Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts

Monday, December 14, 2015

Does an Islamic Prophecy Foretell an Apocalyptic Battle with the West? - TROY ANDERSON CHARISMA NEWS

An Islamic prophecy raises questions about a ground war in the Middle East.

An Islamic prophecy raises questions about a ground war in the Middle East. (Reuters )

Does an Islamic Prophecy Foretell an Apocalyptic Battle with the West?





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As the Islamic State has drawn the world's attention with terrorist attacks in France, California and elsewhere, Islamic experts say the militants wants to draw the United States and its allies into a ground war in the Middle East.
But these experts say this could be the "worst trap" because the founder of the Islamic State, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, believes in an Islamic prophecy that states Islam will be victorious following an apocalyptic battle with the West once Western forces invade the Middle East again.
"Should that invasion happen, the Islamic State not only would be able to declare its prophecy fulfilled, but could also turn the occurrence into a new recruiting drive at the very moment the terrorist group appears to be losing volunteers," wrote Rukmini Callimachi in a New York Times article.
President Obama referred to this prophecy in his speech Sunday night, arguing the United States should pursue a "sustainable victory" involving airstrikes and supporting local forces battling the Islamic State rather than engaging in another ground war in the region.
"I have said it repeatedly: Because of these prophecies, going in on the ground would be the worst trap to fall into," said Jean-Pierre Filiu, a professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, and the author of Apocalypse in Islam. "They want troops on the ground. Because they have already envisioned it. It's a very powerful and emotional narrative. It gives the potential recruit and the actual fighters the feeling that not only are they part of the elite, they are also part of the final battle."
Joel C. Rosenberg, a New York Times bestselling author, wrote on his blog that his latest political thriller, The Third Target, and his forthcoming novel, The First Hostage, envision a scenario in which ISIS leaders are driven by end times prophecies to capture chemical weapons in Syria and launch attacks against the U.S., Israel and Sunni Arabs.
"As The First Hostage unfolds, ISIS leaders are trying feverishly to draw the U.S. and the Western powers ('the forces of Rome') into a bloody ground war in Syria," Rosenberg wrote. "Why? In order to fulfill Islamic prophecies about an apocalyptic end times battle in an obscure Syrian town called Dabiq and establish a global Islamic kingdom or caliphate."
Although he's had difficulty convincing western leaders of the importance of the "genocidal intentions of our enemies and the Islamic eschatology that is driving them," Rosenberg says he's been encouraged by the release of a recent book by Brookings Institution scholar Dr. Will McCants, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State, that explains the significance of the Islamic prophecies, along with recent remarks by GOP presidential candidates Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Santorum, who have spoken out about the threat of "apocalyptic Islam."
"My hope (is) that other candidates and current office-holders, military leaders and intelligence experts will start studying and publicly discussing this matter," Rosenberg wrote.
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Friday, November 20, 2015

Pat Buchanan Calls President Obama's 'Mindset' Into Question - TROY ANDERSON CHARISMA NEWS

Pat Buchanan says President Obama should be outraged over Paris attacks.

Pat Buchanan says President Obama should be outraged over Paris attacks. (Reuters )


Pat Buchanan Calls President Obama's 'Mindset' Into Question



Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan called into question the "mindset" of President Obama following his remarks chiding anti-refugee politicians as being "scared of widows and 3-year-old orphans."
In an interview on Newsmax TV, Buchanan criticized the president for his remarks lashing out at Republicans who called for barring Syrian refugees in the United States.
"He didn't really show what he should have shown, which was American leadership in the time of a real crisis for our ally in France," Buchanan told The Steve Malzberg Show."He really seems to be letting Republican criticism get to him.
"The president has not handled this at all well, there's no question about it. This was a massacre, a perpetrated massacre, the largest hit on France militarily, lost more casualties than any single incident since World War II. He's focusing on the Republican Party—and he's calling it a setback in the war on terror. You have to ask yourself about the mindset of the president right now."
Buchanan's remarks followed comments Obama made in the Philippines on Wednesday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. At the summit, Obama make veiled references to GOP candidates who have called for closing the nation's borders to refugees.
"These are the same folks oftentimes that say they're so tough that just talking to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or staring down ISIL (ISIS) or using some additional rhetoric will solve the problem—and they're scared of widows and 3-year-old orphans," Obama said.
Meanwhile, a growing number of mostly Republican governors have called for shutting down their states to Syrian refugees.
Obama said intelligence agencies vet the refugees coming to the U.S. for up to two years prior to their entrance into the U.S.
"We are not well-served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic," Obama said. "We don't make good decisions if they're based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks."
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Monday, November 16, 2015

