A B-52 bomber jet flew over Osan, South Korea, on Sunday "in response to a recent nuclear test by North Korea. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.

Thirty years ago this week, America witnessed a tragedy: the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger in the blue skies over Florida. The doomed shuttle touched us like we have never been touched before because along with the tragic loss of astronauts, a teacher was on board. What follows is the Miami Herald's initial coverage of the unfolding events, a news story and then a personal account of an education reporter who witnessed the explosion from Cape Canaveral. What are your memories? The space shuttle challenger exploded 72 seconds after a spectacular launch Tuesday morning, disintegrating 10 miles off the Florida coast and killing a crew of seven including Christa McAuliffe, America's first teacher in space. Hours after the worst space disaster in history, NASA scientists hadn't the slightest idea what had caused the first fatal in-air accident in 56 U.S. manned missions. Early speculation, based on fuzzy television pictures, centered on the shuttle's giant external fuel tank, loaded with 526,000 gallons of highly explosive liquid hydrogen and oxygen. But NASA, normally a fountain of information, stopped talking late Tuesday, denying requests for interviews with space experts and astronauts."We will not speculate as to the specific cause of the explosion based on that footage, " said Jesse Moore, NASA's top shuttle administrator. A NASA investigating board will conduct a "careful review" of all data "before we can reach any conclusions, " he said. Moore said he did not know how long the investigation might last."We've never had a tragedy like this, " said President Reagan, who postponed for a week Tuesday night's State of the Union address. In a short televised speech at 5 p.m., Reagan said, "We mourn seven heroes . . . They, the Challenger Seven, were pioneers." Addressing America's schoolchildren, Reagan said, "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. It belongs to the brave." The space program will continue, he said, as will the policy of sending private citizens aloft. The 11:38 a.m. launch looked picture-perfect. A minute later, cable TV viewers and spectators at the Cape knew otherwise. Then the voice of Mission Control confirmed. First, the voice said, "Obviously a major malfunction." Then, seconds later, "Vehicle has exploded. . . . We are checking with recovery forces to see what can be done." Rescue teams boarded ships, helicopters and planes and combed the cold Atlantic waters 18 miles from the coast, searching against hope for signs of the crew. Paramedics leaped into the water amid spacecraft wreckage that kept falling from the sky for an hour after the explosion. By Tuesday night, a fleet of Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy helicopters, ships and planes searching for clues to the disaster had located only a few pieces of debris in seas of up to 200 feet, said Col. John Shults, director of Defense Department contingency operations. None of the pieces, which were each about five to 10 feet long, had been recovered."Everybody's sick, " said Bob Osterblom, an engineer who works on the solid rocket boosters at Cape Canaveral. "It's like a morgue around here. There are so many backup systems, NASA is so cautious, so careful, so safety-minded, that it's incredible this happened." For a moment, America stood still. Then a nation's anguish began to churn. Congressmen talked of reevaluating the nation's space program. Within hours, newspapers published extra editions. Wall Street expressed its doubts as stock prices of four shuttle contractors dropped. Children in classrooms across the country fell silent as their teachers wept at the loss of a colleague. And everywhere, Americans sat by television sets, watching again and again the videotape of the spectacular breakup of the nation's showpiece of space technology. Challenger rose majestically off the launch pad at 11:38 a.m. It climbed smoothly, trailing a 700-foot geyser of fire as it soared to a speed of 1,977 miles an hour. Then, as the world watched, the mammoth spacecraft erupted in a huge fireball and shot out of control. For more than half an hour after the explosion, a serpentine trail of white smoke remained in the clear Florida sky, marking the path of the wreckage as it plummeted to the sea 18 miles southeast of the launch pad. The flaming debris was clearly visible across Florida, from Tampa to Miami. Unlike the shuttle Columbia during its first flights, Challenger had no ejection seats or any other way for the crew to get out of the spacecraft. The Challenger crew included the first private citizen to fly on a shuttle, McAuliffe, 37, a social studies teacher from Concord, N.H. She was to have taught American children four televised lessons from space. The other crew members were commander Francis "Dick" Scobee, 46; pilot Michael J. Smith, 40; Judith Resnik, 36; Ronald E. McNair, 35; Ellison S. Onizuka, 39; and satellite engineer Gregory B. Jarvis, 41. McAuliffe, who was selected from 11,146 applicants to be the first teacher in space, had waited all morning at launch pad 39B through a liftoff delay caused by computer problems and icicles on the pad. A bitter cold front had moved through the space port overnight, producing sub-zero wind-chills at the launch pad. The launch had been postponed five times, two fewer than the record seven delays Columbia suffered earlier this month. McAuliffe's husband Steve; their two children, Scott, 9, and Caroline, 6; and members of Scott's third-grade class watched in silence from a viewing area three miles from the Cape. The children carried a large banner that said, "Go Christa." As the $1.1 billion spacecraft blew apart in plain view, many cried. Parents hugged children and quickly cleared them off the bleachers and onto buses. McAuliffe's parents, Edward and Grace Corrigan of Framingham, Mass., stood together arm in arm as the loudspeaker brought the bad news. A NASA official climbed a couple of rows into the bleachers and told them: "The vehicle has exploded." Mrs. Corrigan looked back at him and repeated his words as a question."The vehicle has exploded?" He nodded silently. The Corrigans were quickly led away. In New Hampshire, all 1,200 students at McAuliffe's Concord High School gathered in the auditorium to watch the launch on television. They cheered at the launch, then fell silent when a teacher yelled that something had gone wrong. 'Never any doubt' Linda Long, who handled McAuliffe's public relations, said the teacher "anticipated the flight almost the way you anticipate riding on a roller coaster: While you're in line, you're scared and anxious. But she never had any doubt about the safety of the flight." In fact, McAuliffe had said she felt safer going into space than she did driving in New York City traffic. In Washington, the House of Representatives interrupted its session and the chaplain prayed for the astronauts. The House then adjourned. Reagan sent Vice President George Bush to the Cape to observe the investigation. The president ordered all flags flown at half-staff for a week. The New York and American stock exchanges planned to observe a minute of silence today in honor of the crew. Rep. Harold Volkmer, D-Mo., chairman of the investigations and oversight subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee, said the shuttle program will continue. But he said there should be no more flights until the cause of the explosion is determined. The first seconds after takeoff looked like another NASA triumph."Liftoff!" NASA spokesman Hugh Harris called at 11:38 a.m. "Liftoff of the 25th shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower!" Challenger climbed away from the launch pad on a tail of orange flame and a white cloud of smoke, rolling over on its back as it arched out over the Atlantic against a clear blue sky. Sixty seconds later, when the astronauts were beginning to throttle engines up to maximum thrust, NASA reported all engines and fuel cells running normally. 'Throttle up'"Challenger, go at throttle up, " Mission Control told the spacecraft 52 seconds after launch. Scobee increased power as planned. At one minute, 12 seconds after launch, Challenger had accelerated to 1,977 mph, three times the speed of sound. It was 10.4 miles up and 8 miles out over the ocean. Suddenly, a brilliant ball of fire engulfed the shuttle. The engines continued to fire. One piece -- apparently one of Challenger's two strap-on solid rockets -- veered to the right, spiraling through the sky. Mission Control reported no indication of any problem with the engines, the solid boosters or any other system. The shuttle just suddenly blew apart. Radio communications and telemetry abruptly ended.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3434708/Iraqi-migrant-raped-10-year-old-boy-swimming-pool-Vienna-told-police-sexual-emergency-hadn-t-sex-months.html Iraqi migrant rapes a 10-year-old boy at a swimming pool in Vienna and tells police it was a 'sexual emergency' because he hadn't had sex in months :Migrant, 20, arrived in Austria via Balkans in September and was taxi driver :Raped boy in cubicle of Resienbad pool - then had fun on the diving board :Told police he knew it was wrong - but he had not had sex for four months :Said that he was not 'always sick' as he has a wife and a child back in Iraq CREDIT TO JAMES DUNN FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 08:52, 6 February 2016 UPDATED: 13:36, 6 February 2016 A 10-year-old boy was so brutally raped by an Iraqi migrant in a swimming pool cubicle that he had to be hospitalised for his injuries. A lifeguard immediately called an ambulance after the boy went to him in floods of tears, while the Iraqi was entertaining himself by repeatedly jumping off the three-metre diving board. Police arrested him on the spot at the pool in Vienna, and during an interrogation, he told police that it was a 'sexual emergency' as he had not had sex in four months. Kronen Zeitung. But the migrant, who had entered the country through the Balkans on September 5, official records show, said he could not help himself as he had an 'excess sexual energy'. He told police that he knew such an act was 'forbidden in any country of the world', and he was not 'always sick', as he has a wife and a daughter in Iraq. At first, Austrian did not release details of the rape, on December 2 at The Resienbad pool, to protect the victim. Reports emerged on Facebook and police said they must be sensitive about cases involving migrants, who have 'been through a lot', but that there would be zero-tolerance. However, police have now officially announced the details of the shocking crime. Austrian media have also been following another case of a 13-year-old girl who is allegedly repeatedly being raped by her 26-year-old husband, who she married in Syria. However, the teenager has not spoken against her husband, who is claiming that he has the right to have sex with her after their marriage was consummated, under Islamic law.

