Evaluating Ebola as a Biological Weapon

October 23, 2014 STRATFOR By Scott Stewart Over the past few weeks, I've had people at speaking engagements ask me if I thought the Islamic State or some other militant group is using Ebola as a biological weapon, or if such a group could do so in the future. Such questions and concerns are not surprising given the intense media hype that surrounds the disease, even though only one person has died from Ebola out of the three confirmed cases in the United States. The media hype about the threat posed by the Islamic State to the United States and the West is almost as bad. Both subjects of all this hype were combined into a tidy package on Oct. 20, when the Washington Post published an editorial by columnist Mark Thiessen in which he claimed it would be easy for a group such as the Islamic State to use Ebola in a terrorist attack. Despite Thiessen's claims, using Ebola as a biological warfare agent is much more difficult than it might appear at first blush. The 2014 Outbreak In the past, there have been several outbreaks of Ebola in Africa. Countries included Sudan, Uganda, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and several comparatively small outbreaks occurred in Gabon as well. In most cases, people who handled or ate animals infected with the disease started the outbreaks. "Bushmeat," or portions of roasted meat from a variety of wild animals, is considered by many to be a delicacy in Africa, and in a continent where hunger is widespread, it is also a necessity for many hungry people. After several months of medical investigations, epidemiologists believe the current outbreak most likely began when a two-year-old child in Guinea touched or perhaps ate part of an infected animal such as a bat or monkey. The source of the disease means it is highly unlikely that some malevolent actor intentionally caused the latest outbreak. Besides the fact that the current outbreak's cause has been identified as a natural one, even if a transnational militant group such as the Islamic State was able to somehow develop an Ebola weapon, it would have chosen to deploy the weapon against a far more desirable target than a small village in Guinea. We would have seen the militants use their weapon in a location such as New York, Paris or London, or against their local enemies in Syria and Iraq. As far as intent goes, there is very little doubt that such a group would employ a biological weapon. As we noted last month when there was increased talk about the Islamic State possibly weaponizing plague for a biological attack, terrorist attacks are intended to have a psychological impact that outweighs the physical damage they cause. The Islamic State itself has a long history of conducting brutal actions to foster panic. In 2006 and 2007, the Islamic State's predecessor, al Qaeda in Iraq, included large quantities of chlorine in vehicle bombs deployed against U.S. and Iraqi troops in an attempt to produce mass casualties. The explosives in the vehicle bombs killed more people than the chlorine did, and after several unsuccessful attempts, al Qaeda in Iraq gave up on its chlorine bombings because the results were not worth the effort. Al Qaeda in Iraq also included chemical artillery rounds in improvised explosive devices used in attacks against American troops in Iraq on several occasions. Again, these attacks failed to produce mass casualties. Finally, according to human rights organizations, the Islamic State appears to have recently used some artillery rounds containing mustard gas against its enemies in Syria; the group presumably recovered the rounds from a former Saddam-era chemical weapons facility in Iraq or from Syrian stockpiles. The problem, then, lies not with the Islamic State's intent but instead with its capability to obtain and weaponize the Ebola virus. Creating a biological weapon is far more difficult than using a chemical such as chlorine or manufactured chemical munitions. Contrary to how the media frequently portrays them, biological weapons are not easy to obtain, they are not easy to deploy effectively and they do not always cause mass casualties. The Difficulty of Weaponization Ebola and terrorism are not new. Nor is the possibility of terrorist groups using the Ebola virus in an attack. As we have previously noted, the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo attempted to obtain the Ebola virus as part of its biological warfare program. The group sent a medical team to Africa under the pretext of being aid workers with the intent of obtaining samples of the virus. It failed in that mission, but even if it had succeeded, the group would have faced the challenge of getting the sample back to its biological warfare laboratory in Japan. The Ebola virus is relatively fragile. Its lifetime on dry surfaces outside of a host is only a couple of hours, and while some studies have shown that the virus can survive on surfaces for days when still in bodily fluids, this requires ideal conditions that would be difficult to replicate during transport. If the group had been able to get the virus back to its laboratory, it would have then faced the challenge of reproducing the Ebola virus with enough volume to be used in a large-scale biological warfare attack, similar to its failed attacks on Tokyo and other Japanese cities in which the group sprayed thousands of gallons of botulinum toxin and Anthrax spores. Reproducing the Ebola virus would present