The Bowe Bergdahl investigation has been complete since last fall.   Back in September of 2014 the first media reports surfaced stating the Army investigation was finished and pending White House review.   In mid-December Chuck Hagel was briefed.

(Fox News) Last Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, indicated that he expected a decision “fairly soon” on whether the Army will court martial Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for allegedly deserting his post in Afghanistan, or has cleared him, paving the way for separation from the service and back pay in excess of $200,000.
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(Via Deadline) American Sniper is huge. So huge that the Clint Eastwood-directed film could, by sunrise, make more in one day than any one of his films ever made in a weekend. Per late night industry estimates, the Warner Bros./Village Roadshow pic looks to gun down $29.1M in its first expanded Friday, within inches of blowing away Eastwood’s previous weekend high, 2009’s Gran Torino at $29.5M.
Hands down, American Sniper’s Friday booty ranks as the highest grossing day ever charted by a film in January – and that goes for an opening (previous record holder was 2008’s Cloverfield at $17.16M) and single day (prior was the $25.8M B.O. racked up by Avatar on Jan. 2, 2010).  (continue reading)

This commercial was winner of the Gouden Loeki 2014 (Dutch commercial award) – “We not only help people who cannot see, but also those who have seen too much. It’s only 30 seconds, but watch it and you’ll see why:

Asia Times Online,  Jan 16/2015:
Saudi reset with Iran unavoidable, as Saudi Prince Turki renames IS “Fahesh” (obscene)….

The terrorist strike last week on the Saudi border post facing the Iraqi province of Anbar — known to be the Islamic State’s first assault on the kingdom — could be the proverbial straw on the camel’s back, forcing Riyadh into a profound rethink of its regional strategies imbued with the rivalries involving Iran…
Tehran has effectively countered the Saudi plots in Syria and Iraq and at the moment would seem to have the upper hand. The last-ditch Saudi attempt to hurt the Iranian economy by forcing a steep decline in oil prices is not only not having the desired effect but, as President Hassan Rouhani explicitly warned yesterday, Riyadh may end up shooting at its own feet (as well as the Kuwaiti brother’s).

However, it is the attack on the Saudi post by the IS (killing two border guards and their commanding officer) that becomes a defining moment. The fact that the IS attackers included three Saudi nationals must be a rude awakening. To be sure, the blowback has begun. The Saudis hope to erect a ‘great wall’ and insulate themselves from the IS barbarians next door but that is sheer bravado.
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During the battle for Kobane many people were willing to join the Kurdish YPG forces to aid in battle against ISIS.  Catherine Herridge interviewed on such American…. 
(Via Fox News) All it took was a plane ticket, and an informal background check over Facebook. Then he was ushered to the front lines in Syria, fighting against the Islamic State.
In a rare, exclusive interview with Fox News, a U.S. military veteran with multiple tours in Iraq detailed his journey to Syria to fight against ISIS, on the condition his identity was protected.
The veteran, who asked to be identified as “John,” described a surprisingly simple process that took him from America to the dangerous Syrian civil war – and not as part of the U.S. military.
“I just went online and bought a ticket. It was that easy. It was like booking a flight to Miami Beach,” said “John.”
Then he found a Kurdish group known as the YPG. (more…)

The “investigation” of Bowe Bergdahl ran into the political problems of a mid-term election year 2014, so the probe of the tender wallflower was stretched out to give the White House breathing room.   Despite the slow movement, the investigation itself finished last September, two months before the election, and apparently now DoD leadership is being notified of the findings….

WASHINGTON – The Army has finished its investigation into how and why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared from his base in Afghanistan and senior Pentagon leaders have been briefed, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, officials said Friday.

Details about the probe’s conclusion have been closely held. But they are likely to lay out whether Bergdahl deserted his post or was “absent without leave” or AWOL. And it could include recommendations on whether Bergdahl should be charged with any criminal violations or forced to leave the Army. Any final disposition will eventually also determine whether Bergdahl gets as much as $300,000 in back pay and other benefits, including continued health care. (more…)

North Carolina – Approximately 1,000 paratroopers from the Army’s famed 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq early next year to help the Iraqi security forces take on the Islamic State, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The soldiers from the 82nd’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., will begin to deploy in late January to train, advise and assist the ISF, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters.
Their mission is part of the coalition effort to build up the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga so that they can recapture territory from Islamic State militants.
The paratroopers are preparing for a nine-month deployment, according to a spokeswoman for the 82nd Airborne. (more…)

The Democrat Senate committee reviewed more than 6 million pages of top-secret CIA documents and found that the architect of the interrogation program was a retired Air Force psychologist named James Mitchell, an agency contractor who — according to news reports — personally waterboarded alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The Senate report does not identify Mitchell by name.
Mitchell has a signed a non-disclosure agreement with the CIA and was unable to discuss his alleged role in the agency’s enhanced interrogation program, but VICE News met up with him in suburban Florida to discuss the Senate’s report and one of the darkest chapters of the war on terror. This is the first time Mitchell has ever appeared on camera:

A really insightful paper written about the current status of Kobane Syria.  Quite a remarkable glimpse into the status, thoughts, hopes and prayers of those who are there. I hope you find it both reflective and enlightening…

Planting Trees In Kobane

After two months of restless nights, we are all finally starting to sleep a little better.  The siege of Kobane is drawing to a close in the form of an historic and complete victory for the towns undaunted defenders.

The Daesh gangsters are exhausted, demoralised, and cut off from their supply routes.  The road from Kobane to Raqqa is severed now, and the 200 or so daeshbags remaining in southern and eastern Kobane are short of food and ammunition, and their morale is failing.

Those remaining have descended into the sewers “literally, on this occasion”. (more…)