US Weighs Alliance with Iran to Counter ISIS, Boosts Presence in Gulf

FOX NEWS: The Obama administration reportedly is preparing to open direct talks with Iran on possibly cooperating to counter the Sunni militant force seizing large swaths of Iraq and threatening Baghdad, weighing an unlikely alliance in the face of a common foe.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the administration was "open to discussions" with Tehran if they can help end the violence. He told Yahoo! News he would "not rule out anything that would be constructive."

The deliberations come as the U.S. moved more assets into the region. According to U.S. Navy officials, the USS Mesa Verde is moving into the Persian Gulf with about 500 Marines on board, to help in the event of an evacuation. » | FoxNews.com | Monday, June 16, 2014

Inside Story: Is Maliki Behind Iraq’s Sectarian Divide?

Shia volunteers answer a call to arms after Sunni rebels take over Iraqi cities.

The Slaughter That Shames Tony Blair: Outcry from All Sides over Former Prime Minister's 'Crusader' Call for a New Blitz on Iraq as the Country Descends into a Bloodbath

MAIL ONLINE: Tony Blair said current chaos in Iraq could have been avoided / The former PM suggested the West should have bombed Syria / Blair said it was 'bizarre' that Iraq War was blamed for violence / Also suggested inaction could lead to a terror attack in the UK / But his comments prompt avalanche of criticism from Left and Right / Former minister Clare Short said he was 'wrong, wrong, wrong' / Pictures have emerged showing the mass execution of government soldiers


Iraq descended to new depths of savagery yesterday – as Tony Blair washed his hands of all blame for the bloodshed.

With Islamist jihadists now in control of large areas of the country, appalling pictures emerged showing the mass execution of government soldiers by masked fanatics.

Dozens of terrified men in civilian clothes lie in a shallow ditch before being executed in cold blood by Islamist extremists.

The Iraqi Army deserters, some wearing football shirts, were taken to scrubland where they faced a firing squad of Al Qaeda-inspired insurgents.

But, to derision from Left and Right, Mr Blair insisted that the sectarian violence tearing the country apart had nothing to do with his own actions in supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Instead, he blamed the West’s failure to bomb Syria last year – and called for fresh Western military action against both nations.

‘We have to liberate ourselves from the notion that “we” have caused this,’ the former Prime Minister wrote in an extraordinary essay. ‘We haven’t.’ Read on and comment » | Jason Groves | Monday, June 16, 2014

Edikt über den Gottesstaat: Mosul im Griff der Islamisten

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: In der irakischen Stadt Mosul haben die islamistischen Eroberer ein Dekret erlassen und damit begonnen, ihre Macht zu festigen. Wie ihre Herrschaft aussieht, kann man in Syrien studieren. Die Freude mancher Einwohner dürfte nicht lange anhalten.

Es sind Szenen, wie man sie im vergangenen Jahr in Syrien sah: Menschen feiern auf den Strassen den Einmarsch des Islamischen Staats im Irak und in Syrien (Isis). Jubelnd fahren sie in Autokorsos durch die Strassen der nordirakischen Millionenstadt und verteilen Süssigkeiten. Sehen kann man das in Videos, die im Internet zirkulieren. Dabei wissen auch die Bürger von Mosul, was auf sie zukommen dürfte. » | Inga Rogg, Istanbul | Sonntag, 15. Juni 2014

Iraq Conflict: Images Purport to Show 'Massacre' by Militants

BBC: The Sunni extremist group that has taken territory across Iraq has posted photos online that appear to show its fighters massacring Iraqi soldiers.

The army personnel are pictured being led away and then lying in trenches before and after their "execution".

Iraqi military spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi said the pictures were authentic and depicted events in Salahuddin province.

But the images' authenticity has not been independently confirmed.

The BBC's Jim Muir, in northern Iraq, says if the photographs are genuine, it would be by far the biggest single atrocity since the time of the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Their emergence came as the Iraqi government claimed to have "regained the initiative" against the offensive by Sunni rebels led by ISIS - the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Extremists captured key cities, including Mosul and Tikrit, last week, but several towns have now been retaken from the rebels. » | Sunday, June 15, 2014

'Islamists' Attack Kenyan Coastal Town

BBC: Suspected Islamist militants have attacked hotels and a police station in the Kenyan coastal town of Mpeketoni, military officials say.

