BBC BREAKING NEWS
○ Pentagon: US launches air strikes on Syrian state against IS militants
○ Turkish News: U.S. air strikes over Syria in a coalition with Arab Gulf States
Syrian Kurds are aligned to PKK movement which Turkey wants destroyed. Syrian Kurds wanted to remain neutral in civil conflict with Bashar Assad and become independent from Damascus. The Kurds fought off the FSA and Jabhat Al Nusra last year. The Syrian Kurds did not croos the border with Turkey but had chosen the longer route to Iraq’s Kurdish border.
Turkey has not partnered with the U.S. and western forces to fight ISIS in Iraq, originally claiming it was restricted by the Turkish hostages taken by ISIS in Mosul.
Turkey reluctantly agreed to let 130,000 Syrian Kurds pass it’s border when ISIS forces attacked the villages in the region. Erdogan keeps border closed for men from Kurdish descent wanting to fight ISIS and return to their Syrian villages.
Israel gives military support to Jabhat al-Nusra on the Golan Heights in opposition to Bashar Assad. Adds weight to a renewed opening of southern front against Damascus.
Turkey is a steady source of Isil recruits | Gulf News |
Ankara: Having spent most of his youth as a drug addict in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of Turkey’s capital, Can did not think he had much to lose when he was smuggled into Syria with ten of his childhood friends to join the world’s most extreme militant group.
After 15 days at a training camp in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the 27-year-old was assigned to a fighting unit. He said he shot two men and participated in a public execution. It was only after he buried a man alive that he was told he had become a full Isil fighter.
“When you fight over there, it’s like being in a trance,” said Can, who asked to be referred to only by his middle name for fear of reprisal. “Everyone shouts ‘God is the greatest,’ which gives you divine strength to kill the enemy without being fazed by blood or splattered guts,” he said.
Hundreds of foreign fighters have joined the ranks of Isil in its self-proclaimed caliphate that sweeps over vast territories of Iraq and Syria, including some from Europe and the United States. But one of the biggest source of recruits is neighbouring Turkey, a Nato member with an undercurrent of Islamist discontent.
Syrian Kurds Near Autonomy, Adds To Erdogan’s Headache
Continued below the fold …
Syrian Kurds Near Autonomy, Adds To Erdogan’s Headache
by Oui | Aug 5th, 2012 | at 06:55 AM PDT |Syrian Kurds Trade Armed Opposition for Autonomy
(Ekurd) – The Kurdish region in northern Syria [Western Kurdistan] remains impenetrable as it confronts both Turkey and the Free Syrian Army. Thus far, there have been 2 failed attempts to drag the Kurdish opposition into battle against Syrian Army forces and to break the Kurdish Democratic Union Party’s [PYD] control over the Kurdish areas. The Kurdish areas under PYD control extend for 848 km from Al-Malikiyah (also known as Dayrik) in northern Iraq to Efrin, which is north of Aleppo. This western Kurdistan region also coincides with the Syrian-Turkish border.
The PYD, headed by Salih Muhammad Muslim from al-Qamishli District, is considered one of the most important parties in the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change. It is also an armed group, which is worth noting given that the committee officially opposes the militarization of the conflict.
It is especially because of this favorable political environment — one that favors both the regime and the opposition — that the PYD is able to show off its armaments without actually having to use them. The first attempt failed after 1,800 Syrian Kurdish soldiers discharged from a training camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, near Erbil, in order to seek livelihood.
Developments Arab Spring Egypt’s Revolt Explained
by Oui | Aug 17th, 2013 | at 08:24 AM PDT |Many bloggers have a difficulty to grasp the dynamics of the Arab uprising and fail to understand the role of the US. See the fp story by BooMan who attempts to find a rationale – Solving the Egyptian Puzzle.
Libya was a wealthy nation and Gaddafi was well armed with SAM-7 missiles, anti-tank grenades and vans with heavy guns mounted. These weapons have spread across the 50+ tribal groups in Libya, the Tuaregs took them into Northern Mali, spread further south to the Boko Haram in Nigeria. The Salafist fighters took the weapons into neighboring states like Tunisia, Egypt (Sinai), Niger, Sudan and to Syria via the “open” border with Erdogan’s Turkey.
CIA boosted MB in Egypt during the cold war years to break the influence of the Soviet Union. The MB were suppressed under Nasser (video) and left Egypt for Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Only in Qatar is the MB still welcome, the MB is outlawed in UAE and similarly in Saudi Arabia. The MB turned out to be a subversive militant organisation. Saudi Arabia, the guardian of two sanctuaries of Islamic faith, is based on the pure Islamic belief of Wahhabism. Apparently Safalism is tolerated and funded/supported to spread the Islamic faith through mosques across the globe. The foreign preachers in Saudi funded Western mosques are homophobic, anti-Israel and against western culture. It’s the source for Muslim youth traveling to Chechnya, Yemen and Pakistan for jihad.
Condi’s Fairy Tale – Neocons and A Democratic Syria
by Oui | Jul 27th, 2012 | at 05:08 AM PDT |A clear opinion piece in FT by a former Secretary of State under the Bush Neocon reign …
US must recall it is not just any country
(FT.com) – In this young century, the 9/11 attacks, the global financial crisis and the unrest in the Arab world have struck at the heart of vital US interests. [My gut feeling tells me somehow all three events are associated with US exceptionalism and its policy in earlier decades – Oui]
The fundamental problem in the region is the absence of institutions that can bridge the Sunni-Shia divide, and protect the rights of women and minorities. Even as we make necessary immediate choices – including arming the Syrian rebels – we must insist upon inclusive politics.
As we work with reformers across the region, we should not forget that Iraq has the kind of institutions that are meant to overcome these divisions. Given its geostrategic importance, the chaos engulfing its neighbours and Iran’s destructive influence, our re-engagement with Baghdad is sorely needed. [Rewriting history? The ill advised invasion and occupation of Iraq was a profound decision which encouraged jihadists in the region – Oui]
Came across this fp story by Steven D … the warmongering under Bush and a war lost to Sunni insurgency while providing “democracy” in Iraq to a Shia majority under President Maliki.
Pentagon Suggests Iran behind US Troops Executed in Karbala Attack
by Steven D | Jan 31st, 2007 | at 09:02 AM PDT |Unnamed “US officials” at the Pentagon are claiming that they have reason to believe Iran is responsible for the attack and execution style slaying of 5 US troops in Karbala on January 20th.
Of course, they also say that this serious investigation isn’t based on any hard evidence:
Both officials stressed the Iranian-involvement theory is a preliminary view, and there is no final conclusion. They agreed this possibility is being looked at because of the sophistication of the attack and the level of coordination. “This was beyond what we have seen militias or foreign fighters do,” the second official said.
A preliminary view. How convenient. How long before it becomes the official US position. To refresh your recollection, here are some news accounts regarding what happened at Karbala on January 20th …