News of the Force: Monday, September 19, 2016 - Page 1

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Monday September 19, 2016 - Today is International 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day

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Wanted terrorist captured

    

Surveillance photo

    Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Afghanistan, was captured by police in shootout in New Jersey last night. He was wanted by the FBI for questioning in the New York City bombings and after another bomb detonated in New Jersey.

    Rahami sustained multiple police gunshot wounds and was taken away in an ambulance after the gun battle in Linden, N.J. One police officer was shot in the chest but was not seriously wounded because the officer was wearing his bulletproof vest.

    The police said they'll turn Rahami and the case over to special agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

 

U.S. urges North Korea to 'get serious'

    

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday expressed a continued willingness to try to revive dialogue with Pyongyang if it freezes its atomic weapons and ballistic weapons development programs.

 

India's new fighter jets to serve as 'strategic delivery systems' for nukes

    India has pushed forward the completion of the long-delayed deal for the French Rafele fighter jets after determining that the aircraft fulfills a vital strategic purpose - the delivery of nuclear weapons.

 

U.S. and Coalition forces continue strikes in Iraq and Syria

     

    U.S. and Coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

    Attack, fighter, and remotely-piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 12 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government: Near Huwayjah, two strikes destroyed two ISIL improvised-bomb factories; Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two vehicles, a fighting position, a mortar system and two tunnel entrances; Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an ISIL building; Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an improvised weapons facility, a vehicle-bomb factory, an ISIL headquarters building and two vehicles, and also suppressed a rocket-launcher system; Near Ramadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL headquarters building, a mortar system, two supply caches and four rocket rails; Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle and suppressed a mortar system; and near Sultan Abdallah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a medium machine gun and suppressed a rocket-propelled-grenade system.

    And attack, fighter and remotely-piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 16 strikes in Syria yesterday: Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed two ISIL oil tanker trucks and an oil tanker trailer and damaged three supply routes; Near Ayn Isa, three strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a vehicle, a command-and-control node and an artillery system; Near Mara, eight strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions, three improvised bombs, three vehicles, a mortar system and a command-and-control node; Near Raqqah, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle-bomb factory and an oil tanker truck; and near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle.

 

Displaced Iraqi families returning to Fallujah

    

    Displaced residents of the Iraqi city of Fallujah have begun returning to their homes, some three months after armed forces fully liberated the flashpoint city from the grips of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

 

Libyan forces claim control of port

    Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have allegedly launched an attack against those of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a renegade general, claiming to have taken back control of an oil port terminal in the country's so-called oil crescent in the east.

 

Seventeen government soldiers killed in Indian Kashmir

    Seventeen Indian soldiers have been killed and nearly 20 wounded in the deadliest attack mounted by militants in two decades on an Indian army base in Kashmir, close to the border with Pakistan.

 

Putin is winning, again

    Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is winning yesterday's parliamentary elections despite the presence of hundreds of opposition candidates on the ballot. United Russia is far ahead in the election, taking about half the votes, exit polls and partial results suggest.

 

Air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Aleppo

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    Four air strikes have hit rebel-held parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo, activists say, the first raids there since a cease-fire began last Monday.

    Syrian fighter jets fired at least four missiles at opposition neighborhoods in Aleppo yesterday.

    If Russia bombed Washington's allies in Syria just as the US "mistakenly" did, UN envoy Samantha Power would make as much of a stink as she possibly could, analysts said, adding that in general the US is uncomfortable in a new relationship with Russia.

    Seven days after a fragile cease-fire came into effect in Syria, tensions between its main architects - Moscow and Washington - are obscuring any prospect of a more lasting peace, and the agreed-to cease-fire expires today.

    While the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) continues in its advance toward the Daesh stronghold of al-Bab as part of "Operation Euphrates Shield," hopes to extend the Turkish and Russian brokered cessation of hostiles in Syria were wrecked again.

    The world's leaders gathered today in New York City to tackle two of the biggest global challenges: the war in Syria and the refugee crisis it has created.

    A wave of terror is escalating here ahead of the autumn biblical festivals, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency Cabinet meeting after a terrorist stabbed and critically wounded a female police officer.

    And a group of top Israel Defense Force (IDF) generals have come to the defense of an IDF soldier charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing a wounded terrorist, saying, "All terrorists should be killed."

 

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    Cuzin Gym's Thought for the Day: A simple act of caring creates an endless ripple.

