U.S. MRAPs arrive in Egypt

The first shipment of U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles arrived in Egypt Thursday, under the Excess Defense Articles program, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said. Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy in Egypt
The first shipment of U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles arrived in Egypt Thursday, under the Excess Defense Articles program, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said. Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy in Egypt

CAIRO, May 12 (UPI) — The first shipment of U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles arrived in Egypt Thursday. The 762 armored vehicles were provided to the Egyptian military at no cost as part of the Pentagon’s Excess Defense Articles program, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Originally manufactured to protect U.S. droops in Iraq and Afghanistan from roadside bombs, the vehicles will now be used to combat terrorism in the region, the embassy said. The MRAP delivery constitutes the latest step involving military cooperation between the two countries, according to the embassy.

This photo shows the incredible firepower of the US-led coalition against ISIS

In the photo below, soldiers and airmen from the international coalition to thwart ISIS stand in front of some of the most powerful military aircraft in the world. From left to right, we see a U-2 spy plane, a KC-10 tanker, an F-15 Eagle, an F-18 jet in front of an E-3, a KC-30A tanker, an F-22 Raptor, and an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone.From left to right, we see a U-2 spy plane, a KC-10 tanker, an F-15 Eagle, an F-18 jet in front of an E-3, a KC-30A tanker, an F-22 Raptor, and an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone.
In the photo, soldiers and airmen from the international coalition to thwart ISIS stand in front of some of the most powerful military aircraft in the world. From left to right, we see a U-2 spy plane, a KC-10 tanker, an F-15 Eagle, an F-18 jet in front of an E-3, a KC-30A tanker, an F-22 Raptor, and an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. From left to right, we see a U-2 spy plane, a KC-10 tanker, an F-15 Eagle, an F-18 jet in front of an E-3, a KC-30A tanker, an F-22 Raptor, and an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone.

US-led coalition spokesman: ISIS suffering setback

Colonel Steve Warren, the US-led coalition’s Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman, said the recent attacks by militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) against the Kurdish Peshmerga front lines in northern Iraq last Tuesday that also killed one US serviceman, was to gain attention after suffering “several defeats in a row”.

“This enemy [ISIS] has been getting slapped around now by both the CTS, the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga for weeks,” Colonel Warren told a press conference on Wednesday. “They’re being pressured, their noses have been bloodied and they’ve continued to become battered around Makhmur.  They were out of Bashir [village] by the Peshmerga,” he added.

“It’s an area [Bashir] that they used to launch indirect fire attacks against Kirkuk, it’s an area that they used to launch chemical weapons attacks against Taza that killed three children several months ago and the Peshmerga came in and took it away from them, unceremoniously took it away from them in a relatively quick fight.  It took about 24 hours,” he said.

“This enemy has suffered a string of recent defeats.  They were kicked out of Hiit, they’ve been cleared out of the roadway between Hiit and Dulab, they’re being pressured into Dulab,” Warren stated.

“So this enemy has suffered a string of defeats recently, and one of the things that we’ve noticed that what ISIL [ISIS] likes to do is when they have suffered several defeats in a row, when they’re back on their heels, often they will try one of these more high-profile, high-visibility attacks in an effort to gain some attention,” he said.

“This enemy wanted to stage a relatively high-profile, high-visibility attack that would distract peoples’ attention away from the beatdown that they’ve been taking everywhere else.  Luckily for us, it won’t work,” he said, suggesting that ISIS is on the back foot, and that the latest attacks have no “lasting operational value to this enemy”.

The US-led coalition spokesperson also referred to the ISIS-led complex attack on December 16, 2015, near the town of Tal Aswad against Kurdish Peshmerga forces, that included hundreds of ISIS fighters and several VBIEDs.

“It was, we believe, in reaction to the fact that they were in the process of losing Ramadi.  What this enemy likes to do is when they’re — when they’re taking a beatdown, they like to try and stage some noticeable event that would distract the press, particularly the Western press who are very vulnerable to distraction in their view,” he stated.

Moreover, Warren said that when ISIS suffers setbacks, it carries out attacks on civilians in other parts of the world. In November, when the Kurdish forces took Sinjar, the ISIS operatives attacked Paris.

“We also know that when this enemy is on its heels, when it’s suffered several setbacks, they’re likely to try and lash out, you know, through terror attacks, perhaps in Baghdad, perhaps elsewhere in Syria, perhaps elsewhere in the world,” the coalition spokesperson added.

