Bergdahl Now Facing Desertion Charges After Obama Traded Him for 5 Major Terrorists

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive for five years after disappearing from his base in Afghanistan in 2009, will be charged with desertion, according to NBC News. Bergdahl was released last year in a prisoner swap with the Taliban . . .

According to allegations, Bergdahl abandoned his outpost in June 2009 to avoid “hazardous duty or important service,” which are grounds for charges of desertion under the Uniform Military Code of Justice, or UCMJ, as NBC News reported. According to one senior official who spoke with NBC News, Bergdahl allegedly abandoned his post “in the middle of a combat zone, potentially putting the lives of his fellows soldiers at risk.”

Bergdahl was reportedly captured by the Haqqani terrorist network in Pakistan. He was released in exchange for five Taliban commanders held at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, a decision for which the White House has come under fire . . .

The news comes as an embarrassment to the White House, which as Hot Air reported, “cough[ed] up five big fish for one deserter.”

The White House, which arranged for the prisoner swap in May, was criticized at the time for “negotiating with terrorists.” Some Republican lawmakers, as well as others in Bergdahl’s unit, objected to the trade on the grounds that Bergdahl had deserted. (Read more about Bowe Bergdahl facing desertion charges HERE)

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Islamic Court Using Sharia Law Confirmed in Texas

Photo Credit: BreitbartAn Islamic Tribunal using Sharia law in Texas has been confirmed by Breitbart Texas. The tribunal is operating as a non-profit organization in Dallas. One of the attorneys for the tribunal said participation and acceptance of the tribunal’s decisions are “voluntary.”

Breitbart Texas spoke with one of the “judges,” Dr. Taher El-badawi. He said the tribunal operates under Sharia law as a form of “non-binding dispute resolution.” El-badawi said their organization is “a tribunal, not arbitration.” A tribunal is defined by Meriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a court or forum of justice.” The four Islamic attorneys call themselves “judges” not “arbitrators.”

El-badawi said the tribunal follows Sharia law to resolve civil disputes in family and business matters. He said they also resolve workplace disputes.

In matters of divorce, El-badawi said that “while participation in the tribunal is voluntary, a married couple cannot be considered divorced by the Islamic community unless it is granted by the tribunal.” He compared their divorce, known as “Talaq,” as something similar to the Catholic practice of annulment in that the church does not recognize civil divorce proceedings as ending a marriage.

He also said there is a difference between how a man and a woman can request a divorce under their system. “The husband can request the divorce directly from the tribunal,” El-badawi stated. “The wife must go to an Imam who will request the divorce for her.” He called it “two paths to the same result.” The practice of Khula is the process where a wife can initiate a divorce proceeding and where the husband can agree to the divorce in exchange for a financial compensation. It appears the wife must agree to give up any claim to the “dower” that was not already paid or to return it if it has already been paid. Once the financial issues are resolved the husband can then proclaim the Talaq (divorce). (Read more about the Islamic court HERE)

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Planned Parenthood President: We’re Proud We Killed 327,000 Babies Last Year (+video)

More than half a million pro-life people took to the streets of Washington D.C. to solemnly mark 42 years of legalized abortion since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. But one top abortion activist celebrated the occasion.

While Planned Parenthood normally likes to play down its abortion business, abortion is the sine qua non component of what Planned Parenthood does. In fact, Planned Parenthood has killed more than 1 million babies in abortions in the last three years. That’s why its president’s admission that the abortion business is “proud” to do abortions is newsworthy.

As CNS News reports, “at an invitation-only press conference on Tuesday at the National Press Club, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told hand-picked reporters that her organization takes pride in the millions of abortions done at its affiliated clinics around the United States”

As it reports, Richards said: “We proudly provide safe and legal abortion.” Here’s video footage of her remarks.

(Read more about what the Planned Parenthood president said HERE)

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Deadliest Since Benghazi: ISIS Group Attacks Libyan Hotel

Photo Credit: New York Times Militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State said they were responsible for an armed assault on a luxury hotel that killed at least eight people here on Tuesday, the most significant in a string of terrorist attacks against Western interests and government institutions in the capital since the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi more than three years ago.

