News of the Force: Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - Page 1

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Tuesday, January 31, 2016 - Today is Independence Day in Nauru

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President Trump's executive order on refugees nets first bad guy

    

    ISIS leader Rasheed Muhammad, reportedly posing as a refugee, was arrested by the FBI in the early hours of this morning at New York City's JFK International Airport.

 

Trump to acting head of the DOJ: 'You're fired!'

    

    In an extraordinary public showdown, President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general of the United States after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his refugee and immigration ban and refused to defend it in court.

    The clash last night between Trump and Sally Yates, a career prosecutor and Democratic appointee, laid bare the growing discord and dissent surrounding an executive order that halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. The firing, in a written statement released just hours after Yates went public with her concerns, also served as a warning to other administration officials that Trump is prepared to terminate those who refuse to carry out his orders.

    Yates' refusal to defend the executive order was largely symbolic given that Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for attorney general, will almost certainly defend the policy once he's sworn in. He's expected to be confirmed today by the Senate Judiciary Committee and could be approved within days by the full Senate. Yet the firing reflected the mounting conflict over the executive order, as administration officials have moved to distance themselves from the policy and even some of Trump's top advisers have made clear that they were not consulted on its implementation.

    As protests erupted at airports across the globe, and as legal challenges piled up in courthouses, Yates directed agency attorneys not to defend the executive order. She said in a memo yesterday she was not convinced it was lawful or consistent with the agency's obligation "to stand for what is right."

    Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, soon followed with a statement accusing Yates of having "betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States." Trump named longtime federal prosecutor Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, as Yates' replacement. Boente was sworn in privately late yesterday, the White House said, and rescinded Yates' directive.

    A large group of career diplomats circulated several drafts of a memo arguing that the order Trump signed last week will not make the U.S. safe, saying it runs counter to American values and will fuel anti-American sentiment around the world. Spicer challenged those opposed to the measure to resign. "They should either get with the program or they can go," he said.

    The chain of events bore echoes of the Nixon-era "Saturday Night Massacre," when the attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned rather than follow an order to fire a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. The prosecutor, Archibald Cox, was fired by the solicitor general.

    Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration who was the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta and later became Loretta Lynch's deputy, was not alone in her misgivings. At least three top national security officials - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, who is awaiting confirmation to lead the State Department - have told associates they were not aware of details of the directive until around the time Trump signed it. Leading intelligence officials were also left largely in the dark, according to U.S. officials.

    Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that despite White House assurances that congressional leaders were consulted, he learned about the order from the media.

    Trump's order pauses America's entire refugee program for four months, indefinitely bans all those from war-ravaged Syria and temporarily freezes immigration from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Federal judges in New York and several other states issued orders that temporarily block the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump's travel ban took effect and found themselves in limbo.

    Yates said yesterday that she had reviewed the policy and concluded that it was at odds with the Justice Department's mission. She said that though other lawyers in the department had reviewed the order, their review had not addressed whether it was wise or just. "I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right," Yates wrote in a letter.

    Trump said the order had been approved by Justice Department lawyers. However, the department has said the Office of Legal Counsel review was limited to whether the order was properly drafted, but did not address broader policy questions.

    The blowback underscored Trump's tenuous relationship with his own national security advisers, many of whom he met for the first time during the transition. Mattis, who stood next to Trump during Friday's signing ceremony, is said to be particularly incensed. A senior U.S. official said Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, was aware of the general concept of Trump's order but not the details. Tillerson has told the president's political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order. U.S. officials and others with knowledge of the Cabinet's thinking insisted on anonymity in order to disclose the officials' private views.

    Despite his public defense of the policy, the president has privately acknowledged flaws in the rollout, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking. But he's also blamed the media - his frequent target - for what he believes are reports exaggerating the dissent and the number of people actually affected.

