SOF

US Airstrikes Causing “Staggering” Civilian Deaths Says UN

The UN is reporting that the coalition airstrikes led by the US is causing a “staggering” number of civilian deaths in the Syrian city of Raqqa. The city was taken by Islamist State forces in 2014 and has been cited by the IS as their “capital” and their “caliphate”.

US-backed SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) are attempting to wrest control of the city from the IS forces trapped inside in heavy fighting.

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said Wednesday that coalition airstrikes have deepened the suffering in the city held by extremist fighters.
“We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Pinheiro told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He referred to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed militia dominated by Syrian Kurds.
The commission recorded 300 civilian deaths from coalition airstrikes in Raqqa province between March 1 and May 31, according to Karen AbuZayd, an investigator for the Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Human rights and monitoring groups have warned for months of the rising human cost of the coalition’s air war in Syria and Iraq as Islamic State forces stake out positions in densely populated civilian areas across what remains of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
On March 22, the U.N. commission recorded 200 civilian deaths at an old school building in the village of Mansoura that was sheltering displaced families from across the province.
“These figures have been corroborated by multiple witnesses,” AbuZayd said.
The U.S. military said at the time that it was aware of the reports and was opening an investigation.

Reports of civilian deaths are as high as 484 since 2014 as a result of the US-led bombing campaign but a British watchdog agency, “Airwars” puts the figure much higher, at more than 3800.

Meanwhile the UN spokesman, Pinheiro stated that the fight against Islamic State forces must not be undertaken at the “expense of civilians who unwittingly find themselves living in areas” where the group is present.

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

Photo courtesy European Press Photo

Terrorist Attack in Somalia Kills 19 in Mogadishu Hotel, Restaurant

The Somali capital of Mogadishu was the scene of a deadly terrorist incident on Wednesday evening where 19 people were killed in a car bomb and subsequent hostage-taking attack.

Police have reported that a terrorist drove a car bomb into the Posh Hotel in the capital and then gunmen took more than 20 people hostage in an adjacent restaurant until security forces could move in and neutralize the threat to the hostages.

District police chief Abdi Bashir told Reuters Somali security forces took back control of the restaurant at midnight after the gunmen had held hostages inside for several hours. Five of the gunmen were killed, Bashir said.
“We are in control of the hotel but it was mostly destroyed by the suicide bomber,” he told Reuters by phone.
Witnesses said there were bodies lying at the scene on Thursday morning as ambulances came to take them away.
Ahmed Mohamud Adow, the spokesman for the country’s interior ministry, said the dead included a Syrian national who worked at the restaurant. He did not identify the dead Syrian who local residents said worked as a chef at the Pizza House.
Another 27 civilians were taken to hospital with various injuries, ambulance services said. Witnesses said the attack was launched after the Iftar dinner for customers who are fasting for Ramadan. Most of them were still inside relaxing.
The wreckages of three-wheeled scooters caught up in the blast at the hotel, which also housed a massage parlour, lay overturned around the scene. Al Shabaab, the Islamist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group claimed on Thursday morning it killed more than 20 people including soldiers and government workers.

The Somali country has been wracked by civil war since 1991. Dictator Siad Barre was disposed and the rival clan leaders fought for control. The US was involved in a humanitarian mission and subsequent attempt to remove one of the clan leaders Mohamed Farrah Aidid in the early 1990s. That resulted in the operation that became known as Black Hawk Down.

The US is involved in the attempt by the Somali government to remove the al-Shabaab terror group but on a small footprint although that could change in the future.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

Revisiting the SFAS Night Land Navigation Course

In previous articles, we’ve touched on the different aspects of land navigation. We’ve gotten a few questions and comments about night navigation which is the hardest part of land navigation because all your skills will be tested to the max in the hours of darkness.

Rather than re-hashing the entire Land Navigation series of articles, we’ll hit upon the high points and get across the rough patches that you’ll need to cross to get a first time go at night navigation. While I’ll be speaking in generalities about the Star Navigation course in Hoffman that is used by SFAS, these tips will help you in any Selection Land Navigation course.

Securing Your Gear: Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? I mean, you want to be in Special Operations and you’re here in Selection and this guy is writing that I have to tie down my gear like a noob? Yep. Most definitely. Every class that I was a cadre member for in SFAS had candidates losing maps, protractors, compasses etc. I can tell you that things haven’t changed that much out there. The Hoffman draws will feed on your gear. Tie everything down. And that includes your weapon.