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Small plane's pilot rescued from crash

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force St. Louis

    The pilot of a small plane that went down near Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Missouri late yesterday was rescued from the plane and is hospitalized.

    The plane was seen going down west of the airport about 8 p.m., local time. Emergency officials had cell phone contact with the downed pilot before the plane was located. He was trapped in the plane. Officials finally found the plane - still on airport property - just after 10 p.m.

 

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps

    

    Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced in Boston today that the next ships of the next generation of fleet replenishment oilers will be named USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209) and USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210). A ceremony marking the announcement was held at the Boston Public Library in Massachusetts. Both T-AO 209 and T-AO 210 are part of the John Lewis-class of ships named in honor of U.S. civil and human rights heroes. "It is important to recognize and honor those who have strived to fulfill the promise laid out in our Constitution - 'to form a more perfect union,'" said Mabus, "those who fought - in a different way - for the ideals we cherish as a nation: justice, equality and freedom. Both Lucy Stone and Sojourner Truth fought relentlessly for all human rights.” Lucy Stone, a native of West Brookfield, Mass., was a prominent 19th-century abolitionist, suffragist, and a vocal advocate for women’s rights. Stone convened the first National Women's Rights Convention and assisted in establishing the Woman's National Loyal League to help pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery, after which she helped form the American Woman Suffrage Association, an organization dedicated to winning women the right to vote. Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born into slavery in Swartekill, N.Y., she escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. Born Isabella Baumfree, she gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843. Widely recognized as a great orator and advocate of civil rights and equality for all, Truth died in 1883, at the age of 86. The future USNS Lucy Stone and USNS Sojourner Truth will be operated by the Military Sealift Command and provide underway replenishment of fuel and stores to U.S. Navy ships at sea and jet fuel for aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. Construction is expected to begin on Lucy Stone in 2021, and on Sojourner Truth in 2022.

    A star athlete found success on the field and the basketball court, but he joined the Marine Corps to find success in life. "I just realized I wanted to do something bigger for myself," said Pfc. John R. Porchivina, of Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, in San Diego, Calif. "I was just sitting around doing nothing. I could go to school and play football, but how is that benefiting anybody else but me?" The 20 year old grew up in Novato, Calif., with a loving and supportive family that included his mother, father, brother and sister. He played football, baseball and basketball, but decided to commit most of his time to football, his favorite sport. He played in the Pop Warner League and at Casa Grande High School. "Football was what I excelled in," Porchivina said. "It was pretty much my entire life. When I was a kid, I realized I wanted to play football in college and later join the Marine Corps." After graduating, he attended the University of California-Berkeley on a football scholarship. He intended to transfer to San Jose State University after playing at Berkeley, he said, but shortly after he arrived there, he suffered an injury at football practice that changed his path completely. "I broke my hand the weekend before the season started," he said. "I was put on the bench the entire season." As he watched his teammates play, Porchivina said, all he could do was sit and wait to recover as he continued to take classes. Joining the Marine Corps was something that had been on his mind since childhood, and when he was 19 years old and sitting on the couch watching attacks and terrorism on the news, he knew it was the time to join before it was too late, he said. "I wanted to go fight for my country," he added. "I was watching the news a lot and saw what was going on with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and that’s what got me thinking." His brother was the first person he approached with the idea to enlist. "We kind of had a heart-to-heart," Porchivina said. "That’s when I realized now was the time to join and hopefully make a difference in this world and this country." His father, who previously had served with the Marine Corps, also was supportive, and so was his mother, he said. Porchivina went to the recruiting station and about a month later departed for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego to take the challenge to become a United States Marine. He served as the guide for his platoon, and during phase one of training, his platoon felt discombobulated while trying to adapt to a new lifestyle, Porchivina said. Toward the end of phase two, he continued, he had gained enough confidence to lead his platoon. Phase three of training was the toughest for him, he added, as it required more leadership from him. "The lifestyle has been different, and was a culture shock," he said. "Instead of being the best football player, I have to be the guide and lead from the front and be a good example." While most recruits find their training difficult, Porchivina said he found motivation by striving to be better than his father. "I’ve always wanted to outdo my father," he said with a smile on his face. "He was never the guide, so I wanted to be guide. He shot expert, so I had to shoot expert." Porchivina said he is expecting his parents, siblings and extended family to attend his graduation. Following recruit training, Porchivina will report to the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to become an infantryman.

    US Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan K. Zickefoose, currently assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C., has been selected to replace Command Sgt. Maj. William B. Zaiser as the command senior enlisted advisor for the US Southern Command, in Doral, Fla.

