Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S.: We Expanded Our Activity Against ISIS
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The US State Department reported that American armed forces in Iraq expanded their activity in the country and attacked five “Islamic State” (ISIS) terrorist hotspots.

A statement issued by the Department of Defense maintained that fighter jets attacked two targets north of Erbil, and three southwest of Baghdad.

Sydney Church Our Lady of Lebanon Targeted By ISIS Threats
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily Newsnews.com.au
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Our Lady of Lebanon church at Harris Park. Source: News Limited

CHURCH-goers in Sydney’s west have been left shaken after a stranger shouted death threats from a car bearing the Islamic State flag.

The car drove past Our Lady of Lebanon Church at Harris Park on Tuesday and witnesses claim it had a flag similar to those brandished by Islamic State jihadists hanging out the window.

A priest from the church told AAP the people in the car threatened to “kill the Christians” and slaughter their children. “They were strong words and people were scared of what they saw,” he said.

The interior of the Catholic Church that faced IS death threats. Source: News Limited

Witnesses told police there was a small triangular flag placed out the window with Arabic words similar to “there is only one god and Muhammad is the prophet”.

Rosehill police Inspector Brian Jackson confirmed “some threats were made in regard to some people” near the church.

Maronite Catholic parish priest Monsignor Shora Maree contacted police ahead of the church’s 7pm mass on Wednesday night.

Officers were sent down to patrol the Harris Park church while hundreds took part in mass inside.

It’s understood detectives are looking into who is behind the threats.

Senate Approves Obama's Plan to Train and Arm Syrian Rebels
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Illustration: Rebel Free Syrian Army fighter in Aleppo

Reuters

The U.S. Senate approved on Thursday President Barack Obama's plan to train and arm Syrian rebel groups to fight “Islamic State” (IS) fighters, the BBC reported.

The vote came a day after the House easily passed the president's plan by 273 votes to 156, with both Democrats and Republicans voting yes.

The Senate voted 78-22, in a rare bipartisan show of support for one of Obama's high-profile initiatives, noted Reuters.

Ten Senate Democrats and 12 Republicans voted no. Some objected to including a "war vote" in a spending bill.

The measure states the new authority does not include approval for "the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities..."

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, didn't rule out using ground forces on Tuesday, fueling fears among congressional Democrats who are worried about another long U.S. military engagement in the Mideast.

Dempsey's remarks sent a mixed message, and on Wednesday, Obama repeated his pledge that he would not commit combat troops in the region.

Obama’s pledge came after White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Dempsey was referring to a “hypothetical scenario”.

“I think, as was clear from General Dempsey’s remarks, that he was referring to a hypothetical scenario in which there might be a future situation in which he might make a tactical recommendation to the President as it relates to the use of ground troops,” he said.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the U.S. continued to strike IS targets in Iraq.

Air strikes are expected in Syria, but Obama has pledged to not authorize a ground operation in either country.

"It is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of our partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries' futures," he said on Wednesday.

The approved bill, attached to a larger measure funding the U.S. government after October 1, will only authorize the program until December 11, allowing the measure to be debated at greater length after the US midterm elections.

Scots Vote in Record Numbers, Await Independence Verdict
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsReuters
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

By Alistair Smout and Angus MacSwan

New Allliance from Hell: Boko Haram and ISIS
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsWND - Michael Carl
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Military Intelligence Collects Tens of Millions of Pieces of Information a Day
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Military intel' has its own Google and Facebook network, has released 'hordes' of Trojan horses that can evade defenses and self destruct if detected, says senior military source.

IDF soldiers patrol in Nablus [file]. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Every day, tens of millions of pieces of information flow into the various divisions of Military Intelligence, including phone calls, electronic messages, photographs and other forms of data, a senior military source who is authorized to discuss the matter said Wednesday.

The officer described how, over the past 18 months, Military Intelligence revolutionized its technological capabilities, creating its own internal and heavily secured portal, which leads members to various “applications.”

These include MI’s own version of Facebook, allowing personnel from different units, who in the past had never been in direct communication, to speak to one another, sharing and debating the latest intelligence developments and thereby creating a common language.

MI has its own news website, called “i net,” which places the latest classified intelligence data on the website, and its own version of Google, allowing personnel to search for millions of entries on any topic. For example, one can type in the name of a second-generation Iranian centrifuge and get back all available intelligence as separate entries. This, the source said, allows MI to function in a less regimented and more integrated fashion, which better suits the chaotic nature of the Middle East.

“Today, the head of the Syria Arena knows about Hezbollah forces in his area of coverage.

Once, Hezbollah was only monitored by the head of the Lebanon Arena,” the source said.

“We had to create a whole unit to organize and format tens of millions of data entries.”

The source placed a significant emphasis on MI’s cyber division, which is able to mine data and combine it with visual and signals intelligence. It helped to create a digital map of Gaza so detailed that thousands of targets appeared on it, and every building in the Strip was shown from four different angles.

Half of the cyber unit’s personnel is made up of serving MI soldiers, and the other half is made up of recruits from the IDF.

The source discussed MI’s use of Trojan horses, some of which are so sophisticated they took 18 months to create.

“They bring back information on their ‘backs,’” the source said. “We learned about various threats through them. Some have to avoid cyber defenses.

Some have to destroy themselves if detected.”

In some cases, hordes of Trojan horses are released, where they proceed to sneak into enemy systems and return to Military Intelligence with valuable data. The source also discussed a new array of electronic sensors that have helped the IDF neutralize multiple threats recently.

One of Military Intelligence’s flagship projects is intelligence- based combat, in which field commanders receive information on enemy targets throughout the course of fighting. This occurred “on an unprecedented level” during the Gaza war, the officer said.

Data was also constantly transmitted to the air force.

The same digital network- based combat can be used in any combat arena, near or far, he added, whether the information takes the form of visual, signals or cyber intelligence.

During Operation Protective Edge, members of Unit 8200, the signals unit, sat in a control room and provided real-time instructions to field commanders, telling them where to turn and which buildings housed targets.

“This isn’t the Matrix [the movie],” the source said. “It happened during the war.”

All of these changes have allowed Military Intelligence to collect much more information on threats such as Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood, and more.

Additionally, MI created a special command center to intercept illicit weapons transfers among Israel’s enemies.

The interceptions either take the form of “soft” action, such as naming banks used to pay for weapons and getting them blacklisted, or “kinetic” attacks – interceptions of weapons transfers.

Looking ahead, the officer said regional upheaval is “here to stay.”

Military intelligence estimates that Islamic State has 30,000 members in Iraq and Syria, and that the organization is preparing itself for Western attack, lowering its profile, with some forces going underground and digging bunkers.

“This isn’t an organization that plans on disappearing,” the source said.

