Here’s Why Bergdahl is Claiming He Left His Post This Time

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download (10)By Richard Sisk. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s defense against a desertion charge will rely in part on his claim that he walked off his post in Afghanistan in an attempt to reach another U.S. base to report on wrongdoing in his unit.

The whistleblower argument has been put forward in a memo from Bergdahl’s lawyer, military law specialist Eugene Fidell, and CNN reported Friday that senior Defense Department officials confirmed that Bergdahl’s claim was included in an Army investigation of the case by Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl.

Dahl’s report went to Gen. Mark Milley, head of the Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., who earlier this week authorized charges of one count of desertion and one count of misbehavior before the enemy against Bergdahl.

The senior Defense officials cited by CNN said that Bergdahl claimed to be concerned about problems with “order and discipline” at Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika province and also had concerns about “leadership issues at his base.”

One of the Defense officials said “This was a kid who had leadership concerns on his mind. He wasn’t fed up, he wasn’t planning to desert,” CNN reported. (Read more from “Here’s Why Bergdahl is Claiming He Left His Post This Time” HERE)

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Actor Gary Sinise demands Obama ANSWER for men who died to save ‘deserter’ Bergdahl

By Tom Tillison. Gary Sinise, the man who played Lt. Dan in the blockbuster film “Forrest Gump,” is demanding that the White House explain its actions in trading five top level Taliban commanders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Following the announcement on Wednesday that Bergdahl is being charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, Sinise took to Twitter to suggest the Obama administration owes an explanation to not only the country, but to the families of the soldiers who died looking for Bergdahl.

Administration must explain, especially 2 families of those lost attempting 2 find him, the GITMO trade https://t.co/8SznjntflV

— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) March 25, 2015

The beloved, Emmy Award-winning actor is a tireless advocate for veterans and with more than a half million followers on Twitter, his tweet generated plenty of responses — few of them favorable to “this lawless administration,” as one user stated. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Hacked Emails Reveal Clinton Aide’s Secret Spy Network Involving ex-CIA Operative

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EyeglassStarting weeks before Islamic militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, longtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal’s account.

The emails, which were posted on the internet in 2013, also show that Blumenthal and another close Clinton associate discussed contracting with a retired Army special operations commander to put operatives on the ground near the Libya-Tunisia border while Libya’s civil war raged in 2011.

Blumenthal’s emails to Clinton, which were directed to her private email account, include at least a dozen detailed reports on events on the deteriorating political and security climate in Libya as well as events in other nations. They came to light after a hacker broke into Blumenthal’s account and have taken on new significance in light of the disclosure that she conducted State Department and personal business exclusively over an email server that she controlled and kept secret from State Department officials and which only recently was discovered by congressional investigators.

The contents of that account are now being sought by a congressional inquiry into the Benghazi attacks. Clinton has handed over more than 30,000 pages of her emails to the State Department, after unilaterally deciding which ones involved government business; the State Department has so far handed almost 900 pages of those over to the committee. A Clinton spokesman told Gawker and ProPublica (which are collaborating on this story) that she has turned over all the emails Blumenthal sent to Clinton.

The dispatches from Blumenthal to Clinton’s private email address were posted online after Blumenthal’s account was hacked in 2013 by Romanian hacker Marcel-Lehel Lazar, who went by the name Guccifer. Lazar also broke into accounts belonging to George W. Bush’s sister, Colin Powell, and others. He’s now serving a seven-year sentence in his home country and was charged in a U.S. indictment last year. (Read more from “Private Emails Reveal Clinton Aide’s Secret Spy Network” HERE)

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This Is How TSA Decides if You’re Acting Like a Terrorist

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Do not enterBy Dustin Volz. Next time you go through airport security, do your best to avoid yawning, whistling, or complaining too much: Any of those behaviors could make you look like a terrorist in the eyes of a Transportation Security Administration screening agent, according to newly disclosed government documents.

A secret 92-point checklist, obtained and published Friday by The Intercept, reveals for the first time what kind of passenger behavior can merit a red flag for TSA agents responsible for pulling possible terrorists and criminals out of airport security lines.

The checklist reveals a step-by-step process for assessing whether passengers deserve additional scrutiny. Those deemed suspicious under “observation and behavior analysis” are pulled aside and searched for “unusual items” such as almanacs and prepaid calling cards. During the inspection, TSA agents are also instructed to look for “signs of deception,” which can include a fast rate of eye-blinking.