Four or five gunmen shouting “God is great” stormed the hotel, the Corinthia, in the early morning, witnesses said. The attackers fired their guns into the lobby, battling guards and indiscriminately shooting at civilians, according to witnesses, news reports and people in contact with associates inside the hotel.

Officials said at least five of those killed were foreign visitors. The State Department confirmed that an American had been killed, and witnesses said he was a former Marine working in security. The Associated Press, citing an executive at Crucible, a security company in Fredericksburg, Va., later identified the American as David Berry, a contractor with Crucible.

It was the deadliest attack on Western interests in Libya since the assault on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in 2012. It was also the bloodiest of several recent attacks by Libyans pledging loyalty to the Islamic State, raising fears that its example was further inflaming Libya’s violence.

Fighters wearing black uniforms labeled “police” and loyal to the Tripoli government — one of two rival governments now fighting for control of Libya — responded to the attack, cordoning off streets and surrounding the hotel. Their forces entered a long standoff with assailants still inside. (Read more about the ISIS attack on the Libyan hotel HERE)

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Three More Beheaded in Saudi Arabia Under Rule of New King

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded two more of its citizens and a Pakistani, continuing the strictest punishment under new King Salman.

Omar bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al-Barkati was tried and convicted of incest, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

“He was executed as punishment for his crime and as a lesson to others,” the ministry said, adding that authorities carried out the sentence in southwestern Asir region.

In a separate case, Yassir bin Hussein al-Hamza was executed in northwestern Jawf region after his trial and confession for smuggling amphetamine pills, the ministry said.

A third convict, Latif Khan Nurzada, a Pakistani, was executed for trafficking heroin into the kingdom. He was executed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the ministry said in another statement. (Read more about the people beheaded in Saudi Arabia HERE)

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BBC News Refuses to Call Charlie Hebdo Killers, ‘Terrorists’

The Islamists who committed the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris should be not be described as “terrorists” by the BBC, a senior executive at the corporation has said.

Tarik Kafala, the head of BBC Arabic, the largest of the BBC’s non-English language news services, said the term “terrorist” was too “loaded” to describe the actions of the men who killed 12 people in the attack on the French satirical magazine.

Mr Kafala, whose BBC Arabic television, radio and online news services reach a weekly audience of 36 million people, told The Independent: “We try to avoid describing anyone as a terrorist or an act as being terrorist. What we try to do is to say that ‘two men killed 12 people in an attack on the office of a satirical magazine’. That’s enough, we know what that means and what it is.”

Mr Kafala said: “Terrorism is such a loaded word. The UN has been struggling for more than a decade to define the word and they can’t. It is very difficult to. We know what political violence is, we know what murder, bombings and shootings are and we describe them. That’s much more revealing, we believe, than using a word like terrorist which people will see as value-laden.”

Of the Paris case, Mr Kafala said: “We avoid the word terrorists. It’s a terrorist attack, anti-terrorist police are deployed on the streets of Paris. Clearly all the officials and commentators are using the word so obviously we broadcast that.” (Read more about BBC News refusing to call the Charlie Hebdo killers terrorists HERE)

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First Sheriff Joe, Now California DMV Ordered to Overlook Identity Theft by Illegal Aliens

Illegal aliens may enjoy a free pass on identity theft due to a new investigative policy at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The policy, issued last year and effective as of Jan. 1, 2015, directs DMV investigators to overlook identity theft by applicants “who may have attempted to obtain or been issued a license or ID card previously through submission of false information.”

A DMV source who asked to remain anonymous provided Breitbart News exclusively with a copy of the newly-enacted internal policy memorandum. The document informs DMV investigative officers that past identity theft is acceptable when the illegally-acquired IDs were only used to obtain a driver license, and where the license or ID was not used to commit any other crime.

It is unclear how investigators are meant to determine whether a falsely obtained driver license or ID was used solely for driving, or also to commit other crimes, such as using a fraudulently-obtained driver license to open a bank account, to apply for a loan, or even to purchase alcohol.

The policy seems to expect applicants to admit voluntarily to using a fraudulent driver license or ID for purposes other than driving a motor vehicle, if they did so. (Read more about the California DMV HERE)

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Donald Trumps Slams Romney at Iowa Freedom Summit (+video)

By Mark Sappenfield. With all due respect, the Republican Party could probably do with a lot less of what was heard at the Iowa Freedom Summit Saturday.