additional challenges because it is an extremely dangerous virus to work with. It has infected researchers, even when they were working in laboratories with advanced biosafety measures in place. Although Aum Shinrikyo had a large staff of trained scientists and a state-of-the-art biological weapons laboratory, it was still unable to effectively weaponize the virus. The challenges Aum Shinrikyo's biological weapons program faced would be multiplied for the Islamic State. Aum Shinrikyo operatives were given a great deal of operational freedom until their plans were discovered after the 1995 sarin attacks on the Tokyo subway. (The group's previous biological weapons attacks were so unsuccessful that nobody knew they had been carried out until after its members were arrested and its chemical and biological weapons factories were raided.) Unlike the Japanese cult, the Islamic State's every move is under heavy scrutiny by most of the world's intelligence and security agencies. This means jihadist operatives would have far more difficulty assembling the personnel and equipment needed to construct a biological weapons laboratory. Since randomly encountering an infected Ebola patient would be unreliable, the group would have to travel to a country impacted by the outbreak. This would be a difficult task for the group to complete without drawing attention to itself. Furthermore, once group members reached the infected countries, they would have to enter quarantined areas of medical facilities, retrieve the samples and then escape the country unnoticed, since they could not count on randomly encountering an infected Ebola patient. Even if Islamic State operatives were somehow able to accomplish all of this -- without killing themselves in the process -- Ebola is not an ideal biological warfare vector. The virus is hard to pass from person to person. In fact, on average, its basic reproductive rate (the average amount of people that are infected by an Ebola patient) is only between one and two people. There are far more infectious diseases such as measles, which has a basic reproductive rate of 12-18, or smallpox, which has a basic reproductive rate of five to seven. Even HIV, which is only passed via sexual contact or intravenous blood transmission, has a basic reproductive rate of two to five.  Ebola's Weakness as a Weapon The Ebola disease is also somewhat slow to take effect, and infected individuals do not become symptomatic and contagious for an average of 8-10 days. The disease's full incubation period can last anywhere from two to 21 days. As a comparison, influenza, which can be transmitted as quickly as three days after being contracted, can be spread before symptoms begin showing. This means that an Ebola attack would take longer to spread and would be easier to contain because infected people would be easier to identify. Besides the fact that Ebola can only be passed through the bodily fluids of a person showing symptoms at the time, the virus in those bodily fluids must also somehow bypass the protection of a person's skin. The infectious fluid must enter the body through a cut or abrasion, or come into contact with the mucus membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth. This is different from more contagious viruses like measles and smallpox, which are airborne viruses and do not require any direct contact or transfer of bodily fluids. Additionally, the Ebola virus is quite fragile and sensitive to light, heat and low-humidity environments, and bleach and other common disinfectants can kill it. This means it is difficult to spread the virus by contaminating surfaces with it. The only way to infect a large amount of people with Ebola would be to spray them with a fluid containing the virus, something that would be difficult to do and easily detectable. Thiessen's piece suggested that the Islamic State might implement an attack strategy of infecting suicide operatives with Ebola and then having them blow themselves up in a crowded place, spraying people with infected bodily fluids. One problem with this scenario is that it would be extremely difficult to get an infected operative from the group's laboratory to the United States without being detected. As we have discussed elsewhere, jihadist groups have struggled to get operatives to the West to conduct conventional terrorist attacks using guns and bombs, a constraint that would also affect their ability to deploy a biological weapon. Even if a hostile group did mange to get an operative in place, it would still face several important obstacles. By the time Ebola patients are highly contagious, they are normally very ill and bedridden with high fever, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea, meaning they are not strong enough to walk into a crowded area. The heat and shock of the suicide device's explosion would likely kill most of the virus. Anyone close enough to be exposed to the virus would also likely be injured by the blast and taken to a hospital, where they would then be quarantined and treated for the virus. Biological weapons look great in the movies, but they are difficult and expensive to develop in real life. That is why we have rarely seen them used in terrorist attacks. As we have noted for a decade now, jihadists can kill far more people with far less expense and effort by utilizing traditional terrorist tactics, which makes the threat of a successful attack using the Ebola virus extremely unlikely.

