This should be read as a direct continuation of yesterday's post; http://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/operation-featherweight-month-43-week-1.html
I should start by correcting an omission from that post.
ISIL are allied with the Army of Khalid Ibrahim al-Walid/Jaish Khalid Ibn al-Walid group who operate in the Yarmouk River basin. ISIL themselves continue to maintain a presence on the border between Hama and Homs Provinces and the Euphrates River basin. They also maintain control over the Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian Refugees in the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus.
Apart from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) the other main force which has been fighting to clear ISIL from the Euphrates River basin are the Syrians themselves. They are backed by longstanding allies Russia and Iran alongside the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Since the late spring of 2017 the Syrians have been working to liberate central Syria from ISIL. Both in the north and south of the country.
In August 2017 the Syrians north and south advances converged on the town of as-Suknah. This around 130km (75
miles)
south of Raqqa, 65km (40 miles) north-east
of Palmyra and around 200km (120 miles) west of Syria's border with Iraq.
Having converged on as-Suknah Syrian forces then liberated the cities, towns, villages and other population centres along the south bank of the Euphrates River.
On September 24th 2017 (24/9/17) the Syrians liberated Madan. This sits around 55km (30 miles) south-east of Raqqa
and around 65km (40 miles) north-west of Deir-ez-Zour City.
On October 14th 2017 (14/10/17) the Syrians liberated Mayadin. This sits around 60km (35 miles) south-east of Deir-ez-Zour and around 70km (40 miles) of the Syria/Iraq border.
On November 18th 2017 (18/11/17) the Syrians fully liberated Deir-ez-Zour City. The capital of Deir-ez-Zour Province this is the largest city on the Euphrates save for Raqqa.
On November 9th 2017 (9/11/17) the Syrians liberated Abu Kamal/Al-Bukamal. The last major population centre held by ISIL on the south bank of the Euphrates this sits around 80km (50 miles) south-east of Mayadin and just 8km (5 miles) from
Syria's border with Iraq.
Following the liberation of Abu Kamal ISIL were able to re-group outside of the town. Along with sleeper cells remaining in the town they were able to launch a counter-offensive which had recaptured around 50-75% of the town by November 12th 2017 (12/11/17).
However bolstered by reinforcements from Mayadin the Syrians were able to launch a fresh attempt to liberate Abu Kamal on November 13th 2017 (13/11/17). By November 19th 2017 (19/11/17) had been once again liberated and remains under Syrian control.
Finally the Syrians set about liberating the areas between Mayadin and Abu Kamal. On December 5th (5/12/17) the Syrians liberated Qataa, Jalaa, Ramadi and
Buqan. These all sit in an roughly 65kmsq (40 milesq) area.
The last area under ISIL control the liberation of the Qataa to Buqan area allowed to Syrians to declare that all the territory on the south bank of the Euphrates had been liberated from ISIL.
With the SDF liberating the northern bank of the Euphrates and the Syrians liberating the southern bank there has obviously been some tension between the two.
For example on December 2nd (2/12/17) the Syrians liberated
al-Jadlah. This sits around 50km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and
around 30km (20 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
Crucially al-Jadlah sits on the northern bank of the Euphrates which is generally considered to be the SDF's area of operations. It also sits within the area traditionally controlled by the Sheitat Tribe.
As such the Syrians move into al-Jadlah seemed to be an attempt to prevent the SDF from liberating the Sheitat Tribal area instead keeping it under Syrian government control. However the Syrians have not attempted to advance beyond al-Jadlah and although I've not had it confirmed may have withdrawn to their side of the Euphrates.
On December 22nd 2017 (22/12/17) the SDF and the Syrians exchanged fire at Busayrah and Khisham. Busayrah sits almost on an island where the Khobar and Euphrates Rivers meet. Khisham sits almost directly to the south-east of Busayrah.
This exchange of fire was initiated by the Syrians. It occurred during the eighth round of meetings in the Astana Process in Syria.
The main topic for discussion at that eighth round of meetings were efforts to arrange the Syrian National Congress. This provisionally scheduled to be held in Sochi, Russia on January 29th 2018 (29/1/18) and January 30th 2018 (30/1/18).
This was initially agreed upon at the seventh round of meetings in the Astana Process held on on October 30th 2017 (30/10/17) and October 31st 2017 (31/10/17). The congress was supposed to take place on November 18th 2017 (18/11/17). However Turkey backed out of the agreement due to plans to include Syria's Kurds in what is supposed to be a national dialogue of all Syrian people.
Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan's objection seems to be to all Kurds wherever the may be in the World. However he specifically objects to the involvement of the SDF within the Syrian National Congress. Therefore there are certain advantages to the Syrians and the Russians showing they share Erdogan's hostility to the SDF.
The eighth round of meetings in the Astana Process concluded with a much firmer commitment to the Syrian National Congress being held in Sochi at the end of January. As a concession Erdogan has agreed to allow Syria's Kurds to be represented by the Kurdish National Coalition (ENKS).
However the ENKS have little influence amongst Syria's Kurds being an extension of the Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Under the Barzanis the KDP has become little more than a puppet regime for Erdogan.
In their sweep across the south of the country the Syrians liberated the town of al-Tanf in early June 2017. This is located right on the Syria/Iraq border around 280km (170 miles) east of the Syrian capital Damascus.
In liberating al-Tanf the Syrians isolated the nearby military base designated; "Bobby Sands." This was being used by American and British Special Operations Forces (SOF's) to train fragments of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) known collectively as; "The Southern Front."
Following the Syrian liberation of al-Tanf the British SOF's - the Special Air Service (SAS) - pulled out of Bobby Sands.
However American SOF's have continued to operate the base in order to train the Revolutionary Commando Army/Maghawir al-Thawra group. With ISIL largely defeated and the group unaffiliated with the SDF it is unclear for what purpose Maghawir al-Thawra continue to be trained.
The presence of American SOF's at the Bobby Sands base prevent the Syrians and Russians conducting airstrikes in the area. Likewise the presence of Syrian and Russian forces prevent CJTFOIR from conducting airstrikes in the area.
This has created an ungoverned corridor through which fleeing ISIL fighters seem able to move freely.
The Syrians and the Russians have made it quite clear that they think it's time for the US to abandon the Bobby Sands base so security can be restored to the area. The British have already left.
Despite the clashes a Busayrah and Khisham the Syrians seem to be happy to leave the SDF to their area of operations north of the Euphrates.
The Syrians most elite ground unit is the Tiger Forces. It was these forces that travelled from Mayadin on November 13th 2017 (13/11/17) to decisively win the second battle for Abu Kamal
Although they are very different in structure the Syrian Tiger Forces name seems to be inspired by the Tiger Force Battalion of the US 101st Airborne. During the Vietnam War the US Tiger Force were notorious for committing war crimes and human rights abuses.
Something that people might need to be reminded off when the US pretends to be appalled by accusations of similar allegations being made against Syrian forces.
On or around December 13th 2017 (13/12/17) the Syrian Tiger Forces were redeployed away from the Euphrates River basin. They handed responsibility for security in the area to the Jerusalem Brigade/Liwa al-Quds and the Fatimiah (daughter of the Prophet) Brigade/Liwa al-Fatemiyoun militias.
These Sunni and Shia militias are clearly not as effective as the Tiger Forces. On December 18th (18/12/17) ISIL conducted a fresh offensive allowing them recapture the Buqan area including Ramadi and al-Hasrat.
Fortunately the militias in Syria received assistance from the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF). They crossed into Syria and the Buqan area was once again liberated on December 22nd 2017 (22/12/17).
Since then there have been no clashes reported between either the Syrians and ISIL or the Syrians and the SDF in the Euphrates basin area.
17:45 on 11/1/18 (UK date).
Thursday, 11 January 2018
Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Operation Featherweight: Month 43, Week 1, Day 2.
In the summer of 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were at their most powerful.
They controlled large swathes of both Iraq and Syria. They'd declared themselves to be an Islamist Caliphate. Their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to be it's Caliph and the Syrian city of Raqqa to be its capital.
Now as we stand at the start of 2018 ISIL find themselves in a much more sorry state.
On November 3rd 2017 (3/11/17) the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) liberated the town of al-Qaim. This sits in the western Anbar Province just on the Iraqi side of the Iraq/Syria border. The last population centre held by ISIL in Iraq the liberation of al-Qaim allowed the Iraqis to declare that all of Iraq had been liberated from ISIL.
Iraq is made up of two main regions. The Arab region which makes up the bulk of the country and the Kurdish region in the north-east of the country. Both of these regions have their own governments and security forces. The ISF and the Peshmerga. With the Kurdish region supposed to be subservient to the main Iraqi both these governments and security forces have worked together to liberate the nation.
In October 2017 the then President of the Kurdish region Masoud Barzani unilaterally and completely illegal declared independence from Iraq. This included in areas outside of the Kurdish region that the Peshmerga had seized militarily during the fight against ISIL.
This triggered a crisis which saw the ISF turn their attentions to gently squeezing the Peshmerga from the captured areas and restoring Iraqi control. This has created something of a power vacuum in the areas where the Kurdish region and the Arab region meet. Particularly around the areas of Hawija and Tuz Khurmatu.
This security vacuum has allowed ISIL to continue to maintain a presence in that area. However they are unable to control any cities, town, villages or other centre. Instead they are limited to isolated camps in the mountains and other rural areas.
Within Syria ISIL continue to maintain a significant presence in the north-west of the country along the border between Hama and Homs Provinces.
ISIL are also allied with the Army of Khalid Ibrahim al-Walid/Jaish Khalid Ibn al-Walid group. They operate in the south-western Daraa Province along the basin of the Yarmouk River close to the Golan Heights United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) zone.
The main focus of the last six months or so has been on ousting ISIL from their Syrian heartland in the north-west of the country. This is centred around the basin of the Euphrates River including the city of Raqqa.
One of the main forces fighting ISIL in that area is the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD). This is a coalition of forces that was created in October 2015.
The largest element of the SDF coalition is the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). They operate alongside Assyrian/Syriac Christian, Turkmen and Arab Muslim forces. The Arab element which makes up around 50% of the SDF is comprised of both elements of the long defunct Free Syrian Army and local tribes indigenous to north-eastern Syria.
The SDF is supported by the US-led coalition; Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) both with air power and Special Operations Forces (SOF's). The SDF also contains a small International Brigade made up of foreign volunteers.
Although the SDF did not formally come into being until October 2015 the YPG have been operating alongside fragments of the FSA since the Battle of Kobane in the winter of 2014/15.
In July 2015 this unnamed combined force liberated the town Tel Abyad/Gire Spi from ISIL. Tel Abyad sits right on the border between Syria and Turkey around 45km (25 miles) east of the Euphrates.
In August 2015 this precursor to the SDF liberated the city of Hasakah from both ISIL and Syrian forces. Hasakah sits around 60km (35 miles) west of the Syria/Iraq border and around 75km (45 miles) south of Syria's border with Turkey.
The liberations of Tal Abyad and Hasakah put what became the SDF in control of a vast area of north-eastern Syria from the Euphrates to Syria's borders with Turkey and Iraq. For operational reasons this area which cuts across parts of several of Syria's provinces has been designated; "Shangri-La."
In November 2016 the SDF launched an operation codenamed; "Wrath of Euphrates." It's ultimate objective was to liberate the city of Raqqa from ISIL. However before it could do that it had to expand Shangri-La to Raqqa City.
In late November 2016 the SDF took up positions around 25km (15 miles) north of Raqqa having liberated around 600kmsq (360 milesq) of territory.
In early January 2017 the SDF took up positions at Lake Assad around 55km (30 miles) west of Raqqa. In the process the SDF liberated around 3,200kmsq (1.920 milesq) of territory along the eastern bank of the Euphrates from where the river enters Syria from Turkey.
In March 2017 the SDF took up positions at Karamah around 30km (20 miles) east of Raqqa. In the process the SDF liberated around 1000kmsq (600 milesq) of territory.
In early May the SDF liberated the town of Tabqa and took control of the Tabqa Dam. This sits on the southern banks of the Euphrates around 50km (30 miles) west of Raqqa. Tabqa Dam forms Lake Assad out of the Euphrates.
On June 6th 2017 (6/6/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate the city of Raqqa itself. After 133 days of intense urban fighting Raqqa was fully liberated on October 19th 2017 (19/10/17).
While the operation to liberate Raqqa City was ongoing the SDF were also advancing south-east along the north bank of the Euphrates from Karamah.
On September 9th 2017 (9/9/17) the SDF launched a second operation along the Euphrates basin. This was codenamed; "Cizre Storm."
At the time Cizre Storm was launched the only area of Syria north-east of the Euphrates River which did not fall under SDF control as part of Shangri-La is a roughly 1500kmsq (860 milesq) area stretching across the Khobar River.
Roughly in the shape of a triangle this area had as its tip the point where the Euphrates River enters Iraq. It's base is an imaginary line stretching between the towns of Madan and al-Shadaddi.
Madan sits on the Euphrates River roughly 70km (40 miles) south-east of Raqqa and 110km (70 miles) north-west of Mayadin. Al-Shadaddi sits on the Khobar River roughly 150km (90 miles) east of Raqqa and roughly 130km (75 miles) north of Mayadin.
The objective of the Cizre Storm operation is to advance from the Madan-Shadaddi Line, across the Khobar River to where the Euphrates River enters Iraq. This will liberate the area from ISIL and properly establish Shangri-La with the Euphrates River as its southern boundary.
Although the technical aspects of the operation are more complex put simply it has two phases; To advance from the Madan-Shadaddi Line to the Khobar River. Then cross the river and advance to the Syria/Iraq border.
Within both of those phases there are two strands; Liberating the largely unpopulated areas of desert north of the Euphrates. Liberating the population centres that sit directly on the north bank of the Euphrates.
On September 26th 2017 (26/9/17) the SDF reached and liberated the town of as-Suwar. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar roughly 95km (60 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line.
On October 4th 2017 (4/10/17) the SDF reached the town of Markadah. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar roughly 30km (20 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line and around 30km (20 miles) north-east of as-Suwar. Markadah went on to be liberated on October 20th 2017 (20/10/17).
On October 10th 2017 (10/10/17) the SDF reached and liberated the town of Zuwaymiah. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar right where it meets the Euphrates. It is around 100km (60 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line and around 40km (25 miles) south-west of as-Suwar.
The liberation of Zuwaymiah meant that the SDF had reached the Khobar River at three points and the first phase of the Cizre Storm operation had been completed.
On October 14th 2017 (14/10/17) the SDF advanced from Karamah arrived at the outskirts of Deir-ez-Zour City. This linked the Cizre Storm and Wrath of Euphrates operations.
On October 20th 2017 (20/10/17) the Cizre Storm operation crossed the Khobar.
The desert strand made rapid progress liberating the Omar Oil & Gas Field on October 21st 2017 (21/10/17). Being some 160kmsq (95 milesq) in area the liberation of the Omar Oil & Gas Field put the SDF within just 40km (25 miles) from Syria's border with Iraq.
On November 25th 2017 (25/11/17) the desert strand reached the Syria/Iraq border roughly at the village of Mallah and its associated Salt Pan. This sits roughly 45km (25 miles) north-east of where the Euphrates River enters Iraq from Syria.
The task of liberating the urban areas along the north bank of the Euphrates is more complicated than liberating the unpopulated desert areas. Therefore this river strand has understandably made slower progress.
However because the SDF control the area to the north of those urban areas they have been able to advance south to the Euphrates. This has allowed them to cut the urban areas off from each other and liberate them in what to the untrained eye seems a haphazard way.
The immediate focus was on liberating the town of Busayrah. This sits almost on an island where the Euphrates and Khobar Rivers meet. Busayrah was liberated by the SDF on November 11th 2017 (11/11/17).
Having liberated Busayrah the SDF then advanced south-east towards the town of Diban. This sits around 20km (10 miles) south-east of Busayrah and was liberated on November 17th 2017 (17/11/17). En route from Busayrah to Diban the SDF also liberated Shuhyal and al-Gharbi which sit between the two.
The SDF advance then leapfrogged to liberate the town of Abu Hamman on December 1st 2017 (1/12/17). This sits around 25km (15 miles) south-east of Diban.
The SDF advance leapfrogged again to liberate the town of Hajin and the nearby village of Grennig on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) and December 8th 2017 (8/12/17). Hajin sits around 45km (30 miles) south-east of Diban. It is actually closer to the Syria/Iraq border which sits 30km (20 miles) south-east of Hajin.
On December 2nd (2/12/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate the towns of Darnaj, Suwaydan Jazirah, al-Jurdi al-Gharbi and al-Jurdi ash-Sharqi. These all sit in the area between Diban and Abu Hamman.
Suwaydah was reported liberated on December 12th 2017 (12/12/17). Al-Jurdi al-Gharbi was reported liberated the following day on December 13th 2017 (13/12/17). On December 17th (17/12/17) al-Jurdi ash-Sharqi was reported liberated.
The roughly 225kmsq (135milesq) area between Abu Hamman and Hajin is traditionally controlled by the Sheitat Tribe. That tribe has traditionally been loyal to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. Following the liberation of Abu Hamman the SDF entered into negotiations with the Sheitat Tribe to enter the area to clear it of ISIL.
Those negotiations appear to have been successful. On December 15th 2017 (15/12/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate areas within the Sheitat Tribal Area such as Marsama Gharbi, al-Khuskiyah and Garanij. Marsama Gharbi was reported liberated on December 30th 2017 (30/12/17).
On December 29th 2017 (29/12/17) the SDF reported the liberation of the villages of Jubb al-Bahrah, al-Qahawi, al-Jabal and Kashkiyan. These all sit around 5km (3 miles) north-west of Hajin. Jubba al-Bahrah sits directly south-east of the town of al-Bahrah which in turn borders the Sheitat Tribal Area to the south-east.
Amid all of the recent big battles such as for the cities of Raqqa and Mosul in Iraq ISIL have to some extent fled. They take their most precious resources such as their leader al-Baghdadi and move them to fallback positions. Amid the final stages of the Cizre Storm operation ISIL have now run out of fallback positions to flee too.
With ISIL being forced to make their last stand the fighting has intensified significantly. On a single day of fighting for Suwaydan on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) the SDF killed 35 ISIL fighters. Across the course of the 10 day battle for the town 273 ISIL fighters were confirmed killed.
ISIL have also begun to widely adopt the tactics they used in Abu Kamal/Abu Bukamal against Syrian forces in early November 2017. That is they initially abandon the area in the face on an advancing enemy. They then re-group outside in order to launch a counter-attack alongside clandestine cells remaining in the area.
In the face of these tactics numerous locations have swung back-and-forth between ISIL and SDF control multiple times.
For example Abu Hardub a village adjacent to Abu Hamman was liberated on December 13th 2017 (13/12/17). It was then lost to ISIL before being liberated for a second time on December 25th 2017 (25/12/17). Likewise Hajin was liberated on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) before being lost and liberated for a second time on December 28th (28/12/17).
Also ISIL have begun to rely more on insurgent tactics particularly targeting the local civilian population. On December 20th 2017 (20/12/17) ISIL fighters disguised as civilians infiltrated a newly liberated village near al-Gharbi. They murdered five people including the leader of the village before fleeing.
ISIL have also continued to use Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED's) against civilians. A December 17th 2017 (17/12/17) attack on the Tanak Oil & Gas Field wounded 20.
