WORLD AT WAR: 5.2.16 - EMP alert: 2 N. Korean satellites now orbit over U.S.

EMP alert: 2 N. Korean satellites now orbit over U.S. - F. Michael Maloof -

http://www.wnd.com/2016/04/emp-alert-2-n-korean-satellites-now-orbit-over-u-s/

 

'The threat continues to race, hare-like, at an alarming rate'

 

North Korea now has two satellites orbiting over the United States capable of performing a surprise electromagnetic pulse attack at an altitude and trajectory that evade U.S. National Missile Defenses, a national security expert warned in an interview with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

 

Peter Vincent Pry told G2 Bulletin that the satellites can be commanded either to deorbit and hit a target on the ground or explode at a high altitude to create an EMP effect that would knock out the unprotected U.S. national electrical grid system and all life-sustaining critical infrastructures that depend on it.

 

"The threat," Pry said, "continues to race, hare-like, at an alarming rate, compared to the tortoise pace of our preparations."

 

The satellites - KMS 3-2 and KMS 4 - are orbiting at an altitude of 300 miles, with trajectories that put them daily over the U.S. KMS 3-2 was launched in December 2012 and KMS 4 was launched Feb. 7.

 

At such an altitude, an EMP could impact much of the continental United States, according to EMP experts.

 

Pry is executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, both congressional advisory boards. He also served on the congressionally mandated EMP commission and as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency.

 

Pry said that while the U.S. is aware of the satellites, it is unable to determine their payloads. The federal government hasn't commented as much on the satellites as it has on North Korea's ability to launch a missile capable of reaching the U.S.

 

The development comes at the same time North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his rocket forces to prepare for a nuclear attack on the U.S. The communist regime has released videos depicting nuclear attacks on Washington and New York City.

 

North Korea, meanwhile, is preparing for its fourth underground nuclear detonation. Pry said it's really a hydrogen bomb with a purposefully low yield designed to emit more gamma rays for an EMP effect rather than for physical destruction on the ground.

 

'Biggest existential threat'

 

Pry spoke to G2 Bulletin after his recent testimony to Canada's Security and Defense Committee on the "biggest existential threat that our civilization faces right now," an EMP attack.

 

He said, however, that the fix is relatively simple and inexpensive.

 

China and Russia, along with North Korea, already possess the ability to launch an EMP attack that could shut down indefinitely such life-sustaining critical infrastructures as communications, transportation, finance, the delivery of water and food, sanitation, medical equipment, emergency services, and oil and natural gas pipelines.

 

 

GCC leaders reject Obama's Middle East policy - http://www.debka.com/article/25385/GCC-leaders-reject-Obama's-Middle-East-policy

 

debkafile's intelligence sources and its sources in the Gulf report exclusively that US President Barack Obama failed to convince the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states, during their April 22 summit in Riyadh, to support his Middle East policy and cooperate with Washington.

 

 Our sources also report that Saudi Arabia, with Turkey's help, and the US carried out separate military operations several hours before the start of the summit that showed the extent of their differences.

 

 The US on Thursday started to use its giant B-52 bombers against ISIS in an attempt to show Gulf leaders that it is determined to quash the terrorist organization's threat to Gulf states. The bombers deployed at Qatar's Al Udeid airbase attacked targets around Mosul in northern Iraq, but the targets were not identified.

 

 Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which recently established a bloc along with Egypt and Jordan to oppose Obama's Middle East policy, started to infiltrate a force of 3,500 rebels back into Syria.

 

 The force has been trained and financed by the Saudis at special camps in Turkey and Jordan. Members of the force are now fighting alongside other rebels north of Aleppo, but they are being bombed heavily by the Russian and Syrian air forces.

 

 Riyadh sent the rebels into Syria to demonstrate to Obama that the Saudi royal family opposes the policy of diplomatic and military cooperation between the US and Russia regarding Syria that enables President Bashar Assad to remain in power in Damascus.

