southfront--2020-05-12--UK Government Funded “Citizen Journalist” Propaganda Campaign In Syria: Middle East Eye

The British government established a network of “ citizen journalists ” in Syria that ’ s been influencing how people perceive the conflict in the country .
According to documents reviewed by the Middle East Eye , this has been going on from the very early days of the conflict .
The documents detailed that by using British , American and Canadian funding , UK government contractors hired Syrians living in Istanbul and Amman , and then they , in turn , recruited citizen journalists inside Syria .
These individuals were then commissioned to produce TV footage , radio programmes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and even children ’ s comics .
The people who were recruited apparently were also often unaware that they were part of a British propaganda initiative .
The documents were drawn up as blueprints for the initiative by an anthropologist working in counter-terrorism at the foreign office in London .
Of course , the documents also underlined that there were some risks for the young journalists , but propaganda can ’ t be deterred .
“ Media coverage of the project will be distinctly unwelcome due to the risks to Syrian employees and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” says one .
“ The implementer is not permitted to speak publicly ( to the media or at academic conferences ) about their work without the explicit permission of HMG [ Her Majesty ’ s Government ] .
This will be enforced by a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
” The British government ’ s citizen journalism project was part of a three-pronged propaganda initiative that was developed in London and was , according to the documents , intended to “ have a synergistic effect.
” The first strand , named Syrian Identity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affirmation of common cultures and practices and to restore trust between neighbours , while illustrating Syrians ’ strength in numbers.
” The second strand , is called Free Syria and it “ seeks to build confidence in a future Syria free from extremist rule.
” The third strand , is called Undermine , and it “ seeks to degrade the effectiveness of VE [ violent extremist ] networks in Syria by undermining the credibility of VE narratives and actors and isolating VE organisations from the populace.
” “ ISIL is an explicit and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to its current popularity within Syria ) is addressed indirectly through its behaviour .
The purpose of the project to directly ‘ Undermine ’ ( degrading the effectiveness of ) VE networks in Syria through the delivery of media product , the emboldening and empowering of moderate voices , and supporting community coalescence around a vision of a tolerant , pluralist Syria .
Ultimately , active Syrian rejection of VE is the requirement.
” The Middle East Eye also cited unnamed sources who said that the project involved nine companies were involved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most of them were established by former British diplomats , intelligence officers and army officers .
Other leaked documents , revealed that the British government had awarded contracts to communications companies , which selected and trained opposition spokespeople , ran press offices that operated 24 hours a day , and developed opposition social media accounts .
The propaganda initiative was primarily aimed at Syrians , living both inside and outside Syria .
The blueprint explains that “ radicalised UK citizens are not an explicit focus ( target audience ) for this work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the responsibility of another government department.
” Reportedly all of these efforts have been diminished after Idlib was “ surprisingly ” overtaken by militants , and the “ moderate opposition ” was nowhere to be seen .
Possibly because the militants were the “ moderate opposition ” to begin with .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Military Situation In Southern Idlib Following Recent Clashes In Tanjarah ( Map Update )

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The British government established a network of “citizen journalists” in Syria that’s been influencing how people perceive the conflict in the country.
According to documents reviewed by the Middle East Eye, this has been going on from the very early days of the conflict.
The documents detailed that by using British, American and Canadian funding, UK government contractors hired Syrians living in Istanbul and Amman, and then they, in turn, recruited citizen journalists inside Syria.
These individuals were then commissioned to produce TV footage, radio programmes, social media, posters, magazines and even children’s comics.
The people who were recruited apparently were also often unaware that they were part of a British propaganda initiative.
The documents were drawn up as blueprints for the initiative by an anthropologist working in counter-terrorism at the foreign office in London.
One says: “The objective of the project is contribute [sic] towards positive attitudinal and behavioural change.” This was further defined as: “Reinforcement of popular rejection of the Assad regime and extremist alternatives; promotion of the moderate values of the revolution; promotion of Syrian national identity.”
Of course, the documents also underlined that there were some risks for the young journalists, but propaganda can’t be deterred.
“Media coverage of the project will be distinctly unwelcome due to the risks to Syrian employees and to project effectiveness that it would generate,” says one. “The implementer is not permitted to speak publicly (to the media or at academic conferences) about their work without the explicit permission of HMG [Her Majesty’s Government]. This will be enforced by a Non-Disclosure Agreement.”
The British government’s citizen journalism project was part of a three-pronged propaganda initiative that was developed in London and was, according to the documents, intended to “have a synergistic effect.”
The first strand, named Syrian Identity, sought to “unite Syrians through positive affirmation of common cultures and practices and to restore trust between neighbours, while illustrating Syrians’ strength in numbers.”
The second strand, is called Free Syria and it “seeks to build confidence in a future Syria free from extremist rule.”
It “amplifies the work of the ‘free’ police, civil defence teams and wider public service provision and broader developments in civil society and seeks to unite the moderate opposition (civil and armed) to work for a common future”.
The third strand, is called Undermine, and it “seeks to degrade the effectiveness of VE [violent extremist] networks in Syria by undermining the credibility of VE narratives and actors and isolating VE organisations from the populace.”
“ISIL is an explicit and named focus, Al Nusra Front (due to its current popularity within Syria) is addressed indirectly through its behaviour. The purpose of the project to directly ‘Undermine’ (degrading the effectiveness of) VE networks in Syria through the delivery of media product, the emboldening and empowering of moderate voices, and supporting community coalescence around a vision of a tolerant, pluralist Syria. Ultimately, active Syrian rejection of VE is the requirement.”
The Middle East Eye also cited unnamed sources who said that the project involved nine companies were involved in the bid for contracts, and most of them were established by former British diplomats, intelligence officers and army officers.
“It was a shady, shady business,” says one person involved in the work, adding that frequently the individual journalist would believe they were working for an opposition group, and have no idea that a British communications company was running their media office, under contract to the UK government.
Other leaked documents, revealed that the British government had awarded contracts to communications companies, which selected and trained opposition spokespeople, ran press offices that operated 24 hours a day, and developed opposition social media accounts.
The propaganda initiative was primarily aimed at Syrians, living both inside and outside Syria. The blueprint explains that “radicalised UK citizens are not an explicit focus (target audience) for this work,” adding: “Those efforts are the responsibility of another government department.”
It adds: “Nevertheless, it is accepted that some C-VE [countering violent extremist] material may reach the UK information space.”
Reportedly all of these efforts have been diminished after Idlib was “surprisingly” overtaken by militants, and the “moderate opposition” was nowhere to be seen. Possibly because the militants were the “moderate opposition” to begin with.
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southfront--2020-05-12--In Less Than A Year, ISIS In Mozambique Has Gone Entirely Out Of Control

In the first four months of 2020 , the situation in northern Mozambique deteriorated significantly , and rapidly .
ISIS militants have carried out numerous attacks , primarily targeting Catholic missions and churches .
However , increasingly deadly attacks are being carried out also on other locations .
So far , as a result of ISIS ’ attacks over 200,000 people have fled the region .
“ Many want to come back , but until the situation stabilises , one can not think about it , ” Lazano said .
“ I ’ m talking about over 200,000 people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is an obvious injustice .
This is a very poor population , which as a result of another conflict loses its few possessions , ” Lazano emphasized .
In order to prevent the chaos spilling onto its territory , on May 7th , Tanzania deployed troops along its southern border with Mozambique , following the rapid increase in ISIS attacks .
The troops were deployed to boost security especially as intelligence indicates that Jihadists from Tanzania have been exploiting the porous border to join the ISCAP ( ISIS in Central African Province ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also the second time that Tanzania has deployed troops to her border with Mozambique to strengthen security in an attempt to ensure that the crisis in the latter does not spill over to the East African nation .
In April , ISIS reportedly massacred at least 50 people in Muidumbe district when they over-ran the district ’ s capital Namacunde and occupied the district police com-mand .
Media reports say the United Nations has recorded 28 attacks in the area since the beginning of 2020 , which killed up to 400 people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tanzania government , ISIS militants have been adopting new techniques and increasing the frequency of their attacks in oil and gas-rich restive north .
Mozambique has been trying to undertake counter-terrorism activities , however , they appear to be proving ineffective .
Currently , it appears that ISIS is trying to bolster its ranks , raiding villages and forcing the villagers to join the militants .
If they refuse , they are killed .
The very first time ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in Mozambique was in June 2019 , and since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the area and undeterred in its activities .
Back in June 2019 , ISIS issued a statement claiming involvement in an apparent gunfight with the Mozambique military in Cabo Delgado province , although an insurgency expert expressed caution over the claim .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • ISIS Terrorists Seize Weapons In New Attack On Mozambican Forces