Witnesses reported seeing buildings on fire and hearing gunfire in the town, which is near Lamu island.

It is not yet clear if there are any casualties.

Kenya has suffered a number of militant attacks since 2011 when its forces entered neighbouring Somalia to combat al-Shabab fighters. » | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Albanians Could Be On Their Way to Britain as David Cameron to Agree EU Move

Government would back Albania's plans to enter EU

SUNDAY EXPRESS: MORE than three million Albanians could be free to move over to Britain after David Cameron backed plans for the country to join the European Union.

Despite Cameron previously saying he didn't want poorer nations to join the EU, Government sources have confirmed Britain would back Albania's campaign to gain "candidate" status in a vote next week.

It comes after fresh unrest over Mr Cameron's pledge to get a grip on Europe.

Mr Cameron has previously said he wants EU rules in place to block movement from new EU countries until their average income is in line with western European nations.

During the last census, Albania had a population of 2,931,977, currently 17 per cent of whom are unemployed. The average monthly wage is £305. » | Helen Barratt | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Worlds Apart: New Sunnistan? 'We're Headed toward the Partition of Iraq' – Ex-US Ambassador to Iraq

Is Fundamentalism Undermining Faith : The Big Questions

Tony Blair Iraq Comments: Senior Labour Figures Distance Themselves from Former PM after He Refuses to Accept Blame for New Crisis

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Sources close to Ed Miliband refused to endorse Mr Blair’s analysis

Senior Labour figures rapidly distanced themselves from Tony Blair after he supported airstrikes on Iraq and Syria – and refused to accept that he should accept any of the blame for the crisis engulfing the region.

He defended his Government’s backing for the US-led invasion of Iraq, insisting it had been right to oust Saddam Hussein and urging military intervention to halt the advance of extremist Isis forces across the north of the country.

The former Prime Minister’s comments, in a blogpost on his website and a series of television interviews, opened fresh wounds within the party over the 11-year-old Iraq war.

Sources close to Ed Miliband refused to endorse Mr Blair’s analysis. One told the Independent: “What matters now is making the judgements rather than seeking to make points about what happened in the past.”

The shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, echoed the Coalition Government’s view that military action is not contemplated. He said: “The truth is that it is the Iraqis themselves who hold the key to resolving this crisis.” » | Nigel Morris | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Tony Blair on Iraq: The Andrew Marr Show

'Intervene in Iraq and Syria Or Britain Will Face Terror Attacks': Blair Warns UK Should Get Involved as He Defends Decision to Topple Saddam

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Former PM says Middle East terror will return to Europe if it's not faced fown [sic] / Calls for intervention in Iraq to stop ISIS terrorists taking Baghdad / Says biggest single threat for the UK is returning British jihadist fighters

Tony Blair this morning said Britain needed to take action in Iraq and Syria - or face terror attacks in at home.

The former Prime Minister said the UK needed to intervene to stop a 'total disaster'. He insisted that he was not calling for troops on the ground - but suggested the 'selective use of air power' was one option on the table.

Mr Blair said: 'If we don't deal with the Syria issue then the problems are not just going to be for Syria and for the region, the problems are actually going to come back and they are going to hit us very directly even in our own country.'

He added: 'If you talk to security services in France and Germany and the UK, they will tell you their biggest single worry today returning jihadists fighters - our own citizens by the way - from Syria.

'We have to look at Syria, and Iraq and the region in context. We have to understand what's going on there and engage.'

He said that didn't mean 'ground troops' but it we shouldn't 'wash our hands of it and walk away'.

Mr Blair's remarks this morning come as extremist fighters from the al-Qaida-inspired 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' bear down on Baghdad.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show [sic] Mr Blair said an ISIS victory would be a 'total disaster and it mustn't be allowed to happen'.

