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Past and Present Islamist, Democratic and Nazi International Brigades
James Petras
Introduction
The Islamic State (IS) has become a magnet for international brigades, drawing over 30,000 fighters from 5 continents and 86 countries to their war in Iraq and Syria.
While the international brigades are part of a global movement, most of the volunteers come from two-dozen countries, mainly in the Middle East, Maghreb, Western Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
Most Islamist internationalists are paid a salary to fight and engage in police functions within IS-occupied regions.
This essay will identify the principle sources of recruitment of Islamist internationalists and the reasons underlying their commitment. We will also contrast and compare IS internationalists to the earlier international brigades fighting for the Spanish Republic against fascists in the 1930’s; fascist internationalists fighting for the Nazis against the USSR in the 1940’s; and the democratic internationalists in the 1970’s who joined the Sandinista revolution against the Somoza dictatorship.
Big Lies About Russia’s Syrian Campaign Persist
Stephen Lendman
Washington’s view on Russia’s Syrian campaign depends on who’s commenting at different times along with what major media scoundrels report or suppress.
Pentagon commanders are awestruck by Moscow’s formidable military power, its sophisticated weapons matching or exceeding their own capability, outdoing the prowess of other NATO countries.
Its navy once derisively called “more rust than ready” is reinventing itself impressively. Its overall military capability dispels the myth about unmatched US superiority. Its Syrian campaign since September 30 has been devastatingly effective by any standard, permitting government ground forces to recapture lost territory, making slow and steady gains.
Iraqi Official Says US Aiding ISIS
by Stephen Lendman
Clear evidence shows Washington uses ISIS and other terrorist groups as imperial foot soldiers in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Its so-called war on terror is a complete hoax, media scoundrels perpetuating the myth.
Iraqi parliamentarian Awatif Naima accused US forces of “expanding their heliborne operations in Huweija, Beiji and Sharqat…with the goal of assisting the ISIL terrorist group.”
Iraqi forces witnessed airdrops of weapons, munitions, food and other supplies. Instead of combating ISIS, Pentagon commanders directly aid its fighters. Last fall, Iraqi forces seized large amounts of ISIS-supplied US weapons, munitions and other military hardware, including anti-armor, anti-tank TOW missiles, as well as shoulder-launched, man-portable, surface-to-air missiles (SAMS) defense systems (Manpads) able to down helicopters and low-flying aircraft.
Turkey’s Rogue Regional Agenda
Stephen Lendman
Turkey threatens regional peace and security, a rogue state run by a fascist despot, Erdogan seeking greater iron-fisted authority than already.
He supports ISIS and other regional terrorist groups, supplying them with weapons and munitions, letting them move freely cross-border to and from Syria and Iraq, waging terror war without mercy on Turkish Kurds.
In late December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blasted his regional agenda, saying:
“Well, the Iraqis invited us to move in and we like Iraq, but we are still trying to tell them what is right and what is wrong.”
“As for Syria, (Assad is wrongfully called a) dictator. (His) days are numbered, and we’ll keep bombing (its territory) without asking for permission from anyone.”
The Sauds’ Impunity
Eric Zuesse
No matter how bad the fundamentalist Sunni-Islamic Saud royal family are, America’s government still supports them and condemns the countries that the Sauds hate: those are the Shia-led nations of Iran and of Syria.
All jihadist terrorism is Sunni, none of it is Shia; but the U.S. government is anti-Shia, not anti-Sunni. There were no Shia involved in the 9/11 attacks, nor in the Mumbai attacks, nor in the Charlie Hebdo or other Paris attacks, nor in the London bombing, nor in any of the others. All of the terrorism that wracks Afghanistan and Pakistan is Sunni. ISIS is Sunni; Al Qaeda is Sunni. As Sunni fundamentalists, they all hate especially Shia as “infidels,” because Shia claim to be Muslims, and Sunni fundamentalists take that very claim to be not only a lie but a personal insult to themselves as ‘real’ Muslims, because they ‘know’ what a ‘real’ Muslim is — they’ve been taught it, and it’s distinctively Sunni.
Yemen: A US-Orchestrated Holocaust
Stephen Lendman
Millions of lives are at risk from violence, starvation, lack of vital medical care, and overall deprivation.
A new UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) report downplayed the ongoing catastrophe, shamelessly undercounting civilian casualties since conflict began last March.
It’s likely in the tens of thousands from Saudi terror-bombing heavily populated areas and absence of vital essentials to life.
Claiming it’s only 2,800, another 5,200 wounded mocks the unbearable suffering of millions of Yemenis, victims of US imperialism.
Tenured Professor Questioning Official Sandy Hook Shootings Narrative Fired
Stephen Lendman
Adam Lanza was blamed for the December 14, 2012 Newtown, CT shootings, perhaps wrongfully.
South Florida University (SFU) tenured Professor James Tracy questioned inconsistencies and anomalies in the official narrative - reinforced by corporate media scoundrels unwillingness to ask tough questions and demand clear answers.
Tracy questioned whether any shootings took place - “at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation’s news media” described events, unquestionably reporting the official narrative.
Contradictions abound. Key questions remain unanswered. How did one alleged gunman fire so many shots in so little time and supposedly inflict so many casualties? In five to seven minutes, Connecticut’s top coroner, Wayne Carver, and police officials said Lanza shot each victim from three to 11 times - 182 shots, one every 2 seconds plus likely misses.
Monstrous ISIS Atrocities
Stephen Lendman
ISIS is a US creation, their fighters used as imperial foot soldiers, trained in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and perhaps elsewhere by CIA operatives, Pentagon special forces and their allied counterparts - taught the fine art of committing atrocities.
They include beheadings, mass executions, other types of cold-blooded murder, deliberately targeting civilians, human trafficking, exploiting young girls and women as sex slaves, as well as using sarin and other toxic chemical agents. Russia has clear evidence pointing to the “very high” probability (virtual certainty) indicating ISIS use of banned chemical weapons.
Assad Must Go Remains Official US Policy
Stephen Lendman
Russia and America are fundamentally at odds on the future of Syria - US imperial arrogance the fundamental issue, defying international law, wanting Assad replaced with a puppet it controls.
On January 6, AP News headlined “US sees Assad staying in Syria until March 2017,” saying:
“An internal US timeline for a best-case Syrian political transition, obtained by The Associated Press, sets a date of March 2017 for Assad to ‘relinquish’ his position as president and for his ‘inner circle’ to depart.” “That is two months after President Barack Obama leaves office and more than five years after (he) first called for Assad to leave.”
International law is clear and unequivocal. No nation may interfere in the internal affairs of others. Russia supports the right of Syrians alone to decide who’ll lead them.
NATO: Humanity’s Greatest Scourge
Stephen Lendman
NATO is a US-dominated killing machine, a force for pure evil - a global imperial enforcer threatening world peace, a dagger in humanity’s heart.
It’s the lead instigator of global conflicts, a menace too great to ignore, intending to replace the UN, first as its military wing, then geopolitically.
America funding 75% of its budget is its dominant force, pressuring other members to play by its rules even when harming their own interests.
The Alliance wages endless premeditated wars of aggression in the name of peace. Its strategy and tactics include state terror on an unprecedented scale. Its aim is replacing all independent governments with pro-Western one, especially Russia and China, making the world safe for monied interests, no matter the human toll, world stability or ecological sanity.
As long as NATO exists, the unthinkable looms - possible humanity destroying global nuclear war, destroying planet earth to own it.
Russia knows what it’s up against, calling US-led NATO’s encroachment on its borders a threat to its national security. Saying its aggressive build-up contravenes international law and threatens world peace.
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