الامم المتحده: الاعتداء على اليزيديين كانت محاوله للتطهير العرقي UN: Assault on Yazidis may be genocide attempt

Associated Press 

UNITED NATIONS - A United Nations official said Tuesday (21.10.2014) evidence strongly indicates that the Islamic State group's assault on Iraq's Yazidi religious minority is "an attempt to commit genocide."

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic spoke to reporters after a weeklong visit to Iraq, where he spoke with at least 30 Yazidis from various parts of the country.

Hundreds of Yazidis were killed as the Islamic State group swept across parts of northern and western Iraq in August. Tens of thousands fled for their lives, most to the Kurdish-held parts of northern Iraq. Hundreds of women and girls were captured by fighters. An estimated 7,000 Yazidis stayed and have been forced to convert to the Islamic State group's harsh interpretation of  islam.

البيان الختامي لمساعد الامين تاعام للامم المتحده لحقوق الانسان لاقليم كوردستان 20.10.2014

ينبغي وعلى نحو عاجل منع حدوث مأساة ذات أبعاد أكبر في العراق

أختتم مساعد الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة لحقوق الإنسان السيد أيفان سيمونوفيتش يوم الأحد 19 تشرين الأول مهمته التي استمرت أسبوعاً للبلاد بلقاء جمعه مع رئيس وزراء أقليم كردستان.

وقال السيد سيمونوفيتش "يساورني قلق شديد حيال العواقب الخطيرة المتعلقة بحقوق الإنسان نتيجة الأعمال التي ترتكبها "داعش" والجماعات المسلحة المرتبطة بها ضد المدنيين" مضيفاً: "تقوم  الجماعات التكفيرية و المسماة داعش في المناطق التي تسيطر عليها أو التي تنخرط فيها بالقتال بترويع السكان المحليين وفرض تدابير وحشية عليهم مستندة الى تفسيرهم الخاطئ والمتطرف للإسلام، وعلى وجه الخصوص استهداف المسلمين من كافة الطوائف  وأبناء الأقليات الدينية والعرقية بما فيهم المسيحيين والكاكائيين والشبك والتركمان والصابئة المندائيين والأيزيدين وغيرهم.

ومضى السيد سيمونوفيتش قائلاً "لقد ارتكبت داعش والجماعات المسلحة المرتبطة بها انتهاكات واسعة وممنهجة للقانون الدولي لحقوق الإنسان والقانون الإنساني الدولي، والتي كانت في بعض الحالات ترقى الى جرائم حرب وجرائم ضد الإنسانية."

وقال سيمونوفيتش إنّ "الفظائع التي ارتكبها تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية على نحوٍ ممنهج ومتعمد بحق المكون الأيزيدي قد تصل إلى حد محاولة ارتكاب إبادة جماعية. ومن بين الضحايا الذين لا حصر لهم الذين  قابلتهم  فتاة في الثانية عشرة وهربت من العبودية الجنسية، وأب قتل أبناءه الأربعة بسبب رفضهم إعتناق للإسلام، وصبي نجا من إعدام جماعي لأشخاص كان من بينهم والده وأخوته على الرغم من إصابته بست إطلاقات نارية". وأضاف قائلاً: "لم يترك تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية للأيزيديين خياراً سوى اجبارهم على اعتناق الإسلام أو الموت. إن مثل هذه الشهادات ليست مجرد دليل على اتساع نطاق الجرائم التي يرتكبها التنظيم والجماعات المرتبطة به بطريقة منهجية ومتعمدة فحسب، بل إنها تشهد أيضاً على صمود وشجاعة الناجين من هذه الجرائم".

