Category Archives: Terrorism

INSIGHTS 265: FICTION, A WINDOW INTO TODAY’S ISIS WAR IN AMERICA

Justice without MercyBlood Justice Front CoverQuiet Justice coverBarry Kelly's fourth novel

The goal of radical Islam is not just to disrupt Western nations. The goal is world domination. A world that will then live under Sharia law. That includes you, your children, and grandchildren. So don’t you think you should know more about it than the news media gives you in sound bites?

I have followed this subject for several decades as a CIA officer, a Special Assistant to President Reagan with responsibilities of being his point on terrorism and intelligence, and from the vantage point of several field assignments, including Vietnam, South Asia, Moscow and the Middle East. Much of my knowledge and experience is contained in the novels I have written. Of course, I would like to be a best-selling author but, also, I want to share my knowledge with my readers. My first two novels, “Justice Beyond Law” and “Justice Without Mercy,” take the reader through the setup of terrorist cells and targets including the recruitment and training of Americans by Islamists to attack soft targets in America. These novels also show that the Obama administration’s blind reliance on “law and order” tactics cannot win the war against terrorism. All of the following novels are in the Jack Brandon Justice series.

Justice Beyond Law, introduces Jack Brandon and shows how a renegade KGB officer (Yuri) uses an abandoned network of KGB agents infiltrated into America years ago for his personal profit. The strategy Yuri uses to turn his connections into a profit-making enterprise and to manage his diverse network with agents of different skills is more than plausible. The methods he uses strain the traditional law and order approach to terrorism. The traditional approach involves the collection of evidence that will stand up in a court system bound to provide the protections of our Constitution and the rules of due process to all residents, legal or illegal. The collection period is followed by an indictment, the issue of warrants, an arrest, and finally a trial. An immense effort over a long period, but a very important element of our citizen rights. The heroes of this novel believe that, when dealing with terrorists who are in the country illegally, sometimes the safety of our people requires faster action than the law and order process allows.

Run to Freedom, is the prequel to the Jack Brandon action series. In this story I rely heavily upon my knowledge of the old USSR and its KGB intelligence apparatus. The story starts in 1920 in Siberia, with a little known deployment of American troops, just as WWI was wrapping up. In this novel the readers will travel from Russia, to Poland, to Canada and several cities in America, as Peter Brandon, Jack’s father, tries to escape the KGB in America. The forces the KGB deploys in America to capture or kill Peter are entirely within the capabilities of Russian intelligence in 1970′s America, as are the methods Peter uses to escape the dragnet.

Justice Without Mercy, shows the process an extremist Muslim group like al Qaeda uses to set up a series of terrorist acts in America to weaken the resolve of the people and lessen their trust in government to protect them. The plot of this novel is more probable than most people believe. Traditional law and order process is not capable of dealing with the fast-moving action of terrorism in the homeland. The law and order process pushed by the Obama administration, particularly by the Department of Justice, is more political than an effective counter-terrorist approach. There is a war brought by Islamic Jihadists against us. It needs to be fought with a similar approach. Foreign Jihadists don’t qualify for the protections of our Constitution.

The two following novels were written more than two years before the ISIS attacks in Paris, San Borodino and Orlando

Quiet Justice follows Jack and his growing team as they join with the CIA to take down ISIS terrorists in Jacksonville, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Charleston, South Carolina, and on the terrorists’ own turf in Fallujah, Iraq. This adventure in the Jack Brandon series pits Jack’s wits against those of a terrorist known as ‘The Fist of Islam,’ who has been converting U.S. citizens into warriors for Islam.

       Blood Justice, picks up the tale of another intriguing plot by an ISIS group in Iraq to bring the battlefield to the American homeland. Jack Brandon and his group are asked by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to be the spearhead in the defense of America from this massive plot. It is hard to imagine that the traditional tools of law and order can win a war against the forces of radical Islam.

All these books have been reviewed by the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information.

The author has 27 years of government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as a Special Assistant. His books can be found at Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Nook or ordered through your local book store.