In long term, Islamic State is one of top four strategic threats to Israel. If needed, Israel will pass on intelligence to members of a coalition that will strike it, the officer said.

The region’s future isn’t all gloomy, though, he argued.

The source pointed to a strong block of moderate states, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. These, together with the Gulf states, have given Qatar an ultimatum to stop backing the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

The moderate bloc of states may be able to achieve some regional stability, allowing better conditions for a Israeli-PLO peace agreement in the future, the source said.

Turkish-Iranian relations appear to be good on the outside, but beneath the surface, Turkey is deeply disturbed by the prospect of a nuclear Iran, according to assessments.

Turkey continues to try and become an Islamist power in the region.

Egypt is not yet a regional power, though it is seeking to become one, he said. To that end, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is buying weapons from Russia, he added.

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Chemists modify antibiotic to vanquish resistant bacteria
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a new antibiotic based on vancomycin that is powerfully effective against vancomycin-resistant strains of MRSA and other disease-causing bacteria. The new vancomycin analog appears to have not one but two distinct mechanisms of anti-microbial action, against which bacteria probably cannot evolve resistance quickly.  

Pope to head of WJC: You have suffered, now it's our turn
"You have suffered, now it's our turn," said Francis Pope to the President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald Lauder, in a reference to the persecution of Christians in Iraq, Lauder told Italian press on Thursday.  

Scientist dismissed after soft tissue found on dinosaur fossil
The scientist, whose analysis of the Triceratops horn was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, is also an evangelical creationist, and claimed that the finding supports the view that Earth is 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs roamed the planet around 4,000 years ago. While the university claims the scientist, Mark Armitage, was fired for allowing his religion to interfere with his work...  

Investors losing billions as head of Russia’s biggest holding put under house arrest
Russia’s largest publicly traded holding company AFK Sistema has lost about 37 percent of its value in Moscow by midday, after boss Vladimir Yevtushenkov was put under house arrest for alleged money laundering late Tuesday.  

Chinese hacked U.S. military contractors: Senate panel
Hackers associated with the Chinese government have repeatedly infiltrated the computer systems of U.S. airlines, technology companies and other contractors involved in the movement of U.S. troops and military equipment, a U.S. Senate panel has found.  

It’s Not Just The Police – The Feds Are Also Militarizing Public Schools With Grenade Launchers, M16s & Tanks
Events last month in Ferguson, Missouri forced Americans to confront the frightening reality that many of of the nation’s police departments have been quietly, but consistently, militarizing over the past couple of decades. It’s one thing to intellectually understand that this has happened, it’s quite another to see cops deploy tanks and point sniper rifles at peacefully protesting U.S. citizens.  

Red tide off northwest Florida could hit economy
It's like Florida's version of The Blob. Slow moving glops of toxic algae in the northeast Gulf of Mexico are killing sea turtles, sharks and fish, and threatening the waters and beaches that fuel the region's economy.  

U.S. officials in meltdown on Obama's Ebola mission
None of the government health witnesses testifying were able to answer basic questions, including how many physicians and nurses would be among the 3,000 troops allocated or what type of protective equipment and training would be employed to prevent infection. retired Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin has charged that sending American troops to combat Ebola in Liberia is “an absolute misuse of the U.S. military.”  

Sierra Leone readies for controversial Ebola lockdown
Sierra Leone prepared Thursday, September 18, for an unprecedented 3-day nationwide lockdown to contain the deadly spread of the Ebola virus in a controversial move which experts claimed could worsen the epidemic. The population of six million will be confined to their homes from midnight (0000 GMT) going into Friday as almost 30,000 volunteers go door-to-door uncovering patients and bodies hidden in people's homes.  

Ancient 'moon god' monument unearthed in Israel
A 5,000-year-old stone structure in the shape of the crescent moon in northern Israel has been identified to be an ancient monument, predating much of the construction of Stonehenge in England and Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The structure, known as Rujum en-Nabi Shua'ayb or Jethro Cairn, is located near the Sea of Galilee.  

Doctor: Gov’t ‘Tight-Lipped’ on Respiratory Virus, May be From Illegals
Dr. Jane Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, reported that the government has been “real tight-lipped” about the mysterious respiratory illness that has struck children in the United States, expressed concern that the illegal immigrant minors from Central America could be the source, and argued that the government should devote more resources to border security to combat the spread of disease...  

Law enforcement bulletin warned of ISIS urging jihad attacks on US soil
A law enforcement bulletin...warned that Islamic State fighters have increased calls for "lone wolves" to attack U.S. soldiers in America...one tweet that called for jihadists to find service members' addresses online and then "show up and slaughter them." There will be “a continued call - by Western fighters in Syria and terrorist organizations - for lone offender attacks against U.S. military facilities and personnel,”...  

Apple will no longer unlock most iPhones, iPads for police, even with search warrants
Apple said Wednesday night that it is making it impossible for the company to turn over data from most iPhones or iPads to police — even when they have a search warrant... Rather than comply with binding court orders, Apple has reworked its latest encryption in a way that prevents the company — or anyone but the device’s owner — from gaining access to the vast troves of user data typically stored on smartphones or tablet computers.  

China's Xi Jinping signs landmark deals on India visit
India and China have signed 12 agreements in Delhi, one of which will see China investing $20bn (£12.2bn) in India's infrastructure over five years. At a news conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, India's PM Narendra Modi said "peace on the border" was important for progress. Talks came as India accused China of fresh territorial incursions in Ladakh.  

Australia raids over 'Islamic State plot to behead'
Police have carried out anti-terror raids in Sydney sparked by intelligence reports that Islamic extremists were planning random killings in Australia. PM Tony Abbott said a senior Australian Islamic State militant had called for "demonstration killings", reportedly including a public beheading. The raids, with at least 800 heavily-armed officers, led to 15 arrests.  

Ukraine crisis: President Poroshenko in key US visit
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is to begin a key visit to the US to seek further support to tackle what he describes as Russian aggression. Mr Poroshenko will hold talks with US President Barack Obama before addressing a joint session of Congress. Mr Poroshenko is flying to the US from Canada, where he told MPs Ukraine had bid "the last farewell" to the USSR after signing an EU association deal.  

Islamic State crisis: US House approves Obama Syria plan
The US House of Representatives has approved President Barack Obama's plan to train and arm the moderate Syrian opposition taking on Islamic State. The vote passed by a large majority in the Republican-controlled House and is expected to be adopted in the Senate. The endorsement came after President Obama repeated that he would not be committing American combat troops to ground operations in Iraq.  

Voting starts in Scottish independence referendum
Over 4 million people are set to cast their vote in the Scottish independence referendum on Thursday (18 September), with a record turnout expected as 97 percent of eligible voters have registered for the poll. Polling stations open at 7am local time and close at 10pm. Exit polls are expected immediately afterwards, while the final result should be known early Friday morning.  

