Archiv: US Special Operations Command (Socom)


30.12.2022 - 18:34 [ Syrian Arab News Agency - Sana.sy ]

10 workers martyred in a terrorist attack in al-Taym oil field in deir Ezzor

Deir Ezzor,SANA- 10 workers were killed and 2 others injured in a terrorist attack that targeted 3 buses carrying workers in the al-Taym oil field in Deir Ezzor, SANA reporter reported .

Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Bassam Tohme, said in a telephone conversation with the Syrian channel that the Syrian people are suffering from an oil crisis, and the American occupation, through its mercenaries and terrorist groups, wants to cut off the available oil part that secures the minimum needs of the Syrian people, and therefore they carried out this blatant attack on cars Shifts of workers of al-Tayyem field at al-Furat Company.

30.12.2022 - 18:15 [ WashingtonExaminer.com ]

CENTCOM conducts three helicopter raids in Syria and detains six ISIS operatives

(December 20, 2022)

U.S. forces conducted three helicopter raids in eastern Syria that resulted in the detention of six Islamic State operatives, according to a Tuesday statement from U.S. Central Command.

The three raids occurred “over the last 48 hours,” and one of the ISIS fighters detained was identified as al Zubaydi, whom CENTCOM described as “an Islamic State Syria Province Senior Official involved in the planning and facilitation of ISIS attacks in Syria.”

30.12.2022 - 18:04 [ WashingtonExaminer.com ]

US and Syrian allies capture five ISIS operatives in six raids this week

(December 16, 2022)

The two allied forces resumed operations on Dec. 8, and since then, they „have conducted six partnered operations, resulting in the detention of five ISIS operatives involved in planning attacks on detention facilities holding ISIS fighters and on the Al Hol camp,“ Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for CENTCOM, said in a statement referring to the Syrian refugee camp.

(…)

The Syrian Democratic Forces thwarted a suicide bombing attempt at the camp in late September, though four ISIS fighters were killed in the incident. Weeks earlier, the SDF arrested “dozens of ISIS operatives” while conducting security operations at the refugee camp, and a CENTCOM spokesperson said at the time that the arrests led to the “dissolution of a major ISIS facilitation network both within the camp and throughout Syria.”

24.11.2022 - 10:51 [ Meta - fb.com ]

Meta’s Adversarial Threat Report, Third Quarter 2022

This quarterly threat report includes our findings about three networks we took down in the United States, China and Russia. The latter two we originally reported on September 27, 2022.

The US network — linked to individuals associated with the US military — operated across many internet services and focused on Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

24.11.2022 - 10:41 [ theHill.com ]

Meta links phony accounts to people ‘associated with the US military’

It marks a rare instance of the Silicon Valley-based company tying an influence campaign to the U.S. rather than a foreign nation.

Meta said that the people behind the operation “attempted to conceal their identities,” but the company’s investigation “found links to individuals associated with the US military.”

20.08.2022 - 21:03 [ Reuters ]

At least 12 killed as Somalia hotel siege enters second day

(today)

At least 12 people were killed when al Qaeda-linked militants attacked a hotel in Somalia‘s capital Mogadishu, seizing hostages who authorities were still battling to free 24 hours later, an intelligence officer said on Saturday.

20.08.2022 - 21:00 [ Fox News ]

Biden approves sending US Special Operations troops to Somalia

(May 18, 2022)

A senior U.S. defense official has confirmed to Fox News on Monday that President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of hundreds of Special Operations troops inside Somalia.

The decision comes alongside approval of a Pentagon request for standing authority to target about a dozen suspected leaders of the al-Shabab terrorist group that operates inside the east African country’s borders, the official said.

03.02.2022 - 17:34 [ theHill.com ]

US raid in Syria resulted in multiple deaths, including civilians, residents say

„U.S. Special Operations forces under the control of U.S. Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest Syria. The mission was successful. There were no U.S. casualties. More information will be provided as it becomes available,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement.