Other suspicious signs listed include exaggerated yawning, gazing down, a pale face due to a recent beard shaving, widely open staring eyes, wearing of “improper attire,” and arriving late for a flight.

The program, known as Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT, has been in use nationwide since 2007 and has cost taxpayers upwards of $1 billion dollars. (Read more from “This Is How TSA Decides If You Might Be Acting Like a Terrorist” HERE)

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TSA Terror Checklist Includes Body Odor, ‘Exaggerated Yawning’

By Nick Gass. You might want to clear your throat before going through the airport security line. And avoid “exaggerated yawning” and “repetitive grooming gestures.” And mind your body odor.

Those are just a few of the signals that you could be a terrorist, according to Transportation Safety Administration documents obtained and published by The Intercept on Friday.

The program, which began in 2007 and has cost the TSA $1 billion, is called Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT. The checklist tasks “behavioral detection officers” with assigning varying levels points based on stress factors (one point), fear factors (two points) and what it calls deception factors (three points).

Stress factors include: avoiding eye contact with security personnel, a pale face “from recent shaving of beard,” an “obvious ‘Adam’s Apple’ jump” when asked to go through screening procedures, among others. Fear factors include: a “cold penetrating stare,” “bulges in clothing,” “individuals who are seemingly unrelated but display identical dress or luggage,” and showing an “unusual interest” in security officers and their routine. (Read more from this story HERE)

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You’ll Never Guess Why This Boy’s ‘Military Haircut’ Got Him a Suspension Threat

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milA young boy’s high and tight haircut meant to honor his soldier-stepbrother earned him the threat of suspension from an elementary school named for a Medal of Honor recipient, and the fallout from the incident has led a Tennessee school district to increase security measures.

Adam Stinnett went to Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary School in McMinnville, about a 90-minute drive southeast from Nashville, on March 9 sporting the new hairdo. His mother, Amy Stinnett, said he’d requested the high and tight to be more like Spc. Justin Bloodworth, his active-duty stepbrother.

Adam was written up by the principal, who thought the haircut was against school policy banning “mohawk haircuts or other extreme cuts.”

haircut

Amy Stinnett disagreed. Adam went back Tuesday with the same haircut.

After his mother received an email from the principal and stopped by for a face-to-face chat, it was made clear that Adam’s hairstyle would have to change before he returned to school. (Read more from “You’ll Never Guess Why This Boy’s ‘Military Haircut’ Got Him a Suspension Threat” HERE)

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Senate Adopts Worthless Iran Sanctions Amendment

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somethingAnyone following the headlines from Washington’s semi-annual marathon “vote-a-rama” on the budget resolution might come away thinking that the Senate voted unanimously to re-impose sanctions on Iran. Here is a smattering of headlines with regard to the Kirk amendment on Iran, which passed the Senate 100-0 yesterday:

Reuters: “US Senate votes unanimously for amendment to send message on Iran”

Yahoo News: “US Senate threatens Iran with new sanctions”

The Hill: “Senators endorse Iran sanctions in budget vote”

In reality, last night’s vote has demonstrated to Iran that neither party is serious about standing up to their fomentation of terror and pursuit of nuclear weapons.

To begin with, any vote on an amendment to the budget resolution is non-binding because the budget resolutions are never signed by the president or become law. They merely serve as the blueprint from which Congress crafts the annual appropriations bills that are sent to the president’s desk. The purpose of these amendments is purely for messaging – to draw a sharp contrast with the opposing party.

Instead of putting Democrats in a rough spot and ratcheting up much needed pressure on so-called pro-Israel Democrats for their support of Obama’s dangerous Iran policy, Republicans let them off the hook and gave them an escape hatch.

Originally, the Kirk amendment would have re-imposed sanctions on Iran immediately following any violations of the agreement they accepted in return for negotiations in 2013. They could have easily passed this amendment with a simple majority and forced Democrats to choose between Obama and doing the right thing.

But Democrats begged them to change the language. Republicans obliged and rewrote the language to call for sanctions only “if the President cannot make a determination and certify that Iran is complying with” the agreement.

Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. Obama has sold out Israel and even his relationship with European and Arab countries in order to give Iran whatever it wants. He is now agreeing to allow Iran to maintain nuclear centrifuges in fortified bunkers! There is no way Obama will ever certify that Iran is not complying with the deal. That would be an anathema to his broader agenda.

