[So, very much in line with the general expectations, the battles ahead are going to be tough and will demand high levels of political skill, formidable firepower and close coordinations among the forces fighting against the ISIS. The outcoe, at the moment, is of course uncertain. the only certainty is that it's going to be a bloody business, literally. Even bloodier than it is at the moment.]
I/III. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/isis-audio-urges-attacks-on-unbelievers-in-canada-1.2773636 ISIS audio urges attacks on 'unbelievers' in Canada Coalition members among those targeted in latest ISIS propaganda speech CBC News <http://www.cbc.ca/news/cbc-news-online-news-staff-list-1.1294364> Posted: Sep 21, 2014 9:48 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 22, 2014 3:37 AM ET Since a U.S.-led began striking ISIS positions in Iraq, the terrorist organization has stepped-up its propaganda effort online in an effort to intimidate rivals and recruit fresh fighters. (Reuters) In an audio recording distributed widely on social media Sunday, Islamic extremist group ISIS urged attacks on civilians in member countries of the U.S.-led coalition opposed to their violent spread through areas of Syria and Iraq. - *ISIS social media blitz could be its downfall <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iraq-crisis-isis-social-media-blitz-could-be-its-downfall-1.2687301>* - *ISIS drives thousands of Syrians across border to Turkey* <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/isis-drives-thousands-of-syrians-across-border-to-turkey-1.2773182> - *Alan Henning's wife pleads with ISIS for husband's release* <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/alan-henning-s-wife-pleads-with-isis-for-husband-s-release-1.2773232> - *ISIS: 5 things to know about the Iraqi jihadist group* <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/isis-5-things-to-know-about-the-iraqi-jihadist-group-1.2684540> In the nearly 42-minute long meandering propaganda speech uploaded to Twitter, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani encourages Muslims to kill "disbelievers" in countries, including Canada, currently supporting American and French-backed military action against the group in Iraq "in any manner." Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, seen in this image grab taken from a video on July 8, 2012, issued fresh threats against Westerners in a speech released on audio. (CBC) "If you can kill a disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy French -- or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State ... kill him in any manner or way however it may be," said Adnani. In a statement released Sunday evening, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spokesman condemned the recording and said Canada will continue to support efforts to defeat ISIS. "ISIS represents a threat not just to stability in the Middle East, but to global security," said Jason MacDonald. "We will continue to work with allies to push back against this threat. Like our allies we will not be cowed by threats while innocent children, women, men and religious minorities live in fear of these terrorists." Threats made in the audio recording mirror those ISIS has made in other propaganda releases, including during the grisly beheading videos of two American journalists <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/james-foley-killing-why-isis-beheaded-the-u-s-journalist-1.2741939>, James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Adnani blamed Western allies for instigating a war against the terrorist group, and said the ongoing air incursions against ISIS positions in Iraq will be "the final campaign of the crusaders." Unlike other terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda, ISIS has established a widespread presence on social networks <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iraq-crisis-isis-social-media-blitz-could-be-its-downfall-1.2687301>, using highly produced videos and audio recordings in an effort to recruit new fighters from abroad and intimidate those opposed to their murderous agenda II/III. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/09/21/isis-booby-trapping-roads-and-using-yazidi-women-captives-as-human-shields-in-face-of-western-air-strikes/ ISIS booby-trapping roads and using Yazidi women captives as 'human shields' in face of Western air strikes Magdy Samaan, Richard Spencer, The Telegraph <http://news.nationalpost.com/author/the-telegraph/> | September 21, 2014 | Last Updated: Sep 21 7:09 PM ET More from The Telegraph <http://news.nationalpost.com/author/natpostblogstelegraphblog/> This undated file photo posted on a militant website Friday, Sept. 19, 2014 shows Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham policemen standing guard in front of a police station in Nineveh province, Iraq. Fighters from ISIS are mounting barricades, increasing checkpoints and booby-trapping the roads into Mosul in northern Iraq, residents say. Jihadist fighters have begun preparing defences against American air strikes and a feared land-based counter-offensive in Iraq and Syria, according to residents living under their rule. Fighters from Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) are mounting barricades, increasing checkpoints and booby-trapping the roads into Mosul in northern Iraq, they said. They have also begun sending their families out of the towns to safeguard them from the growing danger. Air strikes by American and French fighter jets killed scores of men in an ISIS training camp and an arms depot near the city on Thursday and Friday. Residents estimated the number of dead at anywhere between 60 and 200. ISIS has also evacuated command-and-control centres in both Mosul and Raqqa, the city in Syria which is the informal capital of its "caliphate," and begun using Yazidi women captives as "human shields" in other key places. Fighters from ISIS parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armoured vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq on June 23, 2014. "Two days ago, they left their main headquarters, and they moved to live inside our civilian neighbourhoods," said one Mosul resident, who asked not to be named. "They took over all the houses abandoned by their inhabitants, such as the houses of the Christians, former officials and people who left the city. They also use the poorer houses as stores for weapons." In Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the north and Iraqi army and Iranian-backed militia forces nearer Baghdad have stabilized front lines and even pushed ISIS back. The jihadists made big gains in the summer, but since August have lost control of the Mosul Dam and some towns and villages. In Raqqa, their position is more secure and ISIS has set up its headquarters in the ornate former governor's palace. They have pushed Syrian regime forces out of a number of major bases, killing hundreds of captives, and have been besieging Kurdish towns to the north. III. