Al-Baghdadi is the town recently captured by ISIS as they work to surround the 300+ U.S. Marines stationed at al Assad Air Force base to aid and support the central Iraqi military. This past week a probe attack was launched against U.S. military stationed at the air base.  The attack was presumably launched from the staging ground in the town of Al-Baghdadi.
In another alarming development, today the BBC is reporting that ISIS militants have burned to death 45 people in this town in western Iraq.  According to the report the local police chief, Col Qasim al-Obeidi, is saying members of his security forces are some of the 45 victims.

It was less than a week ago when ISIS fighters captured much of the town near the air base. Now local officials are claiming a compound within the town -said to house the families of other security personnel and local officials- is under attack. Police Chief al-Obeidi is pleading with the central Iraqi government as well as the coalition and international community for assistance. (more…)

It must be noted at the beginning of this discussion to remind readers of what is not stated, along with what is.

Back in November of 2014 President Obama announced his intention to “fix a broken immigration system” with his pen. The basic outline was sold by the White House as a pending “executive order”.  However when the immediate debate erupted around presidential authority in that regard most readers will note that an “executive order” was never actually issued. Instead, after delivering his nationally televised speech, Obama directed Jeh Johnson to modify his DHS immigration enforcement approach with what was/is now called an “executive action“.
The difference between what Obama promised to the illegal alien community via an “executive order”, and what was delivered days later via an “executive action” reflects a key legal distinction affirming the reality that an “executive order” -to intentionally subvert legislative authority- would have been unconstitutional.
The White House Office of Legal Counsel knew and advised Obama from the outset an executive order was impossible.   This aspect Obama himself admitted numerous times over the preceding two years to Latino audiences.  (more…)

In response to the killing of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya Egypt’s President Fattah al-Sisi has called for the international community to join in a united response.
In the leadership role which would normally be filled, or at least bolstered by a determined U.S. President, Egypt’s al-Sisi has asked the United Nations Security Council to convene and organize a response to “an active terrorist threat”. Sisi was visiting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on the same day that Pope Francis condemned the attack calling the victims “Christian Martyrs”.

“Today I read about the execution of those twenty-one or twenty-two Coptic Christians. Their only words were: ‘Jesus, help me!’ They were killed simply because they were Christians.”

Italy’s Renzi and Egypt’s el-Sisi appeared together and spoke at length about the need for a united international community to accept the face of the enemy and engage with strong force to eliminate the growing threat. The Egyptian presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef relayed the details of the diplomatic conversation between Renzi and Sisi.
Renzi affirmed his country’s support and willingness to assist with Egypt’s ongoing efforts.  Three days ago, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said his country was ready to join a U.N-led force to combat “an active terrorist threat”.  Following that statement Renzi called Monday for the United Nation Security Council to send a United Nations-led “mission” to Libya as fast as possible. (more…)

The White House released a statement yesterday regarding the brutal murder of the Coptic Christians in Egypt. Within the statement itself you’ll note the absence of the word “Christian” which continues the administration’s avoidance narrative:

WHITE HOUSE – The United States condemns the despicable and cowardly murder of twenty-one Egyptian citizens in Libya by ISIL-affiliated terrorists.  We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and our support to the Egyptian government and people as they grieve for their fellow citizens.  ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds.  It is unconstrained by faith, sect, or ethnicity.  This wanton killing of innocents is just the most recent of the many vicious acts perpetrated by ISIL-affiliated terrorists against the people of the region, including the murders of dozens of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai, which only further galvanizes the international community to unite against ISIL.

(more…)

The people and groups now identified as “ISIS in Libya” are the same people and groups that Hillary Clinton, Samantha Power and Susan Rice determined back in 2011 to be “rebels” worthy of weapons, missiles and MANPADS to advance their cause.
Don’t forget that pesky detail. EVER.
The Coptic Christians executed today in Libya spent their last moments in prayer.

(Reuters) – Islamic State released a video on Sunday purporting to show the militant group beheading 21 Egyptian Christians kidnapped in Libya.
The Egyptians, dressed in orange jump suits, were beheaded after being forced down on the ground. The video appeared on the Twitter feed of a website that supports Islamic State. (more…)

ANOTHER – “bunch of random folks in a cafe’ in Copenhagen”

[…]“The cafe in northern Copenhagen, known for its jazz concerts, was hosting an event titled “Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression” when the shots were fired. Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told TV2 that at least two people were wounded. (link)

DENMARK – One person is reportedly dead and others are injured after a shooting at a meeting on free speech where a controversial Danish cartoonist was speaking.
Danish media reported a cafe in Copenhagen was peppered with around 30 bullet holes in the shooting. (more…)

… When he finally did act, a month later, they were gone.
WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. government obtained intelligence on the possible location of American captives held by ISIS in Syria last year, but Obama administration officials waited nearly a month to launch a rescue mission because of concerns that the intelligence wasn’t conclusive and some of it had come from a foreign service, U.S. and British officials told The Daily Beast.
British officials, as well as private security contractors, said they were frustrated by Washington’s hesitance to give the go-ahead for a rescue attempt, which eventually was carried out on July 4, 2014, by which time the hostages had been moved. The following month, ISIS began beheading its American and British prisoners in a series of grisly Internet videos. (more…)

WASHINGTON DC – House Speaker John Boehner called on Senate Democrats on Wednesday to “get off their ass” and take up a $40 billion Homeland Security funding measure before a Feb. 27 deadline.
The House-passed measure has been stalled in the Senate thanks to a Democratic filibuster.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the gridlock means it is now “up to the House” to determine what to do next.
Boehner signaled Wednesday he disagrees with McConnell. (more…)

(Washington DC) A Muslim Brotherhood member who recently was hosted at the State Department along with several of the Islamist group’s key allies now claims that a White House official also was present in that meeting, according to recent remarks.

Abdel Mawgoud al-Dardery, a Brotherhood member and former Egyptian parliamentarian, was in the United States late last month along with a delegation of fellow Brotherhood leaders and allies.
The Brotherhood-aligned delegation caused an international stir after the Washington Free Beacon revealed that it had been hosted for a meeting with several State Department officials.
Another member of the group, a Brotherhood-aligned judge in Egypt, posed for a picture while at Foggy Bottom in which he held up the Islamic group’s notorious four-finger Rabia symbol. (more…)