Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog

 

“15 months after the declaration of the Caliphate, the US-led campaign against it is more diffused than ever, and there are many now in the West who are conceding that the Islamic State is a country that is here to stay.” On 31st March, issue 8 of Dābiq magazine published an article I wrote called “Paradigm Shift,” in which I examined the depiction of the Islamic State in Western media and politics progressing from a mere “organization” to a real, functioning entity. A country, I called it. I know nothing about nation building. I’m so foolish I never even made it to university. But after dismissing some of the things I’ve written in the past as “ISIS propaganda,” many journalists and scholars in the West are now agreeing with this sentiment. The Islamic State, they say, is a genuine state. This reality of the Caliphate is confirmed by many things, the people living under its governance, for one. For the first time in years, Muslims are living in security and their businesses are doing a roaring trade. The zakāh system has been up and running, taking a percentage of peoples’ wealth and dispersing it to the poor.

The gold dinar coins first mentioned a year ago are now being minted, in preparation for their circulation. Sharī’ah courts are established in every city and are judging by the laws of Islam. Corruption, before an unavoidable fact of life in both Iraq and Syria, has been cut to virtually nil while crime rates have considerably tumbled. Meanwhile the Gulf states all around are in turmoil. They are broken by religious differences and fractured by ancient tribal feuds. The “Middle East … is broken, angry and so dysfunctional that it’s in a class all by itself, giving new meaning to the word ‘hopeless,’” wrote scholar Aaron David Miller in Foreign Policy on 11th September. “It is so torn apart and riven with sectarian, political, and religious hatreds and confrontations that it seems beyond the capacity of any external party to remedy.” It’s precisely for reasons like this that the Islamic State has arisen so fast and in such a short space of time. There is only one sect here, Sunni Islam, and the Caliph can only be from one tribe, Quraysh. Here in the Caliphate, there is no room for pluralism.

In an article published in The Telegraph on 8th June, Ruth Sherlock wrote, “The jihadists have become fastidious bureaucrats: imposing taxes [she refers to the zakāh], paying fixed salaries and imposing trading standards laws [she refers to the banning of harām transactions] in a bid to create a healthy economy … many Syrian businessmen see ISIL as the only option when compared to the anarchy that prevails in areas controlled by other rebels, including Western-backed groups.” That’s a far cry from the barbarism generally used to paint the Islamic State in order to perpetuate the image of an evil entity, an image so convenient for government propaganda. What else, Ruth? “Doctors and engineers, particularly those managing the ISIS-controlled oilfields, are paid handsomely – at least double, and often several-fold the salaries offered in other parts of the country,” she continued. “Businesses are now choosing to move their industry into ISIS areas.” That’s not me talking but a writer for one of the “better” newspapers in the UK. And this sentiment – that the Islamic State is a real, growing state – is increasing in volume in the West.

After one year of airstrikes all the evidence suggests there has been no “rolling back” of the mujāhidīn, any “degradation” of their fighting ability has been quickly re-supplied by fresh battlefield booty and new recruits, and estimates for the Islamic State’s army remain, according to the CIA, at 32,000 soldiers but with some figures suggesting up to 70 or even 100,000 to be called upon if required. An unnamed US official told the Associated Press that US intelligence has “seen no meaningful degradation in their numbers.” One year into their war and nothing has changed. This poses a problem for the coalition.

The Iraqi army, according to MIT University’s Barry Posen, no longer exists as a meaningful fighting force. In Iraq they have been largely superseded by the Popular Mobilization Units (al-Hashd ash-Sha’bī), a Shia militia of up to 100,000 men with weapons supplied by Iran. They led the assault on Tikrit in April and have been largely responsible for many of the atrocities subsequently reported in Sunni regions. But since Tikrit, there have been no notable victories for the coalition, and the fighting in Iraq is not going well, to the extent that Lieutenant General Robert Neller of the USMC, when asked by senator John McCain on how he considered the campaign to be progressing, replied, “I think we’re doing what we need to do right now … I believe they are in a stalemate right now.”

Far from “rolling back” the mujāhidīn, the Islamic State is holding ground or even advancing, as can be evidenced by the recent taking of new regions in Iraq and Syria. It is the requirement of the American government and its allies to verbally belittle the Islamic State in public comments by referring to it as just a terrorist “organization.” True, it is a functioning state that uses terror as a tool. But if it’s just an “organization” and the soldiers who fight for it just terrorists, this gives the public a hook on which to hang their hat.

People understand the words “terrorists” or “jihadists” and will largely support any military action against them. But it loses its urgency when you’re fighting soldiers from a state. It just doesn’t conjure up the same images of extremely imminent danger for a politician’s speechwriter. Fighting mere terrorists is one thing, fighting a country, even if that country takes pride in its terrorist tactics, is quite another. But to concede that the Islamic State is indeed a state in any spoken comment would be an admission of their victory that no political leader is currently prepared to make. So they deliberately continue to call them the “so called” Islamic State, ISIL, IS, ISIS, Daesh and whatever the next nom de jour is in a move to show: “Pah. Fiddlesticks! We don’t even know what their name is. We’ve got this in hand.” That’s what they say in public. But what they say behind closed doors with their defence secretaries and intelligence chiefs will, I’m sure, be very different by now.

