by John Rambo
The Islamic State:
The Islamic State is going to get its own section after that last debacle you guys made me eat…..
ISIL needs to be defined before a report on their situation can be given. So after this I can just focus on the tactical, operational, and strategic impacts of the Islamic State instead of who and what controls it.
How far does the Islamic State spread?
South Front Analysis and Intelligence has the most accurate idea of ISIL in terms of territorial control.
Thin corridors through territories along towns, villages and roads bordering deserts and oases. Large parts of the Islamic State is disconnected. Branches outside the core of Syria and Iraq are either factions that have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State or are subsidiary branches opened up by ISIL and are recruiting from whomever, generally by sapping local Islamists factions. ISIL does enjoy a level of popularity higher than Al-Qaeda. [Source]
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1756985
For you see right now ISIL is the new Al-Qaeda to jihadist-wannabes except bigger-er and better-er. Al-Qaeda had to hide in caves in Afghanistan and compounds in Pakistan. ISIL is out in the opening, beheading and raping whenever and wherever without second thoughts.
ISIL sympathizers may exist in large numbers in Turkey, potentially Europe, and definitely in some parts of the GCC. Their actual strength and capabilities is yet to be known.
Recruiting in the Arab world isn’t hard. Many boys and young men remember the humiliating defeats suffered by their fathers and grandfathers in Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya…… all at the hands of foreigners. Israel is the pinnacle of this shame, foreigners who have forced themselves in the heart of the Middle East and have kept it with force. The world looked on unwilling (or unable) to remedy the problems that continue to spread from this core issue.
It’s not hard to quantify ISILs popularity in such an environment. Official Arab states, including Assad’s Syria, do nothing but offer lip service whenever Israel attacks. Israel had destroyed a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007 and the only reaction to come from the Syrian government is the standard “we will reserve the right to retaliate when and where we choose for this incident”. [Source][Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Orchard
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=3&cid=21&frid=23&seccatid=20&eid=92469
Compare that to when the IRGC suffered a loss at the hand of the Israeli Air Force in Syria. Hezbollah took action by ambushing an IDF patrol. The difference in response is not lost on the young boys of the Middle East. If Hezbollah wasn’t a Shia organization it would probably be over flooded with recruits from all over the Arab world. Hezbollahs success against Israel irks Saudi Arabia who, with their vast wealth, have been unable to achieve any goals and objectives against Israel (save the Arab oil embargoes of the past which was still used timidly at best). [Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_2015_Shebaa_farms_incident
Now imagine how many boys throughout the Middle East saw the rapid victories of ISIL and hopped on the bandwagon to martyrdom…I mean victory. For them this might be the only legitimate ticket to a “liberated” Middle East.
The Islamic State right now operates (or has influence) in the following countries according to VARIOUS sources of differing levels of credibility (ordering from strongest presence to weakest):
- Iraq
- Syria
- Libya [Source]
http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2015/06/201562310837854715.htm - Egypt (Sinai)
- Yemen [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/isil-claim-bombing-coalition-base-yemen-aden-151006144810019.html - Afghanistan-Pakistan (Khorasan) [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2015/11/islamic-state-isil-taliban-afghanistan-151101074041755.html - Nigeria (Boko Harem swore allegiance to ISIL) [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/03/isil-eyes-east-africa-foments-division-150322130940108.html - Somalia (some factions inside Al-Shabaab, but not the entire organization)
- North Caucasus (Dagestan and Chechnya)
- Saudi Arabia (presence seen in minor attacks)
- Philippines [Source]
http://www.manilatimes.net/grave-isis-threat-philippines/132938/ - Algeria (possibly disbanded by government forces) [Source]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/19/us-algeria-security-idUSKBN0O42M720150519
ISIL may be a nuisance to the West but to Russia and China they are REAL threats. Russia has had issues with the same hardliner Wahhabists in Chechnya and Dagestan to the point of open conflict. As for China, a large Uighur population lives in the heartland of the Chinese state. These Uyghur’s are Turkic in terms of ethnicity and have a somewhat cold relationship with the Han Chinese (I’m putting it mildly). [Source]
http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2015/08/2015826102831723836.htm
The Islamic State Mastery of Warfare:
- Humvee-operations (thanks to Iraq’s 2nd Motorized Division)
- Advanced communication and co-ordination to wage war across two theatres on multiple fronts.
- Chemical warfare [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/mustard-gas-syria-fighting-watchdog-151105232221500.html - Suicide bombers (car bombs) [Source]
http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-turning-us-humvees-into-iraqs-nightmare-2015-6 - Mines, IEDs, traps, etc. including bomb-making.
- Tunnel warfare (both offensive and defensive in nature).
- Adaptation to counter-strategy (as seen against US air strikes, Russian air strikes, Iraqi ground offensives, etc.)
- PSYOPS
- Operational stealth (being able to move men and material into an AO without being spotted in the air and without any electronic emissions (radios) can be considered operational stealth)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-states-gains-reveal-new-prowess-on-battlefield-1432592298 - US assault tactics [Source]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kji6Jnuj1XY - Escalating terror tactics (beheadings, immolations, etc.)
- Strategic and operational competence.
- Scorched Earth [Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_cultural_heritage_by_ISIL - Mass killings [Source]
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1611193 - Statecraft [Source][Source][Source]
http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_6-linked-to-isil-arrested-on-charges-of-minting-coins-in-gaziantep-province_400856.html
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/09/12/347748371/islamic-state-rule-municipal-services-and-public-beheadings - Shock tactics (human-wave attacks, light infantry charges, suicide vehicles)
- Ability to absorb heavy causalities and sustain sieges/offensives [Source]
http://carnegie-mec.org/2015/06/29/islamic-state-s-strategy-lasting-and-expanding/ib5x - Psychopharmacology [Source][Source]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFz39oVhPXY
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/290320151 - Infiltration and sleeper cells [Source]
http://www.juancole.com/2015/05/cunning-stunts-sleeper.html - Hybrid tactics (merging conventional and irregular techniques/forces) [Source]
http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Alert_47_hybrid_ISIL.pdf - Recruitment and logistics [Source]
http://fortunascorner.com/2015/03/02/the-islamic-state-psyop-ops-the-foreign-fighters-threat/ - Public Relations (Propaganda, whatever) [Source]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3054825/Australian-doctor-latest-face-propaganda-campaign-evil-terrorist-organisation-Islamic-State.html - Internal security (preventing the leaks of plans and of silencing any internal dissidence/deserters) [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/isil-executed-dozens-fighters-flee-150830071953308.html
Islamic State and the situation today:
How ISIL is surviving in Iraq and Syria is still remarkable. It is being assaulted on all fronts, sustaining heavy causalities, and has suffered from a series of operational defeats only to find ways to shift the balance in their favor again (or in the very least neutralize gains made by opponents).
Their ability to react is uncanny yet purposeful. All combat seen from ISIL as of late is a form of delaying action. Attacking supply lines to slow down offensives in Syria. Setting up multitudes of defenses guarded by suicidal-god-fearing Mujahids in urban centers held by ISIL. Planting IEDs, mines, and other booby traps everywhere they go (as seen by the need to demine the recently recaptured highway between Khanasser and Ithriyah in Syria). Engaging Syrian and Iraqi forces on multiple fronts in consistent assaults.
All these military maneuvers are a sign of the tremendous pressure ISIL is enduring. Suicidal attacks are not reinforced to capture territory but to wreak havoc. The mass migration of fighters outside the Syrian theater is an indication some are writing off the Syrian campaign as a loss. There appears to be a more observable shift in focus on other fronts by ISIL, such as recruitment in Afghanistan, transferring fighters to other countries (Jordan, Turkey, Libya, etc.), the decreasing number of barbaric videos, the destruction of historical sites (as if to lure a reaction from the SAA).
It’s as if they’re buying time for something, either to hide back into the population or to await reinforcements/support (maybe the West has something cooking if you believe that ISIL is completely under their control).
On some fronts the Islamic State enjoys freedom of movement and projects itself not only militarily but also its governmental apparatuses that sustain its war machine (Libya, Yemen, Syria, etc.). In other fronts ISIL fighters remain hidden and careful highlighting the limited manpower and capabilities of the organization (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Europe?)
The question remains though, what is running ISIL?
What is ISIL? Who is behind ISIL?
The theories are abound. Terrorist group, proxy force, myth, grass roots organization, Gog and Magog/Yajuj and Majuj. The list really is endless.
The most popular theories I’ve seen to date are as follows:
The Islamic State is:
An offshoot of Al-Qaeda. A group of hard believers from Al-Qaeda who managed to have more success than their parent organization in attracting recruits, financing, and support. This splinter cell became more radical and took on an apocalyptic view of the world, believing the end times are truly here and the great battle against the roman (Christians) in Dabiq is soon upon them. [Source]
http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/dossiers/decipheringdaeshoriginsimpactandfuture/2014/12/201412393048947800.htm
An Israeli-creation. Muslims who hate other Muslims so much they would rather kill for the Jewish state because that’s super Halal these days.
