A covert coup? The U.S. Is at war with itself.

I think my title says it all. According to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, the U.S. Military has been offering intelligence to Assad's military "indirectly" to fight ISIs in complete contradiction to the Obama Administrations stated goal.

A new investigation in the London Review of Books by renowned American journalist Seymour M. Hersh exposes the divide between the US top brass and the politicians in the White House when it comes to dealing with Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq.

It seems the US JCS isn’t enthusiastic about Obama’s “Assad must go” maxima, opting to provide Damascus with intelligence and analytics on the jihadists instead. This is, however, done indirectly, an unidentified former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs told Hersh.

What's more, it goes on to say that while the CIA is actively arming the opposition, the military is arming Assad's military. I mean WTF?! Well it's no wonder Assad managed to hang in there because he had support from the same government trying to topple him.

By that time, the CIA had been delivering weapons from Libyan arms depots to Syria via Turkey for over a year. This began soon after the assassination of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, writes Hersh.

The arms were handed to any group opposing Assad’s military, including Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State. The so-called ‘moderate rebels’ had “evaporated and the Free Syrian Army was a rump group stationed at an airbase in Turkey,” the source told the journalist. The US military assessment was realistic: moderate opposition to Assad is a myth and the US was arming Islamic extremists.

This is the perfect example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. It also goes to show the deep divide between our government and military. That alone should be very worrying to the citizen class, but by and large it will go unnoticed.

www.rt.com...

Here is a link to the London Book Review:

www.lrb.co.uk...

waiting

originally posted by: Lysergic
waiting

Sorry, Internet is finicky and I'm using an iPad. :/

Should be there now. Thanks for your patience.

This kind of craziness has been going on for a very long time. Papa Bush may has said it best. "If the American people knew what we have done they would string us up from the lamp posts." Unfortunately, we are either in denial, stupid, apathetic, or all three.

originally posted by: JohnthePhilistine
This kind of craziness has been going on for a very long time. Papa Bush may has said it best. "If the American people knew what we have done they would string us up from the lamp posts." Unfortunately, we are either in denial, stupid, apathetic, or all three.

Yes but the difference here is what appears to be the current administration in lock step with the Bush Administration, you know committing the oldest of sins in the newest of ways, yet the military is acting in complete contradiction.

Maybe will start seeing some top brass forced into retirement.

originally posted by: Rosinitiate

originally posted by: JohnthePhilistine
This kind of craziness has been going on for a very long time. Papa Bush may has said it best. "If the American people knew what we have done they would string us up from the lamp posts." Unfortunately, we are either in denial, stupid, apathetic, or all three.

Maybe will start seeing some top brass forced into retirement.

We've already seen that before. The last time that happened we were told by our right wing friends that it was a liberal conspiracy to subvert the military for Obama.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Lol, I guess it didn't work. :/

a reply to: Rosinitiate

Lol. Guess not, but I'm sure your information here is going to be twisted to further support that idea above instead of refute it.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Rosinitiate

Lol. Guess not, but I'm sure your information here is going to be twisted to further support that idea above instead of refute it.

And he'd be well within his rights as Commander-n-Chief to do so. Whether I agree or disagree with the U.S. foreign policy, this is a slippery slope.

Edited to please the OP.
There are no forced retirements under Obama.
Better?

originally posted by: butcherguy
History shows that military commanders are 'retired' for political reasons.
It has happened since military units were first organized. To deny it is silly.

Maybe, maybe not but its not relevant to this thread. Krazyshots point was to my point of seeing forced retirements. If he (Obama) was attempting to subvert the military to his will he failed.

Personally, I'd rather discuss the implications of a rogue military that is acting in opposition to a rogue government.

They never expected it to go on this long.

The Isis crisis wasn't supposed to get this big.

Assad was supposed to go by now.

This is damage control propaganda to save face.

The dual standard, arming terrorists and overthrowing legitimate governments abroad, whilst claiming its for humane and democratic reasons.

The longer it goes on the more embarrassing its going to get.

originally posted by: intrptr
They never expected it to go on this long.

