@LeGenD
I agree, both rationales are no excuse for launching invasions. However, I see it differently in that....
Thanks.
US invasion of Iraq = Israeli (US) engineered war to gain access to the huge oil basin found near the river Euphrates on the border of Syria. Also why we have CIA funded ISIS causing chaos in Syria which is why Russia had to intervene to protect the Assad Government. WAR NOT JUSTIFIED.
Moral High Ground?
Syrian Civil War = CONFLICT between Assad administration and Syrians who desire change. You are pointing out a theory that is advanced by the (Assad administration + Iran + Russia) COALITION to divert attention from its "humanitarian services" in Syria:
Based on interviews, satellite imagery, aircraft observation logs and intercepted aircraft radio communication, Amnesty International has documented unlawful attacks on hospitals and schools in Idlib and western Aleppo governorates by Syrian and Russian government forces, as well as the...
www.amnesty.org
Statement by Fergus Eckersley, UK Political Coordinator at the UN, at the UN Security Council briefing on chemical weapons in Syria.
www.gov.uk
Origins of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL)
Do you know that Syria and Iraq contemplated merger to create the United Arab Republic?
12 exiles return to Egypt after being refused entry, Damascus
www.nytimes.com
Iraqis and Syrians conf, Damascus; 3 nations each working on draft plans for union
www.nytimes.com
Iraqi President Hassan al-Bakr and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad had finalized the merger process in 1978 but Saddam Hussein forced Hassan al-Bakr to step down and secure his grip on Iraq. Saddam also suspended the merger process:
Syria and Iraq end high-level meeting; say more time is needed to arrange merger (S)
www.nytimes.com
However, a Syrian journalist and author Hassan Hassan provides a detailed account of the origins of ISIL and how Saddam helped cultivate an ideology that facilitated ISIL movement:
Related information in following link:
Samuel Helfont, Saddam and the Islamists: The Ba'thist Regime's Instrumentalization of Religion in Foreign Affairs, Middle East Journal, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Summer 2014), pp. 352-366
www.jstor.org
But ISIL movement began to take shape in response to the
ill-advised De-Ba'athification move of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that was established with American support in 2003:
Bush administration found an opportunity to get rid of Saddam regime after 9/11. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) got wind of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party getting in touch with Al-Qaeda operatives and
Iraq having hidden caches of chemical weapons. However, American coverage of these interesting realities is botched due to political polarization between the Democrats and the Republicans. Nevertheless, Bush administration launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to topple Saddam regime in 2003:
https://youtu.be/3xwBksnSUkI
De-Ba'athification move of the CPA entailed disbanding Ba'ath Party as well as Iraqi armed forces and bureaucracy created under Saddam. This move set the stage for an extremely violent Iraqi insurgency in which Al-Qaeda Network in Iraq (AQI) was also involved. AQI was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004. This man had links to Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda Network in Af-Pak region. This relationship was acknowledged in a Pakistani report:
If there ever was a strong bond between Pakistani militants and the Jihadists in Iraq, it was Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
www.dawn.com
DAWN has my respect for having the guts to post information that other Pakistani media houses will not dare to.
US-led forces fought and overcame Iraqi insurgency during the (2004 - 2008) period in a series of well-executed operations, and Obama administration called for withdrawal of NATO from Iraq in 2011 when situation on the ground looked much better.
As for Saddam, his sons were killed in 2003 and he was hanged in 2006. His last words are cryptic but telling.
"Don't think this is over. This is just the beginning."
But sectarianism of then Iraqi Prime Minister (PM) Nouri al-Maliki provided sufficient impetus to AQI remnants and Saddam loyalists to REGROUP and establish ISIL with support of allies in Syria.
Not long ago, stability and security in Iraq seemed possible. Maliki's corruption shattered any hope of that.
foreignpolicy.com
As you can see:
An Iraqi officer planned Islamic State's takeover in Syria and SPIEGEL has been given exclusive access to his papers. They portray an organization that, while seemingly driven by religious fanaticism, is actually coldly calculating.
www.spiegel.de
As the radical jihadist group marches through Iraq, it is quietly utilizing a network of former members of Sadaam Hussein's army to help militarize its fighting force.
www.pbs.org
Few in Washington appear to grasp that the fighters who led the takeover of Ramadi are an amalgam of virtually every Sunni tribal and jihadist insurgent group the United States has fought since April 2003.
theintercept.com
From military victories to surveillance, former Baathists are a powerful factor in the rise and control of Islamic state.
www.reuters.com
+
"Yes, I think extremism was there. It is in the region, not in Iraq. Don’t forget that extremism came from other countries. And these would-be suicide bombers came from all over the Arab world, and from almost over 100 countries, even some Western countries. And they were large numbers, and they managed to bring themselves in Syria, they did occupy quite large swaths of territory in Syria, and then they were able to cross into Iraq.
