Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve Quarterly Report to the United States Congress | April 1, 2020 – June 30, 2020

Publicly Released: August 4, 2020

This is the 22th Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) report to the United States Congress on Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the overseas contingency operation (OCO) to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The report covers the period April 1, 2020–June 30, 2020, and summarizes the quarter’s key events and describes completed, ongoing, and planned Lead IG and partner agency oversight work related to OIR.

During the quarter, U.S. and Coalition forces contended with complications and restrictions emanating from the coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Iraq and Syria while continuing efforts to combat ISIS and develop partner forces in both countries. These efforts took place against a backdrop of continued Coalition force consolidation, and uncertainty over how many U.S. forces will remain in Iraq and Syria, and for how long. In June, the U.S. and Iraqi governments initiated a Strategic Dialogue to determine the future of the bilateral relationship, including the deployment of U.S. troops. This dialogue began after Iraq’s parliament ended 5 months of political deadlock and approved a new government led by former Iraqi intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

According to the Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), ISIS conducted a surge of attacks during Ramadan and exploited restrictions placed on security forces due to COVID-19 to conduct more attacks. However, CJTF-OIR said that ISIS did not maintain the surge in attacks and assessed that due to its inability to sustain a higher level of activity as well as other factors, ISIS is not resurging. Some researchers and analysts raised concerns that ISIS could exploit any reduction in pressure on the group, and assessed that ISIS could make gains if underlying conditions, such as ineffective government and sectarian tensions, are not addressed.

Partner forces in both countries carried out operations against ISIS during the quarter, but due to COVID-19, the Coalition provided much of its support and training virtually. CJTF-OIR stated that both the Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces were more capable and better able to prevent ISIS from resurging than previously reported. However, U.S. Central Command reported growing concern over the increasing pressure from Syria and the Syrian regime on the SDF to break from the United States. CJTF-OIR also reported concern over the large numbers of ISIS prisoners in ad hoc detention centers in Syria. Most prisoners remain in detention because their countries are unwilling to repatriate them. This quarter, riots erupted at one facility and the SDF renewed calls for an international solution to the detainee crisis. Similarly, the international community struggled to provide services and security at internally displaced persons camps, where the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the delivery of humanitarian services.

This quarter, the Lead IG agencies and oversight partners released 12 reports related to OIR. These reports examined activities that support OIR, including the Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Counterterrorism’s oversight and management of its foreign assistance programs and the Global Engagement Center’s management and monitoring of its Federal assistance awards. As of June 30, 26 projects were ongoing, and 13 projects were planned. Investigative branches of the Lead IG agencies and their partner agencies closed 13 investigations, initiated 2 new investigations, and coordinated on 112 open investigations involving procurement fraud, corruption, grant fraud and other crimes.

Section 8L of the Inspector General Act of 1978 provides a mandate for the three Lead IG agencies—the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG), DoS OIG, and U.S. Agency for International Development OIG—to work together to develop and carry out joint, comprehensive, and strategic oversight. Each IG retains statutory independence, but together they apply their extensive regional experience and in-depth institutional knowledge to conduct whole-of-government oversight of these overseas contingency operations.

Use link for full 136 page report

https://www.dodig.mil/Reports/Lead-Inspector-General-Reports/Article/2298912/lead-inspector-general-for-operation-inherent-resolve-quarterly-report-to-the-u/

Biofuel Fraudster Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Scamming Multiple Federal Agencies and Customers

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/biofuel-fraudster-sentenced-seven-years-prison-scamming-multiple-federal-agencies-and

Five Charged in Connection with an over $4 Million Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/five-charged-connection-over-4-million-paycheck-protection-program-fraud-scheme

Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Two Commercial Properties Purchased with Funds Misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seeks-forfeiture-two-commercial-properties-purchased-funds-misappropriated

Houston Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/houston-attorney-sentenced-prison-offshore-tax-evasion-scheme

Company President and Employee Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Violate the Export Control Reform Act

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/company-president-and-employee-arrested-alleged-scheme-violate-export-control-reform-act

White House Moves To De-List Chinese Companies From American Stock Exchanges

The Trump Administration's campaign of non-stop foreign policy agitation - from sending Alex Azar to Taiwan, to holding more military exercises in the South China Sea, to Trump threatening to ban TikTok, and imposing sanctions on firms and individuals tied to the Chinese security apparatus in Xinjiang - continues apace Thursday night.

WSJ reports that a new proposal from the Trump Administration calls for all Chinese-domiciled companies with shares listed on American stock exchanges will need to comply with American auditing rules, or de-list by 2022.

It's not exactly a surprise. The Senate back in May passed a bill entitled the "Holding Foreign Companies Accountable" Act that called for Chinese companies to confirm to American accounting standards, or de-list. The bill was passed in the wake of the Luckin Coffee fraud.

It has been on the back-burner since.

If it were signed into law, the bill would required Chinese companies to comply with American auditing rules (they're currently exempt) or face being delisted, which would put $1.3 trillion of US-listed Chinese firms, including behemoths like Alibaba Group and Tencent, at risk of being pushed out of American markets.