ISIL claim that a December 30th 2017 (30/12/17) VBIED attack on al-Bahra killed 20 and wounded 50. Curiously that attack was carried out by a German ISIL fighter who referred to the SDF as the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). There is currently a degree of tension between Turkey and Germany over Germany's support for the SDF which Turkey claims is nothing more than an extension of the PKK.
The SDF do seem well placed to combat this shift in ISIL tactics. They have already formed a specialised elite Anti-Terrorism Unit (YAT).
On January 3rd 2018 (3/1/18) the YAT conducted an intelligence-led operation against a clandestine ISIL cell that had been plotting to attack against the Mabrouka camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP's) close to Hasakah City.
The raid which took place in the SDF controlled village of Karamah around 30km (20 miles) east of Raqqa City resulted in the deaths of all 14 members of the terror cell.
17:45 on 10/1/18 (UK date).
They controlled large swathes of both Iraq and Syria. They'd declared themselves to be an Islamist Caliphate. Their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to be it's Caliph and the Syrian city of Raqqa to be its capital.
Now as we stand at the start of 2018 ISIL find themselves in a much more sorry state.
On November 3rd 2017 (3/11/17) the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) liberated the town of al-Qaim. This sits in the western Anbar Province just on the Iraqi side of the Iraq/Syria border. The last population centre held by ISIL in Iraq the liberation of al-Qaim allowed the Iraqis to declare that all of Iraq had been liberated from ISIL.
Iraq is made up of two main regions. The Arab region which makes up the bulk of the country and the Kurdish region in the north-east of the country. Both of these regions have their own governments and security forces. The ISF and the Peshmerga. With the Kurdish region supposed to be subservient to the main Iraqi both these governments and security forces have worked together to liberate the nation.
In October 2017 the then President of the Kurdish region Masoud Barzani unilaterally and completely illegal declared independence from Iraq. This included in areas outside of the Kurdish region that the Peshmerga had seized militarily during the fight against ISIL.
This triggered a crisis which saw the ISF turn their attentions to gently squeezing the Peshmerga from the captured areas and restoring Iraqi control. This has created something of a power vacuum in the areas where the Kurdish region and the Arab region meet. Particularly around the areas of Hawija and Tuz Khurmatu.
This security vacuum has allowed ISIL to continue to maintain a presence in that area. However they are unable to control any cities, town, villages or other centre. Instead they are limited to isolated camps in the mountains and other rural areas.
Within Syria ISIL continue to maintain a significant presence in the north-west of the country along the border between Hama and Homs Provinces.
ISIL are also allied with the Army of Khalid Ibrahim al-Walid/Jaish Khalid Ibn al-Walid group. They operate in the south-western Daraa Province along the basin of the Yarmouk River close to the Golan Heights United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) zone.
The main focus of the last six months or so has been on ousting ISIL from their Syrian heartland in the north-west of the country. This is centred around the basin of the Euphrates River including the city of Raqqa.
One of the main forces fighting ISIL in that area is the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD). This is a coalition of forces that was created in October 2015.
The largest element of the SDF coalition is the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). They operate alongside Assyrian/Syriac Christian, Turkmen and Arab Muslim forces. The Arab element which makes up around 50% of the SDF is comprised of both elements of the long defunct Free Syrian Army and local tribes indigenous to north-eastern Syria.
The SDF is supported by the US-led coalition; Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) both with air power and Special Operations Forces (SOF's). The SDF also contains a small International Brigade made up of foreign volunteers.
Although the SDF did not formally come into being until October 2015 the YPG have been operating alongside fragments of the FSA since the Battle of Kobane in the winter of 2014/15.
In July 2015 this unnamed combined force liberated the town Tel Abyad/Gire Spi from ISIL. Tel Abyad sits right on the border between Syria and Turkey around 45km (25 miles) east of the Euphrates.
In August 2015 this precursor to the SDF liberated the city of Hasakah from both ISIL and Syrian forces. Hasakah sits around 60km (35 miles) west of the Syria/Iraq border and around 75km (45 miles) south of Syria's border with Turkey.
The liberations of Tal Abyad and Hasakah put what became the SDF in control of a vast area of north-eastern Syria from the Euphrates to Syria's borders with Turkey and Iraq. For operational reasons this area which cuts across parts of several of Syria's provinces has been designated; "Shangri-La."
In November 2016 the SDF launched an operation codenamed; "Wrath of Euphrates." It's ultimate objective was to liberate the city of Raqqa from ISIL. However before it could do that it had to expand Shangri-La to Raqqa City.
In late November 2016 the SDF took up positions around 25km (15 miles) north of Raqqa having liberated around 600kmsq (360 milesq) of territory.
In early January 2017 the SDF took up positions at Lake Assad around 55km (30 miles) west of Raqqa. In the process the SDF liberated around 3,200kmsq (1.920 milesq) of territory along the eastern bank of the Euphrates from where the river enters Syria from Turkey.
In March 2017 the SDF took up positions at Karamah around 30km (20 miles) east of Raqqa. In the process the SDF liberated around 1000kmsq (600 milesq) of territory.
In early May the SDF liberated the town of Tabqa and took control of the Tabqa Dam. This sits on the southern banks of the Euphrates around 50km (30 miles) west of Raqqa. Tabqa Dam forms Lake Assad out of the Euphrates.
On June 6th 2017 (6/6/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate the city of Raqqa itself. After 133 days of intense urban fighting Raqqa was fully liberated on October 19th 2017 (19/10/17).
While the operation to liberate Raqqa City was ongoing the SDF were also advancing south-east along the north bank of the Euphrates from Karamah.
On September 9th 2017 (9/9/17) the SDF launched a second operation along the Euphrates basin. This was codenamed; "Cizre Storm."
At the time Cizre Storm was launched the only area of Syria north-east of the Euphrates River which did not fall under SDF control as part of Shangri-La is a roughly 1500kmsq (860 milesq) area stretching across the Khobar River.
Roughly in the shape of a triangle this area had as its tip the point where the Euphrates River enters Iraq. It's base is an imaginary line stretching between the towns of Madan and al-Shadaddi.
Madan sits on the Euphrates River roughly 70km (40 miles) south-east of Raqqa and 110km (70 miles) north-west of Mayadin. Al-Shadaddi sits on the Khobar River roughly 150km (90 miles) east of Raqqa and roughly 130km (75 miles) north of Mayadin.
The objective of the Cizre Storm operation is to advance from the Madan-Shadaddi Line, across the Khobar River to where the Euphrates River enters Iraq. This will liberate the area from ISIL and properly establish Shangri-La with the Euphrates River as its southern boundary.
Although the technical aspects of the operation are more complex put simply it has two phases; To advance from the Madan-Shadaddi Line to the Khobar River. Then cross the river and advance to the Syria/Iraq border.
Within both of those phases there are two strands; Liberating the largely unpopulated areas of desert north of the Euphrates. Liberating the population centres that sit directly on the north bank of the Euphrates.
On September 26th 2017 (26/9/17) the SDF reached and liberated the town of as-Suwar. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar roughly 95km (60 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line.
On October 4th 2017 (4/10/17) the SDF reached the town of Markadah. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar roughly 30km (20 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line and around 30km (20 miles) north-east of as-Suwar. Markadah went on to be liberated on October 20th 2017 (20/10/17).
On October 10th 2017 (10/10/17) the SDF reached and liberated the town of Zuwaymiah. This sits on the western bank of the Khobar right where it meets the Euphrates. It is around 100km (60 miles) south-east of the Madan-Shadaddi Line and around 40km (25 miles) south-west of as-Suwar.
The liberation of Zuwaymiah meant that the SDF had reached the Khobar River at three points and the first phase of the Cizre Storm operation had been completed.
On October 14th 2017 (14/10/17) the SDF advanced from Karamah arrived at the outskirts of Deir-ez-Zour City. This linked the Cizre Storm and Wrath of Euphrates operations.
On October 20th 2017 (20/10/17) the Cizre Storm operation crossed the Khobar.
The desert strand made rapid progress liberating the Omar Oil & Gas Field on October 21st 2017 (21/10/17). Being some 160kmsq (95 milesq) in area the liberation of the Omar Oil & Gas Field put the SDF within just 40km (25 miles) from Syria's border with Iraq.
On November 25th 2017 (25/11/17) the desert strand reached the Syria/Iraq border roughly at the village of Mallah and its associated Salt Pan. This sits roughly 45km (25 miles) north-east of where the Euphrates River enters Iraq from Syria.
The task of liberating the urban areas along the north bank of the Euphrates is more complicated than liberating the unpopulated desert areas. Therefore this river strand has understandably made slower progress.
However because the SDF control the area to the north of those urban areas they have been able to advance south to the Euphrates. This has allowed them to cut the urban areas off from each other and liberate them in what to the untrained eye seems a haphazard way.
The immediate focus was on liberating the town of Busayrah. This sits almost on an island where the Euphrates and Khobar Rivers meet. Busayrah was liberated by the SDF on November 11th 2017 (11/11/17).
Having liberated Busayrah the SDF then advanced south-east towards the town of Diban. This sits around 20km (10 miles) south-east of Busayrah and was liberated on November 17th 2017 (17/11/17). En route from Busayrah to Diban the SDF also liberated Shuhyal and al-Gharbi which sit between the two.
The SDF advance then leapfrogged to liberate the town of Abu Hamman on December 1st 2017 (1/12/17). This sits around 25km (15 miles) south-east of Diban.
The SDF advance leapfrogged again to liberate the town of Hajin and the nearby village of Grennig on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) and December 8th 2017 (8/12/17). Hajin sits around 45km (30 miles) south-east of Diban. It is actually closer to the Syria/Iraq border which sits 30km (20 miles) south-east of Hajin.
On December 2nd (2/12/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate the towns of Darnaj, Suwaydan Jazirah, al-Jurdi al-Gharbi and al-Jurdi ash-Sharqi. These all sit in the area between Diban and Abu Hamman.
Suwaydah was reported liberated on December 12th 2017 (12/12/17). Al-Jurdi al-Gharbi was reported liberated the following day on December 13th 2017 (13/12/17). On December 17th (17/12/17) al-Jurdi ash-Sharqi was reported liberated.
The roughly 225kmsq (135milesq) area between Abu Hamman and Hajin is traditionally controlled by the Sheitat Tribe. That tribe has traditionally been loyal to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad. Following the liberation of Abu Hamman the SDF entered into negotiations with the Sheitat Tribe to enter the area to clear it of ISIL.
Those negotiations appear to have been successful. On December 15th 2017 (15/12/17) the SDF launched an operation to liberate areas within the Sheitat Tribal Area such as Marsama Gharbi, al-Khuskiyah and Garanij. Marsama Gharbi was reported liberated on December 30th 2017 (30/12/17).
On December 29th 2017 (29/12/17) the SDF reported the liberation of the villages of Jubb al-Bahrah, al-Qahawi, al-Jabal and Kashkiyan. These all sit around 5km (3 miles) north-west of Hajin. Jubba al-Bahrah sits directly south-east of the town of al-Bahrah which in turn borders the Sheitat Tribal Area to the south-east.
Amid all of the recent big battles such as for the cities of Raqqa and Mosul in Iraq ISIL have to some extent fled. They take their most precious resources such as their leader al-Baghdadi and move them to fallback positions. Amid the final stages of the Cizre Storm operation ISIL have now run out of fallback positions to flee too.
With ISIL being forced to make their last stand the fighting has intensified significantly. On a single day of fighting for Suwaydan on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) the SDF killed 35 ISIL fighters. Across the course of the 10 day battle for the town 273 ISIL fighters were confirmed killed.
ISIL have also begun to widely adopt the tactics they used in Abu Kamal/Abu Bukamal against Syrian forces in early November 2017. That is they initially abandon the area in the face on an advancing enemy. They then re-group outside in order to launch a counter-attack alongside clandestine cells remaining in the area.
In the face of these tactics numerous locations have swung back-and-forth between ISIL and SDF control multiple times.
For example Abu Hardub a village adjacent to Abu Hamman was liberated on December 13th 2017 (13/12/17). It was then lost to ISIL before being liberated for a second time on December 25th 2017 (25/12/17). Likewise Hajin was liberated on December 7th 2017 (7/12/17) before being lost and liberated for a second time on December 28th (28/12/17).
Also ISIL have begun to rely more on insurgent tactics particularly targeting the local civilian population. On December 20th 2017 (20/12/17) ISIL fighters disguised as civilians infiltrated a newly liberated village near al-Gharbi. They murdered five people including the leader of the village before fleeing.
ISIL have also continued to use Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED's) against civilians. A December 17th 2017 (17/12/17) attack on the Tanak Oil & Gas Field wounded 20.
ISIL claim that a December 30th 2017 (30/12/17) VBIED attack on al-Bahra killed 20 and wounded 50. Curiously that attack was carried out by a German ISIL fighter who referred to the SDF as the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). There is currently a degree of tension between Turkey and Germany over Germany's support for the SDF which Turkey claims is nothing more than an extension of the PKK.
The SDF do seem well placed to combat this shift in ISIL tactics. They have already formed a specialised elite Anti-Terrorism Unit (YAT).
On January 3rd 2018 (3/1/18) the YAT conducted an intelligence-led operation against a clandestine ISIL cell that had been plotting to attack against the Mabrouka camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP's) close to Hasakah City.
The raid which took place in the SDF controlled village of Karamah around 30km (20 miles) east of Raqqa City resulted in the deaths of all 14 members of the terror cell.
17:45 on 10/1/18 (UK date).
Tuesday, 2 January 2018
New Year. Same Old Carnage.
2017 has given way to 2018. So if I remember nothing in this post I really have to remember to put the right date at the end.
December 2017 saw intense discussion over the popstar Rihanna's relationship with Saudi national Hassan Jameel. At the centre of this discussion is the fact that Jameel supplied the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with thousands of Toyota motor vehicles. It was being conducted by some of the major players in the war against ISIL.
So although it probably doesn't seem like it to people fighting on the front lines this discussion is sadly very relevant to the war against ISIL.
On December 26th (26/12/17) Rihanna's cousin Tavon Alleyne was killed in a targeted shooting. He was returning home from a party that Rihanna had hosted in their native Barbados.
I cannot yet confirm that the British intelligence services had Rihanna's cousin killed. However for several weeks before the killing Britain and other intelligence services had been discussing killing people close to Rihanna. Those conversations alone had a death toll of 36.
On December 31st (31/12/17) Australia made another large contribution to the discussion. A light aircraft crashed en route to the city of Sydney. The crash killed six people including a British family of five.
Obviously killing British citizens is a sign of hostility towards Britain. It tends not to be something you do when you are pleased about the way Britain is conducting itself. The crash also increased the pressure on Britain by including a large number of complex references.
For example the exact site of the crash was Jerusalem Bay. On December 6th (6/12/17) US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He then immediately signed a waiver suspending his decision. Just as every US President has done since 1995.
To say President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem was controversial is an understatement. Not least because violating international law it is not something he has the authority to do.
On December 19th (19/12/17) the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met to vote on a motion condemning President Trump's decision. Of the UNSC's 15 members 14 voted in support of the motion with only the veto holding US voting against.
On December 21st (21/12/17) the defeated UNSC motion went to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). By a vote of 128 to 9 the US' UNSC veto was overturned and the motion was adopted. This is only the 11th time in history that a UNSC veto has been overturned by the UNGA.
Over the winter break the most reported upon development in the story is that the popstar Lorde cancelled a concert scheduled to be held in Israel's capital Tel Aviv. Rather than being a direct protest of President Trump's decision this was a more general response to pressure from the very aggressive Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Lorde is originally from Australia's neighbour New Zealand. Although a friendly rivalry does exist between the two Australia and New Zealand are culturally very similar. The flags of the two nations are almost identical.
Apart from New Zealanders being far more polite one of the main differences between the two nations is their attitude towards being part of the British Commonwealth Realm. Australia keeps threatening to do away with British Queen Elizabeth II as head of state while New Zealand are very pro-Monarchy.
Lorde's big break came in 2013 when she was just 15 years old. Her single; "Royals" was rushed out specifically to coincide with Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour (DWT). It was intended to increase the pressure on Rihanna by reminding her that no matter how many of her fans call her queen she will never be Royal.
So if you were looking to find the significance of the Jerusalem Bay crash feel free to take your pick from any and all of that.
The specific aircraft which crashed was a DHC-2 Beaver. With a name like that sexual innuendo is inevitable.
In production from 1947 to 1967 the DHC-2 Beaver has been a very widely used aircraft. It was used by the British Army Air Corp as a reconnaissance aircraft. Most notably in Aden in what is now Yemen during the 1963-1967 Aden Emergency.
The DHC-2 Beaver was also used during the Northern Irish Troubles which have been a major theme in the war against ISIL.
In one particular incident in November 1979 the aircraft was being used to surveil a checkpoint the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) had established on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. PIRA opened fire on the aircraft nearly shooting it down. As result that area of the border became known as; "Beaver Junction."
The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has been a major sticking point in negotiations on Britain leaving the European Union (EU) - the "Brexit." A point driven home by the fact one of those killed in the crash - William Cousins - was the head of public relations for; "Open Britain" - a pressure group determined to keep Britain within the EU.
Beyond that the crash seemed to contain a large number of often obscure reference to my life.
One of the largest current operators of particularly the seaplane variant of the DHC-2 is a US company called; "Kenmore Air." This sounds very similar to; "Kenmore Square."
Kenmore Square is a famous area in the US city of Boston, Massachusetts. It sits close to the famous Fenway Park baseball stadium. It is very close to the Watertown area of the city where the March 2013 Boston Marathon bombers were chased. An event that coincided with Rihanna's DWT.
Kenmore Square used to sit in the town of Brookline. However in 1874 the town of Brookline merged with the town of Brighton forming the city of Boston. As such the crash focused on a period of my life when I was living in the British city of Brighton.
The head of the family killed was Richard Cousins Chairman of the Compass group - one of Britain's 100 largest companies.
In British airports and railway stations you often get miniature versions of everyday high street shops such as Marks & Spencers, Starbucks, McDonalds etc. However these shops are not actually operated by those companies. Instead they are run by Compass under complex franchise deals.
As such Compass is probably the largest British retailer that no-one has ever heard of.
I know this because when I was living in Brighton one of my housemates was a manager at one of Compass' outlets.
The killing of such a high powered businessman references the killing of Barry and Honey Sherman on December 15th (15/12/17) in the city of Toronto in that other part of the British Commonwealth Realm Canada. Apart from reminding Rihanna that people are being hung for what she is doing this referenced President Trump's Jerusalem announcement through the rival generic drug maker Teva.
Although it crashed in Jerusalem Bay the flight was en route between Cottage Point and Rose Bay.
Whilst living in Brighton I had a young woman called Rose in my social circle. That social circle also contained a younger gay man.
Within gay male culture there is a practice known as; "Cottaging." This is essentially meeting strangers in an open area like a park for anonymous sex. It recently seems to have been adopted in straight culture through a practice known as; "Dogging."
Having a constant rivalry with Manchester for the title of Britain's gay capital there are obviously quite a few cottaging sites or Cottage points in Brighton.
One night I was out with this social circle - lets say - drinking. The young gay guy decided he wanted to go cottaging. We decided we didn't want to break up the group. So although we had no intention of participating we all accompanied him to this cottage point. We sat at the entrance welcoming people as they came and went about their furtive and sleazy business.
