President Obama recently sent a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggesting Iran engage in some sort of partnership with the US to fight ISIS. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Barack Obama secretly penned the letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month to discuss mutual efforts to wipe out ISIS terrorists.
President Obama has forgotten that the Ayatollah has been and still is an instigator of terrorism in the region and that Iran is the biggest and most overt supporter of terrorism in the region. I can only imagine the Ayatollah and his clerics sitting down for tea having a good chuckle before prayers when they thank Allah that the American President has felt so helpless that he was compelled to ask the exalted Ayatollah for help.
It continues to elude most Washington advisers that Iran has an elite terror network:
TERROR NETWORK = IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA, HEZBOLLAH, and ISIS.
Iran Does Not Need An Invitation To Intervene
Iran is already deeply involved in Iraq and Syria. It seems strange that President Obama wouldn’t already know this fact. The New York Post recently reported that Iranian General Qassem Suleymani, leader of Iran’s Qud Special Forces, was present at an Iraqi army victory in a battle against ISIS extremists in Jarf al-Sakher. It is said that the fight for Jarf al-Sakher was won because General Suleymani brought Iranian Quds forces and Lebanese Hezbollah with him.
In the Jurf al Sakher battle, 150 ISIS fighters were killed and 50 others were said to be captured and questioned. The ISIS dead were left lying on the battlefield, with no attempt by ISIS to collect and bury them. It was reported by local militia commanders that the dead were Chechen fighters who had joined ISIS. If true, ISIS likely found them “nice to have in battle” but “otherwise expendable.”
The true camaraderie of a terrorist.
Iraqi militia commanders told the Associated Press, “Dozens of advisers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah were on the front lines in Jurf al-Sakher.” They also said that “the Iranian Guard had been there for months, providing weapons training to some 7,000 Shiite troops and Shiite militia fighters, and coordinating with military commanders ahead of the operation.” These 7,000 fighters were not trained and armed just for the fight at Jurf al-Sakher.
Looking back at the Jurf al-Sakher battle, those who are savvy will notice that General Suleymani has a no-nonsense method of dealing with ISIS – “Surround and Destroy.” The General also knows how to prepare men to fight. They must be expeditiously “armed and trained.”
US Says Syrian Revolutionary Army Fighters Need Training
Where the US plans to train and arm 5,000 Syrian fighters (who are already battle experienced) has an extended timeline of one year, the Iranian General entered Jurf al-Sakher with his Quds and Hezbollah team, then armed and trained 7,000 men in three months. Why is the US plan for training the “moderate” Syrian Revolutionary Army (FSA) so much less efficient than what General Suleymani has accomplished in Iraq?
The US has determined that the Syrian fighters who are already fighting Assad, Iran Qud, Iraqi militia, ISIS, al-Nusra and Hezbollah with their limited weapons need more training. Training the FSA to be “a better functioning, more US looking army” isn’t really that important at this point. Helping them to save Syrian lives is critical!
Foreign Policy reports that Qatar has been training some Syrian fighters on a limited basis on “guerilla tactics” in small groups for the past year but not providing them with any weapons to go home with. Neither the US or Saudi Arabia acknowledge they are aware of the training. This type of training is extremely useful when fighting the regime in urban warfare which is where many of the battles are fought.
What’s Happening In Syria
The Obama administration said last week that Syria has a defense agreement with Iran. This apparently justifies the Iran – Assad terror network using the “defense agreement” to massacre innocent Syrian people including women, children and infants. Is President Obama using the Syria-Iran “defense agreement” as an excuse for Iran’s participation in Syrian terror? Does the Syria-Iran “defense agreement” absolve Iran from culpability in Syria’s massacres, thus allowing the US to negotiate with a terror state on nuclear programs?
There have been hundreds of air strikes against ISIS to date, including Raqqa, the stolen oil field operation and any other areas that reinforce operations. Assad also has a quasi “defense agreement” with ISIS, considering the reason they were brought to Syria.