Get a good smaller map case, preferably one with a lanyard and tie it to your gear and then stuff it into your shirt. You don’t need one of those huge ones that the mech guys used to be so fond of. Fold up your map so that the terrain you’re walking in is the only part showing. It makes it much easier to find where you are.

I can’t stress this enough; tie everything down, you think it is embarrassing tying all of your equipment down like a boot? Trust me you don’t want to be the red-faced candidate who has to tell the cadre members that he’s lost his map or compass.

Pace Count: Knowing your pace is very important, and even more so in the dark. What is your pace count with just your web gear? How different is it with a rucksack on? Your pace count will vary between day and night and it will increase as you tire. And depending on the type of terrain that you are operating in.

In time, you’ll become a seasoned pro at this and will know just by the conditions that you are dealing with what your pace count will be. And it will change over time. My pace with just web gear on flat terrain was 62 back in the days of Phase 1 at Camp Mackall.

But with a rucksack and a heavy load, it went up to 73. But I noticed after I had been in Group for a while and your rucksack becomes a part of you, my pace counted lessened to between 68-69 depending on conditions. You’ll find that you will have similar results.

Route Planning: Route planning and selection are even more important at night as opposed to during the daylight as many of the features are invisible or nearly so in the dark. Trying to use dead reckoning for 5-6 clicks in the dark is a very, very tough proposition.

And instead of moving for those 5 (or more) kilometers as a single movement, do a series of short movements and use the checkpoints along the way that you designate on your map and it will be much easier to keep track of and check your pace count.

Set checkpoints and handrails such as ridge lines or streams that you can terrain associate with and move out with a purpose while using your pace count. Use dead reckoning once you get to your attack point. That way if you get turned around, you have a known point you can go back to try it again.

Plot your points on the map using the smallest possible mark and write down all the information on either a small index card or tear a sheet off your notebook and place this inside the map case for quick reference.

Moving Out with a Purpose: One of the things that you’ll have to get good at and quickly is being able to move out in the darkness and cover some ground. Special Operations Forces own the night and the only way to get really good at it is to practice.

And the most useful feature of your compass at night is the bezel ring. If you’re following a basic azimuth, rotate your bezel ring so that your North seeking arrow aligns with the luminous bubble. So, say if you are traveling on an azimuth of 65 degrees, your North seeking arrow will be in the approximate 10 o’clock position, rotate the bezel ring so the bubble aligns with the North seeking arrow and it is a quick way to keep on your azimuth, especially in the dark.

Also, remember that each click in the bezel ring is three degrees. Keeping your compass at waist level now will allow you move out. Once the luminous dot and the North seeking arrow are aligned you are moving in the right direction.

If the terrain and conditions allow it, then shoot a point in the distance and move to it. But as we said above, you don’t want to use dead reckoning for long distances in the dark. Once you get better at it, terrain association is faster, easier and will allow you to find your way without getting lost. Your pace count then becomes just another way to check your progress and reference where you are on your map checks.

Just a few reminders, your visual range estimation is likely to be well off during the darkness. And your pace count, depending on the terrain is likely to vary a bit. And finally, your natural drift will likely be intensified in the dark, you’ll quickly find this out as you find yourself on the course. One way to combat this and I’ve heard this works for many navigators is to change hands holding your compass frequently.

Avoid the draws if you can, but if you have to, cross one check your compass every 20-25 paces as it is easy to get turned around in those things. There have been a ton of students out there, if you see a well-worn path that cuts across a draw, it probably means that the students before you have found the path of least resistance across the draw and I’d take advantage of that.

At Selection, an SFAS cadre member will be at the points to check you in and give you the next point on the course, but occasionally you’ll come across those green Engineer stakes with a tag on them. They’re land navigation points for the SFQC. Take the time, stop, and use the eight-digit grid on them to help you pinpoint your location. That is just like having a built-in GPS on the course. Those are placed in exactly where they’re supposed to be and they’re a great tool to use.

Red lens flashlights only! Don’t talk to other students while on the course but once you are done with the events of that particular event during the practice navigation, sit down and disseminate the information about what you saw and experienced with the other candidates. That is a good way to find out potential trouble spots and avoid them if possible.