He said: 'We are going to have to engage with it and if we don't then the consequences will come back on us.' » | Tom McTague, Mail Online Deputy Editor | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Iraq, Syria and the Middle East – An essay by Tony Blair: The civil war in Syria with its attendant disintegration is having its predictable and malign effect. Iraq is now in mortal danger. The whole of the Middle East is under threat. » | Office of Tony Blair | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Be More British Cameron Tells UK Muslims: PM Issues Powerful New Pledge To Combat Extremism

MAIL ONLINE: He plans to use 800th anniversary of Magna Carta to reassert British values / Prime Minister said it is time to stop being 'squeamish about Britishness' / He said refusing to accept British laws and the way of life is 'not an option'

Muslim clerics in the UK who inflame terrorism by denouncing free speech, equality and democracy will be opposed in a ‘muscular’ new defence of ‘British values’, David Cameron has pledged.

In a powerful intervention clearly aimed mainly at ‘preachers of hate’, the Prime Minister says the failure to stand up to such firebrands has ‘allowed extremism – both the violent and non-violent kind – to flourish’.

He plans to use the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta – 12 months from today – to reassert British values in a ‘Magna Carta for Modern Britain.’

It is time to stop being ‘squeamish about Britishness’ and tell everyone who lives here that refusing to accept British laws and the British way of life is ‘not an option’, Mr Cameron argues.

The Prime Minister will emphasise the commitment by insisting that Magna Carta becomes part of the school curriculum.

Downing Street stressed the Prime Minister’s comments, which come in an article in today’s Mail on Sunday, are aimed at all sections of the community, not just Muslims. However, they appear to signal a key change in the stance of successive recent governments, Tory and Labour, on this sensitive issue. » | Simon Walters | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Sternstunde: Sind wir heute vor Hitler sicher?

Chris Wallace on Political Fallout over Iraq Chaos

Jun. 13, 2014 - 8:40 - Lawmakers debate stepping into troubled country

Iraq Crisis: The Bare Faced ISIS Executioner Who Spreads Terror With His Open Killing

ISIS enforcer Shakir Wahiyib

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Shakir Wahiyib is a feared enforcer for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham who does not cover up his face in videos of his killings

In an army full of masked, black-clad figures, he is the one man who is never shy to show his face. But for those unlucky enough to cross him, the face of Shakir Wahiyib, a feared enforcer for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, is often the last they will ever see.

The star of a series of grisly jihadist videos, including one in which three men are executed after failing his "Quranic quiz", Wahiyib is one of the few publicly-identified leaders of the shadowy jihadist group that has swept through northern Iraq.

The movement, otherwise known as ISIS, generally instructs its followers to keep their faces masked to minimise the chances of them being tracked down by the Iraqi government. But while its commander-in-chief, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, is even said to disguise himself while meeting fellow commanders, Wahiyib has no such reservations. Showing considerable relish for his work, he grins for the lenses of jihadi cameramen he goes on the rampage with his masked underlings. » | Colin Freeman | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Iran Will "Consider" Joint Action with US in Iraq, Hassan Rouhani Says

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses a press
conference in Tehran

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran's president has given the clearest hint yet that Tehran is prepared to cast aside 35 years of hostility in an alliance of convenience with the US to combat Sunni militants in Iraq

Iran will consider joining forces with the United States to combat Sunni militants in Iraq, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, said on Saturday in the clearest sign yet that the Islamic Republic is ready to set aside its decades-old enmity with Washington.

The Iranian leader's cautiously worded remarks came at a news conference in Tehran amid rising speculation that the recent gains of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could force the two adversaries to forge an alliance of convenience.

"All countries need to embark on joint effort regarding terrorism," Mr Rouhani said after being asked if Iran was prepared to cooperate with America in Iraq.

"At the moment, it's the government of Iraq and the people of Iraq that are fighting terrorism.

"We have not seen the US do anything for now. Any time the Americans start to take action against terrorist groups, we can consider that." » | Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Inside Story: What Future for the Monarchy in Spain?

Thousands want the monarchy abolished and the return of a republic after King's abdication.

Britain '51st State of US'? UK Seeks to Renew Pact with America on Nuke Data Exchange

Iraq Crisis Caught Obama Unprepared

YNET NEWS: Analysis: Obama says he's not ruling out any options, but no one is buying it anymore. As the Iraqi army abandons its posts to Islamists, the Obama administration is not left with many options.