 

 Since the war in Syria began in 2011, Obama has promised countless times that Washington would train and arm Syrian rebel forces outside the country, and then deploy them in Syria in order to strengthen rebel forces.

 

 However, it has not done so except for one instance in 2015. The US infiltrated a small force consisting of no more than several dozen fighters, but it was destroyed by the Nusra Front, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, shortly after it crossed the border. The terrorist group had apparently been tipped off about the arrival of the pro-American force.

 

 All of Washington's efforts to recruit and train Syrian fighters, which have cost close to $1 billion, have failed.

 

debkafile's sources report exclusively that the leaders of the six GCC member states put their previous differences aside and presented Obama with four requests aimed at building a new joint policy regarding the region. According to our sources, these requests were:

 

1. Action by Washington to strengthen the Sunni majority in Iraq and facilitate representation of the Sunnis in the central government in Baghdad. The Gulf rulers told Obama that his policy of trying to win the support of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is mistaken.

 

 They also pointed out reports by their intelligence services that al-Abadi is likely to be deposed and be replaced by a pro-Iranian prime minister in the near future.

 

 Obama rejected the request and said he refuses to change his Iraq policy.

 

2. Imposition of new US sanctions on Iran over its continuing ballistic missile tests.

 

 On April 19, several hours before Obama's departure for Riyadh, Iran carried out its latest act of defiance by attempting to launch a satellite into orbit using one of its "Simorgh" intercontinental ballistic missiles. The missile failed to leave the Earth's atmosphere, fell to earth and crashed along with the satellite.

 

 Obama turned down the Gulf leaders on new sanctions as well.

 

3. Provision of US-made F-35 fighter-bombers to Saudi Arabia and the UAE so they can take action against the Iranian missile threat. The US president declined the request.

 

4. Abandonment of Washington's cooperation with Russia and the UN for political solution in Syria, and instead cooperate with Gulf states and Turkey to end the war and depose President Bashar Assad. Obama refused.

 

In other words, the summit in Riyadh, Obama's final meeting with GCC leaders before he leaves the White House next January, ended without a single agreement.  

 

Islamic nations call emergency meeting on Golan Heights 'escalation' - By Raoul Wootliff -

http://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-nations-call-emergency-meeting-on-golan-heights-escalation/

 

Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss PM Netanyahu's recent pledge that contested territory will remain Israeli 'forever'

 

The world's largest body of Islamic nations has called for an emergency meeting over statements made last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would never relinquish control over the Golan Heights.

 

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation will meet Tuesday at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss "Israeli escalation against the occupied Syrian Golan," joining others in the region to express alarm over Netanyahu's declaration.

 

During a cabinet visit to the area last Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel does not oppose current efforts to reach a political agreement to end the Syrian civil war, but that Israel's boundary line with the country will not change, referring to Jerusalem's hold on the plateau.

 

"I convened this celebratory meeting in the Golan Heights to send a clear message: The Golan will always remain in Israel's hands. Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights," he declared.

 

In a statement released Sunday, the 57-member OIC called the comments "provoking acts" and said they considered them "a serious escalation and flagrant violation of the Resolutions of international legitimacy and International Law."

 

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War from Syria and effectiverly annexed it in 1981.

 

The international community never accepted Israel's annexation, and Israeli leaders see in the turmoil in Syria a chance to convince the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.

 

The OIC announcement follows a similar meeting of the Arab League on the issue last Thursday during which Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi called for a special criminal court to be set up for Israel.

 

The US, Germany, Syria and others all either condemned or said they opposed Netanyahu's stance.

 

The OIC held its annual summit earlier this month, focusing on the Palestinian cause, conflicts in member states and combating terrorism.

 

During the summit the OIC passed a resolution on the Palestinian issue and support for international efforts to relaunch a "collective political process.

 

 

 US 'incapable' of attacking us - By Ari Yashar -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211356#.VxzmG4-cE2x

 

Navy Commander says US doesn't have 'capability' to attack Iran, and if it did it would be critically damaged, echoing Khamenei's bravado.

