One has to do with economics; the other with ideology.
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Nusra Front Quietly Rises in Syria as Islamic State Targeted - ABC News - 0 views
Nusra Front leaves east Syria strongholds | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR - 0 views
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Libya may become the next front in war against the Islamic State - 0 views
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Much like Iraq, Libya has fallen into a period of lawlessness without a stable and effective government to keep order and stability. Taking advantage of this are not only various regional militias but the Islamic State (ISIS). It appears as if Libya will again be on the front lines of fighting terrorism, much like Iraq ans Syria.
Parties, NGOs and syndicates to form 'Front to Defend Freedoms' - Daily News Egypt - 0 views
www.dailynewsegypt.com/...-form-front-to-defend-freedoms
parties ngos Egypt freedom Front to Defend Freedoms
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Syria allies: Why Russia, Iran and China are standing by the regime - CNN.com - 1 views
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It believes humanitarian concerns are often used an excuse for pursuing America's own political and economic interests.
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Putin's existential fear for his own survival and the survival of the repressive system that he and al-Assad represent
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not only driven by the need to preserve its naval presence in the Mediterranean, secure its energy contracts, or counter the West on 'regime change
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The West handles the Islamic world the way a monkey handles a grenade," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted
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Russia is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. It has the power to veto Security Council resolutions against the Syrian regime and has done so repeatedly over the past two years
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Islamic Republic has provided technical help such as intelligence, communications and advice on crowd control and weapons as protests in Syria morphed into resistance
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The last thing Iran wants now is a Sunni-dominated Syria -- especially as the rebels' main supporters are Iran's Persian Gulf rivals: Qatar and Saudi Arabi
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Iran counted on Syria as its only Arab ally during its eight-year war with Iraq. Iraq was Sunni-dominate
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Many believe Iran is Washington's greatest threat in the region, especially with its nuclear potential
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Rather than siding with either Assad or the opposition and standing aside to 'wait and see,' Beijing is actively betting on both
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China said it is firmly opposed to the use of chemical weapons and supports the U.N.'s chemical weapons inspectors.
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China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. And like Russia, China has repeatedly blocked sanctions attempts against the Syrian regime
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Syria's allies, Russia, Iran, and China, all stand by them despite western powers opposing the Syrian government. There are different reasons to why these powers seem to stay with Syria such as Russia's ideologies, Iran's strategy, or China's trading. Either way, these government will stand by them until there is nothing left to lose.
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No LOL Matter: FBI Trolls Social Media for Would-Be Jihadis - NBC News.com - 1 views
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conversation via Skype, a “trusted brother” who was actually an undercover FBI employee, “told Basit that he could help get him inside Al-Nusra. …
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updating techniques it has used since the early days of the Internet to engage the enemy on services such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
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Sheikh’s case and several other recent terrorism prosecutions shed light on the growing importance of social media in the battles unfolding in Syria and Iraq -- both as a recruiting tool for Islamic terrorist groups like ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front, and as a means for the FBI to pre-emptively nab the would-be jihadis.
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raises questions about the FBI’s conduct in attempting to head off terrorist recruits and whether they incited them to actions they wouldn’t have otherwise taken.
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During the investigation, the FBI published a webpage that purported to recruit individuals to travel to Syria and join Jabhat al-Nusra (
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posed as a Syrian nurse and "used a Facebook page which promoted the ideology of Islamic extremism" to contact the suspect,
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been able to expand their reach far beyond the traditional jihadi recruitment pool to a much wider audience -- including English-speaking Western nationals."
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FBI at times goes too far to reel in American Muslims, most of them young, who are sympathetic to the Islamic extremist cause.
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her client is “a lonely, mentally ill young man with a tremendous desire to be liked,” which made him susceptible to a paid FBI informant’s online encouragement.
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Suspects began posting on Facebook or other social media expressing support for or seeking contact with one of the Islamic groups fighting in Iraq and Syria and were then engaged by informants or undercover FBI agents.
