by Stephen Lendman

Obama repeatedly said he won’t be dragged into another Middle East ground war. “We’re not considering any boots on the ground approach,” he earlier blustered - proving again he’s a serial liar.

Thousands of US special forces were sent to Iraq on the phony pretext of serving in an advisory role. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter earlier said more are coming.

In Wednesday testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee members, he said Washington is prepared to send more troops, attack helicopters, and likely more heavy weapons to Iraq - not to fight ISIS as he claimed, along with US air power, furthering Obama’s aim to balkanize the country officially into the Kurdish north, Basra south and Baghdad center.

Unknown numbers of US special forces now operate illegally in Syria as well as covert CIA operatives - along with Washington’s illegal bombing campaign, ongoing since last year, targeting infrastructure and government sites, supporting, not combating ISIS.

Carter claiming “(t)he United States is prepared to assist the Iraqi Army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the job (against ISIS in Ramadi and Anbar province)” is a Big Lie.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is pressured by officials in his government to enlist Russian support - to combat ISIS effectively, polar opposite US phony war, supporting elements it claims to oppose.

Carter’s strategy is a warning to Abadi not to accept Russian help, sending more US troops and weapons his way to create the illusion of greater US intentions against ISIS when the opposite is true.

So far Abadi hasn’t accepted or rejected Carter’s proposal. Iraqi forces on their own advanced against ISIS, seizing its Ramadi operations center.

Carter’s scheme for Iraq suggests he may have the same thing in mind for Syria - deploying greater numbers of US forces, to combat Assad, not ISIS.

Obama’s reason for launching war on Syria in March 2011 was to replace his government with a US-controlled one. The objective remains unchanged.

America’s growing regional militarism appears mainly an attempt to counter Russia’s successful anti-terrorism campaign in Syria - perhaps expanding to Iraq if Abadi OK’s it.

Carter intends sending an “expeditionary targeting force” to Iraq, perhaps comprised of hundreds more US special forces or other combat troops.

Does he have the same thing in mind for Syria, involving perhaps thousands of US forces? So far he hasn’t acknowledged what may be planned, along with more aggressive bombing, maybe more incidents of targeting Syria’s military and the possibility of challenging Russian air power - complicit with Turkey already.

Previous articles stressed the danger of Washington incrementally heading toward direct confrontation with Russia. Two hugely dangerous flashpoints exist - in Donbass, Ukraine and Syria, possibly Iraq as well if Abadi requests Moscow’s help.

The risk of possible nuclear war looms greater than any time since the height of the Cold War. Hawkish US officials and all presidential aspirants support endless wars of aggression for unchallenged US global dominance - not a peace advocate in the bunch.

Russia and China alone, especially united, remain the only effective anti-imperial counterforce. Will Obama or his successor dare attack either country with nuclear weapons preemptively to achieve their ultimate objective - and risk destroying humanity in the process?

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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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