Trust your map, pace count, and your azimuth as you move out on the course. And never let doubt creep into your mind. Your map and compass aren’t going to lie to you on the course. Your training and keeping a cool head will get you thru this. Thousands of SOF guys before you have done this and you can too.

You’ll become very familiar with many of the names and places on the map. Several remain from my time but there are a few new ones as well.

Five Points
Puppy Palace
Lake Baggett
Bones Fork Creek
3 Wire Road
Jurassic Park
Scuba Road
Dagobah (I don’t know who named this area in the north, but it is absolutely brilliant.)

Photo Courtesy of DOD

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.15.2017

Chest and Triceps workout today at the gym before heading out for a 4-mile run. Remember to stretch well before and after and to stay hydrated. Mark your progress down in your workout log book.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Bench Press

3 x 10 Dumbbell Flies

3 x 10 Dumbbell Incline Press

3 x 20 Pushups (alternate sets with wide, narrow and shoulder width)

3 x 10 Kip Ups

3 x 20 Sit ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

4-mile run

Stretch well after completion

OSS, Special Forces Warrior, Diplomat Samuel Wilson Dies at 93

The Special Operations community lost a giant last week as Samuel V. Wilson passed away at the age of 93. Wilson rose from the rank of private in World War II to Lieutenant General at his retirement and served the Special Operations Forces both in and out of uniform.

He was a member of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in WWII the forerunner to both the US Army Special Forces and the CIA. He commanded the 6^th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg and played a key role in the formation of the Army’s Delta Force and the military’s Special Operations Command.

Known simply as “General Sam,” Lt. Gen. Wilson enlisted in the Army during World War II and served with the Office of Strategic Services and the famed Merrill’s Marauders, who fought the Japanese in northern Burma.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth E. Tovo, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, called Lt. Gen. Wilson a true Army special operations pioneer.
“Over the course of his professional military career, Lt. Gen. Samuel Wilson served in a number of significant roles that directly contributed to what we now know as modern special operations,” Tovo said in a statement Monday. “During his tenure at the U.S. Army Special Warfare School, then-Col. Wilson forged ideas in both insurgency and counter-insurgency that later led to doctrinal models.”
Throughout his career, Lt. Gen. Wilson was known as a warrior, diplomat and academic.
During the Cold War, he conducted clandestine intelligence, covert propaganda and paramilitary operations with the CIA. And he was deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for special operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
In all, Lt. Gen. Wilson spent 37 years in uniform and also served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency before retiring at Fort Bragg in 1977.
Out of uniform, he continued to play a role in the evolution of special operations, helping create the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, more commonly known as Delta Force, and being part of the Holloway Commission following the 1980 Iranian hostage rescue attempt. That commission would lead to the creation of U.S. Special Operations Command.
In 2002, he spoke to a class of more than 180 new Green Berets at Fort Bragg, urging them to be “salesmen of freedom.”
‘‘You, my fellow warriors, must be able to describe, to put in simple, effective words, who you are, what you stand for, why you are doing what you are doing,’’ he said. ‘‘That means you must first be able to answer these questions for yourself, in your own mind, in your own heart.’’
Lt. Gen. Wilson commanded the 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He also served as assistant commandant of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Institute for Military Assistance, another former name of the Special Warfare Center and School, and as assistant commander for operations with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Wilson was honored as an awardee of the “Bull Simons Award” in 1995 for outstanding contributions to the Special Operations community and was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment.

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

Photo courtesy Fayetteville Observer

Saudi Arabia Steps up Pressure of Fellow Muslim Nations to Cut Ties to Qatar

Saudi Arabia is upping the ante in an effort to put pressure on other Muslim nations to aid in their efforts to isolate and cut ties to Qatar. The Saudis are using the carrot and the stick approach, having promised financial packages for cooperation and reduced financial aid and quotas for the haj, the religious pilgrimage to Mecca for those who don’t support them.

Thus far, the Saudis have persuaded six nations to take action, not all, however, have severed diplomatic ties, but have taken other less drastic steps. Somalia has rejected an $80 million dollar aid package in return for severing ties with Qatar and has stated that they will look to improve relations with the embattled state.