Now, the fault lines are this: Under these circumstances, you should win your population over. You shouldn’t push your population towards the other side. What happened because of political enmity, and political differences in the country, it was one against the other. So with the government, and the government has set an opposition, whether they are Shia or Sunni or Kurds. And these others, they were gathering against the government. By doing this, they were attracting people from all sorts of life, including terrorists, including those who resort to violence. And in that critical moment, the whole thing snapped. Terrorists, because they were able in Syria, they were being readied to cross the border to Iraq. And the atmosphere in Iraq was created that they will welcome these fighters in the country. And that was a major mistake by the government. And they could have done much better by winning over their own people, the Iraqi people, so that terrorists will not thrive into our own communities.
And that’s what happened. The whole state collapse, security forces collapse, whole divisions of the army collapse, and the terrorists took over. And of course, some people in these areas welcomed these terrorists under the assumption that these terrorists will save them from — I put it in brackets — the oppressive means of the Baghdad government, although it wasn’t oppressive as such. But people were not happy. So they thought this Daesh, and these tours will help them to take out what they think is their own." - Iraqi PM Dr. Haider al-Abadi
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi joins Intercepted to discuss the U.S. government’s legacy after years of occupation.
theintercept.com
The “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) is the main source of instability, not only in Iraq and Syria, but also throughout the Middle East. The instability poses a danger for the other parts of the world because of the influx of foreign fighters to the region. Extremists have taken advantage of the continuing conflicts in Iraq and Syria, with Syria in particular serving as a magnet for thousands of foreign fighters from more than 90 countries. While most of these ISIS combatants are men, many women have left their countries behind to join the “caliphate” and support its cause. Social media have played a key role in luring women to join ISIS. This study therefore analyzed the ISIS organization’s social media propaganda and grass-roots recruitment activities aimed at women in Turkey. The results of the analysis provide important information about the strategies that ISIS uses to spread its ideology.
An Analysis of ISIS Propaganda and Recruitment Activities Targeting the Turkish-Speaking Population - Volume 56 Issue 1-2
www.cambridge.org
ISIL movement was able to draw recruits from multiple countries through its social media campaigns in line with Islamic eschatology of the Black Banners: Mehdi will come and create an army of the Black Banners to defeat regional enemies and Dajjal. Many take this eschatology seriously.
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham’s (ISIS) assault on the city of Mosul on June 10, 2014 demonstrated its formidable military strength. ISIS’s activities across Iraq and Syria also reveal that the organization is engaged in governance programs, ran
understandingwar.org
Clear enough?
The assertion that CIA created ISIL is
FALSE and advanced by the (Assad administration + Iran + Russia) COALITION. This is an attempt to conceal the fact that Syria contributed to ISIL movement as per Iraqi accounts and Assad administration benefited from this development while confronting Syrian rebels. ISIL made it possible for Assad administration to focus on Syrian rebels while it attempted to take over Iraq:
The Syrian government got off the hook for facilitating the terrorist group's rise and funding its operations.
www.lawfareblog.com
----
Donald Trump also falsely claimed that Obama founded ISIL:
Donald Trump claims that President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "founded ISIS." But the origin of the Islamic State terrorist group dates back to the Bush administration.
www.factcheck.org
American political polarization is a source of entertainment in itself.
----
Timber Sycamore Controversy
CIA Timber Sycamore program was aimed to support Syrian rebels with nod from Turkey and the Gulf Council Cooperation (GCC). But this program was poorly executed on the ground and a chunk of weaponry fell into the hands of ISIL.
Therefore, Obama administration launched Operation Inherent Resolve to destroy ISIL with support of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria and Iraqi government under PM Dr. Haider al-Abadi in 2014:
... In Adolf's time In Adolf's time the Slavs and the Yiddish people were one and the same in the eyes of "the blond beast". Adolf's heirs are so lazy that all they have done is to put Muslims, true Semites and people of Islamic culture in the place of the Yiddish people.
defence.pk
BACKGROUND AND ORIGINS OF THE ISIL "At its peak, IS ruled over 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) stretching across the Iraq-Syria border." - BBC* Syria and Iraq contemplated merger to create the United Arab Republic in the 1960s...
defence.pk
The United States used airpower in Syria and Iraq to halt ISIS's momentum and help defeat the organization, without committing a large number of ground forces.
www.rand.org
Some argue that airpower could have been applied more vigorously in Operation Inherent Resolve to have more quickly defeated ISIS. Airpower was essential, but ground forces led by Iraqi and Syrian partners were needed to destroy the Islamic State as a territorial entity.
www.rand.org
This report, which outlines four battles within Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and reviews U.S. ground force contributions to those battles, is intended to address gaps both in analysis and in the common understanding of OIR.