21.07.2021 - 19:35 [ theCanary.co/uk/ ]

Coronavirus data contractors engaged in dirty tricks and disinformation campaigns

(10.05.2020)

Palantir was co-founded in 2004 by Paypal owner and billionaire Peter Thiel. What the blog doesn’t reveal is that Palantir’s client list has included amomgst others, the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, the Centre for Disease Control, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, Special Operations Command, West Point and the IRS.

Furthermore, in 2016, it was revealed Palantir had a $34.6m contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and helped the Customs and Border Protection Agency create the Analytical Framework for Intelligence (AFI) system to track immigrants.

Nor does the blog mention that Palantir worked for UK intelligence and was awarded contracts to handle vast data sets on UK citizens for British spy agency GCHQ.

16.06.2021 - 09:33 [ i24news.tv ]

IDF chief Kohavi to make postponed Washington trip; discuss Gaza, Iran

Kohavi was initially set to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, head of the US Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., and head of the US Special Operations Command Gen. Richard D. Clark, according to The Jerusalem Post.

10.01.2021 - 14:23 [ theCanary.co ]

Coronavirus data contractors engaged in dirty tricks and disinformation campaigns

(10.05.2020)

Palantir was co-founded in 2004 by Paypal owner and billionaire Peter Thiel. What the blog doesn’t reveal is that Palantir’s client list has included amomgst others, the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, the Centre for Disease Control, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, Special Operations Command, West Point and the IRS.

Furthermore, in 2016, it was revealed Palantir had a $34.6m contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and helped the Customs and Border Protection Agency create the Analytical Framework for Intelligence (AFI) system to track immigrants.

Nor does the blog mention that Palantir worked for UK intelligence and was awarded contracts to handle vast data sets on UK citizens for British spy agency GCHQ.

19.12.2020 - 11:07 [ theIntercept.com ]

The CIA’s Afghan Death Squads

While CIA officers run the operations, most of the ground support during strike force unit missions, including the control of air power, is provided by fighters loaned out by Joint Special Operations Command. Variations on this arrangement have been used by the CIA since the Church Committee clamped down on agency excesses at home and abroad in 1975. Originally dubbed “Omega” in Afghanistan, the program temporarily strips special forces of their regular military designation — a process known as “sheep-dipping”— and places them under CIA command. This enables the CIA to circumvent the restrictions placed on fighters who ordinarily operate under regular wartime Title 10 authority, placing them instead under the agency’s Title 50 authority for covert actions.

30.11.2020 - 22:47 [ Anthony Chimente, @durham_uni / Twitter ]

No, you need to read the NYT article stating Trump wanted to use military force against Iran but the pentagon military/ some@civilian leadership balked. Now he can use SOCOM/JSOC to strike Iran without the consent of Pentagon military leadership.

(18.11.2020)

30.11.2020 - 22:45 [ Lara Seligman, Covering the Pentagon for @POLITICO / Twitter ]

Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, himself a former Green Beret, announces that he has directed the Special Operations civilian leadership to report directly to the SecDef. This puts Special Operations command „on par with the military services for the first time.“

(18.11.2020)

01.07.2020 - 09:07 [ ZDF ]

KSK: Was wird da aufgelöst?

Ein 55-seitiger Bericht, der ZDFheute vorliegt, sieht 60 Empfehlungen vor. Darunter:

– Internationale Kooperationen werden bis auf weiteres eingestellt und „soweit möglich, von anderen Einheiten übernommen“.

– Die Ausbildung von KSK-Soldaten soll künftig ins Heer eingegliedert werden. Damit soll wohl verhindert werden, dass angehende Elite-Soldaten zu sehr abgeschottet werden.

– Schlüsselpositionen für Offiziere und Feldwebel sollen zeitlich begrenzt werden.