و استذكر سيمونوفيتش ما ذكره المفوض السامي لحقوق الانسان في مؤتمره الصحفي الاسبوع الماضي من ان داعش تخالف جميع مبادئ حقوق الانسان فهي تقتل و تعذب و تغتصب ، ومفهومها للعدل قائم على ارتكاب الجرائم.

ويتمتع تنظيم الدولة الإسلامية بموارد كبيرة، وتسليح جيد، كما أنه ينشط في حشد الدعم من السكان المحليين وتجنيد مقاتلين من الخارج. ويمارس التنظيم، بدعم من قبل بعض الجماعات المحلية، إنتهاكات وحشية لحقوق الإنسان بحق السكان المحليين - بما في ذلك الحق في الحياة، والحق في حرية الديانة وحرية التعبير-  بهدف قمع وطرد الطوائف العرقية والدينية المستهدفة والقضاء عليها. وتتسبب ممارساتهم الوحشية في ترسيخ الإنقسامات بين الطوائف العرقية والدينية.

وإضافة الى ذلك، كانت هناك زيادة في وتيرة الهجمات الإرهابية وأعمال العنف في بغداد ومناطق أخرى من البلاد لم تتأثر بشكل مباشر بالنزاع المسلح، مما يزيد في التهديد ضد التعايش السلمي بين مختلف مكونات الشعب العراق.

"على قادة المجتمع والوجهاء والمراجع الدينيين ان يرفعوا أصواتهم ويدينوا الإنتهاكات التي ترتكب ضد حقوق الإنسان الدولية والقانون الإنساني وأن يدعوا الى رعاية وحماية الضحايا بغض النظر عن إنتمائاتهم العرقية او الدينية او ما شابه. وتبدوا الحكومة العراقية الجديدة عازمة تماماً، بيد أنها بحاجة الى دعم محلي ودولي واسع من اجل وضع حد للفظائع ودحر المحاولات الرامية الى تقسيم المجتمع والبلاد."

وخلال إجتماعاته التي عقدها مع معالي وزير حقوق الإنسان السيد محمد مهدي أمين البياتي ومعالي رئيس مجلس النواب الدكتور سليم الجبوري ومعالي رئيس وزراء أقليم كردستان السيد نجيرفان بارزاني، دعا السيد سيمونوفتش الى إنضمام العراق للنظام الأساسي الخاص بالمحكمة الجنائية الدولية والقبول الفوري للإختصاص المخصص للمحكمة الجنائية الدولية بشأن الجرائم التي أُرتكبت أثناء النزاع الجاري.

وقال السيد سيمونوفيتش " وإضافة إلى ذلك، فأن التغييرات التشريعية التي تنص على أن جرائم الحرب والجرائم ضد الإنسانية والإبادة الجماعية يعاقب عليها بموجب القوانين الجنائية النافذة في كل من العراق وإقليم كوردستان، من شأنها أن تبعث يرسالة واضحة عن الإلتزام بتقديم مرتكبي تلك الجرائم إلى العدالة بصرف النظر عن هويتهم أو إنتمائهم العرقي أو الديني أو السياسي".

وزار مساعد الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة وأعضاء آخرون من الوفد الخاص بمكتب المفوض السامي لحقوق الإنسان خمسة مخيمات للاجئين في محافظتي دهوك وأربيل في أقليم كردستان-العراق.

هناك ما يقرب من مليوني مدني نزحوا بسبب النزاع الحالي في العراق، ونزح ما يربو على مليون منهم  إلى إقليم كردستان العراق. وقال سيمونوفيتش: على الرغم من الجهود الجديرة بالثتاء التي تبذلها حكومة إقليم كردستان لحماية النازحين وتوفير الخدمات الأساسية، استنفذت الموارد حتى أوشكت على الوصول الى نقطة الانهيار. وعلى الرغم من التحديات الكبيرة، يشجعني كثيرا  التزام رئيس وزراء إقليم كردستان، كما أعرب خلال اجتماعنا، بإبقاء إقليم كردستان العراق مفتوحا لجميع النازحين دون تمييز".

