Handing Over Iraq to the Antichrist

Fighting Daesh: a test for US-Iraq relations?
The writer is a Senior Research Fellow at Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi

Block American citizens from entering our country! This was echoed in the political circles of Iraq soon after US President Donald Trump’s executive order of January 2017. The order banned travel of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries including Iraq to the US. The Iraqi legislators in a tit-for-tat move voted to demand their government for a retaliatory measure. The proposal was to bar American citizens from entering Iraq if the US did not withdraw the travel ban against Iraqi travelers.

Though Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi refused to strike back, the request by the Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee to deal reciprocally in ‘all’ issues with the US is enough for Washington to contemplate over its policy towards Iraq. The reasons are numerous. It is the same parliament which US reinstated after its Iraq invasion of 2003. Within a few years of its re-establishment, instead of being under US influence, many powerful lawmakers are urging their government to take measures against Americans. In spite of the fact that Washington is providing considerable aid, arms and training to Iraqi soldiers in their tough battle of Mosul, such criticism shows the resentment against Trump’s decision. It was taken as an insult by Iraqis who are sacrificing their lives for battle against terrorism.

The travel ban order also strengthened the anti-US narrative of prominent anti-American forces. Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential cleric, swiftly issued a statement on his website saying: “It would be arrogant for you to enter freely Iraq [sic] and other countries while barring them the entrance to your country … and therefore you should get your nationals out”. Similarly, Iraq’s pro-government Popular Mobilisation Forces, Hashd al-Sha’abi, urged the government not just to stop the entrance of Americans but also send back US citizens already present in Iraq. Troops of Hashd al-Sha’abi are fighting along with Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the battle to recapture the northern city of Mosul. Hashd fighters have played an instrumental role in the liberation of city of Tikrit, Fallujah city in the western province of al-Anbar and many other areas in Iraq. Hence, Hashd is considered a vital and powerful voice.

For much of the worry of Washington, such a move has provided its rival Tehran another opening to influence Baghdad. According to Dr Renad Mansour, “those that closely aligned with Iran might think this is a good idea – an opportunity to remove American influence from Iraq once and for all.”

Iran is already providing key advice to Iraq. Iranian generals are on the frontlines in the war against Daesh and Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria. When Daesh reached near the border of Kurdistan, Iran was the first to provide aid to Kurds. US and the Western supplies arrived later. Iran’s military advisors are deeply involved in planning the battles against terrorist groups but keeping Iran’s national interest in mind. For example, the assault on Mosul was planned by the US keeping a western flank open to allow militants an escape to Syria. However, that could strengthen Syrian militants who were locked in a tough fight in Aleppo against forces of Bashar al-Assad, another ally of Iran.

Haider al-Abadi after 11 days of Mosul offensive moved Hashd to block this western escape route. It is believed that other than Iran and Russia, France – an opponent of Assad – was also not willing to allow terrorists to flee. French President Francois Hollande, vary of the situation, said that amid the people fleeing from Mosul, hundreds of terrorists linked to Paris and Brussels attacks would try to enter Raqqa.

US-Iraq relations have a history of oscillating — from being cordial to tense. The recent American decision to send its advisers, soldiers and aid to Iraq in the wake of Daesh’s invasion has regained the trust of Iraqi people and its leadership. However, Trump’s announcement destroyed this trust. The delicate Iraq-US relations have now taken a nosedive. Trump’s revised executive order of March 2017, excluding Iraq from travel ban, may be an attempt to regain the trust.

Has US influence started eroding from Iraq? This would be clear with the passage of time and with the changing ground situation in Mosul. The Iraqi forces have reached close to west Mosul. Its jets have recently attacked terrorist positions inside neighbouring Syria for the first time, in ‘complete coordination’ with Damascus. Travel ban or any other American decision of this sort, as lawyer Thomas Donovan rightly puts, would make Americans more vulnerable.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2017

The New Korean Regime

Defector: North Korea's next nuclear test could lead to collapse

By Elizabeth Shim 
March 14, 2017 at 7:59 AM

March 14 (UPI) -- The senior North Korea diplomat who defected to the South from Pyongyang's Embassy in London said Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambitions could bring about state collapse.

Thae Yong-ho, who recently compared Kim to the Roman emperor Nero, said North Korea is headed down a dangerous path as it seeks recognition as a nuclear weapons state like "India or Pakistan," Voice of America reported Tuesday.

"The Kim Jong Un regime will never give up nuclear weapons," Thae said.

The high-profile defector added North Korea could "fall apart" if the regime decides to conduct a major nuclear test at its Punggye-ri nuclear site, where Pyongyang conducts tests of weapons of mass destruction.

Recent satellite images show tunnel digging continues at the site, which lies below the 800-meter Mount Mantap.

