by Stephen Lendman

America is the world’s greatest terrorist threat. Its imperial madness risks global war. Its special forces infest nearly 150 countries. CIA agents operate everywhere destructively.

Using ISIS and other takfiri terrorists as US foot soldiers fosters endless violence and turmoil wherever they’re deployed.

What a difference a few weeks made since Russia intervened in Syria on September 30, challenging Washington’s imperial agenda effectively - now hammering ISIS positions daily with double the air power since aerial operations began, including use of long-range bombers delivering powerful payloads.

Russian air power and ship-fired cruise missiles strike ISIS and other terrorist targets with precision. For the first time, its forces are reeling - not defeated but significantly on the back foot, despite continued US supplied weapons, munitions, equipment and other aid.

Moscow changed the dynamic in Syria. Perhaps Iraq is next. Defeating ISIS in one nation won’t eliminate its scourge. Its presence elsewhere represents a significant threat - vital to challenge.

Fars News reported only 34 remaining ISIS Syrian and Iraqi bases, according Iraq’s al-Nakhil news agency managing director Mohammmad Ali al-Hakim.

He calls the terrorist group an Anglo-Zionist, Saudi, Qatari creation. I’ve said many times it’s a US-creation. Other Western countries, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan are very much involved.

Al-Hakim believes “(t)he end of the ISIL which has been borne by the westerners is close.” The combination of Russian air power along with Syrian and Iraqi ground forces weakened it considerably.

A previous article explained its commanders fled their Raqqa, Syria headquarters because of heavy Russian air strikes, inflicting significant damage and heavy casualties. Its elements and facilities are vulnerable to attack and elimination anywhere in Syria. Russia has command of the skies.

Its air power is impressive. Putin’s commitment against the scourge of terrorism is polar opposite Washington’s support, used to advance its evil agenda.

The Obama administration continues blocking Russia’s draft Security Council resolution, calling for unity among nations cooperatively with Syrian ground forces in the fight against ISIS. Washington’s opposition shows which side it’s on, supporting the terrorist elements it created and uses destructively, not combatting them.

On Friday, Moscow’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin pointedly said “(i)t’s impossible to fight terrorists with one hand and actually play along with them with the other while being guided by opportunistic reasons. We plan to continue active work to coordinate our draft for it to be adopted as soon as possible.”

It’s up to Britain and France primarily to show which side they’re on - with America supporting terrorism or with Russia, China, Iran and other nations against it. The jury very much remains out.

Churkin stressed the importance of hunting down and punishing terrorists wherever they are. He urged “broad interaction” among nation states for this purpose.

ISIS owes its existence and strength to its US-led Western backers, Israel, Turkey and rogue Arab states. Ending support entirely, destroying its oil transit capability, and continuing relentless air and ground attacks against its positions can significantly weaken its threat, likely eliminate it enough to matter.

Russia is the key player. Its intervention against ISIS changed things dramatically on the ground. On Saturday, German Bavarian Prime Minister/Merkel coalition partner Horst Seehofer urged cooperation with Russia, saying “without or against (its involvement geopolitically), we cannot solve conflicts of our time.”

Last month, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said it’s time to reconsider EU policy. “We must make efforts towards a practical relationship with Russia…We can’t go on like this,” he stressed.

“Russia must be treated decently. We can’t let our relationship with Russia be dictated by Washington” - a significant statement if key EU leaders support it, notably Germany and France. Britain is largely an appendage of US policy.

Resolving an EU/Russian rift would be a significant development, a major defeat for Washington, maintaining heavy-handed pressure to keep Moscow isolated, despite recent comments about cooperating in the war on terror.

Eliminating its scourge defeats America’s agenda, including endless wars aimed at replacing all independent governments with Western-controlled ones, using ISIS and other terrorist groups as proxy foot soldiers.

Former top US Defense Department official/Deputy NATO secretary-general (its de facto head) Alexander Vershbow continues spreading the myth about Russian air strikes “not mainly aimed at ISIL, as the US-led coalition’s forces are.”

“They focus instead on supporting the continuation of the Assad regime. (A)s things stand now, its actions are only prolonging the war and the suffering of the millions of people caught up in it.”

Fact: Russia intervened decisively against ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria. Vershbow lied claiming otherwise.

Fact: He failed to explain why in 14 months of airstrikes on Syrian targets, US warplanes struck zero ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Jabhat al-Nusra positions - none - or why America continues supporting these groups against Syria’s legitimate government and people.

Vershbow, like other US officials, is an irresponsible Russia-basher, an imperial menace. His job is serving America’s evil agenda.

Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi criticized US double standards on terrorism, saying “(t)he Americans should give up this contradictory wrong policy for the campaign on the terrorists in Syria to advance in the interest of global peace and security.”

“The US and certain westerners' opposition to Bashar Assad runs counter to the war against ISIL Takfiri terrorism and is seen as support for the ISIL.” At the same time, Firouzabadi praised Russia’s “brave and transparent” intervention in Syria, its commitment to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

America threatens world peace and security. A committed Russia/China alliance is the best hope to save humanity from nuclear annihilation.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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