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Filed under Action thrillers, Barry Kelly, Books, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, ISIS, Middle East, Sunni, Terrorism

INSIGHTS 244: THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Nov. 19, 2015: It is no secret U.S. military forces operating in Syria and Iraq are under very tight rules of engagement to avoid civilian deaths. The rules are so unrealistic that many planes return to base with their full load of ordnance. Fuel trucks carrying ISIS oil to sell for the money needed to finance their Caliphate were not routinely attacked. Critical ISIS ground targets were untouched. Does this president care that much about civilian deaths or exposing our warriors to danger from the restraints placed upon their actions? I don’t think so. There is another reason for ‘no boots on the ground’ and restraints on both air and grObama vs militaryound operations. Our leader does not want American power in the Middle East that would check the spread of the Iranian empire and curtail Iranian support to their Shiite allies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. His transformation is not limited to America. If he were serious about destroying ISIS, we would have armed the Kurds with the weapons they have been requesting, conducted thousands of sorties per week against ISIS on the ground, and be leading an effective ground force of U.S. and coalition forces. Instead of NATO leading the way, Putin’s Russia is now the go-to leader in the Middle East while American power and will to act is suspect in the lands of friends and enemies. Judging by the erosion of American power over the last seven years, transformation is working on schedule.

Nov. 20, 2015: Of all the things that worry me in watching the president use his transformation process to drastically change America into a progressive, socialist nation, I am most concerned that more than half of the voters elected this man two times. Surely it was clear after his first term that he wasn’t either equipped or motivated to solve America’s problems. He has not brought the nation together. His actions have attempted to divide America along class lines. Maybe democracy cannot work without the rule of law and constitutional checks and balances limiting the actions of the majority. Today, we have the government we deserve.

Nov. 27, 2015: It’s TRANSFORMATION, DUMMY. The only way to understand this president’s actions and non-actions is to understand everything is about transforming America and its international objectives. Harping about climate change being our greatest threat is only because the details of climate change will amount to one of the largest redistributions of wealth in history. Redistribution of wealth is the main pillar of the transformation process. When you are wondering how any president could make a deal that enables Iran to spread power in the Middle East, allow Chinese and Russian expansion, cripple American industry, tie American energy production in spools of red tape, disrespect our traditional allies, and reduce our armed forces, think TRANSFORMATION. For it’s the president’s bottom line, all the time.

Nov. 30, 2015: How can any so-called group of world leaders meet to discuss “climate change” as the No. 1 threat to civilization when mayhem is stalking the world in the name of Islamic radicalism and Russian expansion? Most of them smell money in the form of dollars. A few are like our progressive president who want to spread wealth from the industrialized world to the developing world. The others just want the wealth climate control legislation will send their way. This group is sane. The others believe that under their management, big government can solve any problem, even those that do not exist. We all know climate change has occurred and will continue to occur. What only those who are privy to the ‘political science’ of progressivism know, is that people cause climate change by the release of ‘dangerous amounts’ of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuel as an energy source. There is absolutely no evidence to support this belief. Instead, it is a perfect example of the insanity of depending on international bodies that progressives believe should prevail over all people regardless of their national citizenship.

 

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, ISIS, Kurds, Middle East, Obama, political solutions, Terrorism

INSIGHTS 241 — THE ADVISOR CRITICIZES THE PRESIDENT’S SPEECH

Advisor's vault doorBy his first comment, the Advisor could tell he had hit a presidential nerve. In an angry voice, the President said, “What do you mean I live in a different universe?”

“Simply judging by your last speech on the terrorism incident in San Bernardino, California. You focused on gun control, said don’t blame Islam, touted the success of your existing strategy against ISIS or ISIL and the effectiveness of your multination coalition, and the arming of Sunni and Kurdish forces with more Special Forces support and a continuation of the bombing of ISIS targets and the need for patience. Are you not aware that no one believes any of this?” The Advisor waved one of his arms across the table.

The President sat back in his chair. “You are so wrong. All my advisors, those who don’t live in a cave, tell me my speech was near perfect. I know my transformation program is going well. I’m close to closing Guantanamo Bay and issuing an executive order to strengthen existing gun regulations.”

The Advisor paused. “I don’t believe any of that has anything real to do with the threat from Islamic jihadists. Your statement that the Islamic religion has nothing to do with terrorist attacks is neither accurate nor believable by anyone living in the modern world. Of course, not all Muslims are terrorists, but nearly all of today’s terrorist attacks are carried out by Muslims in the name of Islam. Moderate Muslims are not speaking out against jihadists and are not helping to prevent the radicals from taking control of the Islamic world. What do you think the Caliphate ISIS is establishing is all about? Closing Guantanamo Bay and more gun control regulation actions make people wonder what you are thinking about and why aren’t you focusing on the real problem of terrorism being exported from Islamic safe havens?”