Even as we were doing it we were thinking; "Even for Brighton this is a weird story."
Now I have left Brighton my social circle is much smaller. In fact it is now just me. So I for one am not happy about being forced to migrate from Brighton to London.
In much the same way many of my distant cousins are not happy about their ancestors being forced to migrate to Australia. In the late 19th century.
One of the elements of the December discussion about Rihanna was the crash of a private jet in Germany on December 14th (14/12/17).
Britain very quickly made the connection between a plane crash and a plane crash.
So on December 31st (31/12/17) it responded to the Australian contribution. This took the form of a massive fire at a parking structure in the UK city of Liverpool. Close to the Liverpool Echo Arena where the International Horse Show was taking place.
In 2011 Rihanna along with Jay Z and Kanye West released the song; "Run This Town." Using some highly specious reasoning this song was blamed for the rioting which gripped large parts of the US in 2011.
The British Labour Party used those riots as cover to burn down almost entire city blocks of the London borough of Croydon. Their objective was to clear away the privately owned low rise buildings to replace them with high rise rental properties that the Labour Party could profit from. With talk of a large shopping mall being built in the borough you would think those profits would be significant.
Having gone unpunished for the 2011 arson attacks the Labour Party attempted to repeat the trick by setting fire to the Grenfell Tower in the Kensington & Chelsea borough of London in June 2017. On this occasion they murdered 70 people in an effort to overthrow the democratically elected Conservative government.
So through no fault of her own Rihanna is sadly also linked to the Grenfell Tower fire. Whether Labour will be brought to justice over the attack looks likely to be one of the big stories in the UK throughout 2018.
On December 30th (30/12/17) the UK actually referenced this themselves with a fire at an apartment block in the city of Manchester. As in the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) which was bombed on May 22nd (22/5/17).
It is also worth noting that the wife and children of former Labour leader Tony Blair have all invested heavily in the Manchester rental market. Making large profits for themselves and contributing in no small part to the city's growing homelessness problem.
The Liverpool fire occurred at a parking structure serving the "International Horse Show." With a British accent "Horse" can be pronounced to sound like "Whores" as in prostitutes. "International Whore" is certainly one way to describe Rihanna at the moment.
I joke that Rihanna and I were forced into marriage at the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Para-Olympic Games held in London to punish us both for the August 2011 riots.
Throughout 2013 the US were trying to force Rihanna into marriage to Chris Brown in an effort to make her weak and therefore easy to manipulate.
Saudi Arabia is currently trying to force Rihanna into marriage to Hassan Jameel in an effort to use her has a trophy to mock their regional rival Qatar.
This type of forced breeding is particularly common amongst people who raise horses. Particularly race horses.
Known as the Sport of Kings horse racing is very popular amongst the British Monarch and the Gulf Monarchies. Godolphin one of the World's largest horse racing stables is owned by Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Britain actually made a bit of a joke along this theme over Christmas. December 27th is one of the busiest days in the British horse racing calender.
So on Christmas Day BBC News' big story focused on the grooms who help make the racing happen. We were told of the importance of being sympathetic to these people who work very hard, away from their families for very little money.
The subtext being that in Britain's eyes I am Rihanna's preferred groom. As in Bridegroom.
At around 18:50 on 2/1/18 (UK date) I'll have to pick this up later. Probably tomorrow.
Edited at around 16:00 on 3/1/18 (UK date) to add;
The killing of Rihanna's cousin may actually have been a clumsy attempt to force us together. After all a murder is the sort of thing that has people sending for their guard dogs.
The problem is that with Rihanna being on the other side of the Atlantic there's not really anyway for us to get in contact. This is the sort of thing I would hesitate to do over the phone rather than in person. It's certainly not something you deal with in public over Twitter.
With her resources it wouldn't actually be that difficult for Rihanna to get into contact with me. However its a bit much to expect her to do that just amid the family drama of her cousin being killed.
If the Australians were trying to get attention with their contribution they certainly succeeded
On December 31st (31/12/17) the US responded with the mass shooting of police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call in the Highland Ranch area of Colorado. Boston's Kenmore Square is named after the town of Kenmore in the Scottish Highlands.
The Colorado incident broke late on New Year's Eve evening. As a result for me at least many of the details got lost in the preparations for the big midnight celebration.
However I did pick up on the fact the shooter - Matthew Riehl - was a US Army combat veteran. He was honourably discharged in 2012. This was the same year that I was married off to Rihanna and the year before she embarked on her 2013 DWT.
Therefore it could be the US expressing their displeasure at by involvement in the DWT by claiming I'd been discharged from my duties the year before. However I remember the US being very keen for me to be included in the DWT. They just assumed I'd lose.
There was also something about Riehl sending letters to and generally being in dispute with his old university. The reason I originally moved to Brighton was to go to university. However not knowing the details of Riehl dispute I can't say if there are any parallels or not.
At roughly the same time the news was breaking from Colorado news of another plane crash was also starting to emerge. This time from Costa Rica.
Located in Central America Costa Rica sits on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The killing of Rihanna's cousin in Barbados on the other side of the Caribbean is certainly in their neighborhood.
The Costa Rica plane crash killed 10 US citizens. As with the Australia plane crash this is not something you do as a gesture of friendship.
However unlike the Australia plane crash the Costa Ricans were not blaming the UK for killing Rihanna's cousin. Instead they seemed to be blaming the US for forcing Rihanna into a relationship with Hassan Jameel. Creating the conditions which forced the UK to kill her cousin.
With the exception of the crew all those killed in Costa Rica were members of two Jewish families from New York State. This referenced President Trump's Jerusalem announcement.
It also referenced the killing of Barry and Honey Sherman which itself was done in reference to President Trump's Jerusalem announcement. I'll need to check but I think both the Sherman's and the Steinberg family supported the same liberal Jewish causes.
Mainly though it seemed to be an inquiry about the fire which tore through an apartment building in the Bronx district if New York City (NYC), New York State on December (28/12/17). This killed 12 people.
In an effort to draw comparison's to the Grenfell Tower fire NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio declared it to be a historic tragedy, the likes of which the city had not seen in decades. In fact it struck me as something that was pretty typical for NYC.
Apart from the fire that had occurred in the same building a week before I pointed to a similar fire in the Brooklyn district on December 17th (17/12/17). This killed an entire family of Orthodox Jews.
It also reminded me of a March 2015 fire that killed a family of 9 Orthodox Jews also in Brooklyn. That fire was so shocking on hearing about it I assumed it must have some political dimension.
However after looking at it in detail it turns out it was just a fire. Orthodox Jews are forbidden from doing any work on their Sabbath. This includes flicking electrical switches.
So many of them leave electrical devices like lights and hotplates on throughout the Sabbath. This leads to a lot of accidental fires.
Edited again at around 18:30 on 3/1/18 (UK date) to to tidy the above and add;
Occurring almost directly across the road from Brooklyn Zoo the December 28th (28/12/17) fire was itself an enquiry. About the December 23rd (23/12/17) fire at London Zoo in the UK.
As I've mentioned that was the result of British concerns about how their relationship with Russia would be affected by the TV Show; "McMafia." Hence the reference to St Petersburg.
The December 28th (28/12/17) fire was caused by a child playing with a stove. This was in reference to the Roku box I received for Christmas 2016 but only activated on December 27th (27/12/17).
A Roku box is essentially a modem for your TV. It allows you to connect it to the Internet. The version I've got is supplied by the UK broadcaster Sky so allows you to stream their entertainment, movie and sport channels.
However rather than being received by a satellite dish or TV aerial this content comes via the Internet. So if you can hack someone's Internet connection you can watch what they're watching as they watch it.
I have been known to stream music videos on my computer. Even if I don't tell anyone I'm doing it this still has a way of provoking a reaction.
If I were to start streaming programs like the US TV Show; "False Flag" which is about Israeli spies and a plot to assassinate Iranian leaders that's likely to draw an even more complex reaction.
Also a Roku box is classed as communication technology which in the right hands can have military applications. So there are actually some strict rules about who can buy them and which countries they can be exported to.
The terms and conditions you have to agree to in order to activate the box expressly forbids export to Iraq, Syria, Libya and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/North). This is due to US antiterrorism sanctions.
Needless to say I opted not to activate my Roku box during the early rounds of meetings in the Astana Process. Instead I waited for the stove to cool down a bit.
The main motivation in setting up the box on the 26th is I wanted to watch an English Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal the following evening.
Crystal Palace have a player named Fonsu-Mensah. One of the most high profile victims of the December 28th (28/1217) fire was Emmanuel Mensah.
Apparently this soldier died after repeatedly reentering the building to rescue others.
Following the Costa Rica plane crash there have been subsequent fires in both the Bronx and Brooklyn districts of NYC. These are the US checking the Costa Ricans meaning.
18:55 on 3/1/18 (UK date).
December 2017 saw intense discussion over the popstar Rihanna's relationship with Saudi national Hassan Jameel. At the centre of this discussion is the fact that Jameel supplied the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with thousands of Toyota motor vehicles. It was being conducted by some of the major players in the war against ISIL.
So although it probably doesn't seem like it to people fighting on the front lines this discussion is sadly very relevant to the war against ISIL.
On December 26th (26/12/17) Rihanna's cousin Tavon Alleyne was killed in a targeted shooting. He was returning home from a party that Rihanna had hosted in their native Barbados.
I cannot yet confirm that the British intelligence services had Rihanna's cousin killed. However for several weeks before the killing Britain and other intelligence services had been discussing killing people close to Rihanna. Those conversations alone had a death toll of 36.
On December 31st (31/12/17) Australia made another large contribution to the discussion. A light aircraft crashed en route to the city of Sydney. The crash killed six people including a British family of five.
Obviously killing British citizens is a sign of hostility towards Britain. It tends not to be something you do when you are pleased about the way Britain is conducting itself. The crash also increased the pressure on Britain by including a large number of complex references.
For example the exact site of the crash was Jerusalem Bay. On December 6th (6/12/17) US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He then immediately signed a waiver suspending his decision. Just as every US President has done since 1995.
To say President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem was controversial is an understatement. Not least because violating international law it is not something he has the authority to do.
On December 19th (19/12/17) the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met to vote on a motion condemning President Trump's decision. Of the UNSC's 15 members 14 voted in support of the motion with only the veto holding US voting against.
On December 21st (21/12/17) the defeated UNSC motion went to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). By a vote of 128 to 9 the US' UNSC veto was overturned and the motion was adopted. This is only the 11th time in history that a UNSC veto has been overturned by the UNGA.
Over the winter break the most reported upon development in the story is that the popstar Lorde cancelled a concert scheduled to be held in Israel's capital Tel Aviv. Rather than being a direct protest of President Trump's decision this was a more general response to pressure from the very aggressive Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Lorde is originally from Australia's neighbour New Zealand. Although a friendly rivalry does exist between the two Australia and New Zealand are culturally very similar. The flags of the two nations are almost identical.
Apart from New Zealanders being far more polite one of the main differences between the two nations is their attitude towards being part of the British Commonwealth Realm. Australia keeps threatening to do away with British Queen Elizabeth II as head of state while New Zealand are very pro-Monarchy.
Lorde's big break came in 2013 when she was just 15 years old. Her single; "Royals" was rushed out specifically to coincide with Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour (DWT). It was intended to increase the pressure on Rihanna by reminding her that no matter how many of her fans call her queen she will never be Royal.
So if you were looking to find the significance of the Jerusalem Bay crash feel free to take your pick from any and all of that.
The specific aircraft which crashed was a DHC-2 Beaver. With a name like that sexual innuendo is inevitable.
In production from 1947 to 1967 the DHC-2 Beaver has been a very widely used aircraft. It was used by the British Army Air Corp as a reconnaissance aircraft. Most notably in Aden in what is now Yemen during the 1963-1967 Aden Emergency.
The DHC-2 Beaver was also used during the Northern Irish Troubles which have been a major theme in the war against ISIL.
In one particular incident in November 1979 the aircraft was being used to surveil a checkpoint the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) had established on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. PIRA opened fire on the aircraft nearly shooting it down. As result that area of the border became known as; "Beaver Junction."
The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has been a major sticking point in negotiations on Britain leaving the European Union (EU) - the "Brexit." A point driven home by the fact one of those killed in the crash - William Cousins - was the head of public relations for; "Open Britain" - a pressure group determined to keep Britain within the EU.
Beyond that the crash seemed to contain a large number of often obscure reference to my life.
One of the largest current operators of particularly the seaplane variant of the DHC-2 is a US company called; "Kenmore Air." This sounds very similar to; "Kenmore Square."
Kenmore Square is a famous area in the US city of Boston, Massachusetts. It sits close to the famous Fenway Park baseball stadium. It is very close to the Watertown area of the city where the March 2013 Boston Marathon bombers were chased. An event that coincided with Rihanna's DWT.
Kenmore Square used to sit in the town of Brookline. However in 1874 the town of Brookline merged with the town of Brighton forming the city of Boston. As such the crash focused on a period of my life when I was living in the British city of Brighton.
The head of the family killed was Richard Cousins Chairman of the Compass group - one of Britain's 100 largest companies.
In British airports and railway stations you often get miniature versions of everyday high street shops such as Marks & Spencers, Starbucks, McDonalds etc. However these shops are not actually operated by those companies. Instead they are run by Compass under complex franchise deals.
As such Compass is probably the largest British retailer that no-one has ever heard of.
I know this because when I was living in Brighton one of my housemates was a manager at one of Compass' outlets.
The killing of such a high powered businessman references the killing of Barry and Honey Sherman on December 15th (15/12/17) in the city of Toronto in that other part of the British Commonwealth Realm Canada. Apart from reminding Rihanna that people are being hung for what she is doing this referenced President Trump's Jerusalem announcement through the rival generic drug maker Teva.
Although it crashed in Jerusalem Bay the flight was en route between Cottage Point and Rose Bay.
Whilst living in Brighton I had a young woman called Rose in my social circle. That social circle also contained a younger gay man.
Within gay male culture there is a practice known as; "Cottaging." This is essentially meeting strangers in an open area like a park for anonymous sex. It recently seems to have been adopted in straight culture through a practice known as; "Dogging."
Having a constant rivalry with Manchester for the title of Britain's gay capital there are obviously quite a few cottaging sites or Cottage points in Brighton.
One night I was out with this social circle - lets say - drinking. The young gay guy decided he wanted to go cottaging. We decided we didn't want to break up the group. So although we had no intention of participating we all accompanied him to this cottage point. We sat at the entrance welcoming people as they came and went about their furtive and sleazy business.
Even as we were doing it we were thinking; "Even for Brighton this is a weird story."
Now I have left Brighton my social circle is much smaller. In fact it is now just me. So I for one am not happy about being forced to migrate from Brighton to London.
In much the same way many of my distant cousins are not happy about their ancestors being forced to migrate to Australia. In the late 19th century.
One of the elements of the December discussion about Rihanna was the crash of a private jet in Germany on December 14th (14/12/17).
Britain very quickly made the connection between a plane crash and a plane crash.
So on December 31st (31/12/17) it responded to the Australian contribution. This took the form of a massive fire at a parking structure in the UK city of Liverpool. Close to the Liverpool Echo Arena where the International Horse Show was taking place.
In 2011 Rihanna along with Jay Z and Kanye West released the song; "Run This Town." Using some highly specious reasoning this song was blamed for the rioting which gripped large parts of the US in 2011.
The British Labour Party used those riots as cover to burn down almost entire city blocks of the London borough of Croydon. Their objective was to clear away the privately owned low rise buildings to replace them with high rise rental properties that the Labour Party could profit from. With talk of a large shopping mall being built in the borough you would think those profits would be significant.
Having gone unpunished for the 2011 arson attacks the Labour Party attempted to repeat the trick by setting fire to the Grenfell Tower in the Kensington & Chelsea borough of London in June 2017. On this occasion they murdered 70 people in an effort to overthrow the democratically elected Conservative government.
So through no fault of her own Rihanna is sadly also linked to the Grenfell Tower fire. Whether Labour will be brought to justice over the attack looks likely to be one of the big stories in the UK throughout 2018.
On December 30th (30/12/17) the UK actually referenced this themselves with a fire at an apartment block in the city of Manchester. As in the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) which was bombed on May 22nd (22/5/17).
It is also worth noting that the wife and children of former Labour leader Tony Blair have all invested heavily in the Manchester rental market. Making large profits for themselves and contributing in no small part to the city's growing homelessness problem.
The Liverpool fire occurred at a parking structure serving the "International Horse Show." With a British accent "Horse" can be pronounced to sound like "Whores" as in prostitutes. "International Whore" is certainly one way to describe Rihanna at the moment.
I joke that Rihanna and I were forced into marriage at the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Para-Olympic Games held in London to punish us both for the August 2011 riots.
Throughout 2013 the US were trying to force Rihanna into marriage to Chris Brown in an effort to make her weak and therefore easy to manipulate.
Saudi Arabia is currently trying to force Rihanna into marriage to Hassan Jameel in an effort to use her has a trophy to mock their regional rival Qatar.
This type of forced breeding is particularly common amongst people who raise horses. Particularly race horses.
Known as the Sport of Kings horse racing is very popular amongst the British Monarch and the Gulf Monarchies. Godolphin one of the World's largest horse racing stables is owned by Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Britain actually made a bit of a joke along this theme over Christmas. December 27th is one of the busiest days in the British horse racing calender.
So on Christmas Day BBC News' big story focused on the grooms who help make the racing happen. We were told of the importance of being sympathetic to these people who work very hard, away from their families for very little money.
The subtext being that in Britain's eyes I am Rihanna's preferred groom. As in Bridegroom.
At around 18:50 on 2/1/18 (UK date) I'll have to pick this up later. Probably tomorrow.
Edited at around 16:00 on 3/1/18 (UK date) to add;
The killing of Rihanna's cousin may actually have been a clumsy attempt to force us together. After all a murder is the sort of thing that has people sending for their guard dogs.
The problem is that with Rihanna being on the other side of the Atlantic there's not really anyway for us to get in contact. This is the sort of thing I would hesitate to do over the phone rather than in person. It's certainly not something you deal with in public over Twitter.
With her resources it wouldn't actually be that difficult for Rihanna to get into contact with me. However its a bit much to expect her to do that just amid the family drama of her cousin being killed.
If the Australians were trying to get attention with their contribution they certainly succeeded
On December 31st (31/12/17) the US responded with the mass shooting of police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call in the Highland Ranch area of Colorado. Boston's Kenmore Square is named after the town of Kenmore in the Scottish Highlands.
The Colorado incident broke late on New Year's Eve evening. As a result for me at least many of the details got lost in the preparations for the big midnight celebration.
However I did pick up on the fact the shooter - Matthew Riehl - was a US Army combat veteran. He was honourably discharged in 2012. This was the same year that I was married off to Rihanna and the year before she embarked on her 2013 DWT.
Therefore it could be the US expressing their displeasure at by involvement in the DWT by claiming I'd been discharged from my duties the year before. However I remember the US being very keen for me to be included in the DWT. They just assumed I'd lose.
There was also something about Riehl sending letters to and generally being in dispute with his old university. The reason I originally moved to Brighton was to go to university. However not knowing the details of Riehl dispute I can't say if there are any parallels or not.
At roughly the same time the news was breaking from Colorado news of another plane crash was also starting to emerge. This time from Costa Rica.