Why Senegal is a Fitting Partner for the U.S. in Defending West Africa

Soldiers parade during the closing ceremony of a joint military exercise between African, U.S. and European troops in Saint Louis, Senegal, February 29. The U.S. has signed an agreement increasing access to facilities in the West African country.
Soldiers parade during the closing ceremony of a joint military exercise between African, U.S. and European troops in Saint Louis, Senegal, February 29. The U.S. has signed an agreement increasing access to facilities in the West African country.

By John Campbell/Newsweek

Emblematic of the growing U.S. defense presence in West Africa is a new defense cooperation agreement signed on May 2 with Senegal. According to the low-key report carried by Associated Press (AP), the agreement improves access for the U.S. military to Senegal should they need to deploy in the event of a security or humanitarian crisis. In Dakar, U.S. Ambassador James Zumwalt said, “With this agreement, the United States military and the Senegalese military can plan better together, accomplish more with joint training, and better prepare to respond in concert to risks to our shared interests.”

According to AP, this new agreement updates another that dates from 2001. It provides U.S. access to certain facilities in Senegal and authorizes U.S. forces to make certain physical improvements, as necessary.

There has long been low-key military cooperation between Senegal and the U.S. With respect to democracy, Senegal is an African success story, with credible elections through which the opposition came to power. An overwhelmingly Muslim nation, Senegal is known for its religious tolerance; its first president, one of the 20thcentury’s most celebrated intellectuals, Leopold Senghor, was a Christian. Senegal also is a center for a network of Muslim Sufi brotherhoods that stretch from Dakar to Khartoum. West African Sufi Islam is known for its mysticism, its cult of the saints and its religious tolerance. It is anathema to the radical, jihadist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria. Dakar has shown concern about possible penetration by jihadist Islam. Senegal is one of the majority-Muslim West African countries considering the banning of the burqa, the veiling that hides the face of a Muslim woman, that has been used by suicide bombers to hide in crowds. It has already been banned in Chad and according to London’s Daily Telegraph, there is little opposition to its banning in Senegal.

Defense cooperation agreements between the United States and West African countries are not rare; there are more than 60. In terms of political and social developments, Senegal would appear to be a particularly appropriate partner for Washington in the region.

John Campbell is the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Exclusive: U.S. seeks to approve attack aircraft for Nigeria in Boko Haram fight

Nigerian soldiers hold up a Boko Haram flag that they had seized in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Emmanuel Braun
Nigerian soldiers hold up a Boko Haram flag that they had seized in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Emmanuel Braun

The U.S. administration is seeking to approve a sale of as many as 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria to aid its battle against the extremist group Boko Haram, U.S. officials say, in a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the country’s corruption-tainted military.

Washington also is dedicating more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to the campaign against the Islamist militants in the region and plans to provide additional training to Nigerian infantry forces, the officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s plans.

The possible sale — which the officials said was favored within the U.S. administration but is subject to review by Congress — underscores the deepening U.S. involvement in helping governments in north and west Africa fight extremist groups.

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael Franken, a deputy commander of the Pentagon’s Africa Command, told a Washington forum last week that there now are 6,200 U.S. troops – most of them Special Operations Forces – operating from 26 locations on the continent.

The widening U.S. military cooperation is a political victory for Buhari, who took office last year pledging to crack down on the rampant corruption that has undermined the armed forces in Africa’s most populous country.

“The Buhari administration I think has really reenergized the bilateral relationship in a fundamental way,” one U.S. official said.

The previous Nigerian government of Goodluck Jonathan had scorned the United States for blocking arms sales partly because of human rights concerns. It also criticized Washington for failing to speed the sharing of intelligence.

The souring relations hit a low at the end of 2014 when U.S. military training of Nigerian forces was abruptly halted.

That is changing under Buhari, whose crackdown on corruption has led to a raft of charges against top national security officials in the previous government.

“Buhari made clear from the get-go that his number one priority was reforming the military to defeat Boko Haram … And he sees us as part of that solution,” a second U.S. official said.

Hobby Airport earns 4 stars in international airport ratings

Skytrax made special mention of Hobby’s free Wi-Fi service, deeming it among the best the rating organization has experienced at any airport — the terminal coverage includes parking garages and terminal aprons for boarding/arrival, and connection speeds are consistently good.
Skytrax made special mention of Hobby’s free Wi-Fi service, deeming it among the best the rating organization has experienced at any airport — the terminal coverage includes parking garages and terminal aprons for boarding/arrival, and connection speeds are consistently good.

