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ORLY? US-Trained Syrian Rebels were Joining ISIS with weapons supplied by Washington - Putin

BanTSN

By BanTSN
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BanTSN

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U.S. support for Syria rebels illegal, Putin says ahead of Obama meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday branded U.S. support for rebel forces in Syria as illegal and ineffective, saying U.S.-trained rebels were leaving to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) with weapons supplied by Washington.

In an interview with U.S. networks recorded ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Putin said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad deserved international support as he was fighting terrorist organizations.

Obama and Putin are scheduled to talk on Monday after Putin addresses the United Nations, although White House and Kremlin officials have disagreed on what the two leaders will discuss and even who initiated the meeting.

“In my opinion, provision of military support to illegal structures runs counter to the principles of modern international law and the United Nations Charter,” he said in an excerpt of an interview with U.S. television networks CBS and PBS released by the Kremlin.

Putin seeking anti-ISIS ‘coordinated framework’

Putin also said he was seeking partners to set up a “coordinated framework” to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

“We have proposed to cooperate with the countries in the region. We are trying to establish some kind of coordinated framework,” Putin said in the interview with CBS.

“We would welcome a common platform for collective action against the terrorists,” he said.

Putin said he had personally informed the kings of Saudi Arabia and Jordan of his plan and that he had also informed the United States.

Russia has stepped up its military involvement in Syria in recent weeks, with U.S. officials accusing Moscow of sending combat aircraft, tanks and other equipment to help the Syrian army.

Russia’s sudden military build-up this month in support of Assad and a refugee crisis that has spilled over from the region into Europe have lent new urgency to attempts to resolve the Syria conflict.

The new U.S. tack on Syria could bring together Russia, Saudi Arabia and countries such as Turkey and Qatar, which support Syrian opposition groups.

U.S.-Russian relations have slumped to a post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis, though the two sides shares concerns about the threat posed by ISIS, while disagreeing on the approach.

Putin says Damascus should be included in international efforts to fight (ISIS), a demand the United States rejects, and he criticized U.S. plans to train up to 5,400 Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.

“It turns out that only 60 of these fighters have been properly trained, and as few as four or five people actually carry weapons,” he said. “The rest of them have deserted with the American weapons to join ISIS,” he said referring to ISIS.

Critics have urged Obama to be more decisive in the Middle East and Syria, where the United Nations has said 250,000 people have died after four years of conflict, and say lack of a clear American policy has given ISIS opportunities to expand.

Putin said Russia’s support for the Assad government was based on the U.N. Charter.

“We have been providing assistance to legitimate government entities only,” he said. “As of today it has taken the form of weapons supplies to the Syrian government, personnel training and humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.”

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/27/U-S-support-for-Syria-rebels-illegal-Putin-says-ahead-of-Obama-meeting.html

At least Obama admitted their actions, or misjudging of the ISIS threat in Syria and Iraq was a mistake. I'd would have thought potential neverending proxy war there, but I think Obama's just going to leave his rebel friends to the Russians.

I almost feel sorry for ISIS now, because they were stoked up by the Americans, who bailed, and now the Russians are going to wipe them out. Or at least try. What this will do is perhaps bring the 'war on terror' to new parts of the world.

America's showing a lot of weakness while PutinMania has been making waves in these past years. It's like the cold war all over again. Good times for the Military Industrial Complex. Even if America pulls out of Syria, they'll never be able to leave it alone completely, while the Russians pose a growing threat that needs to be addressed with some extreme military and security spending of sorts.

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Salmonberries Canucks Franchise Player

Salmonberries

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Canada has to do as its told, just as the U.S. does, because Bank of International Settlements.

I hear what you're saying, and it is very, very dangerous, but staying out was an option. As it was for Jean Chretien when he withstood the pressure and opted to keep us out of the so called 'coalition of the willing' and the tragic 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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Salmonberries Canucks Franchise Player

Salmonberries

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Syrians are closest to what's going on. Let's see what they think.

The British polling organization ORB International, an affiliate of WIN/Gallup International, repeatedly finds in Syria that, throughout the country, Syrians oppose ISIS by about 80%, and (in the latest such poll) also finds that 82% of Syrians blame the U.S. for ISIS.

The Washington Post summarized on September 15th the latest poll. They did not headline it with the poll’s anti-U.S. finding, such as “82% of Syrians Blame U.S. for ISIS.” That would have been newsworthy. Instead, their report’s headline was “One in five Syrians say Islamic State is a good thing, poll says.” However, the accompanying graphic wasn’t focused on the few Syrians who support ISIS (and, at only one in five, that’s obviously not much — it’s hardly even news). It instead (for anyone who would read beyond that so-what headline) provided a summary of what Syrians actually do support. This is is what their graphic highlighted from the poll’s findings:

82% agree “IS [islamic State] is US and foreign made group.”

79% agree “Foreign fighters made war worse.”

70% agree “Oppose division of country.”

65% agree “Syrians can live together again.”

64% agree “Diplomatic solution possible.”

57% agree “Situation is worsening.”

51% agree “Political solution best answer.”

49% agree “Oppose US coalition air strikes.”

22% agree “IS is a positive influence.”

21% agree “Prefer life now than under Assad.”

Here are the more detailed findings in this poll, a poll that was taken of 1,365 Syrians from all 14 governates within Syria.

The finding that 22% agree that “IS is a positive influence” means that 78% do not agree with that statement. Since 82% do agree that “IS is US and foreign made group,” Syrians are clearly anti-American, by overwhelming majorities: they blame the U.S. for something that they clearly (by 78%) consider to be not “a positive influence.”

Here is the unfortunately amateurish (even undated) press release from ORB International, reporting their findings, and it links directly to the full pdf of their poll-results, “Syria Public Opinion – July 2015”. Though their press-operation is amateurish, their polling itself definitely is not. WIN/Gallup is, instead, the best polling-operation that functions in Syria, which is obviously an extremely difficult environment.

WIN/Gallup and ORB International had previously released a poll of Syria, on 8 July 2014, which reported that, at that time, “three in five (60%) of the population would support ‘international military involvement in Syria’. In government controlled regions this drops to 11% (Tartus), 36% (Damascus) and rises in those areas currently largely controlled by the opposition – Al Raqqah (82%), Aleppo (61%), Idlib (88%).” In other words: The regions that were controlled by Islamic jihadists (Sunnis who are backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United States) were, a year ago, overwhelmingly wanting “international military involvement in Syria.” They wanted to be saved from ISIS. Government-controlled regions didn’t feel the need for international involvement. Syrians were, apparently, at that time expecting “international military involvement” to be anti-jihadist, not pro-jihadist, as it turned out to be (which is the reason why the current poll is finding rampant anti-Americanism there).

This earlier poll further found that, “There is also evidence to suggest that Bashar al-Assad’s position is strengthened from a year ago.”

So, apparently, the more that the war has continued, the more opposed to the U.S. the Syrian people have become, and the more that they are supporting Bashar al-Assad, whom the Syrian people know that the U.S. is trying to bring down.

Also on September 15th, Russian Television issued a video of their interview in Damascus of President Assad. Unfortunately, most of it is in Russian, and without subscripts. However, parts of it are in English, and this interview does provide English-speakers an opportunity to hear him speak, unmoderated by Western media.

http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/polls-show-syrians-overwhelmingly-blame-u-s-for-isis/

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