Located in Central America Costa Rica sits on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The killing of Rihanna's cousin in Barbados on the other side of the Caribbean is certainly in their neighborhood.
The Costa Rica plane crash killed 10 US citizens. As with the Australia plane crash this is not something you do as a gesture of friendship.
However unlike the Australia plane crash the Costa Ricans were not blaming the UK for killing Rihanna's cousin. Instead they seemed to be blaming the US for forcing Rihanna into a relationship with Hassan Jameel. Creating the conditions which forced the UK to kill her cousin.
With the exception of the crew all those killed in Costa Rica were members of two Jewish families from New York State. This referenced President Trump's Jerusalem announcement.
It also referenced the killing of Barry and Honey Sherman which itself was done in reference to President Trump's Jerusalem announcement. I'll need to check but I think both the Sherman's and the Steinberg family supported the same liberal Jewish causes.
Mainly though it seemed to be an inquiry about the fire which tore through an apartment building in the Bronx district if New York City (NYC), New York State on December (28/12/17). This killed 12 people.
In an effort to draw comparison's to the Grenfell Tower fire NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio declared it to be a historic tragedy, the likes of which the city had not seen in decades. In fact it struck me as something that was pretty typical for NYC.
Apart from the fire that had occurred in the same building a week before I pointed to a similar fire in the Brooklyn district on December 17th (17/12/17). This killed an entire family of Orthodox Jews.
It also reminded me of a March 2015 fire that killed a family of 9 Orthodox Jews also in Brooklyn. That fire was so shocking on hearing about it I assumed it must have some political dimension.
However after looking at it in detail it turns out it was just a fire. Orthodox Jews are forbidden from doing any work on their Sabbath. This includes flicking electrical switches.
So many of them leave electrical devices like lights and hotplates on throughout the Sabbath. This leads to a lot of accidental fires.
Edited again at around 18:30 on 3/1/18 (UK date) to to tidy the above and add;
Occurring almost directly across the road from Brooklyn Zoo the December 28th (28/12/17) fire was itself an enquiry. About the December 23rd (23/12/17) fire at London Zoo in the UK.
As I've mentioned that was the result of British concerns about how their relationship with Russia would be affected by the TV Show; "McMafia." Hence the reference to St Petersburg.
The December 28th (28/12/17) fire was caused by a child playing with a stove. This was in reference to the Roku box I received for Christmas 2016 but only activated on December 27th (27/12/17).
A Roku box is essentially a modem for your TV. It allows you to connect it to the Internet. The version I've got is supplied by the UK broadcaster Sky so allows you to stream their entertainment, movie and sport channels.
However rather than being received by a satellite dish or TV aerial this content comes via the Internet. So if you can hack someone's Internet connection you can watch what they're watching as they watch it.
I have been known to stream music videos on my computer. Even if I don't tell anyone I'm doing it this still has a way of provoking a reaction.
If I were to start streaming programs like the US TV Show; "False Flag" which is about Israeli spies and a plot to assassinate Iranian leaders that's likely to draw an even more complex reaction.
Also a Roku box is classed as communication technology which in the right hands can have military applications. So there are actually some strict rules about who can buy them and which countries they can be exported to.
The terms and conditions you have to agree to in order to activate the box expressly forbids export to Iraq, Syria, Libya and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/North). This is due to US antiterrorism sanctions.
Needless to say I opted not to activate my Roku box during the early rounds of meetings in the Astana Process. Instead I waited for the stove to cool down a bit.
The main motivation in setting up the box on the 26th is I wanted to watch an English Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal the following evening.
Crystal Palace have a player named Fonsu-Mensah. One of the most high profile victims of the December 28th (28/1217) fire was Emmanuel Mensah.
Apparently this soldier died after repeatedly reentering the building to rescue others.
Following the Costa Rica plane crash there have been subsequent fires in both the Bronx and Brooklyn districts of NYC. These are the US checking the Costa Ricans meaning.
18:55 on 3/1/18 (UK date).
Friday, 29 December 2017
The Queen of Comedy.
Since 1932 the British Monarch has given a Christmas Day broadcast.
Initially this started out as a radio address. However in 1957 it also became a television broadcast. Traditionally the broadcast is recorded in early December in order to allow the tapes to be shipped out so the broadcast can be made to all the Monarch's subject's across the Commonwealth.
Although that tradition continues the Monarchy have progressed to using more modern forms of communication. As a result if you're so inclined you can watch the 2017 broadcast here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l73NdleGeXw
It finds the current Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II - in something of a playful mood.
It began with her announcing that on this day 60 years ago a very important presenter made a very important broadcast.
It then cut to archive footage of Queen Elizabeth making the first televised Christmas Day broadcast.
Although it went unspoken you could almost hear the Queen saying in a silly voice; "And that important person is me b*tches!"
The main theme of the broadcast is; "Home." This is a solid Christmas theme.
Christmas is of course a holiday that sees people to return to their homes to spend the holiday with their families. The tradition began in the Bible with Joseph and Mary being forced to return to Joseph's ancestral home in Judea where Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.
However it is also the title of the 2015 animated movie; "Home" featuring Rihanna. She voices a human girl; "Gratuity - Tip - Tucci" who befriends an alien of the "Boov" species named; "Oh." He is voiced by Jim Parsons who is probably most famous as; "Sheldon Cooper" from the US TV show; "The Big Bang Theory."
So in short it is Rihanna and Sheldon going on an adventure together.
This movie was broadcast on UK terrestrial television for the first time by the BBC the previous day. December 24th 2017 (24/12/17).
The Queen then went on to say how she marvelled that how 60 years on from the first televised broadcast many people would be watching the 2017 broadcast on tablets, smartphones and other handheld devices.
Aimed at children and clearly put together in a rush following Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) Home is not overburdened with plot.
However the main story involves Oh using the handheld devices that all the Boov have to accidentally send their location to their enemies. There is then a race to recall the email/sms message before the Boov's enemy receives it. This forms the basis for lots of jokes about computers, cellphones, passwords etc.
Having established that main theme the Queen then went through the big events of the year. In such a way as to turn them into references to Rihanna.
The big event of 2017 in the UK was the terror attack on the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) in the British city of Manchester on May 22nd (22/5/17). That was carried out by Qatar as part of an ongoing feud it was having with Saudi Arabia over Rihanna's relationship with the Saudi national Hassan Jameel.
Although it happened in May the MENA bombing is actually a very Christmas story. In the UK as elsewhere it is a tradition that children get given gifts by Father Christmas or Santa Claus.
This involves them writing a letter to Santa in late-November telling him what gifts they would like. There is then an excited wait to see if Santa will bring them what they've asked for. To add to the excitement there are these advent calenders where children countdown the days from the start of December up until Christmas Day.
Many of those who went to the Ariana Grande concert at the MENA would have been given their tickets by Santa. So for them the excited wait from November to Christmas Day would have been followed by another excited wait between Santa bringing them their tickets and the concert taking place.
When the day of the concert finally arrived they were blown up. In a particularly cruel terror attack.
In the broadcast the Queen made specific reference to how those injured had simply gone to see their favourite singer. With that singer going unnamed you could have assumed it was a reference to Rihanna.
In almost the same breath the Queen went on to mention the June 3rd (3/6/17) terror attack in the London Bridge area of London. Again carried out by Qatar this occurred the day before a charity concert for the victims of the MENA bombing as punishment for that concert.
Next the Queen spoke about the hurricanes that ravaged the Commonwealth islands in the Caribbean. Rihanna is of course from the Commonwealth Caribbean island of Barbados which became the main aid distribution hub in response to the hurricanes.
Finally the Queen mentioned the UK Labour Party's arson attack on the Grenfell Tower apartment building in London on June 14th (14/6/17). However the Queen merely described this as; "Appalling."
Grenfell Tower of course was sadly not the UK Labour Party's first large scale arson attack. During the August 2011 riots they burned down large sections of the London borough of Croydon. The hope was they could build masses of rental housing so one of their financial backers could profit from plans to build a shopping mall in the area.
Through the song; "Run This Town" Rihanna along with Jay Z and Kanye West were blamed for the 2011 August riots. So I was 'married' off to Rihanna at the 2012 Para-Olympic Closing Ceremony. Where Rihanna and Jay Z performed "Run This Town" surrounded by just so much fire.
Unfortunately between the Queen's Christmas Day broadcast being recorded and it being, well, broadcast Britain received something of a fright.
On or around December 21st (21/12/17) Russia began sailing the Admiral Gorshkov warship through international waters between the UK and continental Europe. This is a standard navigation route for ships travelling between the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.
However Britain panicked and dispatched the HMS Argus warship to shadow the Admiral Gorshkov as it made its journey.
The reason for this overreaction is that Britain has a dirty little secret planned for Russia.
With Christmas being a time for families to gather at home for the holiday it is a tradition that UK television networks debut their big new shows on New Year's Day.
The BBC's big New Year offering is; "McMafia." This is based on the non-fiction book by British Russian journalist Misha Glenny; "McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld" which examines organised crime and corruption in modern Russia.
The BBC's big New Year offering in 2017 was; "Sherlock." This was simultaneously broadcast within Russia.
The opening episode actually inspired the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to conduct twin terror attacks in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Samarra. The Russian broadcaster then leaked the final episode on the Internet a day early. I could not comment on whether that was done to troll people about the claims of "Russian Hacking!" which continue to be so fashionable in the US.
McMafia is set to be broadcast over 8 weeks which means it will reach its finale around the time of Russia's 2018 election in March. If it is to be broadcast in Russia it seems to be laying the groundwork for Alexey Navalney to stage a big, beautiful colour revolution. Similar to the one the UK attempted in Iran in 2009.
Worried that Russia had uncovered its plot Britain does what it always does when it's in panic, confused or just bored. It went on a killing spree.
On December 23rd (23/12/17) - the day HMS Argus began shadowing the Admiral Gorshkov - they set fire to part of London Zoo.
This reportedly killed an Aardvark named Misha - as in Misha Glenny - and several Meerkats. In the UK there is a long-running and much loved advertising campaign to the "Compare the Market" insurance broker that features Russian Meerkats.
Sadly I'm only about 60% joking when I say the deaths of the London Zoo Meerkats have been faked so they can be smuggled into Russia to lead the March 2018 revolution.
The following day (24/12/17) Britain murdered a Russian national - Iuliana Tudo - in the Finsbury Park area of London. A traditionally very Jewish part of London from a Russian perspective Finsbury Park is famous for being close to Highgate Cemetery - burial place of Karl Marx.
Ms Tudo whose body was discovered yesterday (28/12/17) worked at The World's End Pub in Camden. This seems to be a reference to the 2013 movie; "The World's End." Camden is a very trendy and media focused area of London.
In between Ms Tudo's murder and the discovery of her body Rihanna's cousin - Tavon Alleyne - was killed in a targeted shooting in Barbados on December 26th (26/12/17). He was returning from a party he'd attended with Rihanna.
This puts me in something of a difficult position. Despite our supposed marriage I know nothing more about this incident then what has been publicly reported. I am though close enough where I can cause upset and distress to the family.
In a situation like this you would first look to see whether the killing was the result of a robbery gone wrong.
You would then look for a possible financial motive. As Rihanna's cousin I suspect Tavon Alleyne had more spending money then an average 21 year old Bajan man. That extra money tends to attract unsavoury elements such as drug dealers and gamblers.
Fame and wealth also have a way for attracting jealously. Particularly if they're used to attract other people's wives and girlfriends.
Once those motives have been excluded you are left with the possibility that the UK carried the killing to send Rihanna a message.
For the past two weeks there has been intense discussion over how best to kill Rihanna's rumoured boyfriend Hassan Jameel. After all he is considered a high level supporter of ISIL and partly responsible for the murder of 22 British citizens in Manchester.
The question of whether it would be legally permissible to also kill Rihanna is more complicated. It really relates to the extent of her support for Jameel - the two are not married - and by extension her support for ISIL. Within the war against ISIL a certain amount of collateral damage is considered permissible. Even of people who have no such direct relationship to ISIL.
You would think that forcing Rihanna to attend the funeral of a loved one would really drive that point home to her.
After all I would have liked to have spent Remembrance Sunday (12/11/17) listing all those British citizens killed after volunteering to fight ISIL. Instead I spent the time trying to keep that list as short as possible.
18:25 on 29/12/17 (UK date).
Initially this started out as a radio address. However in 1957 it also became a television broadcast. Traditionally the broadcast is recorded in early December in order to allow the tapes to be shipped out so the broadcast can be made to all the Monarch's subject's across the Commonwealth.
Although that tradition continues the Monarchy have progressed to using more modern forms of communication. As a result if you're so inclined you can watch the 2017 broadcast here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l73NdleGeXw
It finds the current Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II - in something of a playful mood.
It began with her announcing that on this day 60 years ago a very important presenter made a very important broadcast.
It then cut to archive footage of Queen Elizabeth making the first televised Christmas Day broadcast.
Although it went unspoken you could almost hear the Queen saying in a silly voice; "And that important person is me b*tches!"
The main theme of the broadcast is; "Home." This is a solid Christmas theme.
Christmas is of course a holiday that sees people to return to their homes to spend the holiday with their families. The tradition began in the Bible with Joseph and Mary being forced to return to Joseph's ancestral home in Judea where Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.
However it is also the title of the 2015 animated movie; "Home" featuring Rihanna. She voices a human girl; "Gratuity - Tip - Tucci" who befriends an alien of the "Boov" species named; "Oh." He is voiced by Jim Parsons who is probably most famous as; "Sheldon Cooper" from the US TV show; "The Big Bang Theory."
So in short it is Rihanna and Sheldon going on an adventure together.
This movie was broadcast on UK terrestrial television for the first time by the BBC the previous day. December 24th 2017 (24/12/17).
The Queen then went on to say how she marvelled that how 60 years on from the first televised broadcast many people would be watching the 2017 broadcast on tablets, smartphones and other handheld devices.
Aimed at children and clearly put together in a rush following Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) Home is not overburdened with plot.
However the main story involves Oh using the handheld devices that all the Boov have to accidentally send their location to their enemies. There is then a race to recall the email/sms message before the Boov's enemy receives it. This forms the basis for lots of jokes about computers, cellphones, passwords etc.
Having established that main theme the Queen then went through the big events of the year. In such a way as to turn them into references to Rihanna.
The big event of 2017 in the UK was the terror attack on the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) in the British city of Manchester on May 22nd (22/5/17). That was carried out by Qatar as part of an ongoing feud it was having with Saudi Arabia over Rihanna's relationship with the Saudi national Hassan Jameel.
Although it happened in May the MENA bombing is actually a very Christmas story. In the UK as elsewhere it is a tradition that children get given gifts by Father Christmas or Santa Claus.
This involves them writing a letter to Santa in late-November telling him what gifts they would like. There is then an excited wait to see if Santa will bring them what they've asked for. To add to the excitement there are these advent calenders where children countdown the days from the start of December up until Christmas Day.
Many of those who went to the Ariana Grande concert at the MENA would have been given their tickets by Santa. So for them the excited wait from November to Christmas Day would have been followed by another excited wait between Santa bringing them their tickets and the concert taking place.
When the day of the concert finally arrived they were blown up. In a particularly cruel terror attack.
In the broadcast the Queen made specific reference to how those injured had simply gone to see their favourite singer. With that singer going unnamed you could have assumed it was a reference to Rihanna.
In almost the same breath the Queen went on to mention the June 3rd (3/6/17) terror attack in the London Bridge area of London. Again carried out by Qatar this occurred the day before a charity concert for the victims of the MENA bombing as punishment for that concert.
Next the Queen spoke about the hurricanes that ravaged the Commonwealth islands in the Caribbean. Rihanna is of course from the Commonwealth Caribbean island of Barbados which became the main aid distribution hub in response to the hurricanes.
Finally the Queen mentioned the UK Labour Party's arson attack on the Grenfell Tower apartment building in London on June 14th (14/6/17). However the Queen merely described this as; "Appalling."
Grenfell Tower of course was sadly not the UK Labour Party's first large scale arson attack. During the August 2011 riots they burned down large sections of the London borough of Croydon. The hope was they could build masses of rental housing so one of their financial backers could profit from plans to build a shopping mall in the area.
Through the song; "Run This Town" Rihanna along with Jay Z and Kanye West were blamed for the 2011 August riots. So I was 'married' off to Rihanna at the 2012 Para-Olympic Closing Ceremony. Where Rihanna and Jay Z performed "Run This Town" surrounded by just so much fire.
Unfortunately between the Queen's Christmas Day broadcast being recorded and it being, well, broadcast Britain received something of a fright.
On or around December 21st (21/12/17) Russia began sailing the Admiral Gorshkov warship through international waters between the UK and continental Europe. This is a standard navigation route for ships travelling between the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.
However Britain panicked and dispatched the HMS Argus warship to shadow the Admiral Gorshkov as it made its journey.
The reason for this overreaction is that Britain has a dirty little secret planned for Russia.
With Christmas being a time for families to gather at home for the holiday it is a tradition that UK television networks debut their big new shows on New Year's Day.
The BBC's big New Year offering is; "McMafia." This is based on the non-fiction book by British Russian journalist Misha Glenny; "McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld" which examines organised crime and corruption in modern Russia.
The BBC's big New Year offering in 2017 was; "Sherlock." This was simultaneously broadcast within Russia.
The opening episode actually inspired the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to conduct twin terror attacks in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Samarra. The Russian broadcaster then leaked the final episode on the Internet a day early. I could not comment on whether that was done to troll people about the claims of "Russian Hacking!" which continue to be so fashionable in the US.
McMafia is set to be broadcast over 8 weeks which means it will reach its finale around the time of Russia's 2018 election in March. If it is to be broadcast in Russia it seems to be laying the groundwork for Alexey Navalney to stage a big, beautiful colour revolution. Similar to the one the UK attempted in Iran in 2009.
Worried that Russia had uncovered its plot Britain does what it always does when it's in panic, confused or just bored. It went on a killing spree.
On December 23rd (23/12/17) - the day HMS Argus began shadowing the Admiral Gorshkov - they set fire to part of London Zoo.
This reportedly killed an Aardvark named Misha - as in Misha Glenny - and several Meerkats. In the UK there is a long-running and much loved advertising campaign to the "Compare the Market" insurance broker that features Russian Meerkats.
Sadly I'm only about 60% joking when I say the deaths of the London Zoo Meerkats have been faked so they can be smuggled into Russia to lead the March 2018 revolution.
The following day (24/12/17) Britain murdered a Russian national - Iuliana Tudo - in the Finsbury Park area of London. A traditionally very Jewish part of London from a Russian perspective Finsbury Park is famous for being close to Highgate Cemetery - burial place of Karl Marx.
Ms Tudo whose body was discovered yesterday (28/12/17) worked at The World's End Pub in Camden. This seems to be a reference to the 2013 movie; "The World's End." Camden is a very trendy and media focused area of London.
In between Ms Tudo's murder and the discovery of her body Rihanna's cousin - Tavon Alleyne - was killed in a targeted shooting in Barbados on December 26th (26/12/17). He was returning from a party he'd attended with Rihanna.
This puts me in something of a difficult position. Despite our supposed marriage I know nothing more about this incident then what has been publicly reported. I am though close enough where I can cause upset and distress to the family.
In a situation like this you would first look to see whether the killing was the result of a robbery gone wrong.