Israel Must Prepare for Third Lebanon War
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Not since the War of Independence, which broke out one day after Israel’s establishment was proclaimed in October 1947, has the sovereignty of the Jewish state been in such real peril. During that war, communities and territories frequently exchanged hands. Once the campaign stabilized and the picture became clearer, the Green Line was born. To date, this remains the only recognized international border between Israel and its Arab surroundings.

Israel must prepare for an eventual third Lebanon war, where it will be confronted with much stronger and more organized forces, perhaps equivalent in equipment to other Arab armies, capable of penetrating Israeli territory. Since 1948 until today — over 66 years — none of Israel’s enemies posed a real threat to its territorial integrity. 

No Israeli community has ever been conquered nor have military raids into the country been carried out. The only exception occurred during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when the Egyptian and Syrian armies mounted a surprise invasion. However, the areas they seized had been conquered by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and were beyond the Green Line.

Israel’s defense doctrine is predicated on one patently clear and solid principle: Warfare should be shifted into the enemy’s territory as quickly as possible. This principle stems from reality’s constraints: Israel is a tiny state, whose width in some areas does not exceed 10 miles. As a result, it doesn’t have the luxury of conducting campaigns in its own territory. This principle has been upheld throughout the state’s existence. Israel’s wars have always been conducted in the enemy’s territory.

When a senior officer from the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) briefed reporters on Sept. 14, he dropped a journalistic bombshell. During the next round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the officer said, it is possible that Hezbollah will take over an Israeli community or carry out a land grab for a certain period of time. 

Intimations to this effect had been previously heard here and there (including in my article for Al-Monitor from August 2013). Yet, when this topic starts dominating the headlines in Israel, it constitutes a watershed. The IDF is well aware of the fact that Hezbollah may have changed its warfare doctrine and that it has accumulated more self-confidence, knowledge and fighting experience. The organization is now able to carry out an armed and violent raid into Israel, relying on a force consisting of a “few dozen to several hundred combatants,” as the officer put it.

A serious coalition crisis is currently raging in Israel between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid. The linchpin of the dispute is the 2015 state budget, and more specifically, the defense budget. The events of Operation Protective Edge have shaken Israel’s self-confidence. For the first time, Israel encountered an aggressive and proactive Hamas, which repeatedly incurred into its communities in a bid to “shift the war into its territory.”

There’s no way the IDF can deploy all along the country’s borders, from the north (Hezbollah) to the Golan Heights (the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra) to the Egyptian border (Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis) and Gaza (Hamas and Islamic Jihad).

A foreign military force that wants to raid an enemy territory along a vast and winding border will always manage to find the most vulnerable point where the defense contingency is small.

This is Israel’s greatest concern ahead of a "third Lebanon war." Nobody knows when it will break out, yet everyone is sure it eventually will. To date, Hezbollah has adopted a fairly simple warfare doctrine. Based on massive rocket fire at the Israeli home front that aims to disrupt life, deal a blow to the economy and inflict casualties, it is combined with guerrilla warfare against the IDF in mountainous terrain — either forested or built up — using its weapons of choice: antitank fire, powerful improvised explosive devices and ambushes. That’s the name of the game when guerilla forces are pitted against a regular army.

From now on, however, it’s a whole different ball game. Israeli military officials emphasize that while Hezbollah is indeed preoccupied in Syria and northern Lebanon and is deployed along a vast sector and is bleeding profusely, it is nevertheless well organized and trained. It is also being run prudently and sensibly, gathering military experience and self-confidence. 

According to Israeli sources, Hezbollah is training its commando forces to make a surprise incursion into Israel, take over a community (such as a kibbutz or a moshav — a cooperative community — or even a small town like Shlomi). It will try to inflict as much damage as possible and hold out for as long as possible, taking hostages that will allow its troops to pull back safely home into Lebanon.

The current Israeli assessment is that Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has no reason for the moment to be caught up in another confrontation with Israel. On the other hand, he continues his organization’s long-term massive buildup, while improving its capabilities and training, and stockpiling means that will allow him, in the next round, to stage a different kind of warfare, the likes of which we have yet to see. According to a senior Israeli source, Hezbollah is already as strong as any other regular Arab army. 

Its ORBAT (Order of Battle), according to one of the intelligence officials I spoke with, is bigger than Jordan’s, even at the time when it was considered Israel’s bitter rival. For all intents and purposes, Hezbollah operates like a regular army. It is building intelligence capabilities. Equipped with unmanned airborne vehicles, it also has surveillance stations and manages a modern communications network.

Next time, to have its victory photo and an unprecedented psychological achievement, it will try, as noted, to seize an Israeli community. If that were the case, it would be a first since 1948. This could seriously compromise the sense of security among Israelis, crushing the Jewish-Israeli population in the northern Galilee and causing much greater damage to Israelis living there than what Hamas’ incursion attempts during Operation Protective Edge did to the residents of the Gaza periphery.

The IDF is bracing for such an eventuality. The battle over the defense budget illustrates the degree of seriousness that Netanyahu attaches to the “growing security challenges around us,” as he put it on Sept. 15. My sources indicate that there is already talk in security circles about significantly expanding elite units such as YAMAM (a highly trained counterterrorism police unit) and deploying them in war-prone areas by way of “first responders.”

When it comes to events such as those described above, whereby an organization such as Hezbollah or Hamas is trying to infiltrate Israel, intelligence and time are of the enormous essence. During Operation Protective Edge, all of the IDF’s top-notch infantry units were dispatched to the communities in the Gaza periphery. They deployed across the border fence, charging every territorial compartment with regard to which there was a warning about a possible ”tunnel assault.” 

Back then, it worked. Hamas terrorists scored no significant success in their operations against Israeli communities. However, they did inflict significant losses to the IDF during its engagements with Israeli troops. When it comes to a much longer and far more complicated front, will the IDF also succeed against a semi-military organization such as Hezbollah that’s much more powerful than Hamas?

Meanwhile, on Sept. 14, the Counterterrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday season. In addition to all the usual warnings, the travel advisory to Western Europe came as a surprise. There’s a threat — the statement read — that Islamic State (IS) terrorists will carry out attacks against Jewish or Israeli objectives in the countries from which they originally set out to join IS ranks. We’re talking about countries such as Belgium, France, Sweden, Great Britain and others.

This travel advisory took flak from different directions. Terrorist threats exist also in Israel and the United States. In fact, they exist almost anywhere around the globe, a well-versed Israeli source told me. We, of all people, who get upset whenever the Europeans or Americans issue a travel advisory about Israel, need to be more sensitive and realize that not everything merits an official travel advisory.

Either way, the number of Israeli tourists visiting their favorite European capitals during the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth is not expected to plummet. Even Beyonce’s two evenings of concerts in Paris saw thousands of Israeli spectators. Israeli tourists read those travel advisories, file them away in their mind and take off. From their standpoint, danger is an inherent part of their normal existence.

Islamic State Attracts Female Jihadis from U.S. Heartland
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. law enforcement is investigating a new phenomenon of women from the American heartland joining Islamic State as President Barack Obama vows to cut off the militants' recruiting at home. 

At least three Somali families in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have female relatives who have gone missing in the past six weeks and may have tried to join Islamic State, said community leader Abdirizak Bihi. He said that while the reasons for their disappearance were unclear, he had told the families to contact police.

In a separate case, a 19-year-old American Somali woman from St. Paul snuck away from her parents on Aug. 25 saying she was going to a bridal shower. Instead, she flew to Turkey and joined IS in Syria.

Home to the biggest Somali community in the United States, the Twin Cities area of Minnesota has been plagued by terrorist recruiting since the Somali group al-Shabaab began enlisting in America around 2007.

This year, law enforcement officials say they learned of 15-20 men with connections to the Minnesota Somali community fighting for extremist groups in Syria. They included Douglas McAuthur McCain, a convert to Islam, who was killed in battle this summer.

The St. Paul woman is the first case of an area female joining IS that has been made public although her family have asked for her name to be kept private because it fears retaliation from Islamists.

Greg Boosalis, FBI division counsel in Minneapolis, said law enforcement was investigating the possible recruitment in the area by Islamist extremists of other females, as well as males, but refused to comment on specific cases.

"We are looking into the possibility of additional men and women travelers," he said.

Somali leaders and sources close to police worry that the reports of female would-be jihadis from the region could mark a new trend.

The St. Paul woman is highly likely to have been recruited by IS through Islamist sympathizers in the United States, rather than joining the group on her own, they said. At least one other woman is suspected of helping her leave the United States.

Another U.S. teenager, nurse's aide Shannon Conley, 19, from Colorado, pleaded guilty this week to trying to travel to the Middle East to enroll in IS. She was arrested at Denver International Airport in April with a one-way ticket and had been recruited online by a male militant in Syria.

Nipping domestic extremism in the bud before Americans try to join terrorist groups is part of Obama's strategy against Islamic State announced in a televised address last week.

Along with an aerial bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, Obama pledged that the government would "intervene with at-risk individuals before they become radicalized toward violence and decide to travel abroad to Syria and Iraq to join ISIL."

He said authorities would offer "tailored domestic programs to prevent violent extremism and radicalization" but gave no more details.

The Somali woman from St. Paul who traveled to Syria attended a mosque near the eastern bank of the Mississippi River which had previously attracted suspected extremists. In June, the mosque banned an Egyptian-American man it said was spreading radical ideology.

The woman told a relative after leaving the United States that she wanted to help children in IS-controlled territory in Syria.

"The nature of the recruitment of these crazy organizations is how they use the element of surprise. Now they have surprised us again by going for the girls," said Bihi, speaking about the St. Paul woman who he said was targeted by recruiters.

Bihi's teenaged nephew was killed in Somalia in 2009 after being persuaded to join al-Shabaab while in Minnesota. 

While foreign women who join Islamic State often envision aiding a holy war or at least playing an active role in establishing a purist Islamic nation, the reality can be more mundane.

Monitoring of extremists' social media accounts and other writings shows that male jihadis regard women counterparts as little more than mating partners, said Mia Bloom, from the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

"ISIS is recruiting these women in order to be baby factories. They are seeing the establishment of an Islamic state and now they need to populate the state," Bloom said.

Scores of European Muslim women, mostly from Britain and France, have joined IS in the Middle East.

Denver teenager Conley became engaged to an Islamic State militant in Syria who she met online. Jihadist groups like al Qaeda and IS usually only put women near the frontline in emergencies, Bloom said.

Some young foreign women have been deployed to Islamic State checkpoints in northern Syria where they pat down other women to search for weapons and force local females to abide by strict Islamic dress codes.

But snapshots on social media of the female jihadis' lives in Syria more often show that, "the girls go around making cookies. It's almost like a jihadi Tupperware party," Bloom said.

The main worry for law enforcement is that U.S. militants will one day return to the United States and attack targets.

"The obvious fear is of individuals coming back and committing a terrorist act here," said the FBI's Boosalis. The FBI has been working with the Somali community in Minnesota for years to help it combat radical Islamists.

Is Winning the War Against the Islamic State Only the Beginning?
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

In recent weeks, the media are filled with reports on the international preparations for a war against the "Islamic State" and an International Conference was even convened in Paris in an attempt to enlist the cooperation of as many nations as possible in waging it.

At the same time, US air force planes have intensified their attacks against "Islamic State" forces, especially in the vicinity of the dams in northern Iraq, this to prevent their being blown up and causing the deaths of many thousands of Iraqis.

This week we heard a short and decisive speech by US President Barack Obama, into which he inserted rhetoric elements that he has hardly used before, certainly in comparison to the speeches of his predecessor George W. Bush.

I have not heard all of Obama's speeches, but those I did rarely included the expression "our friends and allies". Bush used those words day and night when talking about the war against terror. Does this change in rhetoric express a change in Obama's approach? I am not sure if it does.

In his speech, Obama repeated several times that Iraq is an ally of the United States. And right at the start of his words, he said that the USA cannot do for the Iraqis what they must do for themselves. That sentence is a perfect example of Obama's erroneous strategic thinking – he continues to see the Iraqis as a single group. He has still not internalized the fact that the Iraqis have never succeeded in developing the sense of unity and solidarity that defines a nation. 

In Iraq the tribal divisions are alive and kicking and there are over 70 of them, as well as four ethnic groups and about ten religions, all divided among a not inconsiderable number of communal sectors. The possibility that the Iraqi government can function any better than those that preceded it is not great, and therefore the assumption that the Iraqi army can be more stalwart in its battle against the knife-wielding Islamic State fighters is yet to be proven correct.

It's tough trying to build an international coalition, because there are factors unconnected to the Islamic State that come into play. There is a war in eastern Ukraine playing out in the background and Russia is the main actor in that war. Russia does not support a war against the Islamic State, so not many European countries are lining up to join Obama's coalition against Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi and his jihadists.

Regional questions also play a part, including the role that will be allotted to countries in the area such as Iran and the Assad regime, both of whom have a clear interest in joining the coalition. Iran will expect to be rewarded with an easing of demands for nuclear controls and Assad will expect an insurance policy to prevent his being deposed, even though he has been defined as a "war criminal". 

The West is not interested in giving Assad this insurance policy, since he has already announced that any military activity by another country on Syrian soil or over Syrian airspace will be considered an act of hostility against Syria to which that country will respond. The bigger problem is not Syria, but Russia, as any incursion on Syrian soil would be interpreted as a green light for Russia in Ukraine.