    After a chaotic weekend during which some U.S. legal permanent residents were detained at airports, some agencies were moving swiftly to try to clean up after the White House. Homeland Security, the agency tasked with implementing much of the refugee ban, clarified that Customs and border agents should allow legal residents to enter the country. The Pentagon was trying to exempt Iraqis who worked alongside the U.S. and Coalition forces from the 90-day ban on entry from the predominantly Muslim countries. "There are a number of people in Iraq who have worked for us in a partnership role, whether fighting alongside us or working as translators, often doing so at great peril to themselves," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokes-man.

    On Capitol Hill, lawmakers in Trump's party sought to distance themselves from the wide-ranging order. While Spicer said "appropriate committees and leadership offices" on Capitol Hill were consulted, GOP lawmakers said their offices had no hand in drafting the order and no briefings from the White House on how it would work. "I think they know that it could have been done in a better way," Corker said of the White House.

 

Iran conducts first missile test since Trump's inauguration

    

    Iran has conducted its first missile test since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, giving the nascent administration an early opportunity to show the world how they plan to deal with a key U.S. adversary.

 

U.S. raid in Yemen nets intelligence

     

    The U.S. military raid on the militant Islamist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) compound in Yemen on Jan. 28th that killed a U.S. service member and injured three others yielded valuable intelligence, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters yesterday. Material captured from the site will help the United States “gain a deeper insight into the group’s planning to help prevent terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in the United States and our coalition-partner nations,” he said.

    Similar site exploitation operations in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq have produced information about terrorist planner logistics, recruiting and financing efforts, Davis noted. "Until now, we’ve had limited access to terror sites on the ground to gain intelligence from AQAP," he said. "This operation was specifically to enable us to gather the information we needed to be able to map out this group better, and to prevent future foreign terrorist attacks," the captain said, noting that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has a number of links to very specific, United States and Western-focused attacks.

    The three service members’ injuries occurred when an Osprey MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft made a hard landing during the operation, Davis said, adding that the inoperable Osprey was subsequently destroyed in place by a U.S. air-strike.

    The raid on the compound, in a remote area of al-Bayda, Yemen, reportedly also killed 14 of the organization’s operatives, he said. The casualties in Yemen are being assessed, including al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s use of numerous female fighters, some of whom were among those killed in the raid, Davis said. "The female fighters ran to pre-established positions as if they'd trained to be ready and trained to be combatants and engage with us. So, some of the enemy killed in combat are in fact female," he said.

    The operation had been planned for months, and was one in a series of aggressive actions against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, he said.

    Coalition forces drove the organization out of Yemen’s al-Mukalla Province last year, which the terrorist group controlled at the time, Davis noted, adding they then moved down the Yemen coast to parts of Aden and inland. "The AQAP presence right now is largely coastal with some inland presence," he noted. "AQAP is a foreign terrorist organization designated as such," Davis said. “It continues to target U.S. and Allied interests in Yemen as well as around the world."

    The United States is interested in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula following their proven history of engaging in external operations, he said. Davis said the terrorist events that the group has claimed responsibility for or been linked to include the attempt to mail explosives to U.S. addresses in 2010; orchestrating complex attacks against Yemen’s ministry of defense in 2013; and most recently, the targeted and financed attack and massacre on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. The group also is connected to attacks on the United States that include the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and the attempted underwear bombing aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas in 2009.

    "The United States and our partner nations remain committed to eradicating the threats posed by violent extremism and destroying militant safe havens," Davis emphasized. "We will take measures to combat terrorism, ensuring the safety and security of the U.S. citizens and those targeted by terrorists."

 

Children facing siege-like conditions in western Mosul

    

    An estimated 350,000 children are trapped in siege-like conditions and risk execution by the Daesh terrorist group in the western part of Mosul, an international non-governmental organization has warned.

 

U.S., Saudi Arabia agree to support 'safe zones'

    

    President Trump and Saudi Arabia's king have agreed to support “safe zones” in Syria and Yemen, according to the White House, signaling a potential policy shift in the Middle East.