But in all seriousness this theory treats ISIL as just an asset, a tool which receives medical support, air cover, special airstrikes preceding offensives, and other assistance from Israel. In some iterations of this theory Israel can be replaced or partnered with the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, CIA, Mossad etc. or a combination of all those players.
So called “evidence” for this theory:
- Iran’s claim this is Operation Hornet’s Nest, an operation to lure Jihadists from all over the world into one centralized area to be dealt with or controlled appropriately. (the support from Snowdon about this is non-existent but Iranian TV presented it as if Snowdon was revealing the operation) [Source]
http://snowdenhoax.blogspot.ca/ - The lack of ISIL attacks on Israeli targets (ever).
- Israel medical support to rebels and terrorists, including ISIL. [SOURCE]
http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/12/08/aiding-isis-israel-bombs-syria-for-fifth-time-in-18-months-gives-arms-medical-aid-to-militants/ - Israel’s assistance in attacking Syrian Arab Army targets at times during ISIL offensives (though confirming this is a lot harder than you imagine).
- ISIL openly threatens Hamas instead of providing solidarity. [SOURCE]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/isil-warns-hamas-video-message-150701042302630.html - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabiq_%28magazine%29s
- The United States one year air campaign against ISIL which only resulted in a fraction of the results the Russians achieved a year later against the Islamic State (though this can be attributed to a strategy to funnel them towards the easier and non-targeted Syria)
- Claims that ISIL is directly under NATO control to destabilize Russia [Source]
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/11/06/general-petraeus-accused-of-founding-isisisil/
A Syrian intelligence creation. After all once ISIL caught the world’s attention Assad stopped being such a bad guy. The alternative to Assad was nothing close to stability and thus it shifted its focus away from the government and onto the larger evil.
“Evidence”
- Russia’s entry in the war on behalf of the Syrian government to fight extremism.
- Assad did release many hardened criminals into society in the early years of the crisis before its complete outbreak into war. These outlaws were discovered to have directly joined Al-Qaeda and potentially created ISIL as we know it today. [Source]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syrias-assad-moves-to-allay-fury-after-security-forces-fire-on-protesters/2011/03/26/AFFoZDdB_story.html - Syrian intelligence infiltrators have been known to operate inside Islamists and rebel units for some time. How many have climbed the ranks and have achieved leadership positions is yet to be known. [Source]
https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/10/18/saaf-undercover-agent/ - Both Islamists and rebels have engaged in open fighting with the Islamic State. These both benefit Syria by having ISIL continuously grind against Islamists and rebels alike.
A private military contractor/mercenary force/elite special forces being financed by one of the mentioned parties above. As part of their assignment they grow their beards, cover their faces, and are follow a neo-Nazi strategy designed to evict, execute, or intimidate the people of the region.
“Evidence”:
- The level of cohesion ISIL seems to have. Units respond accordingly. Intelligence is acted upon with efficiency. A degree of experienced adaptability (against Russian air strikes, against Syrian ground offensives, against multiple fronts).
- The quality of attacks (IRGC officer assassinations, attacking exposed SAA desert supply lines, etc.) indicating accurate intelligence gathering at a national-level.
- The Western-style tactics of using US Army assault tactics (I’ve used this source before) and armored vehicle (Humvee) combat maneuvers.
- Qatar and its transporting of mercenaries to help Islamists. [Source]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-cia-qatar-and-the-creation-of-syrias-jabhat-al-nusra/5335453
https://youtu.be/H6tScwBn5SQ?t=227
- Talk of these “white hat” mercenaries which are masquerading as humanitarians. [SOURCE][SOURCE]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/white-helmets-new-breed-of-mercenaries-and-propagandists-disguised-as-humanitarians-in-syria/5473381
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/qa-syria-white-helmets-150819142324132.html
A myth. Kind of like the FSA. A CIA-Hollywood film used to control the narrative. ISIL seen on Youtube and in the media are just CIA staged events in a Langley office (or in Ohio or Texas or even somewhere in Mexico), acting out barbarity which is used to demoralize forces in a massive PSYOP with militias on the ground being led by US/Israeli/[Insert other nations of interest here] Special Forces.
The propaganda (by CIA-Hollywood; Zero Dark Thirty is a prime example of writing history) us used alongside human wave attacks by suicidal jihadists on attack vectors carefully planned out by Western Special Forces. These assaults are used to create a maximum shock effect on populations much more “awing” then Donald Rumsfeld’s ‘Shock and Awe’ doctrine. Rumors abound and ISIL in reality is nothing more than a mirage and good PR. ISIL is just an umbrella term for all militias/gangs/factions that are involved in this operation.
“Evidence” of support:
- Videos such of the early days of the crisis showing FSA soldiers destroying a Syrian tank with just a grenade (this video is most probably staged though I’ll admit, the effects are cool) [SOURCE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8AevLyTR6lM#t=112 - CIA attempting to fake videos of certain individuals (Osama Bin Laden) and jihadists alike. [Source] [Source]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-beheadings-of-journalists-cia-admitted-to-staging-fake-jihadist-videos-in-2010/5399345
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W6QLfXE3wA - This so called leaked video of a staged beheading (not really evidence but you get the idea) [Source]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf_SAuaRWtA - Syrian rebels openly admitting FSA is just an umbrella term and there is no real unified command.
- The ISIL official magazine titled Dabiq seems like something out of a CIA playbook. Their articles include covering military tactics and strategies, religious news, and battlefield situations. The magazine is in English and has a somewhat surprisingly excellent level of quality (links to the PDFs are on the same page). [Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabiq_%28magazine%29
A shadowy organization led by mastermind and rapist of white-women Omar Al-Baghdadi. Al-Baghdadi is the new Number 1 to his Islamic-Spectre. Being Number 1 of an evil organization, Baghdadi can be one of the following:
- A real Muslim badass who really believes in this Wahhabi stuff. An Original G one might say. He probably doesn’t even look at explosions but merely walks away from them nonchalantly like a true badass would.
- A secret Jew as part of the Jewish conspiracy to rule the world by creating an entity which in reality just exposes those that want to resist (like 1984s Emmanuel Goldstein). All energy that could have been used to fight Israel/US/West in the Middle East is instead being used to fight other Muslims, including popular factions such as Hezbollah.
(Similiar to the theories about Operation Snowden; A CIA program to oust potential US dissidents especially within the intelligence community. Part of Full-Spectrum Dominance, particularly in the media and as a form of inter-governmental blackmail.) - A CIA officer recruited by David Petraeus while Baghdadi was being held by US forces at Camp Bucca detention center during the early years of occupation.
- Some random preacher of a town of 50 people who probably don’t have running water or power and are unaware he is the mascot to ISIL.
A multi-polar organization that is more fluid and dynamic than initially conceived. With no predictability, high levels of corruption, and spontaneous group action (influenced by networks inside the organization). These networks involve local actors (such as tribes, militias, factions, so forth), intelligence agencies (Turkish, Israeli, US, etc.), regional factions (Al-Qaeda, Saudi cabals, GCC emirs, etc.) and of course the internet.
“Evidence”:
- Tribes, militias, and factions which have pledged loyalty or have worked closely with ISIL [Source]
http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/maps/view/iraq - Iraqi Ba’athist support (as seen during ISILs “Northern Offensive”) [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2015/10/enemy-enemies-rise-isil-151017151127849.html - Turkish intelligence connections and the use of the black market in Turkey to sell oil (Turkey has a rich black market which includes sex-slaves and organ trading as well).[SOURCE]
http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_report-seized-usb-drives-reveal-turkeys-links-to-isil_394672.html - Al-Qaeda links of the past
- US support in training, weapons, intelligence, and logistics.[SOURCE]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-covert-support-to-the-islamic-state-isis-as-a-means-to-creating-chaos-and-destroying-syria/5476356 - Israel and its Golan Heights support by providing not only medical support but also providing a semi-safe zone protected by Israeli helicopters and tanks. [Source]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-supports-syria-terrorists-out-of-golan-heights-85-wounded-al-qaeda-militants-transported-to-israeli-and-jordanian-hospitals/5436220 - Saudi Arabia and Qatar support in media coverage, financing, and demanding Russia stop bombing ISIL when the air strikes began (most likely because some of the royal family emirs might be in the command centers pretending to be jihadis when in reality they are only there to keep financing the fight). [Source]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-demands-russia-stop-bombing-raids-because-it-s-killing-innocent-victims-a6675081.html - International and regional infiltrators and insiders (sponsored by intelligence agencies, governments, private interests, etc.)
- Foreign fighters volunteering (or mercenaries being hired) [Source]
https://www.rt.com/news/320705-russia-isis-syria-asean/ - Child recruits (don’t forget to get them on those drugs on an early age) [Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/isil-afghanistan-151101060057329.html - Kids wearing masks and making a video and claiming they are part of the Islamic State, most probably inside Iraq and Syria. [Source]
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d6b_1445441310
A rogue cell gone wild. A group inside Al-Nusra that was once supported with some financing, intelligence, and logistics by a foreign intelligence power has evolved past its original mandate and design to have a life of its own. A nightmare of blowback in the worst possible way.
