As we write, in southern Syria, at Al Zagif (between Al Tanf and the Euphrates river), US and British special forces are developing an advanced training camp for so-called Revolutionary Guards, an Islamist group born on the ashes of the dissolved New Syrian Army, former pearl of the CIA. The two groups, officially born to fight ISIS, were actually established with the aim of removing the borders between Syria and Iraq from Assad, of which the Al Tanf pass is one of the main pivots.
In these hours, the rebels, equipped by the USA with the same materials supplied to the Arab-Kurds of the Syrian Democratic Forces, oppose the advance of the Syrian army that with the help of Russians and pro-Iranians tries to regain control of the southern borders. The recent air raids of the anti-ISIS coalition are clear (read Article 1 e Article 2).
Still as we write, the abominable media campaign persists mainstream that in the face of the London attacks and dozens of innocent deaths, it continues to mask the only inconvenient reality: the Sunni jihad that feeds international terrorism was created by the West (US and EU with the wink of Israel), to which it is then got out of hand. Instead of hitting the perpetrators and curbing the flow that feeds them, the only people who fight the Islamic State, namely the Syrian government and its allies, continue to be opposed. The main objective is to support Saudi Arabia, owner of many assets financials in the US and Europe, in its opposition to Shiite Iran, the only regional power "out of control".
Let's clarify some aspects.
Rather than discussing the reasons of Assad, a pawn of an apparently larger game, or those of an Iran, however, not immune from political and historical responsibilities, it seems more appropriate not to lose the light of reason, now lost by many.
Let's go by steps.
On these pages, we have been remembering for years that the Islamic State was born from the rubble of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Sunni regime. The brilliant American move of the 2003 to dissolve the political and military apparatuses of a country with a Shiite majority but ruled by a Sunni clan was the first step; the second was to take advantage of the post-war chaos to foster a parastatal structure (the Islamic State in fact), which would stem the growth of Iran, the only real nightmare of Israel and its Arab partners (Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries). The main consequence of anarchy followed a Iraqi Freedom it was the return of the Arab Shiites, a majority in Iraq but also quite strong in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.
So here's the thing. If we understand that the shadow of Persia looms behind Shiism, the bugbear of all followers of Sunna, then we derive an incontrovertible reality: the Second Gulf War proved to be a calculation error of the secular Bush administration.
Apparently, however, mistakes are like cherries: one calls the other. The uncontrolled violence of the Sunni jihad, which resulted in acts of terrorism unacceptable to global public opinion, forced the West to take up arms against ISIS in 2014. Inherent Resolve, the army of the good guys who came to remove the chestnuts from the fire in Iraq, however, was born as a leap in the dark that led generals and politicians into an inevitable cul de sac: the international crusade against Islamic terrorism in Iraq and Syria, sooner or later it would have turned out to be a boomerang.
To better understand why, we offer readers some food for thought:
Why are we no longer talking about the liberation of Mosul in Iraq from the anti-ISIS coalition? The great media coverage and the drumbeat that took place in October 2016 suddenly ceased… By reviewing those days, it seemed that the universal judgment was near and that the free world had by now the bad cutthroats on duty; after six months, the news of Mosul now liberated arrives with a dropper.
A case? Not at all. The reason is obvious.
The bulk of the military effort in Northwestern Iraq is not done by the American-led Iraqi troops, but by the Iraqi troops PMU, the Shiite militias equipped and controlled directly by Iran, with the ambiguous support of the Iraqi government, whose Prime Minister Al Abadi is Shiite. Shiite militias have already reached the border between Iraq and Syria at the level of the territory controlled by the Kurds of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan). The intention to drive out ISIS to control the crossings between the two countries with direct Iranian help is no longer a taboo. The presence of senior Tehran officers at the front to inspect the militia lines has been reported several times in recent weeks.
The knots, it seems, have come to a head. You will not be able to escape the pivotal question for a long time to come:
Is it more important for the West to destroy ISIS and Islamist terrorism or to stem Iran and its allies?
The answer, not too malicious, is simple: if we Westerners wanted to close the game with the Islamic State, we would have done it in two weeks at the most.
We close the article while news of a jhadist counter-offensive against Assad's forces arrives from Deir Ezzor, in Syria. War is not waged only with drug addicts and guns: it takes means, equipment, intelligence, experience, infrastructure and above all a lot, a lot of money. Aid to the Caliphate continues to rain from the Iraqi governorate of Anbar which reaches the borders of Saudi Arabia. We all know, but let's pretend it isn't. In the festival of hypocrisy, the bombshell of the last hour could not be missing: Riyadh accuses Qatar of financing Al Qaeda, ISIS and jhad in general. There is even talk of a diplomatic break with Doha. The race for the scapegoat has evidently begun ...
The point of no return therefore seems to have arrived. While London mourns for the attacks, a suicidal foreign policy continues silently in the same direction as ever. The Atlanticist front, despite the nuances and differences that characterize it, insists on trafficking with countries that finance Islamic extremism not too quietly. For pure human ethics, it would be appropriate to tell it, trying to explain it perhaps to the families of dozens of innocents who continue to die in Europe according to a macabre ritual now passively accepted by all. We renew the sanctions on Russia and bomb Assad; we follow like a stunned flock of the lines that lead us towards no one knows what interests.
Our hypocrisy is more guilty than a thousand bombs; the death suns of our civilization are increasingly red with shame.
(photo: US Army / CNN)