Another country in the area that poses a problem is Turkey, which has been aiding the Syrian rebel forces from the very first anti- Assad demonstrations in 2011, those very forces that spawned the "Islamic State" over a three year period. Thousands of jihadists from many different countries arrived at the bloody battlegrounds of Iraq and Syria by way of Turkey. 

Turkey purchases oil from the "Islamic State" at a remarkably reduced rate, and resells it in the international market, so that Turkey is basically funding the "Islamic State" while raking in huge sums for its own treasury. It has recently been claimed that Turkey gives weaponry to the "Islamic State".

Qatar is not enthusiastic about a war against the "Islamic State" either, having given it generous amounts of financial aid over a long period, knowing that its jihadists were anti-Assad. The Emir of Qatar is not eager to eliminate the "Islamic State" because he is afraid that his own state will then become the next goal of the Islamic State jihadists. 

In fact, he pays them off so that they expend their aggressive energies on other countries. Saudi Arabia is also not happy about destroying the Sunni Islamic State as it might further empower the Shiite axis headed by Iran. Those who identify with the Muslim Brotherhood certainly feel comfortable with the "Islamic State", even if they do not support all the brutal methods it employs.

Another point to be taken into consideration is the possible extreme reactions of Muslims around the world against the war and those taking part in it. The black flag of ISIS has been waved in country after country and the jihadist successes against the heretics of Iraq and Syria have made many Muslims around the world ecstatic, also causing many of them to identify with the "Islamic State", its goals, and first and foremost, the idea of imposing the rule of Islam on the entire world. Radical Muslims who identify with jihad, and who can be found just about everywhere, may carry out attacks, kidnappings, murder and even behead infidels in order to take revenge on the coalition which acts against the "Islamic State".

The war against the Islamic State looks like a rerun of the war fought against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan starting in 2001. Many of the elements that characterized that war are still around today, leading to the general feeling that the war against "Islamic State" will fail just as the war against al Qaeda did. The reasons are obvious: this is not a war against a state or an organization that will be defeated once its military might is destroyed. Here, we are first and foremost battling an ideology, fighting a faith vested in the hearts of millions of people who live all over the world.

The belief that Islam is the true religion and that Judaism and Christianity are false religions is a basic tenet of Islamic faith worldwide. The belief that Islam can and must rule the world is shared by many millions of Muslims. The belief that militant jihad is a legitimate tool for achieving Islamic supremacy over the world is anchored in Islamic history and the biography of Mohammed. 

The belief that a Muslim must mete out the revenge of Allah against every infidel that dares to lift his hand against a Muslim is a natural part of Islam. The belief that "Islamic State", the goal of the entire mission, reflects the real, pure and original Islam is shared by millions of Muslim worldwide.

It is clear that once al Qaeda was destroyed, the "Islamic State" came to be – so that if the Islamic state is destroyed, another Islamic entity will take its place.and attract thousands of Muslims from just as many countries. Add to that those converting to Islam from Europe, America, and the four corners of the globe, those blond and blue-eyed men and women who will rush to join the group in order to observe all the beliefs associated with Islam.

This can also happen in Africa, under the Boko Haram, in the Saharan plains under the Libyan Jihadists, sponsored by the butchers of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis.

The battle against the problematic tenets of the Islamic faith is not bound in place or time and like the genie that comes out of a bottle, cannot be put back in it. Muslim emigration to Western countries unsettles those governments internally due to the Islamic takeover of public space, politics, economics and its image in the politically correct media. In many parts of the world one can say that "Islamic State is here", in neighborhoods that the local police do not enter, in the cities where a Muslim majority forces Sharia on supermarkets, pharmacies, bars and churches – and in the parliaments where the presence of the Islamic State is becoming more and more influential and solidly based.

The really significant battle is not in Iraq or Syria, where what is happening is just the introduction that follows the preface acted out in Afghanistan 13 years ago. The real war, far-ranging and dangerous, will develop once "Islamic State" is eliminated and the vengeance resulting from that success begins to be exacted in America, Europe, Australia and every place where man-made laws are in force. Its goal will be to impose the law of Allah as it is spelled out in Islamic sources.

Anyone who thinks that destroying "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria will solve the problem had better think again, because the problem is not this or that organization or country. The problem is the ideology that today motivates one and half billion people who believe that the "religion of Allah is Islam" (Qu'ran chap.53, v.19). 

This ideology will not be eliminated even if we get rid of the jihadists in Iraq and Syria down to the last man. Their followers are to be found in most parts of the world and that world must be prepared to change the rules of the game, otherwise it will find itself putting out fires instead of apprehending the pyromaniacs.

Iran Slams 'Ridiculous' U.S. Coalition As Congress Funds Arms Against ISIS
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hong Kong to Become a Cashless Society?
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Could Hong Kong become the world’s first cashless society? The city has reportedly embraced the Octopus card, which uses a high-frequency (HF) radio frequency identification transponder that can be used for travel via subway, train, tram, bus, minibus and ferry. Almost everyone in Hong Kong uses the card, including the elderly. It can be used to pay for breakfast at McDonald's, to purchase a bottle of water at 7-Eleven, to buy snacks for the kids at a small shop, and to pay for parking at a municipal parking lot.

Such were the personal experiences and observations of RFID.com journal editor, Mark Roberti, on a recent family re-union trip to Hong Kong. His view is that the use of the RFID-enabled Octopus card is so prevalent that it is quickly replacing cash for many transactions. There are some additional impressive statistics reported from the Octopus Cards Ltd. website that seem to corroborate experiences during his trip:

• There are more than 25 million Octopus cards in circulation, which is three times the city's population.
• 99 percent of Hong Kong inhabitants, ages 15 to 64, possess an Octopus.
• More than 14,000 retail outlets accept Octopus
• There are now more than 67,000 Octopus readers throughout Hong Kong
• 13 million Octopus transactions amounting to roughly US$18 million are processed daily. 

Roberti explains that the reason for the Octopus card's success is that five major transportation companies established a joint venture (known originally as Creative Star Ltd.). The system caught on quickly since the card could be employed for all types of transportation. And since everyone already had an Octopus card in their pockets, it made sense for minibus drivers and small shops to invest in readers and accept it as payment. Other applications of the card beyond payments include access to controlled buildings and parking garages. Other usages planned include the potential replacements of library and student cards by Octopus cards.

Unsurprisingly, the card also has some limitations. For one, it’s not used for large transactions since losing the card is like losing cash—the next person can use it. It's not meant to replace credit cards. And there are still a few forms of transportation, such as taxis, for which you can't use it. 