“Evidence”:
- Hamas is a direct example of such an operation. An Israel attempt to counterbalance the PLO created a hostile faction with a mind of its own some 20-years later. [SOURCE]
https://www.rt.com/news/243445-assange-west-islamists-us/ - The Taliban in Afghanistan was supported by the Pakistani ISI as well as the CIA which, if you believe the official story, blew back in the face of the US in the form of Al-Qaeda.
- The destruction of heritage sites being the final sign of losing control of the organization. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda both did similar things to ancient sites in Afghanistan.
The New World Order. ISIL is just part of their great plan in ruling the world and bring the end-times. How they piece together is still unknown but because the New World Order and co. owns the mainstream media it’s safe to say that the NWO is behind ISIL. As a matter of fact just like how the NWO likes to speak to us in ceremonies and architecture it so too speaks to us in mass media.
“Evidence”:
- In 2001 EA Studios release Command and Conquer General which pits three factions against each other in a fictitious modern real-time strategy setting. The United States of America, China, and the Global Liberation Army (GLA). The GLA is exactly as ISIL is, suicide bombers, chemical weapons, tunnels, bad accents, beards, etc. [Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Generals - Even the gameplay of the GLA as a faction (leaving aside its obvious Middle Eastern style of design) was centered on suicide units, tunnels, stealth, hijacking and has an abundance of cheap and fast units. However the GLA has no air force and in terms of durability and firepower is the weakest faction technologically, relying on numerical superior and surprise. [Source]
http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/GLA_Units_and_Structures_Summary - GLA structures can regenerate back after being destroyed, no matter how many time you destroy a command center, it’ll come back.
- Remind you of anyone?
Clearly this means that the NWO were foreshadowing their future moves in turning the Middle East into one homogenous terror-haven. Electronic Arts (EA) is traded on the NASDAQ. The NASDAQ is the ultimate base of power for the evil-worshipping NWO. Because the NWO love to speak in riddles, it is only safe to assume that Command and Conquer Generals is the NWOs designs for the Middle East through a game-puzzle. However the prediction was slightly off, involving China instead of Russia, but the game is set in 2013 (NWO KNEW IT ALL 14 YEARS EARLIER!) [Source]
http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Global_Liberation_Army
I should note the GLA was defeated by the Chinese so Russia will clearly win against the Islamic State. But of course like a cancer the GLA came back in the expansion CnC Generals Zero Hour to only be defeated again by the Chinese this time purging them from EUROPE. The NWO predict the Islamic State in Europe too!
[I hope no one took that seriously, just wanted to illustrate absurd coincidences do happen]
Islamic State Limits?
ISIL is definitely a multicultural multiethnic organization blending peoples from all of the Islamic world, local Arabs, Western emigrates, and muslims from the far east and central Asian countries.
Their ability for war is surprising. They crave legitimacy. Minting gold coins which can be traded throughout the world isn’t something out of a fanciful dreams. They must feel confident. All it takes is one country to admit that the Islamic State is a ‘movement’ and that is the thin line needed to be on the path of legitimization.
How they’ll achieve this is hard with the massive opposition ISIL faces. However as stated time and time again ISIL isn’t incompetent. They seem to have a plan. When they first beheaded an American and the US was going to get involved against the Islamic State militarily everyone said that this was the end of ISIL. When Russians entered the fray with their in-house air force everyone said that the Islamic State will collapse soon. And although the Islamic State was surprised with the entry of the Russian air force into the Syrian conflict, it openly beheaded an American inviting the US to increase the number of airstrikes.
Every time the Islamic State finds a way to escape its own death sentence. The guys behind the levers are playing to win. They don’t talk about one year or two year plans but ten year plan… the generational plan. How long does the Islamic State have to last until the children born under its banner turn of age ready for war?
Yet we are beginning to see limitations of the Islamic State. Signs that ISIL is unsustainable.
Its inability to adapt its social policies will make it hard to gain wider support amongst Sunnis. There also seems to be signs of internal debate about the treatment of non-Muslims, specifically the rapes and enslavements. In the past many fighters shrugged off the reports as Western propaganda but it appears more and more are discovering the true nature of their so called Caliphate. Desertions have been noted, the high desertions after the Russian air strikes were not only due to demoralization but representing those who were already in doubt of the Islamic State. Other issues stem from the unpredictability in governance and the ethnic tensions between foreigners and natives (Iraqis and Syrians). [Source][Source][Source]
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/threat-isil-exaggerated-150614063354471.html
http://carnegie-mec.org/2015/06/29/islamic-state-s-strategy-lasting-and-expanding/ib5x
http://presstv.com/Detail/2015/04/23/407762/ISIL-Iraq-internal-divisions
The one thing I find striking is how many times these ISIL jihadists curse the “Western puppet Syrian regime” in videos of attacks on the SAA. By theses fools standards Assad’s regime is considered a Western puppet. I don’t know if the Russian airstrikes reinforced this idea but if they see Assad as Western…. I mean… how far east do you need to go before that isn’t true?
It might have to do with ISILs belief in the apocalypse and it transpiring during their time. The battle of Dabiq will be during the last hour of the apocalypse (Dabiq is located in Syria). This battle will pit the best soldiers of Medina against the Roman armies. One can only assume the best of Muslim warriors against Christian armies. The Muslims win a resounding victory which will trigger the end times and the beginning of end of the world. [Source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabiq
If they truly believe it is the end times (or if ISIL leadership is just using that to lure in the apocalyptic-recruits) it’s not hard to imagine the reinforcement of belief an ISIL fighter gets from witnessing US planes and Russian helicopters operating inside Syria. Truly it is the end times for these people for here are the Roman armies. Sprinkle a bit of amphetamine-induced euphoria and you have the making of a very complicated religious experience.
Predictions:
The Islamic State is set to fizzle out unless their top leadership finds a way to shift the situation again. The Russian involvement, the shift in US strategy, the Iraqi and Syrian ground victories have all taken tolls on the ISIL.
Foreign fighters have decreased both in numbers on the ground and in fresh recruits. Two world powers are already involved against the Islamic State. Support from the GCC has slowed down considerably (perhaps a few emirs are still covertly supporting parts of the organization). Stockpiles are being destroyed or used up in fighting with little to no hope of replenishment save the black markets. Financial sources are being destroyed or recaptured (Baiji and the oil refineries). Strategic areas and city centers are slowly being reclaimed by governments.
If the Islamic State can make a comeback from this entire episode than it’s safe to assume that an external force is assisting them with a lot more than just recruitment and financing. Until then only time will tell who is (was) behind the Islamic State.
Very common sense analysis. Enjoyed it and I am enlightened by it. Beats any “expert” analysis from Foxy News or CNN (Crappy News Network.)
Common sense would suggest that ISIS is a Western creation. Full stop. The West was on the brink of getting to bomb Syria into a destroyed state like Libya; then the Russians pulled off a diplomatic coup. ISIS then emerges as a threat that demands Western intervention: first in Iraq and then in Syria. Coincidence theory is as much of an intellectual block as conspiracy theory.
Excellent comprehensive article in IS!
IS is nothing without funding? Follow the money. It comes from oil sales to whom? Turkey is one buyer. Who are the others? That’s supposed to generate $50 million a moth.
Where did the IS start up money come from? This had to be significant given the initial power of the group. Where did this money come from? Oil oligarchs, to start.
A specific outline of initial and sustaining funding of IS will tell us who is really behind this. That will also tell us who is doing NOTHING to stop the ongoing revenue and punish those who provided start up capital.
(apologies for not reading article thoroughly yet) Given what Bill Joy has written about the future http://www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2/, I reckon that in our glorious Global Economy, liver-eaters are the vanguard of the New-Proletariat.
If you’re referring to this:
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/320878-saudia-arabia-russia-politics/
Why no threats towards Israel, no declarations to liberate Jerusalem?
Well pretend you’re the head of ISIL. You want power. You’ve got this awkward yet somewhat capable military in your palm. You don’t care if using Islam gets you power, you just want it. You’re not dumb. You want to maintain this power and even grow it.
Attacking Israel, a society that is so GEARED towards over inflating threats and over reacting militarily, would complicated matters exponentially. Israel gets a blank cheque from the US. It doesn’t have to worry about hitting the right target. It’ll hit everything.
Threatening Saudi Arabia on the other hand seems more reasonable of an objective.
The debauchery of the House of Saud, the caretakers of the two holy cities of Medina and Mecca, is very well known throughout the Arab world. It’s known even to Westerners. Just a few weeks ago a Saudi prince escaped LA to flee sexual assault charges from a woman seen running out of his rented mansion covered in blood. Real Halal stuff going on right there I’m sure.
Recruitment on that alone must be much easier (and feels more realistic) than engaging Israel for Jerusalem. “Hey guys, Palestine is doing bad yes, but its because those traitors in Saudi Arabia and their debauchery. Once we liberate Mecca and Medina Islam will be reverted back to its path of victory and righteousness”
The other scenario is “Lets go attack Israel guys!” followed by a THIRD air power now dedicating air strikes on the Islamic State.
