ISIS update 9\18\2015.. the US-induced insanity will stop

Bomb blasts kill 24 people in Baghdad

ISIS Shows Ongoing Ability to Target Heart of Baghdad With New Double Bombing

Heroes of Iraqi militias trained by Iran against ISIS – August 23, 2015

car bomb destroys hero ISIS RPG – September 18, 2015..A Hero of the Iraqi army destroyed one vehicle 20 meters a suicide terrorist group that launched ISIS with their positions!

Iraq’s Kurdish parties closer to consensus on presidency

Russia to consider sending troops to Syria if requested

Russia Says It May Send Troops Into Combat In Syria As A Worried Netanyahu Heads To Moscow

Now clearly, it seems likely that Russian troops have already joined the battle and indeed, when the bullets start flying, the distinction between “logistical” support and “combat” support quickly becomes blurred, but through all the sabre rattling and back-and-forth banter between Kerry and Lavrov, both sides are still keen to at least pay lip service to the unwritten rules of international diplomacy which is why before Russia can admit that its troops are actually on the ground to fight, they’ll be a charade where Syria will pretend to be raising the issue with the Kremlin for the first time at which point the Kremlin will take a few days to “consider” things. As of Friday, it appears as though that process has begun.

Here’s Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-18/russia-raises-prospect-of-sending-troops-into-combat-in-syria

Russia said it’s willing to consider sending troops into combat operations in Syria if President Bashar al-Assad’s government requests assistance.

While the possibility is hypothetical now, “if there is a request, it will be discussed as part of bilateral contacts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday. “Of course it will be discussed and considered.”

The prospect of direct Russian involvement in the country’s civil war, in which more than 250,000 people have died since 2011, would mark a sharp escalation in President Vladimir Putin’s support for the embattled Assad government. The U.S. has accused Russia of increasing military aid to Syria in recent weeks by sending tanks, artillery and personnel, as well as setting up what the Pentagon says might be a forward airbase near the coastal city of Latakia. Syria also hosts Russia’s only naval facility outside the former Soviet Union at Tartus.

The possibility of troop involvement emerged before a visit to Moscow by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for talks with Putin about Russia’s growing military involvement in Syria. Netanyahu “will present the threats posed to Israel as a result of the increased flow of advanced war material to the Syrian arena and the transfer of deadly weapons to Hezbollah and other terror organizations,” the Israeli government said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.

To be sure, Netanyahu’s Russian visit comes at an interesting time. In the US, the last challenge to the Iran nuclear deal was defeated in the Senate on Thursday, paving the way for the agreement’s implementation. Needless to say, Netanyahu isn’t particularly pleased with The White House’s stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and US-Israeli relations have deteriorated markedly this year thanks in large part to the Iran deal. But the Israeli PM is also concerned that Russia’s move to reinforce Assad could have implications for Hezbollah, something Netanyahu and Putin will discuss on Monday.

Here’s Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/16/us-mideast-crisis-israel-russia-idUSKCN0RG1B820150916

Western officials and a Russian source said last week that Russia was sending an advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Syria in support of Assad.

The Western officials said the SA-22 system would be operated by Russian troops. A U.S. official, who confirmed the information, said the system may be part of a Russian effort to bolster defences at an airfield near Latakia, an Assad stronghold.

Even if Russians operated the missiles and kept them out of the hands of the Syrian army, the arrival of such an advanced anti-aircraft system could unsettle Israel, which in the past has bombed sophisticated arms it suspected were being handed to Assad’s Lebanese guerrilla allies, Hezbollah.

Syria UN envoy: Russia should be able to carry out strikes agaisnt Daesh

Syria: It would ask Russian troops to fight Daesh if needed

Sergey Lavrov calls for united front against Daesh

Russian defense, Pentagon chiefs agree to restore military contacts, discuss Syria

Leaders at the Russian Defense Ministry and the Pentagon have agreed to restore military contacts and continue consultations, Russia’s military officials said in a statement.

Russia’s Minster of Defense Sergey Shoigu and his US counterpart Ashton Carter talked by phone on Friday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and the Syrian crisis, among other issues. They agreed to restore contacts between the ministries.

“The ministers noted the restoration of military-to-military contacts and agreed to continue consultations,” spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said.

Syria slams military measures in its territory by Britain, Australia, France

Syria – Damascus Jayroud – Syrian Army attack slows rats outside – September 18, 2015

The Arab Syrian Army repelled an attack by terrorists belonging to the FSA Army of Islam truces remained in the outskirts of Damascus and Homs in the desert.

In these desert areas there are several terrorist groups within the FSA who remain surrounded by the Syrian army from 1½ years ago keeping several truces, the Army of Islam and launched several attacks last month and 3 days ago again against positions of the Syrian Army taking 1 small checkpoint already being recovered later.

Where do these terrorists want to reach?

Your goal is to take the road connecting Damascus with Homs and so to reach Qalamoun to help the terrorists who remain also surrounded by Hezbollah and the Syrian Army crouched hundreds of caves.