The Saudi effort in Africa suggests that the kingdom is seeking to tighten the screws on Qatar more than a week into a Saudi and UAE-led diplomatic and economic boycott that has failed to persuade the tiny Gulf state to bow to demands that it halt its support for Islamists and militants and curb, if not shutter, Qatar-funded media outlets, including Al Jazeera.
Saudi efforts, however, despite the actions of the six countries ― Senegal, Chad, Niger, Comoros, Mauritius, and Djibouti – are proving to be only partially successful. Of the six states, only Mauritius severed its diplomatic ties with Qatar. Senegal, Chad, Niger and the Comoros restricted themselves to recalling their ambassadors from Doha while Djibouti, like Jordan, simply reduced the level of its diplomatic relations.
The six countries joined six other economically dependent nations, including Bahrain, Egypt, the Maldives, Mauritania, and the Saudi-UAE backed internationally recognized government of Libya that controls only part of the country, who had already followed the Saudi-UAE lead in breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar.
Somalia, a strategically located, war-torn nation in the Horn of Africa, has emerged amid the mixed response to the Saudi and UAE effort as something of a mystery. Somalia has maintained neutrality despite the fact that Dubai-owned P&O Ports signed in April a $336 million, 30-year agreement to develop and manage a multi-purpose port in Bosaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. The self-declared republic of Somaliland agreed weeks later to allow the UAE to establish a military base in the port of Berbera and signed a $442 million deal with P&O to turn the port into a world-class training hub.
Somali media moreover reported that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed had rejected a Saudi offer of $80 million in return for his government breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar. Somali planning, investment and economic development minister Jamal Mohamed Hassan announced nonetheless this week that Saudi Arabia had agreed to increase Somalia’s haj quota by 25 percent. Somalia’s strategic importance to the Gulf in commercial as well as military terms would seem to be the only logical explanation for it being rewarded despite refusing to join the Saudi-UAE campaign.

Turkey has renounced the isolation of Qatar and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged not only his support but 3000 troops if necessary. Erdogan said the move to isolate Qatar was “inhumane and against Islamic values”, and said the methods used against the Gulf state were unacceptable and analogous to a “death penalty.”

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

Photo courtesy CNN

Passing Selection Requires Proper Foot Care and Boots

We’ve been getting a lot of messages regarding the Selection process and many of them from both here in the US and from other countries concern rucking and boot fit. So it is a good time to revisit the care of your feet and the proper boot fit that we touched on a few months ago.

Your feet along with your brain are the two most indispensable parts of your body in Special Operations Forces. I’ve repeated many times what the men who trained me have said over and over. Your feet are your lifeline in Special Operations. Take care of them and they’ll take care of you. Having spent many years in the Special Forces Regiment, care for your feet became second nature and will be a very necessary function.

Anyone who has been in a light infantry or an airborne unit will know these tips already. If you don’t have that background but have senior NCOs or officers that served in these type of units, seek out their advice on the subject before beginning your prep for Selection.

Proper Fitting Boots: Unless things have changed, you won’t be allowed to wear any of the high-speed boots in Selection, only what the military issued you. So, wearing the various boots from Merrell, Asolo, Vasque, etc. will have to wait until you graduate and go operational.

The key for proper fitting boots is ensuring that the boot’s heel sits tightly to the rear of the foot while giving the toes some wiggle room up front. If your foot is sliding around too much, either front to back or side to side, you’ll have friction, which leads to blisters. If your boots are too tight, your toes will be curled up inside and that is a blister waiting to happen. Some people advise buying boots a half-size too large because your feet will swell on a long-range ruck march. I wouldn’t recommend that but if your feet swell that much it may be an option.

Have two pairs of boots ready for your Selection class and break both in like you would a baseball glove. Walk everywhere in them until they feel like an extension of your leg. It is a good idea to get boots that have good ventilation and water drainage as they’ll allow your feet to breathe and dry out when wet which will cut down on blisters

I know I’ve beaten this horse to death in our PT Preparation articles but having a second pair of broken in boots is essential. Without that, you are setting yourself up for failure. You are going to get wet at times during Selection. During the events of that particular day, you just drive on and do what you must.

But that night, allow the boots to dry out and stuff them with paper towels or newspaper and allow them to dry out properly. Wear the second pair the next day and the first pair will be ready after that. And if your boots blow out on you during an event, you will have a second pair of well broken in ones to take their place. Having to use a new pair of non-broken in boots in Selection is not the way to get thru the course with your feet intact.

