A highly informed anonymous military blogger, who goes by the name of “bernhard” and blogs at his widely followed “Moon of Alabama” website, is alleging, in a post October 12th (“The ’Salafist Principality’ — ISIS Paid Off To Leave Mosul And To Take Deir Ezzor?”), that the Obama Administration has negotiated with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and with Saudi Prince Salman (who is the decision-maker in Saudi military matters), to provide safe passage into the large Syrian city of Deir Es Zor, for the ISIS jihadists who have been occupying the city of Mosul in Iraq.
On September 17th, U.S. and UK jets had bombed the compound of Syrian government troops who were fighting to oust jihadists from that City, and 62 Syrian soldiers were killed, and over a hundred were injured, in that U.S.-led bombing attack. Subsequently, Syria brought more troops to that location and retook control there, but if and when the ISIS jihadists from Mosul take control there, the forces of Bashar al-Assad will be beaten not by U.S. bombs, this time, but by ISIS jihadists.
“Bernhard” cites a tweet on the morning of October 12th from the celebrated Syrian historian and journalist Nizar Nayouf, reporting (“berhard” calls it a ‘rumor’ because Nayouf relies upon ’Sources in London’):
“Breaking news: Sources in #London say: #US&#Saudi_Arabia concluded an agreement to let #ISIS leave #Mosul secretly & safely to #Syria.”
However, Nayouf was a democracy-activist whom the Assad regime imprisoned in 1991 and released on the date of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Syria on 6 May 2001; so, any prejudices that Nayouf might have would be against Assad, and not against the forces (such as Obama and the Sauds) who are trying to overthrow Assad. Only time can tell whether or not ISIS from Mosul will show up in Deir Es Zor, but Nayouf is reporting that that’s the deal.
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