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In the first four months of 2020, the situation in northern Mozambique deteriorated significantly, and rapidly.
ISIS militants have carried out numerous attacks, primarily targeting Catholic missions and churches. However, increasingly deadly attacks are being carried out also on other locations.
“The attacks are becoming more and more religion-oriented, and the world is closing its eyes,” commented Bishop Luiz Fernando Maria Lozano who works in the most vulnerable province of Cabo Delgado.
So far, as a result of ISIS’ attacks over 200,000 people have fled the region.
“Many want to come back, but until the situation stabilises, one cannot think about it,” Lazano said. “I’m talking about over 200,000 people who had to flee from there. This is an obvious injustice. This is a very poor population, which as a result of another conflict loses its few possessions,” Lazano emphasized.
In order to prevent the chaos spilling onto its territory, on May 7th, Tanzania deployed troops along its southern border with Mozambique, following the rapid increase in ISIS attacks.
The troops were deployed to boost security especially as intelligence indicates that Jihadists from Tanzania have been exploiting the porous border to join the ISCAP (ISIS in Central African Province) terror organization in Mozambique.
This is also the second time that Tanzania has deployed troops to her border with Mozambique to strengthen security in an attempt to ensure that the crisis in the latter does not spill over to the East African nation.
In April, ISIS reportedly massacred at least 50 people in Muidumbe district when they over-ran the district’s capital Namacunde and occupied the district police com-mand.
Media reports say the United Nations has recorded 28 attacks in the area since the beginning of 2020, which killed up to 400 people.
Leading up to the decision by the Tanzania government, ISIS militants have been adopting new techniques and increasing the frequency of their attacks in oil and gas-rich restive north.
Mozambique has been trying to undertake counter-terrorism activities, however, they appear to be proving ineffective.
Currently, it appears that ISIS is trying to bolster its ranks, raiding villages and forcing the villagers to join the militants. If they refuse, they are killed.
The very first time ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in Mozambique was in June 2019, and since then it has become much stronger in the area and undeterred in its activities.
Back in June 2019, ISIS issued a statement claiming involvement in an apparent gunfight with the Mozambique military in Cabo Delgado province, although an insurgency expert expressed caution over the claim.
“The soldiers of the Caliphate were able to repulse an attack by the Crusader Mozambican army in Metubi village, in the Mocimboa area,” said the statement, according to a Site translation. “They clashed with them with a variety of weapons, killing and wounding a number of them. “The mujahideen captured weapons, ammunition, and rockets as spoils.”
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southfront--2020-05-12--Military Situation In Yemen On May 12, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Yemen : • Clashes between STC @ @ @ @ @ in the Abyan province ; • Ansar Allah shot down a Chinese-made CH-4 combat drone @ @ @ @ @ northern Saadah .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Military Situation In Yemen On May @ @ @ @ @ Update )

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A brief overview of the recent developments in Yemen:
Ceasefire violations were reported in al-Hudaydah;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Sarwah area 3 times;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Majzar area 3 times;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck Khab and Shaaf areas 3 times;
Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck the Qaniya area 3 times;
Clashes between STC and Hadi forces were reported in the Abyan province;
Ansar Allah shot down a Chinese-made CH-4 combat drone of the Saudi-led coalition in northern Saadah.
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southfront--2020-05-12--ISIS Says Al-Qaeda Started A War With It In West Africa

Al-Qaeda appears to have started a war against ISIS in West Africa , the caliphate ’ s newsletter Al-Naba reported .
Al-Naba reported that Al Qaeda ’ s men “ never miss the chance for treachery , ” as they recently “ started a war against ” the caliphate ’ s men in the middle of a “ raging Crusader campaign.
” In other words , the Islamic State accuses Al Qaeda of launching attacks on its fighters as they were battling the “ Crusader ” France and its allies .
The West African branch of al-Qaeda – the Group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or “ JNIM ” ) has a very significant presence in Mali , and the entire Sahel .
According to the al-Naba report , Al Qaeda ’ s men “ organized their armed movements and fronts in northern Mali ” from “ all kinds ” of groups , including both those who are opposed to the “ apostate government ” and those who are “ loyal to it.
” Al Qaeda has even worked with the “ idolatrous ” “ tribal movements , ” according to Al-Naba .
ISIS declared that JNIM “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government to negotiate and to set themselves up as guards of the borders of Algeria and Mauritania.
” ISIS , also accused France of failing to actually adequate combat al-Qaeda militants .
It said that the “ Crusader campaign in the region ” of failing to “ target [ JNIM ’ s ] soldiers or the areas in which they are stationed.
” In the same way , ISIS criticized the Taliban for signing a deal with the US , for its withdrawal , in return from disallowing groups to carry out attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ From April , French troops have carried out several operations targeting ISIS in the Sahel , but according to al-Naba , it avoided carrying out operations against JNIM .
The Islamic State claims to have conducted several attacks against al-Qaeda ’ s men in the Sahel , from northern and central Mali to northern Burkina Faso .
In central Mali , the Islamic State reports that its men “ repulsed two attacks ” by Al Qaeda in the Mopti region .
So , essentially , ISIS is complaining that France and others in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while it is trying to fight against other terrorists , which are being disregarded by the other factions .
Local media has reported intense fighting between the jihadist groups in these same areas .
In early April , clashes were reported in the localities of Dialloube , Koubi , Djantakai , and Nigua in the Mopti region .
And in March , fighting between the two was reported near the Mauritanian town of Fassala , which sits on the border with Mali .
On April 18 , one of the largest battles between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area of Mali ’ s Gossi commune .
According to local media , a large contingent of JNIM fighters targeted the Islamic State ’ s men in four different towns in the area .
On April 20th , a firefight was recorded near the locality of Pobe inside Burkina Faso ’ s Soum province , while another occurred in Keraboule in the Koutougou department of the same province .
Further battles in Arbinda and Nassoumbou have also been alleged .
In conclusion , it would appear that the “ war ” between al-Qaeda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from terror attacks , since the French operations and the local forces in the Sahel appear to not be doing enough .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • ISIS In West Africa Claims Dozens Killed In Attacks Against Chad And Allied Armies • Nigeria Under Sway Of ISIS .
Terrorist Threat Growing In Africa

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Al-Qaeda appears to have started a war against ISIS in West Africa, the caliphate’s newsletter Al-Naba reported.
Al-Naba reported that Al Qaeda’s men “never miss the chance for treachery,” as they recently “started a war against” the caliphate’s men in the middle of a “raging Crusader campaign.” In other words, the Islamic State accuses Al Qaeda of launching attacks on its fighters as they were battling the “Crusader” France and its allies.
The West African branch of al-Qaeda – the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (or “JNIM”) has a very significant presence in Mali, and the entire Sahel.
According to the al-Naba report, Al Qaeda’s men “organized their armed movements and fronts in northern Mali” from “all kinds” of groups, including both those who are opposed to the “apostate government” and those who are “loyal to it.” Al Qaeda has even worked with the “idolatrous” “tribal movements,” according to Al-Naba.
ISIS declared that JNIM “accepted an invitation by the apostate Malian government to negotiate and to set themselves up as guards of the borders of Algeria and Mauritania.”
ISIS, also accused France of failing to actually adequate combat al-Qaeda militants. It said that the “Crusader campaign in the region” of failing to “target [JNIM’s] soldiers or the areas in which they are stationed.”
In the same way, ISIS criticized the Taliban for signing a deal with the US, for its withdrawal, in return from disallowing groups to carry out attacks from Afghan soil on other countries.
From April, French troops have carried out several operations targeting ISIS in the Sahel, but according to al-Naba, it avoided carrying out operations against JNIM.
The Islamic State claims to have conducted several attacks against al-Qaeda’s men in the Sahel, from northern and central Mali to northern Burkina Faso. In central Mali, the Islamic State reports that its men “repulsed two attacks” by Al Qaeda in the Mopti region.
So, essentially, ISIS is complaining that France and others in the region are fighting against them, while it is trying to fight against other terrorists, which are being disregarded by the other factions.
Local media has reported intense fighting between the jihadist groups in these same areas.
In early April, clashes were reported in the localities of Dialloube, Koubi, Djantakai, and Nigua in the Mopti region.
And in March, fighting between the two was reported near the Mauritanian town of Fassala, which sits on the border with Mali.
On April 18, one of the largest battles between the two was reported in the Ndaki area of Mali’s Gossi commune. According to local media, a large contingent of JNIM fighters targeted the Islamic State’s men in four different towns in the area.
On April 20th, a firefight was recorded near the locality of Pobe inside Burkina Faso’s Soum province, while another occurred in Keraboule in the Koutougou department of the same province.
Further battles in Arbinda and Nassoumbou have also been alleged.
In conclusion, it would appear that the “war” between al-Qaeda and ISIS is the most significant deterrence from terror attacks, since the French operations and the local forces in the Sahel appear to not be doing enough.
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southfront--2020-05-12--U.S. Space Force’s Identity Crisis: What To Name Its Members?

