If we peer behind the veil of mainstream media oversimplification, lies and propaganda we find that the humanitarian crises we are faced with today are the straight line consequences of a decades-old policy on the part of the West (defined as the US, the UK, Israel and others ) to subvert and destabilize the very nations that are submerged in civil war and strife.
Faced with a burgeoning refugee crisis in Europe sparked by global extremism, U.S. and European officials said this week that there is a growing consensus that the multinational military campaign against Islamic State must focus more on targeting the group’s nerve centers in Syria.
Using thousands of people flowing into Europe every day as a pretence, France and Britain are both poised to join Washington in carrying out more airstrikes with greater and greater levels of aggression against Islamic State in Syria.
U.S. allies also are responding to rising concerns about extremists in Syria planning attacks on western targets, such as a thwarted attempt last month by a lone gunman to kill passengers on a Paris-bound train and the Tunisia attacks on British citizens in June. The stage is set. Cameron will convince Parliament, Britain will engage in a new war.
But is all this activity about beating Islamic State in Syria or is about a much wider conflict?
This week, there has been a serious escalation that should be of concern to everyone.
Reuters –
“The U.S. officials said the intent of Russia’s military moves in Syria was unclear. One suggested the focus may be on preparing an airfield near the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that Russia may want to use the airfield for air combat missions. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Russian counterpart for the second time in four days to express concern over reports of Russian military activities in Syria“.
The US State Department lists 62 countries as members of the “global coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL.” Many countries have pledged military or humanitarian support. They are;
Albania, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and last but most the United States.
Intervention forces in Syria include the US, the Gulf States, Morocco and Canada and as we have now found out Britain. Armament support comes from France and Kurdistan. Armed groups come from around 30 tribes and various fighting forces.
ISIL and it’s allies are also in there.
Meanwhile, on the other side, non lethal support to Syria’s Assad includes; Venezuela, Angola and China. Lethal support includes; Russia, North Korea, Iraq, Balarus and even Egypt. Then there are Syrian government forces and over thirty allied armed forces groups. Hezbollah, Iran and Russia all have forces in Syria backing Asad’s regime.
In all of this, it is Russia’s recent step up that is most concerning. Western backed sanctions currently crippling Russia’s economy over Ukraine will increase over its involvement in Syria. When that happens, it forces Russia further into the arms of China.
China and Russia have moved in tandem on Syria. They have repeatedly vetoed resolutions aimed at the Assad regime in the UN Security Council. China has no major concerns over Syria but it does with Russian relations. The issue of Syria is more of aconundrum of loyalties and politics to China. China is powered largely by both Russian and Saudi oil and gas.
In the meantime, China has been dumping US treasuries in record volumes, burning through $100billion in just two weeks in supporting its own currency that has rattled America enough that there are even suspicions that the US is not taking that lying down.
Five Chinese navy ships are currently operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Pentagon officials said just last week, marking the first time the U.S. military has seen such activity.
Just last week, China also formally releases information of a new class of weapons described by the FT- “Some analysts say such missiles threaten to consign aircraft carriers — which form the basis of current US naval strategy — to the dustbin, just as aircraft carriers themselves did to battleships with Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor“. The FT continues – “There is more potent symbolism in this missile than any other weapon in the Chinese arsenal,” said Ashley Townshend, a research fellow at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. “This is the missile that really does potentially encroach on US capability to deploy military power close to Chinese shores. It significantly raises the risks and costs.”
Russia, a key ally of Syria during its four-year civil war, says it has sent military experts but that is all. Correspondents say that without Moscow’s backing, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have fallen by now. Unnamed US officials quoted by Reuters say Moscow has sent additional aircraft and two tank landing ships to Russia’s naval base in the Syrian coastal city of Tartus, within the past day or so. They also say a small number of naval infantry forces have been deployed.
Britain now has troops on the ground, despite Parliament not yet approving the deployment of troops there. Those troops are fighting alongside American Special Forces.
According to various sources (HERE, HERE and HERE) – The Iranian government has sent 15,000 fighters to Syria to help the Syrian government. The force, made up of Iranians, Iraqis and Afghanis, arrived in the Damascus region and in the province of Latakia last month.
Bulgaria and Greece have both been told by US officials to not allow Russian planes over their airspace in recent days. Bulgaria has been trying to forge new relations with Russia recently as has Greece in its desperation to stop avert total economic collapse.
Russia says it has permission to fly over Iranian airspace to reach Syria – Iran has not commented yet.
The purpose of this article is not to rationalise events in Syria, not to lay blame or point a finger but merely to highlight the fact that there is no dispute that there has been a very serious escalation of events in the war that is being conducted in Syria.
The war in Syria is not about Islamic State.
It is to highlight the fact that the countries involved in this war are now from all four hemispheres of the planet who are now represented and engaged in a conflict that will definitely be a fight to the very end. The question is – where will that very end, end up being?
