When Russia wanted the US to sit up and take notice last April it sent tanks towards the Ukrainian border. The show of force worked: President Joe Biden called Russia’s Vladimir Putin and in June the two men met in Geneva. But whatever they agreed about Ukraine at their summit, something has since gone awry. In recent weeks, Russian tanks have been moving west towards Ukraine once again, prompting fresh, even starker warnings from US intelligence circles that a cross-border offensive could be on the cards. Moscow insists that’s “anti-Russian” hysteria, and most analysts agree there’s no rationale for Russia openly entering — and massively escalating — the conflict in Ukraine, where it backs separatist forces but always denies a direct role. Instead, they see the Kremlin sending a message that it’s ready to defend its “red lines” on Ukraine: above all, that it must not join Nato. “I think for Putin it’s really important. He thinks the West has begun giving Ukraine’s elite hope about joining Nato,” political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya at R.Politik told the BBC.
War & Terrorism
DOJ indictment uncovers Iranian cyberwafare scheme to defeat President Trump. In 2007, Joe Biden became one of only 22 senators to vote against designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The IRGC is Iran’s central terror hub, organizing, funding, and training terrorists around the region and the world. Including terrorists who murdered Americans. Biden was so proud of his IRGC vote that he used it to attack Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for being insufficiently pro-Iran, and then brought it up during the Democrat debate. After Senator Mike Gravel defended two of the IRGC’s terror groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, contending, “these people are fighting for their rights”, Biden joined in with colleague, claiming that the “moment that declaration was made, every one of our friends, from Iraq to Pakistan, felt they had to distance themselves from us because it appears to be a war on Islam.” The IRGC clearly appreciated Biden’s support and tried to pay it forward in the 2020 election. Unlike most election interference news, the DOJ’s latest announcement has received very little media coverage because the interference was coming out of Iran and was helping Biden.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) on Thursday demanded that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas fire the Palestinian governor of Jenin. The demand came in response to statements attributed to the governor, Akram Rajoub, concerning the widespread presence of gunmen and illegal weapons in Jenin and its surroundings. The call came amid increasing scenes of anarchy and lawlessness in the city and nearby villages and towns, in addition to the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of gunmen belonging to various armed groups and gangs. […] Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called on the PA leadership to apologize for Rajoub’s remarks and to dismiss him from the position of governor of Jenin. Qassem accused the governor of “insulting the people of Jenin, its martyrs, and its resistance.” The Hamas official added, “We are proud of the city of Jenin and its camp, which represents a symbol of the ongoing Palestinian resistance, daily clashes with the occupation and the endless sacrifices of martyrs, wounded and prisoners.” PIJ official Khader Adnan also called for the firing of Rajoub. According to Adnan, the PA security forces are responsible for the “security chaos” in the Jenin area.
On November 14, 2021, a man detonated an improvised explosive device near the main entrance of Liverpool Women’s Hospital in England. Only he died, though the taxi driver who had just dropped him off was also injured. Although he botched it, investigators concluded that his was a terrorist attack that was planned months in advance. Emad al-Swealmeen, 32, the would-be terrorist in question, was a born Muslim who arrived in the UK in 2014 and applied for asylum by claiming he was a Syrian refugee. It turned out he was from Iraq or Jordan, and his asylum application was rejected. Soon thereafter, Emad formally converted to Christianity; in 2015 he was baptized, and in 2017 confirmed, at Liverpool Cathedral. Although it is common for Muslim migrants to pretend to be Christian in order to receive asylum — based on their projected but erroneous belief that Western nations will naturally be more welcoming of Christians — those Christians close to him argue that his conversion was genuine. […] Members of the congregation at Emmanuel Church in Fazakerley, Liverpool, which Al Swealmeen attended from 2017 to 2019, said he had been “a committed Christian” who baked for church cake sales.
Joe Biden’s State Department may be expunging a far-left terrorist organization of its sins. On Tuesday, reports claim the State Department notified Congress that it’s removing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from America’s list of foreign terrorist organization. The agency’s spokesperson, Ned Price, downplayed the reports by saying the decision comes in celebration of the group’s efforts to keep the peace with the Colombian after reaching a peace agreement five years ago. FARC was established in 1964 amid lingering cleavages from the 10-year civil war ending in 1958, which is referred to as La Violencia. FARC has been linked to mass killings, kidnappings and displacement of millions of Colombians who they deemed political dissidents. Additionally, researchers have linked the left-wing group to the Colombian drug trade and claim they became heavily involved in 1992. After decades of violence, FARC and the Colombian government began touch-and-go peace talks beginning in 1998 crystallizing in 2016 with a ceasefire and surrendering of arms. Since then, the group has claimed to be a primarily political body and vows to uphold their end of the peace agreement.
The Australian government said the militant group poses a “real” and “credible” threat to country. The group is already banned in the US, Israel, and Germany. Australia said on Wednesday it intended to list all of Hezbollah as a “terrorist organization,” becoming the latest country in the world to ban the Iran-backed Shiite group. Several Western governments have designated the group as a terrorist organization. But some have been reluctant to sanction its political wing, fearing it could complicate ties with Lebanon, where the group wields considerable influence. Australia’s decision means membership of the organization or providing funding for it will now be a criminal offense in the country, which has a large Lebanese community. “The government has zero-tolerance for violence, and there is no cause — religious or political — that can justify killing innocent people,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in a statement. Hezbollah “continues to threaten terrorist attacks and provide support to terrorist organizations” and poses a “real” and “credible” threat to Australia, she said. Canberra also extended the ban on an existing ban on armed units of Hezbollah, which has been in place since 2003.