Gaza MANPADS from Libya

Many weapons being used against Israel come from Iran. However, the most powerful weapons, MANPADS, come from Libya. The destroyed consulate in Benghazi, Libya was a large source of British and American weapons, but weapons had been flowing from Libya to Gaza and then Syria for months prior to the attack.

MANPADS, Man-Portable-Air-Defense-Systems, have been widely reported to be in Syria and were used in recent months against Israeli aircraft and helicopters in Gaza.  We have video of MANPADS in Aleppo, Syria.

The Wall Street Journal reported the source of the MANPADS: (bold ours)

Most of the shoulder-fired missiles in rebel arsenals have come from Libya, smuggled into the country through the Turkish border without the official blessing of regional states or their Western backers, several rebel coordinators said.

Other shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, which these rebels identified as Russian-made Strela systems, have been supplied by militant Palestinian factions now supporting the Syrian uprising and smuggled in through the Lebanese border, they said. Syrian military defectors also say they have been able to buy some SA-7's—a Russian-designed Manpad—from regime forces since the summer.
...
In July, the U.S. effectively halted the delivery of at least 18 Manpads sourced from Libya, even as the rebels pleaded for more effective antiaircraft missiles to counter regime airstrikes in Aleppo, people familiar with that delivery said.

"We were told that we need to get our house in order on the ground, and that it wasn't time yet," said a rebel representative involved in the delivery.

So, there you have it.  This is more supporting evidence for our post Killing Stevens: The Obama Scandal.

We know Al Qaeda is in Libya and Syria attempting to establish Islamic governments. Their official face is the Muslim Brotherhood. We have seen that Al Qaeda has obtained MANPADS. We know MANPADS were supplied via Palestinians to Syrian rebels. We learned that the U.S. government stopped supplying the Syrian rebels with MANPADS from Libya due to rebel disorganization.

We leave you with a question to ponder, on Syrian Rebels from Russia Times:

The commander [Abu Khuder, a battalion commander for Solidarity Front, Al-Qaeda's main arm in Syria] said he joined Al-Qaeda because he was “frustrated” with the lack of discipline within the ranks of FSA fighters. 

Would President Obama arm Al Qaeda instead of local rebels due to familiarity with Al Qaeda's organizational capabilities?

Muslim Brotherhood Decrees Dictatorship in Egypt, Obama Praises

Protests erupted in Egypt as Mohamed Morsi decreed that courts can no longer review his decisions. The move makes Egypt an Islamic dictatorship. The move came one day after the Obama administration heaped praise on Morsi, elevating his international status.

France24.com Reports:

As enraged demonstrators torched Muslim Brotherhood offices in several Egyptian cities, a defiant Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi defended his recent decree granting himself sweeping powers before a crowd of supporters outside the presidential palace in Cairo Friday.

 ...

Among Egypt’s secular opposition groups, there was mounting alarm over Morsi’s declaration that no court could dissolve the country’s Constituent Assembly, which is drawing up a new Egyptian constitution.

The rewriting of the new constitution has been a controversial issue, with most non-Islamist members quitting the Constituent Assembly – including representatives of the Coptic Christian Church and the April 6 Youth Movement, which played an influential role in the 2011 ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Yes, you read that last paragraph correctly. It is not a typo, the Muslim Brotherhood is writing the Egyptian constitution.

Morsi previously released Muslim Brotherhood terrorists including a top Al Qaeda member's brother, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Muhammad al-Zawahiri was released by Morsi in March after having been sentenced to death for terrorist acts in Egypt. Many of these Muslim Brotherhood terrorists were then sent to Libya and Syria to infiltrate the militias and take control of new governments. In the Libyan election, the Muslim Brotherhood was narrowly defeated.

We reported these facts in Killing Stevens: The Obama Scandal. Please read this article for key facts surrounding Benghazi, the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda. Read how Terrorist MANPADS Target Israel to see how Benghazi ties into the current attacks on Israeli citizens. Weapons President Obama provided terrorists in Libya are likely being shot as "rockets" into Israel.