 

The Iranian Navy Commander on Sunday said that the United States, which possesses the most powerful military in the world, doesn't have the "capability" to attack Iran, in the latest escalation of hostility from Tehran since the controversial nuclear deal last July.

 

Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, was quoted by the Iranian Fars News Agency making the bombastic statement at a ceremony in the central Iranian city of Yazd.

 

"The US doesn't have the capability to launch a military attack against Iran and knows that in such a case, the damage and blows that it will have to sustain will be way beyond its merits and gains," claimed Fadavi.

 

Referencing the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, he said, "now, 26 years after the Iraqi-imposed war, the US is aware that it cannot launch an offensive against the Islamic Iran and is sure that the Iranians enjoy very high power and capability to confront it."

 

Fadavi's remarks were not the lone comments of a naval commander, but rather echoed the statements of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from last Wednesday.

 

Addressing the Iranian Students' Islamic Association in Tehran, Khamenei said, "sometimes, they (the US) threaten us with war and bombing, but these statements are nonsense overstatement since they aren't prepared and don't dare to do so and if, possibly, they embark on such an act, they will receive a slap in the face and a crushing response."

 

He said there is a "soft war" being waged against Iran, claiming, "now a comprehensive and creeping soft war is underway on the youth between the Islamic Republic of Iran on one hand and the US, the Zionists and their followers on the other hand."

 

US Representatives are working to stop US President Barack Obama from lifting sanctions on Iran, noting on Iran's open hostility and how it continues to be the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Israel worries about Isil terrorists on northern border, within 20 miles of town of Safed - Inna Lazareva - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/28/israel-worries-about-isil-terrorists-on-northern-border-within-2/

 

Israel is increasingly concerned about the presence of Isil terrorists on its north-eastern border in the occupied Golan Heights - only 20 miles from the town of Safed.

 

The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade has declared allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-styled "caliph" of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). This group has between 600 and 1,000 fighters within striking range of Israel.

 

They are located in the southern Syrian Golan Heights, near the triangle where the Israeli, Jordanian and Syrian borders meet. "We are observing and watching them to make sure there are no surprises," said Major Arye Sharuz Shalicar, an Israeli military spokesman.

 

One kibbutz is located only two miles from the area where the group's fighters are said to be stationed; the town of Safed, with a population of 27,000, is only 20 miles away.

 

Israeli defense officials are worried that this Isil unit may have acquired poisonous gas from Bashar al-Assad's regime. If the group approaches an "experimental or operational capability with chemical weapons," then Israel will take action, according to anonymous officials quoted by Channel 10 television.

 

"Israel will not stand by and watch," said one senior military official. "We will take appropriate action in order to thwart such activities."

 

While the Yarmouk Brigade is located in the southern Golan Heights, Major Shalicar said that dozens of other hostile groups were active elsewhere in the Golan. "One of the northern front commanders calls them '50 shades of black'," added Major Shalicar. "Most of them have some Islamic radical worldview."

 

"We're not naive that this or that group may sooner or later try its luck. Both radical Sunni and radical Shia groups have declared that their next step is Israel."

 

In among the radical Sunni groups is the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, which also operates in southern Syria. At present, Hezbollah fighters are "obsessively" monitoring Israeli soldiers from across the border, perhaps in preparation for another conflict.

 

"Right now, they're up to their necks in the war in Syria, but we still see them walking around" and scouting the Israeli positions in a way that was "reminiscent of what they did before the second Lebanon war," said  Colonel Eliav Elbaz, a military official.

 

The 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 claimed the lives of over 1,000 Lebanese and 160 Israelis.

 

Italian-British force ambushed by IS in Libya - http://www.debka.com/article/25391/Italian-British-force-ambushed-by-IS-in-Libya-

 

ISIS fighters smashed a force of Italian and British Special Ops troops on Wednesday, April 27 in the first battle of its kind in Libya, debkafile's military and intelligence sources report. This battle will result in the delay of the planned Western invasion of Libya, as the encounter proved that European forces are not ready for this kind of guerilla warfare. The sources also said the planners of the invasion were surprised by the high combat skills of the ISIS fighters.