Thirty years ago this week, America witnessed a tragedy: the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger in the blue skies over Florida. The doomed shuttle touched us like we have never been touched before because along with the tragic loss of astronauts, a teacher was on board. What follows is the Miami Herald's initial coverage of the unfolding events, a news story and then a personal account of an education reporter who witnessed the explosion from Cape Canaveral. What are your memories? The space shuttle challenger exploded 72 seconds after a spectacular launch Tuesday morning, disintegrating 10 miles off the Florida coast and killing a crew of seven including Christa McAuliffe, America's first teacher in space. Hours after the worst space disaster in history, NASA scientists hadn't the slightest idea what had caused the first fatal in-air accident in 56 U.S. manned missions. Early speculation, based on fuzzy television pictures, centered on the shuttle's giant external fuel tank, loaded with 526,000 gallons of highly explosive liquid hydrogen and oxygen. But NASA, normally a fountain of information, stopped talking late Tuesday, denying requests for interviews with space experts and astronauts."We will not speculate as to the specific cause of the explosion based on that footage, " said Jesse Moore, NASA's top shuttle administrator. A NASA investigating board will conduct a "careful review" of all data "before we can reach any conclusions, " he said. Moore said he did not know how long the investigation might last."We've never had a tragedy like this, " said President Reagan, who postponed for a week Tuesday night's State of the Union address. In a short televised speech at 5 p.m., Reagan said, "We mourn seven heroes . . . They, the Challenger Seven, were pioneers." Addressing America's schoolchildren, Reagan said, "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. It belongs to the brave." The space program will continue, he said, as will the policy of sending private citizens aloft. The 11:38 a.m. launch looked picture-perfect. A minute later, cable TV viewers and spectators at the Cape knew otherwise. Then the voice of Mission Control confirmed. First, the voice said, "Obviously a major malfunction." Then, seconds later, "Vehicle has exploded. . . . We are checking with recovery forces to see what can be done." Rescue teams boarded ships, helicopters and planes and combed the cold Atlantic waters 18 miles from the coast, searching against hope for signs of the crew. Paramedics leaped into the water amid spacecraft wreckage that kept falling from the sky for an hour after the explosion. By Tuesday night, a fleet of Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy helicopters, ships and planes searching for clues to the disaster had located only a few pieces of debris in seas of up to 200 feet, said Col. John Shults, director of Defense Department contingency operations. None of the pieces, which were each about five to 10 feet long, had been recovered."Everybody's sick, " said Bob Osterblom, an engineer who works on the solid rocket boosters at Cape Canaveral. "It's like a morgue around here. There are so many backup systems, NASA is so cautious, so careful, so safety-minded, that it's incredible this happened." For a moment, America stood still. Then a nation's anguish began to churn. Congressmen talked of reevaluating the nation's space program. Within hours, newspapers published extra editions. Wall Street expressed its doubts as stock prices of four shuttle contractors dropped. Children in classrooms across the country fell silent as their teachers wept at the loss of a colleague. And everywhere, Americans sat by television sets, watching again and again the videotape of the spectacular breakup of the nation's showpiece of space technology. Challenger rose majestically off the launch pad at 11:38 a.m. It climbed smoothly, trailing a 700-foot geyser of fire as it soared to a speed of 1,977 miles an hour. Then, as the world watched, the mammoth spacecraft erupted in a huge fireball and shot out of control. For more than half an hour after the explosion, a serpentine trail of white smoke remained in the clear Florida sky, marking the path of the wreckage as it plummeted to the sea 18 miles southeast of the launch pad. The flaming debris was clearly visible across Florida, from Tampa to Miami. Unlike the shuttle Columbia during its first flights, Challenger had no ejection seats or any other way for the crew to get out of the spacecraft. The Challenger crew included the first private citizen to fly on a shuttle, McAuliffe, 37, a social studies teacher from Concord, N.H. She was to have taught American children four televised lessons from space. The other crew members were commander Francis "Dick" Scobee, 46; pilot Michael J. Smith, 40; Judith Resnik, 36; Ronald E. McNair, 35; Ellison S. Onizuka, 39; and satellite engineer Gregory B. Jarvis, 41. McAuliffe, who was selected from 11,146 applicants to be the first teacher in space, had waited all morning at launch pad 39B through a liftoff delay caused by computer problems and icicles on the pad. A bitter cold front had moved through the space port overnight, producing sub-zero wind-chills at the launch pad. The launch had been postponed five times, two fewer than the record seven delays Columbia suffered earlier this month. McAuliffe's husband Steve; their two children, Scott, 9, and Caroline, 6; and members of Scott's third-grade class watched in silence from a viewing area three miles from the Cape. The children carried a large banner that said, "Go Christa." As the $1.1 billion spacecraft blew apart in plain view, many cried. Parents hugged children and quickly cleared them off the bleachers and onto buses. McAuliffe's parents, Edward and Grace Corrigan of Framingham, Mass., stood together arm in arm as the loudspeaker brought the bad news. A NASA official climbed a couple of rows into the bleachers and told them: "The vehicle has exploded." Mrs. Corrigan looked back at him and repeated his words as a question."The vehicle has exploded?" He nodded silently. The Corrigans were quickly led away. In New Hampshire, all 1,200 students at McAuliffe's Concord High School gathered in the auditorium to watch the launch on television. They cheered at the launch, then fell silent when a teacher yelled that something had gone wrong. 'Never any doubt' Linda Long, who handled McAuliffe's public relations, said the teacher "anticipated the flight almost the way you anticipate riding on a roller coaster: While you're in line, you're scared and anxious. But she never had any doubt about the safety of the flight." In fact, McAuliffe had said she felt safer going into space than she did driving in New York City traffic. In Washington, the House of Representatives interrupted its session and the chaplain prayed for the astronauts. The House then adjourned. Reagan sent Vice President George Bush to the Cape to observe the investigation. The president ordered all flags flown at half-staff for a week. The New York and American stock exchanges planned to observe a minute of silence today in honor of the crew. Rep. Harold Volkmer, D-Mo., chairman of the investigations and oversight subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee, said the shuttle program will continue. But he said there should be no more flights until the cause of the explosion is determined. The first seconds after takeoff looked like another NASA triumph."Liftoff!" NASA spokesman Hugh Harris called at 11:38 a.m. "Liftoff of the 25th shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower!" Challenger climbed away from the launch pad on a tail of orange flame and a white cloud of smoke, rolling over on its back as it arched out over the Atlantic against a clear blue sky. Sixty seconds later, when the astronauts were beginning to throttle engines up to maximum thrust, NASA reported all engines and fuel cells running normally. 'Throttle up'"Challenger, go at throttle up, " Mission Control told the spacecraft 52 seconds after launch. Scobee increased power as planned. At one minute, 12 seconds after launch, Challenger had accelerated to 1,977 mph, three times the speed of sound. It was 10.4 miles up and 8 miles out over the ocean. Suddenly, a brilliant ball of fire engulfed the shuttle. The engines continued to fire. One piece -- apparently one of Challenger's two strap-on solid rockets -- veered to the right, spiraling through the sky. Mission Control reported no indication of any problem with the engines, the solid boosters or any other system. The shuttle just suddenly blew apart. Radio communications and telemetry abruptly ended.

he B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,166.6 meters). It can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability. In a conventional conflict, the B-52 can perform strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations. During Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces. It is highly effective when used for ocean surveillance, and can assist the U.S. Navy in anti-ship and mine-laying operations. Two B-52s, in two hours, can monitor 140,000 square miles (364,000 square kilometers) of ocean surface. All B-52s can be equipped with two electro-optical viewing sensors, a forward-looking infrared and advanced targeting pods to augment targeting, battle assessment, and flight safety, thus further improving its combat ability. Pilots wear night vision goggles, or NVG, to enhance their vision during night operations. Night vision goggles provide greater safety during night operations by increasing the pilot's ability to visually clear terrain, to increase the peacetime and combat situational awareness of the aircrew and visually acquire other aircraft. B-52s are currently upgrading from the Litening Advanced Targeting Pod to the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod. Sniper pods provide improved long-range target detection/identification and continuous stabilized surveillance for all missions, including close air support of ground forces. The pod's advanced targeting and image processing technology significantly increases the combat effectiveness of the B-52 during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground targets with a variety of standoff weapons (i.e., laser-guided bombs, conventional bombs and GPS-guided weapons). The use of aerial refueling gives the B-52 a range limited only by crew endurance. It has an unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 miles (14,080 kilometers).