According to Western reports, approximately 7 million people live in the Caliphate in an area larger than Britain and more populous than Denmark, and many of them are saying that life now is better than it was under the Assad and Shia-led regimes in Syria and Iraq and miles better than the corruption and chaos that followed the Free Syrian Army. That throws a spanner into the works. It’s not what one would expect from a bunch of supposedly “wild-haired barbarian” terrorists, surely? In the New York Times on 21st July, Tim Arango wrote, “[The Islamic State] has outdone the corrupt Syrian and Iraqi governments it routed, residents and experts say. ‘You can travel from Raqqa to Mosul, and no one will dare to stop you even if you carry $1 million,’ said Bilal, who lives in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria. ‘No one would dare to take even one dollar.’”

Arango continued, saying the Islamic State is putting in place more governing measures including ID cards for residents, promulgating fishing guidelines to preserve stocks, requiring that cars carry tool kits for emergencies and, of course, following the Sharī’ah to the letter. “[A shop owner in Raqqa] said … ‘Here they are implementing God’s regulations. The killer is killed. The adulterer is stoned. The thief’s hands are cut.’” Stephen M. Walt, a professor of international affairs at Harvard, who was quoted in the same article, said, “I think there is no question that the way to look at it is as a revolutionary state-building organization.” A revolutionary state-building organization? That doesn’t sound like just a terrorist “group” at all.

It’s important to remember, as Walt explains elsewhere, that as new countries have been formed throughout history, it often took years before they were recognized by other states. He mentions, for example, that Europe refused to formally recognize the Soviet Union for years after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, the US not doing so until 1933. Likewise, America did not establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China until 1979, some 30 years after it was founded. “If the Islamic State manages to cling to power, consolidate its position, and create a genuine de facto state in what was previously part of Iraq and Syria,” concludes Stephen Walt, “then other states will need to work together to teach it the facts of life in the international system.”

Well, not quite. The Islamic State holds the “international system” to be a tāghūt, something evil enforcing manmade laws upon people. It will never “learn” to “work” with it. But a truce with Western nations is always an option in Sharī’ah law. And here’s the thing. Assad is pretty much finished, with the crumbling ruins of his despotic government now only controlling one-quarter of Syria. Iraq is a disjointed jumble of regions and tribes that never recovered from the American invasion and cannot return to what it once was. The Islamic State, straddling both countries as it does, is a Muslim empire, a country in which there are no tribal or religious clashes. There is only one sect and only one creed. It is a place run, governed, and protected by Sunni mujāhidīn, and as such is now completely unique in the splintering, infighting mess that is collectively referred to as the Middle East. By way of its singularism, it is a better model for future stability in the region than any of the Gulf states supported or shaped by Western intervention that have subsequently declared war upon it. Again, this isn’t just me saying this. That would make it “ISIS propaganda,” and we can’t have that now, can we?

Brigadier General Ronald Magnum made some interesting comments in a paper published by the Georgia Caucasus Strategic Studies Institute on 29th May. “The Islamic State meets all requirements … to be recognized as a state,” he said. “It has a governing structure, it controls territory, a large population, is economically viable, has a large and effective military and provides governmental services such as health care to its population. Dealing with it as if it were a terrorist movement is a non-starter. It is a State and if the West wants to defeat it, it must accept either: 1) The Islamic State is enough of a threat to world or regional peace that the West is willing to go to war with it, or 2) The costs of a war are too great and the West must plan to contain the Islamic State and ultimately negotiate with it as a sovereign State.”

Failed attempts by the coalition to “contain” the Caliphate are already old news. But the N-word, negotiate? That’s a bombshell. Just recently, Obama said there still “would be no negotiating” with the Islamic State, a fact not lost on my former cellmates. But then he changed his policy regarding that, so maybe he or the next president will have to change their policy on this. In a piece published in Foreign Policy on 10th June under the title “What Should We Do if the Islamic State Wins?,” Professor Stephen Walt suggested that victory for the mujāhidīn could be considered not as them planting their black flag on top of the Empire State building, but as them retaining the territory they now control and not being “degraded or destroyed” in any way. So far, they have achieved this. “It eventually moves from pariah to partner, especially when its interests start to coincide with those of other states,” he wrote. “It may still be a troublesome presence in world politics, but it is no longer ostracized. If the Islamic State survives, that is what I’d expect to happen.”

Again, Walt is making gross assumptions, as the mujāhidīn would never accept partnership with the West. But if Western nations want a truce, they really should think thrice before throwing away the chance. The West will need to continue doggedly dropping bombs and cajoling different groups of Shia into the killing zones on the ground for at least another year or two before any true consideration for a truce is reached. But it’s an interesting prospect, the West negotiating with the Islamic State. Is it really ever likely to happen?

Jonathan Powell was chief negotiator on Northern Ireland for the Tony Blair government, and on 12th August, he spoke to the BBC about this very subject. “If you want to destroy the Islamic State, you’re not going to be able to do it from the air. And no one in the West seems prepared to put boots on the ground. So there is no military strategy for destroying ISIS. There needs to be a political strategy. In my view, that would involve talking to them,” he said. “We talked to the IRA, not because they had guns but because they had a third of the Catholic vote. If you’re dealing with a group with no political support, such as Baader-Meinhof, you’re not going to negotiate because there isn’t a political question at the heart of the matter. And it seems to me likely there is a political question at the heart here in Syria and Iraq. If the conflicts I’ve looked at over the last 30 years are anything to go by, and if ISIS have political support, then we will end up speaking to them. Maybe they’ll fade like snow in the spring, but there is very little historical precedent for that happening in this sort of circumstance. It’s my hypothesis that there is such political support. And the idea of extreme Islamists … seems to have enough robustness in it that there is a problem we’re going to have to address politically at some stage, not simply by force of arms.” Powell concluded by saying the West has to pave the way for future “talks” by “establishing a basic conversation.”