    A few weeks ago we told you about the US Marine Corps' plans for laser weaponry. But that's not the only way the Corps is looking to modernize itself - they've launched a competition for the building and funding of battlefield robots.

    Sailors from Navy Reserve Operational Support Unit (OSU) 1914, attached to Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Fort Carson, Colo., have volunteered to help a victim of a forest fire near there.

    Expected to attract around 500,000 spectators, the largest military air show in the country - the Miramar Air Show at MCAS Miramar, Calif. - will mark 100 years of the Marine Corps Reserve.

 

Obama berates Black Caucus: You ‘insult’ my legacy if you don’t turn out, vote for Clinton
By David Rutz, free beacon.com
    

    President Obama angrily called for greater African-American turnout for Hillary Clinton during a speech in front of the Congressional Black Caucus on Saturday, saying it was a "personal insult" to his legacy if they failed to do so.
    Ripping Republican candidate Donald Trump as a hateful candidate of fear, Obama said that while his own name may not be on the ballot, the "progress" made under his administration was. "Tolerance is on the ballot!" Obama shouted. "Democracy is on the ballot! Justice is on the ballot! Good schools are on the ballot! Ending mass incarceration, that’s on the ballot right now!"
    Obama, who endorsed his former secretary of state in June, called Trump’s "central theme" an opposition to what his White House had accomplished.
    "There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn't matter. It all matters, and after we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election," he said. "You want to give me a good sendoff? Go vote!"

    Clinton has failed to generate the kind of enthusiasm in the Democratic Party that propelled Obama to back-to-back electoral victories in 2008 and 2012, particularly among African-Americans, who voted for him in huge margins both times. Trump has made a comeback in the polls in the past month, taking leads in critical swing states like Florida and Ohio and sending a mild panic into Clinton supporters.

    When Michelle Obama spoke at a Clinton rally in Virginia on Friday, the crowd chanted "Four more years."

    Meanwhile, a member of the House Intelligence Committee is accusing the Obama administration of laundering some $1.7 billion in US taxpayer dollars to Iran through a complicated network that included the New York Federal Reserve and several European banks, according to conversations with sources and new information obtained by the lawmaker and viewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

    New disclosures made by the Treasury Department to Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kansas), a House Intelligence Committee member, show that an initial $400 million cash payment to Iran was wired to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and then converted from US dollars into Swiss francs and moved to an account at the Swiss National Bank, according to a copy of communication obtained exclusively by the Free Beacon. Once the money was transferred to the Swiss Bank, the "FRBNY withdrew the funds from its account as Swiss franc banknotes and the US Government physically transported them to Geneva" before personally overseeing the handover to an agent of Iran’s central bank, according to the documents.

    These disclosures shine new light on how the Obama administration moved millions of dollars from U.S. accounts to European banks in order to facilitate three separate cash payments to Iran totaling $1.7 billion.

    The latest information is adding fuel to accusations the Obama administration arranged the payment in this fashion to skirt US sanctions laws and give Iran the money for the release of US hostages, in what many have called a ransom.

    Congress has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the payment for months and said the administration is blocking certain requests for more detailed information about the cash transaction with Iran.

    "By withholding critical details and stonewalling congressional inquiries, President Obama seems to be hiding whether or not he and others broke US law by sending $1.7 billion in cash to Iran," Pompeo told the Free Beacon. "But Americans can plainly see that the Obama administration laundered this money in order to circumvent US law and appease the Islamic Republic of Iran."

    As new details emerge, congressional critics such as Pompeo and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are beginning to suspect the U.S. government laundered the money in order to provide Tehran with immediate access.

    "Think about this timeline: the US withdraws $400 million in cash from the Swiss National Bank and then physically transports it to another city to hand-off to Iranian officials - three days before Iran releases four American hostages," Pompeo said. "But it gets worse: less than a week after this, the US again sends hordes of cash to Iran. As we speak, Iran is still holding three more Americans hostage and I fear what precedent this administration has set."

    The initial $400 million payment to Iran was initiated on Jan. 14, 2016, according to information sent by the Treasury Department to Pompeo. "For the first settlement payment in January, Treasury assisted the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in crafting a wire instruction to transfer the $400 million in principal from the Iran FMS [Foreign Military Sales program] account on January 14, 2016," the document states. "Treasury worked with the DFAS and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), which was acting as Treasury’s financial agent, so that the funds were converted from dollars to Swiss francs and credited to a FRBNY account at the Swiss National Bank (SNB), which is the central bank of the Switzerland [sic]," it adds. The U.S. hostages were released shortly after Iran received this initial cash payment.