“Well, is this the real Advisor exposing his true beliefs? You just don’t understand. Your ancestors never suffered under British colonialism. My grandfather and father both lived under the British boot. They were persecuted for their beliefs.”

“I cannot give you the advice I think you can use without injecting my own set of values and historical information base. No, my ancestors did not suffer under British colonialism. My ancestors were slaves brought from Africa in American and European ships loaded with Africans captured and sold to them by Arab Muslims and some Muslim-Africans with Arab names.

“American blacks fought for and won legal and actual freedom. Freedom wasn’t given to us. We fought for it. That is something you don’t understand about black history in America. You and your Kenyan family never were part of the King crusade. I don’t know about your white mother.

“We blacks have and have had our problems with equality and opportunity in America but we are proud to be Americans. We built a large part of this nation and are just in the last generation coming into enjoying our share in the American dream. Islamic terrorism is not just a threat to wealthy white America, it is a threat to all Americans of all classes. Under rule by the Progressive Party, do you think a boy from your background could become president of the United States? Isn’t that a real example of social mobility between economic classes in America?”

Instead of answering, the President stormed out and slammed the old vault door.

The Advisor thought, he might not come back and at this point, I really don’t care. I’ve no more advice I can offer. It is probably time to make my last entries and close my journal. 

 

 

 

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, ISIS, Kurds, Middle East, Obama, oil, political solutions, Progressives, Shiite, Sunni, Terrorism

INSIGHTS 237 — POLITICS AND THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE

Advisor's vault doorThe President and the Advisor were seated at the polished cherry conference table in the Advisor’s underground suite. Both were enjoying a rare moment of small talk. The President poured himself another cup of steaming dark Columbian and said, “I wish I could relax in the Oval Office as well as I do in your cave.”

The Advisor replied, “When people are in the Oval Office they want something from you and they all have their own agendas. Down here everything you say stays here. There is no need for you to perform and I have no agenda other than to help you in small ways to run the country.”

“Will you be here for my successor?”

“Mr. President, I’m not even sure I will last the rest of your term. Down here the aging process seems to accelerate. A new Advisor will be here for the next president. Our history of the Advisor activity shows nearly all presidents do not come down here in the first year or so of their term. This place is lonely enough even when you come down here three or four times a month. Without your visits, I don’t think I would have lasted this long.”

“It is very possible that my former Secretary of State will be elected. What did you think of her performance when she testified in front of the Benghazi Committee?”

“Congressional hearings are seldom successful. The format seriously handicaps disciplined, effective questioning. All the members are up for election every two years and, therefore, are constantly campaigning. Face time in front of the nation is too important an opportunity to focus on pure investigative examining of the witness. The partisan membership of the committee and the alternating rotation of examiners nearly ensures nothing definitive will result. Everyone going into the hearing knew the long history of the witness and her willingness to avoid the truth.”

“She and I have both been shaped by the teaching of Saul Alinsky. She had a long-term personal relationship with America’s most influential revolutionary. I never had the opportunity to meet this great thinker. But I’m still uncomfortable with her replacing me in the White House. While down here, I will admit to lying to the people on many occasions, I avoid the truth only when it harms my efforts to transform America into a socialist state with no more military or economic power than many other nations. I do not lie to benefit my personal wealth. My former Secretary of State and her husband never take their eyes off the money. From the beginning of their political careers it has been about the money.

“I’m sure you have noticed how she avoided spreading the Benghazi lie about the infamous video and instead recommended my longtime friend, Susan Rice, go out to sell the video lie to the nation on national TV. She knew much more about Benghazi than I even did. She undoubtedly knew security there was inadequate and knew requests for more security from the ambassador had been turned down. For my part it was less than 60 days before the national election. I probably wouldn’t have won if the nation knew the truth about Benghazi. My policies in the Middle East would have been discredited.

