Details emerge of how coordinated the terrorist attack was on Ataturk airport in Turkey.  Unfortunately the death toll has risen to 42, and the number of wounded 238.  So far no terror organization has claimed official responsibility, however most intelligence and security analysts believe ISIS was to blame.
TURKEY – The terrorists who killed dozens at a busy airport in Istanbul took advantage of the panic sparked when they opened fire at a security checkpoint to detonate their explosives, according to the Turkish prime minister.
The details from the prime minister and others from a Turkish official come as investigators begin to piece together the timeline of the attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, which left 42 dead and 238 wounded.
Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said today the attack, which took place around 10 p.m. Tuesday, began “when the terrorists couldn’t pass the regular security system, when they couldn’t pass the scanners, police and security controls,” Yildirim said.
“They returned and took out their weapons out of their suitcases and opened fire at random at the security check,” he added. (more…)

BREAKING – Two large explosions and significant gunfire has rocked Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. Social media reports taxis have been used ferrying wounded people away from the airport. Witnesses report additional gunfire was heard from the parking garage at the airport. Ataturk International Airport is the largest in Turkey.
Update 4:10pm EDT – ♦ At least 10 people reported killed, 20+ wounded. ♦ The attack has multiple similarities to Brussels.
Update 5:30pm EDT – ♦ Death Toll Climbs To 28, more than 60 wounded.  ♦ There were three explosions.
Update 7:30pm EDT – Death Toll Climbs to 32, more than 88 Wounded. There were three terrorist attackers.

 
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An Egyptian court has sentenced former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to life in prison while simultaneously passing down death sentences for six co-conspirators.
Those who followed the 2011 Islamic uprising in Egypt saw the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton support the Muslim Brotherhood and their candidate Mohamed Morsi.

President Obama was thrilled with the Morsi election and immediately called him with congratulations.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Cairo to express the administration sentiments and well wishes personally.
Unfortunately it did not take long before Morsi began deconstructing the secular social constructs, disbanding the Egyptian court system, and attempting to institute Sharia Law.
Thousands of Coptic Christians were slaughtered after Morsi took control and empowered the Muslim Brotherhood to attack his political enemies.
As president, Mohamed Morsi opened the Egyptian jails releasing hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood terrorists, including Mohamed Al Zawahiri the brother to al-Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan Ayman Al Zawahiri.
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There’s no way these media reports are accidental or not directly connected.  And none of this looks the least bit good against the larger dynamic of the Syrian crisis and President Stompy Feet’s prior position on ISIS.

Yesterday, well, actually Friday, the release of the information was yesterday, Vice-President Joe Biden met in Turkey with President Recep Erdogan.  They met for several hours as reported in The Hill and the topic was an escalated U.S./Turkish military footprint against ISIS :

Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said the U.S. and regional ally Turkey are prepared to seek a military solution in Syria to try to solve the nation’s five-year-long civil war.

Speaking after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Biden stressed that a political solution to the problem would still be preferable.

“But we are prepared if that’s not possible to having a military solution to this operation and taking out Daesh,” he said, according to AFP, using another name for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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There is a lot of serious discussion squished into this interview with former Director of Intelligence Michael Flynn.  However, that said, the larger umbrella issue is summarized near the end – President Obama’s ideological willful blindness to the larger threat presented by ISIS.

This interview reminded me of  previously encapsulated question:

If President Obama did not want to see ISIS destroyed, what would he be doing differently?

Amid the latest consequences for Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet and murdering the pilot – Russia (Putin) begins imposing economic sanctions against Turkey (Erdogan):

France’s socialist President Hollande was already in political trouble prior to the terror attack in Paris and this has only been exacerbated by recent events.  In order for Hollande to remain connected to, and a viable leader of, the people of France – he must now embrace the reality of a growing nationalist sentiment.  Enter Vladimir Putin….

( Via Fox News ) French President Francois Hollande and Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to share intelligence information and cooperate on selecting targets in the fight against the Islamic State group, raising hope for closer ties between Moscow and the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition following the Paris terror attacks.

Putin said that Russia is ready to more broadly coordinate its military action in Syria with the U.S.-led coalition, but he harshly criticized Washington for failing to prevent the downing of a Russian warplane by NATO member Turkey. Hollande said Tuesday’s shoot-down of the Russian jet was a “serious incident, obviously regrettable” that underlined the need for closer coordination between the nations which are fighting the IS.

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The story of CENTCOM analysts accusing commanders of manipulating intelligence reports on ISIS to appease the White House is a story that has some interest in the mainstream media – but what if it is actually connected to a larger issue?

Washington DC -Allegations are mounting that senior intelligence officials at Central Command not only skewed findings on the ISIS war to please D.C., but tried to hide what they did.

In July, a group of intelligence analysts at the U.S. military’s Central Command accused their bosses of distorting and selectively editing intelligence reports about the fight against ISIS in order to portray that campaign as more successful than it really was. As a result of those complaints, the Pentagon’s inspector general opened an investigation.

Now, the allegations of misconduct have extended to a possible cover-up, with some analysts accusing the senior intelligence officials at CENTCOM, Maj. Gen. Steven Grove and his civilian deputy, Gregory Ryckman, of deleting emails and files from computer systems before the inspector general could examine them, three individuals familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.

One U.S. official said the alleged activity could amount to obstruction and interference with the inspector general’s investigation, which began last summer.  (read more)

The presumption within the controversy (as it is generally discussed by the media) is that CENTCOM bosses changed the intel to give the impression of success to please the White House.  But what if that wasn’t the reason?

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You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Turkey, via Erdogan, has been supporting, aiding and funding ISIS for the past two years. Erdogan would never shoot down a Russian fighter without President Obama’s prior approval.

(Begin at 06:00 mark) Putin is putting out a public statement that he is fully aware President Obama and President Erdogan support the Islamic State and ISIS.

Oh SNAP This is Interesting –   General Wesley Clark (Retired) Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander is a deep blue Dem/Obama/Clinton supporter. He just went off the Obama range on CNN and admitted Turkey has been supporting ISIS… Interesting.

Details sketchy – However, as previously anticipated this action could easily be seen as Turkish President Recep Erdogan working diligently to keep the ISIS supply lines open.

Remember, Turkey is a NATO member – if they engage in hostile actions with Russia, it could draw in other NATO allies….. Not Good.  The insufferable Erdogan escaping Putin’s wrath by hiding behind the skirt of U.S., France, Germany and U.K

According to media reports (and video here) a Turkish F16 fighter has shot down a Russian made SU24 (also used by Syrian air force). Here’s the media outline from Reuters:

Turkish F-16 fighter jets shot down a war plane of unknown origin on Tuesday after it violated Turkish air space close to the Syrian border and ignored warnings, a Turkish military official told Reuters.

Separately, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said he had spoken with the chief of military staff and the foreign minister about developments on the border. The statement did not mention the downed jet. (link)

Excl: 2 pilots ejected from Sukhoi24 along Turkish border N of Latakia after Turkish F16 fires air to air missiles, downing plane. @FoxNews

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) November 24, 2015

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