HOUSTON — The stars are aligning for William P. Hobby Airport — all four of them, according to the latest ratings in a respected air travel review website.

Skytrax, recognized as a leading global air transport rating organization, gave Hobby Airport a 4-star rating for 2016, making it one of just three airports in the United States to earn a 4-star rating, while adding that “this is an airport with potential to build on the existing facilities to offer an experience that is truly special and closer to a 5-star quality level.”

“Hobby Airport truly is a jewel and for decades has played a vital role in the continued growth and success story here in Houston,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “Its future remains bright, thanks in part to the opening of the beautiful new international concourse facility last year, and now with this recognition of the airport’s level of commitment to excellence and service we are confident that Hobby Airport and the Houston Airport System will continue to soar into the future.”

World Airport Rating is the international airport quality ranking program operated by Skytrax. Ratings are determined through direct and professional analysis of industry quality standards. The Airport Star Ratings are recognized as a global benchmark of airport standards.

“One of our main goals is to provide customers at all of the Houston Airport System facilities with a 5-star experience, and these latest ratings show that our efforts and focus are on the right track,” said Mario Diaz, the Director of Aviation for the Houston Airport System. “We have made important strides in enhancing customer service, returning our assets to opening day fresh condition, and striving to provide the level of overall excellence that our customers deserve and demand.”

Hobby Airport achieved 4-star ratings across many of the core rating categories assessed by Skytrax, and most importantly is described as an “efficient” airport. Overall, Hobby received a four-star or better rating in 24 different categories.

The terminal design means walking distances are short and passenger movement to the gates and around the various terminal facilities is easy. While the airport is subject to the same TSA regulations as other U.S. airports, Skytrax found the timing and quality of processing is in fact a well-managed service area, particularly when assessed against other U.S. airports.

See complete listing of 4-star airports

See complete listing of 3-star airports

See complete listing of all airports and the ratings, in alphabetical order

Architecturally, the terminal design means the main departure areas benefit from lots of natural daylight. While this is generally a subconscious element of the customer experience, it has a positive impact on the overall airport rating. Skytrax also called out Hobby’s “impressive” public art program, and cited its Harmony in the Air performing arts program as a “fantastic added value” for customers.

Skytrax made special mention of Hobby’s free Wi-Fi service, deeming it among the best the rating organization has experienced at any airport — the terminal coverage includes parking garages and terminal aprons for boarding/arrival, and connection speeds are consistently good.

For an airport the size of Hobby, dining is a particularly strong point — the layout, selection and quality of the dining options is excellent and there is a strong focus on both national and local Texan brands.

In 2015, for the sixth straight year, Hobby Airport saw an increase in passenger traffic, eclipsing the 12 million mark for the first time. Over the course of the past decade, passenger totals at Hobby have increased by more than 50 percent, while the number of destinations available through nonstop flights has almost doubled, moving from about 30 to more than 60 cities. A large part of that continued growth was the opening of a new $156 million concourse, including a state-of-the-art Federal Inspection Facility to accommodate the return of international air service at Hobby Airport for the first time in nearly 50 years.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport maintained its 3-star status in 2016, but the audit report noted that “the actual customer experience is in fact meeting a 3.5-star quality level when the rating results are assessed across the broad spectrum of audit criteria,” and that several areas “meet (or exceed) 4-star standards.” It also noted that Bush Intercontinental “will be performing closer to a 4-star quality on completion of some the committed projects during 2016.”

First US-to-Cuba cruise ship in decades sets to sail

cuba cruise

Miami (AFP) – The first US cruise ship bound for Cuba in half a century set sail from Florida on Sunday, marking a new milestone in the rapprochement between Washington and Havana.

The Adonia, a vessel from the Carnival cruise’s Fathom line, raised its anchors and departed from Miami, the heart of the Cuban diaspora in the United States, around 4:00 pm (2000 GMT).

The ship — with 700 passengers aboard — is scheduled to glide into the port of Havana on Monday, its first stop on the communist-run island.

“To be a part of truly making history and preparing for an even more positive future for everyone is one of the greatest honors any company can have,” Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald said.

The voyage is the first of what Carnival says will become weeklong cruises to Cuba twice a month, with the goal of promoting cultural exchange between the two countries following a warming of ties that began in December 2014 and culminated last year with the restoration of full diplomatic ties.

