Tag: Al-Qaeda

Afghanistan: War Without End

Does anyone out there remember Afghanistan?

It was that war of yesteryear that we focused all of our patriotic zeal toward……but now?  Not so much…..remember now?

My granddaughter was born after the US invaded Afghanistan….she is going on 13 and she has never known a time when the US was not at war…..though she probably does not know of it because the media and the government does not want a repeat of the 60’s and 70’s protests…….

In 2001 after the 9/11 attacks we invaded Afghanistan in search for the mastermind of the attacks…..Osama…..with the help of a few of our allies and the Northern Alliance we went in and kicked the Taleban and AQ in the stomach…..the only blotch on our achievements was that the military and others allowed the most wanted man escape across the mountains into Pakistan……

So for over 15 years we have been in a running battle with AQ, the Taleban and whoever else wants to join the fray….you would think with the might of the US military would have worn down the Taleban to a few isolated pockets, right?

You would be mistaken…….

15 years into the US occupation of Afghanistan, the nation is a less occupied than ever, as a new report to Congress warns that the Taliban’s military gains have left it in control of a bigger chunk of the country than at any time since the 2001 US invasion.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the author of the quarterly report, cited tens of billions of dollars in waste and a general lack of security, warning the situation in Afghanistan is worsening by most metrics.

Pentagon officials have been warning for awhile that the situation on the ground is deteriorating, but the SIGAR report offered more specifics and a stark metric, territory hold, by which to measure just how badly things are getting.

What is the end game for Afghanistan?

Pentagon officials have recently talked of the 2017 pullout date as though it’s all but abandoned already, suggesting the US would remain in the nation for “generations” to come. Nicholson may be overseeing the transition to that permanent occupation.

I think that the last paragraph says it all……

Anyone think that maybe a new plan would be advisable?  This pre-World War Two thinking is getting this fight nowhere…..15 years and we are NO better situated than we were when we invaded….

Time for a massive re-think………America does not need a war without end.

 

“……Keep Your Enemies Closer”

It may be that insanity has struck our foreign policy mavens yet again…..if you recall back in the 80’s the US teamed up with the mujaheddin in Afghanistan to defeat the Russians and their invasion…..within the ranks of the mujaheddin was a little known group called Al-Qaeda…..and we know how that worked out for the country….don’t we?

The reason I bring up this bit of recent history is that “stupidity” is about to strike again……..

The United States is teaming up with Al Qaeda, again……….I have been seeing hints that there could be a major move in our policies in the Middle East….especially Syria and Iraq….is it possible that we could be making a deadly mistake yet again?

Source: [Letter from Washington] | A Special Relationship, by Andrew Cockburn | Harper’s Magazine

What was it that Einstein said about insanity?

ISIS: Who Got Da Funk?

Sorry had to get a shout out to Parlement Funkadelic…..ah the good old days!

My readers know that I have a healthy curiosity about the Middle East and I do a lot of writing on the subject…….I have been a bit distracted by the games politicians are playing in the run up to the 2016 election……..but I need to do what I do…..

Meanwhile back in the Middle East and points East…….Al-Qaeda that bunch of heathens that caused the 9/11 attack……but first let’s step back to the 1980’s, Afghanistan…….the Russians have overrun the country and we Americans are funding the opposition, people like the Northern Alliance and…..you guessed it   Al-Qaeda.  That is right Irene we of the United States of America are partially responsible for the rise of AQ worldwide…..all in the name of fighting the Russians.  Was the price worth it?

In the last couple of months it seems that AQ and ISIS are not the best of friends even though their ideologies are similar……..

Source: The Battle of Extremists: ISIS Faces Off Against Al-Qaeda and Jaysh Al-Islam

About a month ago I wrote about the friction between AQ and ISIS……there have been incidents of them fighting each other for land and influence.  When that occurred I said then why not use this friction in the fight against ISIS….what is the old saying….”the enemy of my enemy is my friend”…..why not use it to the advantage we need to “degrade and destroy” ISIS.

Oh boy did I catch grief for that post.  There was lots of ranting and rambling about this group or that and the evil they both would bring to the table…..

The problem is that the coalition airstrikes are doing very little to curb the growing strength of ISIS……the Iraqi army is as ineffective as anything I have seen (that is our fault for the damn lame program of de-Bathification of the army)….the only success even if it is limited is that of the Kurds.  The problem there is that politics must be played in arming them with the Iraqi government that has a suspicious streak….all in all the whole strategy is a wash and will remain so as long as the plan remains the same.

It makes me smile to see after all the grief I took that someone sees the benefit of using AQ to fight and eventually destroy ISIS….

Now you want to ask…..who is that masked man, right?

The hero of the Surge in Iraq…Gen. Petraeus….that’s who!

Source: Petraeus: Use Al Qaeda Fighters to Beat ISIS – The Daily Beast

There is validity in his thoughts and thinking outside the box is what is needed if we are to “degrade and destroy” ISIS.  Petraeus should be listened to at this time….we can worry about the results of this fight later…….it may not end well but if ISIS can be “degraded and destroyed” is that not the end game in all this?

Either get serious about ISIS or bow the Hell out!

 

Cut The Head Off The Snake!

Once the Us started its attacks within the borders of Syria we were told that AQ had a super group of terrorists called the “Khorasan Group”…..the Seal Team 6 of AQ……we were told all about their activities and their possible future actions……..

The only problem is in an interview of a commander of al-Nusra, an AQ affiliate in Syria he told the world that there was NO such group within their organization….from, the beginning I wrote that I doubted their existence that this was just a piece of propaganda to build support for the indiscriminate bombing of Syria……

Even though there are few people that believe the existence of “Khorasan” news leaked out yesterday……..

Pentagon officials are claiming that Muhsin al-Fadhli, an al-Qaeda figure who they accuse of being a leader of the “Khorasan” faction, was killed in a US airstrike earlier this month in the Aleppo Province of northern Syria.

US officials have claimed Fadhli was the target of several previous airstrikes against al-Qaeda, and had speculated in the past that he was killed. Al-Qaeda’s Syria faction, Jabhat al-Nusra, has not indicated whether or not the Kuwaiti-borned Fadhli was targeted or killed.

Like so many other “terrorist” leaders we have killed him for the second time……there is no confirmation that the man is dead and definitely NO confirmation of the group called “Khorasan”….but that does not stop the Pentagon from spreading false information….

We will have to wait and see if this person is truly dead or just another ghost in the wind like so many others have been in the past.  But the best part is that the Pentagon continues to push a lie on the American public……..

ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus Region | Institute for the Study of War

Remember about 10 years ago when Russia was having a helluva time with the rebels in Chechnya?  It seems these Muslims from the Caucus region of  Southern Europe want their independence and have spent much time blowing things up and being a pain in Russia’s ass…….but for a couple of years now the region has been quiet and calm……of course there is still a simmering hatred but that could soon change thanx to ISIS……….

It seems the ISIS has injected itself into the region and things are about to get a bit more troublesome for Russia and in the end….the rest of the world.

An analysis from the Institute for the Study of War has broken down the problems and the situation quite nicely……….

This may not interest most Americans but it needs to be watched…….eventually it will involve the US and its NATO cover…….

 

ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus Region | Institute for the Study of War.

Wassup in Yemen?

The big news in the MSM is that 3 inmates have escaped and NO one has any idea where to look for them…….then a minor story was the death of the AQAP leader in Yemen killed by a drone strike……….

Al-Qaeda has confirmed that Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of its offshoot in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

Nasser al-Wuhayshi was a major global figure among jihadists – even supporters of al-Qaeda’s rival Islamic State viewed Wuhayshi with respect.

According to reports, in August 2013 Wuhayshi was appointed deputy of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, a sign of the extent of his influence.

As well as creating AQAP itself, Wuhayshi also played a major role in forming the AQAP off-shoot, Ansar al-Sharia, in 2011, to appeal to disaffected youth in Yemen at the time of the Arab Spring.

Let me be one of the first to introduce my readers to the next leader of AQAP……….

The newly appointed leader of al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate is a senior commander whose longstanding devotion to jihad landed him on the United States’ “Most Wanted” list of terrorists with a $5 million bounty on his head.

Qassim Al-Rimi was named Tuesday as the new head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) following the death of Nasir al-Wuhayshi in a U.S. strike.

I do hope that that may be of some assistance to our intel agencies……we try to be helpful whenever possible……..

Now with that news there is another question that is bugging me……Saudis are still bombing the crap out of Yemen……… back into the Stone Age to get at the Houthi rebels and yet the US had to use a drone strike to kill a terrorist…….why is that?

I thought that the Saudis were our allies and that we depend on them for cooperation in the Arabian Peninsula….are they truly fighting terrorists or are they just killing a rivals?

Since the Saudis seem to be ignoring AQAP in their attacks in Yemen are they in fact helping AQAP get stronger in the region by ignoring them?

Maybe it is time to re-think this whole Saudi-US alliance….apparently they will be of NO help in fighting AQ…..then why do we need them?  What part do they play in the grand scheme of the War on Terror?

I know I am a pain in the butt…..but should not someone, anyone be asking these questions?

AQ’s SEAL Team 6

I do not know if many Americans remember 6 months ago when the news on every channel was the Al-Qaeda had its own version of the “best if the best” soldiers…….in case you do not….they were called Khorasan.

All the news for about 2 weeks was what this group was and what we could expect from them as far as tactics go…….many many hours of coverage was given to this group and many experts were trotted out to tell the American people what this group was capable of accomplishing…….this effort by the media and the government convinced many Americans that another 9/11 style attack was being planned……

For my part I was dubious of this report…..there was NOTHING any where in any media that would lead me to believe that there was such a group….to me it sounded like propaganda to get the American people of the side of more intervention in the Middle East…….

Over the weekend I found someone who would talk on the record about this group……..

the head of al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria gave the clearest indication yet that the group is a fabrication. In an interview conducted with Al Jazeera Arabic, Abu Muhammad al Jolani, the head of Jabhat al Nusra, said the following:

“The so-called Khorasan group, supposedly active within our ranks, doesn’t exist. We first heard about it via the media after the U.S.-led coalition bombed us. It is merely a Western invention to justify the bombings on us. There are some brothers from Khorasan who joined our strife though.”

That just confirmed my suspicion that the whole story was made up…..a lame attempt at propaganda……

Every attempt will be made to continue the people’s support of a war that is going NOWHERE!

We need to be vigilant…..check every accusation……check every “fact”…….the government has NO problem lying to the people…….it matters not the party that is in power…….

If they lied about this situation…….what else are they lying about?

 

Syria: Bad Guy Vs Bad Guy

Opinion from the tortured fingers of Chuq

Does anyone remember reading MAD Magazine in their youth……especially the cartoon panels entitled “Spy Vs Spy”….one white one black and no one knows who was good or bad……

That cartoon made me think of a situation brewing in Syria as I write this…..Everybody is at war with everybody else and in between are the civilians that NO one, mostly notably the US, cares about….but that is a post for another day.

Let’s look at that war….we have Assad fighting anyone that is not in his army……we have rebels fighting rebels……we have the Coalition fighting ISIS…….and ISIS fighting anyone that gets in their way to gain total control of the region……about here is where I pick up on the post……..

There are many units fighting in Syria on various sides of the conflict….there is of course ISIS and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the AQ affiliate, Nusra Front which is fighting mostly in the Southern part of Syria……..this is where it becomes most interesting……

Both ISIS and Nusra are considered to be extreme fundamentalist which adhere to a very strict interpretation of Islam…..on the surface it would appear that these two entities should be allies…..but that ain’t happening.

The Nusra Front has launched an assault on rival Islamic State positions in the Qalamoun mountains on the Lebanon-Syria border, al-Qaeda’s official representative in Syria said.

According to social media accounts belonging to Nusra, its militants began attacking IS positions on Tuesday and now plan to “eradicate” IS in the region because it has exploited “the vision of an Islamic state”.

While the two groups have clashed throughout much of Syria, they had, until recently, fostered relatively good relations in Qalamoun, a mountain range key to securing supply routes into Syria.

– See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/nusra-plans-eradicate-syria-lebanon-border-700200023#sthash.K4A7iceb.dpuf

“Eradicate” ISIS?  Now that should be good news to the ears of our guys in the State department…..but wait!  Nusra is an AQ affiliate how does that fit into the equation?

Now with this break between the two….will the US arm and train an AQ affiliate?  Where does this situation fit into the grand scheme of things (if there is a grand scheme)?
As with everything about the conflict in Syria…….there are questions……..so many questions and so little answers.
Well is this good news or not?

The Confusion That Is Yemen

The news for the last month has been the situation in Yemen……(head scratch)……most Americans only know Yemen as the port that the USS Cole was attacked or that there are a multitude of drone strikes going after terrorists.  After that…..NOTHING.

Yemen has a rich history of instability.  There has been one form of conflict or another for decades…….but it became an important ally when AQ attacked NYC on 9/11…..why?  Yemen has been a training ground for AQ for years and the US to flex its geopolitical muscle has been bombarding Yemen with drones targeting AQAP.  The president was an American lackey and the army has been trained by US forces …….that is until recently when a mistreated minority, the Houthis, decided they had had enough and committed themselves to rebellion.