You would then look for a possible financial motive. As Rihanna's cousin I suspect Tavon Alleyne had more spending money then an average 21 year old Bajan man. That extra money tends to attract unsavoury elements such as drug dealers and gamblers.
Fame and wealth also have a way for attracting jealously. Particularly if they're used to attract other people's wives and girlfriends.
Once those motives have been excluded you are left with the possibility that the UK carried the killing to send Rihanna a message.
For the past two weeks there has been intense discussion over how best to kill Rihanna's rumoured boyfriend Hassan Jameel. After all he is considered a high level supporter of ISIL and partly responsible for the murder of 22 British citizens in Manchester.
The question of whether it would be legally permissible to also kill Rihanna is more complicated. It really relates to the extent of her support for Jameel - the two are not married - and by extension her support for ISIL. Within the war against ISIL a certain amount of collateral damage is considered permissible. Even of people who have no such direct relationship to ISIL.
You would think that forcing Rihanna to attend the funeral of a loved one would really drive that point home to her.
After all I would have liked to have spent Remembrance Sunday (12/11/17) listing all those British citizens killed after volunteering to fight ISIL. Instead I spent the time trying to keep that list as short as possible.
18:25 on 29/12/17 (UK date).
Friday, 22 December 2017
Tis the Season to Spread Good Cheer.
Monday December 25th (25/12/17) will mark Christmas Day in the Gregorian calender.
For Christians this is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who they consider to be the son of God. Muslims may also choose to mark the day as a celebration of the birth of Jesus - one of God's messengers.
Regardless of religion many people choose to mark the day by gathering together with family and loved ones. Together they eat a big meal, exchange gifts and the often watch a lot of television and movies.
For children the most important figure in this celebration is Santa Claus or Father Christmas. He is the jolly old man who breaks into their homes over Christmas Eve night and delivers them lots of presents.
For adults and particularly parents the even more important figures in the story are Santa's Little Helpers.
Although everyone enjoys the day and the short holiday after the day Christmas involves so much work that everyone dreams of magic little elves that come in and do the work for them.
As you may have noticed this week I have largely been preoccupied with all that extra work. What I would like to have been doing today is providing you with a quick update on the current fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated groups. Then move onto something more festive.
Unfortunately I am still stuck dealing with the fallout from the popstar Rihanna's decision to date a senior ISIL supporter. A Saudi by the name of Hassan Jameel.
You can read more about that in Monday's (18/12/17) post; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/every-con-leaves-its-mark.html
As I was writing that post there was a security incident at Royal Air Force (RAF) base Mildenhall in the British county of Suffolk. This military base is also used by the United States Air Force (USAF).
Apparently a man drove his vehicle through checkpoints onto the base and came within metres/yards of US V-22 Osprey aircraft before shots were fired and his Volvo estate car came to a halt. The man was arrested uninjured and detained under the Mental Health Act.
RAF Mildenhall had been the focus of a threat from Islamist terrorism back in May 2016. ISIL supporters Junead Khan and Shazib Khan were jailed for plotting to attack either that base or the nearby RAF Lakenhall.
Junead Khan had worked as a delivery driver for a pharmaceutical company. He may well have delivered products made by Israel's Teva or Barry Sherman's Apotex.
In discussing Rihanna's relationship with Hassan Jameel Germany referenced the US TV Show; "The Unit." This featured the actor John Hamm just before he became famous for his role in the US TV show; "Mad Men."
In The Unit John Hamm's character was an anti-war protester who was always demonstrating and trying to gain entry to the base. Although I will need to check the record I think he bonded with the wife of one of the unit members during a shooting incident at or near the base.
The fact that the incident at RAF Mildenhall resulted in a man being detained under the Mental Health Act really underlined John Hamm's role in The Unit. He is of course probably the world's most famous Mad Man.
The primary objective of Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was to force her into psychotic breakdown/mental health emergency while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a result mental health issues have a been a constant theme in her story.
In the immediate aftermath of the RAF Mildenhall incident there was lots of discussion over whether it was a terrorist incident or not. That reflected the discussion over whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are terrorists or not.
The RAF Mildenhall incident forced the US to announce that it did not consider the incident and by extension Hassan Jameel to be terrorist related. That was done both to make the US look like fools and to justify the UK's hosting of the Rihanna/Jameel relationship.
While the RAF Mildenhall incident was underway the US seemed to be realising its error in its own special way. A train derailed and crashed in the Du Pont Circle area of Portland in the US state of Washington.
When a plan or a person is starting to fall apart it is common to say that; "It is going off the rails." If it goes really badly it may be described as; "A Train Wreck." Amy Schumer's 2015 movie; "Trainwreck" was all about a woman's personal life becoming a disaster.
Obviously in the wake of Monday' (18/12/17) train wreck there has been lots of discussion about what caused things to go off the rails. The main explanation offered so far is that the train was moving quicker than the track could cope with.
This explanation rather confirms Britain's theory. The US is trying to flip the Rihanna/Jameel relationship so information about Saudi Arabia will flow to the US via Rihanna. They're obviously upset that the UK was so quick on the uptake about this they were able to put in place a plan to piggyback on the flow of information.
The Du Pont Circle derailment also seems similar to the plot of the 2010 movie; "Unstoppable." This revolves efforts to stop a runaway train before it derails and flies off the tracks. Again I'll need to check the record but I think in the movie they're particularly concerned about a bend in the track by a (Portland) cement factory.
Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was preceded by her mini "777 Tour" in late 2012.
This saw Rihanna, her entourage and specially selected music journalists packed aboard a Boeing 777. They all travelled together as Rihanna performed 7 concerts in 7 countries over 7 days.
This gruelling schedule left all involved overtired and angry. The journalists were particularly unhappy about being crammed into economy class and then being forced to wait on the tarmac for hours in London, UK because Rihanna and her entourage couldn't be bothered to get out of their beds in luxury hotels.
By the end of the 777 Tour all the journalists involved, the publications they worked for, all their friends and all the publications they worked for were pretty much ready to kill Rihanna. It took a major charm offensive from people like me to stop them taking their revenge on Rihanna's 2013 "Unapologetic" album and the DWT it supported.
In the movie Unstoppable the runaway train is designated by the callsign; "777." As a result it features lots of dialogue such as; "777 Must Be Stopped!" and; "If 777 isn't stopped it will be a disaster!"
Watching the movie right before the start of Rihanna's 777 Tour I found it to be a comedy classic. They should probably have shown it on the plane.
America's Washington state is home to State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. He rose to prominence early in 2017 by leading the opposition to US President Trump's restrictions on immigration. As with all others who followed AG Ferguson's objections have recently been ruled invalid by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
On December 11th (11/12/17) a Bangladeshi immigration tried and failed to carry out an Islamist terror attack in New York City, New York, US.
Supporters of AG Ferguson and opponents of President Trump leapt on this as evidence that Trump's so-called Muslim Ban was racist and did nothing to improve America's security. As with so much in their lives in doing this they really didn't think it through.
If Trump was trying to impose a Muslim ban you would think that he would start with Muslim majority nations. The fact that The People's Republic of Bangladesh and its near neighbour The Islamic Republic of Pakistan are not affected by the ban are actually evidence that Trump's immigration restrictions are not a Muslim ban.
Also if AG Ferguson and others had not acted unlawfully in attempting to block President Trump's immigration restrictions they would have gone into effect when they were announced in early 2017. By now they would have been refined so nations who've made changes would be removed from the ban while nations who are now providing cause for concern would be included.
On Tuesday (19/12/17) the US' neighbour to the south Mexico joined the discussion with a tour bus crash that killed 8 US citizens.
To my shame Latin American continues to represent something of a black hole in my knowledge. However I do know that the bus was being operated as an excursion by the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
Although she's often mistaken for an American Rihanna is actually from the Caribbean island of Barbados. This is part of the UK Commonwealth making it part of the, well, Royal Caribbean.
I've also just learnt that the state where the crash occurred is named after Andres Quintana Roo - a key figure in Mexico's 1821 War of Independence. Of all the Mexican states it is also the one which sounds the most like; "Quinta Brigada."
Spanish for; "15th Brigade" the term Quinta Brigada is often used to refer to the International Brigades who fought for anti-Fascist Republican forces during Spain's 1936-1939 Civil War.
There has been a renewed interest in this oft forgotten period of history due to the anti-ISIL Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) forming their own, much smaller International Brigade. Apparently under the leadership of commander Wayne Rooney.
Several US citizens have fought for and died for the SDF's International Brigade. Rihanna is currently lining up on the opposing side to those volunteers.
Also on Tuesday (19/12/17) raids were carried out a several addresses in the UK to prevent an Islamist terror plot. Although its not been confirmed it is believed that the raids disrupted an advanced plot to bomb shoppers at Christmas markets in London tomorrow (23/12/17).
Sadly rather than being part of the Rihanna/Jameel discussion I think this was genuine. Rihanna's associates are actively plotting to kill British citizens. If they British security services find out about those plots they are under an obligation to stop them.
On Thursday (21/12/17) Australia joined in the discussion. A man deliberately drove a Suzuki 4x4 into pedestrians outside Flinders Street Railway station in the city of Melbourne. This injured 19 people.
The city of Melbourne has a special place in Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour.
Throughout the tour one of the key issues was when Rihanna would leave one country and travel to another. Different nations had different political themes and different threat profiles.
For example the UAE had the maximum threat profile. So much so that Israel actually delayed a municipal election in Tel Aviv so they could get Rihanna into the country immediately after she'd visited the UAE.
The intention was that if the worst should happen Tel Aviv could function as something of an aid station. It would allow Rihanna to be assessed and treatment options and medical evacuations decided upon. Even using private jets medically evacuating some in a psychological crisis across continents is extremely complicated.
Rather than being driven by any political motive this was simply Israel showing the humanity it seems unable to extend to Palestinians.
As always seems to be the case Rihanna was extremely hostile to those trying to help her. This meant that she often tried to keep her movements from one country to another secret.
Following her concerts in China on September 13th (13/9/13) and September 14th (14/9/13) Rihanna even made a completely unscheduled trip to Thailand. That resulted in such a backlash Thailand conducted a coup to overthrow the government that agreed to it.
After her concerts in Australia and New Zealand Rihanna was supposed to head to South Africa. The last stop before the UAE this occurred at the most tense time of the tour. However Rihanna didn't go straight to South Africa. Instead she holed up in a hotel right on the shoreline in Sydney Harbour.
At the time Sydney Harbour was being used to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Australian Navy. This meant that Sydney Harbour was filled with 20 warships from 17 nations all showing off their big guns and noisy aircraft. Hardly a restful place for Rihanna particularly as her fanbase; "The Navy" didn't exactly measure up.
So Melbourne suggested it was time for Rihanna to leave Australia. They did this by letting a Kangaroo loose at Melbourne Airport.
As with the RAF Mildenhall incident the Melbourne incident raised the question of whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are considered a terrorists. Actually using a Toyota 4x4 like the ones Hassan Jameel has supplied to ISIL would have been too obvious. It also raised the question of mental health issues.
The driver of the vehicle in Melbourne was quickly identified as an immigrant from Afghanistan with a long history of mental health problems and drug addiction. Rather than ruling out terrorism this means that he very firmly fits the profile of a suicide attacker. Particularly one in his native Afghanistan where ISIL are on the rise.
Far from the heroic image they like to project suicide bombers are often mentally retarded, mentally ill, terminally ill or owe massive debts to drug dealers. They either don't understand they're about to blow themselves up or do it in return for money for their families.
Alongside the driver police in Melbourne also arrested a second Muslim man at the scene. He was filming the attack while in possession of a three large knives.
Again this is classic Islamist terrorist behaviour.
I don't think any terrorist group has embraced propaganda quite like ISIL. However even before ISIL is was extremely common for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan to film their attacks. They would then release the footage on the Internet.
This practice actually formed the basis for a major plot point in the 2007 movie; "The Kingdom." An attack on a compound housing American oil workers in Saudi Arabia was filmed by a terrorist mastermind in a nearby apartment building who then put the footage on the Internet.
If the American oil workers in the movie could learn to hold their bats properly they could well be celebrating a traditional Australian Christmas.
You can watch the first four minutes of The Kingdom here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKppKRnM7cU
The events at Flinders Street were accompanied by an explosion of gas used to power forklift trucks at the Bayside Shopping Centre in the Frankston area of the city. Sometimes known as; "Melbourne Market" this was in reference to the arrests made in the UK on Tuesday (19/12/17).
Rihanna has now returned to the US from the UK. However it's not so much her location that's the issue as the company she keeps.
17:20 on 22/12/17 (UK date).
For Christians this is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who they consider to be the son of God. Muslims may also choose to mark the day as a celebration of the birth of Jesus - one of God's messengers.
Regardless of religion many people choose to mark the day by gathering together with family and loved ones. Together they eat a big meal, exchange gifts and the often watch a lot of television and movies.
For children the most important figure in this celebration is Santa Claus or Father Christmas. He is the jolly old man who breaks into their homes over Christmas Eve night and delivers them lots of presents.
For adults and particularly parents the even more important figures in the story are Santa's Little Helpers.
Although everyone enjoys the day and the short holiday after the day Christmas involves so much work that everyone dreams of magic little elves that come in and do the work for them.
As you may have noticed this week I have largely been preoccupied with all that extra work. What I would like to have been doing today is providing you with a quick update on the current fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated groups. Then move onto something more festive.
Unfortunately I am still stuck dealing with the fallout from the popstar Rihanna's decision to date a senior ISIL supporter. A Saudi by the name of Hassan Jameel.
You can read more about that in Monday's (18/12/17) post; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/every-con-leaves-its-mark.html
As I was writing that post there was a security incident at Royal Air Force (RAF) base Mildenhall in the British county of Suffolk. This military base is also used by the United States Air Force (USAF).
Apparently a man drove his vehicle through checkpoints onto the base and came within metres/yards of US V-22 Osprey aircraft before shots were fired and his Volvo estate car came to a halt. The man was arrested uninjured and detained under the Mental Health Act.
RAF Mildenhall had been the focus of a threat from Islamist terrorism back in May 2016. ISIL supporters Junead Khan and Shazib Khan were jailed for plotting to attack either that base or the nearby RAF Lakenhall.
Junead Khan had worked as a delivery driver for a pharmaceutical company. He may well have delivered products made by Israel's Teva or Barry Sherman's Apotex.
In discussing Rihanna's relationship with Hassan Jameel Germany referenced the US TV Show; "The Unit." This featured the actor John Hamm just before he became famous for his role in the US TV show; "Mad Men."
In The Unit John Hamm's character was an anti-war protester who was always demonstrating and trying to gain entry to the base. Although I will need to check the record I think he bonded with the wife of one of the unit members during a shooting incident at or near the base.
The fact that the incident at RAF Mildenhall resulted in a man being detained under the Mental Health Act really underlined John Hamm's role in The Unit. He is of course probably the world's most famous Mad Man.
The primary objective of Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was to force her into psychotic breakdown/mental health emergency while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a result mental health issues have a been a constant theme in her story.
In the immediate aftermath of the RAF Mildenhall incident there was lots of discussion over whether it was a terrorist incident or not. That reflected the discussion over whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are terrorists or not.
The RAF Mildenhall incident forced the US to announce that it did not consider the incident and by extension Hassan Jameel to be terrorist related. That was done both to make the US look like fools and to justify the UK's hosting of the Rihanna/Jameel relationship.
While the RAF Mildenhall incident was underway the US seemed to be realising its error in its own special way. A train derailed and crashed in the Du Pont Circle area of Portland in the US state of Washington.
When a plan or a person is starting to fall apart it is common to say that; "It is going off the rails." If it goes really badly it may be described as; "A Train Wreck." Amy Schumer's 2015 movie; "Trainwreck" was all about a woman's personal life becoming a disaster.
Obviously in the wake of Monday' (18/12/17) train wreck there has been lots of discussion about what caused things to go off the rails. The main explanation offered so far is that the train was moving quicker than the track could cope with.
This explanation rather confirms Britain's theory. The US is trying to flip the Rihanna/Jameel relationship so information about Saudi Arabia will flow to the US via Rihanna. They're obviously upset that the UK was so quick on the uptake about this they were able to put in place a plan to piggyback on the flow of information.
The Du Pont Circle derailment also seems similar to the plot of the 2010 movie; "Unstoppable." This revolves efforts to stop a runaway train before it derails and flies off the tracks. Again I'll need to check the record but I think in the movie they're particularly concerned about a bend in the track by a (Portland) cement factory.
Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour (DWT) was preceded by her mini "777 Tour" in late 2012.
This saw Rihanna, her entourage and specially selected music journalists packed aboard a Boeing 777. They all travelled together as Rihanna performed 7 concerts in 7 countries over 7 days.
This gruelling schedule left all involved overtired and angry. The journalists were particularly unhappy about being crammed into economy class and then being forced to wait on the tarmac for hours in London, UK because Rihanna and her entourage couldn't be bothered to get out of their beds in luxury hotels.
By the end of the 777 Tour all the journalists involved, the publications they worked for, all their friends and all the publications they worked for were pretty much ready to kill Rihanna. It took a major charm offensive from people like me to stop them taking their revenge on Rihanna's 2013 "Unapologetic" album and the DWT it supported.
In the movie Unstoppable the runaway train is designated by the callsign; "777." As a result it features lots of dialogue such as; "777 Must Be Stopped!" and; "If 777 isn't stopped it will be a disaster!"
Watching the movie right before the start of Rihanna's 777 Tour I found it to be a comedy classic. They should probably have shown it on the plane.
America's Washington state is home to State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. He rose to prominence early in 2017 by leading the opposition to US President Trump's restrictions on immigration. As with all others who followed AG Ferguson's objections have recently been ruled invalid by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
On December 11th (11/12/17) a Bangladeshi immigration tried and failed to carry out an Islamist terror attack in New York City, New York, US.
Supporters of AG Ferguson and opponents of President Trump leapt on this as evidence that Trump's so-called Muslim Ban was racist and did nothing to improve America's security. As with so much in their lives in doing this they really didn't think it through.
If Trump was trying to impose a Muslim ban you would think that he would start with Muslim majority nations. The fact that The People's Republic of Bangladesh and its near neighbour The Islamic Republic of Pakistan are not affected by the ban are actually evidence that Trump's immigration restrictions are not a Muslim ban.
Also if AG Ferguson and others had not acted unlawfully in attempting to block President Trump's immigration restrictions they would have gone into effect when they were announced in early 2017. By now they would have been refined so nations who've made changes would be removed from the ban while nations who are now providing cause for concern would be included.
On Tuesday (19/12/17) the US' neighbour to the south Mexico joined the discussion with a tour bus crash that killed 8 US citizens.
To my shame Latin American continues to represent something of a black hole in my knowledge. However I do know that the bus was being operated as an excursion by the Royal Caribbean cruise line.
Although she's often mistaken for an American Rihanna is actually from the Caribbean island of Barbados. This is part of the UK Commonwealth making it part of the, well, Royal Caribbean.
I've also just learnt that the state where the crash occurred is named after Andres Quintana Roo - a key figure in Mexico's 1821 War of Independence. Of all the Mexican states it is also the one which sounds the most like; "Quinta Brigada."
Spanish for; "15th Brigade" the term Quinta Brigada is often used to refer to the International Brigades who fought for anti-Fascist Republican forces during Spain's 1936-1939 Civil War.
