Monday, June 2, 2014

DHS Stonewalls Congress on ‘Hands Off’ Permitting Those with Terror Ties into U.S.

DHS Stonewalls Congress on ‘Hands Off’ Permitting Those with Terror Ties into U.S.

4 Comments
DHS_WR
Is it any wonder that the Obama administration stalled for so long about designating Boko Haram a terrorist group?
He consistently sides with jihadists in every conflict: Egypt, Syria, Libya, Gaza and here in America.
I warned America about Obama’s affinity for jihadists in my 2010 book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America.
dhs
“DHS Stonewalls Congress on ‘Hands Off’ Permitting Those with Terror Ties into U.S.,” by Adam Kredo, Washington Free Beacon, May 28, 2014:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is refusing to answer Congress’ questions about the existence of a secret terrorist “hands off” list that is said to have permitted individuals with terrorist ties easy entrance into the United States.
The existence of the hands-off list was first publicized earlier this month by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), who released a cache of internal DHS emails detailing the list’s existence and a discussion about permitting an alleged member of the Muslim Brotherhood to enter the United States.
The revelation that individuals tied to terrorists were given special treatment drew outrage among lawmakers and led U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), one of the agencies involved with the list, to hold a closed-door briefing with Grassley’s staff last week, according to a senior Senate source with knowledge of the meeting.
The Washington Free Beacon has further reported that the documents are part of a larger campaign by DHS and its former head Janet Napolitano to purge the internal security records of potentially hundreds of terror suspects, allowing them to more easily travel in and out of the United States.
When questioned by Grassley’s staff last week during the closed-door briefing, CBP officials refused to answer multiple questions about the purported “hands off” list, according to Grassley spokeswoman Beth Pellett Levine.
“The briefing on Tuesday yielded next to nothing,” Levine told the Free Beacon.
CBP officials would not address the specific emails detailing the “hands-off” list and maintained that no such record existed.
CBP’s attempts to explain “the discrepancy” between the internal emails released by Grassley—which specifically mentioned the existence of such a list—and the official denials by CBP leaders were “unpersuasive,” according to Levine.
CBP officials further refused to get “into details of the case,” making it virtually impossible for the senator’s staff to get concrete answers about the controversial list.
Grassley’s staff is currently working to organize “a more detailed briefing” during which specific details of the list can be revealed, according to Levine.
When asked about the briefing Wednesday, a CBP spokesman directed the Free Beacon to DHS for comment. DHS did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment on the issue.
The release of the heavily redacted communications—which were sent between CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—have sparked a debate about the Obama administration’s oversight of the nation’s borders.
Sources who spoke to the Free Beacon and had reviewed unredacted versions of the emails indicated that many files pertaining to foreign terror suspects might have been purged by DHS. Congressional investigators are said to be currently looking into the matter.
The specific emails released by Grassley detail an argument over the admittance to the United States of one alleged Muslim Brotherhood official who has been tied to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terror groups.
While the individual in question had his name blacked out in the redacted emails, the Free Beacon reported that the person referenced is Jamal Badawi, a Canadian Islamist leader who has praised suicide bombing and is close to Hamas and Hezbollah.
“I’m puzzled how someone could be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, be an associate of [redacted], say that the U.S. is staging car bombings in Iraq and that [it] is ok for men to beat their wives, question who was behind the 9/11 attacks, and be afforded the luxury of a visitor visa and de-watchlisted,” one official wrote in the May 2012 emails released by Grassley.
“It doesn’t appear that we’ll be successful with denying him entry tomorrow but maybe we could re-evaluate the matter in the future since the decision to de-watchlist him was made 17 months ago,” the email said.
One of the unnamed officials later said: “Based on a review of the statements of the subject, I think it is clear that he [Badawi] meets the definition of endorsing and inciting.”
Grassley has been seeking to determine “how many people are on the ‘hands off’ list mentioned in the email” and “what qualifies someone to receive the ‘hands off’ designation?” according to a letter he sent to DHS officials.

New opening´ for US-Taliban talks possible: Hagel

New opening´ for US-Taliban talks possible: Hagel
 


June 01, 2014 - Updated 1935 PKT
From Web Edition
 
 



WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed hope Sunday the release of US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl would lead to direct US talks with the Taliban.

"It could, it might and we hope it will present an opening," Hagel said in an interview from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with NBC´s "Meet the Press.

"Hagel noted that the United States had engaged in talks with the Taliban before, until they were broken off in 2012, and that it strongly supported an Afghan-led effort to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban.