Widespread Terrorism Is Just Part Of The Perfect Storm That Is Now Descending On The Western World - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Perfect Storm - Public Domain
Posted: 15 Nov 2015 Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE 

Words cannot adequately describe the utter horror that was unleashed on the streets of Paris, France on Friday.  CNN is calling it “the worst violence witnessed in France since World War II“, and even though it happened a couple of days ago now, many of us are still having a really tough time processing what took place.  Somehow, a small group of less than 10 radical Islamists was able to unleash a coordinated wave of attacks that killed at least 129 people and injured at least 350. 

All of this comes less than a year after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, and many in the western world are now starting to understand that something has fundamentally changed.  Even though France has a highly advanced anti-terrorism infrastructure, and even though it also has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in Europe, none of that did anything to prevent these attacks.  Despite all of our advanced technology, the openness of our society makes us highly vulnerable to Islamic terror.  And as more waves of refugees from the Middle East are absorbed by both Europe and the United States, it is inevitable that there will be more attacks like this.

According to Google, the definition of a “soft target” is “a person or thing that is relatively unprotected or vulnerable, especially to military or terrorist attack.”  And as we just saw in France, the western world is literally teeming with soft targets.  I am talking about sporting events, concert halls, schools, churches, shopping malls, power stations, water treatment facilities, mass transit, etc.

For those that wish to create terror, the opportunities are endless.

In the western world, we generally rely on certain deterrents in order to maintain order.  Most sane people do not want to be shot, and most sane people do not want to go to prison.
But what do you do when there are large numbers of crazy people that are actually looking forward to being martyrs?

We don’t really have a defense for the kind of attack that we just witnessed in France.  What can you really do when you are dealing with large numbers of homicidal maniacs that are not afraid to die and that can strike anywhere at any time?  Unless you can identify the terrorists or their plans ahead of time, it becomes a guessing game.

And the level of evil demonstrated by these terrorists is truly astounding.  At the Bataclan Theater, two of the terrorists fired their AK-47s indiscriminately into the crowd for a full 10 minutes
At the Bataclan Theater, at least 75 people attending a concert by a U.S. rock band were killed and many more injured, according to authorities. Eyewitnesses spoke of two young men armed with AK47 assault rifles firing repetitively and dispassionately into the crowded venue, targeting helpless victims cowering on the floor.
 Julien Pearce, a radio reporter who was inside the concert hall, told CNN he saw two terrorists at the back of the venue, “firing randomly to the crowd. People yelled, screamed, everybody lying on the floor. And it lasted for ten minutes, ten minutes, ten horrific minutes, where everybody was on the floor covering their heads.”

But these latest attacks are just part of a wider trend of chaos and terror that has descended upon western Europe.  For much, much more on this, please check out this video.
Sadly, what Europe is currently experiencing is coming here too.

When I first start dealing with someone new, I watch to see if that individual will actually follow through on what he or she has promised.  Sometimes this happens, but sometimes it does not.

In the case of ISIS, I would have to say that they are indeed following through on what they said they would do.  Tonight, much of Europe is completely gripped by fear and terror, and the head of ISIS has promised a “direct confrontation” with the United States as well…
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), issued a rare audio message back on January 21 in which he flatly stated his group’s intention to march on Baghdad and move into “direct confrontation” with the United States.
“Our last message is to the Americans. Soon we will be in direct confrontation, and the sons of Islam have prepared for such a day,” Baghdadi said. “So watch, for we are with you, watching.”
As WND has pointed out, there have been dozens of Islamic terror attacks on U.S. soil since 2001, but most of them have been relatively small.

Unfortunately, I believe that we are moving into a new era.  Instead of just being satisfied with killing dozens or hundreds of people, these terrorists will start getting a hold of weapons that can kill thousands.  Eventually we will see terror attacks inside this country that will make 9/11 look like a Sunday picnic.  And Barack Obama is certainly not helping things by “resettling” thousands upon thousands of Syrian refugees in communities all over America.

Of course increasing terror is just a part of the overall picture.  Many have described what is coming to the United States and Europe as a “perfect storm”, and I would agree with that assessment.

