By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--September 12, 2014
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“The terror group that calls itself the Islamic State "can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria," a CIA spokesman told CNN on Thursday. “Analysts and U.S. officials initially estimated there were as many as 10,000 fighters, including those who were freed from prisons by ISIS, and Sunni loyalists who have joined the fight as the group advanced across Iraq. "This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity and additional intelligence," the spokesman said. “The news came a day after President Barack Obama laid out his plan to "dismantle and ultimately destroy" ISIS, including authorizing airstrikes.”If Obama and the CIA were doing their jobs to protect the masses from the tyranny of radical Islam, they would be cutting ISIS off at the pass, by stopping them from gaining entry over their government-arranged porous borders. Ditto for Prime Minister David Cameron and MI6 over the pond.
“More than 15,000 foreign fighters, including 2,000 Westerners, have gone to Syria, a CIA source told CNN on Thursday. The fighters come from more than 80 countries, the source said.” What’s not being said is that these are the only ones we know about. “It's not immediately clear whether these were primarily ISIS fighters or were dispersed among a number of groups fighting the Syrian government. (CNN) “The details about the increased number of fighters followed news that the United States has begun surveillance flights over Syria, which a U.S. official told CNN is part of an effort to gather intelligence that will help the decision whether to launch airstrikes against ISIS.”The surveillance flights over Syria puts the U.S. officials at the wrong border. “The United States "will take action at a time and place" of its choosing, a third official said. But while a broader campaign is not imminent, the officials -- who all spoke on condition of anonymity -- said the military can strike at any time if there is a target of opportunity.” Yesterday was the 13th consecutive anniversary of 9/11. The countdown from Sept. 11, 2001 to the present day on the progress of radical Islamist terrorism should be an eye opener for all rendered vulnerable by irresponsible governments: In 2001, 19 al Qaeda terrorists had no difficulty penetrating U.S. borders. They travelled freely to international assignments, meeting with Muslim brothers while making their deadly plans, and some had no trouble signing up for flying lessons in Florida. Terrorism visited Americans again on Sept. 11, 2012, when Ambassador Chris Stevens, Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith, and former Navy SEALs Ty Woods and Glen Doherty died in a terrorist attack, for which there are still no answers in Benghazi, Libya. “The Obama administration promised swift justice after a terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed four Americans -- but exactly two years later, the U.S. attorney's office wants more time to prosecute Ahmed abu Khatallah, the only suspect in custody.” (Fox News, Sept. 12, 2014)
"You're dealing with classified information and a terrorist who was part of Al Qaeda for two decades, and so it doesn't surprise me at all that we've ended up in this place," Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., who sits on both the House Intelligence and Benghazi Select committees, told Fox News. “Pompeo said there is no question, based on the classified evidence, that Khatallah played a central role in the attack, but he doubted a lot of that evidence will get into court because it will expose sources as well as methods used by the US intelligence community to collect information. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that when you try and force upon a terrorist a legal system that wasn't meant or intended to deal with crimes committed that night in Benghazi, Libya…I think the results are a mess."And now with Obama dithering filling in for strategy, ISIS threatens that yet another beheading will take place sometime next week.
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