Shortly after the US Space Force was formed and it appears to be living through its first existential crisis : What to name the personnel ?
The situation is such that the US Air Force even published a request for “ U.S .
military space professionals ” to provide feedback in what to name the Space Force ’ s members as well as their ranks .
It should be similar to how the Air Force calls its members “ Airmen ” and the Army calls its members “ Soldiers.
” “ As we continue to forge the Space Force into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century warfighting branch , we want to provide space professionals the opportunity to influence what the members of our new service will be called , ” said Lt. Gen. DT Thompson , U.S. Space Force vice commander .
“ The decisions we make today will shape the Space Force for decades to come , so we want to ensure those who will serve in the Space Force have a say when it comes to important organizational and cultural identity considerations.
” Currently , only the entry-level position has a name – “ space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well as a collective name , there ’ s room for suggestions .
Officials emphasized several guidelines respondents must consider when submitting ideas .
Back in February 2019 , Slate suggested several options : “ Space trooper ” – it relates to the popular book and movie Starship Troopers , and clearly you can ’ t name that the members because it ’ s copyrighted .
It would show that the US , is not only the “ protector of Earth ” but also of “ space , ” mostly from presumed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relating to space TV series are not a bad idea – the US Space Force ’ s logo is from Star Trek , and the cadets have the same name such as those from the classic cosmo opera ( the term space cadet in American mass culture is inextricably linked with the fantastic comics of the 1930s and 1940s ) .
But cadets who graduated aren ’ t named anything .
The interim term seems to be the streamlined “ space professionals ” used by the commander of the US Air Force Forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The options proposed by the employees themselves are spacemen and space soldiers are considered , but are unlikely to take root .
They could also introduce the Jedi Order , and assume all of the ranks , with padawans and everything else .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • U.S. To Launch Its X-37B Space Spy Plane On 6th Mission

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Shortly after the US Space Force was formed and it appears to be living through its first existential crisis: What to name the personnel?
The situation is such that the US Air Force even published a request for “U.S. military space professionals” to provide feedback in what to name the Space Force’s members as well as their ranks.
“Given the significance a name has to the identity and culture of an organization, the Space Force is taking a deliberate approach to ensure Space Force member titles and ranks appropriately convey the nature of the newest Armed Forces branch and the domain in which it operates.”
It should be similar to how the Air Force calls its members “Airmen” and the Army calls its members “Soldiers.”
“As we continue to forge the Space Force into a lean, agile and forward-looking 21st century warfighting branch, we want to provide space professionals the opportunity to influence what the members of our new service will be called,” said Lt. Gen. DT Thompson, U.S. Space Force vice commander. “The decisions we make today will shape the Space Force for decades to come, so we want to ensure those who will serve in the Space Force have a say when it comes to important organizational and cultural identity considerations.”
Currently, only the entry-level position has a name – “space cadet.”
For any further ranks, as well as a collective name, there’s room for suggestions. Officials emphasized several guidelines respondents must consider when submitting ideas.
“For example, proposals must be gender-neutral, distinctive and should emphasize a future-oriented military force. In addition, submissions cannot violate copyrights, infringe on trademarks or other intellectual property rights, or be proprietary. Any submission falling into those categories will not be considered. Submissions must also be in good taste.”
Back in February 2019, Slate suggested several options: “Space trooper” – it relates to the popular book and movie Starship Troopers, and clearly you can’t name that the members because it’s copyrighted.
“Space sentinel is a strong candidate as it evokes an image of a person standing watch over something, such as the Army’s Old Guard sentinel protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.”
It would show that the US, is not only the “protector of Earth” but also of “space,” mostly from presumed or self-invented threats.
“A space guardian makes sense as well, in part because of the way it invokes the heavens. As the newest military service, some space professionals would prefer to use terminology that isn’t steeped in centuries of military history.”
But, names relating to space TV series are not a bad idea – the US Space Force’s logo is from Star Trek, and the cadets have the same name such as those from the classic cosmo opera (the term space cadet in American mass culture is inextricably linked with the fantastic comics of the 1930s and 1940s).
But cadets who graduated aren’t named anything. The interim term seems to be the streamlined “space professionals” used by the commander of the US Air Force Forces General John Raymond at a recent symposium. The options proposed by the employees themselves are spacemen and space soldiers are considered, but are unlikely to take root.
They could also introduce the Jedi Order, and assume all of the ranks, with padawans and everything else.
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southfront--2020-05-12--In Photos: ISIS Looted And Burned Oil Truck Near Syria’s Shula

Obviously this was well planned , they brought their own truck along and just switched the tankers over and then @ @ @ @ @ .
But where the hell could they go with a petrol tanker , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ hide it in your back garage , and how could you even move it without @ @ @ @ @ ’ t just been well planned and executed , it ’ s also hints at @ @ @ @ @ the middle of Iranian controlled territory during a massive operation to stop Isis , mmm @

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Last weekend, ISIS militants seized, looted and burned an oil truck near the village of Shula in the Homs-Deir Ezzor desert.
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southfront--2020-05-12--Militants Attack 10th Russian-Turkish Patrol In Southern Idlib (Video)

‘ Peaceful Idlib rebels ’ tried to attack a joint Russian-Turkish patrol along the M4 highway in southern Idlib on @ @ @ @ @ the 10th joint Russian-Turkish patrol in the area and the 3rd one , which was @ @ @ @ @ the extended route from the west of Saraqib to the eastern entrance of Ariha .
@ @ @ @ @ aborted after an explosion ( supposedly caused by an IED ) erupted near the patrol @ @ @ @ @ Ariha .
The incident happened after Turkish troops briefly clashes with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ( @ @ @ @ @ al-Qaeda ) supporters throwing stones at vehicles .
On May 10 and May 11 , @ @ @ @ @ Syrian Army and al-Qaeda-linked militants in the town of Tanjarah in northwestern Hama .
Militants @ @ @ @ @ then they were forced to retreat under strikes on the Syrian Army .
37 soldiers @ @ @ @ @ killed in the clashes .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Military Situation In Syria @ @ @ @ @ ( Map Update )

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‘Peaceful Idlib rebels’ tried to attack a joint Russian-Turkish patrol along the M4 highway in southern Idlib on May 12.
This was the 10th joint Russian-Turkish patrol in the area and the 3rd one, which was set to be held via the extended route from the west of Saraqib to the eastern entrance of Ariha.
However, the patrol was aborted after an explosion (supposedly caused by an IED) erupted near the patrol in the area east of Ariha. The incident happened after Turkish troops briefly clashes with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) supporters throwing stones at vehicles.
On May 10 and May 11, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian Army and al-Qaeda-linked militants in the town of Tanjarah in northwestern Hama. Militants briefly captured the town but then they were forced to retreat under strikes on the Syrian Army. 37 soldiers and 24 militants were reportedly killed in the clashes.
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southfront--2020-05-12--Saudi Arabia And Co Vow Further Production Cuts To Salvage What Remains Of Crude Oil Market