More than one year on from the start of the air campaign against the Islamic State and Martin Dempsey, the 4-star General in charge of the US-led campaign, must be wondering what’s next. People in the West are impatient and demand results, and they’re not coming. Like Vietnam, the war against the Islamic State looks like it’s turning into a grinding war of attrition to try and reduce the enemy’s numbers without any clear goals set along the way. The bombs have certainly killed many mujāhidīn but more arrive to take their place every day, each one just as eager as the last to die a shahīd for the sake of Allah. The bombs have certainly destroyed many tanks and armoured vehicles of the Islamic State taken as booty from the Iraqi army (there’s only one gear in Iraqi army tanks: reverse) but the mujāhidīn have merely acquired more from the next fleeing unit. The soldiers of the Caliphate have proved to be a force surprisingly resilient to the shatter and blast of a Paveway bomb or Hellfire missile. And all the while, the Caliphate country they fight and die to support has continued to grow and mature. The mujāhidīn enjoy fighting the most, but they have proved to be remarkably good at adapting to the needs of social requirements and government, too.

Having established their country and set a new order in place within the Middle East, what happens over the next few years is more up to the Islamic State than any exterior force. The first option is that they continue to expand the borders of the Caliphate throughout the region until economic or military limitations stop them and they afterwards consolidate their positions. Too bad for the West, it doesn’t look like such limitations exist for the Caliphate. The second option is that they goad the West into launching an all-out ground attack, thereby setting the scene for the final battle between Muslims and the crusaders prophesized to be held at Dābiq in Syria, by conducting an operation overseas that is so destructive that America and its allies will have no alternative but to send in an army. This would have to be something on the same scale, if not bigger, than 9/11. Then again, I’m just guessing. American “hawks” may very well come to Dābiq on their own without the Islamic State needing to blow up any dirty bombs in Manhattan.

In a piece published in The Independent on 21st June titled “We cannot destroy ISIS, so we will have to learn to live with it,” former counter-terrorism chief for MI6 Richard Barrett wrote, “Iraq and Syria will not return to how they were, and whatever it ends up calling itself, a new entity has emerged that will remain in some form. Currently that entity is aggressive, intolerant and uncompromising, but it is a truth that for all its dystopian features, ISIS offers those living under its rule better governance in some respects than they received from the state before it took over. Corruption is far less prevalent, and justice, albeit brutal, is swift and more evenly applied.” The Islamic State’s rapid consolidation and shrewd governance of its territories has no doubt caught world leaders by as much surprise as its sudden blitz and capture of Mosul. If you’d told a politician in New York in June 2014 that by October 2015 the Islamic State would have achieved what they have, he’d have laughed in your face. It’s fair to say that the same politician isn’t laughing today.

End

(The article above was first published in Dabiq, no 12, by journalist John Cantlie currently within the Islamic State)

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

(Post via Islamic Emirate)

Myanmar formerly known as Burma is located in Southeast Asia and considered an impoverished and economically weak country, relatively unknown to the outside world. But it recently grabbed international headlines and garnered much notoriety due to the vile inhumane treatment of its Muslim population at the hands of its Military Junta and Buddhist followers.

Myanmar has a population of around 64 million people with 79% adhering to Buddhism, 4% Christianity, 5% Islam and 2% to Hinduism. The junta deems all the minorities as its own citizens and gives them their due rights except for the Muslims who are considered outcasts.

The Muslims of Myanmar have not only been deprived of their basic human rights, religious rights and partaking in the country’s electoral process but have also faced systematic killings, genocide and eviction at the hands of Buddhists under the protection of government mandate.

The general elections which took place last week in this country raised hopes for an elected government after half a century military rule however the Muslims were once again denied participation rather the mantra of most of the candidates was that if they are to be elected leaders, they will treat the Muslims even worse than what they had previously faced.

Now that the junta’s most ardent opposition party (National League for Democracy) headed by the 70 year old female Aung San Suu Kyi (who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991) has won most of the Parliament seats and seems likely that the upcoming government will be formed by them, they have yet to declare a policy regarding the Muslims which might be drastically different or be able to treat the wounds of this oppressed, deprived community.

The verdict of the west and America concerning the elections in Myanmar was also two-faced and unjust. Why? Because the right which they have bestowed upon themselves to interfere in other countries and a major reason behind considering elections as illegitimate is when minorities are deprived from participation. However the tongues of the self-proclaimed torch bearers of human rights have become paralyzed when it comes to the Muslims of Myanmar and they have even failed to show their distress for the Muslims who have been deprived from their so-called ‘democratic rights’!!! …..

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

Photo: Gaza, Palestine July 2014 

Seems that we are not humans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the Statement of Barak Obama following Paris terrorist attack:” This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”…I do agree with the STATEMENT because this what I feel about the attacks but not only in Paris but everywhere in the whole world. The same attack took place one day before in Beirut but I didn’t hear the same statement, same attacks are happening daily in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon and Libya but we have never hear the same statement, in the contrary of that, he funds such attacks in these places, BUT HOW ABOUT PALESTINE, Zionist have been and still carrying out terrorist attacks against Palestinians every minute of our life for the last 67 years, and here is the only statement we hear from him about it, “Israel has the right to defend itself against the Palestinian violence” and guess what, Palestinians get killed by American weapons, Palestinian cities are destroyed by American weapons of mass destruction, Palestinian trees and land are bulldozed by American bulldozers, Zionists illegal colonies are built by American tax payers money and much much more, AREN’T WE HUMANS AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????