02.06.2020 - 22:39 [ Tony Thomas, 11th Commander of US SOCOM / Twitter ]

The “battle space” of America??? Not what America needs to hear…ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure…ie a Civil War…

07.03.2020 - 20:46 [ Radio Utopie ]

Blackwater: Globaler Konzern-Geheimdienst „Total Intel“ ausser Kontrolle

(3. November 2007)

Die Gewalten der Gewaltenteilung innerhalb einer Demokratie (ob jetzt konstitutionelle Monarchien wie Grossbritannien, Dänemark, Niederlande, Dänemark, Schweden, Norwegen, Spanien, usw oder Republiken wie z.B. Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Schweiz, Österreich) funktionieren nicht von alleine.
Man muss sie dazu zwingen. Man muss sie dazu ZWINGEN. Man muss die Justiz, die Parlamente und die Regierungen in den Dreck ziehen, man muss auf ihnen rumtrampeln, man muss sie fertig machen bis sie nicht mehr zappeln und dann muss man sie verhören. Und dann blossstellen. Und dann abwählen und ersetzen.
Das ist unser Job. Das müssen wir machen, die Last Journalists Standing, die unabhängigen Medien, der öffentliche Geheimdienst.
Machen wir diesen Job richtig.

08.12.2019 - 17:53 [ Consortium News ]

Moral Injury & America’s Endless Conflicts

PTSD symptoms are a psychological reaction to an experience of life-threatening physical danger or harm. Moral injury is the lasting mental and emotional result of an assault on the conscience — a memory, as one early formulation put it, of “perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.”

The idea remains controversial in the military world, but the wars that Americans have fought since 2001 — involving a very different experience of war fighting from that of past generations — have made it increasingly difficult for military culture to cling to its old manhood and warrior myths.

02.12.2019 - 19:57 [ Radio Utopie ]

Eine absehbare Eskalation

(6. Juni 2017)

Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass spätestens im Zuge dieses so „überraschenden“ Umzuges der Bundeswehr über Europol der Datentausch deutscher Polizeidienststellen mit den Todesschwadronen des Joint Special Operations Command und deren in Jordanien basierter Operation „Gallant Phoenix“ beginnt, von der die Bundesregierung im Mai noch sagte, sie würde sie „prüfen“ bzw gar nichts sagte. Der Datentauschring würde in Deutschland alle Landeskriminalämter, das Bundeskriminalamt, und damit über weitere Datentauschpraktiken praktisch alle Polizeibehörden und Regierungsbehörden in Deutschland umfassen, natürlich auch den Bundesnachrichtendienst, und sich über die weiteren Hierarchien wie Europol und das Pentagon mindestens über den Einflussbereich von U.S.-Europakommando (bzw „Europäischer Union“) und U.S.-Zentralkommando erstrecken.

Bereits im Frühjahr 2016 hatte die U.S.-Regierung das deutsche Militär zum Vorsprechen bei der Merkel-Gabriel-Regierung geschickt, um dieser anzubieten die Bundeswehr an „einer kleinen militärischen Einheit“ zu beteiligen“, zur „Beobachtung ausländischer Dschihadisten“.

Im November 2016 hatte die U.S.-Regierung unter Barack Obama über die „Washington Post“ verkündet, die „Eliteeinheit“ J.S.O.C. agiere nun offiziell global und werde vom Schlaginstrument regionaler Militärkommandos gegen „hochrangige Ziele“ dahingehend aufgewertet eine

„eine neue multibehördliche Geheimdienst- und Handlungsstreitmacht zu führen“.

02.12.2019 - 19:42 [ CryingWolf57 / Youtube ]

Jeremy Scahill on Democracy Now! – Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield [Both parts in one]

23/04/2013 & 24/04/2013 | http://dirtywars.org/ | Jeremy Scahill, author of the new book, „Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield,“ charts the expanding covert wars operated by the CIA and JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command. The book is based on years of reporting on U.S. secret operations in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Obama administration‘s assassination of two U.S. citizens in 2011, Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old Denver-born son Abdulrahman, is a central part of Scahill‘s book. While the Obama administration has defended the killing of Anwar, it has never publicly explained why Abdulrahman was targeted in a separate drone strike two weeks later.