Now Democrats get to send out press releases evincing a faux tough stance against Iran, while protecting Obama’s simultaneous war on Israel and embrace of Iran. It completely takes the pressure off of them to join meaningful efforts to rein in Obama’s dastardly foreign policy.

When will Republicans stop worshiping bipartisanship and stand on a morally clear position? (See “Senate Adopts Worthless Iran Sanctions Amendment”, originally posted HERE)

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Feds: National Guardsman Plotted Attack for ISIS

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CousinsBy CBS News. A National Guardsman arrested for supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, had allegedly planned an attack on a military post in Illinois, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Army National Guard Spc. Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested at Chicago Midway International Airport Wednesday night while he was attempting to fly to Cairo to allegedly join ISIS, the department said in a statement.

Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Chicago also arrested Edmonds’ cousin, Jonas Edmonds, 29, at his home in Aurora, Illinois . . .

The cousins allegedly told an FBI undercover employee their plan for an armed attack on the U.S. military facility in northern Illinois where Hasan Edmonds had been training.

According to court documents, an undercover FBI agent sent Edmonds a friend request on Facebook in late 2014, and in January, Edmonds and the agent exchanged a series of messages on Facebook, and Hasan allegedly discussed plans to travel overseas with his cousin to fight with ISIS extremists, CBS Chicago reported. (Read more from “Feds: National Guardsman Plotted Attack for ISIS” HERE)

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Aurora Cousins Charged in Plot to Join Islamic State, Attack Illinois Military Facility

By CBS Chicago. A national guardsman from Aurora and his cousin were arrested Wednesday night, for allegedly conspiring to join the Islamic State terrorist group and attack a Joliet military facility.

Federal prosecutors said 22-year-old Army National Guard Spc. Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested at Midway International Airport, while trying to fly to Cairo, Egypt. His cousin, 29-year-old Jonas Edmonds, was arrested at his home in Aurora. Each has been charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

A lengthy affidavit filed in federal court outlines the investigation that resulted in this week’s charges. Both suspects made appearances in federal court Thursday.

Prosecutors said the two planned for Hasan Edmonds to travel overseas, to use his military training to fight with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, while Jonas Edmonds would launch an attack on the National Guard facility where Hasan had been training. That facility is the Joliet headquarters for the 2nd Battalion, 129th Infantry.

According to court documents, an undercover FBI agent sent Hasan Edmonds a friend request on Facebook in late 2014, and in January, Hasan and the agent exchanged a series of messages on Facebook, and Hasan allegedly discussed plans to travel overseas with his cousin to fight with Islamic State extremists. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Stock Market Rigging Is No Longer a ‘Conspiracy Theory’

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FILES-US-FINANCE-ECONOMY-NYSEBy John Crudele. The stock market is rigged.

When I started making that claim years ago — and provided solid evidence — people scoffed. Some called it a conspiracy theory, tinfoil hats and that sort of stuff. Most people just ignored me . . .

With stock prices rushing far ahead of economic reality over the last six or so years, more experts in the financial markets are coming to the same conclusion — even if they don’t fully understand how it’s being rigged or the consequences.

Ed Yardeni, a longtime Wall Street guru who isn’t one of the clowns of the bunch, said flat out last week that the market was being propped up. “These markets are all rigged, and I don’t say that critically. I just say that factually,” he asserted on CNBC.

Yardeni’s claim is the most basic one: that the Federal Reserve won’t do anything that will upset Wall Street and, in fact, is doing all it can to help the stock market. (Read more from “Stock Market Rigging Is No Longer a ‘Conspiracy Theory'” HERE)

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Fed Market Gurus Prep Rate Hike amid Last-Minute Anxieties

By Jonathan Spicer. The New York Federal Reserve officials tasked with prying interest rates off the floor have been meeting with bankers and traders to plot how best to do it, amid deep uncertainty over how much control they will really have over short-term lending markets.

With the U.S. central bank expected to raise rates later this year, Simon Potter and his team of market technicians have the tricky job of implementing higher rates using some new and lightly tested tools as well as some that may not work as well as in the past. They’ll be operating under intense global scrutiny that’s centered on the prospects for the world’s biggest economy.