Syrian Army and Popular Forces keep advancing in different side of country including Lattakia, Aleppo, Daraa, Homs and Sweida. The Syrian army establishes control over al-Rabe'a town in Lattakia and two villages in eastern Aleppo. More areas in Lattakia and Aleppo have come in the army's hands as its units intensified operations against terrorist organizations, leaving many of their members dead and destroying their vehicles and equipment. In Lattakia The Army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, established control over al-Rabeaa town and al-Rawda village, about 60km northeastern countryside of Lattakia, a military source told SANA Sunday. The source added that the engineering units are combing the area and dismantling the explosive devices and landmines planted by the terrorists, some of them were killed and injured by the army operation, who fled towards Turkey. Earlier on Saturday, Army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, established control over the villages of al-Tefahiya, Hilwa al-Gharbiya, Hilwa al-Sharqiya, al-Amlik, Beit Arab, Beit Ablaq, and Tal Asholan along with all the hills surrounding them in Lattakia's northern countryside. In Aleppo In the same context, army units established control over the villages of Katar and Tal Hattabat in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province. A field source noted that the units took control of the aforementioned areas after fierce clashes with ISIS terrorists, during which a number of their fortifications and barricades were destroyed and dozens of them were killed, while the others fled. Military engineering units later swept the two villages and dismantled the explosive devices and mines left behind by the terrorists, the source said. In Daraa Army units destroyed an armored vehicle in al-Nazihin Camp neighborhood in Daraa city and killed a number of terrorists and destroyed their arms and ammunition in the neighborhoods of al-Manshiyeh and Daraa al-Mahatta. At the northern entrance of Daraa city, an army unit killed all members of a terrorist group and destroyed their equipment and arms in Atman town, 4 km away from the city's center. The terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media pages the death of 15 terrorists in al-Sheikh Miskeen in the northern countryside of Daraa province, including a military leader within the so-called "Saif al-Sham Brigades" who is nicknamed Abu al-Ghaith. At the northern entrance of Daraa,.... - See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782781#sthash.3RyAnTZ4.dpuf SEE RELATED STORIES: ISIS Paris Attackers Show Beheading as Threaten West (GRAPHIC) http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782737#sthash.4PK44CZt.dpuf ISIS Nears Its End; Salaries Shrank, Foreigners Reduced http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782836#sthash.CtqVHguo.dpuf VIDEO: Saudis Massacred a Yemeni Judge and 7 Members of His Family http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782761#sthash.QIKrCBDZ.dpuf US Has No Clue How Many Arms Ended Up in ISIS Hands http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782759#sthash.J4ETwJAr.dpuf Ankara Main loser in Geneva Negotiations, Shelve 'Neo-Ottoman Dreams' - See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1782851#sthash.52qx4EKv.dpuf Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA

Postscript: Unmarked Israeli fighter jets and unmarked torpedo boats attacked - and did everything they could to sink - a U.S. ship off the coast of Egypt in 1967 called the USS Liberty. The attack started by targeting communications on the ship so that the Americans couldn't radio for help. The Israelis then jammed the ship's emergency distress channel, and shot at escaping life rafts in an attempt to prevent survivors from escaping. Transcripts of conversations between the Israeli pilots and Israeli military show that Israel knew it was an American ship. Numerous top-level American military and intelligence officials - including Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - believe that this was a failed false flag attack, and that Israel would have attempted to blame Egypt if the Israeli military had succeeded in sinking the ship. Indeed, President Lyndon Johnson dispatched nuclear-armed fighter jets to drop nuclear bombs on Cairo, Egypt. They were only recalled at the last minute, when Johnson realized that it was the Israelis - and not the Egyptians - who had fired on the Liberty. The following actions are arguably an admission that Israel intended to frame Egypt for the attack, and didn't want the Liberty's crew to be able to tell the world what really happened: (1) using unmarked jets and boats, (2) destroying the Liberty's communication equipment and jamming the Liberty's emergency distress channel, and (3) trying to sink the ship and destroy all liferafts. See this , this , this and this . Posted on February 2, 2016 by WashingtonsBlogPresidents, Prime Ministers, Congressmen, Generals, Spooks, Soldiers and Police ADMIT to False Flag TerrorIn the following instances, officials in the government which carried out the attack (or seriously proposed an attack) admit to it, either orally, in writing, or through photographs or videos: (1) Japanese troops set off a small explosion on a train track in 1931, and falsely blamed it on China in order to justify an invasion of Manchuria. This is known as the "Mukden Incident" or the "Manchurian Incident". The Tokyo International Military Tribunal found : "Several of the participators in the plan, including Hashimoto , have on various occasions admitted their part in the plot and have stated that the object of the 'Incident' was to afford an excuse for the occupation of Manchuria by the Kwantung Army ...." And see this . (2) A major with the Nazi SS admitted at the Nuremberg trials that - under orders from the chief of the Gestapo - he and some other Nazi operatives faked attacks on their own people and resources which they blamed on the Poles, to justify the invasion of Poland. (3) Nazi general Franz Halder also testified at the Nuremberg trials that Nazi leader Hermann Goering admitted to setting fire to the German parliament building in 1933, and then falsely blaming the communists for the arson. (4) Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev admitted in writing that the Soviet Union's Red Army shelled the Russian village of Mainila in 1939 - while blaming the attack on Finland - as a basis for launching the "Winter War" against Finland. Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed that Russia had been the aggressor in the Winter War. (5) The Russian Parliament, current Russian president Putin and former Soviet leader Gorbachev all admit that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered his secret police to execute 22,000 Polish army officers and civilians in 1940, and then falsely blamed it on the Nazis. (6) The British government admits that - between 1946 and 1948 - it bombed 5 ships carrying Jews attempting to flee the Holocaust to seek safety in Palestine, set up a fake group called "Defenders of Arab Palestine", and then had the psuedo-group falsely claim responsibility for the bombings (and see this , this and this ). (7) Israel admits that in 1954, an Israeli terrorist cell operating in Egypt planted bombs in several buildings, including U.S. diplomatic facilities, then left behind "evidence" implicating the Arabs as the culprits (one of the bombs detonated prematurely, allowing the Egyptians to identify the bombers, and several of the Israelis later confessed) (and see this and this ). (8) The CIA admits that it hired Iranians in the 1950's to pose as Communists and stage bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its democratically-elected prime minister. (9) The Turkish Prime Minister admitted that the Turkish government carried out the 1955 bombing on a Turkish consulate in Greece - also damaging the nearby birthplace of the founder of modern Turkey - and blamed it on Greece, for the purpose of inciting and justifying anti-Greek violence. (10) The British Prime Minister admitted to his defense secretary that he and American president Dwight Eisenhower approved a plan in 1957 to carry out attacks in Syria and blame it on the Syrian government as a way to effect regime change. (11) The former Italian Prime Minister, an Italian judge, and the former head of Italian counterintelligence admit that NATO, with the help of the Pentagon and CIA, carried out terror bombings in Italy and other European countries in the 1950s and blamed the communists, in order to rally people's support for their governments in Europe in their fight against communism . As one participant in this formerly-secret program stated: "You had to attack civilians, people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple. They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public, to turn to the state to ask for greater security" (and see this ) (Italy and other European countries subject to the terror campaign had joined NATO before the bombings occurred). And watch this BBC special . They also allegedly carried out terror attacks in France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK , and other countries. False flag attacks carried out pursuant to this program include - by way of example only: The murder of the Turkish Prime Minister (1960) Bombings in Portugal (1966) The Piazza Fontana massacre in Italy (1969) Terror attacks in Turkey (1971) The Peteano bombing in Italy (1972) Shootings in Brescia, Italy and a bombing on an Italian train (1974) Shootings in Istanbul, Turkey (1977) The Atocha massacre in Madrid, Spain (1977) The abduction and murder of the Italian Prime Minister (1978) The bombing of the Bologna railway station in Italy (1980) Shooting and killing 28 shoppers in Brabant county, Belgium (1985) (12) In 1960, American Senator George Smathers suggested that the U.S. launch "a false attack made on Guantanamo Bay which would give us the excuse of actually fomenting a fight which would then give us the excuse to go in and ". (13) Official State Department documents show that, in 1961, the head of the Joint Chiefs and other high-level officials discussed blowing up a consulate in the Dominican Republic in order to justify an invasion of that country. The plans were not carried out, but they were all discussed as serious proposals. (14) As admitted by the U.S. government, recently declassified documents show that in 1962, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff signed off on a plan to blow up AMERICAN airplanes (using an elaborate plan involving the switching of airplanes), and also to commit terrorist acts on American soil, and then to blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion of Cuba. See the following ABC news report ; the official documents ; and watch this interview with the former Washington Investigative Producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. (15) In 1963, the U.S. Department of Defense wrote a paper promoting attacks on nations within the Organization of American States - such as Trinidad-Tobago or Jamaica - and then falsely blaming them on Cuba. (16) The U.S. Department of Defense even suggested covertly paying a person in the Castro government to attack the United States: "The only area remaining for consideration then would be to bribe one of Castro's subordinate commanders to initiate an attack on Guantanamo." (17) The NSA admits that it lied about what really happened in the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 ... manipulating data to make it look like North Vietnamese boats fired on a U.S. ship so as to create a false justification for the Vietnam war. (18) A U.S. Congressional committee admitted that - as part of its "Cointelpro" campaign - the FBI had used many provocateurs in the 1950s through 1970s to carry out violent acts and falsely blame them on political activists. (19) A top Turkish general admitted that Turkish forces burned down a mosque on Cyprus in the 1970s and blamed it on their enemy. He explained : "In Special War, certain acts of sabotage are staged and blamed on the enemy to increase public resistance. We did this on Cyprus; we even burnt down a mosque." In response to the surprised correspondent's incredulous look the general said, "I am giving an example". (20) A declassified 1973 CIA document reveals a program to train foreign police and troops on how to make booby traps, pretending that they were training them on how to investigate terrorist acts: The Agency maintains liaison in varying degrees with foreign police/security organizations through its field stations .... a. Providing trainees with basic knowledge in the uses of commercial and military demolitions and incendiaries as they may be applied in terrorism and industrial sabotage operations. b. Introducing the trainees to commercially available materials and home laboratory techniques, likely to he used in the manufacture of explosives and incendiaries by terrorists or saboteurs. c. Familiarizing the trainees with the concept of target analysis and operational planning that a saboteur or terrorist must employ. d. Introducing the trainees to booby trapping devices and techniques giving practical experience with both manufactured and improvised devices through actual fabrication. *** The program provides the trainees with ample opportunity to develop basic familiarity and use proficiently through handling, preparing and applying the various explosive charges, incendiary agents, terrorist devices and sabotage techniques. (21) The German government admitted (and see this ) that, in 1978, the German secret service detonated a bomb in the outer wall of a prison and planted "escape tools" on a prisoner - a member of the Red Army Faction - which the secret service wished to frame the bombing on. (22) A Mossad agent admits that, in 1984, Mossad planted a radio transmitter in Gaddaffi's compound in Tripoli, Libya which broadcast fake terrorist trasmissions recorded by Mossad, in order to frame Gaddaffi as a terrorist supporter. Ronald Reagan bombed Libya immediately thereafter. (23) The South African Truth and Reconciliation Council found that, in 1989, the Civil Cooperation Bureau (a covert branch of the South African Defense Force) approached an explosives expert and asked him "to participate in an operation aimed at discrediting the ANC by bombing the police vehicle of the investigating officer into the murder incident", thus framing the ANC for the bombing. (24) An Algerian diplomat and several officers in the Algerian army admit that, in the 1990s, the Algerian army frequently massacred Algerian civilians and then blamed Islamic militants for the killings (and see this video ; and Agence France-Presse, 9/27/2002, French Court Dismisses Algerian Defamation Suit Against Author). (25) In 1993, a bomb in Northern Ireland killed 9 civilians. Official documents from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (i.e. the British government) show that the mastermind of the bombing was a British agent, and that the bombing was designed to inflame sectarian tensions. And see this . (26) The United States Army's 1994 publication Special Forces Foreign Internal Defense Tactics Techniques and Procedures for Special Forces - updated in 2004 - recommends employing terrorists and using false flag operations to destabilize leftist regimes in Latin America. False flag terrorist attacks were carried out in Latin America and other regions as part of the CIA's " Dirty Wars ". And see this . (27) Similarly, a CIA "psychological operations" manual prepared by a CIA contractor for the Nicaraguan Contra rebels noted the value of assassinating someone on your own side to create a "martyr" for the cause. The manual was authenticated by the U.S. government. The manual received so much publicity from Associated Press, Washington Post and other news coverage that - during the 1984 presidential debate - President Reagan was confronted with the following question on national television: At this moment, we are confronted with the extraordinary story of a CIA guerrilla manual for the anti-Sandinista contras whom we are backing, which advocates not only assassinations of Sandinistas but the hiring of criminals to assassinate the guerrillas we are supporting in order to create martyrs. (28) An Indonesian fact-finding team investigated violent riots which occurred in 1998, and determined that " elements of the military had been involved in the riots, some of which were deliberately provoked ". (29) Senior Russian Senior military and intelligence officers admit that the KGB blew up Russian apartment buildings in 1999 and falsely blamed it on Chechens, in order to justify an invasion of Chechnya (and see this report and this discussion ). (30) As reported by BBC , the New York Times , and Associated Press , Macedonian officials admit that the government murdered 7 innocent immigrants in cold blood and pretended that they were Al Qaeda soldiers attempting to assassinate Macedonian police, in order to join the "war on terror". (31) At the July 2001 G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy, black-clad thugs were videotaped getting out of police cars, and were seen by an Italian MP carrying "iron bars inside the police station". Subsequently, senior police officials in Genoa subsequently admitted that police planted two Molotov cocktails and faked the stabbing of a police officer at the G8 Summit, in order to justify a violent crackdown against protesters. (32) The U.S. falsely blamed Iraq for playing a role in the 9/11 attacks - as shown by a memo from the defense secretary - as one of the main justifications for launching the Iraq war. Even after the 9/11 Commission admitted that there was no connection, Dick Cheney said that the evidence is "overwhelming" that al Qaeda had a relationship with Saddam Hussein's regime, that Cheney "probably" had information unavailable to the Commission, and that the media was not 'doing their homework' in reporting such ties. Top U.S. government officials now admit that the Iraq war was really launched for oil ... not 9/11 or weapons of mass destruction. Despite previous "lone wolf" claims, many U.S. government officials now say that 9/11 was state-sponsored terror; but Iraq was not the state which backed the hijackers. (Many U.S. officials have alleged that 9/11 was a false flag operation by rogue elements of the U.S. government; but such a claim is beyond the scope of this discussion. The key point is that the U.S. falsely blamed it on Iraq, when it knew Iraq had nothing to do with it.). (33) Although the FBI now admits that the 2001 anthrax attacks were carried out by one or more U.S. government scientists, a senior FBI official says that the FBI was actually told to blame the Anthrax attacks on Al Qaeda by White House officials (remember what the anthrax letters looked like ). Government officials also confirm that the white House tried to link the anthrax to Iraq as a justification for regime change in that country. (34) According to the Washington Post , Indonesian police admit that the Indonesian military killed American teachers in Papua in 2002 and blamed the murders on a Papuan separatist group in order to get that group listed as a terrorist organization. (35) The well-respected former Indonesian president also admits that the government probably had a role in the Bali bombings. (36) Police outside of a 2003 European Union summit in Greece were filmed planting Molotov cocktails on a peaceful protester . (37) Former Department of Justice lawyer John Yoo suggested in 2005 that the US should go on the offensive against al-Qaeda, having "our intelligence agencies create a false terrorist organization. It could have its own websites, recruitment centers, training camps, and fundraising operations. It couldlaunch fake terrorist operations and claim credit for real terrorist strikes, helping to sow confusion within al-Qaeda's ranks, causing operatives to doubt others' identities and to question the validity of communications." (38) Similarly, in 2005, Professor John Arquilla of the Naval Postgraduate School - a renowned US defense analyst credited with developing the concept of 'netwar' - called for western intelligence services to create new "pseudo gang" terrorist groups, as a way of undermining "real" terror networks. According to Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh, Arquilla's 'pseudo-gang' strategy was, Hersh reported, already being implemented by the Pentagon:"Under Rumsfeld's new approach, I was told, US military operatives would be permitted to pose abroad as corrupt foreign businessmen seeking to buy contraband items that could be used in nuclear-weapons systems. In some cases, according to the Pentagon advisers, local citizens could be recruited and asked to join up with guerrillas or terrorists... The new rules will enable the Special Forces community to set up what it calls 'action teams' in the target countries overseas which can be used to find and eliminate terrorist organizations. 'Do you remember the right-wing execution squads in El Salvador?' the former high-level intelligence official asked me, referring to the military-led gangs that committed atrocities in the early nineteen-eighties. 'We founded them and we financed them,' he said. 'The objective now is to recruit locals in any area we want. And we aren't going to tell Congress about it.' A former military officer, who has knowledge of the Pentagon's commando capabilities, said, 'We're going to be riding with the bad boys.'" (39) United Press International reported in June 2005: U.S. intelligence officers are reporting that some of the insurgents in Iraq are using recent-model Beretta 92 pistols, but the pistols seem to have had their serial numbers erased. The numbers do not appear to have been physically removed; the pistols seem to have come off a production line without any serial numbers. Analysts suggest the lack of serial numbers indicates that the weapons were intended for intelligence operations or terrorist cells with substantial government backing. Analysts speculate that these guns are probably from either Mossad or the CIA. Analysts speculate that agent provocateurs may be using the untraceable weapons even as U.S. authorities use insurgent attacks against civilians as evidence of the illegitimacy of the resistance. (40) Undercover Israeli soldiers admitted in 2005 to throwing stones at other Israeli soldiers so they could blame it on Palestinians, as an excuse to crack down on peaceful protests by the Palestinians. (41) Quebec police admitted that, in 2007, thugs carrying rocks to a peaceful protest were actually undercover Quebec police officers (and see this ). (42) A 2008 US Army special operations field manual recommends that the U.S. military use surrogate non-state groups such as "paramilitary forces, individuals, businesses, foreign political organizations, resistant or insurgent organizations, expatriates, transnational terrorism adversaries, disillusioned transnational terrorism members, black marketers, and other social or political 'undesirables.'" The manual specifically acknowledged that U.S. special operations can involve both counterterrorism and "Terrorism" (as well as "transnational criminal activities, including narco-trafficking, illicit arms-dealing, and illegal financial transactions.") (43) The former head of Secret Services and Head of State of Italy (Francesco Cossiga) advised the 2008 minister in charge of the police, on how to deal with protests from teachers and students: He should do what I did when I was Minister of the Interior ... infiltrate the movement with agents provocateurs inclined to do anything .... And after that, with the strength of the gained population consent, ... beat them for blood and beat for blood also those teachers that incite them. Especially the teachers. Not the elderly, of course, but the girl teachers yes. (44) At the G20 protests in London in 2009, a British member of parliament saw plain clothes police officers attempting to incite the crowd to violence. (45) Egyptian politicians admitted (and see this) that government employees looted priceless museum artifacts in 2011 to try to discredit the protesters. (46) Rioters who discredited the peaceful protests against the swearing in of the Mexican president in 2012 admitted that they were paid 300 pesos each to destroy everything in their path. According to Wikipedia, photos also show the vandals waiting in groups behind police lines prior to the violence. (47) A Colombian army colonel has admitted that his unit murdered 57 civilians, then dressed them in uniforms and claimed they were rebels killed in combat. (48) On November 20, 2014, Mexican agent provocateurs were transported by army vehicles to participate in the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping protests, as was shown by videos and pictures distributed via social networks. (49) The highly-respected writer for the Telegraph Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says that the head of Saudi intelligence - Prince Bandar - recently admitted that the Saudi government controls "Chechen" terrorists. (50) High-level American sources admitted that the Turkish government - a fellow NATO country - carried out the chemical weapons attacks blamed on the Syrian government; and high-ranking Turkish government admitted on tape plans to carry out attacks and blame it on the Syrian government. (51) The Ukrainian security chief admits that the sniper attacks which started the Ukrainian coup were carried out in order to frame others. Ukrainian officials admit that the Ukrainian snipers fired on both sides, to create maximum chaos. (52) Burmese government officials admitted that Burma (renamed Myanmar) used false flag attacks against Muslim and Buddhist groups within the country to stir up hatred between the two groups, to prevent democracy from spreading. (53) Britain's spy agency has admitted (and see this) that it carries out "digital false flag" attacks on targets, framing people by writing offensive or unlawful material ... and blaming it on the target. (54) U.S. soldiers have admitted that if they kill innocent Iraqis and Afghanis, they then "drop" automatic weapons near their body so they can pretend they were militants (55) Similarly, police frame innocent people for crimes they didn't commit. The practice is so well-known that the New York Times noted in 1981: In police jargon, a throwdown is a weapon planted on a victim. Newsweek reported in 1999: Perez, himself a former cop, was caught stealing eight pounds of cocaine from police evidence lockers. After pleading guilty in September, he bargained for a lighter sentence by telling an appalling story of attempted murder and a"throwdown"-police slang for a weapon planted by cops to make a shooting legally justifiable. Perez said he and his partner, Officer Nino Durden, shot an unarmed 18th Street Gang member named Javier Ovando, then planted a semiautomatic rifle on the unconscious suspect and claimed that Ovando had tried to shoot them during a stakeout. Wikipedia notes : As part of his plea bargain, P'erez implicated scores of officers from the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit, describing routinely beating gang members, planting evidence on suspects, falsifying reports and covering up unprovoked shootings. (As a side note - and while not technically false flag attacks - police have been busted framing innocent people in many other ways, as well.) (56) A former U.S. intelligence officer recently alleged: Most terrorists are false flag terrorists or are created by our own security services. (57) The head and special agent in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office said that most terror attacks are committed by the CIA and FBI as false flags. Similarly, the director of the National Security Agency under Ronald Reagan - Lt. General William Odom said : By any measure the US has long used terrorism. In '78-79 the Senate was trying to pass a law against international terrorism - in every version they produced, the lawyers said the US would be in violation. (audio here ). (58) Leaders throughout history have acknowledged the "benefits" of of false flags to justify their political agenda:"Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death". - Adolph Hitler"Why of course the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - Hermann Goering, Nazi leader."The easiest way to gain control of a population is to carry out acts of terror. will clamor for such laws if their personal security is threatened". - Josef Stalin