"So maybe this will be a new opening that can produce an agreement," he said.Bergdahl, 28, was released Saturday near the Afghan-Pakistani border after nearly five years in Taliban captivity, in a surprise development that came as the United States is winding down its 13-year intervention in Afghanistan.

Hagel credited Qatar and its emir with Bergdahl´s release in a trade for five high-level Taliban militants held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hagel denied that the United States had negotiated with terrorists, as Republican critics are charging, and defended the trade as an effort to save Bergdahl´s life.

"This is a guy who probably went through hell for the last five years," he said. "And let´s focus on getting him well and getting him back with his family."

AWOL Jihad Traitor for Taliban Terrorists: Mullah Omar Rejoices, Prisoner Swap “Big Victory” for Global Jihad, Obama promises more concessions

AWOL Jihad Traitor for Taliban Terrorists: Mullah Omar Rejoices, Prisoner Swap “Big Victory” for Global Jihad, Obama promises more concessions

21 Comments
Screen Shot 2014-06-01 at 12.43.04 PM
Here’s more on the treasonous terror deal I wrote about here: “AWOL Traitor Traded for Taliban Terrorists: “In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful,’’ AWOL soldier’s dad said in Arabic.”
Anyone in the Obama administration that cops out to “we don’t leave anyone behind” as the reason why they traded an AWOL traitor for five GITMO Taliban leaders is lying. The Obama administration abandoned our people in Benghazi — heroes and patriots — when they needed us most. Obama’s contempt for our troops is nothing new. Taliban insider attacks spiked to unseen levels under Obama as he continued to sanction and reward the Taliban. Obama’s rules of engagement in Afghanistan was an invitation to murder — it was open season on US soldiers.  The Washington Times recently reported that “the number of U.S. battlefield fatalities exceeded the rate at which troop strength surged in 2009 and 2010, prompting national security analysts to assert that coinciding stricter rules of engagement led to more deaths.”
Obama’s reception at West Point was icy for good reason.

Obama has been a Taliban supporter for some time now — despite the slaughter, the insider attacks, the destruction of schools, the attacks on girls, etc. He strong-armed President Karzai into partnering with them. He supports the Taliban. He insisted that Karzai share power with the Taliban. He insisted that NATO recognize the Taliban.
Karzai has said that the Obama Administration actually told him that the Taliban, which provided al Qaeda its base of support for September 11, was not an enemy of the U.S.
in 2012,  Barack Hussein Obama used the NATO summit to press Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to engage with greater urgency with the Taliban about a political settlement in Afghanistan. Obama stalked and chased these jihadist murderers. Obama demanded that Afghanistan be designated a “major non-NATO ally.” The non-NATO ally declaration allowed for streamlined defense cooperation, more money, expedited purchasing ability of American equipment, and easier export control regulations.
Mullah Omar, long known to be in Afghanistan is one of the word’s most wanted terrorists. He is the leader of the Taliban and is wanted by the U.S. State Department since October 2001. There’s a ten million dollar reward on his head. He sheltered Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda killers in the years prior to the September 11 attacks. He had a hand in the 911 attacks, and directed  the Taliban’s ongoing war against the U.S.-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan.

Obama negotiated this “trade” as a cover to release these jihad killers. Many called the AWOL convert to Islam, Abdullah Bergdahl, a traitor or a deserter. Company Commander at Fort Bragg, Stephen Kirouac, called Bergdahl a “dirtbag” and “sympathizer.” And it’s not just that, the soldier, who has converted to Islam, is alleged to have been teaching its fighters bomb-making skills. Bergdahl’s father praised Allah when the announcement of the trade was made. His father wants to see all the GITMO terrorists released.
Two Republican lawmakers said President Barack Obama violated U.S. laws when he approved the exchange of an American soldier believed held by Islamist insurgents for five years for five Afghan detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon of California and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma said Saturday in a statement that Obama is required by law to notify Congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from the U.S. detention facility.
So what are they going to do about it? Continue to sit by while Obama wages war against us?
mullah-omar-taliban-010101jpg-ca2c0b38a5a4c814
Mullah Omar has been wanted by the U.S. State Department since October 2001. There’s a ten-million-dollar reward on his head. He sheltered Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda killers in the years prior to the September 11 attacks. He had a hand in the 911 attacks, and is directing the Taliban’s ongoing war against the U.S.-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan.
Screen Shot 2014-06-01 at 12.42.56 PMWhat’s the Obama administration’s response to this?
More surrender:
Screen Shot 2014-06-01 at 12.52.12 PM
“‘New opening’ for US-Taliban talks possible: Hagel” The International Times
WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expressed hope Sunday the release of US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl would lead to direct US talks with the Taliban.
“It could, it might and we hope it will present an opening,” Hagel said in an interview from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with NBC´s “Meet the Press.
“Hagel noted that the United States had engaged in talks with the Taliban before, until they were broken off in 2012, and that it strongly supported an Afghan-led effort to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban.

