U.S. Military Again Delays Training Of Jabhat al-Nusra Recruits
The U.S. had plans to train Syrian insurgents who are then supposed to fight the Islamic State. But Turkey, where the training is supposed to take place, wants those fighters to attack the Syrian government.
The U.S. plans, unrealistic to begin with, have again been delayed:
A U.S.-led program to train Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State militants will start in May, Turkey's Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency on Tuesday.
...
Details on the training - due to take place in Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - have been scant, although it had previously been planned to start this month.
This delay comes after Jabhat al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, captured the Syrian city of Idlib. The Syrian military accuses Turkey of directly supporting Jabhat al Nusra:
Echoing more general comments by President Bashar al-Assad, the military source accused both Turkey and Jordan of supporting the insurgents in their Idlib offensive, saying they were "leading operations and planning them". The insurgents were using advanced communication apparatus that had been supplied to them via Turkey, the source added.The Turkish foreign ministry declined to comment.
The Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who is near to the centers of power in Saudi Arabia, confirms the Syrian allegations:
Saudi Arabian and Turkish sponsors, [Mr. Khashoggi, the Saudi editor,] said, had backed the coalition of jihadist groups that recently captured the Syrian city of Idlib in the first major victory in months against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.One participant in the coalition was the Nusra Front, the Syrian arm of Al Qaeda, a terrorist group in the eyes of the West. But members of the jihadi coalition “are the ones who captured Idlib, it is an important development, and I think we are going to see more of that,” Mr. Khashoggi said. “Coordination between Turkish and Saudi intelligence has never been as good as now.”
Also this:
Trita ParsiWestern diplomat tells me Saudi has decided to provide al-Nusra (al-qaeda) in #Syria with whatever it needs.
If the U.S. military would train those fighters in Turkey they would likely turn into Jihadis attached to Jabhat al-Nusra as soon as they re-enter Syrian land. The Pentagon does not like to be seen in direct support of Al-Qaeda.
The CIA though ...
Posted by b on March 31, 2015 at 12:42 UTC | Permalink
That last Foreign Policy link said it all for me in the opening sentence...The special forces unit that ousted the Taliban in 2001 is preparing to deploy to Jordan to train "moderate" Sunni's to fight IS and Al Nusra. Question,If those special forces were so good then, how is it that the US has almost admitted defeat in Afghanistan and that the Taliban are now much stronger? The truth is US policy in Syria/Iraq makes no sense, the Turks are backing IS/AN against Syria, the US are making a pretense of backing "moderate" forces knowing full well they will be fighting Assad and not IS/AN. There are too many double games being played here for any of this to work. Don't think any of these shenanigans are lost on the Russian,Iranian and Syrian governments.
Posted by: harry law | Mar 31 2015 15:03 utc | 2
I agree with harry law @ 2. "There are too many double games being played here for any of this to work." Double games = blow back. Expect more Charlie Hebdos and Egyptian Kentucky Fried Chicken bombings.
Posted by: Mike Maloney | Mar 31 2015 15:49 utc | 4
JAMES @3
What else can we expect out of Dumbfuckistan?
The morons they put out to the public don't even know basic geography.
Posted by: farflungstar | Mar 31 2015 15:52 utc | 5
In other news, Iraqi PM Abadi has declared the recapture of Tikrit from ISIL! Idlib lost to Nusrah, Tikrit won from IS- Saudis busy bombing Yemen, Zionists busy killing fishermen in Gaza - another crazy day in the Middle East!
Posted by: Irshad | Mar 31 2015 16:38 utc | 6
FP magazine reflects the most insane aspect of the US Empire, and its quest for glory; and in the linked piece, one can see this publication as it celebrates, in almost every paragraph, the rights and duty of the indispensable nation to be taking without asking, to be dominating the planet with absolutely relentless, and restless aggression. Even Obama, by their lights, is too often an impediment, and an embarrassment to the lust for war and the glorification of soldiering.
The "FP" is supposed to stand for Foreign Policy; but considering its standard editorial slant, its proper name ought to be Fascist Policy magazine. Its implicit ideology is about exceptional men doing the violence they were meant to do, securing their domination of the world. FP is an imperialist front, and is horrible in print, and repulsive with its cover art, on the news stands.
Two Saudi pilots rescued ...
http://www.albawaba.com/news/two-saudi-pilots-rescued-us-forces-during-yemen-offensive-674894
Houthis hold Sudanese pilot ...
SAMS! SAMS! Who's got the SAMS.
Posted by: Alberto | Mar 31 2015 17:32 utc | 8
Last night PBS Charlie Rose Bashar al-Assad interview al-Assad referred to Recep Tayyip Erdogan as being a megalomaniac who wishes to reestablish an Ottoman Empire type caliphate.
A caliphate (Arabic: خِلافة khilāfa) is a form of Islamic government led by a caliph (Arabic: خَليفة khalīfah pronunciation (help. info))—a person considered a political and religious successor to the prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim community.
Interesting interview. Russia was actually mentioned a couple of times. Charlie came off like an overused political hand puppet. Very sad for him.
Posted by: Alberto | Mar 31 2015 17:56 utc | 9
"The Pentagon does not like to be seen in direct support of Al-Qaeda" but the US is supporting jihadis all over the Middle East, may they all rot in hell.
Posted by: Arius | Mar 31 2015 17:58 utc | 10
Don't like to sound impatient but when USG's Full Spectrum Dumbinence & Buffoonery get this demented, I can't help recalling Grover Norquist's musings on "dragging it into the bathroom and drowning it in the tub."