Assad does not care that ISIS is running terror actions over Syria, as long as they are doing it in a different part of Syria than where he is fighting the FSA. Although Assad’s army and ISIS have clashed from time to time, typically with the regime on the losing side, there is not a “losing proposition” that Assad isn’t willing to take in order to maintain his seat on the throne.
The US strikes on al-Qaeda and Ahrar al-Sham were made in a quest for the elusive group of senior al-Qaeda members who operate in Syria that the Washington Analysts have coined the “Khorasan Group.” According to the US State Department, in a recent bombing, a key expert bomb maker has been eliminated. Khorasan is the historic region of northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan and northern Afghanistan established in the 3rd century during the time of the Sasanian dynasty.
From Deir Ezzor to Kobani
The Islamic State was pushed out of Deir Ezzor, after massacring 700 Sheitat tribesmen, many were beheaded over the first two weeks of August. A young defector who was interviewed by NPR said, “We found the bodies of women, and old men, old women, children. And any ISIS rebel that complained about the killing of women and children was also killed.”
The next prize ISIS desired was the Kurdish city of Kobani. In a convoy, ISIS crossed open Syrian desert land to Kobani with no intervention. There was no assault from the Assad regime out of reprisal for the Deir Ezzor massacre. More interesting, the US led coalition did not take any initiative to bomb ISIS before they reached Kobani witch is very odd.
Most of the people of Kobani (approximately 200,000) rushed across the border into Turkey for safety. Many have moved on to Kurdistan in Iraq as they did not feel comfortable in Turkey. When ISIS made it to Kobani, there were still about 10,000 Kurdish people in Kobani along with Kurdish fighters, both men and women who have fought ISIS gallantly to protect their town.
The US-led Coalition has committed several hundred air strikes against ISIS in Kobani, which has helped the fight against ISIS and killed more than 500 ISIS fighters. The Kobani fighters have since been joined by some Kurdish fighters from Kurdistan who brought some of their heavy weapons, and a group of FSA fighters.
It is notable that the FSA has come to help fight ISIS in Kobani, as Assad would like the international community to think that the Kurds are a minority group that stands with the regime. The FSA fighters have made a strong statement that there is no sectarian divide between the Muslims and Kurds. It is already known among Syrians that Muslims, Kurds, Christians and Druze have all lived as neighbors in friendship prior to the Syrian War.
Aleppo Is In Danger
The Syrian Revolutionary Army has been holding on to Aleppo, but according to an interview by CNN with the commander of the FSA, the situation is dire. Regime forces are pushing their way into Aleppo, which has been held by the Northern Opposition for the past two years. According to AP, they are not accomplishing this feat alone. The regime has solicited the help of their terrorist allies from Lebanon. Hezbollah has been fighting the regime’s battles throughout Syria for at least two years. Without a stronger ally, the Syrian regime would have a hard time holding off the FSA and Islamic Front, as their conscript army is young, tired and much less committed.
The Chaldean-Catholic Bishop Antoine Audo SJ is still in the City of Aleppo, helping the people who are hurt, hungry or in need of comfort. He runs a soup kitchen, “Aid to the Church In Need,” which is open to anyone who is hungry. Bishop Audo had this to say about his perspective of interfaith versus the sectarian community in Syria:
Christians felt entirely at home, proud of their faith, of their history, of their liturgies, of their hierarchies, of their manner of living in dignity and fraternally with their Muslim neighbors, everyone is now in despair and desolation. The rich have already left; the middle classes have become impoverished, the poor have become destitute. Little by little, there will soon be no one left in Aleppo except the elderly and the poorest of the poor! There is an international war machine that has fallen upon their country and upon them, a minority and defenseless group. They are being forced to choose emigration, which is undoubtedly a huge loss for them, for their country and for the Church, but which is perhaps a major service rendered to the superpowers who are thirsting for domination and the fulfillment of their strategic plans.
