Iraq Defeated ISIS, but the Battle Against Extremism Rages On

The military campaign against the Islamic State is almost over. But now, locals and politicians alike say, the Iraqi government must work to ensure they cannot return to recruit more followers.

Mustafa Habib
By Mustafa Habib
A suspected ISIS fighter sits in a basement as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, July 3, 2017. (AP/Felipe Dana)

Even as Iraq’s pro-government forces close in on Rawa, one of the very last strongholds of the extremist group known as the Islamic State, ordinary Iraqis everywhere are wondering where the extremists will turn up next. A series of recent attacks and arrests are cause for concern. In Kirkuk, the headquarters of the Shia Muslim militias in that

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Did Al Qaeda Dupe Trump on Syrian Chemical Attack?

Buried deep inside a new U.N. report is evidence that could exonerate the Syrian government in the April 4 sarin atrocity and make President Trump look like an Al Qaeda dupe.

Robert Parry
By Robert Parry
President Donald Trump walks from the podium after speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday, April 6, 2017, after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria. (AP/Alex Brandon)

(Analysis) -- A new United Nations-sponsored report on the April 4 sarin incident in an Al Qaeda-controlled town in Syria blames Bashar al-Assad’s government for the atrocity, but the report contains evidence deep inside its “Annex II” that would prove Assad’s innocence. Still, the Joint Investigative Mechanism [JIM], a joint project of the U.N.

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Former CIA Analyst: CIA Using Bin Laden Files To Deceive Public On Iran

CIA insider Ned Price says the latest bin Laden files are being deceitfully crafted to sell a narrative that will be used to convince the public on regime change in Iran.

ZeroHedge.com
By ZeroHedge.com
This undated file photo shows al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan. A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts by administration officials, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him. (AP Photo)

An intelligence insider is warning the public about this latest CIA mass release of purported Osama Bin Laden files from devices found in the Abbottabad, Pakistan compound, saying that it has a specific political agenda with content that has been carefully and selectively published by the CIA in order to manipulate the public. This surprising

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US Govt-Funded Think Tank Praises “Moderate” Al Qaeda

With al Qaeda now seen by the U.S. as likely the only group in Syria “militarily capable of challenging the Assad regime’s grip on power, the U.S. is in the uncomfortable position of having to rehabilitate 9/11 and current terrorists into supportable “moderates.”

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb

Last week, Foreign Affairs, self-described as the “leading magazine for analysis and debate of foreign policy,” published an article titled “The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda.” The piece takes note of the fact that al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, long known as Jabhat al-Nusra or al-Nusra Front, changed its names numerous times in order to present itself as

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Following ISIS Defeat, DHS Warns ISIS, al-Qaeda Planning ‘9/11-Style’ Attack

“The terrorist organizations, be it ISIS or Al-Qaeda or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that.”

ZeroHedge.com
By ZeroHedge.com
Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered American in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo)

Nothing distracts like fear. And today, former DHS chief Elaine Duke invoked one of the most traumatic episodes in US history to remind complacent Americans that al-Qaeda and ISIS are still out there, plotting deadly terror attacks meant to kill as many American civilians as possible. With the Islamic State in retreat following the surrender of

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U.S. Troop Deployment To Yemen Has Little To Do With Al-Qaeda

The U.S., which has all but ignored the catastrophic humanitarian aspects of the Yemeni conflict, is now stepping up its involvement by sending troops to the war-torn nation. Masked as an extension of the fight against al-Qaeda, the deployment is about the Saudis, Iran, and building U.S. regional power.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
U.S. and Saudi troops engage in a joint training exercise in Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon announced last Friday that, for the first time, U.S. boots are officially on the ground on Yemen. (U.S. Army Photo)

Despite facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in decades in the Middle East, the U.S. has remained decidedly silent on the critical situation in Yemen. Washington’s silence, however, is hardly surprising, given that the United States has supported the Saudi-led war against the Yemeni Houthi movement since it began in early 2015,

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