Younes Arar, Palestinian human rights defender, activist for Palestine and Free Palestine, Hebron, West Bank

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

(Post via Islamic Emirate)

Thousands of protesters carrying the coffins of 7 civilians killed by Daesh in Zabul province on their shoulders marched from Kabul city’s Pul-e-Sokhta all the way up to the gates of Arg (Presidential Palace).

These protesters who claimed to be grieving and sympathizing with the dead demanded that the unity government build an Army Corps in Bamiyan, turn Jaghori district of Ghazni into a separate province and designate a specific hill in Kabul city in memorial of 7 Hazaras killed in Zabul.

This protest which was extensively covered by the television channel ‘Tolo’ was labeled by the workers of this channel the largest protest to have ever been held in the history of Kabul.

The head of the unity government as usual orally agreed to some of the demands of the protesters and deemed other demands above and beyond the capacity of government powers.

The organizers of the protest, who all hail from a single ethnic group, in reality wanted to project their force to the officials of the Presidential Palace and consolidate their power in the corridors of the unity government. If this was not the case then thousands of people have been killed way more brutally than the 7 Hazaras in the attacks of the Americans and their stooge forces over the course of the 14 year war but no one ever convened such a large protest and neither has anyone yet demanded Army Corps or creation of separate provinces.

Afghanistan has daily witnessed the death, grieving and protests of Afghans from the first day of the hideous American invasion but unfortunately, the government propped up by the Americans and forced upon the Afghans has repeatedly failed to answer the demands of the Afghan victims and protesters.

An example of this impotency of the Kabul regime which enjoys the boundless backing of the Americans and ‘coalition partners’ and has also signed onto the ‘Bilateral Security Agreement’, failed to secure the release of these same 7 kidnapped countrymen from the hands of a small number of kidnappers over the past 9 months, a task which the Taliban managed to achieve in the course of 24 hours and with a very small force.

The incompetency of the Kabul regime has reached a point that it has come to consider the release of victims due to the military operation of Taliban in Zabul province as the achievement of its own security forces!? This despite the fact that the released victims themselves and the locals of the area testify that they were delivered by the military operation of Taliban from the hands of Daesh terrorists and later handed over to local influential elders.

If the government forces were really capable of rescuing these kidnapped victims than why did they leave them in the detention of Daeshi terrorists for the past 9 months?

All in all, the officials of the powerless government are only good at generating more problems for the country instead of solving any of the countless issues at hand. The head of the unity government who himself testifies to the failures and impotency of his own government, is so uselessly feeble that he cannot even forward his own resignation to his office due of his failure at preventing the thousands of security incidents taking place throughout the country.

Such an authoritarian regime and such a powerful commander in-chief!!! is the direct result of that same American support which forced the signing the security agreement under the shadow of the ongoing occupation and in complete disagreement with the demands of government officials and the entire nation.

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.

 

Le Carillon restaurant, Paris (Image posted by Zdenka Pregelj)

Islamic State (IS) have claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated attacks on at least 6 locations across Paris. French President Francois Hollande called the assaults “deliberate organized and planned act of war” and announced a state of emergency across the whole of France, early Saturday morning, the first time since Algerian war of 1954-62. At least 129 people died in the capital with 99 people in a critical condition according to Sky News in coordinated attacks carried out by a number of terrorists of which 7 died, 6 by detonating suicide vests, one by police.

Moazzam Begg former Guantanamo detainee tweeted,

Isis claims responsibility for shocking #Paris terror attacks. When will those who caused rise of Isis admit responsibility? #stopthecycle 

The attack started at 9.20pm with shooting at the Carillon bar. At least 6 locations were targeted including diners at restaurants enjoying a Friday night out with family and friends. Reuters quoted police prefect Michel Cadot who told reporters “the terrorists, the murderers raked several cafe terraces with machine-gun fire before entering (the concert hall). There were many victims in terrible, atrocious conditions in several places.”

Sites of attacks (Image TFI)

The BBC reported the attack sites as follows,

Bataclan concert venue, 50 boulevard Voltaire, 11th district – gun and suicide bomb attacks

Stade de France, St Denis, just north of Paris – explosions near venue as France played Germany in football friendly

Le Carillon bar, 18 rue Alibert, 10th district – gun attack

Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, 20 rue Alibert, 10th district – gun attack

La Belle Equipe, 92 rue de Charonne, 11th district – gun attack

La Casa Nostra restaurant, 2 rue de la Fontaine au roi, 11th district – gun attack

Match stopped after 3 explosions outside stadium

(Image via Transfer Related)

Another venue targeted was the Stade de France where the national side were playing Germany in a football match. Three explosions could heard at the ground as suicide bombers detonated their explosives but the game continued for some time until the seriousness of the situation became apparent and then hundreds of supporters were evacuated from their seats onto the field. It was later confirmed that an explosion occurred at Gate J killing 4 people and injuring 11 others. Hollande was evacuated swiftly  from the stadium and Paris put under lockdown with the army mobilized, borders closed and residents told to stay indoors. Large parts of the Metro were also closed down and American Airlines took the decision to halt departures to Paris.

Dr Nafeez Ahmed Award-winning global security journalist tweeted

Let’s not mince words. Our war in Syria is coming home. As usual, it is brave innocents who pay the price.