Even without Islamic terror, we live at a time of rising civil unrest.  The deep divisions in our country have been demonstrated by what happened in Ferguson, in Baltimore and more recently at the University of Missouri.  Americans are angrier and more frustrated than ever before, and the mainstream media is constantly playing up the divisions between various groups.  And thanks to Barack Obama’s refusal to protect our borders, there are now 1.4 million members of criminal gangs living in our cities. 

Violent crime is already on the rise in our urban areas, and it is going to get even worse as we plunge into recession.  For instance, the city of Baltimore recently recorded its 300th homicide of the year after only seeing 211 for all of 2014.  Our major cities have never been more primed for civil unrest, and I believe that we are going to see widespread rioting, looting and chaos in the years ahead as the economy totally falls to pieces.

In addition to increased Islamic terror and civil unrest, I also believe we are moving into a time of great governmental shaking, increased tensions between global superpowers, unprecedented natural disasters, and the greatest financial unraveling the world has ever seen.

All of these trends will feed into one another to create the “perfect storm” that I mentioned earlier.  What this is going to mean is a dramatic change in our standard of living, our liberties and freedoms will continue to be stripped away, and our world is going to be transformed at a pace that very few of us ever imagined was possible.

If you have the feeling that everything has changed after what just happened in France, you are right.

But this is just the beginning.

What is coming in the weeks and months ahead is going to be even worse, and it is going to shock the entire planet.


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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Ted Koppel Is Buying Freeze-Dried Food For The Day When A Cyberattack Takes Out The Power Grid - Michael Snyder The Economic Collapse

Central Park - Public Domain
Posted: 10 Nov 2015 

Most Americans have absolutely no idea how incredibly vulnerable our electrical grid is, but Ted Koppel does.  For many years, Koppel was the level-headed host of Nightline on ABC, but now he is issuing a very chilling warning to America.  For more than a year, he investigated potential threats to our power grid, and he has detailed what he discovered in a new book entitled “Lights Out“. 

He is convinced that a massive cyberattack could take down our entire electrical grid for an extended period of time, and he was horrified to learn that the Department of Homeland Security really doesn’t have a plan for how to deal with this kind of a scenario.

What Koppel found out during the course of his investigation freaked him out so much that he actually decided to buy freeze-dried food for himself, his children, and even his grandchildren.  The following comes from CBS News
In “Lights Out,” Koppel paints a grim picture of a paralyzing power outage in the form of an all-out cyberattack on the nation’s electrical grid.
“It’s frightening,” Koppel said. “I mean, it is frightening enough that my wife and I decided we were going to buy enough freeze-dried food for all of our kids and their kids.”
Koppel believes that Russia, China and Iran already have the ability to conduct such attacks.  And actually, the truth is that many other nations such as North Korea have been rapidly developing the capability to conduct such operations as well.