Right behind the Assad regime is their other ally, the Islamic State who is also after the control of Aleppo. Aleppo is the desired westernmost point of the Islamic State Caliphate dream. It is hard to believe for some that Assad and the Islamic State are allies, however, it is well known in the region that Iran and Assad facilitated bringing ISIS to Syria as a means to disrupt the Syrian Revolution. They continue to work together by offsetting each other’s mission.
Another interesting dynamic in Aleppo that is not spoken about in Western Media is the fact that there is a Kurdish population living in Aleppo. During the first week in Aleppo, the FSA clashed with the Kurdish PYD which is considered a terrorist group. PYD’s Aleppo commander, who was identified as Shah Ali Abdo, was killed after he was captured by the FSA members during clashes, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The fighting between the Syrian Revolutionary Army and the Kurdish PYD was a rare battle and this fight took place in Aleppo’s predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Ashrafieh, leaving 30 people dead and 20 FSA members reportedly kidnapped by the PYD. The AP reported the FSA reciprocated by kidnapping 180 Kurds. The fighting on Friday was the end of fighting. Why would these groups, who otherwise have co-existed peacefully, suddenly be pulled into a battle? The FSA blames the Syrian regime. It is the type of pot-stirring Assad would seek out in order to deflect the FSA’s attention from the further underhanded movements of the regime towards Aleppo.
If the International Coalition allows the TERROR NETWORK to overtake Aleppo, the Syrian Revolutionary Army in that area has said they “will be finished.” But that is not all that will be finished. It is estimated there are more than 300,000 people trapped in Aleppo with nowhere to go. If the convergence of the Regime fortified by Iran’s Quds force and Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the ISIS circle the Aleppo Province at the same time, all hope will be lost.
If Aleppo falls and all the expected players are present, it will be the effort of the TERROR NETWORK. When that happens, once more it will be too late to do anything and the President of the United State will have to say again to the Syrian People, “we missed our opportunity and I am sorry that we didn’t do something sooner.” This has been a repeating thread in the story of how President Obama has handled the US – Syria crisis.
To the south, the picture changes, at least on the surface. General Ibrahim Jbawi, the spokesman for the FSA’s southern front, told the AP that they have got training and support through Jordan from the CIA over the past two years. In fact, General Jbawi said “The group known as the Friends of Syria, including Jordan, France, the US, Saudi Arabia, are backing the rebels with money and weapons.” The FSA who have been through this training and support are making headway into the towns around Damascus. The other group that has made routine progress in and around Damascus is the Army of Islam. It is reasonable to ask why there hasn’t been any Northern FSA groups trained at the Jordan CIA site in the past two years?
The Syrian War is not a “real war” by the international respected rules of war. It is so easy for every media outlet, every invested politician to name what is happening – WAR! But is it really a war? Nobody invaded Syria. Some try to call what is happening a Civil War, the definition according to the dictionary is “a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country.” What is happening in Syria has nothing to do with two or more groups of citizens of the same country being at war. The “Syrian War” is a concerted terrorist effort by the Assad Regime to commit genocide against the people of Syria and the archeological history of Syria.
Assad has accomplished this by calling upon his Terror Network, who are all residents of other countries, to join him in the TERRORIST ACTION of terrorizing and massacring. There isn’t any way these actions can be called anything else but TERRORISM. Syria is not in the midst of a civil war, the Assad regime is the biggest terror group operating in the Levant just second to Iran.
Impact To The People Of Syria
Syria is devastated. Millions of Syrians have evacuated to neighboring countries only taking what they can carry. Families have been split up, or have been broken up. Entire families have been annihilated, immediate families or extended families might be living together, other families have been separated. Most Syrian children have not had school of any sort for 3 or more years. People are tired and broken, they are mentally and physically ill, and worst of all a huge number of Syrians are starving to death.
pic.twitter.com/T4gEnovVnq– Free Syria Media Hub (@Free_Media_Hub) November 21, 2014
Winter is coming fast in Syria. People will be living in harsh conditions without shelter, food, heat or blankets. You can help by giving to the Aleppo Crisis Fund.
