Militias were a greater threat than the Sunni ISIS fighters they oppose. Fighting to aid the Shiite Militia is -for all intents and purposes- direct aid to agenda of Iran. FUBAR.

BREAKING: US airstrikes underway in stalled Iraqi battle to retake Tikrit from Islamic State group.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2015

Meanwhile the Kurdish people who could really benefit from our efforts, and who pose no threat to U.S. interests, are left without support and/or weapons to fight.

(Via Long War Journal) The US-led military Coalition in Iraq is openly supporting Iranian-backed Shiite militias and Iraqi forces who are battling Islamic State fighters entrenched in Tikrit. Many of the Shiite militia commanders are listed by the US as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and one militia is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Many of the commanders and militias are responsible for killing US, Coailition, and Iraqi troops and civilians during the occupation of Iraq.

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) announced today that “operations to support Iraqi Security Forces in Tikrit have commenced after a request from the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al Abadi,” in a press released issued by the US-led command. (more…)

No details yet, but this essentially destroys the Obama claim the U.S. was not working with Iranian army.

BREAKING: US airstrikes underway in stalled Iraqi battle to retake Tikrit from Islamic State group.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2015

@JenGriffinFNC confirms US to do airstrikes over Tikrit

— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) March 25, 2015

FUBAR NUTS – not only is the U.S. facilitating the Iranians to gain the capability for nuclear weapons – but our U.S. Air Force is now conducting air strikes to benefit the Shia Army of Iran and General Qasem Soleimani. Why it was only a few days ago when Petraeus was asked:

QUESTION – What are your thoughts when you see Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC’s Quds Force commander who funded and armed the militias who blew up U.S. troops [killing and wounding thousands of U.S. soldiers] and shelled the U.S. Embassy while you were in it, taking battlefield tours like you used to?

[…]  I have several thoughts when I see the pictures of him, but most of those thoughts probably aren’t suitable for publication in a family newspaper like yours. What I will say is that he is very capable and resourceful individual, a worthy adversary. He has played his hand well. But this is a long game, so let’s see how events transpire.

(more…)

BREAKING: Residents are looting Yemeni presidential compound in Aden vacated hours earlier by President Hadi: witnesses

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2015

State Dept. confirms Yemen's president has left his house, but doesn't know where he is http://t.co/AKHz5Sgulq pic.twitter.com/jcAbABF9Bk

— Noema Magazine (@NoemaMag) March 25, 2015

ISIS is claiming victory in Yemen, the Yemeni President has fled, the U.S. air base has been abandoned, the U.S. embassy was evacuated.   However, despite these troubling facts and reports the White House is sticking by their former assertions that Yemen is a success story.  Watch Josh Earnest today: (more…)

BREAKING NEWS – It is being widely reported that at 3:30pm (EST) today at Fort Bragg North Carolina an announcement will be made as to the status of Bowe Bergdahl and what charges, if any, he will face.

UPDATE: BREAKING LEAK – Bergdahl will be charged with two criminal charges: #1 Desertion, #2 Misbehavior before the Enemy.

♦  The first charge “Desertion” is remarkably different from AWOL.  “Desertion” implies specific evidence to prove the soldier charged intended to stay with the enemy.

♦  The second charge “Misbehavior before the enemy” has several aspects:  • Running away • Abandoning or surrendering command • Putting safety of command in danger • Throwing down arms  • Conduct that is cowardly  (more here)

(more…)

An excellent article in the Washington Post today includes written Question and Answer exchange with General David Petraeus after a recent re-visit to Iraq and the region.

General Petraeus: […] I think Iraq and the coalition forces are making considerable progress against the Islamic State. In fact, I would argue that the foremost threat to Iraq’s long-term stability and the broader regional equilibrium is not the Islamic State; rather, it is Shiite militias, many backed by — and some guided by — Iran.

These militia returned to the streets of Iraq in response to a fatwa by Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Sistani at a moment of extreme danger. And they prevented the Islamic State from continuing its offensive into Baghdad. Nonetheless, they have, in some cases, cleared not only Sunni extremists but also Sunni civilians and committed atrocities against them.

Thus, they have, to a degree, been both part of Iraq’s salvation but also the most serious threat to the all-important effort of once again getting the Sunni Arab population in Iraq to feel that it has a stake in the success of Iraq rather than a stake in its failure. Longer term, Iranian-backed Shia militia could emerge as the preeminent power in the country, one that is outside the control of the government and instead answerable to Tehran. (more…)

(Via Fox News) US Army Reserve Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (Ret.) said that the Army is pressuring Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s defense team “to basically cop a plea, to plead out to something, and that would avoid the embarrassment of the entire long-drawn out legal process” on Wednesday’s “O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel.

Shaffer, who previously reported that a decision and announcements on charges for Bergdahl would come in mid-March stated that he believes the White House and the Pentagon do not want Bergdahl’s trial going on at the same time the detainees swapped for him are released at the beginning of May. (link)