Use it for hiding so Assad and use chemical weapons on civilians.
Posted on 04/17/2018 2:55:30 PM PDT by WisconsinRep
President Trump has ended the CIA’s covert program to provide arms and supplies to Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — which have included Al Nusra, al-Qaeda, and other extremist elements that created, armed, funded, and built up ISIS. The CIA’s training and arming of jihadist anti-Assad rebels, which started under former President Obama, actually helped create ISIS.
Administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post, which broke this story, that Trump made the decision to end the covert program more than a month ago, after consulting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The decision was made before Trump’s July 7 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Germany and was not part of U.S.-Russian negotiations on a ceasefire in southwestern Syria, the two officials said.
A Reuters report citing an administration official revealed his frank admission that our government was aware that the CIA aid had benefited ISIS:
A downside of the CIA program, one of the officials said, is that some armed and trained rebels defected to the Islamic State and other radical groups, and some members of the previous administration favored abandoning the program.
However, U.S. aid to Syrian rebels groups will not end completely. The report continued:
Before assuming office in January, Trump suggested he could end support for Free Syrian Army groups and give priority to the fight against Islamic State.
A separate effort by the U.S. military effort to train, arm and support other Syrian rebel groups with air strikes and other actions will continue, the officials said.
It is refreshing to learn that the Trump administration has discontinued support for the Free Syrian Army, a move that has come years too late. As The New American’s foreign correspondent, Alex Newman, wrote in his 2015 article, “ISIS: The Best Terror Threat U.S. Tax Money Can Buy”:
Soon, though, the truth about the rebels began creeping out — this was a brutal Sunni-jihadist “revolution,” with powerful backers aiming to impose a sharia-run dictatorship in Syria after Assad was gone. Even the supposedly “moderate” rebels backed openly by Western powers — operating under the banner of the “Free Syrian Army” — were exposed as Islamists perpetrating war crimes and cannibalism, exterminating Christians, advocating ethnic cleansing, cooperating with al-Qaeda, and more.
But what of the “moderate” anti-Assad rebels? The sad fact of life is that no such groups exists. This was revealed in several other articles in The New American, including one in October 2014, “Obama’s “Anti-ISIS” Coalition Built ISIS, Biden Admits.” That report was based on comments made by then-Vice President Joe Biden at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. It noted that in his speech, “Biden stumbled upon another truth long accepted as fact among credible analysts: Despite all of Obama’s rhetoric, there is no such thing as a ‘moderate’ force in Syria that the White House claims to have been supporting against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.”
While answering a question from a student, Biden said: “The fact is, the ability to identify a moderate middle in Syria, um, was, uh — there was no moderate middle.” He added, “What my constant cry was, that our biggest problem was our allies — our allies in the region were our largest problem.”
Biden went on to explain what our allies then did: “They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad; except that the people who were being supplied were Al Nusra and Al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world.”
“Now you think I’m exaggerating — take a look,” Biden continued. “Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden everybody’s awakened because this outfit called [ISIS], which was Al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space in territory in eastern Syria, work with Al Nusra who we declared a terrorist group early on, and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them.”
Conveniently, noted Newman: “[Biden] did not mention the role of the CIA and the State Department in the process, of course, but that has been well documented by countless sources.”
The administration officials told the Post that phasing out the covert program was a way to improve relations with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, who strongly opposed the effort. Russia has backed Assad in his attempt to remain in power during the long civil war against the rebels.
While the ending of the CIA program will be viewed by noninterventionists as encouraging, they will also question the continuation of aid to the “other Syrian rebel groups” mentioned by the administration officials cited earlier. Our government’s track record in distinguishing between forces fighting ISIS and those helping ISIS has been abysmal. Such failures only highlight the folly of intervening in foreign areas where our own interests are not at stake.
Related articles:
Congress Considers Bill to “Stop Arming Terrorists”
After the ISIS War, a US-Russia Collision?
Russian No-fly Zone Plan for Syria Would Apply to U.S. Planes — But Only if We Send Them
Was Chemical Attack in Syria a “False Flag” to Trigger U.S. War?
Trump Attack on Syria Violates the Constitution and His Pledges
Citing Possible False Flag, Trump Launches Illegal War on Syria
After Trump’s Syria Attack, What Comes Next?