It is, without a doubt, highly suspicious that not even a SINGLE Islamic State faction has ever gone rogue and fired a rocket at Israel. The level of discipline is on par with Hezbollah.
I’m sure there are cabals inside the Saud family who are real Wahhabists and are displeased with the way their house behaves. Their disapproval continues towards the current family in power (which shook up the government with new positions, such as are out 30 year old defense minister). One can even go so far as to say some might covertly support the Islamic State as a possibility in ousting the current family from power.
On a geo-strategic level if the Islamic State could get Wahhabists in Saudi Arabia to cause some trouble for the House of Saud to the point where there is a semi- or quasi- civil war (in which oil supplies are threatened) that would be more impacting than liberating Jerusalem. Jerusalem can come after.
“He who controls the spice, controls the universe”
“It’s not who controls the spice but who has the ability to disrupt the spice who controls the universe.”
It’s some real evil-doing stuff for sure but it would be a more profound plan than attempting to take on the Jewish state.
Can anyone confirm the Isreali airstrike on Damascus airport?
If it is true it would confirm Iranian fears about the limits of Russian air cover (I don’t mean on the technical aspects but in international politics).
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the Russian MoD has to say about it.
Excellent. Thanx… Did we really give you that much stick last time?
The Caliphate that was created seems to have been a massive draw for young westerners. Something about the end times. How could such silly superstition result in such awesome garulla warfare? These guys know how to fight…
Peace John Rambo.
You worked hard and the sources are usefully presented. You’ve resisted the temptation to insert yourself too excessively, although you still do.
Nobody knows exactly but there is some truth in almost every scenario. I think Pepe’s recent article is worthy of very close analysis. He is almost laying it bare.
C I eh? With a name like yours, you’re just attacking JR (inserting yourself too much) because he’s done such a great job of exposing your soft underbelly
Wow!! That’s worth 10 units of credit at any credible university. I imagine you left a lot on the cutting room floor, too.
I recall much being imported into Syria from Libya thanks to Clinton who then launched yet another attempt to overthrow Assad on behalf of the Zionist Entity. The very fact that it refuses to attack and is even befriended by the IDF speaks volumes. It seems to have been formulated to accomplish goals the Outlaw Empire is unable or unwilling to attempt overtly in its quest for Full Spectrum Domination: Turn Yinon Plan into accomplished fact and utterly destabilize the Muslim lands of Russia and China thus defeating their economic goals and attempt to establish a Multipolar World, which would render them unexceptional and dispensable. Indeed, Daesh’s plans mesh too well with those of its creators to have arisen independently.
Until the great, intractable problems that helped spawn Daesh are rectified once and for all time, something akin to it will continue to plague global societies. And there’s no way to solve those problems as long as the Outlaw Empire and NATO/EU exist in their current form pushing their Fascist Monopoly Capitalism at the expense of Mother Nature and her planet’s peoples.
That last paragraph was beautifully put. In the end, if those in power insist on turning the whole Middle East into tinder, then there’s going to be burning. Maybe sometimes they deliberately trigger burns, maybe they try to direct the flames, but there’s gonna be fires whatever they do and they won’t be able to keep them in bounds. If they didn’t want fires, they shouldn’t be blowing countries up every time it looks like the locals might be able to have decent lives.
Really, it’s impressive the way the US consistently targets every country with decent education, health care and standard of living. They parch the water of “buen vivir” out of every place they can, and then wonder why the fires start.
Very true! Remember what their (even) stated policy is,” to not allow the rise of any country able to oppose the US in its global dominance”.So what that means is.Any of the nations of the World that “look” to be gaining the power to oppose the US must be destroyed by the US.Its as simple as that.They needed even be meaning to oppose the US.But just by having the power to do so.And by wanting to follow an independent path is enough for them to be destroyed.That is the entire key to the “evil” of the NWO system.If anyone wanted to point to one thing in particular to why it “must” be stopped,that is that one thing.No other nations can be independent and secure as long as that system exists.
Thank you for your report John. In my uneducated opinion, it would seem the multi-polar description is most apt.
Yet, rather than multi-polar, would not the US intelligence services take the lead and the others like Israel and Turkey and Saudis, being vassals, follow?
Also, nice Command and Conquer reference lol
Awesome analysis which boils down to: pick your favorite theory.
I think Pepe Escobar with his “Empire of Chaos” and Sibel Edmonds’ constant trackbacks to the US Gladio operations in Europe come the closest.
In short, ISIS is a RESULT of US/Israel/Saudi/GCC/Turkey “deep states” fomenting chaos for a whole host of individual reasons – mostly ending up about MONEY and POWER.
The advantage of such an approach is that when you have fomented deliberate chaos, you win no matter how it turns out. There’s always a way to turn chaos to your advantage as long as you’re not directly IN the chaos – which is the truth for the “deep states” involved in most of these countries, especially the US.
So in the end it really doesn’t matter WHO ISIS actually IS – just what they are useful for.
All this proliferation of chaos in Islamic lands is aimed at the heart of the Russian Federation, which is why the Russians are not waiting for the fight to come to them, and they are in it to win it. They have no other choice. It is not a “war of choice” for them. So if the western imperial powers who are fomenting all this chaos don’t back down, this is going to get real ugly.
If this is the end times and mad max is the way to survive, Then IS behaves in a way of law lessness, where you can do anything as long as you have the power to make others do your bidding, and as long as there exists lawlessness, you can nto eradicate it. kill a few and others will take their place.. The various gangs in the US also have their own supply routes and logistics and governance, So IS regenerating itself is not so exceptional. what is missing is the real time intelligence that IS uses.. How can you gather national level intelligence without a government that was good at such things not knowing about it? This is only possible with the help of a state power that is quite high up the chain with satellite and drone intelligence. You just can not put a small actor into figuring out the logistics of a state where millions are involved in its governance. Also the insiders in the state, there are such even in US law enforcement agencies, they all work for money.. But the level of money here is quite large.. Which is again only possible by a large state actor.
Now which state can organize this level of competence.. battlefield tactics on a country wide level, logistics and information warfare on a state level and the most important in all this, make money illegally, enough to fund your large organization.. The cartels took decades to setup their logistics and money laundering systems. But they are all small time compared to the level of planning and execution we see from an organization that’s less than 5 years old. If IS was used and they gained their experience in Libya.. Moving to Syria would have meant they would have had to setup all this from scratch.. same in Iraq.. The speed in which they came up says someone else had already laid the groundwork for all the other things, like government forces running off, soldiers not having any orders, IS knowing where their opposition was, IS knowing where to attack already and what defensive positions were in place..
And you are right, IS is not a single entity.. Israel controls one group, all the other countries their own groups, in tactics they cooperate with others in taking an objective. But other wise they behave like small individual groups just like all other gangs where the police are not around to enforce behavior. IS even have their own blocking force and punishment battalions where they capture any member trying to flee the battle field. So its real commanders are not with the front line troops but way in the back somewhere.
That was a lot of information.. And you say you dont know who is behind IS, so recruitment and financing is not enough? Using jazira as a source is pointless, as that is also another IS connected entity.. And the most important part in the entire rip is,
“If the Islamic State can make a comeback from this entire episode ” Which means their command structure is under nato.. and to avoid getting bombed they were extracted from the battlefield with just skeleton crew left behind so the entire things just don’t fall apart.. And would nato place them back when they gain air superiority and safety to go back..
Hi john, a really good sitrep…except I have one request…you use acronynms without telling me what they stand for…IRGC is one and GCC is another….I guess I’m supposed to know these things, but I actually don’t..and so other people that haven’t even been reading Saker’s for a year or more are possibly not going to know either.
thanks…
They are well known names like cia, mi6 etc.. Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_the_Guardians_of_the_Islamic_Revolution
Gulf Cooperation Council
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Cooperation_Council
Hi John, I also wanted to mention that these ‘boys’ in Islam are liver eaters and rapists…etc etc etc…and I don’t honestly think that that is explained by wanting to fight wars and would have joined Hezbollah except that they (Hezbollah) are Shia….
I think what Ghassan has talked about is more real…there is a deep problem within Islam itself, that twists sometimes, into this bizarre, black magic type behavior.
Well, this is a very good sitrep…John, I would llike to ask something here.
I wonder how an ISIL guy would react if his com-patriots were to have his mother in their grip and they were to treat her like they treat other people’s mothers and sisters and children and grandmothers etc…
Would this guy actually help them because he also has no respect for his own mother ? Or would he disagree with them, raping and killing and eating her organs ?
I suppose there are varying degrees of insanity within ISIL…and if you ask me…
I think that these creeps are being inspired by the antiChrist demons.
I did a search for Toyota and found none mentioned..
how ISIS appears to have “sprung” from the sand dunes and date trees as a nearly professional military traveling in convoys of matching Toyota trucks without explanation.