 

 Our sources report the following details:

 

 The convoy of Italian marines, British special forces and Libyan troops was traveling from the northwestern city of Misrata toward the ISIS stronghold of Sirte, located 273 kilometers to the southeast, when it was ambushed and hit hard by ISIS forces.

 

 Italian troops were among those killed or wounded in the battle, but there is no information whether there were British casualties as well. Some reports say members of the Western force were taken prisoner by ISIS, although they have yet to be identified. It is possible that any hostages are from the Libyan National Army, a militia commanded by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan who has American citizenship.

 

 A joint command consisting of officers from Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the US that is responsible for planning the invasion of Libya, as well as the Italian and British defense ministries, imposed a media blackout regarding the battle.

 

 On Monday, two days before the clash, the joint command convened in the German city of Hanover and decided to speed up preparations for the invasion due to deteriorating security in Libya.

 

 According to the information from debkafile's sources, vehicles packed with explosives drove up alongside the convoy transporting the Italian and British troops and blew themselves up. Suicide bombers then charged the force as other ISIS fighters shelled the convoy with mortars and strafed it with heavy machine gunfire. The Western force was only able to escape after Italian and French warplanes and attack helicopters intervened.

 

 Just last week, on April 22, Italy's 1st Special Operations Air Brigade completed a 19-day exercise at the country's Cervia airbase. It included simulated battles against ISIS forces from Libya that landed on the coast to attack strategic Italian facilities from just 200km away.

 

debkafile's military sources point out that the ISIS method of attack used in Wednesday's ambush was very similar to the one used by the terrorist organization's affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula against Egyptian forces. The method includes car bombs, suicide bombers, roadside bombs and heavy artillery.

 

 Our sources also report that one day after the battle, on April 28, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said at the parliament in Rome that "Italy has no plans to send troops to Libya without a request from the unity government that is backed by the UN,"

 

 He made the remarks after one of the country's main newspapers, Corriere della Sera, reported that Rome is ready to deploy a force of between 600 and 900 troops to Libya to protect the country's oil fields and installations.

 

 However, European military sources say that a much larger Italian force of 6,000 troops is about to arrive in Libya along with 1,000 British troops, according to debkafile's military sources.

 

 The US, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, spoke at a hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. They claimed US-backed forces had made progress in the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but committee members were skeptical. Neither Carter nor Dunford said a word about the events in Libya.   

 

 

Iran looks to deploy Hamas in the battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS - http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Report-Iran-to-deploy-Hamas-in-the-battle-for-the-liberation-of-Mosul-from-ISIS-452253

 

According to the report, Hamas forces would fight for Mosul's liberation alongside Hezbollah fighters and the Shi'ite Houthi militias which are currently struggling in Yemen.

 

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards plan to deploy Hamas forces in the battle for Iraq's second biggest city, Mosul, which has been controlled by ISIS since June 2014, the London-based Arab daily a-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday.

 

According to the report, Hamas forces would fight for Mosul's liberation alongside Hezbollah fighters and the Shi'ite Houthi militias which are currently struggling in Yemen against the Sunni coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia.

 

Located in northern Iraq, Mosul is a cultural heritage asset for Iran, due to the slew of holy Shi'ite sites located in the city, such as al-Qubba al-Husseniya mosque, which was demolished by ISIS in June 2014.

 

According to the report, Iran also intends to use Hamas in order to liberate the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which has been under Kurdish control since June, and destabilize the Kurdistan region. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are planning to deploy forces affiliated with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Kirkuk, from which they would gradually advance toward Kurdistan.

 

Iran strives to destabilize Iraqi Kurdistan because it views the Kurdistan Regional Government, headed by President Masood Barzani, as a grave threat to its clout in its neighbor, Iraq.

 

A Peshmerga commander told a-Sharq al-Awsat that in the past few days, Hezbollah forces joined the local Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Units in south Kirkuk carrying heavy weapons and missiles. He explained that Iran aims at capturing Mosul and Kirkuk in order to open a route to smuggle weapons and soldiers to Syria and Lebanon.