وأشار سيمونوفيتش الى ان هناك حاجة ملحة لتحسين التنسيق بين الحكومة المركزية وحكومة إقليم كردستان والمجتمع الدولي من أجل الإعداد لمواجهة تحديات فصل الشتاء.

وقال سيمونوفيتش "لم يأت فصل الشتاء بعد ولكنني رأيت بالفعل الخيام التي انهارت من المطر، وعلى الرغم من كل الجهود التي بذلتها الأسر التي تعيش في هذه الخيام طيلة الليل". "هناك حاجة مُلحة لتوفير المأوى الملائم لفصل الشتاء. وإذا لم يتم اتخاذ تدابير إضافية على الفور وخاصة في حالة ووجود موجة جديدة من النزوح، سيكون أولئك الذين ينتمون إلى الفئات الضعيفة، مثل الأطفال والمسنين والأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة والمحتاجين إلى المساعدة الطبية، في خطر".

وناقش مساعد الأمين العام أيضا مع المسؤولين الحكوميين وممثلي المجتمع المدني سبل معالجة بعض تحديات حقوق الإنسان المزمنة التي تواجه العراق، بما في ذلك الفساد المالي والإداري، والمشاكل مع إدارة نظام العدالة الجنائية، (بما في ذلك التعذيب)، وحقوق المرأة .

وقال سيمونوفيتش "هناك تحديات كبيرة لحقوق الإنسان تواجه العراق". "ولكن خلال زيارتي التقيت بالعديد من الشباب والشابات الشجعان والأذكياء الذين التزموا بالتغلب على الانقسامات في البلاد والكفاح من أجل المساواة وحقوق الإنسان لجميع  الناس في العراق. وهذا يعطي الأمل في مستقبل أفضل للعراق وهذه الجهود يجب ان تحظى بدعم قوي من المجتمع الدولي

UN HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS RELEASE: Tragedy of even greater proportions in Iraq should be urgently prevented

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS

NEWS RELEASE

20 October 2014

Tragedy of even greater proportions in Iraq should be urgently prevented

NEW YORK/GENEVA (20 October 2014) - On Sunday 19 October, the UN Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Human Rights, Mr. Ivan Šimonović, concluded his week-long mission to Iraq by meeting the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Government.

“I am extremely concerned at the dramatic human rights consequences of the actions of ISIL and associated armed groups on civilians," Šimonović said.

“In areas under their control, or where they are engaged in fighting, the Takfiri groups, or so-called ISIL are terrorizing the local population, imposing on them brutal measures based on their extremely radical and wrongful interpretation of Islam, particularly targeting Muslim sects and members of religious and ethnic minorities including Christians, Kaka’ee, Shabaks, Turkmen, Sabaean Mendeans, Yezidis and others.”

“ISIL and associated armed groups have perpetrated widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, which in some instances may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity," Šimonović said. “The atrocities committed systematically and intentionally by ISIL against the Yezidi community, may amount to an attempt to commit genocide. Among countless victims, I met with a twelve year-old girl who escaped sexual slavery, a father whose four sons were murdered because they refused to convert to Islam, and a boy who survived a mass execution', including of his father and brothers, despite being hit by six bullets," Šimonović said. "ISIL leaves Yezidis no option except to convert or die. Such testimonies are not only evidence of the scale of the crimes being systematically and intentionally committed by ISIL and associated armed groups, but attest to the resilience and bravery of the survivors of these crimes.”

As highlighted by High Commissioner Zeid at his press conference last week, “ISIL is the antithesis of human rights. It kills, it tortures, it rapes, its idea of justice is to commit murder.”

ISIL are well-resourced, well-armed and are active in recruiting support from the local population and fighters from abroad. With the support of some local groups, they are brutally violating the basic human rights of the local population – including the right to life and freedoms of religion and expression - with the aim of suppressing, expelling or destroying targeted ethnic and religious communities. Their brutal tactics are causing divisions between ethnic and religious communities to deepen.

Additionally, there has been an escalation of terrorist attacks and acts of violence in Baghdad and other areas of the country not directly affected by the armed conflict, which further threatens the peaceful coexistence of Iraq’s various communities.