There has been a renewed interest in this oft forgotten period of history due to the anti-ISIL Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) forming their own, much smaller International Brigade. Apparently under the leadership of commander Wayne Rooney.
Several US citizens have fought for and died for the SDF's International Brigade. Rihanna is currently lining up on the opposing side to those volunteers.
Also on Tuesday (19/12/17) raids were carried out a several addresses in the UK to prevent an Islamist terror plot. Although its not been confirmed it is believed that the raids disrupted an advanced plot to bomb shoppers at Christmas markets in London tomorrow (23/12/17).
Sadly rather than being part of the Rihanna/Jameel discussion I think this was genuine. Rihanna's associates are actively plotting to kill British citizens. If they British security services find out about those plots they are under an obligation to stop them.
On Thursday (21/12/17) Australia joined in the discussion. A man deliberately drove a Suzuki 4x4 into pedestrians outside Flinders Street Railway station in the city of Melbourne. This injured 19 people.
The city of Melbourne has a special place in Rihanna's 2013 Diamonds World Tour.
Throughout the tour one of the key issues was when Rihanna would leave one country and travel to another. Different nations had different political themes and different threat profiles.
For example the UAE had the maximum threat profile. So much so that Israel actually delayed a municipal election in Tel Aviv so they could get Rihanna into the country immediately after she'd visited the UAE.
The intention was that if the worst should happen Tel Aviv could function as something of an aid station. It would allow Rihanna to be assessed and treatment options and medical evacuations decided upon. Even using private jets medically evacuating some in a psychological crisis across continents is extremely complicated.
Rather than being driven by any political motive this was simply Israel showing the humanity it seems unable to extend to Palestinians.
As always seems to be the case Rihanna was extremely hostile to those trying to help her. This meant that she often tried to keep her movements from one country to another secret.
Following her concerts in China on September 13th (13/9/13) and September 14th (14/9/13) Rihanna even made a completely unscheduled trip to Thailand. That resulted in such a backlash Thailand conducted a coup to overthrow the government that agreed to it.
After her concerts in Australia and New Zealand Rihanna was supposed to head to South Africa. The last stop before the UAE this occurred at the most tense time of the tour. However Rihanna didn't go straight to South Africa. Instead she holed up in a hotel right on the shoreline in Sydney Harbour.
At the time Sydney Harbour was being used to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Australian Navy. This meant that Sydney Harbour was filled with 20 warships from 17 nations all showing off their big guns and noisy aircraft. Hardly a restful place for Rihanna particularly as her fanbase; "The Navy" didn't exactly measure up.
So Melbourne suggested it was time for Rihanna to leave Australia. They did this by letting a Kangaroo loose at Melbourne Airport.
As with the RAF Mildenhall incident the Melbourne incident raised the question of whether Hassan Jameel and by extension Rihanna are considered a terrorists. Actually using a Toyota 4x4 like the ones Hassan Jameel has supplied to ISIL would have been too obvious. It also raised the question of mental health issues.
The driver of the vehicle in Melbourne was quickly identified as an immigrant from Afghanistan with a long history of mental health problems and drug addiction. Rather than ruling out terrorism this means that he very firmly fits the profile of a suicide attacker. Particularly one in his native Afghanistan where ISIL are on the rise.
Far from the heroic image they like to project suicide bombers are often mentally retarded, mentally ill, terminally ill or owe massive debts to drug dealers. They either don't understand they're about to blow themselves up or do it in return for money for their families.
Alongside the driver police in Melbourne also arrested a second Muslim man at the scene. He was filming the attack while in possession of a three large knives.
Again this is classic Islamist terrorist behaviour.
I don't think any terrorist group has embraced propaganda quite like ISIL. However even before ISIL is was extremely common for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan to film their attacks. They would then release the footage on the Internet.
This practice actually formed the basis for a major plot point in the 2007 movie; "The Kingdom." An attack on a compound housing American oil workers in Saudi Arabia was filmed by a terrorist mastermind in a nearby apartment building who then put the footage on the Internet.
If the American oil workers in the movie could learn to hold their bats properly they could well be celebrating a traditional Australian Christmas.
You can watch the first four minutes of The Kingdom here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKppKRnM7cU
The events at Flinders Street were accompanied by an explosion of gas used to power forklift trucks at the Bayside Shopping Centre in the Frankston area of the city. Sometimes known as; "Melbourne Market" this was in reference to the arrests made in the UK on Tuesday (19/12/17).
Rihanna has now returned to the US from the UK. However it's not so much her location that's the issue as the company she keeps.
17:20 on 22/12/17 (UK date).
Monday, 18 December 2017
Every Con Leaves It's Mark.
On June 27th (27/6/17) it was revealed that the US popstar Rihanna has a new man in her life.
He has since been identified as Hassan Jameel a 29 year old native of
Saudi Arabia.
Hassan Jameel and his family made their money by being the sole importer of Toyota motor vehicles into Saudi Arabia. Since 2015 he has been under investigation by the US Treasury Department's Terrorism Financing Unit for then supplying those Toyota vehicles to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
This US investigation has led to Hassan Jameel recently developing an unhealthy interest in British supermodel Naomi Campbell. He was in a similar relationship to the one he is currently in with Rihanna with Naomi Campbell back in 2015/16.
Hassan Jameel's interest in Naomi Campbell stems from the testimony she gave against Liberian warlord Charles Taylor in his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Charles Taylor's conviction at that trial set the legal precedent that if you provide any form of material support - such as Toyota motor vehicles - to people engaging in war crimes and crimes against humanity then you are responsible for those crimes.
Naomi Campbell's involvement in that trial was triggered by Nelson Mandela. He introduced the two and in an effort to bed the supermodel Charles Taylor gave Naomi Campbell illegal, so-called; "Blood Diamonds." Mandela then took those blood diamonds off Naomi Campbell and stored them in a safe place until they could be used to prove Charles Taylor's involvement in child slavery.
Naomi Campbell does not have a reputation for being particularly intelligent. Nor does she have a reputation for being in any way empathetic to the suffering of others. Therefore there have long lingered questions over whether Naomi Campbell ever knew she was being used by Mandela in an effort to make Charles Taylor pay for his crimes.
Apparently ending apartheid and peacefully transitioning South Africa to an inclusive democracy was just Nelson Mandela getting warmed up.
In 2010 Rihanna along with Jay-Z and Kanye West released a song called; "Run This Town." Relying on some pretty specious reasoning this song was blamed both for the mass rioting that gripped Britain in August 2011 and the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt in January 2011.
Within the Middle-East, North Africa (MENA) by far the most corrupt, violent and repressive regimes are the Monarchies of the Gulf Region - nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Obviously they were very afraid of this notion that Arab people could rise up, overthrow corrupt regimes and peacefully transition to an inclusive democracy.
So in 2013 the US dispatched Rihanna on her Diamonds World Tour (DWT).
The highlight of this tour was supposed to be Rihanna being forced into some sort of psychotic breakdown/mental health emergency while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on October 19th 2013 (19/10/13). As the least crazy of a bad bunch the UAE was chosen to represent all of the Gulf Monarchies.
This was supposed to served as a symbolic apology for any American involvement - real or imagined - in the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.
The infighting that doing this to Rihanna would trigger was supposed to prevent the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) progressing in its work to draw up a global agreement to combat climate change. Drawing their power entirely from a global dependence on fossil fuels the Gulf Monarchies are obviously very opposed to that.
In December 2015 the US and the Gulf Monarchies did achieve their objective of permanently blocking global action to combat climate change through the Paris Agreement adopted at COP21. However their effort to humiliate Rihanna in the UAE was a complete failure.
As with the World's roughly 1.7bn Muslims the Gulf Monarchies are not a unified bloc that all think and act the same. Instead even amongst these close allies there have long existed tensions over certain issues.
The main area of tension is between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The main cause of this tension is Saudi Arabia's opposition to Iran versus Qatar's relative support. There is also tensions between the two over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group.
Through the Muslim Brotherhood Qatar is closely allied to Turkey under President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On July 16th 2016 (16/7/16) Erdogan hit a problem. Sections of the Turkish military rose up against him and his efforts to turn Turkey into an Islamist dictatorship.
The US took the curious step of warning Erdogan about this rising in order to help him survive. This warning included getting Rihanna to release the song; "Sledgehammer." Within Turkey is a sort of shorthand for the military rising up against Erdogan.
This prompted Saudi Arabia to dispatch Hassan Jameel to take ownership of Rihanna as a trophy. And in the process prevent her from undertaking any more work in support of Erdogan, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.
This escalated the feud between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It boiled over on May 22nd (22/5/17) with Qatar bombing the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) in the British city of Manchester murdering 22 and wounding over 500.
The bombing specifically targeted a concert by US popstar Ariana Grande performed as part of her Dangerous Woman Tour (DWT). A clear reference to Rihanna's 2013 DWT.
The MENA bombing drove the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Qatar from feud to the complete breaking off relations between the two. Saudi Arabia backed by the UAE imposed broad sanctions against Qatar. Turkey then stepped in to support Qatar.
The UAE made a point of showing its opposition to Qatar by supporting Ariana Grande in holding a benefit concert for the bombing victims on June 4th (4/6/17) at the Emirates cricket ground in Manchester. The night before the concert Qatar carried out another attack in the London Bridge area of London, UK. One of the attackers wore a shirt with; "EMIRATES" emblazoned across the front.
When Saudi Arabia's operation against Rihanna was revealed a number of intelligence agencies - predominately in the European Union (EU) - pointed out to Rihanna that she really needed to sort her life out.
From Rihanna's perspective the most important of these hints was the fate of the movie "Valerian" in which she had a role. Upon its worldwide release in July 2017 Valerian absolutely bombed at the box office.
It bombed so hard that Hassan Jameel was forced to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lift a ban on cinemas that had been in place in Saudi Arabia since the 1980's. So there would at least be some people prepared to go and see Rihanna's next movie.
I understand though that Hassan Jameel is desperately trying to sell Rihanna a different version of that story. Veterans of Rihanna's relationship with Chris Brown will know that she always finds a way to convince herself that she can change them.
Upon receiving all these warnings Rihanna concluded that the problem wasn't the relationship with Hassan Jameel but the fact people knew about it. So certainly since October 2017 she has been attempting to continue the relationship but in secret.
On or around December 7th (7/12/17) photographs emerged of Rihanna wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring. This obviously triggered speculation that she intended to marry Hassan Jameel.
The only possible explanation for this behaviour is that the Americans are attempting to flip the relationship. Rather than having information about the US flowing from Rihanna to Saudi Arabia via Hassan Jameel they are trying to get information about Saudi Arabia flowing to the US via Rihanna.
I say it's the only possible explanation. It's the only sensible explanation. The alternative is that Rihanna has now spent so long alone trapped in a hopeless life she's decided on suicide as the only way out.
Either way Germany has been leading the line in again reminding Rihanna that she really needs to sort her life out.
In the final days of the battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIL a 17 year old German girl name Linda Wenzel. Aged just 15 this white German schoolgirl ran away from home to convert to 'Islam,' join ISIL and marry an ISIL fighter. This has obviously been a big story within Germany.
Last week the ISIL fighter Wenzel had married was executed by the Iraqi government for his role in ISIL's crimes. There is a strong possibility that Wenzel herself will also be executed for her role in ISIL's crimes.
The execution was marked by an in-depth interview with Wenzel by a German newspaper. It almost goes without saying that in this interview Wenzel expressed regret for her actions and a desire not to be executed.
This served as a timely reminder that people are being hung for doing exactly what Rihanna is doing. And those people deserve to be hung.
By taking on the role of an ISIL bride Rihanna appears to be attempting to humanise them. The intention being to support a campaign to stop them being executed so they can continue with their crimes both in Iraq and beyond.
That makes any of Rihanna's work terrorist propaganda. Something that media companies are forbidden by law from distributing.
On Thursday (14/12/17) Germany noted that Rihanna appears to be well aware of both her actions and the threat to her life.
Prior to their involvement with each other both Rihanna and Hassan Jameel both regularly used to take private jets. Rihanna however has now altered her behaviour by taking scheduled commercial passenger aircraft.
Surrounding yourself with innocent civilians to act as human shields is standard pratice of both ISIL fighters and ISIL brides.
Germany did this by referencing an episode of the US TV show; "The Unit" which centres around a secretive US Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit.
In the episode the CIA have an agent who they've used for various black operations. Although the nature of these operations is never specified it's likely the arming of terror groups. The agent goes rogue so they kill him by making it look like his private jet crashes.
In the episode reference is made to the fact one of the unit did their training with 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Benning close to the city of Columbus, Georgia. This is perhaps not as famous as the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
In the TV show the unit is led by a Colonel Ryan. The spokesman for the US-led coalition Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) is a Colonel Ryan.
Once you know those two details the challenge is not to do the joke. Every time he appears.
Germany's position on the issue seems to have been backed by the rest of the EU. They've made clear their opposition to the use of blood diamonds by warlords such as Charles Taylor.
Amid the heat of the Brexit negotiations Britain has taken a markedly different position on the Rihanna issue to Germany and the wider EU.
Britain seems convinced that the US is trying to flip the relationship so information about Saudi Arabia flows to America via Rihanna. Obviously the majority of this information will relate to the MENA region.
So Britain is trying to piggy-back on that flow of information. That involves hosting Rihanna and Hassan Jameel's relationship in London. They then exert pressure on the couple in the hope that something juicy gets squeezed out.
This began on Friday (15/12/17) with the deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman in Toronto in the British Commonwealth Realm of Canada. They were amongst some of the richest people in Canada.
The Shermans were killed by hanging. That references the fact that we are at the point where Rihanna has to come up with an explanation as to why she should escape execution by hanging like all the other ISIL brides.
The Shermans were Jewish and big supporters of liberal Jewish causes within Canada and beyond. Barry Sherman made his money by setting up the generic drug manufacturer Apotex. In setting up the company in 1967 he fell out with many members of his family triggering a heated and long lasting feud.
At the intersection between Jews and generic drug manufacturers you rapidly get to the company Teva. This Israeli company was founded in Tel Aviv but has recently moved its headquarters to Jerusalem. It appears to be on the brink of collapse.
On December 6th (6/12/17) US President Donald Trump announced that he was moving the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He then suspended his decision.
Any increase in Israel's hold over Jerusalem is extremely controversial. The city was captured by Israel in the 1967 war triggering a heated and long lasting feud.
It is Britain's belief that the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia including the Rihanna/Jameel relationship is being used to shape America's entire defence strategy.
This includes the current civil war in Ukraine. That war of course was started by the US as compensation for the US providing Russia with intelligence to thwart Saudi Arabian terror attacks on the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi, Russia.
It is rumoured that the US will follow Canada's example by providing lethal weapons to the Nazi side in Ukraine's civil war. If the 1940's taught us anything it's that arming Ukrainian Nazis is a really bad idea.
By Saturday (16/12/17) Britain itself was coming under intense pressure. Both for hosting the Rihanna/Jameel relationship and for murdering two Jews in Toronto.
So on Sunday (17/12/17) Britain woke up to news of a road accident in the city of Birmingham. This killed six.
It conceded the point that it would be extremely easy for the UK to eliminate Hassan Jameel while he is in the UK. If you don't realise how easy Google the term; "Cash for Crash."
It then went on to try and justify Britain's failure to take appropriate action against a senior ISIL supporter was due to it trying to gather information about complex issues over a wide area. The scene of the crash was described as complex and spread over a wide area.
To distract from that though the crashed vehicles came to rest beneath and underpass/bridge.
This invoked memories of the March 30th 1979 (30/3/79) assassination of Conservative Party MP Airey Neave by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Neave's car was blown up as it exited an underground car park beneath the UK Parliament building.
The INLA are/were formally allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). In his efforts to support ISIL and their associates Erdogan frequently claims that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) are part of the PKK. So there are plenty of places you can go with that reference.
Really though it was reference to the the March 22nd (22/3/17) Westminster Bridge terror attack.
Prior to the attack the UK had been boasting about its expertise in terrorism and security matters at the Brexit negotiations. Following the botched evacuation of Prime Minister Theresa May from the Parliament building on March 22nd (22/3/17) they suddenly stopped boasting.
With talk of royal weddings in the air the crash beneath the underpass/bridge could also bee seen as reference to the August 31st 1997 (31/8/97) death of Princess Diana in Paris, France. I think one of the wilder conspiracy theories was that she was assassinated for dating the nominally Muslim Dodi Fayed.
At around 16:30 on 18/12/17 (UK date) I'm going to need to take a little break to order my thoughts.
Edited at around 17:20 on 18/12/17 (UK date) to add;
By Sunday (17/12/17) morning Britain's attempts to explore complex issues across a wide area were already underway. On Saturday (16/12/17) a low level British diplomat had been found murdered in Beirut, Lebanon.
Although I was drowned out by Britain's November tantrum I was planning on commenting on Lebanon's extremely complex politics.
The very simplified version though is that the Shia Muslim political party Hezbollah always win enough votes to either govern outright of form part of a coalition government. The Saudis then support another faction to block Hezbollah from taking power. This leaves Lebanon without a government for extremely long periods of time.
In December 2016 Saudi Arabia failed to block the formation of a Lebanese government leading to Saad Hairi becoming Prime Minister - Lebanon's first in two years.
By November 4th (4/11/17) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had come to regret this decision. So he had Hairi kidnapped and forced him to resign. Hairi has since returned to Lebanon and withdrawn his resignation.
The British woman murdered on Saturday (16/12/17) was named Rebecca Dyke. The word; "dyke" is a slang-term meaning; "Lesbian." With my lesbian mothers and my lesbian 'wife' this is a topic I'm not totally unfamiliar with.
In fact thinking about it the only woman I've dated who didn't identify as either lesbian or bisexual was named Rebecca. As part of an intense smear campaign against me Britain told everyone that I'd raped Rebecca and left her pregnant.
They kept telling people that for more than two years. Apparently British intelligence are the only people who don't know human pregnancies last for 9 months.
So you would think the rape and murder of a woman named Rebecca Dyke would give Britain a bit on an in to Lebanon's complex politics.
By Sunday (17/12/17) these discussions over whether to kill Hassan Jameel over his role as ISIL's quartermaster and Rihanna over her role as an ISIL bride were clearly making Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman nervous.
So the Saudis blew up a wedding in Yemen. In order to confirm that is what was being discussed. They murdered 10 women.
Today (18/12/17) Britain continued its efforts to explore complex issues over a wide area by releasing the results of an investigation of the circumstances the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi in July 2013.
A refugee from Iran Ebrahimi was murdered in the Bristol area of the UK after wrongly been accused of being a sex offender. The investigation found the police and government agencies essentially allowed his death to happen out of institutional racism towards Iranians.
I have not spoken to my lesbian wife in more than a decade now. However the last time I heard from her she was living in the Bristol area.
As I've said I think President Trump's Jerusalem decision was motivated by nothing more than a desire to shore up his Evangelical Christian base in the face of increasing domestic pressure.
However the main cause of that domestic pressure is the Mueller investigation. Through Erdogan that is being driven by the Muslim Brotherhood.
By using Jerusalem as a way to portray himself as the leader of the Muslim world and call for the sanctions on Qatar to be scrapped in the name of defending Jerusalem Erdogan is the big winner from the decision.
As part of their effort to profit from the Jerusalem decision Erdogan, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood have been putting around a story to smear Saudi Arabia. The story claims that Mohammed bin Salman ordered Trump to give Jerusalem to Israel to ensure Israeli support for the war Saudi Arabia wants against Iran.