ISIS has been harbored, trained, armed, and extensively funded by a coalition of NATO and Persian Gulf states within Turkey’s (NATO territory) borders and has launched invasions into northern Syria with, at times, both Turkish artillery and air cover. The most recent example of this was the cross-border invasion by Al Qaeda into Kasab village, Latikia province in northwest Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ban of YouTube occurred after a leaked conversation between Head of Turkish Intelligence Hakan Fidan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that he wanted removed from the video-sharing website.
The leaked call details Erdogan’s thoughts that an attack on Syria “must be seen as an opportunity for us [Turkey]”.
In the conversation, intelligence chief Fidan says that he will send four men from Syria to attack Turkey to “make up a cause of war”.
To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.
It claimed 3,000 tons of weapons dating back to the former Yugoslavia have been sent in 75 planeloads from Zagreb airport to the rebels, largely via Jordan since November
The story confirmed the origins of ex-Yugoslav weapons seen in growing numbers in rebel hands in online videos, as described last month by The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers, but suggests far bigger quantities than previously suspected.
The shipments were allegedly paid for by Saudi Arabia at the bidding of the United States, with assistance on supplying the weapons organised through Turkey and Jordan, Syria’s neighbours. But the report added that as well as from Croatia, weapons came “from several other European countries including Britain”, without specifying if they were British-supplied or British-procured arms.
British military advisers however are known to be operating in countries bordering Syria alongside French and Americans, offering training to rebel leaders and former Syrian army officers. The Americans are also believed to be providing training on securing chemical weapons sites inside Syria.
Just last year it was reported that the US State Department had been sending in fleets of specifically Toyota-brand trucks into Syria to whom they claimed was the “Free Syrian Army.”
US foundation-funded Public Radio International (PRI) reported in a 2014 article titled, “This one Toyota pickup truck is at the top of the shopping list for the Free Syrian Army — and the Taliban,” that:
“Specific equipment like the Toyota Hiluxes are what we refer to as force enablers for the moderate opposition forces on the ground,” he adds. Shahbander says the US-supplied pickups will be delivering troops and supplies into battle. Some of the fleet will even become battlefield weapons..
So far the UK has sent around £8m of “non-lethal” aid, according to official papers seen by The Independent, comprising five 4×4 vehicles with ballistic protection; 20 sets of body armour; four trucks (three 25 tonne, one 20 tonne); six 4×4 SUVs; five non-armoured pick-ups; one recovery vehicle; four fork-lifts; three advanced “resilience kits” for region hubs, designed to rescue people in emergencies; 130 solar powered batteries; around 400 radios; water purification and rubbish collection kits; laptops; VSATs (small satellite systems for data communications) and printers.
http://journal-neo.org/2014/06/13/nato-s-terror-hordes-in-iraq-a-pretext-for-syria-invasion/
thanks for extensive report……..
“MOSCOW, November 12./TASS/. Russia and the United States should continue joint work to counteract the financing of terrorists, the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergey Ivanov, said at talks with the president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Shin Je-Yoon.
“Research into the sources of financing of Islamic State, held this year at the US initiative and with the active participation of Russia should not draw a line under joint work, but become the start of concrete work on revealing concrete states, individuals and legal entities involved in financial support for IS,” he said.
None of the states “can function efficiently if it takes no effort to fight corruption and counter the financing of terrorism,” he said.
“I don’t rule out that during the G20 summit that will take place in Turkey next week, the leaders will seriously look into the issues connected with the financing of terrorism, and first of all the financing of Islamic State,” Ivanov said.
He reminded the interlocutor that he had recently taken part in a conference of the states parties to the UN Convention against Corruption held in Russia’s St. Petersburg, marking visible progress made by the conference.”
What Putin should do is offer a salary to Syrians to fight terrorists.. It would be cheaper.. It already cost Russia 26×5 million which could fund an army of 50,000 for a couple of months.. Me thinks the Russia moderate rebels means someone who can be bought to fight for their country than against it.
Free Syrian Army Faces Mass Desertions Over Low Pay, Fragmented Leadership
FSA commanders say that fighters are paid as low as $50 a month to start, and even those fighting for a long time report getting less than $100 a month, when they get it at all.
With other rebel factions like ISIS paying $1,000 or more as a monthly salary, the FSA just isn’t a reliable place for rebels to earn a living in a war that seemingly is going to last years.
It’s no surprise, then, that the FSA is struggling to keep its estimated 35,000 fighters, split up into over 2,000 different factions, contented with their position in a war that is often changing, but in which their side never seems to be winning.
ISIS militants are paying foreign fighters $1,000 a month, King Abdullah II of Jordan said Monday. The king pointed out that the sum is equivalent to middle-class or upper-middle-class income in Jordan, underscoring the challenge of fighting the militant organization and its allure for would-be jihadists. Analysts have estimated that ISIS has at least 10,000 foreign fighters.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/isis-pays-foreign-fighters-1-000-month-jordan-king-n209026
http://fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/syria-citizens-returning-to-recaptured.html
extract
“In the article “War of the Billionaires,” reported today in Syria, as well as throughout the Arab world, shadow income is ranging from 20 to 40% of GDP.
But it was not always this way. In 2010, Damascus was able to intercept the theft of five billion lire from the state treasury. It is not surprising that anti-corruption action angered the local authorities, where they would play the “tyranny of the Assad regime” card………..The local rich people have enjoyed grey income, amassing vast fortunes, buying gold and taking it abroad, getting it out of the total control, Hasan Jemete reported. A former Minister of Industry and the Department of Economics Professor at Damascus University Dr. Hussein was forced to admit: “These rich people are the ‘terrorists’ most dangerous to the state. They keep the minimum income in the country, thereby paralyzing the circulation of capital.” Political columnist Ziad Ghosn, author of “War of the Billionaires” concludes that corruption in Syria, as well as in other countries, is a sign of a weakening Damascus government, which today has no effective tax authorities. So, before talking about the transition period, it is necessary to restore full control over the territory. Otherwise, the country will face more chaos, and then the total extermination of that part of the population, which, believing in the end of the war, returned to their liberated cities.”
a possibility perhaps, corrupt officials, peoples allying, connecting themselves with ISIS, arabic “oligarchs” in some way………..
not hopeful re Vienna talks-sabotage by USA?
“US did not consult with Russia on working groups on Syria
Zakharova said Moscow would like to remind Washington that the Vienna declaration on Syria denounces any ready-made external solutions.
“The US embassy in Moscow has recently informed the Russian Foreign Ministry by e-mail that working groups on Syria are being set up in Vienna. The initiative came as a great surprise. No one had held any preliminary discussions with us,” the Russian diplomat went on to say.
“We have never been in contact on this issue and we have never discussed the agenda for the groups; their venue and participants. In addition to that, the tasks of these groups are also unclear,” Zakharova said.
“We agreed to abide by the Vienna declaration adopted on October 30 which said the political process should be in the hands of the Syrians. The document excluded any attempts of ready-made external solutions,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
Representatives of Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Italy and the European Union have been left overboard, Zakarova said when commenting on the Vienna working groups on Syria.
“None of these groups provides for participation of countries like Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Italy and the European Union,” she added. “The door has been shut to these players, and the format of their participation has arbitrarily been restricted,” the Russian diplomat said.
Russia against improvisation in Syrian settlement
Moscow does not accept imposition of ways of Syrian crisis settlement and unilateral action in this process in conditions when the Vienna format exists. Maria Zakharova commented on the launch of subgroups on the Syrian settlement in the Austrian capital at the US initiative.
“The US hastily organized the work of working subgroups on Syria in Vienna on November 12-13,” she said. “This was done without consultations with Russia,” she said, noting that attempts were clearly seen “to divide participants in the process of the Syrian settlement into those leading and those being led”.
“We cannot accept such rules of the game,” the spokeswoman said.
The format of these groups’ activity remained unclear for Russia, she said. “We consider these actions by the US as an unsuccessful experiment,” she added.
“We urge all partners to coordinated teamwork on the basis of the already fixed mutually understanding without such unilateral improvisation, without flash-forward and excessive haste that only harms the cause,” she continued.
“We have outlined a plan, we have outlined it in Vienna collectively, it was coordinated among all participants, it is necessary to stick to the reached agreements,” Zakharova said.
“This is the kind of teamwork that the Russian delegation heading to a ministerial session in Vienna seeks,” she continued.’
Remember that ISIS was once Al-Qaeda in Iraq. If Al Qaeda was really just a database of Western “muslim” mercenaries, then ISIS is another murderous franchise for regime change.
“Al-Qaida, literally “the database”, was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians.”
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development
http://www.globalresearch.ca/al-qaeda-the-database-2/24738
To understand the purpose of ISIS it has to be seen in the light of US regime change policies and the drivers behind those policies, namely the US neocons. Here is George Bush Snr explaining to George Bush Jnr about the neocons (hint: the word is a euphemism)…
/daddy-whats-a-neocon-ethnic-mafia-wars-is-the-usa/
So what does Israel get out of destroying the Middle East? And we’re back to the Oded Yinon Plan and all the other bats**t crazy plans that have that one thing in common — Israeli regional hegemony.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815
http://www.globalresearch.ca/debacle-of-a-great-game-the-islamic-state-is-and-americas-war-on-iraq-and-syria/5395402
In the long run, the US gets NOTHING from destroying Iraq, Libya and all the rest. Only Israel ultimately benefits from the chaos.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-created-the-islamic-state-isis-for-sake-of-israel-and-military-industrial-complex-ex-cia-contractor/5457911
The problem is not so-called extreme Islam. The problem is one that Thucydides warned us about 2400 years ago, i.e. powerful states will use their power to foment stasis, i.e. civil war, as they seek further hegemony.
