Saudis Form Pro-ISIS Block

By Stephen Lendman

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are key US allies, fostering endless Middle East wars,

They’re involved in recruiting and directly aiding ISIS and other takfiri terrorists throughout the region – mainly in Syria and Iraq, now beginning to establish a foothold in war-torn, chaotic Libya, with elements in Yemen and elsewhere.

Riyadh wants more regional power along with control over oil reserves outside its borders. Together with Washington and other partners, it’s using ISIS and other terrorist groups to advance its objectives, not oppose a universal scourge.

It’s so-called new 34-nation “Islamic military alliance” against terrorism is a laughable on its face, a deceptive PR hoax. It named the following nations as partners:

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Nigeria, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen along with its own regime.

A Saudi-controlled news agency said “(t)he countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations.”

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya and Yemeni territory controlled by US-installed puppet Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi are part of the problem, not the solution. Other countries listed aren’t involved in US-led regional war OF terrorism, at least not enough to matter.

Riyadh claiming the so-called coalition has “a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorize the innocent”is pure propaganda, ignoring its central role in creating, financing and fostering regional terrorism.

The only nations combating it are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Russia. Washington, its imperial NATO partners, Israel, and other regional rogue states support what they claim to oppose.

America’s so-called 65-nation anti-terrorism coalition is pure fiction. US air and ground forces along with Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Israel and Australia are attacking Syrian and Iraqi sites, not ISIS or other terrorists.

Turkey is striking Syrian and Iraqi Kurds on the pretext of combating ISIS, perhaps government targets in both countries along with Washington and other rogue coalition partners.

Last week, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova minced no words, saying “(w)e can state the (US-led) coalition is simulating the fight against ISIS and real terrorism and acts on its own politicized approach to the situation, which runs counter to international law, at least in Syria.”

“Now we can see that (this continues) not only (against the Assad’s government). As is known, the inactivity of the actions of (Washington’s phantom) coalition was distinctly confirmed by the growing ISIS problem.”

During over a year of illegal US bombing of Syria, terrorist groups made substantial territorial gains. Their oil smuggling and other illicit operations flourished – protected, not attacked by America.

In early December, Russia’s General Staff Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy cited clear evidence, showing US-led bombing in Syria isn’t striking ISIS targets, notably permitting its oil smuggling cross-border to Turkey to operate freely.

In contrast, Russia is waging real war on terrorism in Syria, making a strategic difference on the ground. Key is cutting off these groups’ sources of funding, especially from illicit oil sales, complicit with Turkey, permitted by Washington to continue despite claims otherwise.

Moscow so far unsuccessfully urged the formation of a global coalition against terrorism, mainly with America and other Western countries, – involved for a common purpose, defeating the scourge of terrorism, not possible with US-led Western and rogue regional support.

Riyadh’s announced phony Islamic military alliance against terrorism followed its failed December 8 – 10 anti-Assad conference – attended by regional rogue states and notorious terrorist groups, including ISIS.

Along with Washington and rogue partners, Saudi rulers want Assad ousted, Hezbollah neutralized and Iran isolated. Russia’s all-out efforts for regional peace have no chance to succeed as long as US-led Assad enemies want escalated aggression to oust him illegally.

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog