Britain to support newly-formed Muslim nations' 'ground army' against Isil

[webfact]

Britain to support newly-formed Muslim nations' 'ground army' against Isil
By Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor, Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent, and Louisa Loveluck

UK facing the prospect of being dragged further into the war in Syria by providing command and control, intelligence and air support to troops from the new coalition of Muslim nations against Islamic State jihadis

LONDON: -- Britain faced the prospect of being dragged further into the war in Syria on Tuesday night, as it was poised to support a newly-formed "ground army" from Muslim nations who could attack Isil within weeks.

The coalition of 34 largely Sunni Muslim nations on Tuesday night said it was planning to send special forces into Syria to help defeat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

British forces, alongside the United States and other Nato allies, are already bombing Isil in both Iraq and Syria, but military sources said they would have to provide command and control, intelligence and air support to troops from the new coalition.

On Tuesday night Downing Street welcomed the proposals from the Gulf-led nations but declined to comment on military support.

Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/12052765/Britain-to-support-newly-formed-Muslim-nations-ground-army-against-Isil.html

-- The Telegraph 2015-12-16

[pedro01]

Why not? It's not as if this has backfired before is it?

[connda]

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
--Albert Einstein

Ok. So it's an overly used quote, but it is so apropos.

[arjunadawn]

Why not? It's not as if this has backfired before is it?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

--Albert Einstein

Ok. So it's an overly used quote, but it is so apropos.

Priceless. Thanks.

[Krataiboy]

How much longer are our political leaders going to treat us like idiots? Everybody who bothers to look beyond the official propaganda trotted out by the mass media on both sides of the Pond knows that the new Frankenstein monster we call the Islamic State did not arrive in the Middle East like some spontaneous dust devil.

It is a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destabilisation) created by US intelligence and nurtured by American vassal states like Saudi Arabia, which not only supports acts of terrorism by others but cheerfully inflicts barbarity upon its own citizens - with, it must be said, barely a murmur of disapproval from Western presstitutes.

IS has taken over the lead role in the latest theatre of imperial warfare from similarly brutal CIA rent-a-mob outfits such as Al Qaeda and the Free Syrian Army - of which Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was a leading member before declaring himself Emperor of the new Caliphate.

According to no lesser source than General Wesley Clark, a former US four-star general and one-time Presidential contender, Syria was third on a hit list of seven countries earmarked for regime change by the world's biggest superpower. We all know, to our - and their - cost, what happened to the first two names on the list, Iraq and Libya.

Rather than put American boots on the ground (and more body bags on planes), the White House is clearly still pinning its hopes on deranged IS death squads to do the dirty work of deposing Assad. This helps explain how 1,000 US bombing raids failed to even slow down the jihadists.

Then the Russians entered the fray, softening up an enemy given short shrift by Kurdish ground forces. For a while, with IS on the ropes, hopes rose for a joint US-Russian initiative to halt the civil war in Syria and begin the process of negotiating a peace settlement.

By downing a Russian warplane the Turks, who had been buying pillaged oil from IS, achieved two objectives. President Obama was able to dodge the bullet of a joint US-Russia push against the Caliphate - which might well have proved conclusive - and instead of killing terrorists, Turkey could resume trading with them.

What does it say about the new Muslim army that is supposed to destroy the nascent Caliphate when foremost in its ranks is duplicitous, double-dealing Turkey?. Qatar is one of several other member states notorious for supporting IS. Few, if any, of the countries named in this new alliance have opened their borders to the millions of refugees displaced by IS and now flooding into Europe.

Can we really rely on this motley bunch to bring down a Frankenstein monster whom they helped nurture and for whom the good doctor in the White House clearly still has a soft spot?

Edited December 16, 2015 by Krataiboy

[simple1]

How much longer are our political leaders going to treat us like idiots? Everybody who bothers to look beyond the official propaganda trotted out by the mass media on both sides of the Pond knows that the new Frankenstein monster we call the Islamic State did not arrive in the Middle East like some spontaneous dust devil.

It is a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destabilisation) created by US intelligence and nurtured by American vassal states like Saudi Arabia, which not only supports acts of terrorism by others but cheerfully inflicts barbarity upon its own citizens - with, it must be said, barely a murmur of disapproval from Western presstitutes.

IS has taken over the lead role in the latest theatre of imperial warfare from similarly brutal CIA rent-a-mob outfits such as Al Qaeda and the Free Syrian Army - of which Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was a leading member before declaring himself Emperor of the new Caliphate.

According to no lesser source than General Wesley Clark, a former US four-star general and one-time Presidential contender, Syria was third on a hit list of seven countries earmarked for regime change by the world's biggest superpower. We all know, to our - and their - cost, what happened to the first two names on the list, Iraq and Libya.

Rather than put American boots on the ground (and more body bags on planes), the White House is clearly still pinning its hopes on deranged IS death squads to do the dirty work of deposing Assad. This helps explain how 1,000 US bombing raids failed to even slow down the jihadists.

Then the Russians entered the fray, softening up an enemy given short shrift by Kurdish ground forces. For a while, with IS on the ropes, hopes rose for a joint US-Russian initiative to halt the civil war in Syria and begin the process of negotiating a peace settlement.

By downing a Russian warplane the Turks, who had been buying pillaged oil from IS, achieved two objectives. President Obama was able to dodge the bullet of a joint US-Russia push against the Caliphate - which might well have proved conclusive - and instead of killing terrorists, Turkey could resume trading with them.

What does it say about the new Muslim army that is supposed to destroy the nascent Caliphate when foremost in its ranks is duplicitous, double-dealing Turkey?. Qatar is one of several other member states notorious for supporting IS. Few, if any, of the countries named in this new alliance have opened their borders to the millions of refugees displaced by IS and now flooding into Europe.

Can we really rely on this motley bunch to bring down a Frankenstein monster whom they helped nurture and for whom the good doctor in the White House clearly still has a soft spot?

Are you able to factually refute the claim the US coalition has carried out approx 8,300 air strikes against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Can you factually refute the claim that Daesh have lost 20 - 25% of their territory to ground forces supported by the US coalition air forces. Can you factually refute the claim that so far approx 15,000 Daesh members have been killed by coalition forces. Can you factually refute the claim that Russia is in fact not prioritising it's military efforts against Daesh and is also committing war crimes propping up Assad's regime.

Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey combined host around 4 million Syrian refugees, to this day they still do not receive sufficient funding and resources from the international community to assist them, not very surprising lackadaisical efforts in containing the refugees.

Syria (Assad), Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurdish regions have all been identified as procuring oil from Daesh, enabled by corruption, Turkey is not unique.

We will have to see if the "Muslim army" becomes a meaningful reality. The initiative resonates as a platform for State enabled sectarian warfare or is the whole process just diplomatic posturing.

Edited December 16, 2015 by simple1

[chilli42]

It boggles the mind that once again geopolitical problems are being addressed by working through proxies. What needs to be done is to help the current Syrian government (along with Russia) get back in the game and reclaim their country from ISIS and the other "friendly" Proxies. While at it, more support for the Kurds would be helpful.