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'Don't go there in any way, don't go there in thought or expression, don't even toy with the idea of becoming foreign fighters.'"
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eventually agreed to join Al-Nusra, purchased a plane ticket to Beirut and prepared for his journey to jihad
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defense attorneys in all four cases may argue that the FBI actions amounted to entrapment -- the act of tricking someone into committing a crime so that they can be arrested
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sought to make contact with al Qaeda officials on Facebook and other social media, but instead drew the attention of an undercover FBI agent who presented himself as a recruiter for the terrorist group.
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"ISIS recruits are more likely to reach out in the online universe seeking advice on how to reach the land of jihad than to consult the guidance of a traditional cleric or local community leader
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that universe and creating honeypots to draw in and capture potential ISIS recruits, they can help sow doubts in the minds of would-be jihadists in the overall reliability of the Internet as a medium for recruit
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Justice Department plans to review federal law enforcement practices on creating fake Facebook pages in light of an incident,
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Jihadists edging out US allies in Syria - 0 views
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Six weeks have passed since the US-led coalition began its strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants and other jihadist groups in Syria, but recent developments in the stricken country confirm that the mission is facing huge challenges, as BBC Arabic's Feras Kilani reports "We are vanishing before the eyes of the whole world, including our friends in the US," a disappointed moderate commander told the BBC over the phone, after his group's defeat by the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.
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King Bibi Says No State - 0 views
www.nytimes.com/...nyahu-campaign-settlement.html
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Syrian army makes gains in Daraa with local militia support (VIDEO) - RT News - 0 views
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Syria | Reports from the front lines | [English Subtitles] - YouTube - 0 views
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A Russian news report from Zvezda (Star) channel, including interviews with pro-Syrian army militia commanders. The video is all in Russian but includes English subtitles and takes an interesting look at the system of tunnels various groups are using in this conflict. I chose this because it was a another look at the current conflict from a Russian channel but without the extreme propaganda one finds in the Russia Today articles.
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Syria: Clashes leave Hezbollah and Iranian militants dead | Al Bawaba - 0 views
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"Regime forces undertaking two fronts, led violent battles with Syrian Opposition forces in Al-Eis town, located in south Aleppo. Regime forces entered Al-Eis yesterday and announced the death of twelve Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants and two militants from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC."
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U.S. behind Syria strike that killed top Nusra Front militant | The Japan Times - 0 views
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Lack of unity stalls Egypt's youth revolution - 0 views
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the NF
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UN, Russia take lead in Syria diplomacy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Egypt on Feb. 9-10 signals a “new phase” in Russian diplomacy in the Middle East.
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Despite deteriorating ties with the United States and NATO countries over Ukraine, Maxim Suchkov writes, "Russia is anything but isolated, while Europe is no longer the promised land for the state that seeks recognition of its global influence."
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Egypt and Russia have “shared positions on a number of regional issues; closely aligned interests (particularly on fighting international terrorism); a successful track record of bilateral cooperation on various fronts; and a strong personal bond of trust between respective leaders.”
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Egypt’s leadership has grown frustrated with US admonitions and criticisms of its governance record, and from Cairo’s perspective, bewildering discussions of conditions on US military aid
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is hardly ready to ditch his country’s long-standing ties to the United States, the prospect of Russian arms and assistance could prove a useful complement to what some in Cairo consider more uncertain US support, especially as Egypt faces an ongoing terrorist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
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as a result of the Russian president’s visit to Cairo, the parties might agree to pool their forces in the context of a Syrian settlement.
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It might be understandable for some analysts to dismiss the Moscow conference, given the diplomatic false starts over four years in a conflict that has left more than 150,000 dead, 7.6 million displaced, 3.2 million refugees, 12.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance and at least 680,000 injured, according to the United Nations.
