US Operating on Both Sides of Syrian-Iraqi Border – Providing Cover for Terrorists in Syria; Fighting ISIS in Iraq

By Tony Cartalucci

Global Research, August 21, 2014

Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-operating-on-both-sides-of-syrian-iraqi-border-providing-cover-for-terrorists-in-syria-fighting-isis-in-iraq/5396788

US may attempt to arm and provide air cover for terrorists in Syria after claiming success in fighting ISIS in Iraq using Kurds.

As predicted, the “sudden” appearance of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) in northern Iraq weeks ago, has created the rhetorical framework within which the United States and its regional partners will attempt to militarily intervene in both Iraq and Syria. Token US airstrikes have already been underway in Iraq, and it is now revealed that US special operation forces have been operating in Syria, under the guise of attempting to rescue abducted and now slain American journalist, James Wright Foley.

The New York Times in an article titled, “U.S. Tried to Take Foley and Other Hostages From ISIS,” claimed:

A secret nighttime military mission authorized by President Obama to rescue Americans held captive in Syria failed early this summer when a team of two dozen Delta Force commandos raided an oil refinery in the northern part of the country but found after a firefight with Islamic militants that there were no hostages to be saved, administration officials said Wednesday.

With one American journalist, TIME reporter Steven Sotloff, still missing and allegedly being held by ISIS terrorists, further US military incursions into Syrian territory may be attempted under a similar alleged pretense. To further justify expanding across the border and into Syria already ongoing US military operations in Iraq, the Western media has begun claiming that ISIS leadership, “fearing” US airstrikes, are fleeing to safety in neighboring Syria.

The Wall Street Journal in its article, “Iraqis Say Some Commanders of Insurgency in Iraq Retreat to Syria,” claimed:

According to the Iraqis, the commanders went to eastern Syria, where Islamic State has built an operational base amid the chaos of civil war over the past few years. The insurgents are able to dash across the border into Syria, where that base continues to offer the space to recruit and reorganize largely unchallenged.

“They’ve got much better cover in Syria than they do in Iraq,” said Will McCants, an expert on militant Islam at the Brookings Institution and a former State Department adviser. “When they have that kind of strategic depth, they’re just allowed to live another day.”

Image: Clearly, ISIS’ path into Iraq began not in Syria, but in NATO member Turkey’s territory. ISIS is nothing more than an extension of the US-backed terrorist forces assembled for the explicit purpose of overthrowing the Syrian government.

Clearly, the answer, left for readers to arrive at on their own, is that these “successful” US airstrikes in Iraq must be carried over into Syria – where mission creep can do the rest, finally dislodging the Syrian government from power after an ongoing proxy war has failed to do so since 2011. After arming and aiding the Kurds in fighting ISIS in Iraq, the US will attempt to make a similar argument regarding the arming of terrorists in Syria and providing them direct US air support to defeat ISIS – and of course – Damascus.

It should be remembered that ISIS itself is a creation of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Qatar, and has been harbored and provided material assistance by NATO-member Turkey for years. Portrayed by various names by the Western media – ISIS, al-Nusra, the “Free Syrian Army” – in reality it is a conglomerate of Western-backed mercenary forces raised as early as 2007 to overthrow the government in Damascus and confront Iranian influence across the entire region, including in Lebanon and in Iraq.

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