The Obama administration's praise of Morsi was reported by ABC News: **warning: autoplay video**

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is being credited with brokering the cease-fire today between Israel and Hamas, but the international gratitude and praise he is getting could come with a political price at home.

Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama heaped praise on the Egyptian president. Obama called his Egyptian counterpart today to thank him for his efforts in the negotiations, and Clinton expressed her gratitude personally in the press conference announcing the deal.

"I want to thank President Morsi for his personal leadership to de-escalate the situation in Gaza and end the violence," said Clinton. "This is a critical moment for the region. Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone of regional stability and peace."

The praise was given despite the fact that Egypt needs billion of dollars in financial aid from America. If Morsi had not pursued a cease fire, the money may have been threatened.  Further, the cease fire is tentative at best. It is simply time for the terrorists to reorganize and rearm.

Update 11/25/2012, British Sunday Times:

ISRAELI spy satellites have spotted a cargo vessel at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas being loaded with rockets and other weapons that analysts say may be bound for Gaza via the Red Sea, Sudan and Egypt.

The cargo was prepared last week at the same time as a ceasefire was agreed to end eight days of hostilities in Gaza in which Israeli forces bombarded Hamas positions and hundreds of Iranian rockets were fired at targets in Israel.

Allow me restate my point.

It appears that President Obama armed and emboldened the enemies of Israel. Once terrorists were armed with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, President Obama gave the"green light" for Israel to attack.  Any significant loss of Israeli aircraft would be a major blow against their capability to target the Iranian nuclear program or fend off an invasion by their neighboring enemies.

Update 11/22/2012, Associated Press:

Israel underestimated Hamas and "fell into a trap," claimed a leading Hamas hard-liner in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar.

Other Hamas leaders bragged that their improved arsenal, including longer-range rockets and anti-tank missiles smuggled from Iran via tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, helped deter Israel's military.

We have not seen confirmed news reports of downed Israeli military aircraft, but such information is not typically released to news media. There is a report that Israel lost an F-16 in Gaza. The report was denied by the Israeli military.

Further, American families had Thanksgiving holiday off. The big news story for Thursday and Friday was the Israel-Hamas cease fire. Morsi decreeing Egypt an Islamic dictatorship could cause President Obama some blow-back, but Americans will no longer be sitting around stuffed with Turkey watching the news.

Obama Backing Unions Kill Twinkies UPDATE

UPDATE November 21, 2012 1:06 PM Pacific Standard Time:

Per Hostess Brands Information:

Hostess Brands Inc. announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today approved its emergency interim motion for the orderly wind down of its business and sale of its assets.
...
For employees whose jobs will be immediately eliminated, additional information can be found at this website, which also contains a copy of the Company’s wind down motion and information for customers and vendors.

November 21, 12 12:02 AM Pacific Standard Time:
It is now official Obama backing unions killed Twinkies.


Per Hostess Brands Information:

Irving, TX – Hostess Brands Inc. announced today that a mediation today with the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union was unsuccessful. The Company will have no further comment until a hearing scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m., EST, before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

We knew that Hostess was headed for liquidation while the media laid America's "last chance" hopes upon doomed mediation. Fellow SLOBs author Left Coast Rebel wondered "When will the federal government and the Obama Administration propose a bailout for Hostess and their 18,000 union workers?" The answer is NEVER.


Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y. will make a final determination if Hostess can shut down and liquidate. BusinessWeek reports:

Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, is asking the judge for approval to shut down 36 bakeries, 242 depots, 216 retail stores, and 311 hybrid depot-store facilities, according to court filings. There are 58 other leased or owned sites used for storage, warehousing of products or parking. The plants are in 22 states, stretching from Alaska to New Jersey.

The demise of Hostess was obvious for two reasons. First and foremost, we reported that the bakery union,

"...feared a deal would pull down wages and benefits throughout the industry, without saving Hostess."