Let's hope it's not too late...
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 31 2015 18:15 utc | 11
@8 - so far I read 4 planes lost - 3 Saodis and 1 Sudanese, 1 Saodi helicopter and potentially 1 Saodi drone. The MIC in US will be salivating for more orders from the Saodis to replace these losses with big bribes - er presents - for the Saodi middle men arranging it all!
Posted by: Irshad | Mar 31 2015 20:03 utc | 12
@5 ffs.. true that, but some of them know how hand out cookies, lol..
i get a kick out of the usa supporting those head chopping royals who could give a rats ass about women, democracy or anything except power and money.. this is what the usa supports when it comes right down to it - the most backward draconian led dictatorship in the middle east - saudi arabia - without any ability to cover up the pretense of anything resembling anything of the so called values the usa is said to represent.. maybe that is becuase the only real value the usa represents is money and nothing much of anything else.. in fact, i think both these countries are tied at the hip for this very reason in spite of how different they look on the surface.. any other suggestion is more lies and falsehood from the exceptional crumbling empire..
Posted by: james | Apr 1 2015 3:39 utc | 13
Yes, congratulations on what appears to be the liberation of Tikrit from the ISIL freaks. At least so far the WSJ has confirmed, Reuters and others claim at least the central city has been cleared. Far from the "failure" our local ISIL Booster claimed it to be just days ago.
Pathetic to see so many US tabloids, like USA TODAY, try and push the US role when they turned out to hurt the efforts rather than help. And the NYTimes seems to be a rare hold out on admitting any success by the Iraqis.
America's starting to not look so "indispensable" after all. Of course if it could stop leaving messes around for others to clean up, that would be an even bigger improvement. But by the looks of Yemen, probably not any time soon.
So pathetic the US press still has to pretend. "With US help". That's a bit like calling the arsonist "indispensable" to the firefighters ability to put out the fire, wouldn't you say?
Iraqi Claims That 'Tikrit Has Fallen' Is Disputed - NYTimes.com www.nytimes.com/2015/04/01/.../iraq-tikrit-isis.htmlThe New York Times 2 hours ago - Iraqi security forces and allied Shiite militiamen prepared on Tuesday to attack the Islamic State in the contested city of Tikrit. Credit Khalid ...Iraqi forces drive Islamic State out of central Tikrit: PM ...
www.reuters.com/.../us-mideast-crisis-iraq-tikrit-idUSKBN0MR1...
Reuters
5 hours ago - TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi troops aided by Shi'ite paramilitaries have driven Islamic State out of central Tikrit, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi ...Iraq Recaptures Tikrit From Islamic State - WSJ
www.wsj.com/.../iraqi-security-forces-recapture-tikr...The Wall Street Journal
6 hours ago - BAGHDAD—Iraq's leader said his forces recaptured the strategic city of Tikrit from Islamic State, dealing the biggest setback to the militants ...Iraqi forces make breakthrough in Tikrit with U.S. help
USA Today
6 hours ago - WASHINGTON — Iraqi forces are on the verge of driving Islamic State militants out of Tikrit in what would be a breakthrough in the country's ...
OT
(Reuters) - Six world powers and Iran missed a Tuesday deadline to reach an outline accord reining in Tehran's nuclear program, extending talks into an extra day as they edged toward a deal but failed to agree crucial details such as the lifting of U.N. sanctions.
The negotiators ended talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne in the early hours of Wednesday and said they would reconvene later in the day, with Iran and Russia expressing optimism that an initial agreement was within reach.
The preliminary deal is a major milestone toward a final accord, with an end-June deadline, that could end the 12-year-old standoff and reduce the risk of another Middle East war.
With Iran asserting its "nuclear rights" and the United States threatening on Tuesday to abandon the negotiations, the talks have been bogged down on the issues of nuclear research, the lifting of U.N. sanctions and their restoration if Iran breaches the agreement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/01/us-iran-nuclear-idUSKBN0MQ0HH20150401
Posted by: okie farmer | Apr 1 2015 6:18 utc | 16
b, Idlib did not fall as initially claimed, social media imagery doesn't count as reality.
The UN more or less gave that one away..
From UN News-
"Last weekend, Idleb, located in northwest Syria, reportedly fell under the control of a coalition of anti-government armed groups.."
Reportedly fell is not a validation of a fall, it is validation of reports of a fall
Why would Turkey- by that I mean Turkey the nation, bring down Syria when it guarantees it's own destruction?
Isn't it more sensible to say elements embedded in the Turkish state are working to bring down Syria- that is definitely more accurate then the claim made by yourself and the unnamed Yahoo source-
Certainly forces (Kurds who are sunni muslims, other Sunni Muslims from Iraq- Peshmerga etc) came across the border from Turkey... but then the CIA has been operating openly there for years now....
Who needs regular Turkish army?
Palestine gets ICC memberships status. So called Islamic State, with the help of Al Qaeda, storm a palestinian refugee camp close to Damascus. Coincidence?
Posted by: never mind | Apr 2 2015 7:14 utc | 18
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This is the same group who ousted the Taliban way back when, to train the so-called moderate insurgents? This has to be someones pipe dream. Somehow, all the cooks adding their bits into the soup, needs to be curtailed, especially those adding over the top garlic. If ever there was a time to "get the hell out of Dodge", that time is now.
Posted by: Norman | Mar 31 2015 14:46 utc | 1