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Syrian opposition figures were not allowed to participate in the Jan. 26-29 Moscow conference as representatives of opposition parties, such as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (SOC), the leading umbrella group based in Turkey
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The absence of the SOC and other representatives of the external opposition no doubt limited the potential impact of the conference,
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Participants agreed to an 11-point list of “Moscow Principles” and a four-point “Appeal to the International Community” affirming the need to fight terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS), rejecting outside interference and calling for increased humanitarian aid, while agreeing to meet again in a month’s time.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vigorously supported the law, claiming its passage is essential in defending democracy
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“Success tempted the AKP, prompting it to revert back to its Islamism and initiate a much more ambitious narrative of building a new regional order, and even a new global order. Meanwhile, Erdogan turned into an unquestionable leader who is not limited by facts and creates his own facts, as envisioned by his Islamist ideology and extraordinary intuition. In the eyes of his hard-core supporters, he is not a mere political leader who formulates pragmatic policies. He is a total leader who redefines everything.”
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Kurds battle Assad's forces in Syria, opening new front in civil war | Reuters - 0 views
uk.reuters.com/...ia-kurds-idUKKBN0KQ0KC20150117
Kurdish Syria civil war middle east military battle forces revolution
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ISIS seizes Camp in Yarmouk - 0 views
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Some 18,000 civilians have been trapped with limited food and water in the Yarmouk camp near Syria's capital, caught between government forces and dueling rebel groups. Their already-tenuous situation deteriorated sharply last week when ISIS launched a push to seize control of the camp from rival armed groups like the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, setting off street battles and mounting alarm for those trapped in the crossfire.
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Syria: Islamic State seizes control of refugee camp near Damascus | World news | The Gu... - 0 views
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Aid agencies have warned of an urgent humanitarian crisis after Islamist militants seized control of a refugee camp, just a few miles from Damascus, the Syrian capital.
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Fighters for the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s official Syria wing, advanced into the camp in the town of Yarmouk – home to 18,000 refugees – on Friday night
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The Observatory, which monitors the conflict from the UK, also said jets from Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s air forcebombed the camp on Saturday
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called the crisis in Yarmouk “an affront to the humanity of all of us, a source of universal shame”.
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He said Palestinian and Syrian refugees in the camp, which had previously been besieged by Assad’s forces, were already suffering from starvation and disease
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Their main target was Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, an anti-Assad militia of Syrians and Palestinians from the camp.
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The evacuation of the camp had been made harder as Isis snipers were shooting refugees as they tried to leave the camp.
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Iraq and Syria are 'finishing schools' for foreign extremists, says UN report | World n... - 0 views
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Iraq and Syria have become “international finishing schools” for extremists according to a UN report which says the number of foreign fighters joining terrorist groups has spiked to more than 25,000 from more than 100 countrie
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monitoring UN sanctions against al-Qaida estimates the number of overseas terrorist fighters worldwide increased by 71% between mid-2014 and March 2015
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problem had increased over the past three years and the flow of foreign fighters was “higher than it has ever been historically
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The report said just two countries had drawn more than 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group
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ited the “high number” of foreign fighters from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia, the increase in fighters from the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago, and the first fighters from some countries in sub-Saharan Africa which it did not name. The groups had also found recruits from Britain and Australia.
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A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world
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while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it was possible that some may be traumatised by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.
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The number of countries the fighters come from has also risen dramatically from a small group in the 1990s to more than 100 today — more than half the countries in the world
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foreign fighters who travelled to Syria and Iraq were living and working in “a veritable ‘international finishing school’ for extremists”, as was the case in Afghanistan in the 199
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an urgent global security problem” that needed to be tackled on many fronts and had no easy solution
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With globalised travel, it said, the chance of a person from any country becoming a victim of a foreign terrorist attack was growing “particularly with attacks targeting hotels, public spaces and venues
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It said the most effective policy was to prevent the radicalisation, recruitment and travel of would-be fighters.