 “Community leaders, elders, as well as religious authorities, must raise their voices and condemn violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and demand the care and protection of the victims, no matter their ethnic, religious or other affiliations. The new Iraqi Government seems well-intentioned, but needs broad local and international support to put an end to the atrocities and overcome attempts to divide society and the country."

In his meetings with the Minister for Human Rights, Mr. Mohammed Madhi Ameen Al-Bayati, Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Dr. Salim al-Jabouri, and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Mr. Nechirvan Barzani, Šimonović argued for Iraq’s accession to the International Criminal Court Statute, and the immediate acceptance of the ICC’s ad-hoc jurisdiction for crimes that have been committed during the ongoing conflict.

“Additionally, legislative changes that would provide that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are punishable under the criminal laws of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region would send a clear message of the commitment to bring perpetrators of those crimes to justice, irrespective of who they are, their ethnicity, religious belonging or political affiliation,” Šimonović said.

The UN Assistant Secretary-General and other members of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights delegation visited five camps for displaced persons in the Dohuk and Erbil provinces of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

“There are almost two million civilians displaced by the current conflict within Iraq, nearly one million of whom have been displaced into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Despite the commendable efforts of the Kurdistan Region Government to protect the IDPs and to provide basic services, resources are stretched to breaking point,” Šimonović said. “Notwithstanding the considerable challenges, I am greatly encouraged by the commitment of the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, as expressed during our meeting, to keep the Kurdistan Region of Iraq open for all displaced persons without distinction.”

Šimonović noted that improved coordination between the Central Government, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the international community is urgently needed in order to prepare for the challenges of winter.

“Winter is not yet here, but I have already seen the tents that had collapsed from the rain, despite all night efforts of the families living in them," Šimonović said. “The provision of adequate shelter for the winter is urgently needed. If additional measures are not immediately introduced, and especially if there is a new wave of displacement, those belonging to vulnerable groups, such as children, aged people, people with disabilities and those in need of medical assistance will be at risk."

The Assistant Secretary-General also discussed with government officials and civil society representatives ways to address some of the chronic human rights challenges facing Iraq, including corruption, problems with the administration of the criminal justice system, (including torture), and the rights of women.

“There are considerable human rights challenges facing Iraq," Šimonović said. “ But during my visit I met many brave and bright young men and women who are committed to overcoming divisions in the country and fighting for equality and human rights for all Iraq’s people. This gives hope for a better future for Iraq and such efforts should be strongly supported by the international community.”

ISIS ban bidets in Aleppo داعش يمنع استعمال ال"بيديه" في حلب

If this decree published in Aleppo, Syria by the ISIS caliphate office is their idea of cleanliness then they really want to go back to the Middle Ages!

The decree states that bidets must be destroyed and anyone found to have a bidet in their house will be punished. They want people to use water, sand and granite stones to clean themselves following defecation just as their forefathers did. They should think again as anyone downwind of them will smell them coming and there is an excellent chance of them succumbing to diarrhea or better still dysentery. Some would say an appropriate death would then be theirs!

On the other hand if ISIS want to return to ‘the good old days’ then we await their decree that stops the use of radio, tv, telephones and the internet not to mention cars, machine guns, and tanks. Is it the camel brigade next boys?

بلغ عدد المرتزقه الدواعش الاجانب في العراق وسوريا15,000 مجرم

بلغ عدد المرتزقه الدواعش  الاجانب    في العراق وسوريا15,000 مجرم  وذالك حسب جريدة الواشنطن بوست . ان الدول الغربيه قلقه بخصوص ماذا سيفعل هولاء الدواعش بعد عودتهم "الغير ميمونه"  للدول التي قبلتهم اعطتهم جنسياتها وكرمتهم 

 .ولكن  هذه الدول لاتفكر جديا بما فعله ومازالو يفعلونه من مصائب وجرائم في العراق وسوريا 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/foreign-fighters-flow-to-syria/2014/10/11/3d2549fa-5195-