“Fathom offers a truly historic opportunity for travel to Cuba: a chance to help build new bridges to a rich and vibrant culture that, until now, most US travelers have only seen in photographs,” the cruise ship’s web page says.

Uncertainty over whether the cruise would take place cleared up only last week, when the Cuban government under Raul Castro lifted restrictions for seaborne visits of Cubans to and from the United States, opening a door for Cuban-Americans born on the island to board the ships.

Carnival initially refused to accept reservations from such people because of Cuban restrictions first imposed when the island’s Communist regime feared landings by anti-Castro militants.

The cruise line’s policy prompted charges of discrimination amid a firestorm of criticism.

Carnival, the world’s leading tour ship operator, eventually relented and began to allow reservations from Cuban-born customers. But its conditions to start the visits were for Cuba to allow its citizens to sail freely.

Cuba ultimately backed down after intense negotiations as part of the normalization process, which culminated in President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba in March.

– ‘Always wanted to visit’ –

Lifting the restrictions only very recently limited the number of Cuban-born passengers on the cruise ship Sunday.

Among them was Isabel Buznego, 61, who left the island when she was five and was returning for the first time.

“My dad wanted to come because he had never been able to come, but he passed away,” she said. “So I’m coming in his name. That is why I have so many different emotions, but I am mostly happy.”

Another passenger, Regina Patterson, 58, from Delaware, said she wanted to travel on the cruise because it was historic.

“And it is a place I always wanted to visit,” she said of Cuba. “I want to see how they live, the music, what they eat, and shopping, shopping, shopping!”

Adonia has scheduled cultural activities in its ports of call in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, including meetings with artists, musicians and business owners, as well as dance classes and guided tours.

That is significant because full-scale regular US tourism to Cuba is still banned under the US trade embargo, which remains in force despite the diplomatic thaw.

For the time being, Americans can travel to communist Cuba only for cultural, academic, sports-related or religious events.

Carnival is the first cruise line company to win permission from both governments to offer trips, which ended after the Cuban revolution of 1959.

The cost of a ticket on the cruise ranges from $1,800 to $7,000 per person.

Regular flights from the United States to Cuba are expected to begin later this year.

With help, Africa targets coordinated fight against Boko Haram

Boko carnage

N’Djamena (AFP) – With US and European support, African states threatened by Boko Haram are out to smash the militant Islamist group terrorising the region — but a coordinated response is required if they are to succeed.

A regional offensive launched early last year against the group by Chad, and Nigeria under new President Muhammadu Buhari has seen Boko Haram driven out from numerous towns and villages that it controlled in northeastern Nigeria.

Two weeks ago, Nigeria’s military said it would raid the group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold on the Cameroon border. The group also has hideouts within nearby Lake Chad’s huge maze of small islands and swampland.

Despite losing some ground in recent months the insurgents retain the capacity to launch attacks almost at will, notably via suicide attacks which require few resources.

British NGO Action on Armed Violence said earlier this week that Boko Haram attacks claimed three times as many victims last year as in 2014.

The group started wreaking havoc in Nigeria in 2009 and according to World Bank estimates has killed around 20,000 people, also sowing chaos and fear inside neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

US and British troops will join the international coordination effort against the group, while Nigeria and France on Thursday signed an agreement on closer military cooperation, including intelligence sharing.

Nigerian Defence Minister Mansur Dan Ali saluted the deal as evidence of a “growing partnership” between Abuja and Paris.

An 8,500-strong multinational force has been drawn up to track the jihadists, but its deployment has been haphazard with little to indicate the extent of real progress.

Even so, the Nigerian general overseeing the force, Lamadi Adeosun, indicated Friday during a meeting with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian that “much has been done and is still being done to win the battle and ultimately win the peace”.

The Nigerian army is expected to launch an offensive in the coming days so as “to deny Boko Haram its traditional Sambisa sanctuary”, according to Chad military sources in the capital N’Djamena.

Such an offensive has been in the offing ever since Buhari took office a year ago but has yet to materialise.

– Imminent action –

“The idea is to be able to announce at the next Abuja summit (on May 14) that this sanctuary no longer exists. That is a military and also a political imperative,” says a source close to the president.

The summit will bring together leaders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — allied neighbours in the fight against Boko Haram — as well as French President Francois Hollande and representatives from Britain and the United States.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video late last month and “he still seems to be the leader and is hiding out in the Sambisa Forest,” according to a French military source.