Santa Barbara killing spree bore eerie similarity to 2001 attack

Santa Barbara killing spree bore eerie similarity to 2001 attack

  • Feb. 25, 2001: David Attias confronts police in this video still moments after he drove his car into a crowd of people at high speed, killing four; right, Diana Attias, David's mother, breaks down as a doctor gives details of an autopsy report.Santa Barbara News-Press
The recent shooting spree in Isla Vista, Calif., bore an eerie similarity to a rampage carried out 13 years ago, prompting Tony and Patricia Bourdakis to relive the horrifying event that took their son's life.
Just like Friday night's murder spree by Elliot Rodger, a senseless 2001 attack by David Attias was carried out in the same coastal California community by the son of a Hollywood director and driven by mental illness and intense feelings of rejection. Rodger's spree claimed seven lives, including his own; Attias used his car to kill four people and was arrested.
Both attacks occurred on a Friday night, with Rodger's coming on May 23 and Attias' on Feb. 23 some 13 years earlier.
“My wife said, 'My God, it’s the same situation,'” a shaken Tony Bourdakis told FoxNews.com. "It’s Friday night, just like the first time. It’s the 23rd of the month. He essentially focused the same way David Attias did.
“My wife said, 'My God, it’s the same situation.'”- Tony Bourdakis, lost son in 2001 attack
"I think [the similarity] really has to be looked into," he said. "It really scares the hell out of me.”
Nicholas Bourdakis was just 20 years old when Attias, a freshman at University of California-Santa Barbara, plowed his Saab into a crowd of students. Nicholas was killed, as were Christopher Divis, 20; Ruth Levy, 20 and Ellie Israel, 27. Attias, who then jumped out of his car and stood on the hood, shouting "I'm the angel of death," was declared insane by a jury. He spent 10 years in a state mental hospital before a judge released him.
Attias, whose father is former "Ally McBeal" and "Sopranos" TV director Daniel Attias, had complained about not being able to make friends or attract girls.
Rodger, who police say stabbed or shot six people before killing himself, voiced his contempt for everyone -- from his roommates to the human race -- reserving special hate for two groups: the women he says kept him a virgin for all of his 22 years and the men they chose instead.
Rodger, 22, a student at Santa Barbara City College, was the son of Peter Rodger, an assistant director of "The Hunger Games" and a photographer who specializes in photos of women's naked backsides.
Rodger's rampage played out largely as he sketched it in public postings. He said he would start by “silently killing as many people as I can around Isla Vista by luring them into my apartment through some form of trickery.” He said he would knock them out with a hammer, and slit their throats.
On Sunday, the sheriff’s office identified three victims killed in Rodger's apartment as Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, and George Chen, 19 -- both from San Jose -- and Weihan Wang, 20, of Fremont. Hong and Chen were listed on the lease as Rodger’s roommates. Investigators were trying to determine whether Wang was a roommate or was visiting the apartment.
Around 9:30 p.m., the shooting rampage began and lasted about 10 minutes. The shooting victims were identified as Katherine Cooper, 22, and Veronika Weiss, 19, who were killed outside a UC-Santa Barbara sorority house; and Christopher Michael-Martinez, 20.
Rodger injured 13 more, either with gunshots or the BMW that he used as a battering ram against bicyclists and skateboarders. Deputies found three semi-automatic handguns along with 400 unspent rounds in the car.
Both Rodger and Attias appear to have suffered some sort of messianic complex, with Attias calling himself an "angel of death" and Rodger pronouncing himself a "god" in a rambling, 137-page screed he posted online.
"I will purify the world of everything that is wrong with it," Rodger wrote. "On the Day of Retribution, I will truly be a powerful god, punishing everyone I deem to be impure and depraved."
Tony Bourdakis wonders why the privileged children of Hollywood titans like Rodger and the man who killed his son are allowed to roam the streets despite obvious mental problems.
“His parents, in my perspective, just ignored the situation," Bourdakis said of Attias. "It is not the way responsible parents would do it.”
Rodger's parents had their son in therapy, and his mother had called authorities twice after seeing his violent rants online. Her last effort to intervene came on Friday night, after she went to her son's YouTube channel and found a disturbing video.  She called police, and both parents raced to Santa Barbara, but arrived after the bloody spree had ended.
And while Friday's spree brought painful memories rushing back to the forefront of Tony Bourdakis' mind, the anguish he and his wife still feel has never really gone away.
“The wound never closed," he said. "It’s horrible.”
FoxNews.com's Joshua Rhett Miller contributed to this report