In a subsequent edition of RFID.com, Roberti lists are some of the benefits that RFID-enabled transactions deliver:

1. Reduction in fare-collection costs: This is the big reason that transit authorities worldwide are introducing RFID payment systems. The cost of collecting cash from hundreds of fare-collection locations around a city is huge. RFID eliminates virtually all of this expense.

2. Reduction in turnstile maintenance costs: Mag-stripe cards are a big improvement over the old tokens used in New York and other cities, but mag-stripe card readers have mechanical parts that move the card from the insertion slot to the removal slot in most transit systems. These parts break and need to be repaired regularly. RFID readers have no moving parts, so they break less frequently.

3. Reduction in accounting time: Hong Kong retailers that accept the Octopus card greatly reduce the amount of employee labor spent counting cash and reconciling transactions. They can simply download a report of all their transactions, and the appropriate funds are then transferred electronically to their account.

4. Increase in spending: Studies show that sales increase when consumers can pay with a stored-value card. This is because people often forego small purchases when they do not have cash on them. With a stored-value card, however, there is usually money on the card to pay for a snack or other small purchase.

5. Reduction in the cost of producing coins and paper: Producing coins and paper notes that cannot be counterfeited is an expensive endeavor, and the average life span of a US$1 bill is just six years. Going electronic reduces the cost of producing physical currency.

6. Health benefits: Physical money is passed from one person to another, and has the potential to spread germs. Greatly reducing the amount of paper currency could reduce germ transmission.

In closing, Roberti rhetorically asks why with all of these great benefits, more cities aren’t yet following Hong Kong's lead and embracing RFID-enabled stored-value cards. No doubt the model will catch on and spread due to its great benefits and seemingly negligible shortcomings. 

Whether the world’s next cashless society will start in Hong Kong or not, it’s clear that the entire world is technologically ready for the most part. It’s just a matter of time before paper money fades into insignificance to pave way for the ultimate in cost savings, security, identification and convenience across all spectra of society: biometric and RFID solutions.

Hamas: End the Blockade or There will be Another War
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abu Marzouq

Reuters

Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abu Marzouq said Thursday the group does not want another war with Israel, but warned more fighting is inevitable unless the blockade on Gaza is lifted.

The comments were made in an interview Abu Marzouq gave to The Associated Press (AP).

In the interview, Abu Marzouq insisted that Hamas won the war, despite the apparent military setbacks.

He said his group's popularity among Palestinian Arabs has increased and that it would likely defeat Abbas and his Fatah movement if elections were held today.

He warned that failure to negotiate a new Gaza deal and a lifting of the blockade would "lead to another war."

"We don't want that, and the Israelis, I guess, don't like to see that (war) again," he told AP, adding that the people of Gaza lived in a difficult situation before the war as a result of the blockade.

"We can't put the Palestinians after the war in the same situation," said Abu Marzouq. "They (the Israelis) have to change their policy."

Hamas and Israel agreed to resume Egyptian-brokered negotiations within a month of a long-term ceasefire which began on August 26. The talks are to discuss key issues, including Hamas's unprecedented demand for a port and an airport and for terrorist releases, as well as Israel's demands for the area's demilitarization.

Abu Marzouq said on Wednesday that the indirect ceasefire negotiations will restart within the next week.

He added that while the exact date had not yet been set, "it would definitely be before the 24th of the current month."

Israel’s demand for demilitarization has been flatly rejected, with Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri saying that "our people will not allow it. It is not required to disarm the Palestinian people, but rather to disarm the (Israeli) occupation and to ban the American administration from providing it with the weapons that are used to kill children and women."

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has rejected Hamas’s seaport and airport demand, saying that "there is no chance that Hamas will receive a seaport - it is not in Israel's interest, it is not an Egyptian interest, it's not even in the interest of the Palestinian Authority."

Canadian PM Vows to Stand With Israel 'through Fire and Water'
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Canadian PM Stephen Harper

Flash 90

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowed to support Israel "through fire and water" on Monday, during a speech at the Ottowa Convention Center. 

"Friends, in this fight, we also stand with the democratic State of Israel," Harper said, "as we have again this year, as Israelis have once more come under attack from the terrorist group Hamas."

"I know there continue to be those who question the wisdom of our policy," he noted. "[Those] who, just as they once wished we would be more embracing of Putin, now would wish us to be more ambivalent about Israel, to go along with those who regularly single out Israel for criticism."

"Friends, that position is wrong," he continued. 

Harper, like many, made the comparison between terror group Hamas and the global jihadist Islamic State (IS or ISIS). 

"What is the difference between Hamas and Israel, and ISIS and us?" he asked. "One thing: Hamas is a lot closer to Israel than ISIS is to us."

"Israel is the frontline," he continued. "Anyone among the free and democratic nation that turns their back on Israel, or turns a blind eye to the nature of Israel’s enemies does so, in the long run, at their own peril."

"And so: Canada will continue to stand by Israel through fire and water!" he concluded. 

Harper has been a staunch supporter of Israel and continued to stand up for the Jewish state during the last conflict in Gaza.

The Canadian leader called on Canada’s allies and partners to recognize that Hamas’s terrorist acts “are unacceptable and that solidarity with Israel is the best way of stopping the conflict.” He also blamed Hamas for the heavy loss of civilian life in Gaza during the fighting.

In January, Harper visited Israel for the first time since becoming Prime Minister. During the visit, he gave a speech in the Knesset and also showcased his musical talent during a special dinner with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Australian ISIS Terror Cell Planned Public Beheading in Sydney
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Australian counterterrorism police swoop on suspects' homes

Reuters

An Australian Islamist terror cell planned to behead a random member of the public, as part of an unprecedented campaign of terror in the country.

Prime Minister Tony Abbot said that credible intelligence which led to the arrest of scores of terror suspects Thursday morning indicated that the beheading was one of a number of attacks they planned to carry out. In response to ongoing credible terrorist threats Australia raised its terror alert level to "high" for the first time ever.

More than 800 counter-terrorism police and Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO) officers swooped on homes in the early hours, with some of those detained believed to have links to the terror group Islamic State.

In Sydney alone, 25 arrest warrants were executed.

The greatest concern is said to come from members or sympathizers of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS), including Australian citizens who traveled to fight with the group in Syria or Iraq who return to the country with intent to carry out attacks.

Dozens of Australians are believed to be fighting for IS at the moment, some of whom have appeared in English-language propaganda videos for the group. An Australian cleric, Robert "Musa" Cerantonio, is one of the most prominent cheerleaders for the "Islamic State" in the English-speaking world, and has openly encouraged Australian Muslims to join the group.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the suspects detained early Thursday morning planned to abduct a random member of the public in Syndey, and behead him on camera with the Islamic State flag in the background, mimicking the style of previous jihadi executions.

"The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL [another term for ISIS - ed.] to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country," Abbott said of the intelligence which led to the arrests.

