Iraq Civil War: Death Toll In June At 2000

Iraqi policemen take their positions during an intensive security deployment on the al-Falahat bridge north of Baghdad June 30, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Saad

Nearly 2,000 Killed As US Bolsters Iraq Forces -- Orange.co.uk/SKY News

The US is sending about 200 extra troops to Iraq, along with helicopters and drone aircraft, after militants declared an Islamic state in areas under their control.

The latest deployment will mean nearly 800 US soldiers have returned to Iraq to help train local forces, protect the embassy in Baghdad and protect Americans as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters continue to control much of the north and west of the country.

President Barack Obama has ruled out sending combat troops back to the country but has admitted the soldiers being sent will be equipped to fight.

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Update: Iraq crisis: Death toll in June at 2000, highest since May 2007 -- First Post

My Comment: I would wager that these declared numbers are probably on the "low end".

Update #2: More than 2,400 killed in Iraq in June, highest monthly toll since 2007 -- RT

U.S. To Send More Troops To Iraq

U.S. Sends More Troops To Iraq -- CNN

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- The United States has increased its military presence in Iraq, ordering 300 more troops to the violence-ravaged nation, the Pentagon announced Monday.

ISIS militants have "continued to pose a legitimate threat to Baghdad and its environs," a U.S. official told CNN. "We have seen them reinforce themselves around Baghdad enough to convince us more troops was the prudent thing to do."

The new troops, 200 of whom arrived Sunday and Monday, will provide security for the U.S. Embassy, the Baghdad airport and other facilities in Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.

The deployment includes "a detachment of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, which will bolster airfield and travel route security," Kirby said in a written statement.

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More News On Reports That The U.S. Is Sending More Troops To Iraq

US Sending 300 More US Troops to Iraq -- ABC News/AP
U.S. sends 300 more troops to Iraq over security concerns -- Reuters
300 More U.S. Troops Going to Iraq to Protect Americans -- NBC News
Obama Orders 200 More Troops to Iraq to Protect U.S. Property, Citizens -- WSJ
Obama sends up to 200 more troops to Iraq -- USA Today
Obama sending 200 American troops to Iraq to secure US Embassy, airport -- FOX News
US to deploy more troops to Iraq -- Al Jazeera
White House announces an additional 200 troops to Iraq -- RT
Obama sending additional troops to Iraq to safeguard US embassy -- The Guardian
US bolsters Iraq troop presence to protect embassy, assess ISIS threat -- Deutsche Welle
480 U.S. troops now in Baghdad as officials move to secure access to airport -- McClatchy News

Former Top U.S. Commander In Iraq Is Critical Blames The Obama Administartion, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki, And ISIS For The Rise Of ISIS

ISIS fighters in Fallujah, Iraq (REUTERS/Stringer)

Fmr. Top Iraq Commander: ‘Civil War in Iraq Has Already Begun’ -- Washington Free Beacon

Obama-backing of ‘criminal’ Maliki gov’t helped ISIL rise

A former top U.S. commander in Iraq claims that the Obama administration and the State Department have been running an “information deception campaign” aimed at covering up crimes and violent acts committed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The Obama administration’s efforts to protect and defend the Maliki government created the conditions allowing the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) to take hold in Iraq, where a “civil war” has “already begun,” according to the former U.S. commander Col. Wesley Martin.

Martin, who served as the senior antiterrorism and force protection officer for all Iraqi coalition forces, told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview that the White House should be blamed for backing Maliki and fostering the conditions that permitted ISIL to gain support.

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My Comment: There will be an accounting one day on what were the policies and actions that led to the present day disaster in Iraq. I guess this is as good as a start as any.

The TV Series 'Band Of Brothers' Is Now Being Used As A Training Video At Sandhurst

Band Of Brothers Used As Training Video At Sandhurst -- The Telegraph

Scenes from the acclaimed television series are studied by trainees undergoing officer training at Sandhurst

When undergoing the officer training for the British Army, one might be expected to go through rigorous lectures, gruelling drills, and early wake up calls.

But the trainees at Sandhurst are also offered a rather more unusual learning tool: watching Band of Brothers.

Damian Lewis, the British actor and star of the acclaimed television series, said pivotal scenes from Band of Brothers are studied at Sandhurst and its US counterpart West Point.

