Interview with Alexej Mozgovoi

The interview was conducted on August 21, 2014 and published by slavyangrad.org

If we were to speak of the operations which my unit carried out, I must caution: the word “operations” is an exaggeration. Currently the war is mainly being fought in the media field: It is an information war. The actual military activity is merely an extension. It is of utmost importance for Ukraine to destroy the idea for which we stand, and the weapons merely aid the physical destruction of the people who carry these ideals in their hearts.

We used to be, in structure and organization (by accumulating miners, taxi-drivers, farmers in our ranks), a battalion. Now we’ve grown into a brigade.

Actually, what we have been engaging in is difficult to call an “operation” per se. This is despite the fact that we work with maps, organize reconnaissance, and abide by staff timetables, as required in a military unit. We locate the whereabouts of the enemy units, of materiel, and of the movements of the enemy.

We have altered our original tactics. The main flaw of the initial design was the fact that we viewed this war as purely a physical struggle, whereas the Ukraine forces are not only incapable of fighting clean but also do not desire to. What does it matter to them? They have rocket launchers; they have Grads, Uragans, Smerches — why not use them? And they do. Also they call their operation the ATO (Anti–Terrorist Operation). But where, in what country, does an entire army fight against terrorism?

In my understanding, a fight with terrorism is a localized measure, a special operation. Once you destroy the terrorists, you are done. But this war has already lasted six months, and is gradually becoming harsher and bloodier with every passing day.

Here are the outlines of a few situations in which my unit has participated. I will start with the failures — the defense of Lisichansk. To suppress our forces, Ukraine threw eleven thousand men at us. Our lack of success was characterized by the fact that we were still true to the original tactics — the tactics of a clean fight: Creating a clear front, setting up checkpoints. That was a mistake. This war, constructed by Ukies, is built on deceit  from the news to the battlefield. And because we were expecting a clean fight, we suffered casualties. I feel the loss of my men, most severely. For me, a loss of even a few individuals is a painful blow.

Yes, we have won fights; we pushed the enemy and they retreated, but they always returned in greater numbers and with more weaponry. Here is a shining example of this pattern. They set up a checkpoint at Staraya Krasnyanka, between Kremennoye and Rybezhnoye. We worked it over ten times. One day we destroy it; the next morning it is already manned with new people. Today deserted, tomorrow morning new people. The Ukies load up Kamaz trucks with corpses and straight away, brought in new personnel — new men destined to become corpses the following day.

One gets the impression that their soldiers are not informed about what is happening. The newcomers do not know what happened to their predecessors. They arrive uplifted, ignorant of their future. What they think about at the time of arrival is a mystery. They are surrounded by the clear signs of a recent struggle: The transport, the checkpoint, everything stained a dirty crimson. Those fresh forces are blameless people; obligated into service and threatened with prison. If you don’t join the military, you’ll spend 7 years locked-up. They are incapable of putting aside life for 7 years. They go to war, hoping to survive.

The tactics of the Ukrainian army can be summed up this way: they have placed the full weight of war upon the artillery and the rocket launchers. They commence an attack with a purge of territory, which they do using Grads and self-propelled artillery systems.

They call it targeted attacks but the outcomes of such attacks are huge areas, whole squares swept “clean.” Afterwards, the tanks arrive with means to destroy in case anyone is left alive somewhere. Finally, their armored personnel carriers follow, manned with soldiers to finish up. It seems like their tactics are unbeatable. That is the reason why we’ve changed our own tactics.

Even though we have grown in numbers, I refuse to send men into the open. We prefer to work in saboteur-reconnaissance groups (SRG): They go, they look, they work, and they return. That’s all. We work on their communications; we work on their distributions and their ammunition warehouses. If they don’t have ammo, they don’t have the ability to fire.

Only yesterday I was informed about the destruction of a column of 10 Ural trucks that were delivering missiles for the Grads, which were headed toward Donetsk. What can be more effective? Even if they have the launchers, without the shells those are simply piles of scrap metal, ballast. We hit them with RPGs and “Shmels” grenade launchers.

My original profession was in the creative field. I was a conductor of a wind (brass) orchestra, but even before the war I didn’t work in that field. I worked as a builder, as a construction worker. Now, I’m in charge of a mortar battery — also a “wind instrument”. That’s life.

From early childhood I dreamed of being a military man. Back then, we had a Defense Minister called Kuzmuk, he was part of Kuchma’s government. The levels of corruption in the army had reached head-spinning highs and I failed to get into the academy.

The main thing now is to allow for the maximum survival of our troops. Because it is these men, spread among the units, who carry the will of the people. Because it is these men who can become the basis, the pillars, of everything we fight for. That is also the reason why these men are targets, they can create a government, an administration of the people, a collaborative force. They are absolutely essential to our future and because of that I am desperate to protect them.