Saudi Arabia ’ s Aramco reported a 25 % profit drop in the first quarter of 2020 , following the oil plunge primarily caused by the crude oil price war it initiated against Russia .
Still , it is on track to pay its shareholders $ 75 billion despite the drop .
Saudi Aramco , the world ’ s most valuable company , will pay a dividend of $ 18.75 billion for the first three months of 2020 , according to a statement , Aramco ’ s income declined 25 % year-on-year to 62.48 billion riyals ( $ 16.6 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before earnings and tax .
It continues to blame any loss of profit on COVID-19 , and disregards the fact that it attempted to flood the market , despite the drop in demand , and offered massive discounts to push out its competitors .
Aramco is reducing its spending in order to pay the full dividends to its shareholders .
Russia , Saudi Arabia and the remainder of OPEC+ did negotiate a reduction in production , but it appeared that it is too little too late , as crude oil prices appear stabilized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the slightest “ shake ” sends the price several percent up or down .
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadel said that the country will support the initiative of Saudi Arabia to further reduce oil production and in June further reduce its output by an additional 80,000 bpd from the quota in the OPEC + agreement .
Thus , the country ’ s oil production in June will amount to 2.09 million bpd , and the reduction quota will reach 721,000 bpd from the level of October 2018 .
On May 11th , UAE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ al-Mazrui , announced a reduction in oil production by 100,000 bpd in addition to obligations under the OPEC + deal in June , joining Saudi Arabia and Kuwait .
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy ordered the Saudi Aramco state-owned company to reduce oil production in June by another 1 million bpd , in addition to the country ’ s obligations under the OPEC+ deal .
Thus , compared with April , the decline in production by Saudi Arabia will amount to 4.8 million bpd , in absolute terms , the country will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In addition , Saudi Aramco was instructed to find opportunities to reduce oil production in May below the level of 8.492 million bpd by agreement with customers .
A spokesman for the Department of Energy emphasized that the Kingdom ’ s goal is to encourage other producing countries to fulfill commitments and provide additional cuts to stabilize the global oil market through additional cuts .
As a result of these further reductions , and to reinforce the statement of “ fluctuations ” above – West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 2.3 % to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of May 11th .
International benchmark Brent crude gained nearly 1 % to $ 31.47 per barrel at the same time .
It should , once again , be reminded that the situation , despite COVID-19 being dubbed as the premiere reason for the crisis , it was actually Riyadh ’ s actions and refusal to reduce cuts , and flooding the market with discounted crude oil that caused the crisis , as it started carrying out its action before the crisis had even started , and the signs of collapse could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ THE TOPIC : • Crude Oil Price Recovers Slightly , But There ’ s Little Hope Of Avoiding Recession • U.S .
Threatens To Default On Debt Payments , As Beijing Mulls Dumping Treasuries • China Purchases More Venezuelan Oil In Push For Geopolitical Influence

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Saudi Arabia’s Aramco reported a 25% profit drop in the first quarter of 2020, following the oil plunge primarily caused by the crude oil price war it initiated against Russia.
Still, it is on track to pay its shareholders $75 billion despite the drop.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s most valuable company, will pay a dividend of $18.75 billion for the first three months of 2020, according to a statement,
Aramco’s income declined 25% year-on-year to 62.48 billion riyals ($16.6 billion) and refining swung to a loss before earnings and tax. It continues to blame any loss of profit on COVID-19, and disregards the fact that it attempted to flood the market, despite the drop in demand, and offered massive discounts to push out its competitors.
“The Covid-19 crisis is unlike anything the world has experienced in recent history and we are adapting to a highly complex and rapidly changing business environment,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said. “Aramco has demonstrated resilience during economic cycles and has an unparalleled position due to a strong balance sheet and low-cost structure.”
Aramco is reducing its spending in order to pay the full dividends to its shareholders.
“We retain significant flexibility to adjust expenditures and have considerable experience in managing the business through times of adversity,” Nasser said. “This resilience will enable us to continue delivering on our commitments to our shareholders.”
Russia, Saudi Arabia and the remainder of OPEC+ did negotiate a reduction in production, but it appeared that it is too little too late, as crude oil prices appear stabilized but at relatively low prices, and the slightest “shake” sends the price several percent up or down.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadel said that the country will support the initiative of Saudi Arabia to further reduce oil production and in June further reduce its output by an additional 80,000 bpd from the quota in the OPEC + agreement.
Thus, the country’s oil production in June will amount to 2.09 million bpd, and the reduction quota will reach 721,000 bpd from the level of October 2018.
On May 11th, UAE’s Minister of Energy, Suhail al-Mazrui, announced a reduction in oil production by 100,000 bpd in addition to obligations under the OPEC + deal in June, joining Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy ordered the Saudi Aramco state-owned company to reduce oil production in June by another 1 million bpd, in addition to the country’s obligations under the OPEC+ deal.
Thus, compared with April, the decline in production by Saudi Arabia will amount to 4.8 million bpd, in absolute terms, the country will produce 7.492 million bpd in June.
In addition, Saudi Aramco was instructed to find opportunities to reduce oil production in May below the level of 8.492 million bpd by agreement with customers.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy emphasized that the Kingdom’s goal is to encourage other producing countries to fulfill commitments and provide additional cuts to stabilize the global oil market through additional cuts.
As a result of these further reductions, and to reinforce the statement of “fluctuations” above – West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 2.3% to $25.32 a barrel on the morning of May 11th. International benchmark Brent crude gained nearly 1% to $31.47 per barrel at the same time.
It should, once again, be reminded that the situation, despite COVID-19 being dubbed as the premiere reason for the crisis, it was actually Riyadh’s actions and refusal to reduce cuts, and flooding the market with discounted crude oil that caused the crisis, as it started carrying out its action before the crisis had even started, and the signs of collapse could be seen from a distance.
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southfront--2020-05-12--“OBAMAGATE!” Trump Tweets Tucker Carlson’s Crushing Breakdown Why The Former President Should Be Pan

“OBAMAGATE!” Trump Tweets Tucker Carlson’s Crushing Breakdown Why The Former President Should Be Panicking