    Just two days after banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, President Trump invited the Saudi monarch, whose kingdom includes Islam's holiest sites, to fly to Washington.

    Meanwhile, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and Houthi Shiite rebels may have committed war crimes in the conflict that is wracking the Middle East's poorest nation with no end in sight, the U.N. says.

 

Brazil's most wanted now in jail there

    

    A Brazilian oil and mining tycoon has been jailed in Rio de Janeiro after turning himself over to police on corruption charges. Eike Batista, who was once the country's richest man, is accused of paying millions of dollars worth of bribes to government officials.

 

Pakistan arrests alleged architect of Mumbai attacks

    

    Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the chief of the Islamic charity organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), has been arrested by Pakistani authorities. The fire-brand cleric is linked to the 2008 terror attacks in India which killed 166 people.

 

Prime minister says Iranian missile test must not go unanswered

By Lisa Levine, News of the Force Tel Aviv

    

    Prime Minister Netanyahu has accused Iran of carrying out a missile test in "flagrant violation" of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

    The U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency meeting today, at the request of the United States, to discuss Iran's latest ballistic missile test.

    Syria's foreign minister has warned that plans to create safe zone in the Arab country, proposed by the new U.S. administration, would pose serious risks to civilians' lives if enforced without coordination with Damascus.

    And even Israel's most liberal intellectuals now realize a Palestinian state is not the way to peace.

 

ISIS releases video showing children being trained to kill

By Doug Abruzzo, NOTF Staff Writer

    

    ISIS has released a video showing a training exercise for children where bound prisoners are left in an abandoned building and ISIS' "children" are given firearms to "hunt" for the prisoners and shoot the prisoners when the "children" find them. This very graphic video can be seen here: http://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-graphic-video-kids-shooting-exercise-living-targets .

 

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    Couzin Gym's Thought for the Day: Remember that youth and ability can never triumph over age and treachery.

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U.S. Coast Guard

    

    The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a contract to FLIR Maritime for the Scalable Integrated Navigation System (SINS)-2 to be installed in its cutters.

    A sightseeing truck driver got caught in high seas off the coast of northern California on the morning of Jan. 26th and had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

    Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown has brought to a close his 36-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard and his pioneering role as its highest-ranking black officer.

    The U.S. Coast Guard yesterday rescued three people who took an unplanned dip in California's San Diego Bay following a collision between two water scooters.

    With her eyes intently focused on a chart, Coast Guard reservist Petty Officer 3rd Class Casondra Minifield carefully plotted a course on the waterways surrounding Station Curtis Bay in Baltimore, Md., on a duty weekend. Among the tasks with the small boat station that Saturday, the boatswain’s mate prepared for an exam, worked lines and navigated a 25-foot Coast Guard response boat in Maryland’s Patapsco River. Minifield, who graduated in 2016 from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., is now a graduate student at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. She takes great pride in her work with the Coast Guard and in all the commitments that fill her schedule. A multi-sport athlete and community volunteer, Minifield said she pushes herself for a reason. She has a sense of duty to be a good example, to put in the hard work needed for success and help forge a way for those who come after her, she said. "I always make sure that when I am doing what I have to do, that I am doing all I can do," said Minifield, who hails from Winchester, Va. "I try to work through all my failures and I don’t ever get mad at myself or down on myself because failing is part of life." Past generations made tremendous sacrifices for the opportunities and freedoms of today, she explained. "Our duty is to keep digging away, keep making that path," she said. Minifield, who has an undergraduate degree in psychology, is studying forensic and legal psychology at Marymount University. She wants to advance in the Coast Guard and even perhaps become a commissioned officer. Her dream job in the civilian world, she said, is to work in the federal law enforcement field. Not wanting to wait until after college, Minifield, who loves the water and swam competitively in high school and college, set her sights on the Coast Guard while a student. After her freshman year at VMI, she raised her right hand and began her journey in the Coast Guard Reserve, which brought her to this station tucked away on Curtis Creek, a four-hour drive from Lexington, Va. "It was an easy choice," she said, about seeking to become a boatswain’s mate, a job that demands expert knowledge of seamanship, boat operations and waterway navigation. Minifield is an exemplary shipmate and role model, according to the executive petty officer of Station Curtis Bay. "She is a very well-rounded boatswain's mate and has made significant contributions both personally and professionally," Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jeffrey C. Ritter, Jr., said. Ritter praised Minifield’s solid work ethic, dedication and initiative and commitment. In addition to qualifying as a crew member, she is also a certified military fitness specialist who leads physical training at the station, he said. Minifield had a rigorous schedule at VMI, where she immersed herself in leadership activities, athletics and glee club, and volunteered with children. She pushed herself athletically, taking up power-lifting and finding success in that endeavor, including winning first place in her weight category in a tournament. Now in graduate school, her schedule remains just as packed. She has continued her commitment to serving others in her hometown of Winchester, where she volunteers with children and helps with a law enforcement explorers program. She credits her father, a former soldier who became a community police officer, as being a role model who instilled a love of service in her. Her time serving in the Coast Guard and volunteering in the community has exponential payoffs, she explained, saying she is happy to pay it forward: "Without the people who helped me when I was younger, I would not be where I am." Minifield said she feels proud and humbled when young people reach out to her for advice. "It means a lot because I can think back to when I was in their shoes," she said. She said she believes strongly in seeking opportunities to help the younger generation. People might underestimate young people, she said, but in them she sees unlimited potential, and the ability to bring fresh perspectives and new approaches to tackling challenges. Her advice to young people is: Give it your best shot, work hard and put in 100 percent. Don't let a bad experience hold you back or get you discouraged. Keep moving; keep persevering. While Minifield admits her schedule is a lot to handle, she said effective time management, along with some trial and error, prove to be a successful formula in getting it all done. Besides, she said, she wouldn't want it any other way.

    And the men and women of the Coast Guard Auxiliary are stepping up their integration in day-to-day operations throughout Sector Charleston, S.C.'s area of responsibility.

 

SECDEF meets with Jordan's king, calls South Korean and Italian counterparts

     

    Defense Secretary Jim Mattis held his first bilateral meeting with a foreign leader yesterday and later spoke via phone with the South Korean and Italian defense ministers, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said.

    The defense secretary welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah II to the Pentagon, where Mattis reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Jordanian strategic relationship and America’s commitment to security and stability in the region, the captain said. "The two leaders have had a close and continuing dialogue for many years," Davis said, adding that the defense secretary expressed his deep appreciation to King Abdullah II for Jordan's commitment and contributions to the Coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The two emphasized the close nature of the U.S.-Jordan defense partnership and reiterated their shared commitment to ensuring a stable and secure Middle East, the captain said.

    Mattis spoke by telephone with South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo to introduce himself and reaffirm the U.S' commitment to defend South Korea and provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities, Davis said. Han congratulated Mattis on his confirmation and both wished each other a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year. In their discussion, the two leaders affirmed that the U.S.-South Korea alliance of more than 60 years "remains even more relevant today and determined to take steps to strengthen the alliance further to defend against the evolving North Korean threat," the captain said. Mattis also noted that his visit to South Korea and Japan will be his first overseas trip during his tenure as secretary of defense, and said that the U.S. will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with South Korean forces, Davis said.