I think that Novorussia will be a republic — an autonomous part of Russia. I stand for the creation of the exemplary governance that is required, within the sovereign Republic of Novorussia. Taking that as a foundation for future regulation and direction, correction and distribution among the other regions; for currently it is not only Ukraine and Russia that are suffering from a political crisis, but the whole world.

It is one thing to wish for an ideal government, while sitting in a café and modeling such from reading books, but it is another thing when — in order to win it in battle and to conquer destroyed territory — the ideal government model must take a step back, delayed into the future, to allow room for the necessary, super-centralized, military present.

The commanders act in unison. There is a coordinating centre, a headquarters. At this moment in time, all the puzzle pieces have come together. There is a single control centre, a Council of War, and reliable, secure communications among the commanders. The same picture is held true for both regions, Lugansk and Donetsk, and it has united the military. Occasionally, the unit commanders meet up, but combining all the units in one place might have dire consequences. Currently, our people are dotted throughout different garrisons. The more complex and confusing our actions are, the more spread out we are, the greater are the chances of our survival, which is presently the main objective.

There are now ranks in a brigade. We have Brigade Commanders, Deputy Brigade Commanders, Heads of Units and Battalion Commanders. We have Squad Leaders, a Logistics Deputy, Head of Medical, Head of Communications. The whole staff structure is filled with real people. The majority of them were yesterday’s laborers who truly want to fight. If all we are left with is one single unit, we will still have a lot to show.

The dominating figure is Igor Strelkov. He must be not only dominating, but unique. I came to him when it all started and stood under his command. His ideal is identical to mine and he honestly fights for it.

How can I formulate that idea? Conscience. That is what a human must have, a conscience. Honor and dignity, virtue, righteousness. All else is just chatter. The main thing is to have a conscience, preferably a spotless one. It is that conscience which is constantly tested and tempted by war — it is a constant trial of conscience, of virtue. War is a litmus paper. Every person is clearly seen for what they are, be it a private or a general.

Certain shocks to our society are necessary, healthy even. But war is bad.

The events of Maidan have prompted talks, the western Ukrainians are passionate people. The south-eastern people are sluggish and sleepy Russians — their fire extinguished. But it is in the south-east nevertheless, where emotions are suddenly flaming — the fire is scorching and blinding.

Maidan chanted against oligopoly and against the corrupt officials, a great notion. While they danced for the truth, we went to work, earning a living. The result of their “dance” was pain. They went from the frying pan into the fire. The government didn’t just change, it went from bad to worse: the same oligarchs, the same corrupt ministers and officials, the same stale faces, selling power, influence, and people, which they were supposedly obliged to guide and protect. What changed? Suddenly the same people were marching to protect the government! That is absurd, strikingly so. I cannot hide the amazement at my own nation. They should be fighting against the people who have pushed them into this war, but instead, they are dying for them.

What was the point of Maidan? Why orchestrate this bloody spectacle, which only worsened the situation, as an alternative to some sort of constructive action? This behavior can only be explained as the result of totalitarian propaganda.

The rank of Political Commander (Politruk) was made obsolete sometime ago. In the Ukrainian army “politruks” became educators. In the most basic of terms: no political questions were raised, no political direction was given; only the psychological state of the enlisted was kept at a certain level. Even the army, it turns out, blocked the path of patriotism although it is the only authority on which patriotism could stand.

Regrettably, my brigade lacks political organization. It’s hard to create a conventional military unit from farmers and builders. But — even with a desperate lack of specialists — to create the exact system as it should be, has turned into my task. We have a brigade information centre, which collects and distributes information to and from the “great land,” so to say.

We get the information from the internet but the Ukies are constantly attempting to cut us off. Both mobile and satellite communications disappear for days at a time. We are constantly changing our location. Our area of responsibility is in the front line on the flanks of the Pervomajsk, Artemovsk, and Debaltsevo, the precise track that the Ukies follow down, and Veselaja — Tarasovka-Lutugino.

We have problems with our supplies. The market stalls may be empty, but we’ve located warehouses within the city, filled with meat, fish, and poultry which, for some strange reason, failed to make it into the shops. It turned out, the warehouses belong to the same owner. We confiscated the contents. All of it has been given away, to kindergartens, orphanages, and the needy. For us, food is what unites our people — our Russian populations. There are separate individuals who give but ask that they are not be mentioned. We are thankful for everything we get.

The struggle will most definitely continue. The main thing now is to keep our spirit — the spirit of commitment, the aspiration and the hope for truth and victory. If our people keep all three, we will be victorious. Yes, we have Lugansk and Donetsk, but the territory of Novorussia is not just these two cities. The territory of Novorussia is huge; I believe, it will aid us greatly.