It is only a matter of time until we see absolutely massive cyberattacks unleashed against national power grids, and the United States is the most likely target.  Unfortunately for us, our government has done very little to prepare for this eventuality.  Here is more from CBS News
Koppel says the one agency that would be ready to counter a cyberattack such as this is the Department of Homeland Security. But are they ready?
“No,” he said. “I’ve talked to every former Secretary of Homeland Security, and they all acknowledge there is no plan.”
And the current Secretary, Jeh Johnson, didn’t offer much guidance to Koppel, either: “I kept asking ‘What’s the plan?’ Why wait until disaster strikes? Why not tell ’em? Do you have a plan?’ And he just sort of pointed up at a shelf filled with white binders and he said, ‘Look, I’m sure there’s something up there somewhere.'”
But we have been warned.  In fact, just recently there was a major congressional hearing about this.  At that hearing, one member of Congress explained that there is a significant attack on our power grid once every four days
Such attacks hit the nation’s electric grid once every four days, according to estimates, Rep. Randy Weber, a Texas Republican, said at the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology hearing. The session was focused on better protecting the nation’s power grid and identifying its vulnerability to cyberattacks.
In over 300 cases of significant cyber and physical attacks since 2011, suspects have never been identified,” Weber said.
And of course it isn’t just a cyberattack that we need to be concerned about.  As I wrote about just over a month ago, a giant electromagnetic pulse either from the sun or from a weapon could fry our grid at any time as well.
Perhaps this is not something that you are making preparations for personally, but the White House sure is.  According to the Houston Chronicle, the White House just released a plan that details how it would respond to an EMP event…
The White House Thursday released a contingency plan for about the most terrifying scenario possible: a massive electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that wipes out the power grid.
Just imagine no more cell phones, Internet, credit cards, gas pumps, running water, electric lights or industry in a single fateful moment.
It could come from a solar flare that sends ultra-high-energy particles cascading toward the earth, frying every electrical transformer they encounter. So the White House, in conjunction with 24 other federal agencies, published a “National Space Weather Strategy” and accompany action plan, outlining a response if such a disaster were to occur.
I don’t know if any of us can really imagine how crazy things would get if the lights went out and never came back on.  We have all become so incredibly dependent on computers, cell phones, televisions, ATMs, heating and cooling systems, credit card readers, gas pumps, cash registers, refrigerators, hospital equipment etc.  What would life be like if suddenly we couldn’t use any of those things anymore?
At some point there will be a massive power grid failure.  It is just a matter of time.  And as space weather consultant John Kappenman recently told Gizmodo, when it happens power might not be restored for months or even years…
“If you take electricity away, either immediately or within a short period of time, you’ll suffer the failure of all critical infrastructure,” Kappenman said. This includes things like water, sewage treatment, gas stations, banks and hospitals. “One of the concerns that we have is that in the worst case scenarios, we could be looking at weeks, months, maybe even years before restoration of the grid.”
That’s why preppers are taking a longer view. “I have a five year supply of food for employees and family,” a source who requested anonymity told Gizmodo. This individual says he’s rigged up a 12.5 kW solar array in the “remote wilderness,” complete with “power outlets and water spigots about every 50 feet” to support a small fleet of RV trailers for the long haul. Other preppers agree that a multi-year food and water supply is crucial. Some are also stockpiling large quantities of medications (“five year supplies of meds can be obtained from Asia without prescriptions,” one source told Gizmodo).
For much more on what we could potentially be facing, I encourage you to check out the following articles…

-“Electromagnetic Pulse: One Day We Will Wake Up In An America Without Electricity And Society Will Totally Break Down

-“The EMP Threat: All It Would Take Is A Couple Of Explosions To Send America Back To The 1800s

-“What Are You Going To Do When A Massive EMP Blast Fries The U.S. Electrical Grid?

So how can we get prepared?  The YouTube video that I have posted below was produced by Infowars, and it contains advice from renowned survivalist experts including James Wesley Rawles.  I think that you will find it to be very helpful…

Monday, October 26, 2015

Why Crazy Is the New Normal - Matt Barber, CHARISMA NEWS

"The progressive left under Obama is accomplishing much more than just enlarging government, redistributing wealth and de-Christianizing the culture."
"The progressive left under Obama is accomplishing much more than just enlarging government, redistributing wealth and de-Christianizing the culture." (Reuters)