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/21/arab-participation-needed-in-fight-against-isis-gen-dempsey-says/ Joint Chiefs of Staff <http://www.foxnews.com/category/politics/joint-chiefs-of-staff> Arab nations need to help in fight against ISIS, Dempsey says Published September 21, 2014 FoxNews.com <http://www.foxnews.com/> The top American military officer said Sunday the success of the U.S.-led campaign to retake Iraqi territory hinges on getting more help from Arab nations, saying the Islamic State needs to be "squeezed from multiple directions." Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that more Arab participation in the effort is a prerequisite for President Obama's approval of the military campaign plan against the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. "If we can get ISIL looking in about five different directions, that's the desired end state," he said while traveling to Croatia from Lithuania, where he discussed Iraq and other issues with his NATO counterparts. Dempsey stressed the importance of gaining more Arab participation in the U.S.-led effort, suggesting that without it the military campaign might not move to its next phase. Obama was briefed on the plan last week but has not okayed it. "We want them to wake up every day realizing that they are being squeezed from multiple directions," he said. In an opinion column published Sunday in the Tampa Bay Times, Obama wrote, "This is not and will not be America's fight alone. That's why we continue to build a broad international coalition." He said Arab countries have offered to help but he mentioned none by name and did not describe their specific roles. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said the administration is pleased with its progress in building a coalition. "The commitments are coming in every day," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press." However, she did not name individual Arab countries that have promised to participate in military action in Iraq, saying it was up to them to describe their own roles. Obama's signature on the military campaign plan for Iraq and Syria operations would move the effort into a new phase, Dempsey said, enabled by a larger number of coalition aircraft that would allow for a more persistent presence over the battlefields of Iraq and improved prospects for rebuilding key elements of the Iraqi army. Dempsey said last week that only about half of Iraqi army brigades, which originally were trained by the U.S., are suitable partners now for the U.S. On Sunday he said one of the major problems with the other half is that they have been infiltrated by extremists. Dempsey focused his comments on military action in Iraq rather than Syria. "We want to go from being episodic with our offensive operations to sustained," he said, adding that no one should expect a dramatic increase in airstrikes but rather a series of increases calculated to match Iraq's ability to retake territory with its own ground forces. Obama has ruled out U.S. troops fighting another ground war in Iraq. Obama authorized U.S. airstrikes in Iraq on Aug. 8, and earlier this month he announced Washington would lead an international effort linked to the formation of a more inclusive government in Baghdad. That plan includes the prospect of U.S. airstrikes in neighboring Syria, but Dempsey has said the Pentagon's first priority is pushing the military campaign in Iraq. A number of Iraq's Arab neighbors, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have said they support the U.S. effort but have not publicly committed to taking any offensive role in Iraq. France is the only ally that has joined thus far in airstrikes in Iraq. Having more Arab countries involved would make the Iraq campaign more sustainable and "more credible -- that is to say, this is not just about the United States; this is a regional and even an international issue," Dempsey said. The general said he spoke to his Turkish counterpart during the weekend NATO meeting in Lithuania about Turkey's role in the conflict. He said the allied military chiefs also discussed the prospect of NATO playing a part in training and equipping Iraq security forces, although no decisions were made. Dempsey said he has no estimate of how many coalition forces he would like to see join with the U.S. in fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq, but he ticked off a list of military capabilities that he hopes can be provided by Arab nations and others. These include intelligence sharing, aerial refueling aircraft, surveillance and reconnaissance planes, precision strike aircraft, and financial assistance for the training and equipping of Iraqi troops as well as the Syrian moderate opposition. Over time, Iraqi security forces and Kurdish militia should be able to capitalize on coalition airstrikes by executing offensive ground operations to retake territory now under Islamic State group control, Dempsey said. This already has begun with limited Iraqi advances in Babil province south of Baghdad, he said, where he said the extremists have been marshalling their forces. Without mentioning specific provinces or towns, the U.S. in recent days has announced airstrikes on areas south of the Iraqi capital. On Saturday, for example, it said one strike southwest of Baghdad destroyed an Islamic State group boat ferrying supplies across the Euphrates River. And on Friday it said it hit a small Islamic State group ground unit southwest of Baghdad. *The Associated Press contributed to this report.* -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