Aftermath of attacks on Paris (Image CNN)

The largest number of casualties (at least 87 dead) occurred when several gunmen clad in black and carrying weapons took over a Bataclan concert hall where the Californian rock group Eagles of Death Metal were playing. Some of the audience were taken hostage. An eyewitness reported one of the gunman allegedly shouting” this is for Syria”. Special forces took the decision to storm the building after intelligence was picked up (also tweeted on social media) that captives were being executed, shot one by one conveyed in text messages from the victims. Forces came across a “a scene of carnage” with “many casualties”. Reuters reported a witness to the assault as follows,

“Julien Pearce, a journalist from Europe 1 radio, was inside the concert hall when the shooting began. In an eyewitness report posted on the station’s website, Pearce said several very young individuals, who were not wearing masks, entered the hall during the concert, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and started “blindly shooting at the crowd”.

“There were bodies everywhere,” he said.

The gunmen shot their victims in the back, finishing some off at point-blank range before reloading their guns and firing again, Pearce said, after escaping into the street by a stage door, carrying a wounded girl on his shoulder.”

According to Sky News some people escaped onto the roof where they were able to enter an another building and seek shelter with a resident hiding in the dark. After Special Forces went in to Bataclan, Monde film footage showed people running and limping out of the back of the theatre for their lives with others clinging onto windows ledges, bodies lay on the ground and a reporter in a nearby building calls out asking them what is happening.

Remi Brulin, Research fellow (NYU) tweeted

3 out of 4 attackers at Le Bataclan died after triggering their explosive vests, 1 was killed by police forces (France 24) #Paris 

Eagles of Death Metal group posted a message on Facebook, “we are still currently trying to determine the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew. Our thoughts are with all of the people involved in this tragic situation.”

Islamic State statement

On my initial inquiry as to who was behind the attacks I was told via an account sympathetic to Islamic State, “wait for few hours, their website is down, attacked by Ghostsec and Binary Sec Hacking groups.” Another said, “first stop attacks on Syria and Iraq, you will not face this, otherwise ready to see these things daily.” Journalists were advised to stay “neutral” in reporting. One IS supporter posted a picture of a decorated cake with the words, “happy and successful attacks in France to the Ansar bهayyun”. One  person wrote,

“as for the killed kuffār (disbelievers), we don’t pray for them. Allah says in the Qur’ān:

مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ كَانُوا أُولِي قُرْبَىٰ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ

“It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire.” {9:113} ”

 A wake up call indeed. 9/11 was planned by few fellas and IS is an entire army fully funded and present almost everywhere.”

A statement was released by the military council of Islamic state regarding its operation in France today (Saturday) as published via SITE intelligence. IS operate a “like for like” policy and the attacks on ordinary civilians clearly reflect the indiscriminate attacks by France on the Syrian population which make very grim viewing, raw video footage often released to social media.

Images of IS statement via SITE intelligence

Audio of statement received begins with the words of a Nasheed,

For the sake of Allah we will march through the gates of the Paradise where our maidens await. We are men of Allah, just as you love your life, we are soldiers that fight in the day and the night (repeat)

Voice begins,

“A statement on the blessed onslaught in Paris against the Crusaders of France. On Saturday (date given in Arabic) In the name of Allah the most merciful, the most beneficent, Allah ta’ala said they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah but Allah came upon them from where they were not expected and he cast terror into their hearts so they destroyed their houses by their own hands and the hands of the believers so take warning people of vision (Quran, Al-Hashr: 2).

In a blessed battle whose causes of success were enabled by Allah a group of believers from the soldiers of the Caliphate, may Allah strengthen and support it, now targeting the capital of prostitution and vice, the lead carrier of the cross in Europe, Paris. This group of believers were youth who divorced the worldly life and advanced towards their enemy hoping to be killed for Allah’s sake doing so in support of His religion, His Prophet (PBUH) and His allies they did so in spite of His enemies. Thus they were truthful with Allah we consider them so and Allah granted victory upon their hands and cast terror into the hearts of the Crusaders in their very own homeland.

And so 8 brothers equipped with explosives and assault rifles attacked precisely chosen targets in the centre of the capital of France. These targets included the Stadt der France stadium during a soccer match between the teams of Germany and France both of which are Crusader nation attended by the imbecile of France, Francois Hollande. The targets included the Bataclan theatre of Exhibitions where thousands of pagans gathered for a concert of prostitution and vice. There were also simultaneous other targets in the 1oth, 11th and 18th districts and elsewhere. Paris was thereby shaken beneath the Crusaders’ feet who were constricted by its streets. The result was the deaths of no less than 200 Crusaders and the wounding of even more. All praise, grace and favour belong to Allah.

Allah blessed our brothers and granted them what they desired. They detonated their explosives in the midst of the disbelievers after finishing their ammunition. We ask Allah to accept them amongst the Martyrs and allow us to follow them.

Let France and all nations following its path know they will continue to be at the top of the target list for the Islamic State and the scent of death will not leave their nostrils as long as they partake in the Crusader campaign. As long as they dare to curse our Prophet, blessings and PBUH and as long as they boast of their war against Islam in France and their strikes against Muslims in the lands of the Caliphate with their jets which were of no avail to them in the filthy streets and alleys of Paris. Indeed it is just a beginning it is also a warning to any who wish to take heed.

