Special Operations

European Spy Chiefs Warn of Russian Hybrid Threats

The Russian meddling in the United States, as well as other elections, is now going to be the norm, in addition to cyber warfare, disinformation campaigns and more traditional espionage the European heads of intelligence warned on Monday.

The Sergei Skripal assassination attempt in the UK is a prime example. After the attack, it was quickly followed by Russian denials and then nearly 30 alternate theories being spread by Russian propaganda using social media among other means.

“Our respect for Russia’s people … cannot and must not stop us from calling out and pushing back on the Kremlin’s flagrant breaches of international rules,” the head of Britain’s MI5 spy agency, Andrew Parker, told an intelligence gathering in Berlin.
“Whatever nonsense they conjure up, the case is clear,” said Parker.
He later told reporters that since allied governments were first briefed on Russia’s involvement in the attack by the British government, “the case, if anything, has got stronger since then.”
Germany’s domestic intelligence chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, said his agency, known as BfV, blames Russian authorities for orchestrating a persistent cyberattack aimed at stealing sensitive data so it can be used in future intelligence campaigns, such as what happened with the Democratic National Committee emails leaked during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign.
Sir Julian King, the EU’s security commissioner, warned that social media had “turbocharged” state actors’ ability to spread disinformation, citing the recent revelations about Cambridge Analytica’s gathering of personal data from Facebook users to help manipulate elections.
King warned of future threats posed by sophisticated fake videos that are undiscernible from real footage, calling it an example of a “deadly weapon of mass disinformation” that societies need to find ways of becoming resilient to.
He also said the European Commission is working with social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to better inform users about why they are seeing certain posts and who is paying for them, to help protect against disinformation campaigns by groups or governments outside the country.

The European spy agencies have vowed to work together and cooperate against this new and insidious form of warfare. One worrisome subject for all the agencies is the possible funding of extremist groups aiming to divide European societies, and they are preaching for greater awareness of hybrid attacks to counter any threats.

To read the entire article from Associated Press, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Saudi Troops Join UAE on Socotra Island in Yemen

Saudi forces have landed on the island of Socotra for training exercises with the Yemeni troops according to Saudi military forces. Locals on the island protested last week the arrival of troops from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as their troops arrived without the invitation of the Yemeni government and since no Houthi rebels are in Socotra.

Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Sunday the Saudi soldiers are on a training and support mission with Yemeni forces.

Saudi, UAE, and Yemeni forces will conduct joint training exercises in coordination with the Yemeni government.

Protests broke out in Socotra last week as locals rejected the deployment of forces belonging to the UAE because there are no rebels on the island.
Demonstrators marched through the streets of Socotra’s capital, Hadibu, rejecting what they described as UAE intervention in the internal affairs of the province without seeking government approval.
“These forces are present in Socotra and al-Mahra in numbers that can’t be understood,” said Abdullah bin Issa al-Aafra of the Al-Mahra and Socotra People’s General Council.
The Emirati soldiers arrived on Thursday, forcing out Yemeni troops and taking over strategic locations, including the airport and the seaport.
Socotra, in the Indian Ocean, is located about 350km from the southern coast of Yemen.
Located just off the coast of Somalia with access to major shipping routes, Socotra is also a World Heritage Site known for its unique and pristine environment.
The UAE and the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are allies in a war against the Houthi rebels.
Relations between the two have soured, however, because of the UAE’s expanding influence in southern Yemen, home to a resurgent separatist movement.
The UAE’s attempt to exert control over Socotra is seen by many as the latest move by the Gulf state to spread its influence well beyond its borders.

The UAE is building its influence in the area and is attempting to spread across the region, after taking Socotra, they are also building bases across the gulf in Eritrea in Assab, in Somaliland and also in Somalia in Bosaso without the blessing of the central government.

To read the entire article from Al Jazeera, click here:

Photo screenshot Al Jazeera video

Two Dead in Protests at Gaza Border Over US Embassy Move

As the preparations were being finalized to officially open the United States embassy in Jerusalem, protests across the border in Gaza turned violent as thousands of Palestinians marched toward the border. Two were killed and at least 69 wounded in exchanges with the Israeli border guards.

Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank were being urged to come out and protest not only the U.S. embassy move but also the 70^th anniversary of what they call the “Nakba” or catastrophe…as they call the creation of the state of Israel.

Israel Police are preparing for the U.S. embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with thousands of policemen deployed through the city. At 4:00 P.M. (Israel Time), the official ceremony will take place at the U.S. Consulate in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, which will officially become the U.S. embassy this week.
Clashes erupted between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters marching from Ramallah towards the Qalandiyah security barrier near Jerusalem. Israeli Army is also confronting dozens of protest marchers in the north of Bethlehem.
A Palestinian, 29, was killed by Israeli live gunfire east of Jabaliya, the Gaza Health Ministry reports. This is the death reported from Monday’s protest.