    The additional $1.3 billion cash payment was facilitated by the Dutch Central Bank, which helped the United States transfer the money to an account before it was converted into euros. The Dutch Bank "then disbursed the funds as euro banknotes in the Netherlands to an official from the Central Bank of Iran." The payment was broken down into two separate transactions that occurred on Jan. 22nd and Feb. 5th.

    Senior administration officials maintain that the transaction was completely legal and not paid out as part of a ransom to Iran. These officials have said that cash was the "most reliable" method to ensure Iran received immediate access to the funds, as its banking system is still under sanctions.

    Officials from the Treasury and Justice Departments would not respond to Free Beacon requests for comment about the exact type of legal approval given prior to the cash payment.

    One congressional adviser who works closely on the Iran issue told the Free Beacon that the Obama administration appears to have involved multiple branches of the government in order to help conceal the cash payment to Iran.
"It looks as if the White House made just about every corner of the executive branch complicit in covering up the extent of its payments to Iran," the source said. "Congress was already aggressively looking into payments involving the State, Treasury, and Energy departments. Now it’s the Justice Department, too. We already know that top officials from Justice objected strongly to the ransom deal, but were overruled. Congress wants to know what happened and why."

    A senior congressional aide familiar with investigations regarding the matter told the Free Beacon that the administration continues to hide information from lawmakers about the cash payment. "The American public and Members of Congress understand psychology - if the administration is hiding something, there is a reason. President Obama, Secretary Kerry and others would like to pretend that their months of evasiveness and stonewalling regarding Iran are normal, but their behavior indicates otherwise," the source said. "Refusing to answer basic questions about millions of US taxpayer dollars paid to the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism only invites more questions."

    Recent reports have raised questions about how much of this money may be spent to fund Iran’s international terror operations and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Lawmakers examining who in Iran assumed control of the money have told the Free Beacon that at least part of the cash was likely spent to fund the IRGC’s operations.

 

Homeland insecurity

    

    The US Government has mistakenly granted citizenship to at least 858 immigrants who had pending deportation orders from countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud, according to an internal Homeland Security audit released today. The Homeland Security Department's inspector general found that the immigrants used different names or birth dates to apply for citizenship with US Citizenship and Immigration Services and such discrepancies weren't caught because their fingerprints were missing from government databases. The report does not identify any of the immigrants by name, but Inspector General John Roth's auditors said they were all from "special interest countries" - those that present a national security concern for the United States - or neighboring countries with high rates of immigration fraud. The report did not identify those countries. In an e-mailed statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the findings reflect what has long been a problem for immigration officials - old paper-based records containing fingerprint information that can't be searched electronically. The DHS says immigration officials are in the process of uploading these files and that officials will review "every file" identified as a case of possible fraud. DHS officials identified an additional 953 people who had been naturalized despite outstanding deportation orders, though auditors couldn't determine if those immigrants had digital fingerprints on file or not.
Roth's report said fingerprints are missing from federal databases for as many as 315,000 immigrants with final deportation orders or who are fugitive criminals. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not reviewed about 148,000 of those immigrants' files to add fingerprints to the digital record. The gap was created because older, paper records were never added to fingerprint databases created by both the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the FBI in the 1990s. ICE, the DHS agency responsible for finding and deporting immigrants living in the country illegally, didn't consistently add digital fingerprint records of immigrants whom agents encountered until 2010. The government has known about the information gap and its impact on naturalization decisions since at least 2008 when a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official identified 206 immigrants who used a different name or other biographical information to gain citizenship or other immigration benefits, though few cases have been investigated. Roth's report said federal prosecutors have accepted two criminal cases that led to the immigrants being stripped of their citizenship. But prosecutors declined another 26 cases. ICE is investigating 32 other cases after closing 90 investigations. ICE officials told auditors that the agency hadn't pursued many of these cases in the past because federal prosecutors "generally did not accept immigration benefits fraud cases." ICE said the Justice Department has now agreed to focus on cases involving people who have acquired security clearances, jobs of public trust or other security credentials. Mistakenly awarding citizenship to someone ordered deported can have serious consequences because U.S. citizens can typically apply for and receive security clearances or take security-sensitive jobs. At least three of the immigrants-turned-citizens were able to acquire aviation or transportation worker credentials, granting them access to secure areas in airports or maritime facilities and vessels. Their credentials were revoked after they were identified as having been granted citizenship improperly, Roth said in his report. A fourth person is now a law enforcement officer. Roth recommended that all of the outstanding cases be reviewed and fingerprints in those cases be added to the government's database and that immigration enforcement officials create a system to evaluate each of the cases of immigrants who were improperly granted citizenship. DHS officials agreed with the recommendations and said the agency is working to implement the changes.

    And homeland security and terror threats are back on the front burner for the presidential campaign after an explosive device blew up in New York City and in New Jersey over the weekend.

 

U.S. Coast Guard

    

    When the Boston Lighthouse was first lit 300 years ago on Sept. 14th, sailors called on New England ports in wooden ships, pirates roamed the Atlantic Coast and the 13 colonies were under the British crown. The light, which still guides mariners around Boston Harbor’s shoals, was the first of thousands of American Aids to Navigation, or ATON, that have saved lives, protected property and enabled prosperity for the last three centuries. Managed by the Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems and maintained by Coast Guard cutters and ATON teams around the nation, Aids to Navigation enable navigators to determine their position, chart a safe course and steer clear of hazards. Located on Little Brewster Island, Mass., nine nautical miles from Boston, the lighthouse was first lit on Sept. 14, 1716, using tallow candles. Today, the Boston Light has two 2 million candlepower lights that can be seen from 27 nautical miles away. Sally Snowman is the US Coast Guard’s only remaining assigned lighthouse keeper. In 2003, she became the 70th Boston Lighthouse keeper and the first woman to hold the position. Snowman, a Coast Guard Auxiliarist and native of Weymouth, Mass., said the city and the region have grown because of the light. "Massachusetts prospered with Boston Harbor emerging as an international port in the 19th century," she said. "For this to have occurred, the entrance to Boston Harbor needed to be properly marked to reduce the significant loss of life and cargo due to shipwrecks occurring on the ominous ledges. Boston Light was built as the first major Aid to Navigation in Colonial America to mark the entrance and continues to provide this service today," Snowman said. She noted that the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park offers weekend tours of the Boston Lighthouse in the summer. During tours, Snowman dresses in formal clothes from 1783, the year that the Boston Lighthouse was rebuilt. British forces destroyed the original structure during the Revolutionary War. As a part of her duties, she manages more than 70 volunteers and maintains the lighthouse, keeper’s cottage and other buildings on the three-acre island.Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, the Boston Light is one of nine lighthouses honored by having an elevator named after it in the Coast Guard's headquarters in Washington, D.C. On August 7, 1789, the ninth law passed by Congress created the US Lighthouse Establishment to provide "support, maintenance and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, and buoys." The service would later be called the US Lighthouse Service or the Bureau of Lighthouses. Aug. 7th is designated as National Lighthouse Day in the United States. After 150 years of keeping the lights shining, the Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the Coast Guard in 1939. From the lone Boston Light, the Coast Guard Aids to Navigation system has grown to include more than 48,000 federal buoys, beacons and electronic aids that mark the more than 25,000 miles of waterways that make up the Marine Transportation System, or MTS. "More than 73 million Americans are involved in maritime commerce, commercial fishing and recreational boating on our waterways, and we help them to get home safely," said Coast Guard Capt. Scott J. Smith, the chief of the Office of Navigation Systems. "Our vast Aids to Navigation system started with the Boston Lighthouse and we celebrate its enduring contribution to our nation, our economy and our maritime heritage," Smith said.

    Twenty new houses for US Coast Guard members have been completed on Kodiak Island, Alaska. An opening ceremony was held in the Upper Government Hill neighborhood, where the new homes were built.

    A red and yellow kayak was found near Florida's New Smryna Beach Inlet at around 2 p.m., EST, on Saturday and the United States Coast Guard is searching for the owner.

    Coast Guard Station Pensacola, Fla., has medevaced an injured fisherman from his boat in the Gulf of Mexico.

    The Coast Guard has medevaced a 71-year-old female passenger from a Carnival Cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

    US Coast Guard crews from Seattle, Wash., responded to a 60-foot pleasure craft that sunk at Fisherman's Terminal on Saturday.

    And the Coast Guard says two adults and one child went missing on Saturday on Lake Superior, near Houghton, Mich., and they're searching for them with help from the Canadian Coast Guard.

 

          

          

 

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