According to 38 North, the activity indicates North Korea may be prepared to conduct additional underground nuclear tests.

Thae said Tuesday the site is located on a road that connects Pyongyang to Hamgyong Province, and that "roads and railways that go up north pass by the nuclear test site."

"If a large explosion takes place and the area becomes contaminated with radiation while Pyongyang loses control of the border region of North Hamgyong Province, mass defections could take place," Thae said.

A nuclear failure in a "small country like North Korea" could lead to disaster, the defector said, adding China and the international community must be aware of the danger.

Thae also said Kim Jong Un is trying to achieve parity with South Korea's relatively more powerful military with his nuclear weapons program.

In an annual ranking of militaries around the world, South Korea troops ranked the 11th most powerful in 2016, while North Korea's military strength ranked 25th in the survey by website Global Firepower.

The Bowls of Wrath (Revelation 15:2)

The Colonel, Dirty Bombs And £240m Of Uranium
 
12:33, UK, Wednesday 07 October 2015

Moldovan police, aided by the FBI, spent six years penetrating the murky world of Russian-linked gangs offering lethal nuclear material to terrorists.

Featuring shadowy kingpins, Russian security service connections, wiretaps woven into fabric and secret meetings to exchange vials of radioactive material, their investigation reads like a script for counter-terrorism thriller 24.

‘Enough Caesium to Contaminate Several City Blocks‘

In an exclusive nightclub in the Moldovan capital, arms smuggler Valentin Grossu offered his terms: ‎€2.5m for enough radioactive caesium to contaminate several city blocks.

“You can make a dirty bomb, which would be perfect for the Islamic State,” he said. “If you have a connection with them, the business will go smoothly.”

Grossu said his supplier was a retired FSB officer with a reputation for brutality. If there was any trouble, he warned an informant: “They will put all of us against the wall and shoot us.”


The gang – claiming to have a cache of caesium 137 suitable for making a dirty bomb – insisted the customer proved their seriousness by first purchasing less potent radioactive material.

Grossu and two other men were arrested on February 19 – but the suspected FSB officer and the rest of the caesium vanished.

The US-Hating Middleman

Former KGB informant Teodor Chetrus was looking for a Middle Eastern buyer for highly-enriched uranium, which could be used to make a nuclear bomb.

Moldovan police officer Constantin Malic said Chetrus held on to a Soviet-era hatred for the West, ranting about how Americans should be annihilated because of the problems they had caused in the Middle East.

“He said multiple times that this substance must have a real buyer from the Islamic states to make a dirty bomb,” Malic said.

Smartly-dressed and cautious, Chetrus was well-educated but lived in a dilapidated farmhouse in a small village on Moldova’s border with Ukraine.

He met with a police informant, who wore a recording device hidden in a different piece of clothing each time.

He said he could offer a free sample of plutonium for a “serious” buyer – potentially enough to make a dirty bomb.

At each meeting Malic was watching from the other side of the road – disguised as a migrant selling fruit and grain from a van.

The Colonel And The Deal For £240m Uranium

Chetrus was working for Alexandr Agheenco, aka “The Colonel,” who Moldovan police believe is an officer with the KGB’s successor organisation, the FSB.

He masterminded the bomb-grade uranium deal from his base in Trans-Dniester, a breakaway republic beyond the reach of Moldovan police.

An agreement was reached to supply an astonishing £240m of uranium – around a fifth of the amount used in the Hiroshima atomic bomb – starting with a small sample for £240,000.

A handover was arranged in Chisinau involving a corrupt police officer and The Colonel’s wife Galina, who deposited a 10g sample of the uranium in the parked Lexus.

At a bank in the city, Chetrus, accompanied by the informant, counted out €320,000 in a safe deposit box, using a special light to check if the bills were marked.

But when Chetrus handed over the uranium package, police in balaclavas punced, arresting the middleman and the Colonel’s wife.

To the frustration of Malic and his team the early intervention killed off any hope of catching The Colonel and recovering a larger cache of uranium.

The Sudan Connection

A search of Chetrus’ house uncovered plans for a dirty bomb and details of a separate deal to sell nuclear material to a real buyer.

Investigators found contracts made out to a Sudanese doctor named Yosif Faisal Ibrahim for attack helicopters and armoured personnel carriers.

There was a copy of Ibrahim’s passport, and evidence that Chetrus was trying to help him obtain a Moldovan visa. Skype messages suggested he was interested in uranium and the dirty bomb plans.
The deal was interrupted by the sting, but it looked like it was well advanced. A lawyer working with the criminal ring had even travelled to Sudan, officials said.

But authorities say they could not determine who was behind Ibrahim or why he was seeking material for a nuclear bomb.