There is war weariness among civilians. After the first couple of weeks of war, they were already screaming “we are tired of it!” I ask the question “How would you have reacted if this were the Second World War? Your grandfathers fought, spending years in the trenches. Were they not tired? You just heard shots fired, watched the news of someone’s death, and you are already tired.” Today, it is virtually the same war, fighting the same Fascism.

The men that are in combat, they are not tired. Sometimes, I even struggle to hold them back, hoping to avoid needless deaths and casualties. The men, who stand in the line of fire, are ready to fight to the last.

The miners have been slow to join the resistance. There is talk, that if the miners would rise, Kiev would disappear… But, for the time being, most of them still go down into the mines. Back when we stood near Lisichansk, the Ukies fired upon one of the mines — Krivoljanskaja. It was night and the night-shift was down there. Almost all of them died. But the next day, another shift nevertheless came back to work!

Another story… Another area south of Sverdlovsk. A bus full of miners, men and women, was shot at from a Ukrainian block-post. Just shot at! The Ukies didn’t know who was aboard, they just shot at those people who were going to work. I have a question for those people: “What do you think about, driving past the war and the shooting?” Do they think about work, about a slice of bacon? About what? There is a war on; they are killing you! Civilians, going to work like sheep into a slaughter house, not even resisting!

Is it the fear of losing a job? “How will I feed the family?” But, what do the families of the resistance eat? What do the children of the men that protect you, eat? Yes, it’s difficult now, very difficult, but they understand that it’s time to forget about an excellent borsht, a well-laid table. If there is something on the table — that’s enough. The main thing is to endure and to win, to prove that we are not a herd, not a biomass (as Timoshenko stated), but that we are people, individuals. We are people; we are ready to hold the government true to their promises.

In the brigade are heroes; there are the heroically fallen. Heroism is most evident among the generation which caught all those old movies, books, and tales of grandfathers and grandmothers. It’s in their blood — if not me, then who? I must, and that’s all.

Right now, the Commander of the first platoon of Vladimir lies in hospital. He’s a heroic individual, awarded with a medal “For Military Merit.” Thanks to his dedication and utter disregard of himself, his troop survived. Another unit also survived following Vladimir’s orders to retreat from approaching tanks while he remained. Alone. We had a hand-made personnel carrier that we nicknamed “Combat”. We sewed it up with armaments, armored it with a gun. Vladimir remained inside, fighting — alone! — holding back the enemy; covering his troops until they retreated to safety.

Eventually a shell hit “Combat” and ripped his arm from his body. He passed out. At the time of impact, the wound was burned. Thus, the wound was cauterized and there was hardly any bleeding. After some time, Vladimir regained consciousness and noticed that his arm was torn off, hanging by a thread of skin. He took the arm and put it into his coat, buttoned up and started walking. 24 hours he walked. Alone! He managed to escape from the surrounding forces — avoided all enemy posts. From all the weapons, he had a Makarov with a single bullet, just in case. The right arm was tucked into the coat; the left held a gun. The severed limb was not saved.

Another episode of courage: One of the first battles in Lisichansk back when we had block-posts. We had a guy, Dima, who was killed right at the beginning of the military action. Thanks to his acuteness, proficiency and self-sacrifice, many survived. He took the whole Ukie fire — all the guns turned on him. All of them. Once the unit had arrived from the march, it was necessary to start helping to hold the Jandovskij block-post. While everyone was still getting into position, at that moment Dima hit the target causing the enemy to fire upon himself and he was the first to be killed. Because of his actions, the others survived. Not only did they continue the fight but they managed to push the Ukies back, destroying the block-post they had occupied. All due to the sacrifice of one man.

This is who we must be — heroes, knights. Because we are Russians, we are Slavs, we cannot be anything else. We do not have the right to be anything else.

From the weapons we hold — MANPADS and paired ZAUs (automatic anti-aircraft guns) — we work the planes. But the Ukies, once they figured out that we can get them, changed tactics; they don’t descend to the height where we can hit them, but drop bombs from far above, of a massive size. They drop two or three, and disappear.

The Ukies claim to be fighting terrorism, while bombarding peaceful, innocent civilians, destroying whole city blocks and infrastructure. All of it! How is that? If you are at war with us, fight us. But instead, they bombard cities and blame it on us…  We have proof of the bombings: The weapons used and the directions from which the fire came. The flight trajectory can be calculated from the remaining crater. But, there is no arguing their impudent allegations; the unfounded, falsified claims.