In an amusing coincidence, since President Trump is threatening to 'cut Democrats out' of an extension of federal unemployment enhancement money and other emergency measures as the negotiations over an extension drag on, this new "proposal" from the Trump Administration would simply bypass Congress to use the SEC and Treasury to enact new regulations that would have the same effect in practice as the pending legislation.

Which begs the question: Why hasn't Pelosi brought the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act up for a vote already?

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/white-house-moves-de-list-chinese-companies-american-stock-exchanges

Pelosi, Schumer Send Urgent Letter to Postmaster General Demanding Reversal of Operational Changes to USPS Ahead of Election

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday sent an urgent letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy demanding he reverse the recent operational changes to the USPS that “threaten the timely delivery of mail” ahead of the 2020 election.

The Democrat-media complex exploded last week and accused President Trump of “destroying” the US Postal Service after the President’s newly appointed postmaster general made structural changes.

New changes made by Louis DeJoy have reportedly ‘slowed down’ the mail deliveries, prompting the left to accuse President Trump of corrupting the US Postal Service in order to deter people from using mail-in ballots for the November election.

The Democrats, with help from their stenographers in the media are keeping the Covid-19 panic alive until Election Day in order to change how Americans vote — they are pushing for mail-in voting because it doesn’t require voter ID and there is no chain of custody.

Pelosi and Schumer are now demanding Louis DeJoy reverse his structural changes so the ailing US Postal Service can handle an onslaught of ballots.

“We believe these changes, made during the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic, now threaten the timely delivery of mail—including medicines for seniors, paychecks for workers, and absentee ballots for voters—that is essential to millions of Americans,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote.

“While it is true that the Postal Service has and continues to face financial challenges, enacting these policies as cost-cutting or efficiency measures as the COVID-19 public health emergency continues is counterproductive and unacceptable.”

“During our meeting, you committed to being more forthcoming and transparent with Congress and the American people regarding these changes, including providing documentation of the operational changes you have made and will be making since beginning your term and the Postal Service’s plan to successfully deliver election mail during the 2020 elections.”

Louis DeJoy will testify to the House Oversight Committee about the changes he implemented on September 17.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/08/pelosi-schumer-send-urgent-letter-postmaster-general-demanding-reversal-operational-changes-usps-ahead-election/

The Good News the Media and Our Health Experts™ Are Hiding About COVID-19

You should be beyond frustrated about being lied to and terrorized. So much of the news about COVID-19 that should make you less stressed-out and more confident engaging in your community in a normal way is being suppressed. There is also additional information you need to know to understand what testing for COVID-19 means, why confirmed “infections” are misleading, and how our immune systems are beautifully engineered to fight the virus in ways we are now beginning to understand.

The first clues come from Dr. Beda M. Stadler, a Swiss biologist, emeritus professor, and former director of the Institute of Immunology at the University of Bern. In June, he wrote an article for Die Weltwoche, and while his assessment likening the virus to a severe cold that goes away in the summer may be optimistic, some of the basic facts about the immune system and testing are spot-on. This article was translated into English on Medium (the original requires a subscription):

Firstly, it was wrong to claim that this virus was novel. Secondly, It was even more wrong to claim that the population would not already have some immunity against this virus. Thirdly, it was the crowning of stupidity to claim that someone could have Covid-19 without any symptoms at all or even to pass the disease along without showing any symptoms whatsoever.

His first point has been echoed recently by Dr. Simone Gold of America’s Frontline Doctors and others. COVID-19 is 78% similar to SARS and uses the same process to enter the cells of the respiratory tract as SARS does. The spike in protein binds to the ACE-2 receptor to open the door. This information alone should inform public policy and treatment.

Stadler’s second point was just confirmed by researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology in a peer-reviewed study published in Science Magazine, the publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science Daily did an excellent summary in layman’s terms, which you can read in its entirety, but the bottom line is:

A new study shows that memory helper T cells that recognize common cold coronaviruses also recognize matching sites on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Your immune system’s “memory” T cells keep track of the viruses they have seen before. This immune cell memory gives the cells a headstart in recognizing and fighting off repeat invaders.

This study builds on work previously done that demonstrated:

The new work builds on a recent Cell paper from the Sette Lab and the lab of LJI Professor Shane Crotty, Ph.D., which showed that 40 to 60 percent of people never exposed to SARS-CoV-2 had T cells that reacted to the virus. Their immune systems recognized fragments of the virus it had never seen before. This finding turned out to be a global phenomenon and was reported in people from the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

While they say more research is needed, this may explain some of the patterns we see in COVID-19. Healthy individuals without preexisting conditions may have varying degrees of illness but then recover. Children and people under 50 seem to do exceptionally well. This pattern is likely because, as long as they remain active and interacting in the world, their immune system stays strong by coming into contact with less-virulent pathogens and triggering the immune response.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/stacey-lennox/2020/08/06/the-good-news-the-media-and-our-health-experts-are-hiding-about-covid-19-n759558

>>10204325 Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve Quarterly Report to the United States Congress | April 1, 2020 – June 30, 2020

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Swamp draining bun

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CABAL

Removal