Marie Harf joined Chris Matthews on MSNBC yesterday to advance an ideology we have actually heard before. When discussing radical Islam, and more specifically ISIS, according to Harf:

“We’re killing a lot of them and we’re going to keep killing more of them. So are the Egyptians, so are the Jordanians. They’re in this fight with us. But we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s lack of opportunity for jobs”.

Now pause for a moment, turn your head at a 25° angle, cross your eyes, pretend she is in direct eye contact with yourself…. and ask the obvious:  “Dear Ms. Harf, if that be true – then why in sam kittens is President Obama asking for AN AUTHORIZATION OF MILITARY FORCE” ? {{Mic Drop}} (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…)

 

That’ll teach em’….

According to ITV News a rather large gathering of people came together rallying to show solidarity for the victims of the weekend’s Copenhagen shootings: “Scores of people have attended a candlelit vigil in Copenhagen tonight following the weekend’s fatal shootings. Two men detained on Sunday by police investigating the two fatal shootings in Copenhagen have been charged with aiding the suspected attacker.

The suspected Copenhagen gunman was a 22-year-old Danish man known to authorities for a history of violence and weapon possession, police have said. Danish media outlets have identified him as Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, though police would not confirm the identity”.  (source link)

One would think the various countries who find themselves victims to the terrorist attacks would additionally be willing to do more to aid in the elimination of the source of the threat. Yet few of the countries are willing to put their own military or defense teams on the ground to join the coalition effort.
It is one thing to hold a candlelight vigil, it is another thing entirely to avoid the need for the candles in the first place.

If it seems like you are seeing an uptick in activity insistent upon you not reconciling six years of our research effort into U.S. activity regarding Mid-East affairs; I can assure you it is because you are….

If you saw the Mediterranean filled with the blood of the Coptic martyrs coinciding simultaneously with the Israel’s call for the return of the Jews to Zion; I can assure you it is because you did….
Now....
(Via Counter Jihad) If it seems that Islamic State (IS) atrocities are descending to ever-more horrific levels of barbarity, then the message is getting through as intended.
As Congress begins to consider the President’s proposed new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), it would be well to understand just how desperately IS has been trying to lure Western ground forces into the land of Al-Sham.
The amputations, beheadings, crucifixions, immolations, and sex slavery – perpetrated in meticulous emulation of the Life of Muhammad and obedience to Islamic Law (shariah) – were from the beginning carefully calculated to ‘strike terror into the hearts of the enemy’ (Q 8:12, 8:60), while also eliciting an emotional reaction that would drive the U.S. recklessly to send its military back to the region’s battlefields. (more…)

I’m sure there will be more from Egypt’s Fattah al-Sisi in the next few days, he is not a person prone to knee-jerk emotional responses to crisis. Research into al-Sisi, and following him for several years, shows he thinks carefully, calls for counsel, takes immediate advice and then makes a strong decision and sticks with it.
That said, as you read this I must point out something in this Reuters example which highlights the bias inherent in Western media that slips past unless you have followed the nuances and details of any event/story. Check out this statement:

[…] “The beheadings could stiffen Sisi’s resolve in dealing with security threats from militants thriving in neighboring Libya’s chaos who want to topple his U.S.-backed government“.

“U.S. backed government“, who does Reuters think they’re kidding?
The Obama administration openly disparages al-Sisi, talks negatively about him, spoke angrily against the removal of Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi and didn’t even call Sisi to congratulate him on his overwhelming election victory. But Reuters says “U.S. backed”, because NOW it fits the narrative a strong Obama needs, unreal. I digress. (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…)

Something about the investigation and reports so far is not adding up. The named suspect does not fit the physical description (picture) released yesterday of a “suspect of interest”…. and notice how quick the media is to use the term “lone wolf”… Hmmm?
(Via Daily Mail) This is the first picture of the terror suspect believed to have killed a film director and Jewish security guard in two attacks in Copenhagen.
Danish-born Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, 22, was killed after opening fire on officers who had closed down the area surrounding Norrebro metro station at about 5am today.
The man – whom police said is known to them due to past violence, gang-related activities and and possession of weapons – is thought to have killed two people in separate attacks at a free speech event and a synagogue.
Film director Finn Noergaard, 55, was killed yesterday at a cafe. Hours later, 37-year-old security employee Dan Uzan was shot in the head as he stood outside a building belonging to the city’s Great Synagogue.
This afternoon two people were led out of an internet cafe in handcuffs as part of the probe. (more…)

One of the reasons why ISIS is continuing to call for the assassination of Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi is because he is destroying the infrastructure terrorists need to carry out their plans.
Last July/August Egyptian military began destroying Hamas terror tunnels in the Sinai region and Gaza.   In a remarkable discovery hidden by western media a full ONE THIRD of all border homes contained terror tunnels into Gaza.  As a consequence of the scope al-Sisi ordered an expanded security perimeter and all border homes destroyed.
Today Egyptian media are reporting on another tunnel discovered, the size of it explains how committed the Muslim Brotherhood is to the destruction of Israel.  Unreal. 

EL-ARISH, Egypt – Egyptian security officials say they have found a 1.5-mile smuggling tunnel leading into the Gaza Strip, the longest such passageway discovered in their crackdown on cross-border smuggling.
They say the tunnel was operated by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which Egypt says is a terrorist organization that played a role in recent attacks against Egyptian security forces. (more…)

WASHINGTON STATE – Police who shot and killed a man accused of hurling rocks at officers in southeastern Washington are drawing criticism from as far away as Mexico.
The death Tuesday of orchard worker Antonio Zambrano-Montes is the fourth fatal police shooting since last summer in Pasco, an agricultural city of 68,000 people about 215 miles southeast of Seattle. It has sparked protests after witnesses said he was running away when he was shot in a busy intersection.

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department on Thursday condemned the shooting of the man raised in that country. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said he was monitoring the situation.
[…]  Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel, whose office was conducting an autopsy on Zambrano-Montes, said he was considering convening an inquest jury to look into the death. (more…)