I AM PROUDE TO BE A RACIST WHEN OUR NATION LEARDERS DONT ARREST OBAMA BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST INSTAED LET OBAMA KILL OUR TROOPS OUR VETS TAKE OUR LANDS



JUST BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST
SO LET OBAMA DESTORY OUR NATIION
WE DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST
SO LET OBAMA KILL OUR VETS
KILL OUR TROOPS
LET MILLIONS OF TERRORIST IN TO OUR NATION BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST
THIS IS SAD I AM SICK OUR THIS BULL
I HAD IT
WHAT MAKES THEM THINK OBAMAS TERRORIST WONT KILL THEM
WHAT MAKES THEM THINK OBAMA WONT KILL THEM
WHEN OBAMA CAN KILL OUR TROOPS AND OUR VETS
BUT THEY DONT WANT TO BVE CALLED A RACIST
LET HIM DESTORY OUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS BECAUSETHEY DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST
I HAD IT
I WOULD BE BETTER OFF CALLED A RACIST THEN LET OBAMA AND HIS TERRORIST RUIN OUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
THIS NATION MAKES ME SICK
OUR TROOPS THATS A JOKE
THEY ARE SCARED
WHAT A JOKE
THEY CANT EVEN PROTECT THEM SELFS
THIS NATION IS SCUM
I QUIT GOING OVER THE BROADER WONT BE BACK
I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCK WEAK MEN IN MY LIFE THEY CANT ARREST OBAMA BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO BE CALLED A RACIST
FUCK IT MY NAME IS NOW OBAMA RACIST
I HAD IT I HOPE EVERY ONE IN GOVERNMENT OFFICE DIES BY THEY BUDDY OBAMA ISLAMIC TERRORIST

THIS NATION IS SO MESSED UP THAT CONGRESS AND SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPS
THAT THEY WOULD LET OBAMA RUIN OUR NATION
KILL OUR VETS
ARM ISLAMIC TERRORIST
WHILE OUR TROOPS DONT HAVE AMMO
DONT GIVE OUT TROOPS CARE
BUT LET OBAMA GIVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO ISLAMIC TERRORIST
OUR MEN GET SHOT THEY DONT GET CARE BUT OBAMA CARES FOR HIS MUSLIMS
THIS IS OUT RAGE
WE DONT HAVE AN ARMY TO PROTECT US
BUT WE CANT ARREST OBAMA FOR THEY MAY BE CALLED A RACIST

Republicans call for hearings on Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap

Republicans call for hearings on Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap

This image from a video released by a Taliban affiliated group on Nov. 24, 2010 shows captive U.S. Army Spc. Bowe Bergdahl alongside his suspected captor, Mullah Sangeen Zadran. CBS
Several Republican lawmakers on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees say that Congress should examine whether President Obama acted within the bounds of the law by exchanging five former Taliban leaders for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in a prisoner swap without consulting Congress.
At issue is the law that requires the defense secretary to notify Congress 30 days before transferring any detainees out of the prison and explain why they will not be in a position to harm the U.S. again.
"I think in the eyes of many, he broke the law by not informing Congress 30 days before that," California Rep. Buck McKeon, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview on MSNBC Monday.
"You just had Ambassador Rice, she said they'd been working on this for three years. She said Congress has been informed of this along the way. I don't know who they were talking to. I have not been a part of this, and I'm the chairman of the committee."
McKeon said his committee plans to hold hearings into the issue, and said it should not be viewed as a partisan move.
"It was important for our national security. It's important for our responsibility of oversight of the administration and our national security," he said.
On the Senate side, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has written to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., to follow suit. Graham, however, seems more concerned with the possibility that the former detainees could return to battle than the legality of their release.
"The five terrorists released were the hardest of the hard-core," Graham said in the letter. "They have American blood on their hands and surely as night follows day they will return to the fight. In effect, we released the 'Taliban Dream Team.' The United States is less safe because of these actions."
Graham added that he is concerned that the move will "inevitably lead to more Americans being kidnapped and held hostage throughout the world."
Another letter from Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., raised similar concerns in her request for a hearing, but also asked that Congress ask why the administration did not comply with the reporting requirement.
The administration has defended the move, citing the decline in Bergdahl's health and the fact that they had previously consulted with Congress on the issue. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney also stressed Monday the urgency of acting while the deal with the Taliban was still on the table.
"Hoping that opportunity remained open was not an option," Carney said. "When the opportunity presented itself and we could successfully recover him we acted quickly to do so."
The administration began notifying members of Congress the moment Bergdahl came into U.S. custody, Carney said.
But he added that that the president has used "signing statements" - including the law that includes the 30-day reporting requirement - to assert executive authority on negotiations with foreign powers in circumstances like these.
"We have repeatedly noted concerns with this requirement," Carney told reporters. "In signing statements, he, the president, has consistently made clear that the executive branch must have the flexibility to act swiftly in conducting negotiations with foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee transfers if necessary."