The dramatic counterterrorism operation comes ahead of a G20 finance ministers' meeting this coming weekend in northern Australia, as well as a major summit in Brisbane in mid-November. Australian officials dismissed suggestions the developments could disrupt planning for either event.

Analysts Say Al Qaeda Still a Bigger Threat Than 'Islamic State'
Sep 18th, 2014
Arutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri

Reuters

The Islamic State (IS) group poses a smaller global threat than Al Qaeda despite its recent beheadings of three Westerners, although battle-hardened fighters returning home remain a concern, analysts said on Thursday.  

US President Barack Obama is gathering an international coalition to fight the jihadist group based across Syria and Iraq following the release of videos showing the murders of two US journalists and a British aid worker.

But analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank in London warned against overestimating the threat.

"Despite its spectacular acts of violence, including against Westerners, (IS's) short- and medium-term objectives appear to be local and transnational rather than global," the institute said in its annual report.

Middle East expert Emile Hokayem told a press conference that the IS organisation's "very ambitious" goal to create a fully-functioning Islamic state may be at odds with its ability to continue fighting on a number of different fronts.

"We shouldn't exaggerate its potency. It is a very serious security threat to the region - as a global threat it's still limited," he said.

"I think the various Al Qaeda affiliates are probably the more potent ones in terms of global ambitions."

Nigel Inkster, the think-tank's director of transnational threats and political risk, confirmed that IS fighters were focused on the "near enemy" unlike Al Qaeda's "far enemy".

"It's not obviously the case that you would see orchestrated attacks against a Western state by the leadership of Islamic State," he said.

However, Inkster cautioned that individual and small groups of extremists might launch attacks, highlighting the Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche who fought in Syria and is the sole suspect in the killing of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in May.

Just such a group of IS sympathizers is believed to have been plotting a gruesome terrorist attack in Australia. On Tuesday morning, Australian police said they broke up a terrorist cell planning to abduct and publicly behead a member of the public in Sydney.

Western governments have voiced strong concern about the risks of returning fighters and the IISS report concurred that "galvanized Western jihadis could pose a serious security threat on their return".

Inkster added that unlike Western fighters who trained with Al Qaeda in Pakistan, who had "very little hands-on experience", those returning from Iraq and Syria were "well-trained, disciplined, battle-hardened".

Other analysts raised doubts about how the US-led coalition against the IS organisation could work.

"It's difficult to overstate the disappointment and distrust of Middle Eastern states towards the Obama administration, which springs directly from the failure to back up the red line over the use of chemical weapons in Syria," said Middle East expert Toby Dodge.

He added: "The solution to this lies in empowering and reintegrating the Sunni communities in Iraq and giving some hope to Sunni communities in Syria that change is around the corner."

Abdel Fattah AlSisi; King of the South?
Sep 18th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Former air marshal Husni Mubarak, now 86, had ruled Egypt for 30 years when his military colleagues forced him from office in 2011. Three years and many upheavals later, those same colleagues replaced his successor with retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, 59. The country, in short, made a grand round-trip, going from military ruler to military ruler, simply dropping down a generation.

This return raises basic questions: After all the hubbub, how much has actually changed? Does Sisi differ from Mubarak, for example, in such crucial matters as attitudes toward democracy and Islam, or is he but a younger clone?

Sisi remains something of a mystery. He plays his cards close to the vest; one observer who watched his presidential inaugural speech on television on June 8 described it as "loaded with platitudes and very long." He left few traces as he zoomed through the ranks in three years, going from director of Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance to become the youngest member of the ruling military council, and then rapidly ascending to chief of staff, defense minister, and president.

Fortunately, a document exists that reveals Sisi's views from well before his presidency: An essay dated March 2006, when he attended the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. His 5,000-word English-language term paper, "Democracy in the Middle East," has minimal intrinsic value but holds enormous interest by providing the candid views of an obscure brigadier general soon and unexpectedly to be elected pharaoh of Egypt.

While one cannot discount careerism in a term paper, Sisi's generally assertive and opinionated tone – as well as his negative comments about the United States and the Mubarak regime – suggest that he expressed himself freely.

In the paper, Sisi makes two main arguments: democracy is good for the Middle East; and for it to succeed there many conditions must first be achieved. Sisi discusses other topics as well, which offer valuable insights into his thinking.

Democracy Is Good for the Middle East

Sisi endorses democracy for practical, rather than philosophical, reasons: it just works better than a dictatorship. "Many in the Middle East feel that current and previous autocratic governments have not produced the expected progress." (I have slightly edited his English for the sake of clarity.) Democracy has other benefits, as well: it reduces unhappiness with government and narrows the vast gap between ruler and ruled, both of which he sees contributing to the region's backwardness. In all, democracy can accomplish much for the region and those who promote it "do have an opportunity now in the Middle East."

In parallel, Sisi accepts the free market because it works better than socialism: "many Middle East countries attempted to sustain government-controlled markets instead of free markets and as a result no incentive developed to drive the economy."

It is reasonable, even predictable that General Sisi would view democracy and free markets in terms of their efficacy. But, without a genuine commitment to these systems, will President Sisi carry through with them, even at the expense of his own power and the profits from the socialized military industries run by his former colleagues? His 2006 paper implies only a superficial devotion to democracy; and some of his actions since assuming power (such as returning to appointed rather than elected university deans and chairmen) do not augur well for democracy.

Conditions for Democracy to Succeed in the Middle East
Sisi lays down three requirements for democracy to succeed in the Middle East :

(1) It must adapt to Islam. He describes "the religious nature" of the Middle East as "one of the most important factors" affecting the region's politics. Islam makes democracy there so different from its Western prototype that it "may bear little resemblance" to the original. Therefore, it "is not necessarily going to evolve upon a Western template" but "will have its own shape or form coupled with stronger religious ties."

Those religious ties mean that Middle Eastern democracy cannot be secular; separating mosque and state is "unlikely to be favorably received by the vast majority of Middle Easterners," who are devout Muslims. Rather, democracy must be established "upon Islamic beliefs" and "sustain the religious base." The executive, legislative, and judicial branches all must "take Islamic beliefs into consideration when carrying out their duties." Presumably, this translates into the Islamic authorities under President Sisi reviewing proposed laws to safeguard Islamic values, regardless of what the majority of voters wants.

(2) The West should help, but not interfere. The West looms large for Sisi, who fears its negative influence even as he seeks its support.

He has many worries: The great powers want a democracy resembling Western institutions rather than accepting a democracy "founded on Islamic beliefs." He interprets the then-named global war on terror as "really just a mask for establishing Western democracy in the Middle East." To meet their energy needs, Westerners "attempt to influence and dominate the region." The wars they started in Iraq and Afghanistan need to be resolved before democracy can take root. Support for Israel raises suspicions about their motives.