Allah is the greatest and to Allah belongs all honour and to His messenger and to the believers but His messengers do not know … (Quran quoted) … Nasheed is chanted… Preparing to roar the brothers with Kuffar inside they rang some money and weapons are heavy with soldiers of Allah are more than ready. For the sake of Allah we will march through the gates of the Paradise where our maidens await. We are men of Allah, just as you love your life, we are soldiers that fight in the day and the night (repeat). Defending the pride of our sisters who have cried for fearing none but the Almighty has won. Their voices motivated the men who migrated to fill the duty of making God’s work the greatest. For the sake of Allah we will march through the gates of the Paradise where our maidens await. We are men of Allah, just as you love your life, we are soldiers that fight in the day and the night (repeat) Oh our brothers Jihad is the way to bring back the honor of our greatest day. The fight of Allah will always remain, the fighting for His sake is the ultimate gain (repeat). For the sake of Allah we will march through the gates of the Paradise where our maidens await. We are men of Allah, just as you love your life, we are soldiers that fight in the day and the night (repeat). And now time has come for the battles to be won. Jihad on our tongues as our hearts beat as one.  The Sunnah is alive, Khilafa on the rise. The flag of tauheed shining bright before our eyes. We are men of Allah, just as you love your life, we are soldiers that fight in the day and the night (repeat).”

End

—————————

Jihadwatch wrote the following in July alerting to future threats for France, they stated,

“ISIS’ official media wing in Syria’s Hama province published a video Wednesday showing a French-speaking militant shooting a Syrian army prisoner and declaring that the Islamic State “will fill the streets of Paris with dead bodies.”

The ISIS militant addressed his “message” to the French, the international community and “everyone who fights Allah and his prophet,” proclaiming that the Islamic State loves death “like you love life.”

aMinion tweeted to remind me of how IS operates as follows:-

standard procedure:

1. Warn

2. Execute operation

3. Issue audio/press release

4. Release video

5. Detailed article in Dabiq

Mystek Media Labs tweeted,

ISIS announces with the hashtag #باريس_تشتعل that will attack major cities including Rome, London and Washington

and

Smells like burnt croissants #ParisBlasts 

Responses to the attacks

Playing outside Bataclan (Independent)

The people of Paris expressed their horror and grief and tried to find ways to express solidarity. Some opened their homes to those stranded in city offering shelter for the night and taxi drivers turned off their meters. The Independent reported, “someone just cycled to the Bataclan in Paris to play ‘Imagine’ on the piano”. Hollande announced 3 days of national morning for what has been described as the “worst peacetime attack in France’s history”.

BBC reported that David Cameron offered his thoughts and prayers to the French people saying, “we will do whatever we can to help” and will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra. There will also be an urgent safety review, borders tightened with more security at public events.

Victims

Valentin Ribet (Image Daily Mail)

One Briton is confirmed dead in the attack. He was named by the Daily Mail as “Valentin Ribet studied at Business law at the London School of Economics (LSE)  and had been working in the Paris office of an an international law firm.”  Family and friends used the hashtag #rechercheParis on Twitter to try to locate loved ones.

 Persons missing after the attacks (Image via Debora Krasniki )

Moroccan World posted information regarding a newly wed couple from the country,

“we just learned that one my cousins was a victim in the #Paris attack. A newly wed (…..) passed away while his wife received 3 shots and is in critical condition in the hospital,” the victim’s cousin said on his page on Saturday night.

CBS named Nohemi Gonzalez, 23 a student from California State University Long Beach. She was a junior studying design and was attending a semester abroad program at Strate College of Design.

For more stories on the victims and missing see following link,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3317776/Paris-attack-sees-150-dead-Eagles-Death-Metal-concert-hostages-killed.html

President Barak Obama also offered support declaring, “this is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share. Full statement can be read on the following link,

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/13/statement-president-situation-paris

Khoder Soueid, Graduate of the Islamic university of Madinah gave the following response,

Others had a very different reaction. A mock image of Hollande about to be executed on the Champs Elysee in front of a group of IS militants including Jihadi John (alleged to have been hit in a recent drone strike) was posted on Twitter with the words,

 supporters portraying the allegedly killed #JihadiJohn is executing #France President Hollande in #Paris..

(Note, Mock image)

Jahan Mahmood, media commentator said,

“Innocent civilians once again caught up in a war the west has only helped to further intensify. Humanity I’ll tell you what humanity is, recognizing your faults, apologizing, not interfering in the affairs of other nations so that they don’t feel the need to return the pain. Why do we condemn the violence of others and not recognize our own. There is brutality on both sides of the divide and such acts will not stop until we address the root causes. Unfortunately the victims will always be civilians”

Mahsudee Archer

Listen! Did Ur claim of #JihadiJohn being killed bring any change? No! Nw celebrate his shahada with blood as alcohol #Paris #ParisAttacks

Others posted an image of the Eiffel Tower with a black flag on top.

Dey Ley

I give my thoughts to each and every one of the victims and they’re families in Paris. I hope beyond hope that there will not be a backlash on innocent Muslims and that we can work together to eradicate the scum that perpetrate these heinous crimes..

H Harlem Haleem 

amazing isn’t it, replace “Paris” with “Damascus” or “Baghdad” & its not even news, but Paris or London = 2 months headlines

Hilary Clinton

“We’re not at war with Islam…we’re at war with violent extremism.” —Hillary

Green Fighter 

if we count only previous month afghan have 50+ drone victim, assad killed 80+ in abu kamal town previous week, no one cares.

Mhairi Black MP

All terrorism is only ever an act of pointless violence, fear and cowardice. Thoughts are with all those affected by the events in Paris.

Majid Freeman, “Please pray for the thousands of innocent Muslims in Europe who will start apologising for the Paris attacks they did not commit / know about.” He also pointed out, “ISIS have killed more MUSLIMS than non-Muslims You just don’t hear about it as the media don’t see Muslim lives as valuable as non-Muslims!” Freeman tweeted the following,

Innocent civilians in #Syria who r also being killed have a msg for the world #ParisAttacks No to #SelectiveOutrage

(Image via Majid Freeman)

 The attackers

Paris prosecutor, Francois Molins spoke to media confirming that 129 people were dead, numbers may rise and more than 350 persons have been wounded. First indications are that the attacks are the work of 3 assault teams.