NEW DELHI: India is "disappointed" that the US has approved the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan and it plans to summon the US ambassador to New Delhi to convey its "displeasure"."We are disappointed at decision of the Obama administration to notify the sale of F-16 aircrafts to Pakistan. We disagree with their rationale that such arms transfers help to combat terrorism," the ministry of external affairs said on Saturday. US ambassador Richard Verma is to be summoned about the matter, news agency ANI reported. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency - a wing of the Pentagon - said in a statement, that this proposed sale worth nearly USD 700 million contributes to US foreign policy objectives and national security goals by helping improve the security of a strategic partner in South Asia. The Pentagon said the proposed sale improves Pakistan's capability to meet current and future security threats sand won't alter the military balance in the region, The Indian government said Pakistan's record in encouraging cross-border terrorism "for the last many years speaks for itself". The US government's notification on the sale of the fighter jets, equipment, training, and logistics support comes despite mounting opposition from influential lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties. "This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded," said the Defence Security Cooperation Agency. These additional F-16 aircraft will facilitate operations in all-weather, non-daylight environments, provid self- defence and area suppression capability, and enhance Pakistan's ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. Aam Aadmi "It will increase the number of aircraft available to the Pakistan Air Force to sustain operations, meet monthly training requirements, and support transition training for pilots new to the Block-52. Pakistan will have no difficulty absorbing these additional aircraft into its air force," the Pentagon agency said. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a State Department official defended the decisions of the US government. "We strongly support the proposed sale of eight F-16s to Pakistan. This platform will support Pakistan's counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency operations, and has contributed to the success of these operations to date," the official said. India enjoys the benefits it gets from Australian and Canadian uranium enrichment and nuclear help - while Pakistan doesn't have that luck. India also has good ties with Russia, who helped it build its nuclear reactors and sells it weapons. The US and UK also send aid to India. India nuclear reactors are less stable than Pakistan's according to a recent report.

A Belgian journalist said she was molested while doing a live report on the Cologne carnival. Several men of apparently European appearance were making obscene gestures behind her. They tried to grope her and reportedly asked her to sleep with one of them. The incident took place in the Alter Markt district of the city on Thursday, where Esmeralda Labye was covering the local carnival for Belgian RTBF TV. Among the topics she raised in her report were the New Year's Eve sexual assaults against women in the city center. Then several European-looking men approached her and started making lewd gestures behind her. "At first they were just making faces behind me. Then a hand landed on my breast. I was shocked," she later wrote in a piece to RTBF. According to Labye, the men shouted in her ear something like "would you sleep with me?" The original full video was deleted from the internet, but several outlets and users re-uploaded the moment the harassment happened."My piece to camera was chaotic, people showing middle fingers, a man who was having fun miming a sex act behind me and above all the hand placed on my breast," Labye said later.'Migrants' attack elderly Germans protecting woman from harassment (VIDEO) https://t.co/ug0dZYI9ie pic.twitter.com/erVTXWqazB - RT (@RT_com) February 2, 2016 At one point she lost her temper and turned around and warned them not to touch her again, she said. "They didn't seem to understand why I was angry but they left without saying a word." The Cologne authorities haven't yet released any information on the identities of the men. Labye later received an apology from the German city. READ MORE: Cologne sex attacks 'a matter of public order and not related to the refugee crisis' - EU Commission Sexual assaults and harassment of women have been a hot topic recently. In Cologne, the alarm was raised after reports of hundreds of cases on New Year's Eve. According to reports, "heavily intoxicated" men of "Arab or North African" origin were attacking local women en masse in the city center.Later in January, Ralf Jager, interior minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, confirmed the majority of the 52 suspects identified were not German citizens. Twenty-five were from Morocco and Algeria, 15 arrived in Germany as asylum-seekers and 11 perpetrators were staying in the country illegally. READ MORE: Police in German town advised not to prosecute migrant offenders over petty crimes - media Similar incidents were reported in other German cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Police were accused of covering up migrant attacks. https://www.rt.com/news/331542-cologne-reporter-sexually-assaulted/

Preface by Tatzhit: In summer 2014, #1 militia commander in Donbass was also #1 news source for bloggers. Igor Strelkov was better than American or Russian mass media for two simple reasons: he had a lot of info, and he lied as little as possible (generally just saying "No comment"). So, there would be unclear fighting going on, journalists and propagandists on both sides would claim "we won, enemy decimated and fleeing" - and Strelkov would give his version of what exactly happened, who won, how and why. And a few days later, we would always find out his reports were far closer to the truth that propaganda from either side. That time period is actually when I gave up on mainstream media coverage: if Reuters/CNN/BBC, put together, are doing a far worse job than one of the militia leaders, what is the point of listening to their drivel at all? It wasn't even about different coverage of the same basic facts - MSM were getting their stories from the UAF headquarters, which meant their connection to factual reality was tenuous at best. Despite repeated fiascos, mainstream media kept doing that, ostensibly for ideological reasons, all though the encirclements of the summer 2014 ("UAF are not cut off, what are you talking about?!") and winter 2015 "Debaltsevo cauldron" ("There is no cauldron, militia selfies with captured UAF soldiers are fake!"). At the same time, even after his removal from Donbass, Strelkov gave much more accurate assessments than other Novorossiya sources, and did not mindlessly support militia's optimistic claims (e.g. he explained that Donetsk airport and Debaltsevo were far more drawn-out and bloody than the optimists would like you to believe, something that was also proven true later). All of this makes his interviews very valuable as historic documents. Three caveats: 1) Strelkov is mostly focused on military details - his judgments of popular opinions and local politics are not as astute as those of some local politicians 2) He tends to be very harsh in judging others and himself 3) His predictions are generally very pessimistic. When compared to the boundless optimism of many "official" channels, the real events tend to fall in between theirs and Strelkov's predictions. However, with the may "information war" is these days, Strelkov is still one of the best sources you could get. Enjoy. Oh, and check out his biography first - it's pretty unbelievable, Donbass was his 5th war, and he volunteered for all of them. ======= MILITARY BIOGRAPHY originally compiled here ] Strelkov: I'll briefly list my military biography (again). 18 June - 30 July 1992 - volunteer rifleman, 2nd platoon, Black Sea Cossacks. Koshnitsa, Bendery ; http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/polynkov/11628468/1282229/1282229_1000.jpg http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/polynkov/11628468/1282344/1282344_1000.jpg - 30th October 1992 - 24th March 1993 - volunteer in 2nd Russian Volunteer platoon (first within 2nd Podrina light infantry brigade, then within 2nd Maevitska brigade of Respublika Srpska Army). First - grenadier in a scout group, then - 82mm mortar gunner. http://nuker82.livejournal.com/400368.html http://www.specnaz.ru/articles/212/18/2037.htm - June 1993 - July 1994