11e4-8c24-487e92bc997b_graphic.html

السعوديه 2,100     الامارات14          قطر15                بحرين12             كويت71              الصومال68                      استراليا250          اندونوسيا60          سودان96             اردن2089           العراق247                       باكستان330          افغانستان23          الصين100           قرغيزيا30            جزائر250           مصر358 مغرب1,500         تركيا400             روسيا800            اوكرانيا50            البانيا148             بوسنيا60              نمسا60   ايطاليا50              سبانيا96              المانيا240 فرنسا412            ايرلندا26             بريطاني488            كندا70                امريكا130            دانمارك84           نرويج40              سويد80               فلندا20                هولندا 152           بلجيكا296            لبنان890              اسرائيل20            ليبيا556               تونس3,000           

اليمن 110                                    هناك 18 دوله اخرى لاتعرف عدد خبرائها"من المجرمين" الموجودين في المنطقه 

Qatar links to ISIS

Talib Murad

 UK South Wales 13.10.2014

There is growing concern in the UK over the failure Sunni Gulf States, in particular Qatar, to take action against their own nationals who have directly funded, or facilitated the funding of, terrorist groups including ISIL (Sunday Telegraphs 12.10.2014) . In particular, according to Hilary Clinton, Qatar has the worst record of any country in cooperating in counter-terrorism. MPs in UK are calling for a review of British trade with the Gulf State while there is growing public concern over Qatar’s role in financing terrorism leading to the formation of action groups calling for a boycott of the Qatari owned Harrod’s store in London and raising public awareness of Qatar’s commercial interest in other UK landmarks and well known companies. The news of a catastrophe anywhere in the world always results in the British public contributing whatever they can afford to give aid to those they see in need of help and now the barbaric actions of ISIS generate an urge to hit the terrorists in some way so the boycott of any company or financial institution with Qatari’  interests will be more than welcome.

Salim Hasan Khalifa Rashid al-Kuwari was employed by the Qatari government although he was officially designated as a terrorist by the US. Al-Kuwari channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars to al-Qaeda through a terrorist network while working in Qatar’s Ministry of Interior! Al-Kuwari was working in the Ministry of Interior’s civil defence department and listed as a terrorist by the US in 2011. He was arrested and questioned in 2009, returned to his work and then arrested again in 2011 yet he lives freely in Doha and Qatar refused to comment on his status last week. Qatar is accused of financing  terrorists throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan either directly or by providing a safe haven for those that do so and Qatar now provides more private donations to terrorist groups than does Saudi Arabia. Within the coming weeks the US will publish a dossier of in which it will name around 20 Qatari’s or Qatar-based financiers who, like al-Kuwari, are accused of financing terror organizations.

In 1992 the Qatari government employed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who would later be named as the mastermind of the 9/11 attack on New York’s Twin Towers, and who fled Qatar in 1996 when the US wanted him for a car bomb attack on the Twin Towers in 1993. Mohammed had reportedly been warned by a senior official in the Qatari of the American plan to arrest him. In 2009 Khalifa Muhammad  Turki al-Subaiy , who has connections with people in the upper echelons of Qatar, was jailed for 6 months for his role in funding Khalid  Sheikh Mohammed. Al-Subaiy had worked for Qatar’s central Bank and there were hints of connections to the then Prime Minister Hamad bin Jasmin bin Jaber al Thani. On his release in 2009 al-Subaiy was added to the UN’s list of individuals subject to targeted sanctions because of their terrorist links.  Last month the US Treasury released documents alleging that al-Subaiy is currently funding Islamist terrorists in Syria and Iraq while Qatar refuses to comment on Subaiy’s current status.

Another Qatari who is on both the US and UN blacklists is Abd al-Rahman bin Umayr al Nuaymi (see picture) who is accused of sending 1.25 million pounds sterling a month to a group of al-Qaeda jihadists in Iraq that was the fore runner to ISIL. Al-Nuaymi, was a senior figure in Qatar and was associated with the Qatar Football Association and the Sheik Eid bin  Mohammed el Thani Charitable Association, but he is also accused of financing al-Qaeda in Syria. Last week, a human rights charity that al-Nuyami set up in Geneva, said that he was not under arrest in Qatar.