Sisi's major concern is U.S. rejection of democracies that "may not be sympathetic to Western interests." He demands that the West not interfere when its adversaries win elections: "The world cannot demand democracy in the Middle East, yet denounce what it looks like because a less than pro-Western party legitimately assumes office." Translation: Do not call President Sisi anti-democratic when he pursues policies Washington dislikes.

But the peoples of the Middle East also need the West. In the economic arena, they are unlikely to succeed "without external support from Western democracies." Accordingly, he pleads for the U.S. government to assist "supportive economic nations in the Middle East, such as Egypt." President Sisi wants American taxpayers to continue footing his bills.

The West is also the answer, in Sisi's view, to the sycophantic and unaccountable Middle East media. "If corruption exists in the government, it is likely to go unreported." Therefore, he wants those in power "to let go of controlling the media." To build a superior press, Sisi looks to the West, specifically to international news organizations and to governments. Inasmuch as President Sisi quickly intimidated the Egyptian media into obsequiousness as soon as he assumed office, it is good to know that, in principle, he appreciates a free press. Westerners who meet with him should unceasingly remind him of this.

(3) Giving the people more responsibility. Democracy does not emerge on its own, Sisi asserts, but "needs a good environment – like a reasonable economic situation, educated people, and a moderate understanding of religious issues." The problem in Egypt is that, "the nature of the population has been one of dependence upon and favor from the government." How to break this dependence? "Education and the media are the key enablers toward the establishment of democracy; there must be a shift from state controlled means to population controlled means." General Sisi understood that Egypt needs a politically mature citizenry; but will President Sisi permit it to emerge?

Examining his three preconditions, the first two give Sisi, as ruler, the freedom to act anti-democratically. Only the third component would, in fact, help bring about democracy.

The Middle East as a Unified Region

One unexpected theme that emerges from his paper concerns Sisi's (possibly neo-Nasserist) hope that the Middle East become a single unit: "the Middle East should organize as a region." He wants the Middle East (an area he does not define; one wonders whether Israel would be included) to view itself "much in the same manner as the European Union," implying a customs union, a single currency, freedom of cross-border movement, and a joint foreign policy. He offers this as a goal of free elections: "Democracy in the Middle East … must find a unifying theme that draws the Middle East into a unified region."

Clearly, Sisi faces too many pressing domestic issues to try to unify the deeply divided and increasingly anarchic Middle East; should he long remain in power, however, this could become one of his goals and perhaps even take the form of an anti-Muslim Brotherhood alliance under his leadership.

Islamism

Which brings one to the deepest mystery about Sisi: is he an Islamist, someone seeking to apply the Islamic law in all its severity and in its entirety?

Personally pious, he is said to have memorized the Koran. According to the Financial Times, "Not only does his wife don the Islamic headscarf now sported by most Egyptian women, but one of his daughters is also said to wear the niqab" (a body and head cover that reveals only the eyes). He became defense minister because the Muslim Brotherhood considered him an ally. Since then, however, he has made himself the mortal enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood while allying with the yet more extreme Salafis, Islamists trying to live as Muhammad did. While Sisi's 2006 essay does not resolve these contradictions, it does offer clues.

Several of his observations about early Islam make it clear that Sisi aligns himself with the Salafis. With them, he recalls the period of Muhammad and the Four Righteous Caliphs (612-660 a.d.) as not only "very special" and "the ideal form of government," but also "the goal for any new form of government." With these early caliphs as models, he envisions Muslims uniting "so that the earliest form of El Kalafa [the caliphate] is reestablished." In passing, he gratuitously denigrates the Shi'is of early Islam (for attempting to offer power "to family members [of Muhammad] rather than to the most qualified leaders").

Other comments of Sisi's, however, criticize Islamists. When an actual caliphate recently declared itself in Syria and Iraq, he responded a week later with unrestrained hostility. Shortly before he submitted his paper in 2006, Hamas, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, won a victory in the Palestinian legislative elections, prompting Sisi's mild but critical observation that elected Islamists are likely to face "internal governance challenges down the road." 

He added that "there is hope that the more moderate religious segments can mitigate extremist measures," although Sisi's current hard line against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt suggests that he (along with millions of other Egyptians) has given up any such hope. Sisi even states that Islam as such creates political problems for rulers: "The religious nature of the Middle East creates challenges for the governing authorities."

Anti-Mubarak

Although Sisi represented the Egyptian armed forces at the Army War College, his paper included some brave and accurate statements critical of his country's leadership, even mentioning Mubarak by name:

Faux democracy: "Many autocratic leaders claim to be in favor of democratic ideals and forms of government, but they are leery of relinquishing control to the voting public of their regimes." Also: Middle Eastern governments that claim to be democratic actually "have very tight centralized control and unfairly influence election outcomes through control of the media and outright intimidation." 

Poor economic policies: "Excessive government controls and bloated public payrolls stifle individual initiative and tend to solidify the powerbase of ruling political parties. In Egypt under President Sadat, government controls were lifted in an effort to stimulate economic growth; however, these efforts have not blossomed under President Mubarak." 

Lackey intelligence services: "The security forces of a nation need to develop a culture that demonstrates commitment to a nation rather than a ruling party." 

U.S. support for undeserving regimes: In pursuit of its interests, "America has supported non-democratic regimes and some regimes that were not well respected in the Middle East. Examples include Gulf State regimes, Saudi Arabia, the early Saddam regime, Morocco, Algeria, etc." (One imagines Sisi listing Egypt in a first draft, then – for caution's sake – removing it.) 
In addition to showing the courage to criticize his tyrant-boss, if only in an academic term paper, these perceptive comments indicate President Sisi's own deepest aspirations for Egypt – as well as what was not on his mind, such as reducing the Islamist threat or the role of the military in Egypt's economy

Conclusion

The pre-political brigadier-general of 2006 anticipated the somewhat contradictory chief of staff, defense minister, and president. Sisi is a pious Muslim ambivalent about Islamists, a fan of the caliphate in theory who rejects it in practice, a critic of Mubarak's who permitted the revival of his political party, a fan of democracy who "wins" 97 percent of the vote, a military officer theorizing on forms of democracy, a fan of independent media who allows journalists to be convicted of terrorism charges, a critic of tyranny who encourages adulation of himself.

Sisi, clearly, remains a work in progress, a 59-year-old still trying to discover who he is and what he thinks even as he rules a country of 86 million. On-the-job training is literal in his case. Amid the political brush fires and exigencies of present-day Egypt, the gist of his eight-year old ideas are likely to emerge as dominant: a heavily conditional form of democracy, at once safe for Islam and from Islam, experiments to loosen controls over the intelligence services, the economy, education and the media, varying tactics toward Islamists, as well as a revived attempt to make the region of the Middle East a world power.