In a single word in a single tweet tonight , President Trump explained it perfectly – with help from Fox News ’ Tucker Carlson ’ s detailed breakdown ” “ OBAMAGATE !
” … As around 2:15 in the clip above , Carlson explains that then president of the United States Barack Obama turned to the head of the FBI – the most powerful law enforcement official in America , and said “ Continue to secretly investigate my chief political rival so I can act against him.
” Having watched that clip in detail , here is ‘ sundance ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political surveillance in the era of President Obama… With the release of recent transcripts and the declassification of material from within the IG report , the Carter Page FISA and Flynn documents showing FBI activity , there is a common misconception about why the intelligence apparatus began investigating the Trump campaign in the first place .
Why was Donald Trump considered a threat ?
In this outline we hope to provide some fully cited deep source material that will explain the origin ; and specifically why those inside the Intelligence Community began targeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign officials .
During the time-frame of December 2015 through April 2016 the NSA database was being exploited by contractors within the intelligence community doing unauthorized searches .
On March 9 , 2016 , oversight personnel doing a review of FBI system access were alerted to thousands of unauthorized search queries of specific U.S. persons within the NSA database .
Subsequently NSA Director Rogers initiated a full compliance review of the system to identify who was doing the searches ; & what searches were being conducted .
On April 18 , 2016 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rogers shut down all FBI contractor access to the database after he learned FISA-702 “ about ” ( 17 ) and “ to/from ” ( 16 ) search queries were being done without authorization .
Thus begins the first discovery of a much bigger background story .
When you compile the timeline with the people involved ; and the specific wording of the resulting review , which was then delivered to the FISA court ; and overlay the activity that was taking place in the GOP primary ; what we discover is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NSA was being searched for political opposition research and surveillance .
Additionally , tens-of-thousands of searches were identified by the FISA court as likely extending much further than the compliance review period : “ while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of the non compliant queries since 2012 , there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [ to ] April 2016 period coincided with an unusually high error rate ” .
In short , during the Obama administration the NSA database was continually used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point that leads to understanding the origin of “ Spygate ” , as it unfolded in the Spring and Summer of 2016 .
It was the discovery of the database exploitation and the removal of access as a surveillance tool that created their initial problem .
Here ’ s how we can tell .
Initially in December 2015 there were 17 GOP candidates and all needed to be researched .
However , when Donald Trump won New Hampshire , Nevada and South Carolina the field was significantly whittled .
Trump , Cruz , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Super Tuesday , March 2 , 2016 , Donald Trump won seven states ( VT , AR , VA , GA , AL , TN , MA ) it was then clear that Trump was the GOP frontrunner with momentum to become the presumptive nominee .
On March 5th , Trump won Kentucky and Louisiana ; and on March 8th Trump won Michigan , Mississippi and Hawaii .
The next day , March 9th , NSA security alerts warned internal oversight personnel that something sketchy was going on .
This timing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Collyer later wrote in her report , “ many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges .
” Put another way : attributes belonging to a specific individual ( s ) were being targeted and queried , unlawfully .
Given what was later discovered , it seems obvious the primary search target , over , was Donald Trump .
There were tens-of-thousands of unauthorized search queries ; and as Judge Collyer stated in her report , there is no reason to believe the was any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ database going back to 2012 .
As you will see below the NSA database was how political surveillance was being conducted during Obama ’ s second term in office .
However , when the system was flagged , and when NSA Director Mike Rogers shut down “ contractor ” access to the system , the system users needed to develop another way to get access .
Mike Rogers shuts down access on April 18 , 2016 .
On April 19 , 2016 , Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson ’ s wife , Mary Jacoby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the DNC and Clinton campaign contract Fusion GPS… who then hire Christopher Steele .
Knowing it was federal “ contractors ” , outside government with access to the system , doing the unauthorized searches , the question becomes : who were the contractors ?
The possibilities are quite vast .
Essentially anyone the FBI or intelligence apparatus was using could have participated .
Crowdstrike was a known FBI contractor ; they were also contracted by the DNC .
Shawn Henry was the former head of the FBI office in DC and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather dubious contractor for the government and a politically connected data security and forensic company .
James Comey ’ s special friend Daniel Richman was an unpaid FBI “ special employee ” with security access to the database .
Nellie Ohr began working for Fusion-GPS on the Trump project in November 2015 and she was a CIA contractor ; and it ’ s entirely likely Glenn Simpson or people within his Fusion-GPS network were also contractors for the intelligence community .
Remember the Sharyl Attkisson computer intrusions ?
It ’ s all part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ names Shawn Henry as a defendant in her ongoing lawsuit .
All of the aforementioned names , and so many more , held a political agenda in 2016 .
It seems likely if the NSA flags were never triggered then the contracted system users would have continued exploiting the NSA database for political opposition research ; which would then be funneled to the Clinton team .
However , once the unauthorized flags were triggered , the system users ( including those inside the official intelligence apparatus ) needed to find another back-door to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Immediately after NSA flags were raised March 9th ; the same intelligence agencies began using confidential human sources ( CHS ’ s ) to run into the Trump campaign .
By activating intelligence assets like Joseph Mifsud and Stefan Halper the IC ( CIA , FBI ) and system users had now created an authorized way to continue the same political surveillance operations .
When Donald Trump hired Paul Manafort on March 28 , 2016 , it was a perfect scenario for those doing the surveillance .
Manafort was a known entity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation .
Paul Manafort ’ s entry into the Trump orbit was perfect for Glenn Simpson to sell his prior research on Manafort as a Trump-Russia collusion script two weeks later .
The shift from “ unauthorized exploitation of the NSA database ” to legally authorized exploitation of the NSA database was now in place .
This was how they continued the political surveillance .
This is the confluence of events that originated “ spygate ” , or what officially blossomed into the FBI investigation known as “ Crossfire Hurricane ” on July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never raised ; and if Director Rogers had never initiated the compliance audit ; and if the political contractors were never blocked from access to the database ; they would never have needed to create a legal back-door , a justification to retain the surveillance .
The political operatives/contractors would have just continued the targeted metadata exploitation .
Once they created the surveillance door , Fusion-GPS was then needed to get the FBI known commodity of Chris Steele activated as a pipeline .
Into that pipeline all system users pushed opposition research .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ database extraction during an “ about ” query shows up as a New Yorker named Michael Cohen in Prague .
That misinterpreted data from a FISA-702 “ about query ” is then piped to Steele and turns up inside the dossier ; it was the wrong Michael Cohen .
It wasn ’ t Trump ’ s lawyer , it was an art dealer from New York City with the same name ; the same “ identifier ” .
Start by reviewing the established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Review the details within the FISC opinion .
I would strongly urge everyone to read the FISC report ( full pdf below ) because Judge Collyer outlines how the DOJ , which includes the FBI , had an “ institutional lack of candor ” in responses to the FISA court .
In essence , the Obama administration was continually lying to the FISA court about their activity , and the rate of fourth amendment violations for illegal searches and seizures of U.S. persons ’ private information for multiple years .
Unfortunately , due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brief and ruling is not an easy read for anyone unfamiliar with the FISA processes .
That complexity also helps the media avoid discussing it ; and as a result most Americans have no idea the scale and scope of the Obama-era surveillance issues .
So we ’ ll try to break down the language .
Top Secret FISA Court Order… by The Conservative Treehouse on Scribd For the sake of brevity and common understanding CTH will highlight the most pertinent segments showing just how systemic and troublesome the unlawful electronic surveillance was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike Rogers was alerted of a significant uptick in FISA-702 ( 17 ) “ About ” queries using the FBI/NSA database that holds all metadata records on every form of electronic communication .
The NSA compliance officer alerted Admiral Mike Rogers who then initiated a full compliance audit on/around March 9th , 2016 , for the period of November 1st , 2015 , through May 1st , 2016 .
While the audit was ongoing , due to the severity of the results that were identified , Admiral Mike Rogers stopped anyone from using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ query ” option , and went to the extraordinary step of blocking all FBI contractor access to the database on April 18 , 2016 ( keep these dates in mind ) .
Here are some significant segments : The key takeaway from these first paragraphs is how the search query results were exported from the NSA database to users who were not authorized to see the material .
The FBI contractors were conducting searches and then removing , or ‘ exporting ’ , the results .
Later on , the FBI said all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Searching the highly classified NSA database is essentially a function of filling out search boxes to identify the user-initiated search parameter and get a return on the search result .
And that ’ s just from a phone number .
Search an ip address “ about ” and read all data into that server ; put in an email address and gain everything about that account .
Or use the electronic address of a GPS enabled vehicle ( about ) and you can withdraw more electronic data and monitor in real time .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything about the account including what was purchased , where , when , etc .
Search a bank account number , get everything about transactions and electronic records etc .
Just about anything and everything can be electronically searched ; everything has an electronic .
The search parameter is only limited by the originating field filled out .
Names , places , numbers , addresses , etc .
By using the “ About ” parameter there may be thousands or millions of returns .