The group is thought to number somewhere between 100,000 and 30,000. Its exact strength is hard to evaluate but the French source says that experienced fighters who have returned from Mali or Libya are no more than a small hard core.

The multinational force is preparing its own offensive along the border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger but time is of the essence with the rainy season approaching.

The multinational force, whose HQ is at N’Djamena although each nation’s contingent is under its own command, will have access to intelligence compiled by French and US drones and fighter planes — but communications, transport and logistics hardware are in short supply.

Coordination is paramount.

“If they are not coordinated they will never be able definitively to curtail Boko Haram,” a French military source warned.

General Adeosun says the international community should be doing more — red tape has held up 50 million euros ($55 million) of EU aid — and has asked for lifejackets and a consignment of flat-bottomed boats to take the fight to the enemy across the huge expanse of Lake Chad.

There are concerns Boko Haram may have received weapons via Libya from Islamic State through individual go-betweens, though Le Drian says that “for now we do not have proof of close links” between the jihadists.

On Saturday, Le Drian promised to do away with Boko Haram “barbarity” as he visited the Ivorian resort of Grand-Bassam, scene of a deadly March 13 attack blamed on an Al-Qaeda affiliate which killed 19.

“We are determined to fight together with the Ivory Coast authorities for our freedoms and against barbarity,” said Le Drian a day after pledging to lift the French troop contingent in the country from 600 to 900.

College Student, 21, Who Vanished After Saying She Was Taking An Uber is Found Safe

Monique Priester had last spoken with her mom about 6:15 p.m. Friday, when she told her that she was leaving GSU’s campus in Atlanta in a shared Uber.
Monique Priester had last spoken with her mom about 6:15 p.m. Friday, when she told her that she was leaving GSU’s campus in Atlanta in a shared Uber.

The 21-year-old college student who disappeared after telling her mother she was getting in an Uber cab has been found safe, officials said.

Monique Priester, from Georgia, was located Monday after last speaking with her mother three days earlier, a police spokeswoman with the Gwinnett County Police Department told InsideEdition.com.

An officer was able to make contact with Priester between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and confirmed the Georgia State University sophomore was in good health and had left on her own accord, authorities said.

At the request of Priester, police will not disclose her location. Officials could not say if Priester had been in an Uber.

She had last spoken with her mom about 6:15 p.m. Friday, when she told her that she was leaving GSU’s campus in Atlanta in a shared Uber.

Her worried mother told reporters that since then, her daughter’s phone had gone straight to voicemail and her bank account showed activity in Nashville, Tennessee, about 250 miles away from her school.

“I’m panicked,” Jaqueline Vanloo-Alkush told WSB-TV. “I’m hoping she’s safe.”

Uber said it would only be able to hand over ride records if the company were subpoenaed, but police said they had no reason to suspect foul play in Priester’s so-called disappearance.

“Immediately upon hearing from the family, we contacted local law enforcement to offer any assistance or information that could help them locate Ms. Priester and get her home safely,” an Uber spokesperson told InsideEdition.com before Priester was located.

After she was found, the Gwinnett County Police Department thanked Uber for their help.

“They were more than cooperative… before the investigator even had a chance to call Uber, they called us. We’re so grateful,” a spokeswoman with the police department told InsideEdition.com.

Top Clinton aide, Muslim congressman on newly released ISIS kill list

Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

ISIS has featured several prominent Western Muslims on a hit list in its terror magazine, including top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

The New York Post reported that the list, published in the latest edition of Dabiq, also includes Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and British politicians Sayeeda Warsi and Sajid Javid.

ISIS called the Muslims placed on the list “overt crusaders” and “politically active apostates,” who “involve themselves in the politics and enforcing laws of the kufr (or disbelievers).”

Glen Caplin, a Clinton spokesman, told The Post he had no comment about the ISIS hit list.

The terror group also celebrated last month’s Brussels bombings in its latest edition. The extremists warned “What is yet to come will be more devastating and more bitter by the permission of Allah, and Allah prevails.”

ISIS praised the brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui for blowing themselves up in the Belgian capital.

The magazine said the pair were responsible for “all preparations for the raids in Paris and Brussels.”The magazine also credited Najim Laachraoui as the bomb maker for both the Paris and Brussels attacks. He blew himself up at the Brussels aiport.

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