So, we decided to enjoy our last Twinkie. Second, the bakery union is a big Obama backer. This means they are entitled progressives. Unfortunately, the bakery union is not big enough or rich enough to get an Obama bailout.

How do we know the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union is a big Obama donor. They gave $75,000 of their now 18,500 unemployed former Hostess workers' money in Obama backing political donations. That's right, they didn't spend the money on accountants or financial consultants, they spent it on Democrats elections.

Lets do a little OpenSecrets.org investigation of where the money went. Exciting stuff!!

First, who reported bakery union donations? (click to enlarge)

Where did the AFL-CIO Workers' Voices spend that money? (click to enlarge)

Total For Democrats: $3,323,379
Total Against Democrats: ($3,782)
Total For Republicans: $1,171
Total Against Republicans: $3,563,351

Where does American Bridge spend the money? (click to enlarge)

As a super PAC, American Bridge can accept unlimited donations and is largely funded by major Democratic donors and labor unions. Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros, a well-known supporter of liberal causes, is the group’s largest donor.

CREDO Mobile? Where do they spend political money? (click to enlarge)

This movement has raised more than $70 million for progressive nonprofit groups that are working on the front lines of social change.

Progressive Colorado Voters is obviously extremist left, but who is America Votes Action Fund? (click to enlarge)

Opposes Democrats: $0.00
Opposes Republicans: $44,409.84
Supports Democrats: $44,157.67
Supports Republicans: $0.00

On to President Obama's #WarOnWomen fund, Women Vote! (click to enlarge)

Electing Women for Progressive Change

Whoa, we seem to be in a loop now, but one last peek behind the lefty iron curtain, who is Majority PAC? (click to enlarge)

Majority PAC is fighting to protect the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate in 2012. 

Ok, that is enough of that. It is time to return to informing America that President Barack Obama sold weapons to Al Qaeda in Benghazi. Weapons that Ambassador Stevens was trying to get back. Weapons that are now targeting Israel.

Terrorist MANPADS Target Israel

Israeli officials told Yedioth Ahronoth Daily that a Stela shoulder-launched surface-to-air missle targeted an Israeli military helicopter last week in the Gaza Strip but missed. This is the first terrorist attempt of using these weapons against Israel.

CNSNews reports:

Israel has long suspected Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza of having such weapons, and amid the chaos accompanying the downfall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya many went missing, and more are believed to have been smuggled into the Strip, via tunnels from the Sinai peninsula.

Soviet-designed Strela-2 missiles (known by NATO as SA-7 Grail) have been used in various insurgencies around the world, including the mujahedeen’s fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and the anti-coalition insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.

...
MANPAD’ ease of operation, portability and relatively low cost make them a weapon of choice for terrorists wanting to target civilian or military aircraft.
...
The reported use of a MANPAD by Gaza-based terrorists came during the same week as Hezbollah, the Shi’ite Iranian proxy in Lebanon, deployed a drone aircraft over Israel.

Over 10,000 MANPADS went unaccounted from Libya according to NATO officials. About 5,000 are SAM-7. The SAM-7 is a crude weapon with a range of about four kilometers and an infra-red guidance system. The systems are powered by a thermal battery, operated by a single person, and are simple enough so that a couple of hours of training would suffice for mastering their operation.

The Army’s Lt. Col. Andy Wood, who led a 16-person security team in Libya testified about Al Qaeda's Libyan presence:

"their presence grows every day. They are certainly more established than we are.”

He also said that some 10,000 to 20,000 shoulder-fired missiles are missing from Libyan arsenals.

Digital Journal reported in February 2012:

The U.S. government has allocated $40 million in an attempt to secure the weapons stockpiles...

In a November CNN interview, House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers expressed reservations that “very undisciplined” Libyan troops will “secure the weapons sites” until stability returns to Libya.

On the same day of Rogers’ interview, a North African commander with Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb said his group was in possession of some of the weapons, looted during the conflict for control of Libya.