Imagine if you put “ @ realdonaldtrump ” into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all following accounts who interacted on Twitter , or Facebook etc .
You are only limited by your imagination and the scale of the electronic connectivity .
As you can see below , on March 9th , 2016 , internal auditors noted the FBI was sharing “ raw FISA information , including but not limited to Section 702-acquired information ” .
In plain English the raw search returns were being shared with unknown entities without any attempt to “ minimize ” or redact the results .
The person ( s ) attached to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There was no effort to hide their identity or protect their 4th amendment rights of privacy ; and database access was from the FBI network : But what ’ s the scale here ?
This is where the story really lies .
The operators were searching “ U.S Persons ” .
The review of November 1 , 2015 , to May 1 , 2016 , showed “ eighty-five percent of those queries ” were unlawful or “ non compliant ” .
We can tell from the space of the redaction the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ six digits ] .
If we take the middle number of 50,000 – a non compliant rate of 85 percent means 42,500 unlawful searches out of 50,000 .
The [ six digit ] amount ( more than 10,000 , less than 99,999 ) , and 85 % error rate , was captured in a six month period , November 2015 to April 2016 .
Also notice this very important quote : “ many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges .
” This tells us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone number , email address , electronic identifier , repeatedly over different dates .
Additionally , notice the last quote : “ while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of ” these non lawful searches “ since 2012 , there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [ to ] April 2016 coincided with an unusually high error rate ” .
That means the 85 % unlawful FISA-702 ( 16 ) ( 17 ) database abuse has likely been happening since 2012 .
2012 is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a network of specific interests is assembled that also shows up in 2016/2017 : • Who was 2012 FBI Director ?
Robert Mueller , who was selected by the FBI group to become special prosecutor in 2017 .
• Who was Mueller ’ chief-of-staff ?
Aaron Zebley , who became one of the lead lawyers on the Mueller special counsel .
• Who was 2012 CIA Director ?
John Brennan ( remember the ouster of Gen Petraeus ) • Remember , the NSA is inside the Pentagon ( Defense Dept ) command structure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carter Who wanted NSA Director Mike Rogers fired in 2016 ?
Brennan , Clapper and Carter .
And finally , who wrote and signed-off-on the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and then lied about the use of the Steele Dossier ?
The same John Brennan , and James Clapper along with James Comey .
Tens of thousands of searches over four years ( since 2012 ) , and 85 % of them are illegal .
The results were extracted for ?
… .
( I believe this is all political opposition use ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
OK , that ’ s the stunning scale ; but who was involved ?
Private contractors with access to “ raw FISA information that went well beyond what was necessary to respond to FBI ’ s requests “ : And as noted , the contractor access was finally halted on April 18th , 2016 .
[ Coincidentally ( or likely not ) , the wife of Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson , Mary Jacoby , goes to the White House the very next day on April 19th , 2016 . ]
None @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this is laid out inside this 99-page opinion from FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer who also noted that none of this FISA abuse was accidental in a footnote on page 87 : “ “ : This specific footnote , if declassified , could be a key .
Note the phrase : “ ( [ redacted ] access to FBI systems was the subject of an interagency memorandum of understanding entered into [ redacted ] ) ” , this sentence has the potential to expose an internal decision ; withheld from congress and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; that outlines a process for access and distribution of surveillance data .
Note : “ no notice of this practice was given to the FISC until 2016 “ , that is important .
The FISA court identified and quantified tens-of-thousands of search queries of the NSA/FBI database using the FISA-702 ( 16 ) ( 17 ) system .
The database was repeatedly used by persons with contractor access who unlawfully searched and extracted the raw results without redacting the information and shared it with an unknown number of entities .
The outlined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and surveillance operation ; and we are not the only one to think that ’ s what this system is being used for .
Back in 2017 when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes was working to reauthorize the FISA legislation , Nunes wrote a letter to ODNI Dan Coats about this specific issue : To solve the issue , well , actually attempt to ensure it never happened again , NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers eventually took away the “ About ” query option permanently in 2017 .
NSA Director Rogers said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no way to stop it except to remove the process completely .
[ SEE HERE ] Additionally , the NSA database operates as a function of the Pentagon , so the Trump administration went one step further .
On his last day as NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers -together with ODNI Dan Coats- put U.S. cyber-command , the database steward , fully into the U.S. military as a full combatant command .
[ SEE HERE ] Unfortunately it didn ’ t work as shown by the 2018 FISC opinion rendered by FISC Judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is little doubt the FISA-702 ( 16 ) ( 17 ) database system was used by Obama-era officials , from 2012 through April 2016 , as a way to spy on their political opposition .
Quite simply there is no other intellectually honest explanation for the scale and volume of database abuse that was taking place ; and keep in mind these searches were all ruled to be unlawful .
Searches for repeated persons over a period time that were not authorized .
When we reconcile what was taking place and who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exact same principle participants take on a jaw-dropping amount of clarity .
All of the action taken by CIA Director Brennan , FBI Director Comey , ODNI Clapper and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter make sense .
Including their effort to get NSA Director Mike Rogers fired .
Everything after March 9th , 2016 , had a dual purpose : ( 1 ) done to cover up the weaponization of the FISA database .
[ Explained Here ] Spygate , Russia-Gate , the Steele Dossier , and even the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the above ) were needed to create a cover-story and protect themselves from discovery of this four year weaponization , political surveillance and unlawful spying .
Even the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel makes sense ; he was FBI Director when this began .
And ( 2 ) they needed to keep the surveillance going .
The beginning decision to use FISA ( 702 ) as a domestic surveillance and political spy mechanism appears to have started in/around 2012 .
Perhaps sometime shortly before the 2012 presidential election and before John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to CIA .
However , there was an earlier version of data assembly that preceded this effort .
Political spying 1.0 was actually the weaponization of the IRS .
This is where the term “ Secret Research Project ” originated as a description from the Obama team .
It involved the U.S. Department of Justice under Eric Holder and the FBI under Robert Mueller .
It never made sense why Eric Holder requested over 1 million tax records via CD ROM , until overlaying the timeline of the FISA abuse : Why disks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the DOJ and FBI when there ’ s a pre-existing financial crimes unit within the IRS .
All of the evidence within this sketchy operation came directly to the surface in early spring 2012 .
The IRS scandal was never really about the IRS , it was always about the DOJ asking the IRS for the database of information .
That is why it was transparently a conflict when the same DOJ was tasked with investigating the DOJ/IRS scandal .
Additionally , Obama sent his chief-of-staff Jack Lew to become Treasury Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any issues .
As Treasury Secretary Lew did just that .
Lesson Learned – It would appear the Obama administration learned a lesson from attempting to gather a large opposition research database operation inside a functioning organization large enough to have some good people that might blow the whistle .
The timeline reflects a few months after realizing the “ Secret Research Project ” was now worthless ( June 2012 ) , they focused more deliberately on a smaller network within the intelligence apparatus and began weaponizing the FBI/NSA database .
If our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be visible in footnote # 69 : How this all comes together in 2019/2020 Fusion GPS was not hired in April 2016 just to research Donald Trump .
As shown in the evidence provided by the FISC , the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations .
The Obama administration already knew everything about the Trump campaign , and were monitoring everything by exploiting the FISA database .
However , after the NSA alerts in/around March 9th , 2016 , and particularly after the April 18th shutdown of contractor access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GPS to create a legal albeit justification for the pre-existing surveillance and spy operations .
Fusion GPS gave them that justification in the Steele Dossier .
That ’ s why the FBI small group , which later transitioned into the Mueller team , were so strongly committed to and defending the and its dubious content .
The Steele Dossier , an outcome of the Fusion contract , contains three insurance policy purposes : ( 1 ) the cover-story and justification for the pre-existing surveillance operation ( protect Obama ) ; and ( 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump campaign ( assist Clinton ) ; and ( 3 ) continue the operation with a special counsel ( protect both ) .
An insurance policy would be needed .
The Steele Dossier becomes the investigative virus the FBI wanted inside the system .
To get the virus into official status , they used the FISA application as the delivery method and injected it into Carter Page .
The FBI already knew Carter Page ; essentially Carter Page was irrelevant , what they needed was the FISA warrant and the Dossier in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Obama intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a plausible justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations .
Fusion-GPS gave them that justification and evidence for a FISA warrant with the Steele Dossier .
Ultimately that ’ s why the Steele Dossier was so important ; without it , the FBI would not have a tool that Mueller needed to continue the investigation of President Trump .
In essence by renewing the FISA application , despite them knowing the underlying dossier was junk , the FBI was keeping the surveillance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later on .
Additionally , without the Steele Dossier the DOJ and FBI are naked with their FISA-702 abuse as outlined by John Ratcliffe .
Thankfully we know U.S. Attorney John Durham has talked to NSA Director Mike Rogers .
In this video Rogers explains how he was notified of what was happening and what he did after the notification .
After tonight ’ s tweets from President Trump , we should expect a full-court press from ‘ the resistance ’ to distract from the cracks appearing in the former President ’ s @ @ @

