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Old 12-07-2019, 08:23 AM
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Exclamation Naval base shooter investigated for possible terrorism links

Naval base shooter investigated for possible terrorism links
By: Bill Kaczor & Brendan Farrington - AP News - 12-7-19
RE: https://apnews.com/75a8adc71422596a54052540fabb7230

1st photo of 10: https://storage.googleapis.com/afs-p...6d0f8/800.jpeg
This photo taken from video provided by WEAR-TV shows emergency responders near the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. The US Navy is confirming that an active shooter and one other person are dead after gunfire at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. Area hospital representatives tell The Associated Press that at least 11 people were hospitalized. The base remains locked down amid a huge law enforcement response. (WEAR-TV via AP)

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) —

U.S. officials investigating the deadly attack by a Saudi aviation student at a naval air station in Florida were working Saturday to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism.

An aviation student from Saudi Arabia opened fire in a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning, killing three people. The assault, which prompted a massive law enforcement response and base lockdown, ended when a sheriff’s deputy killed the attacker. Eight people were hurt in the attack, including the two deputies, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.

Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott issued a scathing statement calling the shooting — the second on a U.S. Naval base this week — an act of terrorism “whether this individual was motivated by radical Islam or was simply mentally unstable.”

Scott added that it was “clear that we need to take steps to ensure that any and all foreign nationals are scrutinized and vetted extensively before being embedded with our American men and women in uniform.”

However, a national security expert from the Heritage Foundation warned against making an immediate link to terrorism.

Charles “Cully” Stimson cautioned against assuming that “because he was a Saudi national in their air force and he murdered our people, that he is a terrorist.”

Video link: https://img.youtube.com/vi/F0h_32H7K...resdefault.jpg

The shooter was a member of the Saudi military who was in aviation training at the base, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference. DeSantis spokesman Helen Ferre later said the governor learned about the shooter’s identity from briefings with FBI and military officials.

A U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity identified the shooter as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The official also said the FBI is examining social media posts and investigating whether he acted alone or was connected to any broader group.

During a news conference Friday night, the FBI declined to release the shooter’s identity and wouldn’t comment on his possible motivations.

“There are many reports circulating, but the FBI deals only in facts,” said Rachel L. Rojas, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Field Office.

Earlier Friday, two U.S. officials identified the student as a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, and said authorities were investigating whether the attack was terrorism-related. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose information that had not yet been made public.

President Donald Trump declined to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related. Trump tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims and noted that he had received a phone call from Saudi King Salman.

He said the king told him that “the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.”

The Saudi government offered condolences to the victims and their families and said it would provide “full support” to U.S. authorities investigating the shooting.

DeSantis said Saudi Arabia needed to be held to account for the attack.

“Obviously, the government ... needs to make things better for these victims,” he said. “I think they’re going to owe a debt here, given that this was one of their individuals.”

The U.S. has long had a robust training program for Saudis, providing assistance in the U.S. and in the kingdom. The shooting, however, shined a spotlight on the two countries’ sometimes rocky relationship.

The kingdom is still trying to recover from the killing last year of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Saudi intelligence officials and a forensic doctor killed and dismembered Khashoggi on Oct. 2, 2018, just as his fiancée waited outside the diplomatic mission.

One of the Navy’s most historic and storied bases, Naval Air Station Pensacola sprawls along the waterfront southwest of the city’s downtown and dominates the economy of the surrounding area.

Part of the base resembles a college campus, with buildings where 60,000 members of the Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard train each year in multiple fields of aviation. A couple hundred students from countries outside the U.S. are also enrolled in training, said Base commander Capt. Tim Kinsella.

The base is also home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team, and includes the National Naval Aviation Museum, a popular regional tourist attraction.

All of the shooting took place in one classroom and the shooter used a handgun, authorities said. Weapons are not allowed on the base, which Kinsella said would remain closed until further notice.

The shooting is the second at a U.S. naval base this week. A sailor whose submarine was docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, opened fire on three civilian employees Wednesday, killing two before taking his own life.

-—

Associated Press reporters Lolita Baldor, Ben Fox and Mike Balsamo in Washington; Jon Gambrell in Dubai; Tamara Lush in Tampa, Florida, and Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.

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Personal note: Since this happen on a US Navy base why didn't the N.C.I.S. staff handle this shooting - rather than the FBI? Or are they working in unison?

Boats
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 12-07-2019, 12:11 PM
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Arrow Saudis have come for U.S. military training for decades. Here’s why and how.

Saudis have come for U.S. military training for decades. Here’s why and how.
By: Miriam Berger - Washington Post - 12-7-19
RE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...heres-why-how/

The Saudi military student who shot and killed three people on Friday at a naval base in Florida was part of U.S. foreign military training programs that go back decades at bases and colleges. Military officers, usually handpicked by leaders in their home countries, receive training in U.S. military doctrine and tactics — including how to use U.S. made weapons, which often their countries have purchased — as well as instruction in the American political and legal systems.