If you were foolish enough to believe that story you would think the Rihanna/Jameel link was a key factor in driving America's apparently institutional racism towards Iranians.
While Europe was discussing the best way to kill Hassan Jameel the US was doing itself no favours. On Thursday (14/12/17) their Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley gave a big news conference in which she claimed to present evidence that Iran had supplied a missile fired from Yemen into Saudi Arabia on November 4th (4/11/17).
The reason why Yemen is so strategically important is that it controls the supply route into East Africa. This includes an Iranian weapons smuggling routes to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. Before Saudi involvement in 2011 Yemen had good relations with Iran. Including the legitimate supply of weapons such as missile.
So I have absolutely no doubt that the Saudis would be able to obtain an Iranian made missile. November 4th (4/11/17) would certainly be a good time to fire it at themselves. It was the conflict in Yemen that left them too distracted to block the formation of a government in Lebanon.
To give you an idea of how much of a threat to Rihanna's life the relationship with Hassan Jameel represents five days of discussion about the relationship have resulted in a death toll of 23.
If you were to represent that in the foundations of Rihanna's Fenty cosmetics line you would go with shade 230.
Worryingly on Saturday (16/12/17) - just before the death toll spiked - one of Rihanna's staff took to Twitter to promote exactly that shade 230. It seems as if she ordered the extra killings herself.
The death toll may even be higher then 23. On Sunday (17/12/17) ISIL attacked a Methodist Christian Church in Pakistan killing at least 9.
However much of the Christian world is preparing for Christmas. This is the busiest shopping period of the year so many retailers are competing for that business with lavish TV advertising campaigns.
The British retailer Tesco has run a commercial featuring Muslims celebrating Christmas. This has prompted some discussion about whether Muslim do or can even celebrate Christmas. Drawing massive attention to the Tesco brand in the process.
As I think I've mentioned my brother's girlfriend is at least culturally Muslim having been born in Pakistan. A few years back she celebrated a distinctly non-religious Christmas with my lesbian mothers. Funnily enough the topic of Muslims attitudes towards Christmas did come up in conversation.
Last Christmas during the start of the Astana Process on Syria I described my mothers as both being Catholic. That's not quite true. One of them is a Methodist although not a practising one.
So the attack in Pakistan seems like another ISIL threat to me and my family. A sort of follow up to the failed December 11th (11/12/17) in New York City, US.
However with Rihanna now being so close to senior figures within ISIL it's hard to make the distinction. No matter what happens at Loch Lomand.
Overnight the discussion has gone truly global and the death toll has risen.
Kim Jong-hyun of the South Korean pop group Shinee was found dead at an apartment in Seoul, Republic of Korea (RoK/South). South Korea is of course hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics. At 28 Kim was roughly the same age as Hassan Jameel.
So it seems as the song goes; There are many ways to kill a man. With bayonet, axe or sword.
Also while I've not had a chance to look at it properly events at RAF Mildenhall at least suggest that UK & US intelligence are currently engaged in a frantic competition over who's the most stupid.
18:30 on 18/12/17 (UK date).
Hassan Jameel and his family made their money by being the sole importer of Toyota motor vehicles into Saudi Arabia. Since 2015 he has been under investigation by the US Treasury Department's Terrorism Financing Unit for then supplying those Toyota vehicles to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
This US investigation has led to Hassan Jameel recently developing an unhealthy interest in British supermodel Naomi Campbell. He was in a similar relationship to the one he is currently in with Rihanna with Naomi Campbell back in 2015/16.
Hassan Jameel's interest in Naomi Campbell stems from the testimony she gave against Liberian warlord Charles Taylor in his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Charles Taylor's conviction at that trial set the legal precedent that if you provide any form of material support - such as Toyota motor vehicles - to people engaging in war crimes and crimes against humanity then you are responsible for those crimes.
Naomi Campbell's involvement in that trial was triggered by Nelson Mandela. He introduced the two and in an effort to bed the supermodel Charles Taylor gave Naomi Campbell illegal, so-called; "Blood Diamonds." Mandela then took those blood diamonds off Naomi Campbell and stored them in a safe place until they could be used to prove Charles Taylor's involvement in child slavery.
Naomi Campbell does not have a reputation for being particularly intelligent. Nor does she have a reputation for being in any way empathetic to the suffering of others. Therefore there have long lingered questions over whether Naomi Campbell ever knew she was being used by Mandela in an effort to make Charles Taylor pay for his crimes.
Apparently ending apartheid and peacefully transitioning South Africa to an inclusive democracy was just Nelson Mandela getting warmed up.
In 2010 Rihanna along with Jay-Z and Kanye West released a song called; "Run This Town." Relying on some pretty specious reasoning this song was blamed both for the mass rioting that gripped Britain in August 2011 and the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt in January 2011.
Within the Middle-East, North Africa (MENA) by far the most corrupt, violent and repressive regimes are the Monarchies of the Gulf Region - nations such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Obviously they were very afraid of this notion that Arab people could rise up, overthrow corrupt regimes and peacefully transition to an inclusive democracy.
So in 2013 the US dispatched Rihanna on her Diamonds World Tour (DWT).
The highlight of this tour was supposed to be Rihanna being forced into some sort of psychotic breakdown/mental health emergency while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on October 19th 2013 (19/10/13). As the least crazy of a bad bunch the UAE was chosen to represent all of the Gulf Monarchies.
This was supposed to served as a symbolic apology for any American involvement - real or imagined - in the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.
The infighting that doing this to Rihanna would trigger was supposed to prevent the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) progressing in its work to draw up a global agreement to combat climate change. Drawing their power entirely from a global dependence on fossil fuels the Gulf Monarchies are obviously very opposed to that.
In December 2015 the US and the Gulf Monarchies did achieve their objective of permanently blocking global action to combat climate change through the Paris Agreement adopted at COP21. However their effort to humiliate Rihanna in the UAE was a complete failure.
As with the World's roughly 1.7bn Muslims the Gulf Monarchies are not a unified bloc that all think and act the same. Instead even amongst these close allies there have long existed tensions over certain issues.
The main area of tension is between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The main cause of this tension is Saudi Arabia's opposition to Iran versus Qatar's relative support. There is also tensions between the two over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group.
Through the Muslim Brotherhood Qatar is closely allied to Turkey under President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On July 16th 2016 (16/7/16) Erdogan hit a problem. Sections of the Turkish military rose up against him and his efforts to turn Turkey into an Islamist dictatorship.
The US took the curious step of warning Erdogan about this rising in order to help him survive. This warning included getting Rihanna to release the song; "Sledgehammer." Within Turkey is a sort of shorthand for the military rising up against Erdogan.
This prompted Saudi Arabia to dispatch Hassan Jameel to take ownership of Rihanna as a trophy. And in the process prevent her from undertaking any more work in support of Erdogan, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.
This escalated the feud between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It boiled over on May 22nd (22/5/17) with Qatar bombing the Manchester Evening News Arena (MENA) in the British city of Manchester murdering 22 and wounding over 500.
The bombing specifically targeted a concert by US popstar Ariana Grande performed as part of her Dangerous Woman Tour (DWT). A clear reference to Rihanna's 2013 DWT.
The MENA bombing drove the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Qatar from feud to the complete breaking off relations between the two. Saudi Arabia backed by the UAE imposed broad sanctions against Qatar. Turkey then stepped in to support Qatar.
The UAE made a point of showing its opposition to Qatar by supporting Ariana Grande in holding a benefit concert for the bombing victims on June 4th (4/6/17) at the Emirates cricket ground in Manchester. The night before the concert Qatar carried out another attack in the London Bridge area of London, UK. One of the attackers wore a shirt with; "EMIRATES" emblazoned across the front.
When Saudi Arabia's operation against Rihanna was revealed a number of intelligence agencies - predominately in the European Union (EU) - pointed out to Rihanna that she really needed to sort her life out.
From Rihanna's perspective the most important of these hints was the fate of the movie "Valerian" in which she had a role. Upon its worldwide release in July 2017 Valerian absolutely bombed at the box office.
It bombed so hard that Hassan Jameel was forced to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lift a ban on cinemas that had been in place in Saudi Arabia since the 1980's. So there would at least be some people prepared to go and see Rihanna's next movie.
I understand though that Hassan Jameel is desperately trying to sell Rihanna a different version of that story. Veterans of Rihanna's relationship with Chris Brown will know that she always finds a way to convince herself that she can change them.
Upon receiving all these warnings Rihanna concluded that the problem wasn't the relationship with Hassan Jameel but the fact people knew about it. So certainly since October 2017 she has been attempting to continue the relationship but in secret.
On or around December 7th (7/12/17) photographs emerged of Rihanna wearing what appeared to be an engagement ring. This obviously triggered speculation that she intended to marry Hassan Jameel.
The only possible explanation for this behaviour is that the Americans are attempting to flip the relationship. Rather than having information about the US flowing from Rihanna to Saudi Arabia via Hassan Jameel they are trying to get information about Saudi Arabia flowing to the US via Rihanna.
I say it's the only possible explanation. It's the only sensible explanation. The alternative is that Rihanna has now spent so long alone trapped in a hopeless life she's decided on suicide as the only way out.
Either way Germany has been leading the line in again reminding Rihanna that she really needs to sort her life out.
In the final days of the battle to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIL a 17 year old German girl name Linda Wenzel. Aged just 15 this white German schoolgirl ran away from home to convert to 'Islam,' join ISIL and marry an ISIL fighter. This has obviously been a big story within Germany.
Last week the ISIL fighter Wenzel had married was executed by the Iraqi government for his role in ISIL's crimes. There is a strong possibility that Wenzel herself will also be executed for her role in ISIL's crimes.
The execution was marked by an in-depth interview with Wenzel by a German newspaper. It almost goes without saying that in this interview Wenzel expressed regret for her actions and a desire not to be executed.
This served as a timely reminder that people are being hung for doing exactly what Rihanna is doing. And those people deserve to be hung.
By taking on the role of an ISIL bride Rihanna appears to be attempting to humanise them. The intention being to support a campaign to stop them being executed so they can continue with their crimes both in Iraq and beyond.
That makes any of Rihanna's work terrorist propaganda. Something that media companies are forbidden by law from distributing.
On Thursday (14/12/17) Germany noted that Rihanna appears to be well aware of both her actions and the threat to her life.
Prior to their involvement with each other both Rihanna and Hassan Jameel both regularly used to take private jets. Rihanna however has now altered her behaviour by taking scheduled commercial passenger aircraft.
Surrounding yourself with innocent civilians to act as human shields is standard pratice of both ISIL fighters and ISIL brides.
Germany did this by referencing an episode of the US TV show; "The Unit" which centres around a secretive US Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit.
In the episode the CIA have an agent who they've used for various black operations. Although the nature of these operations is never specified it's likely the arming of terror groups. The agent goes rogue so they kill him by making it look like his private jet crashes.
In the episode reference is made to the fact one of the unit did their training with 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Benning close to the city of Columbus, Georgia. This is perhaps not as famous as the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
In the TV show the unit is led by a Colonel Ryan. The spokesman for the US-led coalition Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) is a Colonel Ryan.
Once you know those two details the challenge is not to do the joke. Every time he appears.
Germany's position on the issue seems to have been backed by the rest of the EU. They've made clear their opposition to the use of blood diamonds by warlords such as Charles Taylor.
Amid the heat of the Brexit negotiations Britain has taken a markedly different position on the Rihanna issue to Germany and the wider EU.
Britain seems convinced that the US is trying to flip the relationship so information about Saudi Arabia flows to America via Rihanna. Obviously the majority of this information will relate to the MENA region.
So Britain is trying to piggy-back on that flow of information. That involves hosting Rihanna and Hassan Jameel's relationship in London. They then exert pressure on the couple in the hope that something juicy gets squeezed out.
This began on Friday (15/12/17) with the deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman in Toronto in the British Commonwealth Realm of Canada. They were amongst some of the richest people in Canada.
The Shermans were killed by hanging. That references the fact that we are at the point where Rihanna has to come up with an explanation as to why she should escape execution by hanging like all the other ISIL brides.
The Shermans were Jewish and big supporters of liberal Jewish causes within Canada and beyond. Barry Sherman made his money by setting up the generic drug manufacturer Apotex. In setting up the company in 1967 he fell out with many members of his family triggering a heated and long lasting feud.
At the intersection between Jews and generic drug manufacturers you rapidly get to the company Teva. This Israeli company was founded in Tel Aviv but has recently moved its headquarters to Jerusalem. It appears to be on the brink of collapse.
On December 6th (6/12/17) US President Donald Trump announced that he was moving the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He then suspended his decision.
Any increase in Israel's hold over Jerusalem is extremely controversial. The city was captured by Israel in the 1967 war triggering a heated and long lasting feud.
It is Britain's belief that the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia including the Rihanna/Jameel relationship is being used to shape America's entire defence strategy.
This includes the current civil war in Ukraine. That war of course was started by the US as compensation for the US providing Russia with intelligence to thwart Saudi Arabian terror attacks on the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi, Russia.
It is rumoured that the US will follow Canada's example by providing lethal weapons to the Nazi side in Ukraine's civil war. If the 1940's taught us anything it's that arming Ukrainian Nazis is a really bad idea.
By Saturday (16/12/17) Britain itself was coming under intense pressure. Both for hosting the Rihanna/Jameel relationship and for murdering two Jews in Toronto.
So on Sunday (17/12/17) Britain woke up to news of a road accident in the city of Birmingham. This killed six.
It conceded the point that it would be extremely easy for the UK to eliminate Hassan Jameel while he is in the UK. If you don't realise how easy Google the term; "Cash for Crash."
It then went on to try and justify Britain's failure to take appropriate action against a senior ISIL supporter was due to it trying to gather information about complex issues over a wide area. The scene of the crash was described as complex and spread over a wide area.
To distract from that though the crashed vehicles came to rest beneath and underpass/bridge.
This invoked memories of the March 30th 1979 (30/3/79) assassination of Conservative Party MP Airey Neave by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Neave's car was blown up as it exited an underground car park beneath the UK Parliament building.
The INLA are/were formally allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). In his efforts to support ISIL and their associates Erdogan frequently claims that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) are part of the PKK. So there are plenty of places you can go with that reference.
Really though it was reference to the the March 22nd (22/3/17) Westminster Bridge terror attack.
Prior to the attack the UK had been boasting about its expertise in terrorism and security matters at the Brexit negotiations. Following the botched evacuation of Prime Minister Theresa May from the Parliament building on March 22nd (22/3/17) they suddenly stopped boasting.
With talk of royal weddings in the air the crash beneath the underpass/bridge could also bee seen as reference to the August 31st 1997 (31/8/97) death of Princess Diana in Paris, France. I think one of the wilder conspiracy theories was that she was assassinated for dating the nominally Muslim Dodi Fayed.
At around 16:30 on 18/12/17 (UK date) I'm going to need to take a little break to order my thoughts.
Edited at around 17:20 on 18/12/17 (UK date) to add;
By Sunday (17/12/17) morning Britain's attempts to explore complex issues across a wide area were already underway. On Saturday (16/12/17) a low level British diplomat had been found murdered in Beirut, Lebanon.
Although I was drowned out by Britain's November tantrum I was planning on commenting on Lebanon's extremely complex politics.
The very simplified version though is that the Shia Muslim political party Hezbollah always win enough votes to either govern outright of form part of a coalition government. The Saudis then support another faction to block Hezbollah from taking power. This leaves Lebanon without a government for extremely long periods of time.
In December 2016 Saudi Arabia failed to block the formation of a Lebanese government leading to Saad Hairi becoming Prime Minister - Lebanon's first in two years.
By November 4th (4/11/17) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had come to regret this decision. So he had Hairi kidnapped and forced him to resign. Hairi has since returned to Lebanon and withdrawn his resignation.
The British woman murdered on Saturday (16/12/17) was named Rebecca Dyke. The word; "dyke" is a slang-term meaning; "Lesbian." With my lesbian mothers and my lesbian 'wife' this is a topic I'm not totally unfamiliar with.
In fact thinking about it the only woman I've dated who didn't identify as either lesbian or bisexual was named Rebecca. As part of an intense smear campaign against me Britain told everyone that I'd raped Rebecca and left her pregnant.
They kept telling people that for more than two years. Apparently British intelligence are the only people who don't know human pregnancies last for 9 months.
So you would think the rape and murder of a woman named Rebecca Dyke would give Britain a bit on an in to Lebanon's complex politics.
By Sunday (17/12/17) these discussions over whether to kill Hassan Jameel over his role as ISIL's quartermaster and Rihanna over her role as an ISIL bride were clearly making Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman nervous.
So the Saudis blew up a wedding in Yemen. In order to confirm that is what was being discussed. They murdered 10 women.
Today (18/12/17) Britain continued its efforts to explore complex issues over a wide area by releasing the results of an investigation of the circumstances the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi in July 2013.
A refugee from Iran Ebrahimi was murdered in the Bristol area of the UK after wrongly been accused of being a sex offender. The investigation found the police and government agencies essentially allowed his death to happen out of institutional racism towards Iranians.
I have not spoken to my lesbian wife in more than a decade now. However the last time I heard from her she was living in the Bristol area.
As I've said I think President Trump's Jerusalem decision was motivated by nothing more than a desire to shore up his Evangelical Christian base in the face of increasing domestic pressure.
However the main cause of that domestic pressure is the Mueller investigation. Through Erdogan that is being driven by the Muslim Brotherhood.
By using Jerusalem as a way to portray himself as the leader of the Muslim world and call for the sanctions on Qatar to be scrapped in the name of defending Jerusalem Erdogan is the big winner from the decision.
As part of their effort to profit from the Jerusalem decision Erdogan, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood have been putting around a story to smear Saudi Arabia. The story claims that Mohammed bin Salman ordered Trump to give Jerusalem to Israel to ensure Israeli support for the war Saudi Arabia wants against Iran.
If you were foolish enough to believe that story you would think the Rihanna/Jameel link was a key factor in driving America's apparently institutional racism towards Iranians.
While Europe was discussing the best way to kill Hassan Jameel the US was doing itself no favours. On Thursday (14/12/17) their Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley gave a big news conference in which she claimed to present evidence that Iran had supplied a missile fired from Yemen into Saudi Arabia on November 4th (4/11/17).
The reason why Yemen is so strategically important is that it controls the supply route into East Africa. This includes an Iranian weapons smuggling routes to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. Before Saudi involvement in 2011 Yemen had good relations with Iran. Including the legitimate supply of weapons such as missile.
So I have absolutely no doubt that the Saudis would be able to obtain an Iranian made missile. November 4th (4/11/17) would certainly be a good time to fire it at themselves. It was the conflict in Yemen that left them too distracted to block the formation of a government in Lebanon.
To give you an idea of how much of a threat to Rihanna's life the relationship with Hassan Jameel represents five days of discussion about the relationship have resulted in a death toll of 23.
If you were to represent that in the foundations of Rihanna's Fenty cosmetics line you would go with shade 230.
Worryingly on Saturday (16/12/17) - just before the death toll spiked - one of Rihanna's staff took to Twitter to promote exactly that shade 230. It seems as if she ordered the extra killings herself.
The death toll may even be higher then 23. On Sunday (17/12/17) ISIL attacked a Methodist Christian Church in Pakistan killing at least 9.