However, you don’t need all the above waffle. Just use your brains. US doesn’t get to bomb Syria and is told to leave Iraq. ISIS then “emerges” and attacks both countries with renewed vigour (and Western air drops, weaponry, transports, intelligence and special operation forces). Doh!
Did you read the reports about the SAS driving around dressed as ISIS fighters? Yeh, that was really to thwart ISIS rather that spearhead ISIS attacks ;) What about the Israel Commander reportedly captured with an ISIS unit? All this information is easily searchable.
I see ISIS as a modern group inspired by Tamerlane, who have learnt every trick possible from illicit and corporate means, turning everything learnt from the west against them…………
eg
“He destroyed the Golden Horde, conquered Persia and Mesopotamia, invaded Russia, Georgia, India, Syria and Turkey. Thousands of women were carried off as slaves. At Baghdad he had 90,000 of the inhabitants beheaded so that he could build towers with their skulls. – At Sivas in Turkey, where he promised no bloodshed in return for surrender, he had 3,000 prisoners buried alive and pointed out that he had kept to the letter of his oath – See more at: http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/death-tamerlane#sthash.h5MGwLyn.dpuf‘
“He even justified his Iranian, Mamluk and Ottoman campaigns as a re-imposition of legitimate Mongol control over lands taken by usurpers[.]”[5] As a means of legitimating his conquests, Timur relied on Islamic symbols and language, referring to himself as the “Sword of Islam” and patronizing educational and religious institutions. Timur’s armies were inclusively multi-ethnic and were feared throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe,[7] sizable parts of which were laid waste by his campaigns.[8] Scholars estimate that his military campaigns caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the world population.[9][10]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur
that could easily happen again…………
eg
“Should the need arise, Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) could buy a nuclear weapon in Pakistan within 12 months, the group’s in-house magazine boasts in an article attributed to hostage journalist John Cantlie.
T
The article talks about a “hypothetical operation” in which the Islamic State uses its “billions of dollars” to buy a nuclear device in Pakistan “through weapons dealers with links to corrupt officials in the region.”
The weapon could then be transported through Libya and Nigeria. The article suggests that “drug shipments from Columbia bound for Europe pass through West Africa, so moving other types of contraband from East to West is just as possible.”
The device would land on the south shores of South America and make its way to Mexico, from where “it’s just a quick hop through a smuggling tunnel” to the US. The chilling conclusion is that in the end, “they’re mingling with another 12 million ‘illegal’ aliens in America with a nuclear bomb in the trunk of their car.”
https://www.rt.com/news/263681-isis-get-nukes-pakistan/
article from May 2015, experts say it is unlikely…………..but
MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group and other radical groups in the Middle East have access to chemical warfare agents, including mustard gas, and are using them, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing on Thursday.
“Islamic State and some other radical Islamist groups in the Middle East have indeed gained access to the components and technologies for the production of chemical weapons and began using them more actively in Syria and Iraq,” the diplomat said.
“If earlier we talked about the use of household and industrial chlorine by them as chemical weapons, now there is verified information about the use of warfare poisonous agents, including mustard gas,” Zakharova said.
Zakharova noted that there was some information about the use of this gas not only in the fighting against the government forces, but also for carrying out terrorist attacks against the civilian population. “This gas is also used for the purposes of provocation to blame the government for that,” she added.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson recalled that the instances of the possible use of warfare poisonous agents are registered in a special report of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “It refers, in particular, to the use of mustard gas in populated localities near Aleppo in August,” she said.
Russia not to ignore US attempts to undermine its national security
Zakharova stressed that US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s statements to the effect that Russia allegedly undermines international stability are far from reality, and Moscow strongly denies such accusations.
“In diplomatic words, such statements are far from reality. We strongly deny such accusations,” she said. “Russia’s steps in the sphere of boosting defence are largely caused by the US activity, including the American nuclear potential improvement, deployment of the global missile defence system with a view to upsetting the strategic parity and bringing NATO infrastructure closer to Russian borders.”
————————————————————
This so-called analysis seems to downplay the 1000-pound eagle crapping in the living room:
The Islamic State is sponsored and supported firstly by the United States of America–with help from its allies (United Kingdom, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc.)
And no, that is not just another speculative “conspiracy theory.”
Even Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has insinuated as much.
Former DIA Chief Michael Flynn Says Rise of Islamic State was “a willful decision” and Defends Accuracy of 2012 Memo
http://levantreport.com/2015/08/06/former-dia-chief-michael-flynn-says-rise-of-islamic-state-was-a-willful-decision-and-defends-accuracy-of-2012-memo/
The shocking conclusion is that I think the US is using ISIS on behalf of Israel. Bonkers.
“In fact, unlike Putin’s Russian nationalism, Bush and Obama pursued the Zionism instead of American nationalism.”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/11/12/russia-is-restoring-balance-of-power/
And this graphic sums up the ISIS and Al Qaeda terror franchises for me…
http://www.veteranstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/c20371d589.jpg
How did Israel get such control in the US? Well, that’s the real question (see the Saker article on “What are the neocons, Daddy”…I linked it on this thread somewhere).
Good luck. The golden rule should be not to place the MSM above other sources of information. They’re all slanted, of course, but tis the MSM that is pushing war and chaos. And don’t forget logic — the US and its allies deal in false-flag diplomacy so if an incident occurs, ask yourself “who benefits” and ignore the MSM bs.
Multiple perspectives on an essentially international mercenary operation fueled by poverty and extremist ideologies.
I have already re-posted this link to an interview with an ex-al Quaeda commander in Afghanistan (al-Mayadeen TV (Lebanese):
http://www.ascertainthetruth.com/att/index.php/jahcubites-a-world-rule/1174-isis-exposed-shocking-interview
In it, the Sheikh says the takfiris were initially drawn from the ranks of al-Q, but that the organization essentially evaporated and mutated into a mercenary army. al-Baghdadi was released from prison in the US to use his al-Q contacts to recruit and expand the mercenary operation. ISIS was born, though it is essentially an umbrella term for various units.
Camps were organized in Jordan under US Marine supervision.
Al-Nusra front was (and still is ) the Israeli proxy terror group – over 1,000 injured takfiris have received treatment in Israel itself. No surprise an IDF commander was arrested recently in Iraq with an ISIS cell.
This confirms what most of up already know – ISIS if it is under any central command at all, is under NATO ‘special ops.’
So not just Turkey is involved – the rot goes much further and deeper.
The Silk Road project – which would do much to bring stability and prosperity to the Central ‘stans – must have alarmed the Anglo-Zionist organizers of ISIS and their ilk no end. Their pool of poverty-stricken, disaffected males would dramatically contract, and their ability to deploy them at will to strike terror (and arm-twist resistance) likewise.
“”This confirms what most of up already know – ISIS if it is under any central command at all, is under NATO ‘special ops.’””
There was an interview where one of the jihadi commanders under FSA banner said they all work independently.. Unless they have a particular mission where a varied bunch are brought together. Now I would think there are a lot of such missions to take objectives.. How are they coordinating such missions on a nationwide level? You need a huge setup to track the specialties and manpower of all the thousands of groups and where they are located as well as the strengths of the enemy, their positions and command structures.. The last week saw almost as many commanders associated with the SAA being assassinated. Someone is keeping track of where all the opposition are and what they are doing. A bunch of mercenaries or band of jihadis can not do this. You need quite a level of sophistication for strategy and logistics. Now that nato special forces were forced to leave the Syrian battlefield, their wards don’t know what to do and are falling apart at the seams. The diehards will remain and fight to the death but they have no objectives or reinforcements. Russia has been targeting all the supply depots just for this, they know who is running the show. If the US wanted to defeat the jihadis it would have been a simple matter to bomb all the Syrian bunker system, I am sure they got the maps from turncoats. There are thousands of bunkers setup for a guerilla war of attrition to stop the Israeli army advances all throughout Syria. The so called rebels took over the bunker system before there was any demonstration started.. It is also why a huge number of SAA personal got killed in the beginning. They also did not have anything to defeat such a fortified system that could house hundreds of men for weeks. Why the FSA lasted as long as it did.
SAA very close to cutting off all IS supply lines. I think things are ahead of schedule now because the rats are running off in all directions. And those nato wants to save are being flown to Yemen to keep them safe. The ones left would be the guys just working for money and mostly locals but untrained punk kids. Without direction after a few weeks they will run off to mommy. nato is going ape by the look of things, erdo is foaming at the mouth.. McCain is crying his poor heart out and Osama seems to have given up. Either Osama gets in the history books as the guy who made peace with cuba and iran which is not too bad.. Or he can become the next hitler and the guy who ended the world.
its been a while since I heard of any accidents in nato where large numbers of special forces died.. Wonder if they stopped reporting such things because there has been so many.. I am sure those 26 caliber missiles had taken out quite a few in the bunkers near Turkey.. Also why they were used so as not to give anyone any warning except that 1 hour at the start of the campaign..