The Guardian published the following updates.

• Police have raided a Brussels neighbourhood where three of the attackers are believed to have lived, and made a number of arrests.

• One of the attackers at the Bataclan is understood to be a 30-year-old French national, who was known to French police because of links to Islamic radicals.

• A Syrian and an Egyptian passport were found on the bodies of the two suicide bombers who targeted the Stade de France.

• The Syrian passport belonged to a refugee who passed through Greece, according to a Greek minister.

• German authorities say they have ‘reasonable grounds to believe’a man arrested in Bavaria earlier this month, in a car loaded with explosives, may be linked to the Paris attacks.

——————-

Israel claimed to have passed on intelligence related to the attackers,

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.686048

First attacker identified

Al Jazeera reported,

“French police have identified the first attacker involved in a series of assaults across Paris, which left at least 129 people dead and wounded hundreds more.

Omar Ismail Mostefai was a 29-year-old Paris native whose detached finger was found overnight at the Bataclan concert hall, the scene of the bloodiest attack, the AFP news agency said.

The French citizen had been known to police for his alleged links to armed groups but had not been previously linked to violent activities.”

There was also a security alert at Gatwick with one arrest made of a French national who is alleged to have ditched what appears to be a firearm into a bin.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-34821392

Vigil for Victims

Twenty-four hours after the attacks, crowds gathered to reclaim the streets of Paris to attend candlelit vigils and mourn their dead. They sang La Marseillaise (national anthem), laid flowers and changed Facebook profile photos to the Tricolore (French flag).

Charlotte Farhan, Editor in Chief of ASLI magazine had the following to say,

“I won’t be changing my profile to the French flag even though I am French and from Paris. The reason for this is that if I did this for only Paris this would be wrong. If I did this for every attack on the world, I would have to change my profile everyday several times a day. My heart is with the world, no borders, no hierarchy, I hold every human’s life with value who is attacked by extremist beliefs whether they are based on religion, prejudice or profit! Don’t be part of the “us and them” mentality which the war mongers want you to do”

Links 

“Our terrorism double standard: After Paris, let’s stop blaming Muslims and take a hard look at ourselves”

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/14/our_terrorism_double_standard_after_paris_lets_stop_blaming_muslims_and_take_a_hard_look_at_ourselves/

“NATO’s turn to attack”

NATO’s Turn to Attack

“France: Charlie Hebdo attack and hypocrisy on freedom of information”

https://activist1.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/france-charlie-hebdo-attack-and-hypocrisy-on-freedom-of-expression/

“France: Charlie Hebdo, why should I keep apologising”

https://activist1.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/france-charlie-hebdo-why-should-i-be-asked-to-keep-apologising/

“France: Four arrested after beheading and attack at chemical factory near Lyons”

https://activist1.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/france-four-arrested-after-beheading-and-attack-at-chemical-factory-near-lyons/

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. (She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”)

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. (She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”)

About 4 days earlier clashes took place between Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate and armed Daesh fighters in northern parts of Zabul province, lasting for about 24 hours. The Islamic Emirate would like to present the following brief clarification concerning the incident.
1. Contradictory to media propaganda and interpretation, this clash was not some sort of infighting between Islamic Emirate nor was it an operation by Taliban against its local rivals. Rather the fighting occurred against those elements claiming to be fighters of Daesh who heaped allegations of rebellion, proxy and other hideous labels upon the Islamic Emirate and called the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate apostates. These elements had also previously rebelled against the Islamic Emirate in Nangarhar and caused heavy damage to the Mujahideen and civilians alike:
These fighters who were openly shouting the slogans of Daesh for the past several months and ruled tyrannically upon the locals and Mujahideen under these slogans, carried out kidnappings of innocent people for money and other purposes, usurped local homes and property, carried out extra-judicial killings, kidnapped women and children of Muslims and used these women as slave concubines and also committed many other clear violations of Shariah and detrimental activities to the extent that they began pushing the local population towards a dangerous ethnic, sectarian war. They committed these acts all the while rebuffing the preventative petitions forwarded by the Islamic Emirate, local scholars and elders, only responding to the reconciliatory delegations sent by the Islamic Emirate by saying that you are rebels for not pledging allegiance to Daesh and we shall not listen to your advices. This state of affair finally pushed the situation towards armed conflict.

2. The Islamic Emirate in cooperation with the local Ulama and elders spent a lot of energy for a protracted period of time to try and resolve the issue at hand and over the past two and a half months dispatched a powerful competent delegation consisting of respected scholars, Jihadi commanders and several high ranking officials tasked with handling the situation. And similarly the respected scholars, elders and the influential people of Zabul tried tirelessly to prevent these elements from transgression and unlawful acts and return them to following the rules of Islamic Emirate or guidance of Islam as a whole however these people who claimed to be working under the orders of Daesh arrogantly rejected all these reconciliatory efforts.

3. The fighting was not against those elements that claim to be a rival faction within the Emirate. There is no other person present in these areas claiming a separate Emirate other than Mansoor Dadullah. It was only Mansoor Dadullah who allied with Daesh elements to strengthen in powerbase. After the Islamic Emirate gave up on getting Daesh elements to understand, it launched separate parallel efforts to try and get Mansoor Dadullah to break ties with Daesh but after repeated negotiations and breaking covenants, he remained with Daesh and begun open enmity with the Islamic Emirate. This despite the fact that the Islamic Emirate has been providing all types of aid to his family over the past several years and has personally given him monetary aid on many occasions and presented him with various leadership positions which he rejected.