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Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
Why is former President Obama calling forth all his defensive resources now? Why did former national security advisor Susan Rice write her CYA letter? Why have republicans in congress not been willing to investigate the true origins of political surveillance? What is the reason for so much anger, desperation and opposition from a variety of interests?
In a single word in a single tweet tonight, President Trump explained it perfectly – with help from Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s detailed breakdown” “OBAMAGATE!”…
As around 2:15 in the clip above, Carlson explains that then president of the United States Barack Obama turned to the head of the FBI – the most powerful law enforcement official in America, and said “Continue to secretly investigate my chief political rival so I can act against him.”
Comey’s response? “Yes, sir.”
Having watched that clip in detail, here is ‘sundance’ from TheConservativeTreehouse.com laying out the details surrounding political surveillance in the era of President Obama…
With the release of recent transcripts and the declassification of material from within the IG report, the Carter Page FISA and Flynn documents showing FBI activity, there is a common misconception about why the intelligence apparatus began investigating the Trump campaign in the first place. Why was Donald Trump considered a threat?
In this outline we hope to provide some fully cited deep source material that will explain the origin; and specifically why those inside the Intelligence Community began targeting Trump and using Confidential Human Sources against campaign officials.
During the time-frame of December 2015 through April 2016 the NSA database was being exploited by contractors within the intelligence community doing unauthorized searches.
On March 9, 2016, oversight personnel doing a review of FBI system access were alerted to thousands of unauthorized search queries of specific U.S. persons within the NSA database.
NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers was made aware.
Subsequently NSA Director Rogers initiated a full compliance review of the system to identify who was doing the searches; & what searches were being conducted.
On April 18, 2016, following the preliminary audit results, Director Rogers shut down all FBI contractor access to the database after he learned FISA-702 “about”(17) and “to/from”(16) search queries were being done without authorization. Thus begins the first discovery of a much bigger background story.
When you compile the timeline with the people involved; and the specific wording of the resulting review, which was then delivered to the FISA court; and overlay the activity that was taking place in the GOP primary; what we discover is a process where the metadata collected by the NSA was being searched for political opposition research and surveillance.
Additionally, tens-of-thousands of searches were identified by the FISA court as likely extending much further than the compliance review period: “while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of the non compliant queries since 2012, there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [to] April 2016 period coincided with an unusually high error rate”.
In short, during the Obama administration the NSA database was continually used to conduct surveillance. This is the critical point that leads to understanding the origin of “Spygate”, as it unfolded in the Spring and Summer of 2016.
It was the discovery of the database exploitation and the removal of access as a surveillance tool that created their initial problem. Here’s how we can tell.
Initially in December 2015 there were 17 GOP candidates and all needed to be researched.
However, when Donald Trump won New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina the field was significantly whittled. Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Kasich and Carson remained.
On Super Tuesday, March 2, 2016, Donald Trump won seven states (VT, AR, VA, GA, AL, TN, MA) it was then clear that Trump was the GOP frontrunner with momentum to become the presumptive nominee. On March 5th, Trump won Kentucky and Louisiana; and on March 8th Trump won Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii.
The next day, March 9th, NSA security alerts warned internal oversight personnel that something sketchy was going on.
This timing is not coincidental. As FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer later wrote in her report, “many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges.” Put another way: attributes belonging to a specific individual(s) were being targeted and queried, unlawfully. Given what was later discovered, it seems obvious the primary search target, over multiple date ranges, was Donald Trump.
There were tens-of-thousands of unauthorized search queries; and as Judge Collyer stated in her report, there is no reason to believe the 85% non compliant rate was any different from the abuse of the NSA database going back to 2012.
As you will see below the NSA database was how political surveillance was being conducted during Obama’s second term in office. However, when the system was flagged, and when NSA Director Mike Rogers shut down “contractor” access to the system, the system users needed to develop another way to get access.
Mike Rogers shuts down access on April 18, 2016. On April 19, 2016, Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson’s wife, Mary Jacoby visits the White House. Immediately thereafter, the DNC and Clinton campaign contract Fusion GPS… who then hire Christopher Steele.
Knowing it was federal “contractors”, outside government with access to the system, doing the unauthorized searches, the question becomes: who were the contractors?
The possibilities are quite vast. Essentially anyone the FBI or intelligence apparatus was using could have participated. Crowdstrike was a known FBI contractor; they were also contracted by the DNC. Shawn Henry was the former head of the FBI office in DC and is now the head of Crowdstrike; a rather dubious contractor for the government and a politically connected data security and forensic company. James Comey’s special friend Daniel Richman was an unpaid FBI “special employee” with security access to the database. Nellie Ohr began working for Fusion-GPS on the Trump project in November 2015 and she was a CIA contractor; and it’s entirely likely Glenn Simpson or people within his Fusion-GPS network were also contractors for the intelligence community.
Remember the Sharyl Attkisson computer intrusions? It’s all part of this same network; Attkisson even names Shawn Henry as a defendant in her ongoing lawsuit.
All of the aforementioned names, and so many more, held a political agenda in 2016.
It seems likely if the NSA flags were never triggered then the contracted system users would have continued exploiting the NSA database for political opposition research; which would then be funneled to the Clinton team. However, once the unauthorized flags were triggered, the system users (including those inside the official intelligence apparatus) needed to find another back-door to continue… Again, the timing becomes transparent.
Immediately after NSA flags were raised March 9th; the same intelligence agencies began using confidential human sources (CHS’s) to run into the Trump campaign. By activating intelligence assets like Joseph Mifsud and Stefan Halper the IC (CIA, FBI) and system users had now created an authorized way to continue the same political surveillance operations.
When Donald Trump hired Paul Manafort on March 28, 2016, it was a perfect scenario for those doing the surveillance. Manafort was a known entity to the FBI and was previously under investigation. Paul Manafort’s entry into the Trump orbit was perfect for Glenn Simpson to sell his prior research on Manafort as a Trump-Russia collusion script two weeks later.
The shift from “unauthorized exploitation of the NSA database” to legally authorized exploitation of the NSA database was now in place. This was how they continued the political surveillance. This is the confluence of events that originated “spygate”, or what officially blossomed into the FBI investigation known as “Crossfire Hurricane” on July 31.
If the NSA flags were never raised; and if Director Rogers had never initiated the compliance audit; and if the political contractors were never blocked from access to the database; they would never have needed to create a legal back-door, a justification to retain the surveillance. The political operatives/contractors would have just continued the targeted metadata exploitation.
Once they created the surveillance door, Fusion-GPS was then needed to get the FBI known commodity of Chris Steele activated as a pipeline. Into that pipeline all system users pushed opposition research. However, one mistake from the NSA database extraction during an “about” query shows up as a New Yorker named Michael Cohen in Prague.
That misinterpreted data from a FISA-702 “about query” is then piped to Steele and turns up inside the dossier; it was the wrong Michael Cohen. It wasn’t Trump’s lawyer, it was an art dealer from New York City with the same name; the same “identifier”.
Start by reviewing the established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer on April 26, 2017. Review the details within the FISC opinion.
I would strongly urge everyone to read the FISC report (full pdf below) because Judge Collyer outlines how the DOJ, which includes the FBI, had an “institutional lack of candor” in responses to the FISA court. In essence, the Obama administration was continually lying to the FISA court about their activity, and the rate of fourth amendment violations for illegal searches and seizures of U.S. persons’ private information for multiple years.
Unfortunately, due to intelligence terminology Judge Collyer’s brief and ruling is not an easy read for anyone unfamiliar with the FISA processes. That complexity also helps the media avoid discussing it; and as a result most Americans have no idea the scale and scope of the Obama-era surveillance issues. So we’ll try to break down the language.
Top Secret FISA Court Order… by The Conservative Treehouse on Scribd
For the sake of brevity and common understanding CTH will highlight the most pertinent segments showing just how systemic and troublesome the unlawful electronic surveillance was.
Early in 2016 NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers was alerted of a significant uptick in FISA-702(17) “About” queries using the FBI/NSA database that holds all metadata records on every form of electronic communication.
The NSA compliance officer alerted Admiral Mike Rogers who then initiated a full compliance audit on/around March 9th, 2016, for the period of November 1st, 2015, through May 1st, 2016.
While the audit was ongoing, due to the severity of the results that were identified, Admiral Mike Rogers stopped anyone from using the 702(17) “about query” option, and went to the extraordinary step of blocking all FBI contractor access to the database on April 18, 2016 (keep these dates in mind).
Here are some significant segments:
The key takeaway from these first paragraphs is how the search query results were exported from the NSA database to users who were not authorized to see the material. The FBI contractors were conducting searches and then removing, or ‘exporting’, the results. Later on, the FBI said all of the exported material was deleted.
Searching the highly classified NSA database is essentially a function of filling out search boxes to identify the user-initiated search parameter and get a return on the search result.
♦ FISA-702(16) is a search of the system returning a U.S. person (“702”); and the “16” is a check box to initiate a search based on “To and From“. Example, if you put in a date and a phone number and check “16” as the search parameter the user will get the returns on everything “To and From” that identified phone number for the specific date. Calls, texts, contacts etc. Including results for the inbound and outbound contacts. ♦ FISA-702(17) is a search of the system returning a U.S. person (702); and the “17” is a check box to initiate a search based on everything “About” the search qualifier. Example, if you put a date and a phone number and check “17” as the search parameter the user will get the returns of everything about that phone. Calls, texts, contacts, geolocation (or gps results), account information, user, service provider etc. As a result, 702(17) can actually be used to locate where the phone (and user) was located on a specific date or sequentially over a specific period of time which is simply a matter of changing the date parameters.
And that’s just from a phone number.