The Arab League is meeting to condemn the “illegal” U.S. move of its embassy to Jerusalem, the site of its consulate until today. Not surprisingly, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri released a video on Sunday condemning the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem, calling on Muslims to wage jihad against the U.S.

He also called out Palestinian leaders for their “policy of appeasement.” He also called Tel Aviv, the land of the Muslims, however, the city was settled by Jewish immigrants early in the 20^th century.

To read the entire article from Haaretz, click here:

Photo screenshot of Reuters video, Palestinian protester drags burning tires to the border between Gaza and Israel

Special Operations Soldiers Honored in Ceremony at Ft. Bragg

Gary Rose was a Green Beret medic in Vietnam and was recently awarded the Medal of Honor from President Trump for actions he performed in a particularly hazardous and dangerous mission there in 1970.

Rose and eight other Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations troops were honored by being named “distinguished members of the Regiment” or “honorary members of the Regiment” in a ceremony at Ft. Bragg, NC.

“They improved the lives of thousands,” he said. “What I did, it pales… It’s just incredible… it’s just an incredible privilege.”

Others inducted as distinguished members of the regiment were retired Maj. Clyde J. Sincere Jr., retired Maj. Steven E. Cook and retired Sgt. Maj. Gilbert R. Turcotte. A fifth Special Forces soldier, retired Sgt. 1st Class Eric C. Moriarty, was inducted as an honorary member of the regiment.
Retired Lt. Col. James P. Kelliher was inducted as a distinguished member of the Psychological Operations Regiment. Air Force Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Lengyel was inducted as an honorary member of the regiment.
Two Civil Affairs veterans, Brig. Gen. Crawford E. Sams and Col. Charles R. Munske, were posthumously honored as distinguished members of their regiment.
Maj. Gen. Kurt L. Sonntag, commanding general of the Special Warfare Center and School, said each of the honorees shared a commitment to service that goes well beyond their time in uniform.
To be selected, a veteran must have made overwhelmingly significant contributions to the welfare of their respective regiments. The honors, he said, pay tribute to past special operators and those currently in the fight.
“This is a day to recognize and applaud the contributions and the members of our special operations regiments,” Sonntag said. “What they do every day is real and important. It might not get all the news that we used to do in the past — we are working in the shadows again — but it is equally important.”
Rose said he was honored by the recognition.
As part of a joint force of Americans, Vietnamese and Montagnards, Rose’s team was inserted deep within Vietnam enemy territory in 1970. When the group came under attack, the Special Forces medic repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire while treating the wounded, using his own body to protect the seriously injured.
Rose continued treating the wounded for four days before a helicopter evacuation. When Rose’s helicopter crashed, he again treated the injured until another rescue could be made.

These Special Operations veterans served in a variety of posts, missions and conflicts stretching from World War I up to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To read the entire article from the Fayetteville Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy US Army

Two Marines May Have Been Present at the Murder of Green Beret in Mali

The murder investigation of Green Beret SSG Logan Melgar has taken another twist. Military investigators are now stating that two Marine Raiders from the Special Operations Command may have been present. Two Navy SEALs are already under investigation for the strangling death of Melgar last June.

Melgar died from asphyxiation after the SEALs claimed that they engaged in “horseplay” at 4 a.m. that the apartment that the men shared in Bamako while assigned to the embassy in Mali.

The military is investigating whether two special forces Marines played a role in the choking death of a Green Beret in Mali last year and the possible cover-up of how it occurred, according to five U.S. defense officials.
September 2017 Army Criminal Investigative Division report about the incident quotes Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph saying he and Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar were wrestling at 4 a.m. when a fellow SEAL Adamcranston Matthew came in and joined in the horseplay. According to the SEALS, the men fell down together and when they stood up Melgar wasn’t breathing.
The SEALs say they attempted CPR and tried to open an airway, but Melgar died of asphyxiation.
The same report, however, says a witness told investigators that DeDolph and Matthews were among a group of people angry at Melgar, and had made comments about getting back at him.
According to that witness, “DeDolph admitted … that he ‘choked [Melgar] out.’ ” and had used duct tape on him.
Now forensic evidence uncovered during a Navy investigation indicates two Marines may have been present at some point during the night, say five U.S. defense officials.

While military investigators refuse to comment on an ongoing investigation, the more information that is learned about this incident, the more it is clear that there was no horseplay involved. The military is dragging its feet on this, it has been nearly a year since Melgar’s death and questions are now growing about how this happened and why there is no moving forward with it.

To read the entire article from NBC News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US-Backed Troops Hunt for ISIS Leaders at Syria/Iraq Border

U.S.-backed and led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are trying to locate the key leaders of the Islamic State that are hiding along the Syria-Iraq border. The SDF along with the coalition has an ongoing operation to clear ISIS from the last of their Syrian strongholds.

