Originally appeared at MoonOfAlabama
The Obama administration, and especially the CIA and the State Department, seem to be in trouble. They shout everything they can against Russia and allege that the cleansing of east-Aleppo of al-Qaeda terrorist is genocidal. Meanwhile no mention is ever made of the famine of the Houthis in Yemen which the U.S. and Saudi bombing and their blockade directly causes.
But more and more major news accounts support the Russian allegation that the “moderate rebels” the U.S. is coddling in Syria are actually in cahoots with al-Qaeda if not al-Qaeda itself.
Reuters reports (though only at the end of a longer story):
In Aleppo, rebels in the Free Syrian Army are sharing operational planning with Jaish al-Fatah, an alliance of Islamist groups that includes the former Syrian wing of al Qaeda.Meanwhile, in nearby Hama province, FSA groups armed with U.S.-made anti-tank missiles are taking part in a major offensive with the al Qaeda-inspired Jund al-Aqsa group.
The Wall Street Journal is more direct and headlining: Syria Rebels Draw Closer to al Qaeda-Linked Group
Some of Syria’s largest rebel factions are doubling down on their alliance with an al Qaeda-linked group, despite a U.S. warning to split from the extremists or risk being targeted in airstrikes.
…
Some rebel groups already aligned with Syria Conquest Front responded by renewing their alliance. But others, such as Nour al-Din al-Zinki, a former Central Intelligence Agency-backed group and one of the largest factions in Aleppo, pledged allegiance for the first time to the front in recent days.
Indeed al.Qaeda announced publicly that the CIA’s Nour el-Din Zinki and Suqour al-Sham joined its Jihad
As little back as August the State Department defended Zinki after some of its member abducted a Palestinian boy from a hospital near Aleppo and beheaded him in front of a video camera:
[I]n State Department briefings, [..] spokesman Mark Toner downplayed the incidents, or the possibility that the US would stop arming Nour al-Din al-Zinki just because they beheaded a child..
…
Toner insisted [..] “one incident here and there would not necessarily make you a terrorist group.”
The new news reports follow after an interview by the German former politician and journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer with an al-Qaeda commander published in English on this site. The commander said that Nusra (aka al-Qaeda) were directly supplied, via a subgroup, with U.S. TOW missiles. He added about such groups:
They are all with us. We are all the al-Nusra Front. A groups is created and calls itself “Islamic Army”, or “Fateh al-Sham”. Each group has its own name but their believe is homogeneous. The general name is al-Nusra Front. One person has, for example, 2,000 fighters. Then he creates from these a new group and calls it “Ahrar al-Sham”. Brothers, who’s believe, thoughts and aims are identical to those of al-Nusra Front.
Another interview recently published by the former military Jack Murphy was with a Green Beret soldier who served in Turkey and Syria. The Green Berets are special forces of the U.S. army. They are specialists in training and fighting with indigenous guerrilla groups against governments the U.S. dislikes. The soldier interviewed was ordered to train “moderate Syrian rebels” in Turkey. Parts of the interview (paywalled) are quoted here:
“No one on the ground believes in this mission or this effort”, a former Green Beret writes of America’s covert and clandestine programs to train and arm Syrian insurgents, “they know we are just training the next generation of jihadis, so they are sabotaging it by saying, ‘Fuck it, who cares?’”. “I don’t want to be responsible for Nusra guys saying they were trained by Americans,” the Green Beret added.
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Murphy states bluntly: “distinguishing between the FSA and al-Nusra is impossible, because they are virtually the same organization. As early as 2013, FSA commanders were defecting with their entire units to join al-Nusra. There, they still retain the FSA monicker, but it is merely for show, to give the appearance of secularism so they can maintain access to weaponry provided by the CIA and Saudi intelligence services. The reality is that the FSA is little more than a cover for the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra. …
It is one thing when Russia says somesthing, but another when Reuters, WSJ, and independent German and U.S. subject experts report this as facts. The first can be shunned as “Putin lies” but the others are extremely hard to refute.
The Russians are right. The U.S. did not separate the “moderate rebels” from al Qaeda, as it had agreed to in the ceasefire agreement, because the “moderates” and al-Qaeda are the same. The “moderates” are al-Qaeda. This was not unknown. The 2012 Defense Intelligence Analysis said as much. The CIA of course knew this all along. But the Saudi tool heading the CIA, John Brennan, can not admit such as his masters in the Gulf are also the ones who finance al-Qaeda.
