Pentagon report: West’s support for Islamist rebels would create ISIS
May 26, 2015 1:00 PM Subscribe
A declassified secret US government document obtained by the conservative public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad. The document reveals that in coordination with the Gulf states and Turkey, the West intentionally sponsored violent Islamist groups to destabilize Assad, and that these “supporting powers” desired the emergence of a “Salafist Principality” in Syria to “isolate the Syrian regime.”
According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the ‘Islamic State’ as a direct consequence of this strategy, and warned that it could destabilize Iraq. Despite anticipating that Western, Gulf state and Turkish support for the “Syrian opposition” — which included al-Qaeda in Iraq — could lead to the emergence of an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the document provides no indication of any decision to reverse the policy of support to the Syrian rebels. On the contrary, the emergence of an al-Qaeda affiliated “Salafist Principality” as a result is described as a strategic opportunity to isolate Assad.
According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the ‘Islamic State’ as a direct consequence of this strategy, and warned that it could destabilize Iraq. Despite anticipating that Western, Gulf state and Turkish support for the “Syrian opposition” — which included al-Qaeda in Iraq — could lead to the emergence of an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the document provides no indication of any decision to reverse the policy of support to the Syrian rebels. On the contrary, the emergence of an al-Qaeda affiliated “Salafist Principality” as a result is described as a strategic opportunity to isolate Assad.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey there, it sounds like this piece is misrepresenting the nature of the evidence in a kind of inflammatory way, which isn't going to make for a good discussion. -- LobsterMitten
Can anybody with more knowledge of this chime in here?
The source of this being Judicial Watch and the author being from an organization I've never heard of leaves me questioning this a bit....
posted by lattiboy at 1:06 PM on May 26, 2015
The source of this being Judicial Watch and the author being from an organization I've never heard of leaves me questioning this a bit....
posted by lattiboy at 1:06 PM on May 26, 2015
Nafeez Ahmed is a kook. At least Gore Vidal had dementia or whatever to account for his loony Trutherisms.
posted by Nevin at 1:08 PM on May 26, 2015
posted by Nevin at 1:08 PM on May 26, 2015
Many institutions are deeply committed to perpetuating the problems to which they are the nominal solution - the FBI justifies its existence by manufacturing terror plots at home, the US military helps to create the Taliban, etc., etc. Judicial Watch's wingnuttery aside, this seems entirely possible, almost to the point of banality, given our recent history.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:14 PM on May 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 1:14 PM on May 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
The repeated use of a handwavey "the West" seems somewhat suspect.
As for the Syrian rebels being increasingly composed of Islamic militants and Gulf states funding said militants, that's all pretty well known, and was obviously hugely problematic even back in 2012.
posted by Artw at 1:14 PM on May 26, 2015
As for the Syrian rebels being increasingly composed of Islamic militants and Gulf states funding said militants, that's all pretty well known, and was obviously hugely problematic even back in 2012.
posted by Artw at 1:14 PM on May 26, 2015
The original document is here.
That certainly clears things up: the bit about "the west" is in a section covering a hypothetical situation in which Syria becomes a proxy war, which it did not, which is why "the west" is so vague.
All else is heavy spin and anyone taking it seriously is a chump.
posted by Artw at 1:19 PM on May 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
That certainly clears things up: the bit about "the west" is in a section covering a hypothetical situation in which Syria becomes a proxy war, which it did not, which is why "the west" is so vague.
All else is heavy spin and anyone taking it seriously is a chump.
posted by Artw at 1:19 PM on May 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Why not? Supporting Islamist rebels in Afghanistan during the 1980s had NO NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES WHATSOEVER.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:20 PM on May 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:20 PM on May 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
The hidden hand behind the Islamic State militants? Saddam Hussein’s.
posted by monospace at 1:26 PM on May 26, 2015
posted by monospace at 1:26 PM on May 26, 2015
Yeah this is bullshit. The DIA report is explicitly saying that if the situation deteriorates, then AQI gets the renewed momentum, the islamic state gets declared, etc etc. Which is not so much a "the West's support will X", but a "if there's a clusterfuck then X". Kind of the opposite.
And I don't remember the recent history all that well, but isn't that what happened? There was no great support of the opposition by the West, but rather a tepid and partial support, which led to capture of the opposition movement by extremists, which lead to ISIS and all that bad stuff. I could be wrong on that part.
posted by Lemurrhea at 1:36 PM on May 26, 2015
And I don't remember the recent history all that well, but isn't that what happened? There was no great support of the opposition by the West, but rather a tepid and partial support, which led to capture of the opposition movement by extremists, which lead to ISIS and all that bad stuff. I could be wrong on that part.
posted by Lemurrhea at 1:36 PM on May 26, 2015
« Older Hoverboards actually do work on water | Breaking The Game For Fun And Profit Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 1:04 PM on May 26, 2015