The Isis crisis wasn't supposed to get this big.

Assad was supposed to go by now.

This is damage control propaganda to save face.

The dual standard, arming terrorists and overthrowing legitimate governments abroad, whilst claiming its for humane and democratic reasons.

The longer it goes on the more embarrassing its going to get.

So this is an engineered storyline?

a reply to: Rosinitiate

It's called "back channels." Publicly, it is important that the Assad regime know that Assad must go; this also reassures the rebels we are supporting. Meanwhile, the Syrian army is willing to attack Daesh, so by sharing certain types of information with them we are degrading a common enemy. The psychological game that Putin has been playing is that he wants the US to name and locate anti-Assad groups under the guise of forming a coalition with them; in fact, he wants the US to tell them where Assad should target in order to reduce resistance to his regime. By providing information about Daesh clandestinely, the US is protecting its assets while aiding Assad fight Daesh.

originally posted by: DJW001
a reply to: Rosinitiate

It's called "back channels." Publicly, it is important that the Assad regime know that Assad must go; this also reassures the rebels we are supporting. Meanwhile, the Syrian army is willing to attack Daesh, so by sharing certain types of information with them we are degrading a common enemy. The psychological game that Putin has been playing is that he wants the US to name and locate anti-Assad groups under the guise of forming a coalition with them; in fact, he wants the US to tell them where Assad should target in order to reduce resistance to his regime. By providing information about Daesh clandestinely, the US is protecting its assets while aiding Assad fight Daesh.

Do you have anything to back that up? It sounds like you are saying its business as usual where we are playing both sides to ensure victory and everyone is on the up and up. Yet, what Hersh is reporting is in stark contrast to that teddy bear image you're portraying.

The military’s resistance dates back to the summer of 2013, when a highly classified assessment, put together by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then led by General Martin Dempsey, forecast that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to chaos and, potentially, to Syria’s takeover by jihadi extremists, much as was then happening in Libya. A former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs told me that the document was an ‘all-source’ appraisal, drawing on information from signals, satellite and human intelligence, and took a dim view of the Obama administration’s insistence on continuing to finance and arm the so-called moderate rebel groups. By then, the CIA had been conspiring for more than a year with allies in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to ship guns and goods – to be used for the overthrow of Assad – from Libya, via Turkey, into Syria. The new intelligence estimate singled out Turkey as a major impediment to Obama’s Syria policy. The document showed, the adviser said, ‘that what was started as a covert US programme to arm and support the moderate rebels fighting Assad had been co-opted by Turkey, and had morphed into an across-the-board technical, arms and logistical programme for all of the opposition, including Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State. The so-called moderates had evaporated and the Free Syrian Army was a rump group stationed at an airbase in Turkey.’ The assessment was bleak: there was no viable ‘moderate’ opposition to Assad, and the US was arming extremists.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

That excerpt does not contradict what I said. The military is getting its way while the public face of policy remains unchanged. Turkey is too crucial an ally to criticize publicly. In fact, Turkey's long game may be withdrawing from NATO to form a Levantine "defensive pact" that makes it the major power in the region. Obviously, diplomacy is necessary to prevent this, so any actions that subvert Turkish moves need to be discreet.

a reply to: DJW001

Wat tangled webs we weave.

Meanwhile, the Syrian army is willing to attack Daesh, so by sharing certain types of information with them we are degrading a common enemy.

Getting them to kill each other is by design. Its called proxy warfare.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

So, no matter which way you translate this, the leaders of the military and the intelligence services, not to mention the politicians who are SUPPOSED direct those bodies according to the will of the people, are honourless dogs, who deserve to be tried for treason?

Thought as much.

It doesnt matter to the military industrial arms/ammo manufacturers who run our country .. sell to both sides and keep us in perpetual war to increase profits

originally posted by: JohnthePhilistine
This kind of craziness has been going on for a very long time. Papa Bush may has said it best. "If the American people knew what we have done they would string us up from the lamp posts." Unfortunately, we are either in denial, stupid, apathetic, or all three.

Sounds about right.