US President Barack Obama was sitting in the Oval Office next to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and tried to come up with an alibi for the astonishing events in Iraq that caught the White House with its pants down.

"Just because you say a war has ended, doesn't mean it's over," Senator John McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential elections to Obama, said mockingly. The promise to end the war in Iraq was one of the main campaign pledges that led Obama to the presidency.

Red with anger, House Speaker John Boehner yelled into the TV networks microphones, "It’s not like we haven't seen over the last five or six months these terrorists moving in, taking control of Western Iraq. Now they've taken control of Mosul. They’re 100 miles from Baghdad. And what's the president doing? Taking a nap!" » | Yitzhak Benhorin | Friday, June 13, 2014

Iraq Govt Blamed for Rebel Advance

Prince Turki Al-Faisal

ARAB NEWS: ROME: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a former intelligence chief, has blamed the Iraqi government of Nuri Al-Maliki for the loss of wide areas of northern Iraq to militants, saying Baghdad had failed to stop them joining forces with former Baathists from the Saddam Hussein era. He said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgency should have come as no surprise.

“The situation in the Anbar area of Iraq has been brewing and boiling for some time and the Iraqi government seemed to be not only inactive in putting down the boiling temperature there but also in some cases seem to have been encouraging events there to spill over,” he told a meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Rome. » | Agencies | Saturday, June 14, 2014

Amerika bleibt verantwortlich für den Irak

TAGES ANZEIGER – KOMMENTAR: Die inkompetente Planung der Nachkriegszeit und die vorschnelle Unterstützung von Iraks Premier Maliki haben grossen Anteil am derzeitigen Chaos.

Was im Irak schiefgehen konnte, ist schiefgegangen. Vor dem Einmarsch der US-Truppen 2003 haben uns die Kriegsbefürworter einen «Leuchtturm der Demokratie» im Mittleren Osten versprochen. Inzwischen sind die pessimistischen Szenarien der Warner eingetroffen: Der Terrorismus à la al-Qaida breitet sich aus, ein Krieg zwischen Schiiten und Sunniten steht bevor, und die Nachbarmächte erwägen, militärisch einzugreifen.

Dafür tragen die USA eine Mitverantwortung. Der Sturz Saddam Husseins war das eine. Fatal war jedoch die inkompetente Planung für die Nachkriegszeit. Dazu kamen folgenschwere Fehler wie die Auflösung der irakischen Armee: Die damals gedemütigten Offiziere, mehrheitlich Sunniten, führen heute die Isis-Extremisten in die Schlacht – es bleibt einfacher, einen Krieg zu gewinnen als den Frieden. » | Von Christof Münger | Samstag, 14. Juni 2014

Deutschlands Außenpolitik: Gauck fordert größere Bereitschaft zu Militäreinsätzen

Gauck in Oslo: "Auf allen Ebenen ein Ja zu einem aktiven Deutschland"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Joachim Gauck bekräftigt seine Forderung, Deutschland solle international mehr Verantwortung übernehmen. Im Kampf für Menschenrechte sei es manchmal erforderlich, "auch zu den Waffen zu greifen", sagte der Bundespräsident in Norwegen.

Berlin - Deutschland sollte nach Ansicht von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck nicht pauschal die Beteiligung an Militäreinsätzen ausschließen. Zu einer aktiven Politik zur Konfliktlösung gehöre es auch, "den Einsatz militärischer Mittel als letztes Mittel nicht von vornherein zu verwerfen", sagte Gauck zum Abschluss seines Norwegen-Besuchs in einem Interview mit Deutschlandradio Kultur. » | dab/dpa/AFP | Samstag, 14. Juni 2014

Is It Possible for ISIS to Overrun Baghdad?

Jun. 13, 2014 - 6:36 - Major towns reportedly fall to extremists

Krauthammer Sounds Off about Obama's Approach on Iraq Crisis

Jun. 13, 2014 - 5:49 - President's statement leaves many unanswered questions

It Would Be a Major Disaster for Britain and the US to Intervene in Iraq

DAILY EXPRESS: BRITAIN and the US may abhor the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Iraq but they have played a major part in encouraging it.