U.S. Special Forces, Foreign Troops Practice Invading Tampa, Florida

U.S. Special Forces, Foreign Troops Practice Invading Tampa, Florida


News groups promise invasion is not "Russians" or "New World Order."
(by MIKAEL THALEN, Infowars.com)
U.S. Special Forces and commandos from as many as 19 foreign nations practiced “invading” Tampa, Fl. this week during an unprecedented international training exercise.
Conducted outside the Tampa Convention Center Wednesday, residents looked on as service members from every branch of the U.S. military ran drills alongside commandos from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Sweden and Thailand.
Local newspapers worked to relieve worried residents prior to the exercise, assuring them that the sound of gunshots and low-flying military helicopters was only part of a drill.
“If you see military helicopters flying over downtown Tampa next Tuesday, it’s not a sign that we are under attack by the Russians, the North Koreans or the New World Order,” said The Tampa Tribune.
According to the training scenario, commandos were tasked with rescuing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn from an “insurgent village” held by “violent extremists.” Helicopters, boats, ground mobility vehicles, and commandos unloaded blank rounds as a 14-man team worked to locate the mayor. Loud pyrotechnics were used as four snipers on the roof of Tampa General Hospital surveyed the mayor’s rescue.
“It was fun,” Buckhorn told reporters. “I love doing this. I love supporting Socom and the men and women that serve there.”
The demonstration was held in conjunction with the fourth International Special Operations Forces conference, where delegates from 84 nations met to strengthen “the Global SOF Network.”
High-ranking members including Army Lt. Gen. Joe Votel discussed several topics including the “nightmare scenario” of “Sunni extremists or extremist organizations” obtaining biological, chemical, radiologic or nuclear weapons.
“I think we have to be concerned about them falling into the hands of people who would have less difficulty employing those and for me that’s why I think this is hugely important,” Votel said while also mentioning the situation in Syria. “I do think we have to be very, very concerned.”
A noticeable increase in domestic urban warfare exercises, like the unannounced 2012 military helicopter drill over Miami that used simulated gunfire, has made many uncomfortable given recent revelations about military training aimed at mainline Americans.
Army troops at Mississippi’s Camp Shelby blew the whistle last October after being told that the American Family Association, a mainline Christian ministry, was a domestic hate group similar to the Ku Klux Klan.
Soldiers at Fort Hood were recently warned that anyone supporting anti-abortion, Christians or Tea Party groups could face disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Soldiers were told that such groups presented a major domestic terror threat to the country.
In August 2013, a Department of Defense training manual uncovered by the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch labeled supporters of “individual liberties” and “states’ rights” as “extremist.” The manual also warned military personnel against “active participation” with such organizations.
The U.S. Army’s new 300-acre “fake city” in Virginia, where troops allegedly train for foreign combat scenarios, more closely resembles an American city than a foreign one. Complete with a replica Washington D.C. subway and a Baptist church, the training center seems to mirror the shift in training material.
Leaked Marine Corps’ documents provided to Infowars this month showed how a seperate military urban training center in North Carolina was updated to include a Baptist church and farmhouses, transforming it from its original foreign appearance.
Given the fact that a large portion of U.S. troops align themselves with conservative values, the federal government’s actions towards the military is unsurprising. In 2009, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano stood by a report that labeled returning military veterans as the main terror threat.