Since the end of World War II, the Pentagon, the defense industry and others have championed these programs as a crucial way to cultivate allies, boost military partnerships and keep reliable channels for U.S. arms sales.

After Friday’s attack, however, some U.S. lawmakers are now raising questions about the vetting processes in place. Here’s what you need to know:

How many Saudis study in these U.S. programs?
Friday’s assailant, Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, was at the Naval Air Station Pensacola on one of more than 5,500 temporary visas issued to Saudi military personnel by the State Department in 2019, according to department data. As of Dec. 6, there were 852 Saudis in the United States for Department of Defense-sponsored training related to security cooperation. That represents 6 percent of the 5,181 students from 153 countries on these programs, according to Pentagon spokesperson Chris Garver. Pensacola is just one of more than 150 military schools and installations were these students study annually.

Overall, between 2009 and 2018, the State Department issued more than 980,000 temporary, non-immigrant visas to Saudi nationals, the highest rate for any country in the Middle East after Israel. Most of these visas were for students and tourists, though some have also went to military personnel.

Saudi is a major recipient of U.S. military aid and assistance, a core component of Washington and Riyadh’s decades-long geopolitical and economic ties that have partly shaped the course of the Middle East.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has largely funded it students on these programs through foreign military sales and other contracts, according to the Congressional Research Service.

What do they study?

Shamrani was in Pensacola through a U.S. Air Force Foreign Military Sales training course funded by Saudi Arabia. He started in 2017 and was on course to conclude in August 2020. The program included training in English, basic aviation and piloting.

Military students from Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, India, Oman, Tunisia, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius and the Philippines have also studied at Pensacola, according to the State Department.

Saudi is one of the world’s largest purchaser of arms, and many of these weapons are manufactured in the United States. At the Naval Air Station Pensacola, foreign military personnel can receive training on aircraft such as the F-15 fighter and C-130 cargo plane, which are among the items Saudi Arabia that Saudi has purchased.

Other coursework offered for Saudis through these programs have included leadership training for senior naval officers, The Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe reported.

What is the vetting process like?

Foreign military personnel in the United States on Defense Department-related training are first nominated by their host country and then assessed by Defense Department officials. The vetting process includes an in-country screening and database checks for any ties to terrorist-related activity, drug trafficking, corruption and other criminal conduct, officials said.

“The way that program works is that the foreign government has to certify that these are the best of their best, that these are their future generals and admirals and senior military officials for their countries,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), told USA Today. “The U.S. State Department does a scrub on those prospective trainees, and after that they matriculate into the program."

He added: “That’s a really important part of what our military does because it has people use our systems and train alongside our military members. They are more receptive and more capable and more willing to work with us when the time arises, should U.S. interests be impacted.”

What problems have these programs faced?

Earlier this year, the Pentagon canceled a training program for Afghan pilots in Texas after about 40 percent of the students were reported absent without leave. The Afghans that didn’t leave the course were sent back to Afghanistan to complete the training.

A similar program for Afghan pilots at a Georgia air base is also facing high desertion rates and is expected to end next year.

Some have also criticized these programs for not emphasizing enough coursework around issues such as human rights or for helping to train officers that prop up authoritarian systems.

Egyptian President Abdul Fatah el-Sissi, a former general and defense minister, is one of many prominent military and political leaders who have studied in the United States on these programs. He’s maintained close ties with the Trump administration as he leads brutal crackdowns on dissent in Egypt.

For years, the United States ran what was then called The School of Americas (now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), a Spanish-language training base for Latin American generals and officers. The list of graduates includes some Latin American and Caribbean political and military leaders accused of human rights abuses in the 1970s and 1980s, including former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega and Salvadoran death squad organizer Roberto D’Aubuisson. The School of the America closed in 2000, changed its name, and its curriculum was revamped.

“According to critics, the school had abusive graduates that violated human rights. They maintained that soldiers that were chosen to attend were not properly screened, with the result that some students and instructors attended the school even after being implicated in human rights violations ... The manuals discussed forms of coercion against insurgents, including execution and torture,” the Congressional Research Service wrote in 2001.

What’s been the fallout of Friday’s attack?

So far, some lawmakers have called for reforming the vetting process and for Saudi Arabia to compensate the victims.

President Trump, meanwhile, has taken a relatively conciliatory tone on Twitter surrounding the shooting after speaking with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.

“The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people that love the American people,” Trump tweeted.

Trump has kept close ties with Saudi, despite the conclusion of U.S. intelligence that the kingdom’s crown prince was behind the 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor and Virginia resident Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of some Saudi policies and advocate of democracy in the region.

About this writer: Miriam Berger is a staff writer reporting on foreign news for The Washington Post from Washington, D.C. She was previously based in Jerusalem and Cairo and has freelance reported around the Middle East.
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Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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