And the upsurge of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant across northern Iraq is a pointer to what is likely to happen in Afghanistan once Nato pulls out its combat troops at the end of this year.

Whether we like it or not, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were serious strategic mistakes.

We destroyed the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein but opened the door for Islamic fundamentalists.

Saddam was an evil man but he opposed fundamentalism and he kept it under control.

After the invasion we destroyed the Iraqi army and Iraq’s security apparatus.

This allowed Islamic fundamentalism to get in and make very serious inroads into the Iraqi Government architecture.

We sowed the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind. Read on and comment » | Major Charles Heyman | Saturday, June 14, 2014

US Considers Military Help in Iraq amid Growing Violence

Jun. 13, 2014 - 8:10 - Top cleric calls on Iraqis to defend nation

US and Iran Join Fight against Sunni Jihadis of Isis in Iraq

THE GUARDIAN: President Obama contemplates air strikes against Sunni insurgents as Tehran sends top general to Baghdad

The United States and Iran are moving rapidly to defend Iraq from rampaging Sunni Islamist insurgents, with Washington urgently considering air strikes on the jihadi militants and Tehran dispatching its foremost powerbroker to help arrange the defence of Baghdad.

Senior US officials told the Guardian that an air campaign was under serious discussion, possibly targeting fighters not just in Iraq but in Syria, where they have seized swaths of territory in the past two years. President Barack Obama said that decisions would be taken in the "days ahead".

Iran, meanwhile, moved to defend its own interests in its western neighbour, sending Major General Qassem Suleimani, an éminence grise of the Iranian revolutionary guards, to Baghdad to meet militia leaders and tribal chiefs in control of the Iraqi capital's vulnerable western approaches.

The scramble by two staunch adversaries to shore up the embattled Iraqi authorities underscored how seriously they take the situation in a country in danger of fragmentation as a result of this week's sudden advance by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis). » | Martin Chulov in Baghdad, Spencer Ackerman in New York and Paul Lewis in Washington | Friday, June 13, 2014

Obama May Have to Agree Deal with Iran as Islamists Sweep South

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran has already sent units of its Revolutionary Guard to Iraq to help defend Baghdad from ISIS and to defend Shia shrines in southern and central of the country

President Barack Obama is under growing pressure to set aside years of hostility and start co-operating with Iran to counter the jihadist threat engulfing Iraq and its capital, Baghdad.

Ten years after his predecessor, President George W Bush, declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, the Obama administration was openly admitting it might have to recommit to the use of military force to reunite the country and check the long-term menace of the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

Britain too was offering counter-terrorism expertise that would mean it working alongside not just Iraqi troops but Shia militias and even Iranian special forces, only recently considered among the greatest threats to British interests in the region.

Iran has already sent units of its Revolutionary Guard to Iraq to help defend Baghdad from the onslaught being waged by ISIS, a Sunni jihadist al-Qaeda offshoot, according to reports emerging from Baghdad and Tehran.

State media quoted President Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, as telling the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will apply all its efforts on the international and regional levels to confront terrorism.” » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent, and Robert Tait in Jerusalem | Friday, June 13, 2014

Vormarsch der Dschihadisten

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Was in Syrien als Religionskrieg begonnen hat, kann sich im Irak noch blutiger fortsetzen. Die Offensive der Dschihadisten versetzt auch die israelische Armee in Alarmbereitschaft. Eine Analyse.

Die Dschihadisten haben die wichtigsten Städte im Norden des Iraks eingenommen und sind dabei auf wenig Gegenwehr gestoßen. Nun rücken die Wagenkolonnen des „Islamischen Staats im Irak und (Groß-)Syrien“ in Richtung Bagdad vor. Ein paar tausend Dschihadisten haben ausgereicht, um in wenigen Tagen im Osten der arabischen Welt eine neue Lage zu schaffen. Mit ihrem Blitzkrieg stoßen sie das Tor zu einem viel größeren Krieg in der Region weit auf. Was in Syrien begonnen hat, kann sich im Irak noch blutiger fortsetzen: der Konflikt zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten, zwischen Saudi-Arabien und Iran. » | Rainer Hermann | Freitag, 13. Juni 2014

Iraq Crisis: Generals in Army 'Handed Over' Entire City to Al-Qaeda[-]inspired ISIS Forces

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Three army deserters tell the Telegraph how Mosul, the second biggest city in Iraq, was given to terrorists by senior Iraqi army officials

Military deserters have painted a devastating picture of the inability of the Iraqi army to stand and fight, telling The Telegraph how entire divisions surrendered Mosul, Iraq's second city, without firing a single shot.