Even while testing new methods meant to sweep up trillions of dollars of reserves from financial markets, Potter’s team is preparing for volatility and to make on-the-fly adjustments when the time comes, according to interviews with Fed officials and market participants.

The trouble is that the federal funds market, the intra-bank trading pool traditionally used by the Fed to meet its policy goals, has shrunk to about a quarter of its pre-crisis size after more than six years of unprecedented monetary stimulus.

“There is a lot more uncertainty in the mechanical features of the outlook than people admit to,” said Joseph Abate, a money-market strategist at Barclays Capital. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Muslim-Convert CIA Official Who Directed Hunt for Bin Laden Is Being Removed from Post

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united states of americaThe head of the CIA’s Counter­terrorism Center, who presided over the agency’s drone campaign and directed the hunt for Osama bin Laden, is being removed from his post, officials said, a watershed moment as the CIA turns its focus to a new generation of extremist threats.

The move, part of a major reorganization under [suspected Muslim] CIA Director John Brennan, ends a nine-year tenure during which the center was transformed into a paramilitary force that employed armed drones to kill thousands of suspected terrorists and militants but also killed an unknown number of civilians.

As the architect of that campaign, the CTC chief came to be regarded as an Ahab-like figure known for dark suits and a darker demeanor. He could be merciless toward subordinates but was also revered for his knowledge of terrorist networks and his ability to run an organization that became almost an agency unto itself. He embodied a killing-centric approach to counter­terrorism that enraged many Muslims, even though he is a convert to Islam.

Because he remains undercover, The Washington Post has agreed to withhold his full name. He has been publicly identified in the past by both his actual first name, Mike, as well as that of his CIA-created identity, Roger.

U.S. officials said that Roger is expected to remain at the CIA in a new assignment which has yet to be determined and that he is being replaced by an agency veteran who has held a series of high-level positions, including running the CIA’s operations in Afghanistan. His name is Chris. (Read more from “CIA Official Who Directed Hunt for Bin Laden Is Being Removed from Post” HERE)

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Obama Caves to Key Iranian Demands as Nuke Deal Comes Together [+video]

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WatchThe Obama administration is giving in to Iranian demands about the scope of its nuclear program as negotiators work to finalize a framework agreement in the coming days, according to sources familiar with the administration’s position in the negotiations.

U.S. negotiators are said to have given up ground on demands that Iran be forced to disclose the full range of its nuclear activities at the outset of a nuclear deal, a concession experts say would gut the verification the Obama administration has vowed would stand as the crux of a deal with Iran.

Until recently, the Obama administration had maintained that it would guarantee oversight on Tehran’s program well into the future, and that it would take the necessary steps to ensure that oversight would be effective. The issue has now emerged as a key sticking point in the talks.

Concern from sources familiar with U.S. concessions in the talks comes amid reports that Iran could be permitted to continue running nuclear centrifuges at an underground site once suspected of housing illicit activities.

This type of concession would allow Iran to continue work related to its nuclear weapons program, even under the eye of international inspectors. If Iran removes inspectors—as it has in the past—it would be left with a nuclear infrastructure immune from a strike by Western forces. (Read more from “U.S. Caves to Key Iranian Demands as Nuke Deal Comes Together [+video]” HERE)

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Report: DEA Thoroughly Corrupted, Federal Agents Had ‘Sex Parties’ with Prostitutes Hired by Drug Cartels

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DEADrug Enforcement Administration agents allegedly had “sex parties” with prostitutes hired by local drug cartels overseas over a period of several years, according to a report released Thursday by the Justice Department’s watchdog.

The report did not specify the country where the parties occurred, but a law enforcement official familiar with the matter identified it as Colombia.

Seven of the 10 DEA agents alleged to have participated in the gatherings — most of which took place at an agent’s “quarters” leased by the U.S. government — admitted to having attended the parties, the report found. The agents, some of whom had top-secret security clearances, received suspensions of two to 10 days.

Former police officers in Colombia also alleged that three DEA supervisory special agents were provided with money, expensive gifts and weapons from drug cartel members, according to the report.

“Although some of the DEA agents participating in these parties denied it, the information in the case file suggested they should have known the prostitutes in attendance were paid with cartel funds,” according to the 131-page report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz. (Read more from “Report: DEA Agents Had ‘Sex Parties’ with Prostitutes Hired by Drug Cartels” HERE)

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