www.rand.org
Defeating ISIS hinged on a ground fight, requiring the grueling liberation of territory kilometer by kilometer. While Iraqi forces bore the brunt of frontline fighting, U.S. forces were also engaged in on-the-ground combat operations that hastened the defeat of ISIS. Appreciating such...
www.rand.org
Iraqi account of the war against ISIL in following book:
Trump administration scrapped Timber Sycamore in 2017:
Iran vs ISIL
Iran fought ISIL with support of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq and Hezbollah in Syria:
Hezbollah has captured much of an Islamic State pocket on Syria's side of the border with Lebanon in a joint offensive with the Syrian army, its leader said on Thursday.
www.reuters.com
Iran’s spies cheered U.S. bombings in the war against ISIS while covertly arming the Kurdish Peshmerga and penetrating the Islamic State’s leadership.
theintercept.com
But Assad administration and Russia offered limited support in this matter.
www.russiamatters.org
The Oil Fields
You mentioned:
Israeli (US) engineered war to gain access to the huge oil basin found near the river Euphrates on the border of Syria
ISIL had taken control of this region in fact:
ISIS seized Tanak and Al-Omar oil fields after fighters from Al-Nusra Front and other groups withdrew from those areas.
www.dawn.com
RBC Capital Markets shared a map showing where ISIS' footprint overlaps with oil infrastructure in Iraq and Syria.
www.businessinsider.com
Jihadis’ oil operation forces even their enemies to trade with them
www.ft.com
But ISIL began to torch oil fields while on the retreat from US-led forces:
And local Kurd allowed US to use, restore, and improve oil fields under their control:
An American company has reportedly reached a deal with Kurdish forces in northeast Syria to develop and export crude oil
www.voanews.com
Verdict: MISLEADING
www.rfa.org
What is Israel up to?
Israel is
not involved in Bush administration's Operation Iraqi Freedom and Obama administration's Operation Inherent Resolve.
But Israel is attacking Iranian forces and Hezbollah in Syria:
Yaakov Lappin is a Research Associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, and a military correspondent. In this article he discusses what the Israeli defence establishment calls the ‘wa...
fathomjournal.org
en.m.wikipedia.org
BEIRUT (AP) — Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers, temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, and raised fears of regional escalation.
apnews.com
For decades, Israel has considered the Islamic Republic to be its greatest adversary. Several governments, led by both the left-wing Labor Party and the right-wing Likud Party, have centered their foreign policies around the threats from Iran, ranging from its nuclear program to its creation of...
iranprimer.usip.org
Russian invasion of Ukraine = Israeli (US) engineered war. Full well knowing what the Russian red line was, western policy makers went ahead with Anti-Russian activities in Ukraine. Oppression of Russian speakers, Clamping down on the Orthodox church, overthrowing a pro-Russian government replacing it with a Zionist comedian clown yes man. Breaking international agreements. Back stabbing whilst negotiating with Putin who was sincere. Look at Arestovichs videos where he blatantly is provoking Russia and wishing them to start war. WAR IS ARGUABLY JUSTIFIED AS RUSSIA HAD BEEN CONTINUOUSLY PROVOKED.
Ukrainian political crisis began in 2013 when then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych rejected
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and opted for
Customs Union of Russia instead. This decision did not sit well with a part of Ukrainian population and protests broke out:
The largest showing of fury in 11 days over President Viktor F. Yanukovich’s refusal to sign political and trade accords with the European Union came as signs of fissure emerged within the government.
www.nytimes.com
Amid ongoing conflict, Ukraine’s civil society is working hard to enable reforms; support independent, accurate reporting; and help thousands of displaced people.
www.opensocietyfoundations.org
Yanukovych ordered crack down on the protestors but the movement grew to such extent that he chose to flee to Russia.
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youtu.be
Yanukovych convinced Russia to intervene and Russian forces annexed Crimea as well as engineered a separatist movement in Donbas in 2014:
en.m.wikipedia.org
Translations:English (UK)Русский (Россия)Full report here. The extent of Russia’s role in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine has yet to be determined. Thus far, Russia denies any direct involvement in the war. However, most Western nations do not share Russia’s position and assume that...
www.bellingcat.com
Translations:English (UK)Русский (Россия)The full report can be downloaded here The war in eastern Ukraine is known under multiple names; most often formulations similar to Ukrainian civil war or Ukrainian conflict are still used to describe the war. The implied characteristic as solely...
www.bellingcat.com
Exiled former leader sentenced to 13 years’ jail over 2014 protests and Russian invasion
amp.theguardian.com
On the other hand, it is true that the American Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland was in contact with Ukrainian politicians and her leaked call suggests that she was involved in suggesting who is acceptable in the new political setup of Ukraine:
Of-course, Russia took advantage of this controversial call to build its own narrative and make its moves in Ukraine.