Great post Mmiriww – very informative.
You’ve cleared up a big source of confusion for me – the whole business of these elaborate tunnels and underground bunkers.
I had to read the line about defence from ‘
the advancing Israeli army’ twice before the penny dropped: of course – the system was already in place. Or most of it.
It explains so much about a) the capacity of the takfiris to entrench and hold onto invaded areas and b) the difficulties faced by the SAA in getting them out into the open. Not to mention the ongoing concern of their use of ordinary Syrian citizens as human shields
I also wonder what ‘special forces’ have been taken out, though I suspect most of them are CIA assets trained for specific tasks rather than US citizens.
Major problem with SAA seems to be, Only volunteers go on the offensive. Who wants to volunteer to go fight head choppers? As of 2003, Grenada can be considered a super power compared to Syria. So this is the force Israel is so proud of defeating? Syria knew it was weak so only chemical weapons and a war of attrition were designed to overcome the massive Israeli superiority in every aspect. seems except for Iraq, none of the countries attacked, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria etc had any kind of effective military force. Only the Tiger force which was recently upgraded is in any way kind of effective military force.
Underfunded, Obsolescent Equipment, and Low Grade Manpower
Total Syrian arms deliveries during 1994-2001 totaled only $700 million versus $6.9
billion for Israel and $9.1 billion for Egypt.
Syria also has failed to modernize the training of its officers and relies heavily on poorly
trained conscripts. Like many of the forces in the developing world, it lacks an effective
cadre of non-commissioned officers and its officers often refuse to do the menial work of
NCOs.
Although overall force quality is low, Syrian special forces units are often effective, and
at least two armored divisions the Republican Guards division, and one mechanized
division have moderate to good readiness.
http://www.google.co.in/url?url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/syria_forcecapabilities.pdf&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ved=0CBMQFjAAOApqFQoTCOP6zrSGj8kCFVBwjgodpr4Ilg&sig2=Ozo1yVC46g3DqaFxwtIQTA&usg=AFQjCNHm5z1y30Te8ZWEqcvExvLYLCXqnQ
Many of the changes Assad made seemed to be because of what happened in 1967. Some people get really bent out of shape when people start talking about arabs as backward tribal people.. You only got to read the report of the 67 war to see.. Corruption and favoritism has a lot to do with things, like we see in Yemen today.. The Egyptians had 50000 men in yemen then and had just as much problems. Tribal warfare works on a small scale of guerilla warfare controlling small bands of terrorists or insurgents but are not very effective against organized military operation. If nothing else we are witnessing another exceptional work by the US where thousands of small bands are controlled and directed into a cohesive military force capable of dealing with much higher strength military formations. It is truly the first time that a tribal feudal system has been turned into a powerful military machine. The likes of Genghis khan and tamerlane had something similar but they used large tribal formations and not the dozen here and dozen there much smaller groups. The main advantage to such a formation is, many of them can be wiped out without any loss off effectiveness as more are just created. You can clearly see the difference where the top line command makes the difference.. The soldiers don’t really matter as long as they are willing to fight. Egypt, Jordan, Syria had men willing to fight but had no one on top who had any idea or who even went into battle. Basically they were just a rag tag bunch of men who ran around with guns and when faced with other men with guns did not know what to do and ran away. We see this now in Syria.. The top level command has lost control on a national level and only some commanders have control on a local level..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War
If nothing else, these last 5 years would have created a core group of Syrian military that are nationalistic and competent. The tiger force is a development in that direction. With an officer core that is military in nature and not tribal. Defeating Syria now would be a real war unlike before. Although less than 10,000 men.. Its a real military and not the rag tag bunch they fought in 67.
Sorry mate. ISIS and NATO are one and the same.
You cannot create from nothing an army that defeats the standing armies of two nations – Iraq and Syria. Armies need money – huge amounts of money. We all know now where the money comes from.
A few weeks ago the Financial Times of London – after many postings by myself and others – came out with the theory that ISIS were financed by smuggling oil from occupied fields. They somehow forgot to mention that by that time they had defeated repeatedly the armies aforementioned. Also, they forgot to mention that this oil went to Turkey – a member of NATO.
Here is the big LIE:
“ISIS Makes Millions From The Sale Of Oil In War-Torn Syria And Iraq”
http://www.npr.org/2015/10/14/448697144/isis-makes-millions-from-the-sale-of-oil-in-war-torn-syria-and-iraq
ISIS Czar John Allen Ousted!
By wmw_admin on September 24, 2015
Webster Tarpley — Tarpley.net Sept 23, 2015
Former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John R. Allen. Click to enlarge
Former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John R. Allen. Click to enlarge
After an intensive two-month international campaign for his ouster by the Tax Wall Street Party and its allies, State Department ISIS Czar Gen. John Allen, the person most responsible for the failure of US and coalition military measures against the Islamic State Caliphate, is planning to step down in November, numerous news organizations reported today. His chief of staff, Karin von Hippel of the State Department, is also quitting to join a British think tank. Allen’s sidekick, Ambassador Brett McGurk, will stay on for the moment in a caretaker capacity, but is also expected to be replaced soon.
The fall of Allen is due to many national and international factors. The indispensable role of the Tax Wall Street Party has been to serve as a catalyst permitting these many factors to come together to produce today’s results.
The Tax Wall Street Party and the United Front Against Austerity have been conducting a very energetic agitational campaign to fire ISIS Czar Allen for the past year, and especially over the last two months. We were honored to work together with Thierry Meyssan of the Voltaire Network, who provided vital intelligence and organizing muscle at numerous deceive points along the way.
At the end of July we started an intensive campaign to have Allen fired and replaced, under the slogan of #FireAllen4ISIS!
We regard Allen as responsible for the phony war against ISIS, which could have been wiped out in a few weeks of air campaign and closing the Turkish border the help of Kurds. Allen is closely allied with Gen Petraeus (now of Wall Street) in a camarilla of politically ambitious flag officers who represent a real and present danger to our Constitutional form of government.
Marine Corps four-star general John Allen, the former commander of US forces in Afghanistan, had retired in disgrace from military service after he had been pulled into the maelstrom of the Petraeus-Broadwell scandal, just after the September 2012 Benghazi incident and the November 2012 elections. Allen had been slated to take over as NATO Supreme Commander, but he never got that far. Allen had conducted an intensive email correspondence with Jill Kelly, a Lebanese-American socialite who lived near the Tampa headquarters of the US Central Command (CENTCOM). Petraeus and Allen are by all accounts members of the same tightly knit network or camarilla of disgruntled and politically ambitious generals who actively seek to bend US policy towards bigger and better wars.
Allen Appointed ISIS Czar by Skull and Bones Kerry
Skull & Bones’ John Kerry, the ghoulish face of modern Satanism. Click to enlarge
Skull & Bones’ John Kerry, the ghoulish face of modern Satanism. Click to enlarge
Allen was called back into government service by US Secretary Of State John “Skull and Bones” Kerry on September 13, 2014 to serve as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition against ISIL, colloquially known as the US ISIS Czar. Kerry and US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power had since the spring of 2014 been actively seeking additional personnel they could use to convince President Obama to undertake armed aggression against the legal government of Syria under President Bashar Assad. This was after the failure of the Ghouta chemical warfare provocation of August-September 2013, which is now known to have been a fraud perpetrated on world public opinion by Erdogan and his Saudi partners in crime It is a matter of public record that the frustrated warmongers Kerry and Power turned to General Petraeus, the former CIA Director, and the guess here is that, Petraeus recommended Allen.
Allen was soon making the rounds of the three score nations making up the US-led anti-Isis coalition. He soon learned the fine art of acting as an additional ambassador and advocate of those countries, most notably the degenerate monarchy of Saudi Arabia (the world’s biggest financier of state-sponsored terrorism), and the treacherous neo-Ottoman clique around President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu of Turkey. Erdogan must be counted as a key part of the ISIS command structure. ISIS could not survive for two weeks without the supply lines of food, fuel, ammunition, and recruits which cross from Turkey into the Syrian lands controlled by the Caliphate. Erdogan’s son and daughter are both part of the ISIS infrastructure – his son heads a company which reportedly markets Iraqi oil stolen by ISIS on the world market, while his daughter superintendents a hospital serving wounded Islamist terrorists only. Erdogan’s main obsession is to wipe out the valiant and highly effective YPG Kurdish fighters who have inflicted numerous humiliating defeats on the ISIS rabble, exposing the lies of the Western controlled media who had portrayed the soldiers of the Caliphate as 10 feet tall and possessing magical powers.
