Pentagon report predicted West’s support for Islamist rebels would create ISIS by Nafeez Ahmed

[jakeXT]

A declassified secret US government document obtained by the conservative public interest law firm, Judicial Watch, shows that Western governments deliberately allied with al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups to topple Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad.

The document reveals that in coordination with the Gulf states and Turkey, the West intentionally sponsored violent Islamist groups to destabilize Assad, and that these “supporting powers” desired the emergence of a “Salafist Principality” in Syria to “isolate the Syrian regime.”

According to the newly declassified US document, the Pentagon foresaw the likely rise of the ‘Islamic State’ as a direct consequence of this strategy, and warned that it could destabilize Iraq. Despite anticipating that Western, Gulf state and Turkish support for the “Syrian opposition” — which included al-Qaeda in Iraq — could lead to the emergence of an ‘Islamic State’ in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the document provides no indication of any decision to reverse the policy of support to the Syrian rebels. On the contrary, the emergence of an al-Qaeda affiliated “Salafist Principality” as a result is described as a strategic opportunity to isolate Assad.


Hypocrisy


The revelations contradict the official line of Western governments on their policies in Syria, and raise disturbing questions about secret Western support for violent extremists abroad, while using the burgeoning threat of terror to justify excessive mass surveillance and crackdowns on civil liberties at home.


https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/secret-pentagon-report-reveals-west-saw-isis-as-strategic-asset-b99ad7a29092

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Yet another case of blow back.

[delrem]

2. That doesn't describe "blowback", that describes the deliberate creation of ISIS.

[Igel]

3. It'll create too much cognitive dissonance.

After all, how can IS be the fault of Bush II if it's the deliberate strategy of the Obama administration or those he hired/kept in his administration?

I'll wait to read the document before drawing conclusions, and until then treat the report with the scepticism (instead of raging belief) that it deserves. The conservative organization has a vested interest in strategic mis-reading, where a proposal is understood as policy, or the possible result of a policy is taken as the intended goal of the policy. Moreover, this isn't that organization's report, but another group's interpretation of that organization's report. I feel like we're playing Telephone.

Note that the conservative organization's "vested interest" may be rather generic. Or if HRC was still involved, might be exploring a way to damage her candidacy.

[KoKo]

4. Recommend Read.

[newblewtoo]

5. WOW, this is a troubling piece of work

I will admit skepticism when I saw it sourced from Judicial Watch (old timers will remember them from the Clinton era and RimJob's freak republic antics). However, the article at the link, while long, was worth the time it took to read. I was just browsing in on lunch break but really want to look into the article's contentions more when I have time.

This is the type article DU is best at analyzing. Something just does not pass the smell test here, rather like a room full of toddlers with a whiff [of stink] in the air, you know someone is full of shit just not who!

[quadrature]

6. the Perpetual War 0f 2011... follow the money

Libya
Syria
Yemen
Iraq
.....'
on and off war in N.Africa