The next Ukrainian President Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko accepted
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and sought to modernize Ukrainian armed forces in the face of Russian intervention in Crimea and Donbas:
Ukraine today signed an association agreement with the European Union. Steven Pifer takes a look at what the agreement means for three of the involved actors: Ukraine, the European Union, and Russia.
www.brookings.edu
WASHINGTON — As Ukraine wars with Russian-backed separatists in its east, it faces an internal battle, between military reformers and who seek to modernize the largely Soviet-era technology and the realities of bureaucracy, pervasive corruption, ar
www.defensenews.com
Parliamentary Assembly Session Strasbourg 11 October 2017
www.coe.int
Recent Ukrainian military exercises highlight not only a more capable force but a possible obstacle to peace
medium.com
Poroshenko was making the right calls for the country in the context of its national interests but corruption charges led to his defeat in the Ukrainian Presidential Elections held in 2019:
Petro Poroshenko concedes defeat as Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes over 70% of votes, promising: ‘I won’t mess up’
www.theguardian.com
Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine on the other hand:
Editor's note: Don't miss our comprehensive guide to Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia’s military buildup along the border with Ukraine has
warontherocks.com
Russia has continued to mass forces on the Ukrainian border, with troops now surrounding the country on all sides, including in Belarus and Transnistria, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Moldova.
www.nytimes.com
President Vladimir Putin complained that those in the WEST
lie but Russia also
lied when questioned on the purpose of its military buildup:
Post in thread 'Putin slams West’s ‘empire of lies’'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/putin-slams-wests-empire-of-lies.736589/post-13595966
Since 2014, the conflict in Ukraine has been tightly linked to Putin’s fear of an opposition-led challenge to his rule.
www.aljazeera.com
Post in thread 'Russia-Ukraine War - News and Developments PART 2'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/russia-ukraine-war-news-and-developments-part-2.746450/post-14094949
But Poroshenko's reforms seem to have paid off:
Though the Russian army dwarfs the strength of the Ukrainian army, the underdog has managed to resist during the early days of the Russian invasion. Military reforms are part of the reason.
theconversation.com
Post in thread 'Russia is inexperienced in how to deal with NATO - They should learn from Af-Pak - Patience and let fatigue get the beast'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/russ...et-fatigue-get-the-beast.767579/post-14366061
---- ---- ----
What Syria and Ukraine had in common?
An old school leadership that refused to acknowledge shift in Public opinion, chose to suppress calls for change from within the country, and sought foreign support when local measures to stop protests failed.
Yanukovych is now seen as nothing more than a Russian stooge who prioritized Russian interests over Ukrainian interests. He cannot set foot in his country again.
Assad administration chose to bomb Syrians who desired change with support of foreign powers such as Iran and Russia when its rule was under threat. Much of the Syria is reduced into a pile of rubble consequently.
---- ---- ----
You mentioned:
Israeli (US) engineered war to gain access to the huge oil basin found near the river Euphrates on the border of Syria
Let's focus on the Euphrates river part.
Holy Prophet (PBUH) cautioned about Euphrates treasures. Wars will be fought for these treasures and a huge number of people will die consequently. This will be a time when Euphrates will be drying up. Holy Prophet (PBUH) advised Muslims to keep their distance from this cycle of Fitna-o-Fasad.
Euphrates passes through Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Turkey is at war with a Kurd faction identified as PKK while Syria and Iraq lay in ruins. The cycle of Fitna-o-Fasad in this region commenced with arrival of Saddam and has continued non-stop.
This river is drying up now and this development might set the stage for a significant humanitarian crisis in the region by extension. Possibility of another big war cannot be ruled out in this region.
What is the solution to this problem? Blaming US and Israel will solve this problem? What about regional tyrants who do corruption and mischief and make it possible for other powers to intervene and do their bidding? Who has the moral high ground in this cycle of Fitna-o-Fasad?
Both US and Russia have shown imperialistic tendencies, and meddle in internal affairs of other countries when it suits either camp.
But US has also fought to liberate countries occupied by other powers from time to time. US has also fought to defeat some of the worst terrorist organizations to have emerged in modern times. To assume that US is EVIL while others are SAINT is wrong.
Humanitarian services of modern Russian for reference:
Russia constantly claims to be a “peacemaker” who strives for peace. Since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2014, there has been a constant narrative about “saving” those whom this country seems to come to protect. This has been happening for decades, but the world has barely...
ukrainer.net
Criticism should be FAIR and BALANCED.
There is much propaganda in the air to influence minds and motivate people to pick sides. To spread hatred. This is how Cold War is fought. Do not be a part of the Cold War. Do your homework and don't pick sides blindly.
Discuss this war and its developments but don't be a part of the propaganda machine.