He disclosed his own nephew was currently studying at the Berkshire training centre and had proclaimed the focus on watching the scenes "quite annoying".

Speaking at the Chalke Valley History Festival, Lewis said he was "unbelievably proud" to have appeared in the ten-part series, which is still influencing combat around the world.

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My Comment: No question about it .... 'Band of Brothers' is a classic. The above video is a "Band of Brothers" documentary.

Latest Edward Snowden NSA Revelation: All But Four Nations Are Subject To NSA Surveillance

Court Gave NSA Broad Leeway In Surveillance, Documents Show -- Washington Post

Virtually no foreign government is off-limits for the National Security Agency, which has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four countries, according to top-secret documents.

The United States has long had broad no-spying arrangements with those four countries — Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — in a group known collectively with the United States as the Five Eyes. But a classified 2010 legal certification and other documents indicate the NSA has been given a far more elastic authority than previously known, one that allows it to intercept through U.S. companies not just the communications of its overseas targets but any communications about its targets as well.

The certification — approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and included among a set of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden — lists 193 countries that would be of valid interest for U.S. intelligence. The certification also permitted the agency to gather intelligence about entities including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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Update #1: All but four nations are subject to NSA surveillance – new Snowden leak -- RT
Update #2: Court Allowed NSA To Spy On All But 4 Countries -- Tech Crunch

My Comment: I suspect that even those four countries that are not under surveillance (Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) .... are actually under some form of surveillance.

Is The U.S. Now Delaying It's Delivery Of F-16s To Iraq

The first F-16 Fighting Falcon for the Iraq Air Force makes its first flight. (Lockheed Martin)

Pentagon: We're Not Slow-Rolling F-16 Sale To Iraq -- Defense News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon pushed back Friday on comments made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki that the US is slow-rolling a sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Baghdad.

“There’s been no slow-rolling,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

Al-Maliki in an interview with BBC Arabic said the US’s “long, very slow way” has delayed the delivery of 36 fighter aircraft. He said Iraq would purchase used fighter jets from Russia and Belarus in the interim to combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, which have taken over cities in northern and western Iraq.

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Update: Unrest in Iraq could delay delivery of US F-16s -- AFP

My Comment:  Since the American contractors who were suppose to maintain these jets are no longer on the Iraqi air bases that were suppose to receive deliver of these jets .... I can understand (to a point) on why this deal is in limbo. But if I was an Iraqi government/military official waiting for these jets .... I would not be happy.

Does ISIS Now Have Scud Missiles In Their Arsenal?

#Syria #ISIS shows SCUD-missile on military parade in #Raqqa pic.twitter.com/o1jocCstvW
— Mark (@markito0171) June 30, 2014

WNU Editor: There is more news on the weapons that ISIS has captured here. As to the Scud missile that they are "showing-off" .... I doubt that ISIS has the capability to make it operational .... but it is clear that they do have the capability to seize a base that houses such missiles.

The ISIS - Islamic State Map Of The World

Caliphate: A map purportedly showing the areas ISIS plans to have under its control within five years has been widely shared online. As well as the Middle East, North Africa and large areas of Asia, it also reveals ISIS' ambition to extend into Europe. Spain, which was Muslim-ruled until the late 15th Century, would form part of the caliphate, as would the Balkan states and eastern Europe, up to and including Austria

The ISIS Map Of The World: Militants Outline Chilling Five-Year Plan For Global Domination As They Declare Formation Of Caliphate - And Change Their Name To The Islamic State -- Daily Mail

* Sunni militants have announced formation of Islamic state in Middle East
* They demand Muslims around the world swear allegiance to the caliphate
* Claim leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now has authority over all Muslims
* Group has also now changed its name from ISIS to just the Islamic State
* Announcement described as 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

ISIS has formally declared the establishment of a caliphate, or Islamic state, in the vast stretches of the Middle East that have fallen under its control, and has outlined a vision to expand into Europe.

The announcement was described as the 'most significant development in international jihadism since 9/11'.

Upon declaring a caliphate, the Sunni militants - whose brutality in attempting to establish control in Iraq and Syria has been branded too extreme even by Al Qaeda - demanded allegiance from Muslims around the world.