On one hand, that might seem strange, considering that the Iowa Freedom Summit was all about getting America back to its “core principles of pro-growth economics, social conservatism, and a strong national defense,” according to the event website . . .

But then Donald Trump spoke.

He called Mitt Romney a “choker” for losing the 2012 presidential race to President Obama, and then said that Jeb Bush’s brother – former President George W. Bush – was the man who gave America Mr. Obama in the first place. (Read more about Trump at the Iowa Freedom Summit HERE)

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Hilary Clinton Appears to be M.I.A While Other Possible 2016 Candidates Attend Iowa Freedom Summit

By Liz Kreutz. At a time when many potential 2016 presidential contenders appear to be starting the ignition of their campaigns, Hillary Clinton has pressed the brake pedal.

Or so it seems.

Clinton’s calendar, which was jam-packed throughout most of last year with paid speeches, award ceremonies, fundraisers, book tour stops, campaign appearances and official Clinton Foundation business, is now virtually empty.

Over the past six weeks, the likely Democratic presidential candidate has made just two public appearances -– both on the same day, and both in Canada. She doesn’t have another event scheduled until late next month . . .

Until then, Clinton appears to be lying low and staying out of the public eye. Meanwhile, much of the focus has turned toward potential Republican candidates like Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Rand Paul. A dozen others tested out their possible stump speeches at a summit in Iowa last weekend. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Campaign Team Sent to Israel to Defeat Netanyahu

By Thomas Rose. Just days after the Obama White House accused House Speaker John Boehner of “breaking protocol” by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, a team of up to five Obama campaign operatives has reportedly arrived in Israel to lead a campaign to defeat the Israeli Prime Minister in upcoming national elections scheduled for March 17.

The anti-Netanyahu, left wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports a group called “One Voice,” reportedly funded by American donors, is paying for the Obama campaign team. That group is reportedly being led by Obama’s 2012 field director Jeremy Bird.

As Jerusalem Post columnist and putative Knesset candidate Caroline Glick reported on her Facebook page, “Obama won’t meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington when he addresses the Joint Houses of Congress in March because of Netanyahu’s visit’s proximity to the Israeli elections. And Obama, of course believes in protocol and propriety which is why he won’t get involved.” And yet, Glick adds, “He’s just sending his 2012 field campaign manager to Israel to run a campaign to defeat Netanyahu.” (Read more about the Obama campaing team arriving in Israel HERE)

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IDF Strikes Syrian Army Targets

By Yaakov Lappin. The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck Syrian army artillery targets late on Tuesday night in response to an earlier rocket attack carried out on the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon.

“The IDF views the Syrian regime as responsible for what occurs in its territory, and will act at any time and any way it sees fit to protect the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said.

The targets were accurately struck, the IDF added.

IDF confirmation of the strike came minutes following reports of air sirens being heard in the Golan Heights, which later proved to be false alarms. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Limbaugh: Scott Walker the Blueprint for GOP Survival

Two days have passed and the praise for Scott Walker’s Saturday speech in Iowa continue to pour in.

On his Monday program, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh continued his praise of the Wisconsin governor, saying Walker is “the blueprint” for the Republican Party if they are “serious about beating the left.”

Limbaugh, a longtime admirer of Walker, also lashed out at the media for pushing the narrative that the potential 2016 candidate is “dull” and “colorless,” while adding that the GOP needs to “hoist” Walker on a chair “they used to take Caesar through the crowds with.”

“If you have spent any time listening to this program in the last two years, you know that I believe Scott Walker is the blueprint for the Republican Party if they are serious about beating the left Scott Walker has shown how to do it,” Limbaugh said.

“Scott Walker has the blueprint for winning and winning consistently and winning big in a blue state with conservative principles that are offered with absolutely no excuses,” Limbaugh remarked. “The left, the Democrat Party, threw everything at Scott Walker trying to destroy him. They did everything they could. He not only withstood it all, he survived and triumphed over all of it.” (Read more about Scott Walker being the only chance for GOP survival HERE)

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