The U.S.-backed operation, code-named al-Jazeera Storm, was launched last week to remove IS from the rest of the territory it still controls in Deir el-Zour province in eastern Syria.

The forces say the area contains hundreds of IS remnants and key leaders, foreign and local, who took shelter in the vast desert terrain border area after surviving the intense battles in Mosul and the self-proclaimed capital Raqqa.
“Powerful military figures of IS, including international terrorists, are hiding in the region,” said Abu Khawla, the commander of Deir el-Zour Military Council.
He said the fate of the IS leaders will be either “capture or death” as the militants face a siege from the Iraqi army and allied Shiite militias on the Iraqi side and an advancing U.S.-backed operation on the Syrian side.
The U.S.-backed SDF in the past weeks has caught several IS leaders in Deir el-Zour as it closed in on the group. Last month, the force announced it detained German militant and the suspected September 11 recruiter Mohammed Haydar Zammar in northern Syria.
Abu Adil, a member of SDF’s counterterrorism unit who took part in the operation to capture Zammar, told VOA that the fighter was hiding in a compound in eastern Deir el-Zour which was surrounded during a raid that took several hours. “He surrendered to us after about one hour of negotiation,” said Adil.
The U.S.-led coalition and local partners have been targeting IS senior personnel in Iraq and Syria since 2014 to disrupt the organization’s structure and ability to recruit and train members. The coalition airstrikes in 2016 killed the IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani and IS chief commander Abu Omar al-Shishani.

Also included in the ISIS top leaders reportedly in the area is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted man, with a $25 million bounty on his head. He’s been reported to have been killed several times since 2007, but thus far, there is no proof he’s been killed.

To read the entire article from the Stars and Stripes, click here:

File photo of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi giving a sermon in Iraq

Israeli Airstrikes Hit All Major Iranian Infrastructure in Syria

Responding to an Iranian missile attack on their troops in the Golan Heights, Israel launched a major airstrike targeting Iranian bases in Syria. Of the 20 rockets fired at Israel, four were shot down by the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system and the rest landed in Syrian territory.

In a statement, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that the Israelis hit all of the major Iranian infrastructure in Syria.

The IDF responded with airstrikes against around 50 Iranian military training sites, Iranian Revolution Guard Corps intelligence collection and logistics, rocket firing positions, airfield positions and weapons storage facilities.
Liberman said that not a single Israeli civilian or piece of Israeli property was harmed. “Last night, Iran tried to attack Israeli sovereign territory and failed,” he said.
The defense minister also threatened Iran going forward, stating that “if Iran hits us with rain [a small number of rockets] – we will hit them with a deluge [of airstrikes].”
He said that Israel “will not let Iran turn Syria into a base for attacking Israel. There are many radical Islamists, but Iran is the only one which is really” implementing its ideology “all over the Middle East and Africa.”
“Iran has wasted $13 billion in the Syrian civil war and continues to spend $2 billion a year there. Iran is wasting its next generation with its efforts to expand,” he stated.
Liberman explained that Israel has no interest in conquering any part of Syria and cautioned against celebrations on the Israeli side or anything that might push for further escalation.
The defense minister seemed to signal to Iran that Israel would prefer to return to quiet following the exchange of attacks. It is only Iran, he said that wants to build a new base for attacking Israel – a goal he thinks even most Iranians oppose.

The Russian claimed that they shot down the majority of the Israeli missiles during their retaliatory strike. But the tensions remain high. Lieberman made it clear that there will be no peaceful coexistence with Iran or their proxies in Hamas, as they want to destroy Israel.

To read the entire article from the Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Iranian Base in Syria Nine Reported Killed

Israeli aircraft reportedly have launched a missile strike on an Iranian base outside of Damascus after monitoring what was described as “abnormal activity” and IDF troops went on high alert in the Golan.

Nine Iranian soldiers were killed as Syrian officials report that they shot down two of the Israeli missiles.

Syrian state media reported on Tuesday night that Israel conducted an airstrike south of Damascus, reportedly killing nine pro-Iranian fighters in an area previously identified as the site of a suspected Iranian military base.

Syria’s official SANA news outlet said that the country’s air defenses intercepted two Israeli missiles over the el-Kiswah area, south of Damascus. The report did not specify how many missiles were fired.

The attack happened in Kisweh, according to the official news agency SANA, about an hour after President Trump’s announced that he would be pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
High tension between rivals Iran and Israel have prompted an increasing number of strikes as of late. Iran has promised to respond to Israeli-led attacks aimed at Iranian outposts in Syria.
Those include an attack on Syria’s T4 air base in the Homs province in April that killed seven Iranian military personnel. And on April 30, Israel was accused of attacking government outposts in northern Syria, which left several pro-government fighters, some of whom were Iranians, dead.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said they’d identified “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and urged citizens in Golan Heights near Syria to ready bomb shelters.

The pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen news outlet reported that fires had broken out in the area following the blasts.

An official with the Iran-led axis of resistance told the Associated Press the strike targeted a Syrian army position and caused only material damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.
Videos from the scene, which was posted on social media, showed the moment of the strike’s impact and its aftermath. Surveillance footage showed a blast of white light as the bombs hit, followed by what appeared to be secondary explosions, supporting the claim that the targets of the strike were missiles. Cellphone videos also showed trucks burning and fires raging in the direction of the alleged Iranian base.

The video from the Times of Israel can be seen here

To read the entire article from Fox News, click here:

Featured Photo is a screenshot from Syrian television of the aftermath of the missile strike.

Russian Hackers Disguised as ISIS, Threaten US Military Spouses

In a brazen false-flag operation, a number of Russian hackers, the same ones who supposedly tried to influence the U.S. presidential election, posed as Islamic State terrorists and threatened the lives of U.S. military spouses.

Army wife Angela Ricketts was soaking in a bubble bath in her Colorado home, leafing through a memoir, when a message appeared on her iPhone from hackers threatening to slaughter her family.
“Dear Angela!” the Facebook message read. “Bloody Valentine’s Day!”
“We know everything about you, your husband and your children,” the message continued, claiming that the hackers operating under the flag of Islamic State militants had penetrated her computer and her phone. “We’re much closer than you can even imagine.”
Ricketts was one of five military wives who received death threats from the self-styled CyberCaliphate on the morning of February 10, 2015. The warnings led to days of anguished media coverage of Islamic State militants’ online reach.
Except it wasn’t IS.
The Associated Press has found evidence that the women were targeted not by jihadists but by the same Russian hacking group that intervened in the American election and exposed the emails of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta.
But that consensus never filtered through to the women involved, many of whom were convinced they had been targeted by Islamic State sympathizers right up until the AP contacted them.
“Never in a million years did I think that it was the Russians,” said Ricketts, an author and advocate for veterans and military families. She called the revelation “mind blowing.”
“It feels so hilarious and insidious at the same time.”

The resultant play on the media by Ricketts, who is very vocal and visible on social media gave the hackers exactly what they were looking for.

To read the entire article from Times of Israel, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Military Supply Contracts Are Rife With Corruption/Law Breaking

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has to make some very tough decisions soon on a billion-dollar military service contract that provides food and equipment to our troops in the Middle East.

This decision regarding the behemoth Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport or KGL is just the latest in over a decade of allegations such as sanctions busting, corruption, and fraud that have followed the company.

The latest controversy involves a contract from January of this year, when the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency awarded $1.38 billion for food supplies to a subsidiary of KGL, long a logistics linchpin for American forces in the region. Yet the award came just weeks after a top KGL lawyer acknowledged to a U.S. court that the firm had years earlier set up a “ghost structure,” i.e., a company that existed in name only, as a go-between for a joint venture it had with a U.S.-sanctioned Iranian partner.
The award was also announced as two of the company’s recently resigned top executives sat in a Kuwaiti jail. On Sunday, those two executives, Saed Dashti and Marsha Lazareva, were sentenced in a Kuwaiti court to 15 and 10 years in prison, respectively.
The allegations revolve around KGL’s relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, known as IRISL, and affiliates, such as Valfajr, which were hit with U.S. sanctions in September 2008 for aiding Tehran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
In 2011, the Manhattan district attorney indicted a key IRISL executive, Mohammad Moghaddami Fard, for money laundering, records falsification, and other crimes, though he never stood trial. That same year, leaked emails revealed links between Fard and senior KGL executives demonstrating that he had helped run KGL’s joint ventures.
But KGL has continued to face questions, as in May 2016, when Fuad Dashti — a significant KGL shareholder and brother of its chairman — was arrested at San Francisco International Airport and charged with trying to transfer airplane parts to Iran. When he was brought to Washington for FBI interrogation, the U.S. government quietly allowed him to slip out of the country in the waning days of the Obama administration.
The Justice Department never publicly commented on the case, and a KGL lawyer said at the time that Dashti’s alleged conduct was unrelated to company business.
Even as legal challenges to KGL multiplied, however, the company continued to score lucrative deals. The Pentagon awarded KGL its $1.38 billion food contract in mid-January. The day of the award, KGL’s recently departed chairman and the other executive charged with felonies were still in a Kuwaiti jail awaiting trial. Both insisted upon their innocence.

To be deemed worthy of becoming a contractor with the United States government, the company must be considered “responsible” which means they must have integrity, business ethics and meet other criteria according to the government. This doesn’t sound like anyone at KGL.

To read the entire article from Foreign Policy, click here:

Photo Instagram of Saed Dashti and Marsha Lazareva KGL executives sentenced to jail in Kuwait