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My Comment: They are ambitious ....if not delusional.

Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The Establishment Of The 'Islamic State'

Isis: What Will Militant Group Do Next? -- Charles Lister, BBC

Since capturing Iraq's second city of Mosul on 10 June, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has marched south towards Baghdad, seizing a number of towns, military bases, and resource-rich assets on the way. But what is the group's long-term game plan?

It is the wealthiest militant organisation in the world; it controls large swathes of territory - stretching from al-Bab in eastern Aleppo province in Syria to as far as Suleiman Bek 415 miles (670km) away in Iraq's Salahuddin province - and it explicitly wants to establish an Islamic state.

In the immediate term, Isis will seek to sustain momentum in Iraq through further acquisitions of territory and finance-earning assets.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The Establishment Of The 'Islamic State'

Explainer: What Is The Islamic Caliphate? -- Frud Bezhan, RFE
Viewpoint: Isis caliphate a dangerous development -- Charlie Cooper, BBC
How ISIS is overshadowing al Qaeda -- Tim Lister, CNN
The new Islamic caliphate and its war against history -- Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post
ISIS Is Literally Crucifying Its Enemies -- Jeff Neumann, Vocativ
ISIS Caliphate has Baghdad worried because it will appeal to angry young Sunnis -- Patrick Cockburn, The Independent
In caliphate declaration, Sunni extremists reach for mantle of Islam's prophet -- AP
Isis Q&A: why ‘caliphate’ declaration is an effort to topple al-Qaeda -- Sam Jones, Financial Times
Iran wrestles with tough choices in Iraq -- Parisa Hafezi and Arshad Mohammed, Reuters
Terrorists are overconfident in declaring Islamic state, experts say -- Christopher Snyder, FOX News
Iraq Battle Rages as World Reacts to ISIS Islamic Caliphate -- John Beck, Vice
Taking the Fight to ISIL -- Bloomberg editorial
Iraq: from jihadist onslaught to caliphate -- AFP
Jihadis in Iraq and Syria declare a caliphate? Why that's good. -- Dan Murphy, CSM
Iraq crisis: Republicans see ISIS as threat to America, Dems not as much -- Howard La Franchi, CSM
History of Caliphates -- Today
The rise of the new caliph, ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -- Paul Crompton, Al Arabiya News

The Iraq Government Appears Helpless In Stopping ISIS’s Establishment Of The Islamic State

The Iraqi Government Seems Helpless to Stop ISIS’s New Caliphate -- Time

The Sunni militant group says it has created its own Islamic empire. Their hold is less than secure, but Iraq's government seems helpless

With the upload of an audio recording, radical Sunni militants on June 29 declared a new Islamic caliphate, a religious superstate, stretching from eastern Iraq to the Syrian city of Aleppo. The group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is now simply the Islamic State, dropping the names of the two countries whose sovereignty it doesn’t recognize.

After weeks of laying claim to Iraqi territory the group’s spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani said on Sunday that they have everything necessary to proclaim their state. The caliph—or leader——is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Iraqi-born ISIS leader who appears to be giving Al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, a run for his money. “Listen to your leader and obey him,” said al-Adnani in the online statement. “Support your state, which grows continuously.”

Read more ....

More News On Iraq's Civil War And The Establishment Of The "Islamic State"

Iraq crisis: Fighting in Tikrit after 'caliphate' declared -- BBC
As caliphate declared, Iraqi troops battle for Tikrit -- Reuters
Fighting continues in Tikrit after Isis declare ‘Caliphate’ -- Irish Times
ISIL Declares Islamic State in Iraq, Syria -- VOA
Al-Qaida splinter declares new Islamic caliphate -- AP
Iraq crisis: Isis declares its territories a new Islamic state with 'restoration of caliphate' in Middle East -- The Independent
Iraq militants announce new Islamic state -- Washington post
ISIL's declaration of Islamic state condemned -- USA Today
Iraqi MPs under pressure to nominate speaker -- The Guardian
Russian Jets and Experts Sent to Iraq to Aid Army -- NYT
Turkey Does Not Want 'Tattered and Divided' Iraq -- AP
Khamenei: Iraq War a Showdown Between Humanity and Barbarity -- Newsweek