I recall on February class when I was a cadre member at SFAS. It was cold and damp and rained hard on the candidates nearly every day. The dirt back roads and trails in North Carolina were soupy and under water in many places. The candidates’ feet were wet nearly all the time and compounded by the course’s criteria, their feet suffered.

Nearly all had multiple blister problems and our cadre’s medics were working overtime. Many of candidates had feet that resembled raw hamburger by the end of team week. They were forced into switching out their boots daily and those who didn’t have a second broken in pair suffered the worst of all.

Prepping and Caring for Your Feet: Having been a cadre at SFAS as I mentioned above, I’ve seen all different kinds of foot preparation and care. Another cadre member Doug P. and I used to walk around the candidate’s barracks incognito at night to see how they were caring for themselves and their teammates. (Foot stomp take note. You’re always being evaluated)

You should have a good set of nail clippers with you when attending Selection and ensure that you take good care of those as needed.

Here is where you have to know your own body and what works for you. Everyone is different and works for me, may not work for you and vice versa. That’s where the proper preparation and training BEFORE you get to Selection is invaluable.

Some guys spray their feet or use a roll-on antiperspirant which is supposed to stop the sweating which is the cause of blisters. While I was never a big believer in this, if your feet sweat profusely as mine do, then by all means, try it during your prep phase to see if it works for you.

Other guys I’ve seen use Vaseline or some type of oil or cream to reduce friction. Again, it isn’t something I’d recommend but it does work for some people.

What worked for me (and again everyone is different) was to use just a small amount of Gold Bond powder on your feet and in your socks before going on a ruck march. Not too much, like anything else, if you put half a tin in your socks, it will clump up and create just as many problems. It cuts down on friction which creates blisters. I’d recommend putting some around your crotch as well. If you get rubbed raw “down south” it isn’t pleasant walking for miles that way.

Proper Socks and Fit: Socks are your feet’s last line of defense. Just as proper socks will protect them from blisters, poorly fitted ones will cause even more problems.

So first, what causes blisters? Heat, friction, and moisture. We’ve already covered getting a couple of pairs of boots that fit well, don’t rub, and are ventilated so your feet can dry out quickly and allow some air flow inside.

Initially, get a good pair of tightly fit synthetic or polypro socks that will wick the moisture away from your feet. Rub your feet down with a light coat of powder or whatever you choose and then turn them inside out. Why? So that the stitching inside won’t rub your toes and create hot spots. That stitching can and will cause blisters.

The thick military issued wool socks go over the inner layer of socks and once again inside out to prevent the stitching from rubbing and creating hot spots. The second sock reduces the friction and will absorb the moisture from the inner sock while cushioning your foot inside the boot.

Why do we do this? Good question; the two-sock system is used so that the friction will occur between the layers of socks rather than between the socks and your feet.

Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Preparatory Training: Like anything else, these are the things that you’ll need to work on in your prep for Selection and all of these issues should be second nature long before you show up to begin your course.

Once you get the proper (proppa eh Kibs?) boots and socks, then begin your rucking prep work. Don’t start off by trying to do a 20-miler or the equivalent of the Brecon Beacons on Day 1. Start slowly and gradually increase your speed and distance. As you get more comfortable rucking, the speed and distance will become second nature.

If you notice hot spots or blisters forming during prep work, stop right away and deal with those. Waiting until completion may result in a much more serious blister which will set your training prep work back. Once the hotspots and blisters are no longer an issue your rucksack training can begin in earnest.

One more thing about your boots and that has to do with the way they are laced. Again, this is a personal preference type of thing but something to just keep in mind. I used to ruck most of the time in my favorite jungle boots. The way the boots were constructed and the way my foot was, there was a bend in my foot that always rubbed during a long-distance ruck march right at the crease of the boot at the ankle.

I’d always skip the eyelet right smack in the middle of my boots right there as it was always a sore spot that would rub. And after many 20-milers under my belt, it didn’t take long to figure out what needed to be changed. You will find certain things that will or won’t work for you. That’s where the prep work is invaluable.

As always, I appreciate the many questions that you have and will always be here to help in any way I can. Any questions or comments can be emailed to me [email protected] or at my Twitter account @SteveB7SFG

Happy Rucking! DOL

SOF Selection PT Preparation 6.14.2017

Wednesday is a back and shoulder day at the gym followed by a 6-mile rucksack march. Look to better the time that is the standard and remember to hydrate throughout the march. Don’t forget to mark your progress in the workout log book and stay hydrated.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

6-mile Rucksack march (45-pound minimum)

Stretch well after completion

Egypt Bans 62 News Websites in Censorship Crack Down

Egypt is cracking down on dissident news websites among them the Muslim Brotherhood but opponents to the move say it is a step by the government to censor all that isn’t the state-run media.