Russian-made SA-14 and SA-24 MANPADS are more effective and make up some portion of the missiles that fell into the hands of Al Qaeda in Libya.

The Wall Street Journal added that MANPADS traveled to Syrian rebels through Turkey and Palestinian militants:

Most of the shoulder-fired missiles in rebel arsenals have come from Libya, smuggled into the country through the Turkish border without the official blessing of regional states or their Western backers, several rebel coordinators said.

Other shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, which these rebels identified as Russian-made Strela systems, have been supplied by militant Palestinian factions now supporting the Syrian uprising and smuggled in through the Lebanese border, they said. Syrian military defectors also say they have been able to buy some SA-7's—a Russian-designed Manpad—from regime forces since the summer.

Per ConservativeNewsandViews.com:

Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland), a staunch and consistent opponent of American intervention in the Middle East, reminded everyone that:

•Our bombing and destruction of Libya was not authorized.
•Obama never received approval from Congress for any of the actions America took in that war

Additional Sources:
http://2001-2009.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/107632.htm
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/israel-reports-first-use-surface-air-missile-gaza-terrorists
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/terrorism/261255-witness-says-increased-security-wouldnt-have-prevented-libya-deaths
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/nato-10000-libyan-shoulder-fired-missiles-unaccounted
http://digitaljournal.com/article/319326
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578062842929673074.html

Killing Stevens: The Obama Scandal

10/15/2012 1:29 AM PST:

The last ambassador killed in the line of duty was Adolph Dubs in 1979. The U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan was assigned the post in 1978, after a Soviet coup in the country and prior to the invasion in late 1979. Dubs was shot in an exchange of gunfire during an attempted kidnapping. Ambassador Dubs was the last U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan until 2002, after the U.S. toppled the Taliban regime. The assassination is considered by the State Department as a “Significant Terrorist Incident."

Thirty-three years later, on the 11th anniversary of 9/11, Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens, a long-time friend of Libya, was killed by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in a coordinated attack along-side a local militia group. The attack was in retaliation for the killing of Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Libi and the recent spiking of the "I killed Bin Laden" football by President Obama during the Democratic National Convention.

The attack happened in Benghazi as the Ambassador was working to collect military grade weapons distributed under order of President Barack Obama.  See, ABC, The Blotter, American Killed in Libya was on Intel Mission to Track Weapons

In an interview with ABC News last month, Glen Doherty, a 42-year-old former Navy SEAL who worked as a contractor with the State Department, said he personally went into the field to track down so-called MANPADS, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, and destroy them.

The "Fast and Furious" style arming of Libyan rebels allowed military-grade U.S. weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists. Weapons that were almost certainly used in Benghazi during the terrorist attack. Weapons that may have been used in any of the over 20 American embassy attacks since the incident.

Further, the prime suspect in the murder of Ambassador Stevens and the former Navy Seals was a terrorist released from an Egyptian prison during the Arab Spring.

Intelligence officials said in Egypt—currently ruled by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood—one of the key al Qaeda organizers has been identified as Muhammad al-Zawahiri, brother of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Muhammad al-Zawahiri was released by Morsi in March after having been sentenced to death for terrorist acts in Egypt.

In recent months Egypt-based al Qaeda terrorists were dispatched to Libya and Syria, where they have been covertly infiltrating Libyan militia groups and Syrian opposition forces opposing the Bashar al Assad regime.

Facts that could sink the reelection hopes of President Obama.

Libya's former head of state Muammar Gaddafi was killed on October 20, 2011. Gaddafi was added to the short list of leaders to be overthrown when he challenged the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.

"The system would be [directly] challenged a second time, this time by Libya. In February of 2009, Muammar Gaddafi was elected the chairman of the African Union and would continue the effort to create the United States of Africa, which among other things, would include a unified currency, a dinar based on gold. Gaddafi went so far as to suggest that the African nations' oil trade would be switched from the dollar to this new gold currency."

