and ... Syria

FluffyMcDeath

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Looks like ISIS could be a blessing in disguise since they are already in Syria and while Assad is trying to wipe them out, military wisdom is maybe, instead of helping Assad, or telling Saudi Arabia to stop funding ISIS... the US should invade Syria.
 

Glaucus

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It's kinda stupid that one dead American is changing US policy while the death of almost 200,000 Syrians means nothing. The Free Syrian Army says US air strikes at this point would likely do more harm than good UNLESS they back things up on the ground. And by that I believe they mean arm the FSA, I don't think even they want to see US boots on the ground.

But I see you continue to push the same old bullshit, although you've repeated so many times you probably believe it. ISIS has no allies other than itself. ISIS receives as much funding from Saudi Arabia as Kiev gets from Adolf Hitler. Last time I checked both al-Qaeda and ISIS consider the house of Saud to be illegitimate and one of their main objectives is to topple it.

Aside from that, Assad only recently changed tactics towards ISIS and then only slightly. The Syrian military has mostly concentrated on the FSA forces allowing ISIS to continue with it's high profile murderous rampage mostly to tarnish the FSA and to prevent further support from the west. Brilliant plan that worked quite well, thanks in part to garbage such as yourself that helped propagate the lie. Recently ISIS has been a little too successful and Assad started bombing them but he just lost an important airbase to ISIS the other day. However, it's probably still a win for Assad as ISIS is still more manageable than NATO bombardment that can easily reach him in his own home. For now Syrian citizens are taking on the full brunt of ISIS' brutality so he can sleep in peace. I found it interesting that the FSA are on the brink of losing Allepo, Syria's second largest city. It's caught in a pincer movement with forces from the north and south. Interestingly, the northern forces are ISIS and the southern forces are Assad's, but seemingly still working together to bring down the FSA. So who knows, perhaps this new war on ISIS is just a show for Assad, perhaps to further confuse and isolate western powers.

At the very least this whole ISIS incident shows that Obama's strategy from the beginning was a failure. He should have intervened early on in the war, soon after Assad's forces opened fire on the protesters and while key Syrian army officers were defecting in numbers. Quick US support could have encouraged more to defect and brought about a quick end to the war before it began and never allowed a group like ISIS to ever take root.
 

FluffyMcDeath

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Aside from that, Assad only recently changed tactics towards ISIS and then only slightly. ...
After which follows a baroque and florid conspiracy theory that I would have been ridiculed for.
Still, it has fans in the like of David Blair (who is the guy who walked into one of Saddam's palaces after the Americans were done taking it and found documents saying that George Galloway had been taking money from Saddam).
On the other hand, Patrick Cockburn favours the Saudi theory. I have read criticisms of that article and the Saudis have denied it, plus I have seen things purporting to support the theory you espouse, some of apparently sourced from the FSA.

It is possible that both narratives could hold some truth. Maybe the sacked Prince Bandar had miscalculated his ability to handle the export of Wahabism, perhaps Assad recognizes the value in having another enemy of the US backed FSA (remember, it's bad to interfere in a countries exercise of sovereignty by backing separatists, yes?), but he would also have to recognize the danger in that. Or maybe ISIS fights the weaker enemy to build itself up and Assad doesn't mind too much so lets them. Everyone risks blowback.

He should have intervened early on in the war, soon after Assad's forces opened fire on the protesters and while key Syrian army officers were defecting in numbers.
Like Russia should have intervened when Kiev started shooting protesters in the east and the entire eastern army defected to the separatists. Because THAT's what a real leader would have done, right?

Last time I checked both al-Qaeda and ISIS consider the house of Saud to be illegitimate and one of their main objectives is to topple it.
And yet, they haven't done much about that to date. Low priority perhaps.

Now, whether Saudi Arabia intended to make ISIS per se is another matter but they have had a long standing love affair with funding their kind of religious nutcases. (Imagine what you could end up with if the US decided to give the Westboro Baptists billions of dollars provided they move to Russia). The Kingdom is only partly the House of Saud. They rule at the pleasure of the Imams to a large degree. The king has the money and the loyalty of the US, but the Imams own the people.

Anyway, with Bandar out of the picture maybe the Saudis are coming into line with the US policy of funding the FSA. Still, while the government may be on side it's hard to stem the private donations.
 

metalman

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Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly launched airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have launched a campaign across the region — in the news media, in politics and diplomacy, and by arming local proxies — to roll back what they see as an existential threat to their authority posed by Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Backing the Islamists are the rival states of Turkey and Qatar.


a coalition of Arab states — including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — has effectively lined up with Israel in its fight against Hamas


Israel and Saudi Arabia: Unlikely Allies


The Egyptian-Saudi-Jordanian bloc has given extraordinary latitude to Israel during Operation Protective Shield

are “coordinating their political, economic and security policies – to put up a united front” against the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and the axis of Iran, Hezbollah and Syria, he said.



Obama Foreign policy inexperience proving costly

all of the horrors we’re now witnessing in Iraq could’ve been prevented if Obama had listened to his top military advisers and the Bush White House who strongly recommended to Obama in 2008 to leave behind as many as 20,000 residual troops in Iraq — after the war was won.
But no, Obama, the foreign policy novice, wanted out. Completely, And now with no American troops present to keep ISIS at bay, ISIS has now slaughtered untold thousands of Iraqis, multiplied enormously in size and funding and has taken over large swaths of Iraq and Syria while spreading its terror sphere of influence around the world. This is the result of electing a community organizer with zero foreign policy experience.
 

Glaucus

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1409677112541.cached.jpg
 

FluffyMcDeath

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Hmm. Heavily armed guy or guy with stick? Let's ask "heavily armed guy's opinion". Don't forget, heavily armed guy has also been killing the "other" guys and the "other guys" are also depicted as unarmed.... but the cartoon is to make a point, not be accurate - I understand. So, do you figure he should invade Iraq to take care of these ISIS guys now? Are you saying that if he does start attacking ISIS (because I doubt that it's a smart move to trust ISIS) will that make this cartoon wrong or still exactly right?
I see how it could make kind of sense if you didn't think about it too hard. I mean, what's the end game here? Think about it - you know and I know and Assad knows that if it came down to the US having to chose between supporting Assad or backing ISIS to bring him down they'd back ISIS in a heartbeat.
 

metalman

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Counter-Terrorism: The Saudi Solution Will Never Fly In The West

For the last few years the Saudis have arrested thousands of suspected Islamic terrorists, often because of tips by family or neighbors, and prosecuted hundreds (and tried to reform the others). There have been dozens of beheadings for terrorism. The trials and executions are public. The Saudi approach may be as medieval as al Qaeda tactics, but it has worked in Saudi Arabia. Saudis wishing to carry out Islamic terror activities are generally smart enough to leave the country to do it.
 

Robert

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Because it is not a solution.
 

FluffyMcDeath

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There are no moderates in Syria! They sell reporters to ISIS for a few thousand bucks.
 

Robert

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Nice to see Obama complete his transformation into hypocritical, war-mongering scumbag in front of everyone's eyes:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/11/assad-moscow-tehran-condemn-obama-isis-air-strike-plan
"The US president has spoken directly about the possibility of strikes by the US armed forces against Isil positions in Syria without the consent of the legitimate government," said a spokesman. "This step, in the absence of a UN security council decision, would be an act of aggression, a gross violation of international law."

That said, the bomb-the-bastards brigade will be thumping their tubs with glee at this news.
 
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