The government has countered and stated that they’re banning sites that express support for terrorism. The media flourished in the final years of President Hosni Mubarak’s rule. But those days seem long ago now.

Journalists see the campaign against them as a step toward banning all but the most state-aligned media, effectively reversing the private media boom that flourished in the final decade of former president Hosni Mubarak’s rule and which they say helped push him from power in 2011.
Though no precise figures on readership are available, Egypt enjoys an active private media that includes widely read print and web format publications as well as popular late-night talk shows. State newspapers still maintain wide circulation.
The spike in censorship has come as a surprise, even to journalists long-accustomed to reporting within strict red lines in Egypt where direct criticism of the military, the president, and judiciary are considered taboo and punishable by jail time.
The government has offered no comment on the reason behind the blockages and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had no immediate comment.
Makram Mohamed Ahmed, head of the newly formed Supreme Media Council, a state media regulator, told Reuters he believes “the main reason is how much [these websites] deal with the Muslim Brotherhood or express support for terrorism,” referring to the Islamist group whose president Mohamed Mursi held office for a year before being ousted in 2013 by the military after mass protests.
But the blockages have also hit Mada Masr, a self-described progressive outlet with no Islamist ties, as well as the widely read Al-Borsa, a financial newspaper favored by the largely pro-government business community.
“If they did something more grave like arresting team members or me it would make big noise, whereas blocking the website is the best way to paralyze us without paying a high price for it,” Lina Atallah, editor of Mada Masr, told Reuters.
Some journalists say a presidential election in 2018 means Egypt is doubling down on press restrictions, a move intended to ensure opposition candidates have few spaces to challenge general-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is widely expected to run for a second term.
“There are people getting ready to nominate themselves for the presidency and they have to make their voices heard or else they won’t be competitive,” said Adel Sabry, the editor-in-chief of Masr al-Arabia, a website blocked last month.
“[The goal] is that it’s just one voice,” said editor-in-chief of Al-Borsa, Hussein Abd Rabo, who said his paper could be closed any day.

The situation there will have to be monitored closely as the government continues to crack down on what they characterize as terrorist sympathizers. The good news is that SOFREP was not among those news sites that have been banned.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Reuters

Defense Chief Mattis Says North Korea is US Security’s Greatest Threat

United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declared to the House Armed Services Committee on Monday that North Korea is the “most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security,” moving the rogue regime of Kim Jong Un past Russia as the No. 1 threat that the United States faces.

This is an escalation of the war of words being waged between the US and North Korea. China, the North’s biggest supporter is being stuck in the middle and trying to keep the peace between the North Koreans and the UN. who continue to levy sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s government.

The statement was included in the defense secretary’s prepared opening statement, five months after Mattis identified Russia as first among threats facing the United States. The change comes as Pyongyang moves forward with what the United States calls an unprecedented number of tests on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and as the Trump administration’s connections to Russia are scrutinized by the FBI.
“North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them has increased in pace and scope,” Mattis said. “The regime’s nuclear weapons program is a clear and present danger to all, and the regime’s provocative actions, manifestly illegal under international law, have not abated despite United Nations’ censure and sanctions.”
But Mattis still identified Russia as a threat, along with China, Iran and terrorist organizations. Russia and China, he said, are both “resurgent and more aggressive” and have placed the “international order under assault.” The secretary has sought to reassure allies in both Europe and the Pacific in recent months that the United States still stands with them, after President Trump repeatedly raised questions about whether he was committed to long-standing military alliances.
Mattis appeared alongside Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Pentagon comptroller David Norquist. In Dunford’s prepared testimony, he did not list a No. 1 threat, but labeled Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and terrorist groups as “key challenges” that the United States faces.

North Korea’s insistence on testing its missiles and on procuring nuclear weapons have been thorny subjects for the US and the Trump Administration. The US had been installing the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. However, those attempts have been put on hold as an olive branch by the South to appease the North’s “crazy as a fox” dictator.

To read the entire article from The Washington Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Getty Images