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5926/turkey-muslim-brotherhood What do Syria, Egypt and Libya have common? They are all at various degrees of cold war with Turkey, which they accuse of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist terrorists in their countries. Turkey has never denied support, but claims that the Muslim Brothers are just democratic elements in politics. In a span of only 24 hours, on August 13, 2013, Muslim Brotherhood militias attacked and destroyed 52 churches in Egypt. During the short-lived rule of their president, Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brothers, in well-documented incidents, threatened, attacked, kidnapped, tortured, beheaded and killed dozens, if not hundreds, of Christians, including a 10-year-old girl; and damaged and looted their property -- until, after mass protests, Morsi was overthrown in 2013. During the Muslim Brotherhood's systematic massacres against Egypt's Christians, no Turkish leader was heard criticizing a single incident targeting Christians. After Morsi's downfall, however, they have never ceased loudly condemning the man who toppled Morsi, General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Most recently, Turkey's biggest Muslim Brotherhood fan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said, "For me, Morsi is Egypt's president, not Sisi." On May 17, an Egyptian court sought the death penalty for Morsi and 106 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, in connection with a mass jailbreak in 2011. A final ruling is expected on June 2. The case, like all capital sentences, will be referred to Egypt's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for an opinion, before any executions can take place. In Ankara, Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, threatened that the Middle East would be thrown into turmoil if Egypt carried out its death sentences. Which countries in the Middle East have poured billions of dollars in aid into the regime of Sisi "the coup-maker" in Cairo? Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Which leader in the Middle East has fiercely confronted Sisi's regime in Cairo? Erdogan. Which countries in the Middle East are Erdogan's best allies? Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Which regime, among others, allied with Saudi Arabia in a recent military offensive against Yemen's pro-Shiite Houthi militias? Sisi's. Which country in the world probably has the most powerful political leverage on Sisi's regime in Cairo? Saudi Arabia. Where does Turkey want to lobby against executions of Morsi and his Brothers? In the West. Which countries does Turkey urge to speak loudly against the executions? Western countries. Has Erdogan or any other Turkish official ever publicly urged Saudi Arabia or Qatar to use their influence on Egypt to stop the executions? Never. To whom does the exiled Muslim Brotherhood official appeal to in order to stop the executions? The international community -- the powerful Christian world. What an irony that the Brothers seek the help of Christians to stop the executions of their leaders - the same Christians they massacred en masse only three years ago. Too complicated? No. Just Turkish. Holding his right hand in the four fingered Rabaa "salute" Prime Minister erdogan demonstrates his identification with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. http://politichicks.com/2015/07/the-alliance-of-obama-recep-tayyip-erdogan-the-muslim-brotherhood-isis/ Ground Zero for the Acknowledgment of the Islamic State: Turkey The Guardian reported Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited the expelled Muslim Brothers to reside in Ankara, a detail corroborated by International Business Times , The Daily Beast , and Egypt's Al Arabiya . The seven key figures were reported to be Wadi Ghaneim, Gamal Abdul Satar, Issam Teleima, Asharaf Bader Eddin, Mahmoud Hussein and Hamza Zawba. World Net Daily reported of Erdogan's deep collaboration with ISIS through logistics, intelligence and satellite imagery. Egyptian intelligence, according to WND, reported " Turkish intelligence is passing to ISIS satellite imagery and other data, with particular emphasis on exposing to ISIS jihadists the positions of Kurdish fighters and the storage locations of their weapons and munitions." The official also confirmed reports Turkey released ISIS terrorists from jail "in a sweeping deal with the jihadist organization that saw the release of 49 hostages from the Turkish embassy in Mosul who were being held by ISIS." While some reports claim Turkey may have released at least 180 ISIS terrorists in the deal, the Egyptian official said the number of ISIS terrorists released was closer to 700. Many reports showcase Turkey's role in supporting the Brotherhood with weapons and activists, including the Turkish Intelligence officer Irshad Hoz who was arrested in Egypt. Turkey received many fugitives after the June 30 revolution, in coordination with Hamas in Gaza and the state of Qatar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( Arabic :

- THE TOP 50 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN THE WORLD - BY HOMICIDES PER 100,000 INHABITANTS IN 2015 1. Caracas, Venezuela - 119.87 2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras - 111.03 3. San Salvador, El Salvador - 108.54 4. Acapulco, Mexico - 104.73 5. Maturin, Venezuela - 86.45 6. Distrito Central, Honduras - 73.51 7. Valencia, Venezuela - 72.31 8. Palmira, Colombia - 70.88 9. Cape Town, South Africa - 65.53 10. Cali, Colombia - 64.27 11. Cuidad Guayana, Venezuela - 62.33 12. Fortaleza, Brazil - 60.77 13. Natal, Brazil - 60.66 14. Salvador, Brazil - 60.63 15. St Louis, Missouri, U.S. - 59.23 16. Joao Pessoa, Brazil - 58.40 17. Culiacan, Mexico - 56.09 18. Maceio, Brazil - 55.63 19. Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. - 54.98 20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela - 54.96 21. Sao Luis, Brazil - 53.05 22. Cuiaba, Brazil - 48.52 23. Manaus, Brazil - 47.87 24. Cumana, Venezuela - 47.77 25. Guatemala City, Guatemala - 47.17 26. Belem, Brazil - 45.83 27. Feira de Santana, Brazil - 45.5 28. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. - 43.89 29. Goiania, Brazil - 43.38 30. Teresina, Brazil - 42.64 31. Vitoria, Brazil - 41.99 32. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. - 41.44 33. Kingston, Jamaica - 41.14 34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela - 40.08 35. Tijuana, Mexico - 39.09 36. Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil - 38.46 37. Recife, Brazil - 38.12 38. Aracaju. Brazil - 37.7 39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil - 36.16 40. Campina Grande, Brazil - 36.04 41. Durban, South Africa - 35.93 42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa - 35.85 43. Porto Alegre, Brazil - 34.73 44. Curitiba, Brazil - 34.71 45. Pereira, Colombia - 32.58 46. Victoria, Mexico - 30.50 47. Johannesburg, South Africa - 30.31 48. Macapa, Brazil - 30.25 49. Maracaibo, Venezuela - 28.85 50. Obregon, Mexico - 28.29 CHRISTIANITY IS A MENTAL DISORDER.

