Several key strategic incidents occurring today which will lead to a bigger story soon to surface. It bodes well to understand the day-to-day strategic positioning, which lends to understanding what is about to happen. The media will not report on these individual examples, nor are they disposed to connect the dots of consequence.

First, a widespread and strategic attack by ISIS against several targets in the Northern Sinai region has taken place. At least 25 members of Egyptian military and civilians have been killed. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has been outlined as responsible for the attacks.
The Islamists within Ansar Beit al-Maqdis were initially inspired by al-Qaida, but last year the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.
This follows an uptick in calls for the assassination of Egypt’s President Fattah al-Sisi by the Muslim Brotherhood. Additionally, and to support their efforts, the Brotherhood were hosted last week by members of the U.S. Obama administration. (more…)

Obviously this revelation becomes a serious political risk to the White House.  However, it should come as no surprise given the history of the Qatari government.  In addition to providing sanctuary for the Gitmo-5, Qatar was the safe harbor for the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood until they were pressured to stop (by Egypt and the Gulf Arab states) – the Brotherhood leaders then left Qatar for Turkey.

Washington (CNN) – The U.S. military and intelligence community now suspect that one of the five Taliban detainees released from Guantanamo Bay in return for Sgt Bowe Bergdahl in May of last year has attempted to return to militant activity from his current location in Qatar, CNN has learned exclusively. The development has led to an ongoing debate inside the administration about whether there is a new threat from this man, and potentially the other four. (more…)

According to Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings, Hillary Clinton is eager to present herself for testimony to the Congressional Select Benghazi Committee. Obviously the Democrats  would prefer it to be ASAP -and- we predict within a few weeks you will see a shift in strategy which will put Gowdy solidly back on his heels and marginalize his position.
According to Trey Gowdy the State Department is hiding documents and blocking witness testimony – which he demands prior to interviewing Hillary Clinton.  The Democrats scoff at his claims saying bazillions of pages, hearings, testimonials, and documents have been provided.  Cummings is playing Chess, Gowdy is playing checkers.
The White House, the State Department, and the Democrats on the panel have a well-planned strategy to derail any political risk stemming from Benghazi; and even though I know many readers are fans of Gowdy, it appears he is being played like a finely tuned instrument.

(more…)

Libya has devolved into a horrific civil war.  Within this vacuum of non-government, the Islamic State secures a foothold.  In Libya, the various Islamist factions are coalescing under the name New Libya Dawn, which is essentially, ISIS.  • Hostages have been taken.

LIBYA – At least eight people, including five foreigners, were killed during an attack by gunmen against a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Tuesday, a security official told local television.
Mahmoud Hamza, director of Libya’s special deterrence force, told al-Naba television that five foreigners, including two women, as well as a security officer and two of the gunmen, died in the attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli. He did not give the nationalities of the foreigners. Militants from Isis in Libya claimed responsibility for the attack nearby.
A hotel staffer said the attack began when five masked gunmen wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security guards at the hotel’s gate tried to stop them. He said they entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby. (more…)

When President Erdogan loses that also means his ideological brother, President Obama, also loses…

Beirut (AFP) – Kurdish fighters have expelled Islamic State group militants from inside the Syrian border town of Kobane, a monitor said Monday, dealing a key symbolic blow to the jihadists’ ambitions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) had pushed IS militants out of the town after four months of fighting. (more…)

While Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia are actively pressuring Qatar to stop funding terrorists, successfully forcing Qatar to stop providing safe harbor for 6 Muslim Brotherhood terrorists (who transferred to Turkey), President Obama is funneling U.S. captured terrorists into Qatar. Go figure…
(Via Daily Beast) Before he was released from a U.S. maximum-security prison last week, a confessed al Qaeda sleeper agent was offered up in a potential prisoner swap that would have freed two Americans held abroad.
The Daily Beast has learned that the proposal was floated in July 2014 to the then-U.S. ambassador in Qatar by an individual acting on behalf of that country’s attorney general. According to two individuals with direct knowledge of the case, the proposition was made shortly after the Obama administration traded five Taliban fighters for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Those fighters were also sent to Qatar, where they’re to remain under government watch until later this year. U.S. officials have said they’re at risk of plotting further attacks against the United States. (more…)

Via WeaselZippers – The name on the Twitter account threatening the Dallas plane is “Junaid Hussain”. That is the name of the man who claimed to be behind the cyber attack on the Centcom twitter feed. Hussain claims to be in charge of the Cyber Caliphate for ISIS.

It is not clear yet if this account is truly related to him or ISIS, but it is clear whoever it is wants people to think it is.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Two planes have been evacuated on arrival at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport due to what a spokesman called a “security concern.”
Airport spokesman Perry Cooper says a JetBlue flight from Long Beach, California, and a regional SkyWest jet from Phoenix were the planes involved. The flights arrived late Sunday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/559505475322904579
Cooper said that out of an abundance of caution, passengers were bused to their gates from the airport’s third runway. He said the matter was under investigation and he did not have further details. (more…)

Perhaps the least understood of all the Obama/Clinton follies.
The recent rise of extremist violence within Europe actually explains the 2011 decision to remove gatekeeper Kaddaffi. The 2010 Rivkin Project in France, combined with EU leaders simultaneously admitting the failures of multiculturalism led to a knee-jerk globalist reaction from the far left to save their collectivist vision.

It was only a few months ago when all evidence indicated that Erdogan’s henchmen killed an American female journalist who was about to expose his alignment and support for ISIS.  Now another woman is targeted by Turkish authorities....
(Via Breitbart) Turkish authorities have arrested former Miss Turkey, Merve Buyuksarac, 26, because she quoted a poem on social media that insults President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The arrest is the latest in a crackdown on free speech in Turkey that has worsened since two radical Islamists slaughtered twelve people at satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France.
Buyuksarac, an industrial designer and writer, quoted the poem “The Master’s Poem” from weekly humor magazine Uykusuz on her Facebook page. The poem criticizes “the president through verses adapted from Turkey’s national anthem.” She deleted the post after a friend warned her about the government’s intrusion on freedom of speech.
“I shared it because I found it funny,” she claimed. “I had no intention to insult (Erdogan).” (more…)

Prayers for the families of the hostages.  It is impossible for us to appreciate the depth of their emotional anxiety; however, we can pray for a resolution which unites them -and- a comfort to surround them.
(CNN)—ISIS will reportedly release a statement “soon” about the two Japanese men it’s threatening to execute Friday.  Japanese broadcaster NHK said it has been in contact online with a spokesman for the militant group who made the assertion.

When asked whether ISIS has been in negotiations with the Japanese government, the spokesman said he wouldn’t comment, NHK reported.
ISIS has threatened to kill the two men — Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa — unless Japan pays the group $200 million. The Japanese government says it estimates that ultimatum expires at 2:50 p.m. Friday, Tokyo time (12:50 a.m. ET Friday). (more…)