Allen’s Phony Air War Against ISIS
Allen must count as one of the greatest modern exponents of the Phony War strategy, the one used by defeatist French generals in June 1940. Allen’s job as ISIS Czar has been to prevent any effective US bombing campaign against the highly vulnerable ISIS concentrations. The formidable contingents of land-based and carrier-based US warplanes were artificially limited to just a few timid sorties per day, and often returned without having expended their ordnance. There was a flareup of international awareness of how feeble the air campaign actually was in the time around March 2014, but there was never enough energy to impose a decisive policy shift against Allen, armed as he was with Turkish and Saudi proxies.
When the Yazidis came under attack by ISIS in the summer of 2014, USAID was too little and too late. When the gallant Kurds began to turn the tide against the Caliphate butchers near Kobane, Allen made sure that the US forces stalled for weeks on end, always arguing that to do otherwise would be to offend the indispensable Turkish ally, which was in fact bringing nothing but treachery to the table.
Allen’s real goals were essentially two. First, he wanted to turn the US attack against the legitimate government of President Assad in Syria. Allen is one of the architects of the lunatic US theory that Assad is responsible for the Syrian rebels because his oppressive rule generated these death squads as a backlash. In reality, there never was a peaceful phase in the Syrian rebellion, not in the spring of 2011, nor at any other time. An armed resistance by Islamist fanatics against the Assad family has been going on since the 1980s, when an entire auditorium full of military cadets was ruthlessly massacred by the fanatics. If the government apparatus loyal to Assad were destroyed, ISIS would swiftly take over most of Syria and could begin to project power into the Mediterranean. The choice for Syria is either Assad or chaos, and Alan always came down on the side of chaos.
There are indications that Allen was part of the effort to start bombing Assad’s forces in mid-November 2014, under the cover of a “policy review,” with Republican Congressman Ed Royce tagging along. Allen’s MO was generally to wait until Obama had left town on an overseas trip, and then make a bureaucratic end run around the White House. Some might call this a putsch or a coup d’état. There are other terms for it.
Allen Eyed Use of ISIS Against Russia, Iran
Allen’s other obsession has been the idea of preserving ISIS intact and combat ready, while moving it in the direction of Iran and the Trans-Caucasus territories of the Russian Federation. This is why he make sure that there are pitifully few US sorties, and that most of them go astray.
Naturally, growing public awareness of the contemptible impotence of the US effort against ISIS always threatened to create insuperable public-relations problems for the Allen. Inside government, there is good reason to believe that Allen was one of the kingpins in the effort to cook negative intelligence coming from loyal officers in CENTCOM, and turned it into happy talk about how ISIS is losing the war. This was simply a smokescreen to be able to continue appeasing ISIS under the auspices of the Phony War policy.
At the same time, Allen and his associates in the Petraeus clique and the neocon think tank world in general always tried to channel public frustration with the lack of progress against ISIS, despite the multiple atrocities of the Caliphate, into a clamor for the bombing of Assad.
The beginning of the end for Allen came in late July 2015, when he again took advantage of Obama’s absence from Washington – this time during the trip to Africa – and connived with Erdogan to announce the creation of a safe haven for terrorists in northern Syria , complete with US air cover. US CENCTOM Commander General Lloyd Austin, and other loyal officers wanted nothing to do with this utopian scheme, but Erdogan sweetened the pot by letting the US use Incirlik Air Base against ISIS. Erdogan even promised that the Turkish Air Force would hit the Caliphate. It soon became obvious that this was another piece of Erdogan’s treachery, since the Turkish Air Force concentrated on the YPK and PKK Kurds, while leaving the Isis terrorists to run wild. The Erdogan-Allen coup of late July 2015 also caused a furore at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, the attacks secret headquarters, which runs the attacks on ISIS, with Turkish officers clashing with those from the other NATO states.[i]
The Obama White House has always been adamant that the US does not support a no-fly zone or a safe haven for terrorist in northern Syria. In response to the Allen-Erdogan intrigue, Obama named Ambassador Ratney of the State Department as his special envoy for Syria, clearly with a view to creating a counterweight to Alan inside the bureaucracy. Allen was able to stay in office up until the final passage of the Iran nuclear accord by blackmailing the president with a devastating insider critique of Obama’s Iran policies, quite possibly torpedoing the entire Iran diplomatic initiative. Once the Iran nuclear accord had been approved, Allen’s days were numbered.
The obvious US policy has always been to ally with Assad against the terrorist rebels, including ISIS. Now that the supposedly moderate rebels trained by the US have been cut from 65 to 4 or 5, the grotesque stupidity of Allen’s policy is unveiled for all to see.
Consternation Among the Petraeus Clique
General David H. Petraeus. Click to enlarge
General David H. Petraeus. Click to enlarge
The Bloomberg article that was among the first to report the fall of Allen allows us to sample and refute some of the arguments coming from the Petraeus clique about Allen’s tenure[ii].
Here we read, for example, “The timing of Allen’s departure could not be worse for the Obama administration.” This is the opposite of the truth, and Obama had been waiting for the approval of the Iran deal to give him a free hand in dealing with the unwanted Allen.
Bloomberg writes that ‘The incoming Marine Corps Commandant, Lieutenant General Robert Neller testified last month that the war is at a “stalemate.”’ This is the stalemate created by Allen’s policy of Phony War and appeasement.
The Petraeus clique line is further summarized by Bloomberg thus:
‘“U.S. officials familiar with Allen’s decision say he has been frustrated with White House micromanagement of the war and its failure to provide adequate resources to the fight. He unsuccessfully tried to convince the administration to allow U.S. tactical air control teams to deploy on the ground to help pick targets for air strikes in Iraq. Allen also tried several times to convince the White House to agree to Turkish demands for a civilian protection zone in Syria, to no avail. Nonetheless, administration officials stress that Allen’s decision to leave his post was motivated mainly by the health of his wife, who suffers from an auto-immune disorder.”’
We have refuted all of these points.
Bloomberg offers further apologetics: ‘”John Allen has put his heart and soul into trying to make the president’s strategy work,” said Derek Harvey, a former senior U.S. military intelligence official who worked with Allen at U.S. Central Command. “I have sympathy for the hard task he was given because I do not believe the president’s team was fully on board and he was never empowered to bring the leadership necessary to achieve the mission.”’
Bloomberg: “While Allen was working inside the administration, the White House could rely on him to push back against many others in the U.S. national security establishment who argued that Obama was not fully committed to his strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State. Earlier this month, he told ABC News that there had been many successes in the war, and he focused on setbacks for the terror group in Tikrit, Iraq, and Kobane, Syria.” As we have seen, this technique was used by Allen as a smokescreen of happy talk to protect his fundamental underlying policy of Phony War and appeasement.
Bloomberg also quotes Allen’s senior partner in intrigue, General Petraeus: ‘”Some elements of the right strategy are in place, but several are under-resourced while others are missing,” David Petraeus, the former general and Central Intelligence Agency director, testified Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We are not where we should be at this point.”’ Petraeus should not be pontificating; he should be facing charges.
The Tax Wall Street Party has played a decisive role in focusing public and elite attention on the crimes and sabotage by ISIS Czar Gen John Allen. The TWSP deserves major credit for the ouster of Allen. The TWSP conducted a multi-month sustained implacable campaign of exposure with the demand #FireAllen4ISIS! Only the Tax Wall Street Party did this. The Tax Wall Street Party thanks all persons of good will worldwide who contributed in any way to this magnificent and victorious effort. Special honors and recognition go to the members of the Tax Wall Street Party and United Front Against Austerity (UFAA) who waged this battle for civilization and humanity in the face of indifference and scorn from mush-heads, libertarians, humanitarian bombers and neocons.
[i] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/10/turkey-strikes-on-kurds-could…
[ii] http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-09-22/obama-s-islamic-state-w…
@RR
They’re not finished yet.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/22102015
The fallback was always the Kurds – specifically the Barzani clan in Iraq. Kurdistan (well, the oil-rich areas) is also an Allen project (the Allen-Juppe Plan.)
In fact, just before he resigned, he went to Erbil to woo them, and a number of articles promoting Kurd ‘unity’ began doing the rounds..
Currently, the Barzanis are making a lot of noise about the Shingal op – very grateful to the brave peshmerga forces/the American people blah blah..
Now Dunford’s ‘surprise’ visit to Iraq includes a call for all of the Iraqi militias and peshmerga to be under one commander – to be chosen by the Iraqi government (yeah, right) itself up to its tonsils in a series of corruption scandals. The KRG is also in trouble as the Barzanis struggle to keep control. New kid on the political bloc Goran (allegedly seeded with CIA money) hasn’t taken over yet, but the government is fractured.
So one can see why Dunford would want a single ‘commander’ – we will probably be hearing from a ‘rising’ Iraqi ‘star’ soon…
This just seems to be a rehash of western fear porn. ISIS is “uncanny”, unstoppable and al Qaeda on speed. We need better than this. We need to challenge the ISIS myth, not simply repeat it.
ISIS is just another name for the hydra of western proxy armies in the ME. We can’t keep saying that enough. This article doesn’t say it at all. What is iti doing on this usually excellent and hard-headed site?