Why Crazy Is the New Normal




Clarion Call, by Matt Barber
No, you haven't lost your mind.
Yes, America has.
If someone just 20 years ago had said, for starters, that we'd someday elect an anti-American president who would intentionally flood our borders with millions of illegal immigrants and Islamist "refugees," that we'd soon celebrate as "heroic" a former Olympic champion for mutilating his body and pretending to be a woman, that we'd have five extremist lawyers on the Supreme Court unconstitutionally force the radical redefinition of marriage to mollify people with same-sex fetishes—you might call that person crazy.
Well, crazy is the new normal. America has lost its mind. We've snapped. Anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear and a brain to think knows it.
But why? How did it happen? What exactly caused America's moral GPS to send our nation headlong into oncoming traffic?
And can anything be done to fix it?
Maybe once in a generation are we so graced with a communicator like veteran journalist and best-selling author David Kupelian. His matchless ability to unpack the complicated issues of our day with simplistic precision is nothing short of genius, a gift from God he has shared once more in his latest book, The Snapping of the American Mind: Healing a Nation Broken by a Lawless Government and Godless Culture.
As I've said before, when David puts pen to paper, it "has the same effect on your brain that yawning has on your ears at high altitude. Things just suddenly pop with crystal clarity." The closest comparison I can make to David Kupelian is author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis. As a Lewis enthusiast of the first order, I don't make that comparison lightly.
In, The Snapping of the American Mind, Kupelian one ups himself by exploring, in lucid detail, the root cause of our current age of lawlessness and moral anarchy. Yet, somehow, he manages to leave us filled with hope for American revival and renewal.Snapping is just the book America needs for a time such a time as this.
In it you will learn:
  • How the left has succeeded in redefining not just "marriage," but the rest of Americans' core values, from "equality" to "justice" to "freedom";
  • Why America, unquestionably the least racist nation on earth, is now being portrayed as a deeply racist pariah state;
  • Why the United States is intentionally being flooded with millions of needy, dependent, Third World immigrants;
  • How a group that amputates healthy body parts and has a 41 percent attempted suicide rate is officially declared "normal," yet new "research" suggests conservatives have malformed brains;
  • Which of the two major U.S. political parties has a far higher incidence of mental illness;
  • Why Americans today are more stressed-out, confused, conflicted and addicted than at any time in the nation's history—and where this ominous trend is leading;
  • And much, much more ...
Kupelian, who is vice president and managing editor of WND (WorldNetDaily) and editor of Whistleblower magazine, authored two previous blockbuster bestsellers, The Marketing of Evil and its sequel, How Evil Works.
"The progressive left under Obama," he writes of his new book, "is accomplishing much more than just enlarging government, redistributing wealth and de-Christianizing the culture. With its wild celebration of sexual anarchy, its intimidating culture of political correctness and its incomprehension of the fundamental sacredness of human life, it is also, whether intentionally or not, promoting widespread dependency, debauchery, family breakdown, crime, corruption, depression and addiction."
"Surveying this growing chaos in American society," notes the book's summary, "Kupelian exposes both the utopian revolutionaries and their extraordinary methods that have turned America's most cherished values literally upside down—to the point that madness is celebrated and normality demonized."
In essence, Snapping untangles the modern-day manifestation of the timeless biblical truth found in Isaiah 5:20: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who exchange darkness for light, and light for darkness; who exchange bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
But unlike the woeful occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kupelian offers a substantive path forward—real hope and real change that will fundamentally repair what the "progressive" left has "fundamentally transformed."
"I don't give up hope," said Kupelian on the radio show Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. "I mean, you could say, if there's no hope then what do you do? You go off, you drop out, you live for yourself, for your family, and you try to live a good life. No; too many people have fought and bled and died to help this country and to help strangers in foreign lands. There's still half the country that has not had their mind snapped."
Which half of the country maintains majority influence over the whole, may determine whether we have any future at all.
The Snapping of the American Mind is good medicine for an America gone mad.
Pick it up today. Read. Learn. Plan.
Because America's time may be running out.

Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of barbwire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. (Follow Matt on Twitter: @jmattbarber).
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Life in Jerusalem, Through a Foreigner’s Eyes - ISRAEL TODAY

Life in Jerusalem, Through a Foreigner’s Eyes

Monday, October 26, 2015 |  Theresa Jensen  ISRAEL TODAY
It’s a beautiful Shabbat morning in Jerusalem. Children are happy and all is peaceful in our neighborhood. We have been in Jerusalem three weeks, arriving from Seattle, Washington.
Little did we know when we arrived that we would witness the fear, confusion and horror of unbelievable acts of terror on a daily basis. Innocent civilians and soldiers, attacked with knives and run over by vehicles, as they went about their daily activities. Those injured were children; someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, spouse or friend. Fear and apprehension showing on the face of each person we pass on the street.
Twice we were in locations where an attack had just taken place. One at the central bus station in Jerusalem and the other time when three separate events occurred on Jaffa Street. We witnessed the chaos resulting from these brutal attacks; people rushing to get out of the area. Employees in the shops along Jaffa Street fearing for their lives.
We also heard from parents whose children were summoned by the government to report for military duty. Their children have already completed their time in the military and are now part of the reserve forces. They were summoned to defend and protect those who wore an “invisible” target on their back just because they happen to be Jewish.
The news broadcasts outside of Israel have been disgusting. The media implies that Israel provoked this violence, downplaying these senseless and brutal acts of murder.
We are honored to stand with Israel in this horrible time in their history.
Our landlady was convinced we would leave the first week of our arrival due to the “situation.” When we told her we had no intention of leaving she was so touched. She was sure we would want to go. We told her that is exactly what the terrorists want us to do; we will not leave, rather we will show the people of Israel they are not alone.
Everywhere we go we share that the people of the United States are strong supporters of Israel. We honor those that God calls “the apple of His eye.”
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Is Barack Obama Actually Trying to Start World War III? - Michael Snyder

The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year.  So why in the world do these targets still exist?
The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year. So why in the world do these targets still exist? (Reuters)

Is Barack Obama Actually Trying to Start World War III?