In order to remove Gaddafi, President Obama used Ambassador Stevens as the intermediary with Libyan rebels. The Ambassador was the one person with complete information on the arming of terrorists by the Obama administration. After the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, those arms needed to be collected or erased.

Despite multiple requests for additional security due to hit lists by Al Qaeda and former Gaddafi supporters, the Ambassador was placed in harms way. Believing in both America and the Libyan people led Ambassador Stevens to accept the assignment with the assistance of some heroic former U.S. Navy Seals. A mistake that cost them their lives, but nearly erased the inconvenient truth about the Obama administration's involvement. A truth revealed when CNN recovered the Ambassador's diary at the site of the attack. Consider how the formerly pro-Obama news network, CNN, suddenly began to air damaging truths about the 9/11/12 terrorist attack. Truth including this statement by the Mother of Slain State Department Worker:

I cried on Obama's shoulder. And he -- then he'd kind of looked off into the distance.
So that was worthless to me. I want to know, for god's sakes. Or for Allah's sake or whoever's sake is there. 

In order to ensure that American-made weapons were not found at the destroyed Benghazi consulate, the Obama administration delayed investigations by floating a cover story about a nonexistent protest due to an anti-Islamic video. The cover story was provided by the CIA in a quickly declassified document stating:

'The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex.' 

During the delay, CNN found the Ambassador's dairy, but all weapons were removed from the scene by hostile forces. Weapons that may have directly linked back to the Obama administration in a repeat of the Fast and Furious scandal. The weapons taken also included a cache of British weapons which had been stored in the annex.

Ali Zeidan, a former Gaddafi opponent, was just elected Libya Prime Minister. Zeidan narrowly edged out Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed al-Hrari, 93-85, due to backing from the liberal coalition in the 200-seat assembly. This is the Libyan legacy of the sacrifice made by Ambassador Stevens and the former Seals by his side. However, an eight vote margin and public calls for Libya's militias to disarm is not a long-term victory against brutal theological terrorists.

Terrorist who are now armed with MANPADS, surface-to-air, shoulder-fired missiles, capable of shooting down passenger jets.

P.S.

One conspiracy style motive being assigned to the Benghazi consulate attack was as an October surprise. Ambassador Stevens was to be kidnapped and then exchanged for The Blind Sheikh just prior to the election.  A plan foiled by the presence of two former U.S. Navy Seals. Whatever the motive, the facts point to another failed Obama plan.

Update 11/15/2012:

Adding CIA Annex in Benghazi held three Libyan militia members. This backs up the information that the US was tracking MANPADS that had been sold to Al Qaeda through the Libyan militia. General Petraeus investigated the situation personally in October. David Petraeus will hopefully reveal the situation to Congress today and prove himself a patriotic American hero.

General Carter Ham:

The head of the U.S. military's Africa Command said Wednesday that some of those who attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya were linked to al Qaeda's North Africa arm.

Additional Sources:
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_21551200/sudan-2-protesters-killed-outside-us-embassy
http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/12/the-last-us-ambassadors-to-die-on-duty
http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-history-strategy/13544-pakistan-comes-full-circle-light-shone-zia-ul-haqs-death.html
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_chron.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/9602439/Libya-British-guns-unaccounted-for-after-Benghazi-consulate-attack.html
http://macsmind.com/wordpress/2012/09/benghazi-gate-what-was-ambassador-stevens-and-three-others-doing-at-benghazi/
http://www.trevorloudon.com/2012/10/spooks-in-the-machine-speak-up/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211369/How-CIA-missed-clues-al-Qaedas-role-U-S-consulate-attack-Libya.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20048619-503543/obama-allies-must-decide-on-arming-libya-rebels/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57520884/libyan-who-captured-qaddafi-tortured-killed/
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/13/brits-missing-weapons-left-at-us-libyan-consulate.html?comp=7000023317828
http://gulagbound.com/34933/the-real-why-of-benghazi-part-2/#.UHxeym_A9BE
http://www.westernjournalism.com/october-surprise-gone-horribly-wrong/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoMubxspWz4