If Eli Lake leaves the Daily Beast you will see this level of exposition stop immediately.  Despite his leftist leanings on the subject of Libya and Islamic extremism Mr. Lake is perhaps the most accurate of all reporters on the specifics.  We  give him props for swimming against the tide of his colleges and outlining the falsehoods present in the Obama ‘head-in-the-sand’ hypocrisy around Islam.  -SD

(Via Eli Lake – Daily Beast) In 2012, the Obama administration produced a draft National Intelligence Estimate that reached a surprising conclusion: al Qaeda was no longer a direct threat to America. That classified assessment, which has never before been publicly disclosed, was in keeping with the message coming from the White House. President Obama rode to re-election in 2012 partly on the success of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. At rallies and in press conferences, the president and top officials publicly said al Qaeda was on the run.

But some senior U.S. intelligence officials, like Defense Intelligence Agency Director Gen. Michael Flynn, fought hard against that assessment, which amounted to an official pronouncement of the American intelligence community’s collected wisdom. Flynn and his faction won a partial victory, striking the judgment that the terrorist group no longer posed a threat to the homeland. “Flynn and others at the time made it clear they would not go along with that kind of assessment,” one U.S. intelligence officer who worked on the al Qaeda file told The Daily Beast. “It was basically: ‘Over my dead body.’” (more…)

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I hate living in a time where we need to consider U.S. motivations in publicizing the issues of AQAP; …..and the potential for this to be a strategic media discussion.  “Hate” is a strong word, but in this example it’s not even strong enough – sorry. 
If we remove our own government’s ulterior motives from the equation, which is not easy, we are left to discuss the possibility Obama’s weakness in Syria and now Ukraine is specifically emboldening AQAP to think bigger than they normally would.
Regardless, it should be noted that historically AQAP only broadcasts their open meetings when something, some event, is already well underway. That said – it is prudent to be extra cautious and pay attention to the EU and Central Middle East (ie Egypt).  

Never forget that upon a scale of rabid religious ideology – AQAP is at the very top in a deeply held belief they are engaged in a “Holy War”.   Here’s the CNN report:
Washington (CNN) — A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn’t know about it or couldn’t get a drone there in time to strike.
U.S. officials won’t comment on that, but every frame of the video is now being analyzed by the United States. (more…)

Sometimes it helps to pause and reflect, then evaluate for yourself:

IRAN – In 2009, from the now infamous Cairo Speech, an uprising of the student led “Green Movement” striving for a voice amid the heavy hand of hard-line Islamist governance began.   President Obama chose to reach out to Iran’s leadership and ignored the calls for assistance from the young reformers.   The Green Party was killed.  The Mullahs reigned supreme.  Through inaction Obama sided with the Islamists.

TUNISIA – (Where the West claimed the “Arab Spring” began)  Tunis caught the global political elites off guard.  It should not have come as a surprise.  We were outlining the growing immigration powder keg for years.   Tunis exploded as a consequence of Ben Ali and Quadaffi taking billions from the EU to shut the immigration gates.
Simultaneously, in the WEST, the more willing to engage ‘New Media’ began to report the speeches from UK, France and Germany that Multi-culturalism had failed.   However, few connected the dots to Tunis and how the shutting of the North African gates created a bottleneck within Tunisia and Libya.   It was simply a matter of time before economic anxiety exploded within the cultural petri-dish.  It did, in a big way.
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A reliable outside Tree House military source says “watch the Maldives“... 

• Police investigate data from home flight  simulator of captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53
• Investigators speak of his ‘obsessive’  support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
• Police officers fear  Ibrahim being jailed could have left Shah profoundly upset

(Via UK Daily Mail ) Police are investigating the possibility that  the pilot of missing Flight MH370 hijacked his own aircraft in a bizarre  political protest.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that Captain  Zaharie Ahmad Shah was an ‘obsessive’ supporter of Malaysia’s opposition leader,  Anwar Ibrahim. And hours before the doomed flight left Kuala Lumpur it is  understood 53-year-old Shah attended a controversial trial in which Ibrahim was  jailed for five years.
Campaigners say the politician, the key  challenger to Malaysia’s ruling party, was the victim of a long-running smear  campaign and had faced trumped-up charges. (more…)