“Here, I followed my revolutionary mentor, Mr. Alinsky, that the issue is never the issue and the end justifies the means. Telling the truth that we sacrificed the people at Benghazi and never even tried to rescue or support them would have given the Republicans enough momentum to have defeated me and the process of transforming America. The creation of a new nation of wealth sharing, equal opportunity, and the replacement of capitalism with socialism would have suffered a very serious setback. Benghazi is a ‘bump in the road’ on the path to socialism. History is full of similar choices by leaders. I had no real choice.”

“I agree, your former Secretary of State does not share your ideological purity. It is more personal with her. I do not feel I could serve as her advisor. I also don’t think she will be able to carry on your transformation program. She doesn’t have the touch.”

“Right now, that problem bothers me more than all the other challenges I still face. I must go now, but will be back sometime next week.”

This is an account written by a fictional advisor who doesn’t exist but should.

Check out the latest Jack Brandon mystery suspense novel at your local bookstore. Follow the author on Twitter @factsfictions80.

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INSIGHTS 221 — THE ADVISOR ASKS WHAT MADE YOU DO IT.

Advisor's vault doorThe Advisor thought finally the President and I are getting comfortable talking about real issues. He has loosened up in the last few sessions. He knows I’m no threat and I won’t betray his candid responses to my questions. Hope he is in a talkative mood tonight. He should be here in another few minutes. I think he makes a real effort to be more or less on time and I appreciated it. He glanced up at the passageway monitor and saw the President and Chris approaching his door. Funny he has never commented on the wording on the old brass plaque. Even I don’t know its background. Maybe it is contained somewhere in the early journals. The only was to search them is to go thru them one by one. I just don’t have the time for that.

“Welcome Mr. President. Have you had a good day?”

“Can’t remember when. Everyday I get several problems that should never reach the Oval Office. I don’t know if some of my staff are afraid or just too limited to handle the problems on their own. The problems, or rather issues, that I handle always get some bad press. Fortunately I have very few consistent critics in the media. Some of them have gone out of their way to be supportive. Okay, you have some questions for me?”

“Yes I do Mr. President. Some of them are not important in the writing of history but I want to ask you why you did certain things that even your supporters do not seem to understand. My first questions is, why have you spent so much energy and time on closing Guantanamo Bay?”

“Well, the first thing is that I made a campaign promise to close this sore spot on our international record as a freedom loving nation. Gitmo is a prison and a place of torture. Students of international law believe it is a place that has no place in the twenty-first century. We can detain criminals in prisons in the Continental United States where my Attorney-General can protect their rights, examine the evidence, and bring them to trial under the American system of justice.”

“But, surely, there are cases when it would be appropriate to detain and try terrorist prisoners captured on the field of battle?”

“I just don’t trust the military to run trials of our enemies. Their rules of evidence, procedure, and concern for the rights of the accused do not meet my standards. I want America to look toward my leadership in prosecuting criminals, not the Pentagon.”

“We have both studied the law, both constitutional and international. Don’t you see the impossibility of collecting evidence, taking statements from witnesses and yet following the strict rules required by our courts regarding the chain of accountability and custody of evidence from the crime scene to the court room?”

“If we can’t get a conviction on the main charges, we’ll have to settle  for prosecuting them for lesser crimes. If the military can’t or won’t meet the standards of American justice, they shouldn’t be conducting trials or detaining prisoners for years without charging and trying them.”

“Mr. President, there must be more than that.”

“Yes, in this room there is one more big one. Gitmo is a wonderful issue for me to use campaigning to attack conservatives. My base loves this issue. Elections are not won on facts. They are won by picking good issues and building them into  major points. The time the conservatives spend defending Gitmo means they are playing by my rules and they can’t win. Take the Bergdorf guy who deserted his post and was held by the Taliban for years. He wasn’t important to anything, but he gave me a perfect opportunity to get five more top terrorists out of Gitmo. There was no other way I could justify their release. Who could argue sending those five criminals to one of the Gulf States for safe keeping. Who cares where they end up? Sorry I can’t continue but I must go. Thank you for the coffee and conversation. They were both good.”

As the steel door closed, the Advisor thought if you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question. This may have been one of those times. Absolutely scary. No one would believe what I just heard. Especially since his words had the ring of truth. Get ready for an Executive Order to  give Guantanamo Bay to the Castro’s.

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place, but it could have.

The author’s latest Jack Brandon novel, ISIS Quiet Justice, is available at your local book store and in ebook format from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Follow the author on Twitter at @factsfictions80.

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