    The defense secretary also discussed the strong U.S.-Italy defense partnership in his call with Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, the captain said. In their first conversation, Mattis thanked Pinotti for Italy's leadership and contributions in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, and in securing Europe's southern flank, Davis said. "He praised the professionalism, capabilities and compassion of Italy’s deployed forces, saying that Italian forces represent the best that Italy has to offer," the captain said. "He highlighted specifically Italy’s carabinieri, who are performing the important work of stability police training in several theaters." Davis said Mattis also noted his desire to consult closely with Italy on security issues of mutual concern, especially Libya. Both leaders pledged to consult further at next month’s meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

 

U.S. Public Health Service

    

    Windstar Cruises' 212-guest Star Legend has received a 100-point perfect score on its USPHS inspection. Conducted by United States Public Health Service officers, cruise ships are rated on a 100-point scale assessing how well the ships are operating.

 

Homeland insecurity

    

    The FBI and its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners have been working hard to make sure the big game and the events leading up to it in Houston, Texas, are without incident.

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it will comply with judicial orders not to deport detained travelers. The homeland security secretary, John Kelly, emailed staff to say that Customs officials "are and will remain in compliance" with court orders.

    President Donald Trump intends to nominate Elaine Duke as deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

 

News from the U.S. Marshals Service

    

    A man wanted in the shootings at a Tennessee Army National Guard armory has been captured in Detroit, Mich. He was arrested without incident by U.S. Marshals in Detroit and has been charged with 10 counts attempted first-degree murder.

    Kristy Lynn Brooks, a North Carolina non-custodial parent on the run with her daughter for a year was taken into custody yesterday by deputy U.S. Marshals.

    U.S. Marshals, working with detectives from the Broken Arrow (Okla.) Police Department, have arrested Richard Patrick Spaulding, 43, and Sonia R. Weidenfelder for murder.  

    And the U.S. Marshals Service is looking for a federal prisoner who escaped from a prison camp in Atwater, Okla.

 

U.S. Army

    

    The Army has placed a $90 million small arms ammunition order. The U.S. Army's contract with the Olin Corp. includes deliveries of 5.56, 7.62 and .50 caliber ammunition cartridges.

    Polish President Andrzej Duda saluted a U.S. Army soldier during the opening of a joint Polish and U.S. exercise on the training fields in Zagan.

    The Army is integrating sensors, weapons, computers, communications gear and display screens into its tactical and combat vehicles.

    For the first time, the Army will use a talent management process that integrates the personnel records of active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard soldiers.

    The U.S. Army is seeking to cement President Trump's promise to stick by NATO.

    The city of Scranton, Pa., plans to acquire the former Serrenti Memorial Army Reserve Center for use as a emergency services facility.

    "If it weren't for our veterans, I wouldn't be where I am today," said Maj. Gen. Troy D. Kok, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

    Adam Fiegl had to resign his job as a sheriff's deputy in Buffalo, N.Y., in November after he admitted he smuggled opiates into the Erie County Holding Center last year - but he gets to remain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

    U.S. Army Military Police officers have performed a K-9 demonstration for the students of Northern Michigan University.

    Beginning in March and continuing through April, an exercise named "Operation Cold Steel" will train Army Reserve soldiers in crew-served weapons at Ft. McCoy, Wis.

    For the first time since 2014, and one of the few times since 2001, all of the units of the New Hampshire Army National Guard are back home.

    The Steel Valley High School football team in Munhall, Pa., was honored on the 12th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions, presented by the Army National Guard.

    Fort Benning, Ga., has launched a new fitness program designed to
improve the whole soldier.

    U.S. Army soldiers have joined the local population in South Korea for friendly matches of Jui Jitsu.

    Soldiers Broadcasting launched its newest video series called "Soldiers" today on Defense TV, YouTube and the new Soldiers webpage.

    Major Gen. Frank Vavala, the Adjutant General of the Delaware National Guard, will host an Open House celebrating his career and retirement.

    And nearly 200 members of the Maryland Army National Guard have left home for the Middle East, bringing to about 500 the number of Maryland Army National Guardsmen currently serving overseas.

 

UFO news

    

    According to the recently declassified CIA documents which have been since published online, the agency believes they have spotted several UFOs in the skies over India, beginning around 1968.

 

 

 

 

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