 Meanwhile Qatar’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, has said,                                                                                                                                                                      

“The State of Qatar does not support – in any way – the radical groups who are terrorizing innocent citizens and destabilizing the Middle East. As we have stated repeatedly, again and again, we believe their actions are evil, abhorrent, and antithetical to all that Islam stands for.

“Our efforts to counter terrorism include many actions and initiatives. Internally, our Ministry of Finance and our central bank work closely with other governments to counter the financing of terrorism.

“Our Ministry of Internal Affairs also works closely with Interpol and other international security forces. Externally, we are a member of the Global Counter terrorism Forum.”  

              

Well Dr. Al-Attiyah may believe what he says but it does not ring true. Doha’s lack of action against those, who are recognised by the UN and other countries as individuals financing terrorism, is indicative of a lack of action by the Qatar government in fighting international terrorism. It is time that other countries put pressure on Qatar to take action against these men instead of leaving them free to pursue their terrorist activities and the resultant deaths of thousands of innocent people.

Reading the article in the Sunday Telegraph on Qatar’s links to al-Qaeda has given me the opinion that these men in Qatar have too much money and so little to do that they resort to playing with people’s lives in the way that school boys play with toy soldiers. What pleasure do they get from it?  They are as evil as the terrorist who kills the innocent child or feeble old men and women and, whatever the religion any one of us believes in, no heavenly life after death awaits such evil doers. They should be confined to prison and, as the saying goes, the key to their cell can then be thrown away!

Al- Nusra financer Al-Nuymi-"Sunday Telegraph 10.10.2014"

TIMES LEADING ARTICLE 9 Oct 2014- Saving Kobani-

This article in today's edition of the London Times clearly states that it is time that Turkey recognised that a member of NATO it has a duty to make a stand against IS. It can no longer sit back and watch the continuing tragedy of Kobani. There are benefits to be gained from being a member of an association such as NATO but there is also a duty that you owe to fellow members. Turkey failed to perform its duty in 2003 but cannot due so again when the eyes of the world are watching.

After all if Turkey was attacked by Russia or Iran would it not expect its NATO allies to come to its assistance. Fail in its duty now and it will find it stands alone.  

History repeat itself: Stalin 1944 Erdogan 2014

We must act now!!

There are two types of Kurds those who are  fat, rich and bedazzled by the economical bubble. Then there are those in Kubani, and the poor villages throughout Kurdistan. Iraqi Kurds cannot stand by and watch, the least they can do is to stop the hundreds of truckloads of Turkish goods entering Kurdistan every day. Some may argue that we cannot afford to stop food entering the country and yes they are right it will be difficult.  Yet our politicians have placed us in this situation by the systematic destruction of Kurdish village life, agriculture, Kurdish crafts and small industrial units. Everything has been lost to the ready availability of imports from neighbouring countries! In Kurdistan we now look to the south (Baghdad) for our dollars and to the north and east for our food and goods.

ايها الدواعش لاتمسوا قبر جدنا سليمان باشا

ايها الدواعش لاتمسوا قبر جدنا سليمان باشا: و لكن يحق لكم ذبح الاكراد والمسيحيين و الايزيدين و الشيعة والسنه و سبي النساء والبنات الصغار و قتل الابرياء و تدمير القرى و المساجد و دور العباده و المقابر. و سنبيع لكم نفطكم المنهوب و ستكون مصحاتنا و فنادقنا ومصارفنا مفتوحة لكم و سنوصل لكم متطوعيكم الى الحدود السورية و سيكون بإمكان هؤلاء توصيل المال و السلاح لكم. و سنمنع وصول اي كردي الى شمال سوريا و ربما سنسمح لداعش بقتل اكراد سو ريا في تركيا و بالمناسبة لقد التقى امس اردوغان بجدودكم انتم اي الاخوان المتأسلمين المصريين .

نحن لكم ممتنين لعدم المساس بقبر جدنا الكبير جد ال عثمان ...( اللي اختشوا ماتوا)