They buy the weapons Brennan’s people hadn over to al-Qaeda. The “end-user” according tothis certificate for a weapon buy in Ukraine is Saudi Arabia. But who will believe that the Saudi dictators need for example 100 obsolete T-55 tanks? The weapons on the certificate, for an estimated $300-$500 million, are obviously for al-Qaeda in Yemen and in Syria. (Did Joe Biden or his son, both heavily engaged in Ukraine, get a provision from the deal?)
As the facts accumulate how long can the New York Times and Washington Post keep up with their propaganda claims. One has to admit, they really try their best. Unfortunately for them, their best is only mediocre. The NYT today found out that Vladimir Putin Relishes His Role as Disrupter. How does the NYT know what Putin “relishes”? The reporter did not ask Putin himself. But he did ask some knowledgeable experts with insight into Putin’s inner mind and those assured the author that this is indeed the case. They know exactly how Putin feels. They are Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director and Robert Kagan, leading voice of of the neocons and Clinton promoter. Some “experts”.
Add that to dozens of stories on how “Russia indiscriminately bombs civilians/hospitals/bakeries in east-Aleppo” but never hits any “rebels” because none occur in these stories at all. A recent NYT piece of that kind had 14 “voices” in it. Eight belonged to various propagandists associated with the “White Helmets”, four were “western” diplomats, one Syrian government official and a Russian spokesperson were quoted at the end. No Russian military and no one from west-Aleppo, where by far most people in the city live under government protection and daily rocket hail by the “rebels”, were even asked.
But all those tales we hear about the devilish Russians MUST be true! Even the 7 years old Bana Alabeb now tweets from east-Aleppo about her tragic fate under indiscriminate Russian assaults. This in perfect English and with an excellent WiFi and Internet connection as her many “White Helmets” photo attachments attest. But the whole city is devastated and in ruins she says …
Bana is a very responsible little lady:
Bana Alabed @AlabedBanaDear world, it’s better to start 3rd world war instead of letting Russia & assad commit #HolocaustAleppo
1:53 PM – 29 Sep 2016
Here “mother” phoned up the Daily Mail for an “exclusive” and assures us that this is all true. No Daily Mail reader takes that stunt serious. What Public Relation company came up with this sorry flimflam?
Like the “moderate rebels” fantasy, such tales and the nonsense the “White Helmet” propaganda outlet distributes, are starting to fail. The UAE’s National, a well established international newspaper, recently dug a bit around the White Helmet’s creator, a “former” British military agent working for Gulf defense interests. That does not sound charitable. This is noticeable report, even as it still lacks any details, as it is the first in a major paper that shows some auspiciousness against that outlet.
The Obama administration’s lies about the “moderate rebels” are now openly discussed in major media. The propaganda of #HolocaustAleppo (isn’t abusing the holocaust meme anti-semitic?) is turning into a laughing stock.
Russia is upping its stake in Syria. Additional Russian SU-24, SU-25 and SU-34 jets are arriving. Nearly 6,000 Russian soldiers are on the ground. The CIA’s al-Qaeda “rebels” are losing in east-Aleppo and are in stalemate and under pressure elsewhere. They will be bombed to smithereens. A few new BM-21 multiple missile launchers and heavier anti-air artillery was delivered to them. But those are just band-aids on lethally bleeding wounds. Even MANPADs will not change the situation one bit.
The U.S., the Saudis and especially Brennan’s CIA have lost that fight. Will Obama and Kerry admit it? Or will they throw another Hail Mary and do something crazy?
Unfortunately this requires that the readers of the U.S. MSM have critical thinking skills. Anyone who listens to Russian media and U.S. media and reads them critically would have a very different understanding of Syria then the one portrayed by the U.S. State Dept. I don’t know if this is happening.
I am still floored that our ‘professional’ journalists can figure out that 2 + 2 =4 instead of 10. Are the readers more discerning? I hope so.
they purposely hide what they’re doing. Most are clueless, and need only a few shepherds to lead them to their destruction.
Mind boggling equation.
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Bombing Cambodia was the doing something crazy Yanks enjoy winning, we mustn’t be too hard on them losing a lucrative market for T-55 tanks must be heart wrenching, however they still have Guardianship over the Afghanistan Poppy Fields to mollify their wounded Spirit.
True, Rodney, but Brits and other fool NATO nations joined them, so equally guilty.
Paki-Indian nuke war about to go hot.