02.12.2019 - 19:30 [ El Pais ]

WAR IN SYRIA: Spain helping US identify European jihadists in Syria

(04.03.2019)

Spanish agents in Syria are cooperating with Operation Gallant Phoenix, a U.S.-led effort to identify fighters from Western nations who have joined Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups in the region, counter-terrorism sources told EL PAÍS.

02.12.2019 - 19:27 [ Scoop.co.nz ]

NZ confirms ongoing part in Operation Gallant Phoenix

(10.06.2019)

“New Zealand began participating in Operation Gallant Phoenix in late 2014 in support of our efforts to uncover information relating to the location of a New Zealander taken hostage by ISIS,” Jacinda Ardern said.

02.12.2019 - 19:24 [ GIASP ‏/ Twitter ]

#Breaking #Israel is taking part in a multi-national #intelligence force: Operation Gallant Phoenix, based in the #Jordan capital, alongside Arab powers #SaudiArabia #Egypt and #UAE in order to quash #ISIS #Daesh working alongside #US #UK #France #Italy

(10.06.2019)

02.12.2019 - 19:17 [ Florian Flade ‏/ Twitter ]

Exklusiv: Operation „Gallant Phoenix“ – @BKA soll sich an Anti-Terror-Projekt in #Jordanien beteiligen. Es geht um Zugänge zu Informationen über IS-Terroristen, die in deutsche Strafverfahren verwendet werden sollen. Mehr @tagesschau #WDRNDRSZ #BKA

19.10.2019 - 11:06 [ Disappointed from NY ‏/ Twitter ]

This Retired Admiral William McRaven was the Head of SOCOM in Benghazi. He loves Hillary. Of course he doesn‘t like Trump. This wacko is a Warmonger just like Hillary is.

19.10.2019 - 10:25 [ Daily Mail ]

Pentagon DELETES files about Osama bin Laden raid after transferring them to CIA where they can‘t be made public

(08.07.2013)

– Military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden‘s hideout have been purged from Pentagon computers
– Associated Press requested information on the raid some 20 times in 2011 but requests were rejected
– A line in an inspector general‘s draft report states the files were purged from the defense department to another government department to prevent certain information about the raid being made public
– The sentence was removed from the final report released weeks ago

19.10.2019 - 10:00 [ Radio Utopie ]

Admiral William McRaven: der Letzte der Viererbande

(17.11.2013)

Auf dem U.S.-Luftwaffenstützpunkt McDill Air Force Base in Tampa in Florida residiert noch unangefochten der Herrscher über die grösste geheime internationale Schattenarmee – mächtiger als der U.S.-Präsident als Oberkommandierender der U.S.-Streitkräfte mitsamt seinem Verteidigungsminister – wo er seine Befugnisse unkontrollierbar immer weiter ausbaut.

19.10.2019 - 09:48 [ New York Times ]

The Admiral vs. the President

An Op-Ed by a retired admiral strongly criticizing President Trump brought a reader to tears, “when contrasted so starkly with the dishonor and hubris emanating from the White House.”

19.10.2019 - 09:44 [ ABC News ]

Former Navy SEAL commander William McRaven says US under attack from Trump

“The America that they believed in was under attack, not from without, but from within,” Adm. William H. McRaven, who led the U.S. Special Operations Command before retiring, wrote in the New York Times Thursday describing the mood at two functions he attended in the span of a week — one at an Army change of command ceremony and the other a gala honoring members of the intelligence and Special Operations communities.

Recalling a conversation he had while attending a ceremony at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, McRaven wrote, “one retired four-star general, grabbed my arm, shook me and shouted, ‘I don’t like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!’”

21.06.2019 - 21:24 [ Maleshov ‏/ Twitter ]

USAF SOCOM C146 Wolfhound 11-3016 MAGMA11 over Persian Gulf now flight from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi

21.06.2019 - 08:12 [ Tulsi Gabbard, candidate for President / Twitter ]

.@realDonaldTrump Your Iran strategy has been ill-advised and short-sighted. Change course now. Return to the Iran nuclear agreement before it’s too late. Put aside your pride and political calculations for the good of our country. Do the right thing.