Thirty years ago this week, America witnessed a tragedy: the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger in the blue skies over Florida. The doomed shuttle touched us like we have never been touched before because along with the tragic loss of astronauts, a teacher was on board. What follows is the Miami Herald's initial coverage of the unfolding events, a news story and then a personal account of an education reporter who witnessed the explosion from Cape Canaveral. What are your memories? The space shuttle challenger exploded 72 seconds after a spectacular launch Tuesday morning, disintegrating 10 miles off the Florida coast and killing a crew of seven including Christa McAuliffe, America's first teacher in space. Hours after the worst space disaster in history, NASA scientists hadn't the slightest idea what had caused the first fatal in-air accident in 56 U.S. manned missions. Early speculation, based on fuzzy television pictures, centered on the shuttle's giant external fuel tank, loaded with 526,000 gallons of highly explosive liquid hydrogen and oxygen. But NASA, normally a fountain of information, stopped talking late Tuesday, denying requests for interviews with space experts and astronauts."We will not speculate as to the specific cause of the explosion based on that footage, " said Jesse Moore, NASA's top shuttle administrator. A NASA investigating board will conduct a "careful review" of all data "before we can reach any conclusions, " he said. Moore said he did not know how long the investigation might last."We've never had a tragedy like this, " said President Reagan, who postponed for a week Tuesday night's State of the Union address. In a short televised speech at 5 p.m., Reagan said, "We mourn seven heroes . . . They, the Challenger Seven, were pioneers." Addressing America's schoolchildren, Reagan said, "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. It belongs to the brave." The space program will continue, he said, as will the policy of sending private citizens aloft. The 11:38 a.m. launch looked picture-perfect. A minute later, cable TV viewers and spectators at the Cape knew otherwise. Then the voice of Mission Control confirmed. First, the voice said, "Obviously a major malfunction." Then, seconds later, "Vehicle has exploded. . . . We are checking with recovery forces to see what can be done." Rescue teams boarded ships, helicopters and planes and combed the cold Atlantic waters 18 miles from the coast, searching against hope for signs of the crew. Paramedics leaped into the water amid spacecraft wreckage that kept falling from the sky for an hour after the explosion. By Tuesday night, a fleet of Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy helicopters, ships and planes searching for clues to the disaster had located only a few pieces of debris in seas of up to 200 feet, said Col. John Shults, director of Defense Department contingency operations. None of the pieces, which were each about five to 10 feet long, had been recovered."Everybody's sick, " said Bob Osterblom, an engineer who works on the solid rocket boosters at Cape Canaveral. "It's like a morgue around here. There are so many backup systems, NASA is so cautious, so careful, so safety-minded, that it's incredible this happened." For a moment, America stood still. Then a nation's anguish began to churn. Congressmen talked of reevaluating the nation's space program. Within hours, newspapers published extra editions. Wall Street expressed its doubts as stock prices of four shuttle contractors dropped. Children in classrooms across the country fell silent as their teachers wept at the loss of a colleague. And everywhere, Americans sat by television sets, watching again and again the videotape of the spectacular breakup of the nation's showpiece of space technology. Challenger rose majestically off the launch pad at 11:38 a.m. It climbed smoothly, trailing a 700-foot geyser of fire as it soared to a speed of 1,977 miles an hour. Then, as the world watched, the mammoth spacecraft erupted in a huge fireball and shot out of control. For more than half an hour after the explosion, a serpentine trail of white smoke remained in the clear Florida sky, marking the path of the wreckage as it plummeted to the sea 18 miles southeast of the launch pad. The flaming debris was clearly visible across Florida, from Tampa to Miami. Unlike the shuttle Columbia during its first flights, Challenger had no ejection seats or any other way for the crew to get out of the spacecraft. The Challenger crew included the first private citizen to fly on a shuttle, McAuliffe, 37, a social studies teacher from Concord, N.H. She was to have taught American children four televised lessons from space. The other crew members were commander Francis "Dick" Scobee, 46; pilot Michael J. Smith, 40; Judith Resnik, 36; Ronald E. McNair, 35; Ellison S. Onizuka, 39; and satellite engineer Gregory B. Jarvis, 41. McAuliffe, who was selected from 11,146 applicants to be the first teacher in space, had waited all morning at launch pad 39B through a liftoff delay caused by computer problems and icicles on the pad. A bitter cold front had moved through the space port overnight, producing sub-zero wind-chills at the launch pad. The launch had been postponed five times, two fewer than the record seven delays Columbia suffered earlier this month. McAuliffe's husband Steve; their two children, Scott, 9, and Caroline, 6; and members of Scott's third-grade class watched in silence from a viewing area three miles from the Cape. The children carried a large banner that said, "Go Christa." As the $1.1 billion spacecraft blew apart in plain view, many cried. Parents hugged children and quickly cleared them off the bleachers and onto buses. McAuliffe's parents, Edward and Grace Corrigan of Framingham, Mass., stood together arm in arm as the loudspeaker brought the bad news. A NASA official climbed a couple of rows into the bleachers and told them: "The vehicle has exploded." Mrs. Corrigan looked back at him and repeated his words as a question."The vehicle has exploded?" He nodded silently. The Corrigans were quickly led away. In New Hampshire, all 1,200 students at McAuliffe's Concord High School gathered in the auditorium to watch the launch on television. They cheered at the launch, then fell silent when a teacher yelled that something had gone wrong. 'Never any doubt' Linda Long, who handled McAuliffe's public relations, said the teacher "anticipated the flight almost the way you anticipate riding on a roller coaster: While you're in line, you're scared and anxious. But she never had any doubt about the safety of the flight." In fact, McAuliffe had said she felt safer going into space than she did driving in New York City traffic. In Washington, the House of Representatives interrupted its session and the chaplain prayed for the astronauts. The House then adjourned. Reagan sent Vice President George Bush to the Cape to observe the investigation. The president ordered all flags flown at half-staff for a week. The New York and American stock exchanges planned to observe a minute of silence today in honor of the crew. Rep. Harold Volkmer, D-Mo., chairman of the investigations and oversight subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee, said the shuttle program will continue. But he said there should be no more flights until the cause of the explosion is determined. The first seconds after takeoff looked like another NASA triumph."Liftoff!" NASA spokesman Hugh Harris called at 11:38 a.m. "Liftoff of the 25th shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower!" Challenger climbed away from the launch pad on a tail of orange flame and a white cloud of smoke, rolling over on its back as it arched out over the Atlantic against a clear blue sky. Sixty seconds later, when the astronauts were beginning to throttle engines up to maximum thrust, NASA reported all engines and fuel cells running normally. 'Throttle up'"Challenger, go at throttle up, " Mission Control told the spacecraft 52 seconds after launch. Scobee increased power as planned. At one minute, 12 seconds after launch, Challenger had accelerated to 1,977 mph, three times the speed of sound. It was 10.4 miles up and 8 miles out over the ocean. Suddenly, a brilliant ball of fire engulfed the shuttle. The engines continued to fire. One piece -- apparently one of Challenger's two strap-on solid rockets -- veered to the right, spiraling through the sky. Mission Control reported no indication of any problem with the engines, the solid boosters or any other system. The shuttle just suddenly blew apart. Radio communications and telemetry abruptly ended.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/former-soldier-tommy-ward-80-7431873 Former soldier Tommy Ward, 80, dies months after raiders beat him to a pulp for his life savings BY LUCY THORNTON , RICHARD WHEATSTONE Tommy was receiving ongoing care following the incident but sadly died at Rotherham Hospital last night Former soldier Tommy Ward who was beaten to a pulp by raiders for his life savings has died four months after the brutal attack. Mr Ward, 80, was found badly injured at his home in Salisbury Road in Maltby, South Yorks, on October 1 last year. The thugs - who have never been brought to justice - left Tommy for dead and took his lb30,000 life savings and a safety deposit box. He was receiving ongoing care following the incident but sadly died at Rotherham Hospital last night. Tommy Ward's family fear 'monsters' who battered OAP will never face justice Shocked Sunday Mirror and Sunday People readers helped raise more than lb30,000 for the plucky pensioner. A post-mortem examination will be carried out over the coming days to determine what caused his death. A box similar to the one that was reported stolen was recovered in the Kilnhurst area of Rotherham around two weeks after the incident. South Yorkshire Police said the investigation into the attack remains ongoing and urged witnesses to come forward following Tommy's death. Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Short said: "The police investigation surrounding what happened is very much ongoing and officers would still like to speak to witnesses, or anyone who has information about what happened."I urge anyone who has even the slightest piece of information to come forward and tell us what you know." Two 19-year-old men were previously arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and burglary. They have been released with no further action. Just last month, Tommy's family said after the attack that they fear the "monsters" who beat him to a pulp may never face justice. Daughter Jackie Perry, 52, said: "It's maddening to think the people who did this are walking the streets."They could be stood next to me, in the chip shop or at the supermarket, and I wouldn't have a clue."I feel like they are are laughing at us - like they think they've got away with it." Frail Tommy was found lying on the floor with devastating injuries. A finger had to be amputated after being snapped like a twig. His jaw was rebuilt with steel plates. And a "significant" brain injury kept him in hospital for three months. Tommy spent weeks holding his hands up in fear, as if to ward off attackers.

The B-52 , one of the backbones of the U.S. Air Force for decades, has long been equipped to launch nuclear-armed weapons from its bay. The B-52's recent internal weapons bay upgrade program transforms the weapons launcher in the bay so it can deploy GPS-guided "smart" bombs for the first time. Boeing's upgrade transforms the bay to a conventional launcher capable of carrying upwards of 50 percent more precision guided weapons, a capability that increases the B-52's flexibility and versatility in supporting the warfighter in real time.

The Washington Post, September 5, 2015 : "Government forces are responsible for 250,000 deaths in the four-year-old conflict." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/islamic-state-has-killed-many-syrians-but-assads-forces-have-killed-even-more/2015/09/05/b8150d0c-4d85-11e5-80c2-106ea7fb80d4_story.html Aljazeera, 07 Aug 2015: "At least 88,616 regime forces were killed - or one thirds all deaths documented by the SOHR . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that it had documented the deaths of 240,381 people, up from its tally of 230,618 announced on June 9, 2015.The latest death toll shows that 11,964 children were among 71,781 civilians killed in Syria." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/quarter-million-people-dead-syria-war-150807093941704.html OP: June 9, 2015? Before Russian intervention? BBC, 3 February 2016: "More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in four-and-a-half years of armed conflict." http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868 TheGuardian, Friday 22 January 2016 : "The US-led military coalition has called its war against the ISIS the "most precise air campaign in history" despite having identified 16 civilians mistakenly killed and another nine injured in strikes last summer." http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/22/us-led-military-coalition-civilian-casualties-strikes-isis-iraq-syria REUTERS, Jan. 31, 2016: "Russian air strikes on Syria have killed nearly 1,400 civilians since Moscow started its aerial campaign nearly four months ago." http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-syria-russia-idINKCN0V80CX MailOnline, Sunday, Feb 28th 2016: "Russian airstrikes in Syria have killed MORE civilians than ISIS jihadis." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3408623/Russian-airstrikes-Syria-killed-civilians-ISIS-jihadis-report-claims-Moscow-boasts-6-000-bombing-runs-September.html Now, here are some "syrious" numbers (updated to 31. January 2016) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Syrian_Civil_War Governorate/Number of deaths: Latakia 1,356, Rif Dimashq 34,109, Homs 17,612, Hama 9,685, Al-Hasakah 1,533, Daraa 13,813, Aleppo 29,686, Deir ez-Zor 9,204, Damascus 9,683, Tartus 554, Quneitra 1,041, Idlib 16,309, As-Suwayda 105, Ar-Raqqah 2,439. Total: 147,129 Other estimates range from 151,695 to 366,140. All of the following totals include civilians, rebels and government forces: United Nations 250,000 killed 15 March 2011 - 17 August 2015 Syrian Centre for Policy Research 470,000 killed 15 March 2011 - 11 February 2016 Syrian Observatory for Human Rights 271,138-366,138 killed 15 March 2011 - 22 February 2016 Center for Documentation of Violations 151,697 killed 15 March 2011 - 23 February 2016 Time Period / Pro-government forces / Anti-government forces / Civilians 2011, 2012, 2013 / 52,290 killed / 29,083 killed / 46,266 killed 2014 / 25,160 killed / 32,726 killed / 17,790 killed 2015 / 17,686 killed / 24,010 killed / 13,249 killed 2016 / 1,599 killed / 1,687 killed / 1,345 killed Combatants casualties: Syrian military and police 55,042-90,042 killed Shabiha and National Defense Force 37,966-51,966 killed Lebanese Hezbollah 1,025 killed ISIL 8,143 killed Kurdish YPG 1,636-1,805 killed Medical workers killed: Physicians for Human Rights has been tracking the medical personnel deaths in Syria, though they state that "these numbers are conservative given the difficulties in reporting during a war." As of the end of September 2015, the number of medical workers killed in the Syrian civil war totaled 679. 648 of these deaths are attributable to the Syrian government, 17 by non-state armed groups, one by Kurdish forces, and 13 by unidentified forces. In February 2016, the number of killed medical personnel was updated to 697. OP: Well, it looks like Assad has killed 90.000 of his own soldiers, 650 of his doctors and nurses and 12.000 children have obviously died from "russian airstrikes" before russian intervention in September 2015 and most syrians still stand behind Assad (and Russians) ... and since September 2015 (the number is still 250.000) no one has died in Syria. US coalition know exact number of their civilian casualties (16 - "mistakenly"), but they don't know how many terrorists have died from their airstrikes ...... BTW - it's hard to find numbers of ISIS/FSA or even of US coalition "collateral damage" on the web.