Listening to Bashar al-Assad | The Vineyard of the Saker

Like most of you, I spend 1 hour listening to Bashar al-Assad’s interview with the Russian media yesterday. I have to tell you that I am impressed. But before I discuss this in more detail, let me confess something which old-time readers of this blog might remember: I used to be very opposed to secular Arab nationalists, especially Baathists. Not only did I have an extremely bad opinion of Saddam Hussein (which does not prevent me from being outraged at the way he was treated and murdered), I also had some Syrian friend who told me a lot about Assad père, Hafez al-Assad, the corruption of his regime, the very real fear that so many Syrians had of this security services and the nomenklatura of wealthy fat cats which surrounded him. Coming back to Bashar al-Assad, I could not forgive him that he tortured on behalf of the CIA in the so-called “rendition” program and that he, or somebody very close to him, had clearly protected the Israelis who murdered Imad Mughniyeh. All this is to say that I can hardly be accused of being a Assad fanboy.

But now I have to say that I am changing my tune. Not only because there can be no doubt whatsoever that Assad and his military are currently the only force protecting the Syrian people from the medieval insanity and viciousness of Daesh, but because, frankly, the man impresses me more and more.

The first thing which impressed me about him is that he simply makes sense. No offense to anybody here, but most Arab leaders make no sense at all. They are long on hyperbole and short on simple rational common sense. But not Assad. He clearly knows his stuff and he strikes me as a man who believes in what he is doing. Of course, I am no mind reader and I cannot prove any of that, but this is the feeling I got while listening to him.

The second equally subjective feeling I got is that over the past four years the man has grown in stature. Frankly, listening to him before the war, I got the feeling that he was somewhat of a typical Arab playboy you can find in Saint Tropez, Marbella or Geneva every summer. Not necessarily a bad guy, just a spoiled and superficial character. He sure did not look much like a statesman to me (not even compared to Saddam Hussein who, for all his flaws, was a charismatic personality). But listening to him yesterday I came away with the feeling that the Assad of 2015 is not at all the Assad of a decade or so ago. I get the feeling that this war profoundly changed him.

My third and last conjecture is about the change in Assad’s entourage. Remember at the beginning of the war – there were all sorts of “regime officials”, including generals and ambassadors, who suddenly grew a “democratic conscience” and defected to the “Axis of Kindness”. My guess is that all the CIA-paid scum which infested the Assad regime ran because they were convinced that Assad would be overthrown in a few months at most. Except for Assad stayed and, amazingly, held the course even in the darkest of times. I don’t know that for a fact, but I suspect that the quality of people in the immediate entourage of Assad must have dramatically changed for the better and that now he is surrounded by real patriots.

Another doubt which I used to have in the past was this: would Assad have the wisdom to listen to the Russians and the Iranians or is he a megalomaniac who will listen to nobody? Clearly, listen he did. Had he not, the Russians would never commit their support the way they are doing now. Sure, the Russians are not saying that Assad is indispensable, that it is for the Syrian people to decide, but that is also the politically correct way of backing Assad since they are convinced that the Syrians do want him. Besides, what the Russians are really saying when they say that “it is for the Syrian people to decide” is that it is NOT for the “Friends of Syria” or any other part of the “Axis of Kindness” to decide. In other words: screw you – US/NATO/EU/etc. So for all the diplomatic circumlocutions about the future of Syria the reality is that Assad has the full backing of the Kremlin.

Finally, what I see is that the Russians are clearly “pushing” Assad towards the front stage again. This is, I think, the real purpose of this interview: to promote Assad as a man who can negotiate, who will listen and who is above all a “principled pragmatist”.

Here is what I believe the Russians are doing now: they are using a multi-level strategy which combines some military aid with a flurry of diplomatic activity with all the key regional powers the main purpose of which is to convince as many leaders as possible that Assad now is undoubtedly part of any solution. For the AngloZionists, this is absolute crimethink. But for those looking at the nightmare created by Daesh and who now face the consequences of 4 years of AngloZionist support for Daesh, it will be become very difficult politically to remain so totally opposed to Assad as to not being willing to even talk to him. Besides, no military effort against Daesh makes any sense at all unless it is coordinated with the Syrians. What the USA and their puppets are doing right now is not only illegal, it is also totally ineffective. Contrast that with the Russian position which aims at creating an anti-Daesh coalition which would be 100% legal (Syria, being a sovereign country, can invite anybody to help it) and effective (any air or missile strikes would be coordinated with Syrian ground operations).

Yesterday, listening to Assad, I felt that he was confident that eventually the US-induced insanity will stop and that most world leaders will come to their senses and realize that talking to Assad should not only an “option”, but the top priority for anybody sincerely interesting in stopping the Daesh rot before it threatens even more unspeakable horrors for the Middle-East and even beyond.

I hope that he is right.

The Saker

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2015/09/isis-update-9182015-us-induced-insanity.html