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It is interesting that a soldier who served 36 years in his country's army should be remembered for just two of these. Such is the mystique of Lt General Hamid Gul, the malevolent Pakistani spymaster who died of a cerebral stroke on Saturday. He had an interesting life before his two years at the head of the ISI (1987-89) and after, when he chose to retire voluntarily from the army, unable to stomach his sidelining to what he described as a menial job, to head the "ordnance factory complex" at Taxila. Gul joined his army in 1956, as a cavalryman,...

The Islamic State’s so-called “Khorasan province” threatened the Taliban in a video released late last month. The video, which is more than 15 minutes long, features a lengthy speech by an unnamed jihadist (see image above) in front of armed fighters and local villagers. The speaker, citing the Prophet Mohammed, warns that there cannot be two caliphs. If one of the caliphs fulfills the appropriate criteria for being the ummah’s supposed leader — that is, the head of the worldwide community of Muslims — then the other must be vanquished, the speaker says. Although he doesn’t name Afghan Taliban leader...

In 2011 Barack Obama led from behind a NATO coalition bent on removing Moammar Gaddafi from power in Libya. The removal and death of Gaddafi was, Obama put it, a warning to "iron fisted" rulers everywhere. Syria, Iran and North Korea excepted, of course. Over at Foreign Policy this was hailed as a huge success. "Leading from behind" is an important element of this doctrine. It is no insult to lead but let others feel they too are architects of a plan, to lead without making others feel you are bullying, to lead but do so in a way in...

he key Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to ISIS on Sunday after government security forces pulled out of a military base on the west side of the city, the mayor and a high-ranking security official said. The ISIS advances came after militants detonated a series of morning car bomb blasts, Mayor Dalaf al-Kubaisy and a high-ranking Iraqi security official said. The explosions forced Iraqi security forces and tribal fighters to retreat to the city's east, they said. But Iraqi and U.S. officials said Sunday that the fight for Ramadi is far from over. Clashes have raged in the beleaguered capital...

It’s been four years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated Osama bin Laden in a night raid on a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The killing was the high point of Obama’s first term, and a major factor in his re-election. The White House still maintains that the mission was an all-American affair, and that the senior generals of Pakistan’s army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) were not told of the raid in advance. This is false, as are many other elements of the Obama administration’s account. The White House’s story might have been written by Lewis Carroll:...

As President Obama frees droves of terrorists—including five Yemenis this week—from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo news reports confirm that a Gitmo alum who once led a Taliban unit has established the first Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) base in Afghanistan. His name is Mullah Abdul Rauf and international and domestic media reports say he’s operating in Helmand province, actively recruiting fighters for ISIS. Citing local sources, a British newspaper writes that Rauf set up a base and is offering good wages to anyone willing to fight for the Islamic State. Rauf was a corps commander during...

Are the DHS and FBI trying to protect troops or only to depress and demoralize them? Is this how the DHS can keep active duty soldiers from sending messages of Christmas hope to their families? A Marine Mom asks Canada Free Press (CFP) this vital question: “Does it make any sense that the DHS and FBI are telling veterans, their families and active duty troops to scrub their social media sites, while Holiday Greeting YouTubes posted by the military itself are still online online after Sunday night’s warning was issued?” “The FBI on Sunday issued the strongest warning to date...

The Taliban may be prepared to renounce terrorism and sever links with al Qaeda, accept a power sharing role in a new Afghan government and even tolerate American bases in their country, according to a new report. A panel of four experts from the Royal United Services Institute interviewed four senior figures - each one part of the "pragmatic" or "moderate" part of the Islamist movement - at a secret location in the Arabian Gulf. The four figures, among them two former Taliban ministers, a Mujahideen commander and a well-connected negotiator, surprised the experts by insisting that they had no...

The Long War Journal: Al Douri forms nationalist Sunni coalition; 1920s Revolution Brigades denounces al Qaeda Written by Bill Roggio on October 4, 2007 11:34 AM to The Long War Journal Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/al_douri_forms_natio.php The Sunni insurgency continues to fracture as US and Iraqi forces are on the offensive in central and northern Iraq. Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, the most wanted Baathist and leader in the Sunni insurgency, has formed a new insurgent front which is willing to negotiate, while a faction of the 1920s Revolution Brigades openly denounced al Qaeda. A grouping of 22 Sunni insurgent groups have...

Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence directorate is using terrorist brinkmanship to threaten India and undermine Nawaz Sharif. It’s time to stop this dangerous game. Just when you thought the world was dangerous enough, another crisis between nuclear-weapons-armed India and Pakistan is brewing, and now al Qaeda is adding fuel to the fire by calling for jihad in the subcontinent. Tensions have been growing all summer long, even though, ironically, things began on a positive high note: in June, newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who swept into power on a landslide, invited his Pakistan counterpart, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to his...

Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, of San Diego California was killed over the weekend in fighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and a Syrian opposition group, according to the Free Syrian Army. After the battle, McCain, along with his American passport and the bodies of three other foreign jihadis were found. McCain, who referred to himself as “Duale ThaslaveofAllah” on Facebook made his allegiance to Islam apparent on his social media pages. His Twitter bio read: “It’s Islam over everything.”

BAGHDAD - The suspected leader of an al-Qaida-linked militant network was captured Thursday by Iraqi military forces.Abu Omar al-Baghdadi has been a key target for U.S. and Iraqi forces for years as the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni militant factions that is believed dominated by al-Qaida in Iraq.

About Us Subscribe Contact Us Donate RSS Home » News ISIS Leader to USA: ‘Soon We Will be in Direct Confrontation’ June 13, 2014 - 11:54 AM By Terence P. Jeffrey Subscribe to Terence P. Jeffrey RSS Share on Facebook Share on Twitter More Sharing Services 0 Share on print Share on email Abu Bakr al Baghdadi Abu Bakr al Baghdadi (Photo/Iraqi Ministry of Interior) (CNSNews.com) - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), issued a rare audio message back on January 21 in which he flatly stated his group’s intention to march...

At least 5 people have reportedly been killed and an airport emergency declared after heavily armed militants stormed the airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Twelve militants are thought to be inside and fire is seen rising from the scene. The militants launched grenades and opened fire as they entered the building. Two of the terrorists have reportedly been killed. At least three blasts were heard, and an airport emergency has been declared, with flight operations suspended, reported the local Karachi Post. The five people killed are Airport Security Force (ASF) staff, according to Pakistani news channel Geo.tv

NEW DELHI: Central security agencies have claimed that Pakistan´s ISI had plans to carry out terror attacks on two foreign consulates in India with evidence for this reportedly given by a Sri Lankan national, arrested from Chennai, during his interrogation. Official sources claimed on Sunday that Sakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan national, told his interrogators that he had been hired allegedly by an official in Pakistani high commission in Colombo as part of the ISI´s alleged plans to conduct reconnaissance of US consulate in Chennai and Israeli consulate in Bengaluru. Hussain was arrested on April 29 in a coordinated operation...

Now wait a minute. We're constantly told that no Muslims in the U.S. -- none -- adhere to Al Qaeda's understanding of Islam, and only greasy Islamophobes think otherwise. So how did Amiir Farouk Ibrahim, no doubt known to all and sundry back home in Pennsylvania as a solid and respectable burgher of serious mien, come to misunderstand his peaceful religion so resoundingly? "American passport found at al Qaeda base in northern Syria," by Bill Roggio for the Long War Journal, July 23 (thanks to Jerk Chicken): A passport said to belong to an American citizen was found among a...

A group behind assaults on Shiites in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for tandem attacks on a university bus and a hospital that killed at least 24. The Sunni extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi announced on Sunday that it had sent a female suicide bomber to strike the bus in Quetta, capital of the restive Balochistan province, killing 14 students from a women's university near a Shiite neighborhood on Saturday. About 90 minutes later, a follow-up attack on the hospital treating survivors left at least 11 dead and led to a prolonged gun battle between security forces and militants occupying part of the...

Photo: Bruce Reidel said, "The army has provided safe haven, arms, expertise and other help to Taliban. It briefly pretended to abandon Taliban to avoid American anger in 2001 misleading George W Bush." (Reuters) Washington - As the US prepares to leave Afghanistan, Pakistani spy agency ISI is engaged in helping Taliban, a terrorist outfit which the intelligence agency has been helping for more than two decades now, a top American expert on South Asian affairs has said. "For twenty years Pakistan's army, the real power broker in the country, has backed the Afghan Taliban. It helped create the Taliban's...

Note: Photo included with article. SNIPPET: "U.S. authorities have transferred Younis al-Mauritani, held in Afghanistan, to Mauritania, officials in the West African nation said on Saturday. Pakistan said in September 2011 it arrested al-Mauritani, better known in his homeland Mauritania as Youssouf Al Mauritani, during a joint operation with U.S. intelligence services." SNIPPET: "Pakistani military authorities said Al Mauritani was planning to attack U.S. economic interests including pipelines, hydro-electric dams and oil tankers when he was captured."

Image that accompanied Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's audiotape announcing the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The flag was originally al Qaeda in Iraq's banner, but has been adopted by other al Qaeda affiliated and associated groups. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group. The emir of al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Abu Bakr al Baghdadi (also known as Abu Dua), has announced a new brand for his organization's efforts: the "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant." The new name replaces all previous brands used by al Qaeda's affiliates in Iraq and Syria, including the...