Posted on 09/12/2014 10:20:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
There might be as many as 31,000 fighters in terror group ISIS' army, the CIA has said, which is three times more than it previously feared. Ten Arab countries have meanwhile said that they will be helping the U.S. in the war against ISIS.
"This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence," CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said, according to BBC News on Friday.
ISIS has captured a number of cities across Syria and Iraq; it has attacked minorities including Christians, and has directly threatened the U.S. in videos showing the beheadings of two American journalists.
The U.S. has carried out more than 150 airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq, and has sent arms and advisers to help the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces. Other counties, including Britain, have contributed humanitarian assistance to the region.
Meanwhile, 10 Arab countries pledged to help the U.S. in its fight against the terror group.
Following a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry in Saudi Arabia, ministers representing Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all said that they will provide both military support and humanitarian aid.
The Arab countries said in a joint statement that they "shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism" and said that they had discussed a strategy to "destroy" the terror group wherever it operates.
"The region recognizes the danger that has been unleashed and they are full-throatedly ready to deal with that and that is why they committed today to take the actions they have committed to," Kerry said.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianpost.com ...
Yeah, I read more, and it doesn’t seem as though it touches reality with all four wheels.
The only way Islamic fighters will do any good is if they kill each other off, like centipedes in a jar.
Ten Arab countries? Yeah right. How many ‘boots’... Someone needs to ask John Kerry...
Islam will never settle down until Saudis stop funding the super fundamentalist madrasas all over the world.
First time I've heard that expression...what to they do, eat each other?
Daniel Pipes
Turkish Support for ISIS
June 18, 2014EXCERPT
Ankara may deny helping ISIS, but the evidence for this is overwhelming. "As we have the longest border with Syria," writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a Turkish newspaper columnist, "Turkey's support was vital for the jihadists in getting in and out of the country." Indeed, the ISIS strongholds not coincidentally cluster close to Turkey's frontiers.
Kurds, academic experts and the Syrian opposition agree that Syrians, Turks (estimated to number 3,000), and foreign fighters (especially Saudis but also a fair number of Westerners) have crossed the Turkish-Syrian border at will, often to join ISIS. What Turkish journalist Kadri Gursel calls a "two-way jihadist highway," has no bothersome border checks and sometimes involves the active assistance of Turkish intelligence services. CNN even broadcast a video on "The secret jihadi smuggling route through Turkey."
Actually, the Turks offered far more than an easy border crossing: they provided the bulk of ISIS' funds, logistics, training and arms. Turkish residents near the Syrian border tell of Turkish ambulances going to Kurdish-ISIS battle zones and then evacuating ISIS casualties to Turkish hospitals. Indeed, a sensational photograph has surfaced showing ISIS commander Abu Muhammad in a hospital bed receiving treatment for battle wounds in Hatay State Hospital in April 2014.
More at "Turkey's support for ISIS Islamist terrorists. Aiding jihadists could put Ankara at odds with Iran"
Thanksgiving approaches. Obama will beat the stuffing out of Turkey, as he petulantly stamps his foot in the levant.
Meanwhile Russia lauds the military draining of Europe, as it readies itself for a lunge towards Estonia.
I do not think that Turkey wants a Pesh Merga with modern US arms and ordnance.
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