Search an ip address “about” and read all data into that server; put in an email address and gain everything about that account. Or use the electronic address of a GPS enabled vehicle (about) and you can withdraw more electronic data and monitor in real time. Search a credit card number and get everything about the account including what was purchased, where, when, etc. Search a bank account number, get everything about transactions and electronic records etc. Just about anything and everything can be electronically searched; everything has an electronic ‘identifier’.
The search parameter is only limited by the originating field filled out. Names, places, numbers, addresses, etc. By using the “About” parameter there may be thousands or millions of returns. Imagine if you put “@realdonaldtrump” into the search parameter? You could extract all following accounts who interacted on Twitter, or Facebook etc. You are only limited by your imagination and the scale of the electronic connectivity.
As you can see below, on March 9th, 2016, internal auditors noted the FBI was sharing “raw FISA information, including but not limited to Section 702-acquired information”.
In plain English the raw search returns were being shared with unknown entities without any attempt to “minimize” or redact the results. The person(s) attached to the results were named and obvious. There was no effort to hide their identity or protect their 4th amendment rights of privacy; and database access was from the FBI network:
But what’s the scale here? This is where the story really lies.
Read this next excerpt carefully.
The operators were searching “U.S Persons”. The review of November 1, 2015, to May 1, 2016, showed “eighty-five percent of those queries” were unlawful or “non compliant”.
85% !! “representing [redacted number]”.
We can tell from the space of the redaction the number of searches were between 10,000 and 99,999 [six digits]. If we take the middle number of 50,000 – a non compliant rate of 85 percent means 42,500 unlawful searches out of 50,000.
The [six digit] amount (more than 10,000, less than 99,999), and 85% error rate, was captured in a six month period, November 2015 to April 2016.
Also notice this very important quote: “many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges.” This tells us the system users were searching the same phone number, email address, electronic identifier, repeatedly over different dates.
Specific person(s) were being tracked/monitored.
Additionally, notice the last quote: “while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of” these non lawful searches “since 2012, there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [to] April 2016 coincided with an unusually high error rate”.
That means the 85% unlawful FISA-702(16)(17) database abuse has likely been happening since 2012.
2012 is an important date in this database abuse because a network of specific interests is assembled that also shows up in 2016/2017:
Who was 2012 FBI Director? Robert Mueller, who was selected by the FBI group to become special prosecutor in 2017.
Who was Mueller’ chief-of-staff? Aaron Zebley, who became one of the lead lawyers on the Mueller special counsel.
Who was 2012 CIA Director? John Brennan (remember the ouster of Gen Petraeus)
Who was ODNI? James Clapper.
Remember, the NSA is inside the Pentagon (Defense Dept) command structure. Who was Defense Secretary? Ash Carter
Who wanted NSA Director Mike Rogers fired in 2016? Brennan, Clapper and Carter.
And finally, who wrote and signed-off-on the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and then lied about the use of the Steele Dossier? The same John Brennan, and James Clapper along with James Comey.
Tens of thousands of searches over four years (since 2012), and 85% of them are illegal. The results were extracted for?…. (I believe this is all political opposition use; and I’ll explain why momentarily.)
OK, that’s the stunning scale; but who was involved?
Private contractors with access to “raw FISA information that went well beyond what was necessary to respond to FBI’s requests“:
And as noted, the contractor access was finally halted on April 18th, 2016.
[Coincidentally (or likely not), the wife of Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson, Mary Jacoby, goes to the White House the very next day on April 19th, 2016.]
None of this is conspiracy theory.
All of this is laid out inside this 99-page opinion from FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer who also noted that none of this FISA abuse was accidental in a footnote on page 87: “deliberate decisionmaking“:
This specific footnote, if declassified, could be a key. Note the phrase: “([redacted] access to FBI systems was the subject of an interagency memorandum of understanding entered into [redacted])”, this sentence has the potential to expose an internal decision; withheld from congress and the FISA court by the Obama administration; that outlines a process for access and distribution of surveillance data.
Note: “no notice of this practice was given to the FISC until 2016“, that is important.
Summary:
The FISA court identified and quantified tens-of-thousands of search queries of the NSA/FBI database using the FISA-702(16)(17) system. The database was repeatedly used by persons with contractor access who unlawfully searched and extracted the raw results without redacting the information and shared it with an unknown number of entities.
The outlined process certainly points toward a political spying and surveillance operation; and we are not the only one to think that’s what this system is being used for.
Back in 2017 when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes was working to reauthorize the FISA legislation, Nunes wrote a letter to ODNI Dan Coats about this specific issue:
SIDEBAR:
To solve the issue, well, actually attempt to ensure it never happened again, NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers eventually took away the “About” query option permanently in 2017. NSA Director Rogers said the abuse was so inherent there was no way to stop it except to remove the process completely. [SEE HERE] Additionally, the NSA database operates as a function of the Pentagon, so the Trump administration went one step further. On his last day as NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers -together with ODNI Dan Coats- put U.S. cyber-command, the database steward, fully into the U.S. military as a full combatant command. [SEE HERE] Unfortunately it didn’t work as shown by the 2018 FISC opinion rendered by FISC Judge James Boasberg [SEE HERE]
There is little doubt the FISA-702(16)(17) database system was used by Obama-era officials, from 2012 through April 2016, as a way to spy on their political opposition.
Quite simply there is no other intellectually honest explanation for the scale and volume of database abuse that was taking place; and keep in mind these searches were all ruled to be unlawful. Searches for repeated persons over a period time that were not authorized.
When we reconcile what was taking place and who was involved, then the actions of the exact same principle participants take on a jaw-dropping amount of clarity.
All of the action taken by CIA Director Brennan, FBI Director Comey, ODNI Clapper and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter make sense. Including their effort to get NSA Director Mike Rogers fired.
Everything after March 9th, 2016, had a dual purpose: (1) done to cover up the weaponization of the FISA database. [Explained Here] Spygate, Russia-Gate, the Steele Dossier, and even the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (drawn from the dossier and signed by the above) were needed to create a cover-story and protect themselves from discovery of this four year weaponization, political surveillance and unlawful spying. Even the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel makes sense; he was FBI Director when this began. And (2) they needed to keep the surveillance going.
The beginning decision to use FISA(702) as a domestic surveillance and political spy mechanism appears to have started in/around 2012. Perhaps sometime shortly before the 2012 presidential election and before John Brennan left the White House and moved to CIA. However, there was an earlier version of data assembly that preceded this effort.
Political spying 1.0 was actually the weaponization of the IRS. This is where the term “Secret Research Project” originated as a description from the Obama team. It involved the U.S. Department of Justice under Eric Holder and the FBI under Robert Mueller. It never made sense why Eric Holder requested over 1 million tax records via CD ROM, until overlaying the timeline of the FISA abuse:
The IRS sent the FBI “21 disks constituting a 1.1 million page database of information from 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” The transaction occurred in October 2010 (link)
Why disks? Why send a stack of DISKS to the DOJ and FBI when there’s a pre-existing financial crimes unit within the IRS. All of the evidence within this sketchy operation came directly to the surface in early spring 2012.
The IRS scandal was never really about the IRS, it was always about the DOJ asking the IRS for the database of information. That is why it was transparently a conflict when the same DOJ was tasked with investigating the DOJ/IRS scandal. Additionally, Obama sent his chief-of-staff Jack Lew to become Treasury Secretary; effectively placing an ally to oversee/cover-up any issues. As Treasury Secretary Lew did just that.
Lesson Learned – It would appear the Obama administration learned a lesson from attempting to gather a large opposition research database operation inside a functioning organization large enough to have some good people that might blow the whistle.
The timeline reflects a few months after realizing the “Secret Research Project” was now worthless (June 2012), they focused more deliberately on a smaller network within the intelligence apparatus and began weaponizing the FBI/NSA database. If our hunch is correct, that is what will be visible in footnote #69:
How this all comes together in 2019/2020
Fusion GPS was not hired in April 2016 just to research Donald Trump. As shown in the evidence provided by the FISC, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The Obama administration already knew everything about the Trump campaign, and were monitoring everything by exploiting the FISA database.
However, after the NSA alerts in/around March 9th, 2016, and particularly after the April 18th shutdown of contractor access, the Obama intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to create a legal albeit ex post facto justification for the pre-existing surveillance and spy operations. Fusion GPS gave them that justification in the Steele Dossier.
That’s why the FBI small group, which later transitioned into the Mueller team, were so strongly committed to and defending the formation of the Steele Dossier and its dubious content.
The Steele Dossier, an outcome of the Fusion contract, contains three insurance policy purposes: (1) the cover-story and justification for the pre-existing surveillance operation (protect Obama); and (2) facilitate the FBI counterintelligence operation against the Trump campaign (assist Clinton); and (3) continue the operation with a special counsel (protect both).
An insurance policy would be needed. The Steele Dossier becomes the investigative virus the FBI wanted inside the system. To get the virus into official status, they used the FISA application as the delivery method and injected it into Carter Page. The FBI already knew Carter Page; essentially Carter Page was irrelevant, what they needed was the FISA warrant and the Dossier in the system {Go Deep}.
The Obama intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a plausible justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations. Fusion-GPS gave them that justification and evidence for a FISA warrant with the Steele Dossier.
Ultimately that’s why the Steele Dossier was so important; without it, the FBI would not have a tool that Mueller needed to continue the investigation of President Trump. In essence by renewing the FISA application, despite them knowing the underlying dossier was junk, the FBI was keeping the surveillance gateway open for Team Mueller to exploit later on.
Additionally, without the Steele Dossier the DOJ and FBI are naked with their FISA-702 abuse as outlined by John Ratcliffe.
Thankfully we know U.S. Attorney John Durham has talked to NSA Director Mike Rogers. In this video Rogers explains how he was notified of what was happening and what he did after the notification.
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After tonight’s tweets from President Trump, we should expect a full-court press from ‘the resistance’ to distract from the cracks appearing in the former President’s halo of invincibility…
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