I don’t know why Pakistan bothers to be honest those people in Kashmir want to be independent not Pakistani. I don’t believe in nuke war, unless Allah really gets fed up, then it doesn’t matter what anybody does.
i think ‘The Green Berets are special forces of the U.S. army’ story should be an article worth. you should make also a video about this event. we now understand why the new syrian army from jordan was a disaster.
here is the full interview
“Nobody believes in it. You’re like, ‘Fuck this,’” a former Green Beret says of America’s covert and clandestine programs to train and arm Syrian militias. “Everyone on the ground knows they are jihadis. No one on the ground believes in this mission or this effort, and they know they are just training the next generation of jihadis, so they are sabotaging it by saying, ‘Fuck it, who cares?’”
“I don’t want to be responsible for Nusra guys saying they were trained by Americans,” the Green Beret added. A second Special Forces soldier commented that one Syrian militia they had trained recently crossed the border from Jordan on what had been pitched as a large-scale shaping operation that would change the course of the war. Watching the battle on a monitor while a drone flew overhead, “We literally watched them, with 30 guys in their force, run away from three or four ISIS guys.” (sofrep.com)
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One of the major points of this article is that the CIA doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Islamic State in Syria or Iraq. By the end of 2014 there were only twenty CIA targeting officers and analysts were dedicated to IS. By early 2016, it was not much better. Instead, the CIA neurotically focused on removing Assad from power by any means possible. This laser focus was established by Brennan. I surmise this focus is shared by most in the Obama Administration
In spite of this focus, the CIA’s efforts in Syria is plagued by bureaucratic infighting. The CIA has three elements jockeying for power. The Syria Task Force is similar to the Iraqi Task Force and Iranian Operations Group that preceded it. It is Brennan’s baby. Damascus X is the Syrian CIA station now operating in Amman. And then there is the CTC/SI (Counterterrorist Center/Syria-Iraq), which is tragically focused on the Assad government rather than the terrorists. I have seen this kind of food fight for resources and prestige in the CIA and even in the DIA during the fat money days of the GWOT. I’m sure this cat fight is even more intense in today’s leaner fiscal environment.
As many of you know, the CIA conducts a lot, perhaps most, of their operations through liaison with host nation services. While I’m comfortable with working with the Jordanian services, the thought of depending on the current Turkish intelligence service scares the bejeezus out of me. For several years now,the CIA has relied on Erdogan’s boys to determine which unicorns and jihadis were worthy of getting all the TOWs and other goodies doled out by Brennan under his Title 50 authorities(intelligence/covert ops).
The 5th Special Forces Group arrived in Turkey and Jordan by 2015 to begin training anti-IS rebels under Title 10 authorities (military). Although this appears to be a reasonable mission, it was tripped up by a terrible vetting process. Jack Murphy describes the reaction of one veteran SAS operator sent to work with the 5th Group training program. “He quickly recognized the sorry state of the train, advise, and assist programs in Jordan.” The situation in Turkey was/is much worse. Not only did the 5th Group trainers have to deal with the CIA’s ambivalence towards the anti-IS fight, but they had to work along side the Turks while they were enthusiastically supported IS and other assorted jihadis. The 5th Group soldiers were stuck training would-be terrorists while being commanded by a martinet MP officer more interested in making uniform corrections and chasing down speeders. Needless to say, morale was in the toilet. The charade in Turkey became more absurd when the Green Berets were embedded with the Kurds in Rojava.
When Obama authorized the direct support to the Kurds in Syria, the CIA wanted Delta to perform the mission. Delta turned to 5th Group. The fact that the new 5th Group Commander was a former Delta Commander was probably a major factor in that decision. It seems like a no-brainer to me, but politics and bureaucratic rivalries colored even this decision. Even here, with a mission that is dear to my heart, there are problems. The Kurds have their own combat training program. They resent the efforts of the U.S. to impose a Special Forces training program on them. However they dearly appreciate the weapons and air support. I noted something similar in 1983 Lebanon. We were providing basic combat training to many Lebanese who have been in combat for quite some time. There were times we thought it was a mutually embarrassing situation. That’s what happens when the training programs are planned in Bragg and D.C. rather than by the teams on the ground.
AS a final example of our hot, covert mess in Syria, Jack Murphy notes the plight of Delta which worked under CIA’s Title 50 in Syria. “Delta Force had also been stymied by red tape and bureaucracy as they tried to get into the fight and knock ISIS down a peg… With the CTC at war within itself, they were both trying to prevent their own people from collecting intelligence (lest they find something threatening) and stonewalling any and all Delta Force operations from going forward against ISIS.”