21.06.2019 - 06:03 [ New York Times ]

Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back

It was not clear whether Mr. Trump simply changed his mind on the strikes or whether the administration altered course because of logistics or strategy. It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward.

Asked about the plans for a strike and the decision to hold back, the White House declined to comment, as did Pentagon officials. No government officials asked The New York Times to withhold the article.

21.06.2019 - 05:57 [ Haaretz ]

Report: Trump Approved Military Strikes Against Iran but Pulled Back After Planes Were in Air

U.S. President Donald Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing of American global hawk drone but pulled back after planes were in the air and ships were in position, according to a report by the New York Times citing administration officials.

The report claimed the order to halt attacks on Iranian radar and missile batteries came after intense debate at the White House among top security officials and congressional leaders.

21.06.2019 - 05:44 [ New York Times ]

Want War With Iran? Ask Congress First

From the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898 to the U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, maritime incidents, shrouded in the fog of uncertainty, have lured the United States into wars on foreign shoals. Which is why cooler heads must prevail — and Congress must be consulted — as American and Iranian forces inch closer to open conflict in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

21.06.2019 - 05:34 [ taskandpurpose.com ]

‚We are there to deter aggression‘ — Pompeo addressed CENTCOM on Iran mere moments before Shanahan announced his departure

(19.06.2019)

Pompeo, who arrived in Tampa on Monday, met with Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. and Army Gen. Richard Clarke, commanders of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command respectively, to align the Government‘s efforts in the Middle East, according to Central Command.

The meeting focused on deterrence plans against Iran after U.S. officials blamed the country for two recent oil tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.

07.06.2019 - 17:45 [ Matthias Monroy ]

Biometric data exchange with the US military: Europol seconds liaison officer for Operation Gallant Phoenix

(21.04.2017)

According to an EU Council document, the EU police agency Europol intends to process fingerprints and DNA traces in The Hague that are processed by the US military in war zones. This data is being exchanged in the context of Operation Gallant Phoenix, which is an intelligence project spearheaded by the US military that according to media reports, is based in Jordan. US intelligence services are also involved in this undertaking. Operation Gallant Phoenix is being coordinated by the United States Joint Special Operations Command, which commands the special units of all branches of the US military.

Alongside Operation Gallant Phoenix, the US Government has offered to set up a database on “foreign fighters” for a number of EU member states and to compare this information with the biometric data of incoming refugees.

07.06.2019 - 17:37 [ Tagessschau.de ]

Ausländerzentralregister: Ein Datenmoloch außer Kontrolle?

Eine einzige Kennziffer soll dabei sicherstellen, dass alle Daten sofort verfügbar sind – was der Rechtsprechung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts widerspricht. Im Ergebnis würden sogar Geheimdienste mit einem Klick Zugriff auf medizinische Atteste und Schulabschlüsse bekommen – selbst von Kindern, die zukünftig auch schon mit Fingerabdrücken erkennungsdienstlich erfasst werden sollen.

07.06.2019 - 17:30 [ Bericht aus Berlin / Twitter ]

„Man muss Gesetze kompliziert machen.“ Bundesinnenminister @der_Seehofer erklärt, wie man bei Gesetzen Widerspruch umgeht. Im Bundestag wird morgen mit dem #Migrationspaket auch über sein Datenaustauschgesetz abgestimmt. #KongressWehrhafteDemokratie

(06.06.2019)

22.02.2019 - 10:27 [ Devex.com ]

USAID mulls proposal to train aid workers as special forces

(19.2.2019) In order to gauge potential interest in the idea of RED Teams, the study’s authors consulted with representatives from a variety of military and civilian agencies where development officers might be embedded — including the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team Six.

RED Team officers, the report explains, would carry out development activities, but they would also have training and expertise that are not typically included in USAID job requirements.