Why has Barack Obama airdropped 50 tons of ammunition into areas that "moderate rebels" in Syria supposedly control? This is essentially the equivalent of poking the Russians directly in the eyes.
Much of this ammunition will end up in the hands of those whom the Russians are attempting to bomb into oblivion, and so to Russia it appears that we are attempting to make their job much harder. Of course, the truth is that there aren't really any "moderate rebels" in Syria at all. Nearly all of the groups that are fighting are made up primarily of radical jihadis or hired mercenaries. Personally, I don't see anyone over there that you could call "the good guys."
At the end of the day, the U.S. supports just about anyone who wants to get rid of the Assad regime, and the Russians are working very hard to keep Bashar al-Assad in power. Just like the civil war in Ukraine, the conflict in Syria is in great danger of being transformed into a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and many fear that these conflicts could eventually be setting the stage for World War III.
The ferocity of Russian airstrikes in Syria has surprised observers all over the planet, and over the past couple of days these airstrikes have been extended to include some new areas:
Russian Air Forces have extended the range of their airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria to four provinces, focusing primarily on demolishing fortified installations and eliminating supply bases and the terrorists' infrastructure.
Over the last 24 hours Russian aircraft have attacked terrorist positions in the Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Raqqa provinces of Syria. In total, 64 sorties targeted 63 Islamic State installations, among them 53 fortified zones, seven arms depots, four training camps and a command post.
When I read reports like this, I am deeply troubled. The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year. So why in the world do these targets still exist?
Was the U.S. military incapable of finding these installations?
That doesn't seem likely.
So why weren't they destroyed long ago?
Did the Obama administration not want them destroyed for some reason?
What seems abundantly clear is that the Russians are doing what the Obama administration was either unwilling or unable to do. There is now mass panic among ISIS fighters, and thousands of them are fleeing the country:
An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan, fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency.
"At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk have fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the Syrian army having stepped up activities on all fronts and of Russian airstrikes," the RIA source said.
The mainstream media in the United States is not talking much about this, are they?
But the U.S. media is reporting on this latest airdrop of ammunition to rebel groups in Syria. For example, the following comes from CNN:
U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups.
Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced.
C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items (such as) hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition.
If you were the Russians, how would you feel about this?
I know how I would feel.
And just as Joe Biden has previously admitted, the "moderate middle" in Syria simply does not exist. The following is an extended excerpt from a piece that was originally written by investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed:
The first Russian airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Talbisah north of Homs City, home to (al-Qaida's) official Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the (pro-al-Qaida) Ahrar al-Sham, among other local rebel groups. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in Homs City, which is 12 kilometers south of Talbisah.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that as part of "U.S. and Turkish efforts to establish an ISIS 'free zone' in the northern Aleppo countryside," al-Nusra "withdrew from the border and reportedly reinforced positions in this rebel-held pocket north of Homs city."
In other words, the U.S. and Turkey are actively sponsoring "moderate" Syrian rebels in the form of (al-Qaida), which Washington, D.C.-based risk analysis firm Valen Globals forecasts will be "a bigger threat to global security" than IS in coming years.
Last October, Vice President Joe Biden conceded that there is "no moderate middle" among the Syrian opposition. Turkey and the Gulf powers armed and funded "anyone who would fight against Assad," including "al-Nusra," "(al-Qaida) in Iraq (AQI)," and the "extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world."
In other words, the CIA-backed rebels targeted by Russia are not moderates. They represent the same melting pot of (al-Qaida-affiliated) networks that spawned the Islamic State in the first place.