Speaking from the Kurdish city of Erbil, the defectors accused their officers of cowardice and betrayal, saying generals in Mosul "handed over" the city over to Sunni insurgents, with whom they shared sectarian and historical ties.

With Sunni insurgents now threatening the capital Baghdad the eyewitness accounts from the deserters' reveal how sectarian enmity has, in the space of mere weeks, destroyed the Iraqi national army, which the US government spent billions of dollars to build. (+ video) » | Ruth Sherlock, and Carol Malouf in Erbil, Lauren Williams in Doha | Friday, June 13, 2014

Is Islamism the Biggest Threat to the Modern World? : The Big Questions (27.4.14)

A Bad Spring for America

Jun. 12, 2014 - 7:10 - Talking Points 6/12

Obama: Ultimately Up to Iraqis to Solve Their Problems

Jun. 13, 2014 - 10:58 - President delivers statement on situation in Iraq

Lois On the Loose: In Iran

Lois Pryce in Iran

Lois On the Loose »

Inside Story: Iraq: Should Neighbours Be Worried?

As the situation in Iraq deteriorates, its neighbours are watching carefully.

'Iraq Chaos Is Tony Blair’s Legacy’: Intervention by Ex-PM in 2003 Destabilised the Country and Left It Open to Extremism, Says Home Office Minister

MAIL ONLINE: Government 'rules out' new Iraqi campaign despite major Jihadist threat / Al Qaeda militants have seized large areas of northern Iraq / Norman Baker said Iraq was stable under Saddam 'in a vile sort of way'

The disaster unfolding in Iraq was branded ‘Tony Blair’s legacy’ last night as Britain ruled out military intervention.

Though Islamist extremists are threatening to seize Baghdad, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain was ‘not contemplating’ any form of action, and Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said there was no role for the alliance.

US President Barack Obama insisted his country had an interest in stopping jihadists taking control and said he was looking at ‘all options’, including drone strikes.

Iraq is facing a return to its darkest days after al Qaeda-linked militants seized a huge swathe of the Iraq’s northern region and vowed to press on to the capital. Read on and comment » | James Chapman | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Germany Ordered to Pay £40 Million in Compensation to Jewish Family

Anti-semitic graffiti on a shop in Vienna

DAILY EXPRESS: GERMANY has been ordered to pay a Jewish family whose chain of department stores was seized by the Nazis €50 million (£40 million) in compensation.

The Schocken family lost several shops in the east of the country after Hitler embarked upon his "Aryanization" of German businesses in 1938.

A Berlin tribunal awarded the family €30 million (£24 million) - the value of the businesses owned by brothers Simon and Salman Schocken - plus another €20 million (£16 million) in interest.

The German state can appeal the decision at Lepzig's federal administrative court in Leipzig, the tribunal said in a statement.

Michael Newman, chief executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees said: "It shows that as we come up to 70 years since the end of the war there remains a number of significant travesties that are only now being settled."

Salman also founded Schocken Books in pre–war Berlin before moving the company to the United States and palestine. » | Benjamin Russell | Friday, June 13, 2014

Muslim Leader Explains Why We Should Be Against Islamisation

HT: Anthony Stacey »

Kampf gegen Dschihadisten: Großajatollah ruft Iraker zu den Waffen

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das geistliche Oberhaupt der Schiiten im Irak fordert die Bürger zum Kampf gegen die vorrückenden Dschihadisten auf. Nachbar Iran erwägt im Kampf gegen den Terror sogar eine Kooperation mit den Amerikanern. Die Uno fürchtet Massenhinrichtungen.