Jack Murphy published this article on his subscription website, SOFREP.com. It was also published on another website without his permission. I read the article on that site before I realized it was done without permission. Jack Murphy is a fellow Green Beannie. Out of courtesy to him, I will not provide a link to that site. Although I am not a joiner by nature, I may break down and subscribe to the SOFREP site. It seems to have some quality content not readily available elsewhere.
“The 5th Special Forces Group arrived in Turkey and Jordan by 2015 to begin training anti-IS rebels…who were poorly vetted.”
Nope. Only a show of “vetting” was made. They were exactly what they wanted, i.e. anyone who would fight whether for ideology, money or whatever. Its part of why Libya was destroyed, to bring in as many fighters as possible.
My cousin left the military after he got back from Iraq. He learned the Ba’athist Saddam military leadership was given millions in CIA cash and a promise to form their own sunni-stan in western Iraq and eastern Syria. This is ISIS “secret” (not so secret) leadership. They have all kinds of reasons to do this, one of which is to form another bulwark between Iran and Israel (and the Saudi’s).
It’s not straight foward one size fits all, I was reading “Arafat from defender to dictator”, Said K Aburish he states Nasser was pushed into the 6 day war because of a contest for Arab Leadership, Arafat won. I think it’s safer now because of all that experience.
it seems like there is a conflict building up between the US military and the politician with it’s inteligence service. interesting development.
Its buildt in and sometimes more visible like now.
Soldiers are not handhold puppies in the same way as in most other countries. They more get the target and are allowed to do to fullfill it n their own way.
Because its very complicated here, it has got its own life.
But I think a lot a the dislikers of USA should see the importnce for US/Nato with at least 67 nations a little different than they do.
Defeating ISIS became nr 1 instead of the Assads reduced or gone. Assads still not reduced or gone, but its nr 2.
Chairman Mao once said: I dont care about the color of the cat -. As long as its killing mice.
Might remember that and US and others very naive thought Assads would fall apart. Well one reason for that didnt happen was, that Assads kill all opposition.
Thats why US and several others dont care as much about it, as You pr reflex think they should – Forgetting Your own moral is dirty too.
The bombardments inside Aleppo are firecrakers and candy. I dont think so. Only a few civilians and a lot of soldiers every day ??? I dont think so.
And who is helping You Assads and Russians. Well arnt they religios fanatics of same kinds as the oppositions to it : I think so.
I will add one more thing.
Only one in this region deserving an own state at all are the kurds.
The rest should be diveded into caves guarded by zoo keepers, for thats what it is.
the kurds destroy arab and christian villages. they are same fascists as turks.
The Media-conditioning machine went into full swing after the 1914 Federal Reserve Act. Here is the graph of it’s Aim’s and Power structure below. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/27d5676053c81a4d896d8a337733fb8b84cedbaee10bd5992204740d2249f366.jpg
bork bork
The true face of Uncle Scam….
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2a6b66649bfea9bd9071f2c739b6e3cb4210e56c835cd643ef790deb1c7ecf47.jpg
Nothing Obama has vowed on has ever come to fruition https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6ff312235aeaaf620d324a0ba19111b1f8ebb5adb0fb29b7d5589b59a91afe78.jpg
I visit southfront often and have read the comments many times. Decided to post. The one thing I think that is missed in this story is the belief that the truth in some way matters? The idea that if the world only knew what was really going on things would change? Might I remind you we (in the us)have three candidates running for president. Hillary, Trump, Johnson. You ran the story about the third once, he had no idea what an Alepo was? The New York times tried to mock him by claiming it was four things it was not. Honestly in many ways I think its odd I see any spin at all. It really shows just how out of touch the powers that be really are. I mean come on, how could anyone in the west really buy that Russia has bombed a hospital in Syria every day for the last five years? Its gotta be one hell of a robust structure, or maybe its that Syrians just like there health care so they built 1600 of them? People believe what they want to believe, the truth? well in today’s world that is nothing more than a matter of opinion. Love the site! Thank you for many a great stories.
most people where i live in USA dont even want to hear about or talk about Syria. all they want is for us to stay out of it and not send troops BACK to another beleaguered M.East country that we have no business being in.
Everyone, i mean everyone, i even try to engage in conversation about Syria steers away from it or flat out says “i dint know or care enough to know what happens there. /let the Russians deal with it.”
If Kerry and Obama keep this shit up its gonna cost the democratic party the election.