Thursday, June 16, 2016

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 16, 2016



Joseph Ax, Reuters: Wolf dens, not lone wolves, the norm in U.S. Islamic State plots

If Omar Mateen acted alone in plotting the massacre of 49 people at Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub, he would be the exception rather than the rule in U.S. cases involving suspected Islamic State supporters.

Sunday's worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history prompted renewed warnings from officials of "lone wolf" attackers, a term that commonly invokes images of isolated individuals, radicalized online by violent propaganda and plotting alone.

But a Reuters review of the approximately 90 Islamic State court cases brought by the Department of Justice since 2014 found that three-quarters of those charged were alleged to be part of a group of anywhere from two to more than 10 co-conspirators who met in person to discuss their plans.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- June 16, 2016

What Obama Actually Thinks About Radical Islam -- Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic

CIA: Islamic State now bigger than al Qaeda at its height -- Washington Examiner

At the Gates of Fallujah -- Ambassador Ryan Crocker, The Cipher Brief

The Danger of Killing Islamic State's Caliph -- Tobin Harshaw, Bloomberg

What America Keeps Getting Wrong in the Middle East -- Chas Freeman, National Interest

Has the West Forgotten Ukraine? -- Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Europe

The world is on hold over the EU referendum. Why have we failed to notice? -- Mary Dejevsky, The Independent

In febrile UK referendum, a brutal murder -- Peter Apps, Reuters

NATO's Next Act: How to Handle Russia and Other Threats -- Philip M. Breedlove, Foreign Affairs

NATO Summit 2016: Alliance Members Must Commit to Increased Defense Spending -- Daniel Kochis and Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation

Is Paris burning? Recurring violence dogs France's image -- Gina Doggett, AFP

Can Venezuela Be Helped Off the Ledge? -- david Ignatius, Washington Post

The Coming Constitutional Crisis Over Hillary Clinton’s EmailGate -- John R. Schindler, Observer

Facing Some Truths Behind the Florida Massacre -- George Friedman, Geopoltiical Futures

Where Do Flags Come From? -- Ben Nadler, The Atlantic

4 comments:

RRH said...


This would have been disastrous. For all of us.



federal-politics/federal-election-2016/tony-abbotts-office-floated-sending-australian-troops-into-ukraine-conflict-defence-expert-claims-20160612-gphbab.html


http://johnhelmer.net/?p=15859#more-15859

Jay Farquharson said...

Just for the Ozzies,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/18/ukrainian-soldiers-share-horrors-of-debaltseve-battle-after-stinging-defeat

The peak of 9,000 troops wound'nt have had much impact, as unlike Afghanistan or Iraq, the Seperatists actually had an army,

And there were 38,000 Russian tropps just across the Border.

RRH said...

It would have been the mother of all buttwhoopins but it could have got out of hand in a big way. Stupid ideas tend to do that.

Jay Farquharson said...

Germany started to pull the plug on the "epic stupid idea" when they pulled their bases and troops.

That would have force the US/Dutch/Australians to operate ( particularly air assets) from inside Ukraine. That pretty much killed the stupid idea, as there would have been no NATO soil to provide both safety and a tripwire.

The level of ignorance, hubris and stupidity, is how ever stunning.