(VIA NBC) The Islamist terror group ISIS claims it has beheaded a Japanese journalist, a week after beheading another Japanese hostage and demanding the release of a would-be suicide bomber.

A video released Saturday claimed that reporter Kenji Goto was executed after a Thursday deadline for Jordan to release prisoner Sajida al-Rishawi was not met. Although NBC News has not yet verified the video, it appears consistent with other ISIS hostage videos, according to analysts SITE Intelligence. (more…)

It has long been suspected that President Obama took the direction to empty GITMO of detainees as a strategic maneuver once he was politically unable to put them into Federal DOJ custody for trial. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel confirms the pressure in that regard.
President Obama and his leftist ideologues want GITMO closed. Sending the detainees to Qatar or Mid-East allies became the politically strategic direction.

When is a Terrorist Attack not a Terrorist Attack?  When it’s carried out by the Taliban who the White House claims is not a terrorist group….  or something.

SUMMERVILLE, SC (WCSC) — A South Carolina man was killed in a terrorist attack in Afghanistan Thursday, according to his family.
Matthew Fineran, 42, of Summerville, was killed in a shooting, his family confirmed. He was the father of six children.
A spokesman for Praetorian Standard Incorporated says three of its employees were killed in a shooting at the airport in Kabul. A fourth employee was wounded, according to the company.
The Pentagon says the gunman who killed the three American contractors in an attack Thursday at the Kabul airport was wearing an Afghan uniform. (more…)

The French are now concerned the murder video will be hosted in pro-jihad forums.  In addition a Go-Pro camera was found in the getaway vehicle used by the Charlie Hebdo terrorists.

Eyes Wide Open – This announcement follows with what we previously shared yesterday regarding the current Islamist alignment (President Obama, Hamas, ISIS, Muslim Brotherhood, and Ansar Beit al-Maqdis) in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Libya.  al-Sisi now viewed as the greatest threat to the fulfillment of the Islamic Jihad.

(Via WFB) The Muslim Brotherhood called for “a long, uncompromising jihad” in Egypt just days after a delegation of the Islamist group’s key leaders and allies met with the State Department, according to an official statement released this week.
Just days after a delegation that included two top Brotherhood leaders was hosted at the State Department, the organization released an official statement calling on its supporters to “prepare” for jihad, according to an independent translation of the statement first posted on Tuesday. (more…)

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.

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…)