Part of the confusion…..Houthis are a Shi’a sect…..the prez and his army were of the Sunni persuasion……AQAP is a Sunni fundamental group that is at odds with the Yemeni government……as well as the Shi’a Houthis were at odds also…….US attacked AQ…..Yemen attacked AQ…..Houthis attacked government and the tribe is basically armed and trained (supposedly) by Iran, which is of the Shi’a persuasion……then the situation got even more confounding……the Sunni Saudis saw a threat from the Shi’a Houthis and decided to attack the country and do away with the problem…….now after about a month of airstrikes the Saudis have stopped the attack and pronounced a victory…….

While the mini war was raging the Iranians have been accused of sending SAM missiles to the Houthis……and to that accusation the US has sent the Navy to intercept any planned deliveries……

It has been reported that the US talked the Saudis in a stand down because of the large amount of civilians deaths in their campaign against the Houthi……the Saudis declared victory so they must have done significant damage to the rebellion, right?

Not exactly…….even during the airstrike campaign the Houthis made significant advances and while the Saudis were killing civilians……AQAP has solidified its take over of the Eastern part of the country.

Fresh off killing scores of civilians in an airstrike on the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, Saudi Arabia has declared victory in their ongoing war against the Houthis, insisting the military objectives of “Operation Decisive Storm” have all been achieved

For those keeping track, the initially stated goal was to reinstall former President Hadi, who is still living in exile in Riyadh. In the three weeks of strikes, hundreds of civilians have been killed, humanitarian resources are in short supply everywhere, Houthi forces are still contesting Aden with Hadi forces, and al-Qaeda has taken considerable territory in the east.

The declaration of victory and an end to the war doesn’t appear to mean an actual end to the war, however, as officials are announcing “Operation Renewal of Hope,” which will begin immediately, and will include military components. They’re describing it as an anti-terror operation, though the indications are that it will continue to focus on the Shi’ites, and not al-Qaeda.

So now I ask……just what was the reason for the Saudis intervening in the rebellion in Yemen?  I think there were two reasons……one was a PR ploy and the second was to give their ‘cousins’ AQAP a bit of an advantage.  There was never any intention to help the fight against terrorism for the AQAP held Eastern Yemen was never a target for airstrikes.

The US because of the civilian deaths caused by drone strikes turned the population against us……now the Saudis have succeeded in making another enemy and a better recruitment program…….

We have NOT heard the last of Yemen………….This situation is far from over and will get NO less confusing in the future.

Yemen will be a source of great concern……and a source of many long hours of worrisome thought by our foreign policy mavens…….something they richly deserve.

 

Syria: Land Of Ups And Downs

The war in Syria is not nearly as popular as it was 6 months ago….but we still have as a plan that we should arm the ‘moderate’ rebel groups fight Assad and of course our arch enemy, ISIS.

As I have said we have a plan….but a plan is NO good when events do not cooperate……..and recently few events are cooperating with the US plan….for instance……

Reuters) – The Hazzm movement was once central to a covert CIA operation to arm Syrian rebels, but the group’s collapse last week underlines the failure of efforts to unify Arab and Western support for mainstream insurgents fighting the Syrian military.

A blow to U.S. moves to aid rebels, the dissolution of Hazzm also highlights the risks that a new Department of Defense program could face in training and equipping fighters in Jordan, Turkey and Qatar.

Hazzm’s collapse has shown how such efforts will prove difficult in a country where insurgents often battle each other and arms have fallen into the hands of hardline groups.

An onslaught by al Qaeda’s Syria wing, the Nusra Front, last week forced Hazzm into dissolution, its members swallowed by Jabhat al-Shamiyya, a mainly Islamist alliance. It was the second time in four months that Nusra had crushed a Western-backed rebel group.

 

How much of a set back this situation will be to the overall plan is yet to be seen….but it should delay any “arming” of rebels….

It appears that there is a quiet plan for the use of military force in Syria…….

With the war against ISIS still in the process of being built up, administration officials are already planning for the post-ISIS war in Syria, and they intend to play a role in that as well.

Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that right now there is “no higher priority” than disrupting ISIS, but said after that ousting Syrian President Bashar Assad would be “needed.”

“When” ISIS is defeated then the use of force against Assad is part of the plan?

The Coalition plan still is to do as little as possible and pray for success…..that is not a plan…..and using US troops in yet another Middle East country should not be part of any plan…….