However much of the Christian world is preparing for Christmas. This is the busiest shopping period of the year so many retailers are competing for that business with lavish TV advertising campaigns.
The British retailer Tesco has run a commercial featuring Muslims celebrating Christmas. This has prompted some discussion about whether Muslim do or can even celebrate Christmas. Drawing massive attention to the Tesco brand in the process.
As I think I've mentioned my brother's girlfriend is at least culturally Muslim having been born in Pakistan. A few years back she celebrated a distinctly non-religious Christmas with my lesbian mothers. Funnily enough the topic of Muslims attitudes towards Christmas did come up in conversation.
Last Christmas during the start of the Astana Process on Syria I described my mothers as both being Catholic. That's not quite true. One of them is a Methodist although not a practising one.
So the attack in Pakistan seems like another ISIL threat to me and my family. A sort of follow up to the failed December 11th (11/12/17) in New York City, US.
However with Rihanna now being so close to senior figures within ISIL it's hard to make the distinction. No matter what happens at Loch Lomand.
Overnight the discussion has gone truly global and the death toll has risen.
Kim Jong-hyun of the South Korean pop group Shinee was found dead at an apartment in Seoul, Republic of Korea (RoK/South). South Korea is of course hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics. At 28 Kim was roughly the same age as Hassan Jameel.
So it seems as the song goes; There are many ways to kill a man. With bayonet, axe or sword.
Also while I've not had a chance to look at it properly events at RAF Mildenhall at least suggest that UK & US intelligence are currently engaged in a frantic competition over who's the most stupid.
18:30 on 18/12/17 (UK date).
Friday, 15 December 2017
Operation Featherweight: Month 42, Week 1, Day 6.
In the summer of 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) were at their most powerful.
They controlled large swathes of both Iraq and Syria. They'd declared themselves to be an Islamist Caliphate. Their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to be it's Caliph and the Syrian city of Raqqa to be its capital.
Now in the winter of 2017 ISIL have been reduced to just a few scattered positions in Syria. Mainly around the Euphrates River basin.
Within this area anti-ISIL operations have been conducted by the Syrians themselves. They are supported by longtime allies Russia, Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Since May 2017 the Syrians have been conducting operations to liberate the centre of Syria from ISIL. Both in the north and the south of the country.
To the north the Syrians liberated the town of Dalhah on July 30th (30/7/17). Dalhah sits on the southern banks of the Euphrates around 25km (15 miles) south-east of Raqqa.
Meanwhile the Syrians were advancing west-to-east across the south of the country from the capital Damascus. By June 9th (9/6/17) they succeeded in reaching the Iraqi border at al-Tanf. This is located around 280km (170 miles) east of Damascus and 160km (95 miles) north-west of the Iraqi town of Rutba.
From al-Tanf the Syrians have advanced towards Palmyra around 180km (110 miles) to the north-west almost in the exact centre of Syria. Palmyra was liberated from ISIL by the Syrians in March 2017.
This established the al-Tanf - Palmyra Line.
On August 8th (8/8/17) Syrian forces from Dalhah and Palmyra converged on the town of as-Suknah. This around 130km (75 miles) south of Raqqa, 65km (40 miles) north-east of Palmyra.
The Syrian convergence on as-Suknah marked the liberation of the last ISIL held town in Homs Province. It also established the Dalhah - Suknah Line.
From as-Suknah the Syrians objective has been to advance on the city of Deir-ez-Zour. This straddles the Euphrates around 120km (70 miles) south-east of Raqqa and around 120km (70 miles) north-east of as-Suknah.
On September 5th (5/9/17) the Syrians reached Deir-ez-Zour City. In doing so they established the Suknah - Deir-ez-Zour Line.
On September 24th (24/9/17) the Syrians liberated Madan. This sits around 55km (30 miles) south-east of Raqqa and around 65km (40 miles) north-west of Deir-ez-Zour City.
The liberation of Madan marked the complete liberation of the area between the Euphrates River and the Dalhah-Suknah Line and the Suknah - Deir-ez-Zour Line.
While the Syrians were doing this ISIL launched an offensive of their own.
Launched on September 28th (28/9/17) this was designated; "Abu Muhammad al-Adani Offensive." It was intended to break Syrian lines both between Deir-ez-Zour and as-Suknah and between as-Suknah and Palmyra.
On September 29th (29/9/17) the Syrians launched an offensive of their own to counter the al-Adani offensive.
By October 6th (6/10/17) they had pushed ISIL all the way back to the outskirts of Mayadin. This sits on the Euphrates around 60km (35 miles) south-east of Deir-ez-Zour.
On October 14th (14/10/17) the Syrians liberated Mayadin. In doing so they created the Suknah-Mayadin Line.
On November 3rd (3/11/17) the Syrians fully liberated Deir-ez-Zour City. The exception being a small presence of around 250 ISIL fighters on Hawijat Kati Island. This sits in the Euphrates north of the H7 Highway bridge.
On November 18th (18/11/17) the Syrians fully liberated Hawijat Kati Island.
The liberation of the cities of Mayadin and Deir-ez-Zour left ISIL in control of just one main population centre in the Euphrates River basin. This is the town of Abu Kamal/Al-Bukamal. It sits around 8km (5 miles) from Syria's border with Iraq.
While they were liberating Mayadin and Deir-ez-Zour the Syrians were also conducting an operation to advance upon and then liberate Abu Kamal.
The first phase of this operation saw them advance from the Tanf - Palmyra Line and the Suknah - Mayadin Line on the T-2 Airbase. Located around 70km (40 miles) west of the town itself the T-2 Airbase is seen as the military gateway to liberating Abu Kamal.
On October 26th (26/10/17) the Syrians liberated the T-2 Airbase. On November 5th (5/11/17) the Syrians reached the Syria/Iraq border from the T-2 Airbase.
On November 8th (8/11/17) the Syrians launched an operation to liberate Abu Kamal itself. Attacking from the south and the west.
Initially it appeared as though ISIL had fled Abu Kamal in panic. This allowed the Syrians to declare victory in the town on the same day their operation had begun.
However ISIL were then able to regroup outside Abu Kamal and launch a counter-offensive. Combined with ISIL sleeper cells hiding in the town this allowed ISIL to regain somewhere in the region of 50-75% of Abu Kamal by November 12th (12/11/17).
While fighting was ongoing in Abu Kamal further Syrian forces were advancing along the southern bank of the Euphrates from Mayadin to Abu Kamal. On November 13th (13/11/17) were able to join the battle for Abu Kamal.
Having been embarrassed by a premature announcement of the liberation of Abu Kamal only for it to fall back into ISIL's hands the Syrians have been wary of declare Abu Kamal liberated for a second. In fact I don't think they've yet to declare the town liberated.
However from November 19th (19/11/17) onwards it has become clear that fighting in Abu Kamal has ceased.
Since then the Syrians have focused on clearing ISIL from the area between Tanf - Palmyra Line and the Suknah - Mayadin Line. Particularly the smaller towns and villages in on the southern bank of the Euphrates between Mayadin and Abu Kamal.
On November 28th (28/11/17) they liberated the town of Quarayya. This sits around 10km (6 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 50km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal.
Also on November 28th (28/11/17) the Syrians liberated the town of Asharah. This sits around 15km (10 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 45km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal.
Initially ISIL immediately attempted to re-capture both Quarayya and Asharah. However these counter-offensives were successfully repelled. As was an attempted attack on as-Suknah.
On December 2nd (2/12/17) the Syrians liberated the towns of Safsafa and Salihiyah along with the villages surrounding them such as Wadi al-Warod and Ajrama.
Salihiyah sits around 35km (20 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 45km (25 miles) south-east of Mayadin. Safsafa sits directly north-west of Salihiyah around 40km (25 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 40km (25 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
Interestingly on December 2nd (2/12/17) the Syrians also claim to have liberated al-Jadlah. This sits around 50km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 30km (20 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
Crucially al-Jadlah sits on the northern bank of the Euphrates which is generally considered to be the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) area of operations.
Jadlah also sits area traditionally controlled by the Sheitat Tribe who have long been loyal to the Syrian government. The presence of Syrian forces within that tribal area will likely disrupt the SDF's efforts to gain permission to the area.
On December 5th (5/12/17) the Syrians liberated Qataa, Jalaa, Ramadi and Buqan. These all sit in an roughly 65kmsq (40 milesq) area.
Qataa is to the north of the area around 55km (35 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 30km (15 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal. Buqan is to the south of the area around 10km (6 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 65km (40 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
The liberation of the Qataa to Buqan area allowed to Syrians to declare that its territory was fully liberated from ISIL. This claim was repeated by Russia on December 11th (11/12/17) when they announced the start of a phased withdrawal of their forces from Syria.
This claim is certainly lacking in credibility. Although ISIL may have been almost entirely eradicated from the Syrians area of operations in the Euphrates basin they still maintain a sizable presence in other areas of Syria.
Most notably in the northern Hama Province where it borders Idlib Province. Here ISIL are operating alongside the Al Qaeda led Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah coalition against the Syrians. The Army of Conquest are being protected by Turkish forces within the area of Idlib Province designated; "The Sudetenland."
ISIL also control the Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian Refugees. This sits within the Syrian capital Damascus, just south of the al-Midan district of the city.
In Syria's southern Daraa Province ISIL are allied with the Army of Khalid Ibrahim al-Walid/Jaish Khalid Ibn al-Walid group. They operate within the Yarmouk River basin close to the Golan Heights United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) zone.
As if to prove how premature the Russian and Syrian announcement was ISIL responded with multiple offensives against Syrian forces.
On December 12th (12/12/17) ISIL launched an attack against Salihiyah which the Syrians had liberated on December 2nd (2/12/17). ISIL's notoriously unreliable media claimed that the entire town had been recaptured. However the Syrians claimed the attack had been quickly repelled with the loss of just 7 of their soldiers.
On December 13th (13/12/17) ISIL forces in the Yarmouk Refugee camp launched a surprise attack against Syrian forces in the capital Damascus.
ISIL succeeded in capturing roughly a city block in the Tadamon district of Damascus which sits directly north-east of the Yarmouk Refugee camp. However the Syrians were able to liberate the area the following day.
The fact that ISIL is able to mount attacks - albeit shortlived - within the Syrian capital serves to underline that the announcement of a Russian withdrawal owes little to the military situation within Syria.
Instead it owes more to the Presidential election Russia will be holding on March 18th 2018 (18/3/18) and the 2018 World Cup Russia will be hosting from the opening game on June 14th (14/6/17).
17:55 on 15/12/17 (UK date).
They controlled large swathes of both Iraq and Syria. They'd declared themselves to be an Islamist Caliphate. Their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to be it's Caliph and the Syrian city of Raqqa to be its capital.
Now in the winter of 2017 ISIL have been reduced to just a few scattered positions in Syria. Mainly around the Euphrates River basin.
Within this area anti-ISIL operations have been conducted by the Syrians themselves. They are supported by longtime allies Russia, Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Since May 2017 the Syrians have been conducting operations to liberate the centre of Syria from ISIL. Both in the north and the south of the country.
To the north the Syrians liberated the town of Dalhah on July 30th (30/7/17). Dalhah sits on the southern banks of the Euphrates around 25km (15 miles) south-east of Raqqa.
Meanwhile the Syrians were advancing west-to-east across the south of the country from the capital Damascus. By June 9th (9/6/17) they succeeded in reaching the Iraqi border at al-Tanf. This is located around 280km (170 miles) east of Damascus and 160km (95 miles) north-west of the Iraqi town of Rutba.
From al-Tanf the Syrians have advanced towards Palmyra around 180km (110 miles) to the north-west almost in the exact centre of Syria. Palmyra was liberated from ISIL by the Syrians in March 2017.
This established the al-Tanf - Palmyra Line.
On August 8th (8/8/17) Syrian forces from Dalhah and Palmyra converged on the town of as-Suknah. This around 130km (75 miles) south of Raqqa, 65km (40 miles) north-east of Palmyra.
The Syrian convergence on as-Suknah marked the liberation of the last ISIL held town in Homs Province. It also established the Dalhah - Suknah Line.
From as-Suknah the Syrians objective has been to advance on the city of Deir-ez-Zour. This straddles the Euphrates around 120km (70 miles) south-east of Raqqa and around 120km (70 miles) north-east of as-Suknah.
On September 5th (5/9/17) the Syrians reached Deir-ez-Zour City. In doing so they established the Suknah - Deir-ez-Zour Line.
On September 24th (24/9/17) the Syrians liberated Madan. This sits around 55km (30 miles) south-east of Raqqa and around 65km (40 miles) north-west of Deir-ez-Zour City.
The liberation of Madan marked the complete liberation of the area between the Euphrates River and the Dalhah-Suknah Line and the Suknah - Deir-ez-Zour Line.
While the Syrians were doing this ISIL launched an offensive of their own.
Launched on September 28th (28/9/17) this was designated; "Abu Muhammad al-Adani Offensive." It was intended to break Syrian lines both between Deir-ez-Zour and as-Suknah and between as-Suknah and Palmyra.
On September 29th (29/9/17) the Syrians launched an offensive of their own to counter the al-Adani offensive.
By October 6th (6/10/17) they had pushed ISIL all the way back to the outskirts of Mayadin. This sits on the Euphrates around 60km (35 miles) south-east of Deir-ez-Zour.
On October 14th (14/10/17) the Syrians liberated Mayadin. In doing so they created the Suknah-Mayadin Line.
On November 3rd (3/11/17) the Syrians fully liberated Deir-ez-Zour City. The exception being a small presence of around 250 ISIL fighters on Hawijat Kati Island. This sits in the Euphrates north of the H7 Highway bridge.
On November 18th (18/11/17) the Syrians fully liberated Hawijat Kati Island.
The liberation of the cities of Mayadin and Deir-ez-Zour left ISIL in control of just one main population centre in the Euphrates River basin. This is the town of Abu Kamal/Al-Bukamal. It sits around 8km (5 miles) from Syria's border with Iraq.
While they were liberating Mayadin and Deir-ez-Zour the Syrians were also conducting an operation to advance upon and then liberate Abu Kamal.
The first phase of this operation saw them advance from the Tanf - Palmyra Line and the Suknah - Mayadin Line on the T-2 Airbase. Located around 70km (40 miles) west of the town itself the T-2 Airbase is seen as the military gateway to liberating Abu Kamal.
On October 26th (26/10/17) the Syrians liberated the T-2 Airbase. On November 5th (5/11/17) the Syrians reached the Syria/Iraq border from the T-2 Airbase.
On November 8th (8/11/17) the Syrians launched an operation to liberate Abu Kamal itself. Attacking from the south and the west.
Initially it appeared as though ISIL had fled Abu Kamal in panic. This allowed the Syrians to declare victory in the town on the same day their operation had begun.
However ISIL were then able to regroup outside Abu Kamal and launch a counter-offensive. Combined with ISIL sleeper cells hiding in the town this allowed ISIL to regain somewhere in the region of 50-75% of Abu Kamal by November 12th (12/11/17).
While fighting was ongoing in Abu Kamal further Syrian forces were advancing along the southern bank of the Euphrates from Mayadin to Abu Kamal. On November 13th (13/11/17) were able to join the battle for Abu Kamal.
Having been embarrassed by a premature announcement of the liberation of Abu Kamal only for it to fall back into ISIL's hands the Syrians have been wary of declare Abu Kamal liberated for a second. In fact I don't think they've yet to declare the town liberated.
However from November 19th (19/11/17) onwards it has become clear that fighting in Abu Kamal has ceased.
Since then the Syrians have focused on clearing ISIL from the area between Tanf - Palmyra Line and the Suknah - Mayadin Line. Particularly the smaller towns and villages in on the southern bank of the Euphrates between Mayadin and Abu Kamal.
On November 28th (28/11/17) they liberated the town of Quarayya. This sits around 10km (6 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 50km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal.
Also on November 28th (28/11/17) the Syrians liberated the town of Asharah. This sits around 15km (10 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 45km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal.
Initially ISIL immediately attempted to re-capture both Quarayya and Asharah. However these counter-offensives were successfully repelled. As was an attempted attack on as-Suknah.
On December 2nd (2/12/17) the Syrians liberated the towns of Safsafa and Salihiyah along with the villages surrounding them such as Wadi al-Warod and Ajrama.
Salihiyah sits around 35km (20 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 45km (25 miles) south-east of Mayadin. Safsafa sits directly north-west of Salihiyah around 40km (25 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 40km (25 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
Interestingly on December 2nd (2/12/17) the Syrians also claim to have liberated al-Jadlah. This sits around 50km (30 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 30km (20 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
Crucially al-Jadlah sits on the northern bank of the Euphrates which is generally considered to be the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) area of operations.
Jadlah also sits area traditionally controlled by the Sheitat Tribe who have long been loyal to the Syrian government. The presence of Syrian forces within that tribal area will likely disrupt the SDF's efforts to gain permission to the area.
On December 5th (5/12/17) the Syrians liberated Qataa, Jalaa, Ramadi and Buqan. These all sit in an roughly 65kmsq (40 milesq) area.
Qataa is to the north of the area around 55km (35 miles) south-east of Mayadin and around 30km (15 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal. Buqan is to the south of the area around 10km (6 miles) north-west of Abu Kamal and around 65km (40 miles) south-east of Mayadin.
The liberation of the Qataa to Buqan area allowed to Syrians to declare that its territory was fully liberated from ISIL. This claim was repeated by Russia on December 11th (11/12/17) when they announced the start of a phased withdrawal of their forces from Syria.
This claim is certainly lacking in credibility. Although ISIL may have been almost entirely eradicated from the Syrians area of operations in the Euphrates basin they still maintain a sizable presence in other areas of Syria.
Most notably in the northern Hama Province where it borders Idlib Province. Here ISIL are operating alongside the Al Qaeda led Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah coalition against the Syrians. The Army of Conquest are being protected by Turkish forces within the area of Idlib Province designated; "The Sudetenland."
ISIL also control the Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian Refugees. This sits within the Syrian capital Damascus, just south of the al-Midan district of the city.
In Syria's southern Daraa Province ISIL are allied with the Army of Khalid Ibrahim al-Walid/Jaish Khalid Ibn al-Walid group. They operate within the Yarmouk River basin close to the Golan Heights United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) zone.
As if to prove how premature the Russian and Syrian announcement was ISIL responded with multiple offensives against Syrian forces.
On December 12th (12/12/17) ISIL launched an attack against Salihiyah which the Syrians had liberated on December 2nd (2/12/17). ISIL's notoriously unreliable media claimed that the entire town had been recaptured. However the Syrians claimed the attack had been quickly repelled with the loss of just 7 of their soldiers.
On December 13th (13/12/17) ISIL forces in the Yarmouk Refugee camp launched a surprise attack against Syrian forces in the capital Damascus.
ISIL succeeded in capturing roughly a city block in the Tadamon district of Damascus which sits directly north-east of the Yarmouk Refugee camp. However the Syrians were able to liberate the area the following day.
The fact that ISIL is able to mount attacks - albeit shortlived - within the Syrian capital serves to underline that the announcement of a Russian withdrawal owes little to the military situation within Syria.
Instead it owes more to the Presidential election Russia will be holding on March 18th 2018 (18/3/18) and the 2018 World Cup Russia will be hosting from the opening game on June 14th (14/6/17).
17:55 on 15/12/17 (UK date).
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