On 10-Jan-2016, a U.S. B-52 bomber from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, conducted a low-level flight in the vicinity of Osan, South Korea, in response to recent provocative action by North Korea. The B-52 was joined by Republic of Korea F-15 fighter aircracft and U.S. F-16 fighter aircraft. The mission demonstrates the strength of the alliance between the United Staes and the Republic of Korea as well as the resolve of both nations to maintain stability and security on the peninsula. Upon completion of the flight the B-52 returned to Guam. USAF video by Senior Airman Daniel Robles

This is extended footage released by the war media team of Iraqs Popular Mobilizition Forces shwows a combat operation in the Alsjarih area, east of Ramadi in Iraqs Anbar Province that lead to the liberation of all axes of Ramadi and the reopening of the Ramadi-Baghdad road. The operation was a joint Iraqi Special Force and Popular Mobilizition Unit raid through ISIS held territory conducted by a Iraqi operated M1A1 Abrams tank and several Humvees. Most part of the battle was filmed from the M1A1 Abrams point of view through a turret mounted GoPro camera showing the thank hunting for ISIS fighters with his heavy machine guns and its powerfull canon. The combat and I.E.D clearance operation conducted by an armoured and motorized column of Iraqs Popular Mobilizition Forces together with Special Force elements aimded to drive out leftovers of ISIS forces from the area and to remove I.E.Ds and V.B.I.E.Ds that got left behind in the region after ISIS defeat in Ramadi. 00:00-00:47 Iraqi Special and Popular Mobilizition Forces advance into ISIS held area while covering civilians leaving the combat zone. 00:47-02:51 Iraqi forces move further into ISIS held area while engaging ISIS elements with M1A1 machine gun and canon fire. 02:52-04:22 Different angle shows several POV GoPro gun and helmet cam perspectives of Iraqi Special Forces engaging hiding ISIS elements. 04:23-05:50 Iraqi vehicle column continues to push forward while attacking ISIS fighters. 05:51-06:15 Iraqi troops destroy ISIS VBIED that got left behind. 06:16-9:45 Iraqi M1A1 continues engagement. 9:46-10:28 IR scene filmed from inside the Iraqi M1A1 tank shows a group of visible ISIS fighters getting taken out by a tank shell. 10:29-11:15 Iraqi troops destroy captured ISIS weapons. 11:16-11:48 Iraqi M1A1 moves further into Anbar. If you like this Channel and want to help us to continue uploading raw footage you can support us with a small PayPal Donation to setup our own uncensored and independent website.

On 10-Jan-2016, a U.S. B-52 bomber from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, conducted a low-level flight in the vicinity of Osan, South Korea, in response to recent provocative action by North Korea. The B-52 was joined by Republic of Korea F-15 fighter aircracft and U.S. F-16 fighter aircraft. The mission demonstrates the strength of the alliance between the United Staes and the Republic of Korea as well as the resolve of both nations to maintain stability and security on the peninsula. Upon completion of the flight the B-52 returned to Guam. USAF video by Senior Airman Daniel Robles

The DNC better start looking for a Clinton replacement.The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email server as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official. The official said the FBI had secured the cooperation of Bryan Pagliano who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign before setting up the server in her New York home in 2009. As the FBI looks to wrap up its investigation in the coming months, agents will likely want to interview Clinton and her senior aides about the decision to use a private server, how it was set up, and whether any of the participants knew they were sending classified information in emails, current and former officials said. The inquiry comes against a sensitive political backdrop in which Clinton is the favorite to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency. So far, there is no indication that prosecutors have convened a grand jury in the email investigation to subpoena testimony or documents, which would require the participation of a U.S. attorney's office. Spokesmen at the FBI and Justice Department would not discuss the investigation. Pagliano's lawyer also declined to comment. In a statement, Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, said: "As we have said since last summer, Secretary Clinton has been cooperating with the Department of Justice's security inquiry, including offering in August to meet with them to assist their efforts if needed." He also said that the campaign is "pleased" that Pagliano, who invoked the Fifth amendment before Congress, is now cooperating with prosecutors. As part of the inquiry, law enforcement officials will look at the potential damage had the classified information in the emails been exposed. The Clinton campaign has described the probe as a security review. But current and former officials in the FBI and at the Justice Department have said investigators are trying to determine if a crime was committed. "There was wrongdoing," said a former senior law enforcement official. "But was it criminal wrongdoing?" Clinton has since apologized for what had happened: "Yes, I should have used two email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I'm sorry about it, and I take full responsibility." Any decision to charge someone would involve Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch who told Congress when asked earlier this month about the email inquiry: "That matter is being handled by career independent law enforcement agents, FBI agents, as well as the career independent attorneys in the Department of Justice. They follow the evidence, they look at the law and they'll make a recommendation to me when the time is appropriate.""We will review all the facts and all the evidence and come to an independent conclusion as how to best handle it," she added. Current and former officials said the conviction of retired four-star general and CIA director David H. Petraeus for mishandling classified information is casting a shadow over the email investigation. The officials said they believe that Petraeus' actions were more egregious than those of Clinton and her aides since he lied to the FBI, and classified information he shared with his biographer contained top secret code words, identities of covert officers, war strategy and intelligence capabilities. Prosecutors initially threatened to charge him with three felonies, including conspiracy, violating the Espionage Act and lying to the FBI. But after negotiations, Petraeus pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to two-years probation. FBI officials were angered by the deal and predicted it would affect the outcome of other cases involving classified information. Petraeus "was handled so lightly for his offence there isn't a whole lot you can do," said a former U.S. law enforcement official who oversaw counterintelligence investigations and described the email controversy as "a lesser set of circumstances." The State Department has been analyzing the contents of Clinton's correspondence, as it has prepared 52,000 pages of Clinton's emails for public release in batches, a process that began in May and concluded Monday. The State Department has said 2,093 of Clinton's released emails were redacted in all or part because they contained classified material, the vast majority of them rated "confidential," the lowest level of sensitivity in the classification system. Clinton and the State Department have said that none of the material was marked classified at the time it was sent. However, it is the responsibility of individual government officials to properly handle sensitive material. The email investigation is being conducted by FBI counterintelligence agents and supervised by the Justice Department's National Security Division. In a letter filed earlier this month in federal court as part of ongoing civil litigation over Clinton's emails, the FBI confirmed that it was "working on matters related to former Secretary Clinton's use of a private email server." The agency declined to publicly detail, the investigation's "specific focus, scope or potential targets." On Tuesday, FBI Director James B. Comey said he was "very close" to the investigation. Former federal prosecutor Glen Kopp said it is not surprising agents want to interview Clinton and her aides. "They are within the zone of interest of the investigation," he said. A request to interview her would have to be reviewed by top level officials at both the FBI and the Justice Department, a former official said. As part of those interviews, the FBI would also seek to establish that Clinton and her aides understood the policies and protocols for handling classified information, former officials said. It's unclear whether Clinton and her aides would agree to an interview with the FBI because of the potential legal risks. However, if Clinton refused to cooperate with FBI investigators, the issue could become a political flashpoint in the campaign. Her lawyer, David Kendall, declined to comment. Kendall, who also has represented President Clinton and Petraeus, has navigated similar issues in other cases. During the investigation of President Clinton by independent counsel Ken Starr, for instance, Kendall rebuffed several requests for interviews. The president was then subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. In a deal brokered by Kendall, the subpoena was withdrawn and Clinton testified voluntarily in 1998. Former prosecutors said investigators were probably feeling the pressure of time because of the election. Take action before the election, they said, and you risk being perceived as trying to influence the result. Take action after and face criticism for not letting voters know there was an issue with their preferred candidate. "The timing is terrible whether you do it before or after," Kopp said. The issue of Clinton's use of a private email server was referred to the FBI in July after the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community officials determined that some of the emails that traversed Clinton's server contained classified material. Emails that contain material now deemed classified were authored by Clinton but also by many of her top aides, including Director of Policy Planning Deputy Chief of Staff Jacob Sullivan, who is now advising Clinton's campaign on foreign policy and is thought to be a likely candidate for National Security Advisor if she is elected. The State Department has said that, at the request of intelligence agencies, it has classified 22 Clinton emails as "top secret" and will not release those emails, even in redacted form. "Top secret" is the highest level of classification, reserved for material whose release could cause "exceptionally grave damage to the national security." I. Charles McCullough III, the inspector general of the intelligence community, has indicated that some of the material intelligence officials have he reviewed contained information that was classified at the time it was sent; the State Department has indicated it has not analyzed whether the material should have been marked classified when it was sent, only whether it requires classification before being released now. http://mcaf.ee/82jtbf