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Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter 5-year-old civil war.
The fighting has intensified over the past two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other as they have maneuvered through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel leaders have confirmed.
In mid-February, a CIA-armed militia called Fursan al Haq, or Knights of Righteousness, was run out of the town of Marea, about 20 miles north of Aleppo, by Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces moving in from Kurdish-controlled areas to the east.
"Any faction that attacks us, regardless from where it gets its support, we will fight it," said Maj. Fares Bayoush, a leader of Fursan al Haq.
Rebel fighters described similar clashes in the town of Azaz, a key transit point for fighters and supplies between Aleppo and the Turkish border, and March 3 in the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud.
The CIA, meanwhile, has its own operations center inside Turkey from which it has been directing aid to rebel groups in Syria, providing them with TOW antitank missiles from Saudi Arabian weapons stockpiles.
While the Pentagon's actions are part of an overt effort by the U.S. and its allies against the Islamic State, the CIA's backing of militias is part of a separate covert U.S. effort aimed at keeping pressure on the Assad government in hopes of prodding the Syrian leader to the negotiating table.
At first, the two different sets of fighters were primarily operating in widely separated areas of Syria — the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeastern part of the country and the CIA-backed groups further west.
But, over the past several months, Russian airstrikes against anti-Assad fighters in northwestern Syria have weakened them.
That created an opening that allowed the Kurdish-led groups to expand their zone of control to the outskirts of Aleppo, bringing them into more frequent conflict with the CIA-backed outfits.
"We'll fight all who aim to divide Syria or harm its people," said the fighter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
originally posted by: crazyewok
Well thats win win for the US defence industry.
Hell they would arm all sides if they can, Same with Britain and Russia. War = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
originally posted by: bobs_uruncle
a reply to: eNumbra
Control both sides of all conflicts to produce the requisite final agenda ;-)
Cheers - Dave
CIA-armed militias are shooting at Pentagon-armed ones in Syria
originally posted by: eNumbra
originally posted by: bobs_uruncle
a reply to: eNumbra
Control both sides of all conflicts to produce the requisite final agenda ;-)
Cheers - Dave
It's not controlling both sides of this conflict in this situation though:
CIA's Militia is fighting Assad's forces
Pentagon's militia are fighting ISIS
ISIS are fighting Assad's forces
This may look like helping and hurting Assad in the same stroke but the end-game or ISIS and America in Syria are different.(Barring conspiracy theory here, which I think is moot to the point I want to make and address at the end of this post)
The militia's are(America is) weakening their own position(If you want to assume it's not "all part of the plan"); how much one may or may not believe ISIS is just another pawn in a carefully scripted endgame not withstanding, what cannot be denied is the clear and obvious - the waste of resources.
Regardless of whether it's simply weapons industry profiteering or the grand scheming of a cabal, these are the calls to order the American people continually ignore.
aside - I don't think it matters whether this is the chaos of war or thoughtful architecture of an elite few and I think getting caught up in those details is one of the biggest hurdles to tackling the problem of governmental waste and expansion.
originally posted by: bandersnatch
How much more evidence of insanity and incompetence does it take to piss off the taxpayers?
The people have the power but are too cowed to stop the madness............
Shakes head and walks away muttering....