"Russia and the US should join their efforts to fight the terrorist group Islamic State", Feinstein told NBC News. And yet .........US Fighter Jets Sent to Turkey to Guard Against 'Russian Aggression'

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US Politicians Increasingly Realize Need for Coalition With Russia

© AFP 2015/ Jewel Samad

US

21:59 10.11.2015(updated 22:00 10.11.2015)

Russia and the US should work together to fight ISIL, head of the US State Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Dianne Feinstein said. According to political analyst Vladimir Shapovalov, US politicians are starting to realize that the problem of terrorism cannot be resolved without Russia.

 

Russia and the US should join their efforts to fight the terrorist group Islamic State, Feinstein told NBC News.

According to the US politician, the current situation would be convenient for the start of such cooperation as the United States started sharing intelligence data with Russia, something which  had not happened previously.

“I think the time has come for us also to begin to develop a joint strategy with Russia,” Feinstein said during the broadcast.

Russian political scientist Vladimir Shapovalov believes that such statements are a signal symbolizing the reestablishment of constructive relations between the two countries.

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 Sputnik

 

US Fighter Jets Sent to Turkey to Guard Against 'Russian Aggression'

© Flickr/ darinm16

Middle East

03:29 11.11.2015(updated 03:32 11.11.2015) 

The Pentagon has stationed a new fleet of fighter jets in Turkey. While ostensibly aimed at protecting US bombers targeting the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group, top defense officials also say the jets are meant to deter "Russian aggression."

 

The US-led bombing campaign in Syria has been conducting airstrikes against IS targets for over one year, now. These strikes have been carried out by B-1 bombers, A-10 and AC-130 attack planes, and while they haven’t been terribly successful, these bombers have never faced any real danger in the field.

© Sputnik/ Grigoriy Sisoev

 

Pentagon: Reports of US F15 Jets Sent to Turkey Aimed at Russia Overstated

 

Yet, the Pentagon has suddenly decided that these planes need to be escorted by a fleet of six F-15Cs.

"At the request of the government of Turkey, the US Air Force F-15Cs that arrived last week will conduct combat air patrols to assist in defense of the Turkish airspace," Pentagon spokeswoman Laura Seal said in a statement.

But according to a defense official speaking to USA Today on condition of anonymity, the F-16Cs are largely present to defend against hypothetical attacks from Russian and Syrian fighters.
While both the Russian and Syrian military campaigns are focused on combating IS, the Pentagon has cited month-old claims of Russian jets violating Turkish airspace as justification.

"Turkey faces increased instability along its border with Syria and Iraq and irresponsible behavior from actions in the region," Seal said. "This includes the incursions Russia made into Turkey’s – and thereby NATO’s – airspace in October."

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Never Let a good crisis go to waste : NSA apologists say spying is only used for menaces like "weapons of mass destruction" and "terror." But those terms have been radically redefined

Image Source :  Wikimedia Commons

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Mission Creep: When Everything Is Terrorism

 

Bruce Schneier Jul 16 2013, 1:43 PM ET

 

One of the assurances I keep hearing about the U.S. government's spying on American citizens is that it's only used in cases of terrorism. Terrorism is, of course, an extraordinary crime, and its horrific nature is supposed to justify permitting all sorts of excesses to prevent it. But there's a problem with this line of reasoning: mission creep. The definitions of "terrorism" and "weapon of mass destruction" are broadening, and these extraordinary powers are being used, and will continue to be used, for crimes other than terrorism.
Back in 2002, the Patriot Act greatly broadened the definition of terrorism to include all sorts of "normal" violent acts as well as non-violent protests. The term "terrorist" is surprisingly broad; since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it has been applied to people you wouldn't normally consider terrorists.
The most egregious example of this are the three anti-nuclear pacifists, including an 82-year-old nun, who cut through a chain-link fence at the Oak Ridge nuclear-weapons-production facility in 2012. While they were originally arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, the government kept increasing their charges as the facility's security lapses became more embarrassing. Now the protestors have been convicted of violent crimes of terrorism -- and remain in jail.
Meanwhile, a Tennessee government official claimed that complaining about water quality could be considered an act of terrorism. To the government's credit, he was subsequently demoted for those remarks.

All artillery, and virtually every muzzle-loading military long arm for that matter, legally qualifies as a WMD, making The Star Spangled Banner an account of a WMD attack on American shores.