It has been well-documented that many of these so-called moderate rebel groups in Syria have fought alongside ISIS and have sold weapons to them. So this false dichotomy that Barack Obama keeps trying to sell us on is just a giant fraud. The following comes from a recent Infowars report:
In September 2014, a commander with the FSA admitted cooperating with ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.
"We are collaborating with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front by attacking the Syrian Army's gatherings in: Qalamoun," Bassel Idriss said. "Let's face it: The Nusra Front is the biggest power present right now in Qalamoun, and we as FSA would collaborate on any mission they launch as long as it coincides with our values."
In July 2014, a report in Stars and Stripes documented how the 1,000-strong Dawud Brigade, which had previously fought alongside the FSA against al-Assad, had defected in its entirety to join ISIS.
The same month factions within the FSA—including Ahl Al Athar and Ibin al-Qa'im—pledged services to the Islamic State.
Members of the Islamic State claim to cooperate with the FSA and buy weapons provided by the U.S.
"We are buying weapons from the FSA. We bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti-tank weapons," ISIS member Abu Atheer told al-Jazeera. "We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam."
U.S. anti-tank weapons are playing a critical role in the Syrian conflict. As reported by the Washington Post, U.S.-made anti-tank missiles are being used by the rebels to destroy lots of Russian-made tanks that are being used by the Syrian army:
So successful have they been in driving rebel gains in northwestern Syria that rebels call the missile the "Assad Tamer," a play on the word Assad, which means lion. And in recent days they have been used with great success to slow the Russian-backed offensive aimed at recapturing ground from the rebels.
Since Wednesday, when Syrian troops launched their first offensive backed by the might of Russia's military, dozens of videos have been posted on YouTube showing rebels firing the U.S.-made missiles at Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Syrian army. Appearing as twirling balls of light, they zigzag across the Syrian countryside until they find and blast their target in a ball of flame.
Like I said earlier, this is looking more and more like a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
Could that be what Obama actually wants?
Obama is poking China in the eyes lately too. CNN is reporting that U.S. warships may soon be sailing into territorial waters around the Spratly Islands. These are islands that the Chinese government claims ownership over, but the U.S. government disputes that claim, and Obama seems determined to flex his muscles in the area:
The United States (U.S.) may soon deploy war ships near China's artificial islands in the South China Sea.
It wants to send a message that it does not recognize China's territorial claims over the area.
This is according to a Financial Times report quoting a senior U.S. official who said its ships will sail within 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as its territory around the Spratly Islands within the next two weeks.
If Obama sends warships into that area, there is a very real chance that they could get shot at. According to Newsweek, the Chinese are saying that they will not permit U.S. ships to violate those territorial waters under any circumstances:
"We will never allow any country to violate China's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to a question about possible U.S. patrols. "We urge the related parties not to take any provocative actions, and genuinely take a responsible stance on regional peace and stability."
Such exchanges appear to be moving China and the U.S. toward a much feared, yet long expected, military confrontation. Just as unsettling, both sides seem confident they can prevail.
Over the past couple of years, our relations with China have really gone downhill very rapidly, and if the trading relationship between the two largest economies on the planet breaks down, that would have massive implications for the entire global economy.
In addition to everything above, the civil war in Ukraine continues to rage on. The United States funded, equipped, trained and organized the forces that violently overthrew the democratically elected government in Ukraine, and then once those thugs (which actually included some neo-Nazis) took power, the Obama administration immediately recognized them as the legitimate government of Ukraine.
The Russians were absolutely infuriated by this, and they have been providing soldiers, equipment and supplies to the rebel groups that are fighting back against this new government. Of course the Russians deny that they are doing this, but it is exceedingly obvious that they are.
The rebel groups that the Russians have been backing have been doing very well and have been steadily taking ground, and this is not how the power brokers in D.C. envisioned things playing out in Ukraine. So in a desperate attempt to shift the momentum of the conflict, a bill is going through Congress that would provide "lethal military aid" to the government in Kiev. Initially the bill would have provided 200 million dollars in lethal aid, but now it has been upped to 300 million dollars. There are some that believe that the final figure will be significantly higher.
Once this bill gets passed, it will be an extremely important event. For the Russians, it will mean crossing a red line that never should have been crossed. You see, the truth is that Ukraine is Russia's most important neighbor. Just imagine how we would feel if the Russians helped overthrow Canada's government and then start feeding weapons to the new pro-Russian government that they helped install. That is exactly how the Russians view our meddling in Ukraine.
Earlier this year, I wrote an article in which I discussed an opinion poll that showed that 81 percent of all Russians now view the United States negatively, and only 13 percent of Russians have a positive view of this nation. Not even during the height of the Cold War were the numbers that bad.
The stage is being set for World War III, but most Americans are completely and totally oblivious to all of this because they are so wrapped up in their own little worlds.
Most Americans still seem to assume that the Russians and the Chinese are our "friends" and that any type of conflict between major global powers is impossible.
Well, the truth is that conflict has already begun in Ukraine and Syria, and tensions are rising with each passing day.
It won't happen next week or next month, but we are on the road to World War III.
So what will the end result be?

Michael T. Snyder is the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and author of The Beginning of the End.
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