Bagdad - Er ist seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten der ranghöchste schiitische Geistliche im Irak. Nun hat Großajatollah Ali al-Sistani seine Landesleute zum Widerstand gegen die sunnitischen Dschihadisten aufgerufen. Die Bürger sollten zu den Waffen greifen und "ihr Land, ihr Volk und ihre heiligen Stätten verteidigen" sagte ein Sprecher Sistanis beim Freitagsgebet in der Schiiten-Hochburg Kerbela. Wer könne, solle sich den Sicherheitskräften im Kampf gegen die Dschihadisten der Terrorgruppe Islamischer Staat im Irak und Syrien, kurz Isis, anschließen. » | vek/kes/AFP/AP/Reuters | Freitag, 13. Juni 2014

What Is Going On in Iraq and Why?

ARAB NEWS: An Al-Qaeda breakaway group, apparently backed by other Sunni groups and fighters, has seized a large section of northern Iraq after previously taking much of northeastern Syria with an eye toward establishing an Islamic state straddling the two countries. The situation on the ground is changing rapidly, but some patterns and explanations are now emerging: » | Associated Press | Friday, June 13, 2014

Inside the Extreme Group Taking Over Iraq's Major Cities

Jun. 12, 2014 - 6:34 - Militant Islamic fighters vow to seize control of Baghdad

Glenn Beck On What's Plaguing America

Jun. 12, 2014 - 9:13 - Radio host discusses the crisis in Iraq, state of the GOP

Is the Obama Administration Finished?

Jun. 11, 2014 - 5:26 - Charles Krauthammer on the various controversies surrounding the White House

Does Obama Understand Iraq May Soon Be an Islamist State?

The White House should be facing up to the fact that it may soon be staring at a contiguous Islamist state smack dab in the middle of the Middle East.
FOX NEWS: Iraq is a shambles. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Al Qaeda off-shoot that now controls nearly a third of the nation, continues to run amok.

It’s way past time for the White House to get its head in the game. The disaster unfolding in Iraq and Syria could very quickly spiral into a much, much bigger problem. And some problems are so big that even our president can’t spin his way out.

At the top of the list of what the administration should be worrying about—and preparing to deal with—is the potential for an endless three-way civil war in Iraq. With Sunni, Shia and Kurds fighting one another, it would look something like the civil war in Syria—on steroids. » | James Jay Carafano | FoxNews.com | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Iraq Crisis: Baghdad Prepares for the Worst as Islamist Militants Vow to Capture the City

THE INDEPENDENT: Collapse of Shia-dominated regime could provoke Iranian intervention

Iraq is breaking up. The Kurds have taken the northern oil city of Kirkuk that they have long claimed as their capital. Sunni fundamentalist fighters vow to capture Baghdad and the Shia holy cities further south.

Government rule over the Sunni Arab heartlands of north and central Iraq is evaporating as its 900,000-strong army disintegrates. Government aircraft have fired missiles at insurgent targets in Mosul, captured by Isis on Monday, but the Iraqi army has otherwise shown no sign of launching a counter-attack.

The nine-year Shia dominance over Iraq, established after the US, Britain and other allies overthrew Saddam Hussein, may be coming to an end. The Shia may continue to hold the capital and the Shia-majority provinces further south, but they will have great difficulty in re-establishing their authority over Sunni provinces from which their army has fled. » | Patrick Cockburn | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Oklahoma Tea Party Candidate Claims: ‘Stoning Gays Was a Law That Came Direct from God’

THE INDEPENDENT: Facebook post quoted biblical verse sanctioning the execution of homosexuals

A Tea Party candidate running for office in Oklahoma has appeared to endorse the practice of stoning gay people to death.

Last year, Scott Esk, who is in the race to represent the 91st district in the State House, responded to a friend’s Facebook post about the Pope’s stance on gay people by copying and pasting Bible verses including Leviticus 20:13, which describes homosexuality as “detestable” and demands gay people be “put to death”.

When asked by another Facebook user whether he supported executing homosexuals by stoning, Mr Esk replied: “That goes against some parts of libertarianism, I realise, and I’m largely libertarian, but ignoring as a nation things that are worthy of death is very remiss.” » | Tim Walker | Los Angeles | Thursday, June 12, 2014