The notion of making a terrorist threat is older than the current spate of anti-terrorism craziness. It basically means threatening people in order to terrorize them, and can include things like pointing a fake gun at someone, threatening to set off a bomb, and so on. A Texas high-school student recently spent five months in jail for writing the following on Facebook: "I think I'ma shoot up a kindergarten. And watch the blood of the innocent rain down. And eat the beating heart of one of them." Last year, two Irish tourists were denied entry at the Los Angeles Airport because of some misunderstood tweets.
Another term that's expanded in meaning is "weapon of mass destruction." The law is surprisingly broad, and includes anything that explodes, leading political scientist and terrorism-fear skeptic John Mueller to comment:

As I understand it, not only is a grenade a weapon of mass destruction, but so is a maliciously-designed child's rocket even if it doesn't have a warhead. On the other hand, although a missile-propelled firecracker would be considered a weapon of mass destruction if its designers had wanted to think of it as a weapon, it would not be so considered if it had previously been designed for use as a weapon and then redesigned for pyrotechnic use or if it was surplus and had been sold, loaned, or given to you (under certain circumstances) by the secretary of the army ....
All artillery, and virtually every muzzle-loading military long arm for that matter, legally qualifies as a WMD. It does make the bombardment of Ft. Sumter all the more sinister. To say nothing of the revelation that The Star Spangled Banner is in fact an account of a WMD attack on American shores.

Read More Here

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PROFILED: Does The FBI Consider You A Terrorist?

Written by: Tara Dodrill   June 10, 2013 

image courtesy of FBI.gov

Terrorism remains a major threat to national security in the United States. While citizens may appreciate the diligent efforts of the FBI to thwart more terrorist acts on American soil, the vast majority will be astounded by the list of common activities the federal agency considers possible terrorism indicators.
Many of the items on the FBI’s “What Should I Consider Suspicious?” agent training list are routine tasks for preppers, as well as the average American citizen.


The FBI terrorism lookout list

1. Purchasing coffee with cash on a regular basis: Apparently citizens who prefer cash to accruing credit card debt or debit card fees are considered potential suspects. Until the 1950s, credit cards which could be used at more than one store did not even exist.  The Diners Club card was the first multiple location charge card and was geared towards salesmen and businessmen who often conducted meetings at restaurants and not the average family. The card was not made of plastic and had to be paid in full at the end of the month. American Express created the first plastic credit card in 1959. Initially, charges on the card were solely for entertainment and travel purposes, and the bill also had to be paid by the end of the month. A national credit card system was formed in 1966 by Bank of America. Cash was still king well into the 1970s. During this era of cyber hacking and identity theft, paying for coffee (or anything else) in cash is just good old-fashioned common sense.
2. Paying cash for a rental car or a tattoo: Once again, merely opting to live within your budget and a desire to protect your identity from cyber hackers should not place Americans on an FBI watch list. Presumably, rental car agencies require a driver’s license before leasing a vehicle to anyone. Law enforcement officers often have a valid reason to review rental car records and tattoos related to a particular gang or group while investigating criminal cases… with a warrant, of course. While law-abiding and patriotic Americans do not want to place obstacles in front of officers and agents, we also do not want to be considered potential terrorism suspects simply because we opt to use cash for such activities. Searching through computer records is a tedious and time-consuming task. There is no reason to further clog up the process by tossing in all the names of thousands of citizens who just prefer to use cash and not credit cards.
3. Taking inappropriate photos or videos: FBI agents surely should be made aware of individuals who appear to be doing surveillance of buildings, water plants, or various forms of infrastructure. Such surveillance could pose a threat to national security. There is a very fine line between possible surveillance and innocent picture or video taking. While questioning someone (and even requesting ID to run) who appears to be engaging in potential surveillance activity is understandable, Gestapo tactics should not be used when a citizen opts to shoot a video or take photos of any government office , facility, or piece of infrastructure for educational, professional, or sightseeing purposes.

                                                 

4.Being somewhere you “don’t belong”: Exactly who does not belong where involves quite a  subjective set of decision-making skills. Profiling is a necessary law enforcement skill, in my opinion. Profiling does not equate to racism, as liberals would like the general populace to believe. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are trained to quickly ascertain threats and size-up potential suspects encountered during the commission of a crime A border control agent looking for an illegal immigrant would be likely to carefully review a person of Hispanic descent as a possible suspect. All Hispanic folks encountered in a border town are obviously not illegal immigrants. Profiling training allows agents to differentiate between a possible suspect and the individual walking down the street. The manner in which the individual is treated when stopped or investigated determines whether or not civil rights violations occurred. The Department of Homeland Security presence at a Tea Party rally in front of an IRS officer recently illustrates how quickly an individual or group can be stereotyped or targeted based upon not a matching physical description, but a warped threat assessment. None of the Tea Party protestors were hampered during the demonstration, but the reason for the presence of federal agents was never explained. Perhaps it was a case of “being somewhere you do not belong.”

 

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