4. The goal and philosophy behind the rise and establishment of Islamic Emirate was to safeguard the nation from oppression, transgression, factionalism, corruption and sedition and based on the order of Allah Almighty combat the crimes of murderers, thieves, kidnappers and tyrants.
Our late leader, Amir ul Mumineen Mullah Muhammad Umar Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him), laid the foundations of Islamic Emirate some twenty odd years ago for these very goals; to withhold the hand of the oppressor from the oppressed, to combat corruption, sedition, civil war, anarchy and all types of chaos and anti-Islamic activities and furnish this believing nation with a serine life. The Islamic Emirate, as a Shariah-based system, is committed to these religious obligations and will oppose every entity without discrimination which seeks to step upon the rights of human beings and Shariah regulations.
The Islamic Emirate, learning from the history of Islam as well as the current and past experiences of our homeland, believes that if such sedition is not combated in its proper time than the situation will spiral to the chaotic period of factionalism of the 90s and Allah forbid, all the fruits of Jihad, immigration and sacrifices for an Islamic system of our nation will be lost. The Islamic Emirate, in the light of Shariah law and in accordance with the edict of the scholars, considers it its religious obligation to eliminate all such sedition before they take root.

5. The Islamic Emirate, as a last resort, carefully designed the military operation in order to nip in the bud this fitnah in accordance with the documented, substantiated and powerful edict issued by renowned scholars of the country. It dispatched its most battle hardened and experienced Mujahideen to conduct these operations so that it is executed properly with negligible losses. These operations were only carried out by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate and reports about participation by others are absolutely baseless.

6. The propaganda by international media outlets concerning the Zabul incident, length of fighting and casualty numbers in these operations are far less than publicized. The casualties on both sides during the fighting are less than expected before the operation. Most of the opposition fighters surrendered after brief altercation and are currently living with their families in a secure area under the surveillance of Mujahideen. The situation in the area has returned to normal, Allah Almighty has easily brought the stand-off to an end and closed the doors on sedition. There is currently no fighting in the area nor are there any factors of fighting remaining.

7. The businessmen and other innocent civilians kidnapped from Ghazni, Nangarhar and other provinces and held with the Daeshis have all been freed by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate. The Kabul intelligence apparatus is falsely claiming that they have freed the detainees, something which they failed to do over the course of the entire year.

8. The propaganda by some media outlets that a martyrdom attack has targeted the Islamic Emirate’s governor for Zabul, the head of military battalion and other Mujahideen and has caused them losses are also untrue. Neither has any such incident taken place nor has any official of the Islamic Emirate been harmed in the fighting.

9. Some malicious circles are spreading rumors that fighting is still ongoing in the area even though it ended in the first 24 hour period, the entire area came under the control of Islamic Emirate and the casualties were also far less than publicized by the media therefore it is hoped that the sincere Muslims should not become victims of enemy propaganda.

10. All the officials, respected scholars, writers and analysts of the Islamic Emirate must exert efforts to clarify this issue to the ordinary Muslims, work on their mindsets and keep the ordinary Muslims united and aware about the latest conspiracies of the enemies in these sensitive times.
Wasalam

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
27/01/1437 Hijri Lunar
20/08/1394 Hijri Solar 11/11/2015 Gregorian

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. (She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”)

Aftermath of bombing (Image via Zahri Abbas)

Islamic State (IS) claim responsibility for a double bombing which targeted the Shia communities in the district of Burj al-Barajneh, southern Beirut, Lebanon. It is an area associated with Hezbollah whom IS regard as “apostates” and containing a large Palestinian refugee camp. One bomber used a motorbike loaded with explosives, minutes later a second bomber wearing a suicide vest targeted first responders on the scene. According to security services the body of a third person was found but was killed before he could detonate explosives. The IS claim could not be independently verified. At least 37 people have been killed and 181 wounded according to officials in the region.

IS statement

Hezbollah MP Bilal Farhat told AP, “They targeted civilians, worshippers, women and the elderly. It only targeted those innocent people. This is a Satanic terrorist act, carried out by apostates.”

Rana Harbi who describes herself as a pro-resistance Lebanese journalist called the bombers cowards saying, “walking into a residential area & blowing yourselves up … Go to the battlefield and fight our men”. She tweeted a series of photos of the victims, as follows,

Adel Tormos, Real life hero He stopped the suicide bomber from entering the mosque. He has 2 kids. #BourjAlBarajneh

Our martyrs are not numbers: Hussein & his wife were killed today in #BourjAlBarajneh. Their son is injured #Lebanon

Haidar is alone now. Both of his parents died today in #BourjAlBarajneh.

Rawan, a beautiful & smart school teacher & master’s student RIP #BourjAlBarajneh

Bilal, a very hard worker. RIP #BourjAlBarajneh

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated that Friday will be observed as a day of a day of mourning for the victims condemning the attacks as “unjustifiable” and called on Lebanon’s rival factions to unite against “plans to create strife”.

The American Lebanese University tweeted

We are greatly saddened by the aftermath of today’s explosion in southern Beirut. LAU will be closed on Friday, November 13.

IS also has its eye on attacking Russia soon according to a new video release from Al-Hayat Media wing which included the chants, “soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean” according to SITE. IS threat is in retaliation for Russian bombing of Syria killing both fighters and devastating civilian areas. They operate a “like for like” policy as seen in many of their videos. IS recently claimed responsibility for downing a plane carrying tourists from Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt where IS is fighting security forces in Sinai, back to Russia

 Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. (She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”)