Category: 05 Civil War

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Owl: Supreme Court Justices on Tyranny in America

05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, Cultural Intelligence
Who? Who?
Who? Who?

Justices Souter and O’Connor, Intelligence Agency Heads and Congressmen All Warn of Tyranny in America

Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter told University of New Hampshire School of Law that the “pervasive civic ignorance” in the U.S. could bring dictatorship:

“I don’t worry about our losing a republican government in the United States because I’m afraid of a foreign invasion. I don’t worry about it because of a coup by the military, as has happened in some other places. What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed people will not know who is responsible, and when the problems get bad enough — as they might do for example with another serious terrorist attack, as they might do with another financial meltdown — some one person will come forward and say:  ‘Give me total power and I will solve this problem.’ That is how the Roman republic fell.  Augustus became emperor not because he arrested the Roman senate. He became emperor because he promised that he would solve problems that were not being solved.”

More:

2 U.S. Supreme Court Justices – And Numerous Other Top Government Officials – Warn of Dictatorship

 

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NIGHTWATCH: Pakistan Military Cancels All Peace Negotiations with Pakistani Taliban — Military Operations Expected Shortly

05 Civil War

Pakistan: Pakistani press reported today, “Authoritative sources have told the government clearly there is no space left for holding talks with the militants after the attacks carried out by militants against senior army officials and against religious minorities. “

“This is because instead of giving a positive response to the talks offer, the militants have considered it as their success and as Pakistan's weakness. The prime minister and the federal interior minister have been told to once again contact those politicians, who were present in the All Parties Conference, in order to hold consultations with them on this new situation. The offer of talks should be officially withdrawn and permission should be given for carrying out operation against the terrorists.”

Continue reading “NIGHTWATCH: Pakistan Military Cancels All Peace Negotiations with Pakistani Taliban — Military Operations Expected Shortly”

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Berto Jongman: Al Shabaab in Somalia

01 Poverty, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Terrorism, 5 Star, Terrorism & Jihad, Threats (Emerging & Perennial), Worth A Look
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

Since early 2007 a new breed of combatants has appeared on the streets of Mogadishu and other towns in Somalia: the ‘Shabaab', or youth, the only self-proclaimed branch of al-Qaeda to have gained acceptance (and praise) from Ayman al-Zawahiri and ‘AQ centre' in Afghanistan. Itself an offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, which split in 2006, Shabaab has imposed Sharia law and is also heavily influenced by local clan structures within Somalia itself. It remains an infamous and widely discussed, yet little-researched and understood, Islamist group.

Amazon Page
Amazon Page

Hansen's remarkable book attempts to go beyond the media headlines and simplistic analyses based on alarmist or localist narratives and, by employing intensive field research conducted within Somalia, as well as on the ground interviews with Shabaab leaders themselves, explores the history of a remarkable organisation, one that has survived predictions of its collapse on several occasions. Hansen portrays al-Shabaab as a hybrid Islamist organization that combines a strong streak of Somali nationalism with the rhetorical obligations of international jihadism, thereby attracting a not insignificant number of foreign fighters to its ranks. Both these strands of Shabaab have been inadvertently boosted by Ethiopian, American and African Union attempts to defeat it militarily, all of which have come to nought.

See Also:

Qwant: Al Shabaab Across the Board

Al Shabaab Tweets [Account Suspended]

 

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Chuck Spinney: Bill Polk Primer on Syria & Chemical Weapons

03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 05 Iran, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Extraterrestial Intelligence, Government, Military, Officers Call, Strategy
Chuck Spinney
Chuck Spinney

My friend Bill Polk, a well-known historian with extensive experience in the Middle East and Central Asia and author of many books on these areas, has written a backgrounder on how to make sense out of the Syrian chemical weapons issue.  He has given me permission to distribute it.  Herewith is his most interesting primer on the Syrian chemical weapons issue.

Chuck Spinney

Reflections on the Syrian Chemical Weapons Issue and Beyond

William R. Polk

September 15, 2013

1.The Variety of Weapons and Their characteristics
2 A Short History of Chemical Weapons
3 The Russian Intervention
4 Why the Syrians Have Accepted the Russian Proposal
5. The Prospects for Ridding The Area of Weapons of Mass Destruction
6 The Possibility of Ending the Civil War
7 Who Are the Insurgents and What do they Want?
8 Predictable Results of a Collapse of the Syrian State

Full essay below the line.

Continue reading “Chuck Spinney: Bill Polk Primer on Syria & Chemical Weapons”

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4th Media Et Al: Syria Round-Up 6.0 — Saudi Arabia as Primary Source of Rebel Chemical Weapons…

03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards

4th media croppedGetting To BOTTOM Of Rebels’ Chemical Weapons Use in Syria: Saudi Connection

Saudi Arabia’s “Chemical Bandar” behind the Chemical Attacks in Syria?

Syria: Immodest Proposals and Naked Emperors

Newly-discovered CIA Documents Reveal ISRAELI Stockpile Of Chemical Weapons

SYRIA: Obama War Speech Bombs!

(US Threats Syria) Powerful – But Amazing…

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NIGHTWATCH: Astounding Syrian Concessions Protect Israel — US Analysts Dull [Ignorant] — World Edges Away from Brink of WWIII — NIGHTWATCH Tutorial for Dull Analysts

03 Environmental Degradation, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 05 Iran, 06 Russia, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Proliferation, 08 Wild Cards, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

Syria: Update. Opposition sources say government forces attacked the hills around Ma'aloula village early on Monday under the cover of heavy shelling. The Christian village is reported to be almost empty after most of its residents fled following the arrival of the foreign-backed militants last week. According to a resident, who left the area in the past days, only around 50 people remain there.

Militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the Qalamun Liberation Front are reported to be in control of some parts of the historic village, which is located about 70 kilometers northeast of Damascus.

Comment: Since 1999 this village has been on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage sites.

Politics. The Syrian government has accepted a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control to avoid a possible U.S. military strike, Interfax news agency quoted Syria's foreign minister as saying on Tuesday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Mu'allim said, “We held a very fruitful round of talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday, and he proposed an initiative relating to chemical weapons. And in the evening we agreed to the Russian initiative.” He said Syria had agreed because this would “remove the grounds for American aggression.”

Before leaving Moscow, the Foreign Minister made several astounding announcements reported by Russian media. He said,

Continue reading “NIGHTWATCH: Astounding Syrian Concessions Protect Israel — US Analysts Dull [Ignorant] — World Edges Away from Brink of WWIII — NIGHTWATCH Tutorial for Dull Analysts”