 

Iran's reported plans regarding Hamas are ambitious and would have to overcome the Palestinian organization's position of neutrality in regard to the regional conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

 

 

Hezbollah gearing up for war, just like in 2006 - http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-commander-hezbollah-preparing-for-war-just-like-in-2006/

 

Eliav Elbaz says terror group 'obsessively' gathering intelligence, even though 'they're up to their necks' in Syria fighting

 

An IDF battalion commander stationed on Israel's border with Lebanon on Wednesday said the Hezbollah terror group's recent activity was "reminiscent of what they did before the Second Lebanon War."

 

In an interview with Channel 2, Lt. Col. Eliav Elbaz described how Hezbollah was "obsessively" monitoring Israeli soldiers from across the border.

 

"The other side is obsessively gathering [information] about everything happening here, everything our security forces [are doing]," Elbaz said.

 

"Right now they're up to their necks in the war in Syria, but we still see them walking around" and scouting the Israeli positions, he said. It's "reminiscent of what they did before the Second Lebanon War," he added.

 

The IDF officer said soldiers were training constantly and on high alert. "We are preparing for war. In the event of a war, they will have a lot more to lose," he warned.

 

In the summer of 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in Lebanon that killed about 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers, and nearly 1,200 Lebanese, including several hundred Hezbollah fighters, according to the Israeli army.

 

Hezbollah has deployed thousands of fighters to prop up the regime in Syria's civil war, and some analysts say that has limited its ability to carry out an attack against Israel.

 

Earlier this month, the IDF's deputy chief of staff said the Lebanese group's improving capabilities deeply concerned Israel. Major General Yair Golan said that could result in "full-scale war," including a harsh response from the Israeli military.

 

"Comparing that to anything we've experienced before, no doubt, this is the most severe threat we've ever experienced before," Golan said.

 

Of a possible future crisis, he said "we're not going to see small war in Lebanon. It's going to be decisive. It's going to be full-scale war."

 

 

Iran to bolster ballistic missile capabilities - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211574#.VyYW8I-cE2x

 

Islamic regime once again defies US and UN, looks to pursue even greater ballistic missile capabilities.

 

Defying calls by the US and United Nations to halt the development of ballistic missile systems, Iran's outgoing parliament approved a motion Sunday to increase the capabilities of the country's ballistic missiles, a military program that has been ruled dangerous by the United Nations.

 

Tehran considers the missile program an essential deterrent, citing the unprovoked attacks on its cities by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the nations' 1980-1988 war.

 

However the United States and other Western countries has said the Islamic republic's missiles threaten the Middle East, particularly Israel. Tehran's clerical rulers do not recognize the Jewish state.

 

The motion was passed by the lame duck conservative-dominated parliament one day after election results showed that reformists had beaten them in polls.

 

Lawmakers said measures must be taken "to develop and increase ballistic missile capability" and "short, medium and long range anti-aircraft capabilities."

 

The new parliament will be sworn in later this month.

 

The ballistic missile program was not covered by the controversial nuclear deal last summer between Iran and the United States and other leading powers under which economic sanctions were lifted in January.

 

Under that agreement, Tehran agreed to place curbs on its atomic program which the West accused Iran of using to develop a bomb.

 

However, the testing of ballistic missiles just months after the nuclear agreement was struck last year has shown the limited reach of the accord as well as highlighting that Iran and the United States remain foes.

 

The United States hit Iran with fresh sanctions on the missile program on January 17, just 24 hours after nuclear-related sanctions had been lifted under the deal with world powers.

 

Ballistic missile tests are considered a means for Iran's military to demonstrate that the nuclear agreement will have no impact on its domestic defense plans.

 

But a UN panel said in December that tests conducted two months earlier breached previous resolutions aimed at stopping Tehran from developing missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

 

Iran, citing fatwas by the Islamic republic's clerical rulers against pursuing atomic weapons, argues that its missiles would never be designed to carry the bomb.