Many of Trump's Staunchest Allies Feel Betrayed by Syria Attack
McCain Made Secret Trip to Syria to Meet U.S. Military, Anti-Assad Rebels
Trump’s Decision to Bomb Syria Was “Emotional”
Obama Redux? Trump Sends Marines, Rangers Into Syria
Yes, Let’s Allow the Syrian People to Decide for Themselves
Rand Paul: Senate Is Arming Al-Qaeda and Rushing to War in Syria
Obama’s “Anti-ISIS” Coalition Built ISIS, Biden Admits
Now that is good news. We are on the side of these sex slavers, at least. Now do the Saudis.
He’s not helping ISIS. Implying that is moronic.
Old News...........July 2017
The USA has been supporting Sunni supremacy in the mideast - and with Obama and Brennan especially, I am convinced Fed.gov supported it quite actively.
And Sunni supremacy means exactly the Wahhabist strains from Saudi Arabia that so easily become groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS. Give them Syria, and Christians and any minority sects will be wiped out, and you will compound Jihadi power.
Now, at the same time, we are all against Iran and their Shia coalition, but by taking out Saddam, Bush created a bridge for Iran to involve itself in Syria, while Obama wanted to give the keys to the entire region to the Muslim Brotherhood.
US policy has gone from stupid, to evil. I think Trump understands that.
A downside of the CIA program, one of the officials said, is that some armed and trained rebels defected to the Islamic State and other radical groups, and some members of the previous administration favored abandoning the program.
Old News...........July 2017Apr 16, 2018 - “The U.S. mission has not changed — the President has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
“We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will prevent its return.
“Administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity........”
I always quit reading after such garbage words.
Countdown to you being called a “putinista” in 3...2...1.
I guess The New American is pro-Putin as well. Since some of us used to read TNA, that would make us ?. LOL.
I wonder who pays the pro-intervention cadre here? They really come to life when there is talk of bombing.
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The libertarian blame America first last and always bunch are not just Putinistas, but supporters of all our enemies without fail.
‘Bout ding dong time. “Arab Spring” was a lurching zombie from the start.
What is this “blaming America” crap?
“America” is not a person, and unless you are a socialist, we are not a collective.
America is a set of ideas based on freedom and liberty and faith and family. The “blame” for foreign policy mistakes and interventionism rests exclusively with the neocons, liberals, socialists, globalists who set our foreign policy, and with the scum who lie, bribe and deceive to encourage that foreign policy.
I don’t blame our Constitution, our families, our churches or our system of government for ANYTHING.
Stop trying to pretend that the foreign interventionism that you support has anything remotely to do with historical American conservative values. IT DOESN’T.
What is this “blaming America” crap?Libertarian blame America first last and always crowd. America, the country you live in. Not the person you live in. So the only crap comes from you.
What you left out is America is also built on ideals against tyranny and injustice and all the ideals you listed support the action President Trump took in attacking Syria for using chemical weapons against civilians. As our constitutionally elected leader.
Funny how you list all those nice things about America and then side with chemical attacks on civilians. Must feel good since you are so insistent.
See? Now I wouldn’t call you a Putinista. For sure those exist but all you have to do is remove Russia from the equation and they will disappear just as fast.
Happy to let you know the allegiance of some you are siding with against America.
You’re welcome.
Typical neocon liar to equate not-intervention with “siding with chemical attacks”.
It would be a bit like me claiming that you side with starvation because you haven’t proposed intervening everywhere starvation is happening. Or that you side with paganism because we haven’t invaded non-Christian countries. What a crock. You blame the Constitution first cucks are the reason the Republic is circling the drain.
You’re defining America as one big living social program.
Good thing nothing you write is remotely American, or some foreigners might get the wrong idea.
The problem you have with that, blame America first last and always worm, is we are posting here about chemical attacks on civilians.
How about in this situation we define America as the Geneva protocol we signed and the Senate ratified against the use of chemical weapons?
We did not fight two world wars so your friend Assad can use chemical weapons on civilians. At least not with Trump as President.
If you have a problem with that, you can tweet President Trump about it. He remains “Lock and Loaded”.
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