Before, it was commonly believed that such a war with field commanders, a civil war, is a disaster. It is difficult to organize, to create a common structure. Untrained militia forces are impossible to control. Yes, sometimes you have to shout, punish, and send men into lock-up, once a certain line is crossed. Every military establishment has its breaches but we are bound together by the same idea, united by a common belief. If we want to accomplish anything, we must be disciplined and structured. That stayed with us from the beginning — from that very first unit we formed. Even before the military attacks commenced, I began to organize the resistance of the people because I could see that it was necessary to be ready. Even then, we agreed that we must reach our final aim — we must be victorious. The rest, as to who was right and who was to blame, we’ll let time decide. A clear structure has formed, and all are committed to it.

The fight began when such categories as Novorussia, did not exist. This concept arose in the course of battles and it gradually grows more and more, and gains more meanings. Now Novorussia is not just a territory, it is also an idea. Liberty and Conscience is and will be the new Russia.

After Tabaqa airport, what is IS’ next target?

Abdullah Suleiman Ali  As-Safir

The unexpected end and thunderous fall of the Tabaqa Military Airport in Raqqa to IS (Islamic State) has reshuffled the cards on the ground and opened the eastern and central parts of Syria to endless, dangerous possibilities. Meanwhile, the Christian majority city of Mhardeh, in the countryside of Hama, was under the fiercest offensives by Jabhat al-Nusra several days ago, amid fears that the scenario of the capture of Maaloula could be repeated.

Regardless of how you describe what happened at the military airport, whether it was to retreat and regroup the Syrian troops outside the airport, or a withdrawal and defeat, the inevitable truth is that Raqqa province as a whole has become devoid of any presence of the Syrian army, which is a precedent since the start of the Syrian war three and a half years ago. This gives IS greater freedom of movement and mobility and allows it to secure supply routes between Mosul and the city of Raqqa.

The fall of the military airport is expected to result in dangerous repercussions on several areas, stretching from the countryside of Hama — which is, according to estimations, probably the next target for IS — through the Deir ez-Zor military airport — which is severely endangered following the loss of the 24th air defense brigade — to some Iraqi areas where at the moment fierce battles are taking place. IS may now be able to bring additional fighters to contested areas, after it managed to get rid of the threats posed by the aircraft of the Tabaqa Military Airport. IS has also inflicted great damage to Syrian fighter jets.

The Tabaqa Military Airport fell on August 24 to IS, which launched its fourth attack in six days. Although the airport was able to effectively counter major attacks, the ongoing and unusual heavy attacks in a short period of time pushed the military leadership to consider a decision to evacuate the airport and withdraw all of the troops, aircraft and military equipment. The takeover by Syrian army units of Oujail village, which is close to the airport toward the south on August 21 was an important indicator of the army’s quest to secure a safe route that would enable troops at the airport to pass through toward Athrey in the countryside of Hama, when the decision to evacuate the airport was taken.

Contrary to what IS posted on its webpage, the fourth attack began after the group’s radical leadership revealed that the Syrian army has already begun evacuating the airport. Thus, the group launched the attack at dawn on Sunday and took advantage of the small number of troops left after the withdrawal of the others. In addition IS took advantage of the situation, where only light weaponry was available to regime forces as artillery and tanks had already been withdrawn and warplanes and helicopters were preoccupied with covering the line of withdrawal toward Athreya. It was the first time that IS fighters managed to approach and surround the airport, to enter and control it completely.

The attack on the Tabaqa Military Airport was led by the Tajik military leader in Raqqa, also known as the Tajik emir. The attack was also co-led by Amer al-Rafdan, the IS “governor” in Deir ez-Zor. The general supervisor of this battle, whose plan was translated into three languages (as the majority of the fighters are non-Arabs) is the IS general military commander Omar al-Chichani.

In the meantime, IS fighters withdrew from the northern countryside of Homs on the command of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to journalists close to him, and some of the forces moved to Raqqa while the rest moved to the eastern countryside of Homs.

This sudden move comes at a time when Jabhat al-Nusra launched a broad campaign to deter dissidents in northern Homs, while yesterday was expected to be the date on which Jabhat al-Nusra and IS agreed to conduct a public debate to discuss the religious differences in the region.

Targeting the Christians in Mhardeh

Jabhat al-Nusra launched a major offensive on the city of Mhardeh in the countryside of Hama on August 21 in order to storm and control it. The clashes and battles are ongoing in the vicinity of the checkpoints of the Syrian army, which are deployed around the city to protect it.

Although nearly 15 factions take part in the battles, differences emerged between Jabhat al-Nusra and the FSA (Free Syrian Army) brigades in terms of their tendencies. The latter does not hide their fears and concerns of the repercussions of storming the Christian majority city of Mhardeh and the resulting regional and international pressure, while Jabhat al-Nusra insists on breaking into the city. For this purpose, it brought additional reinforcements from Aleppo on August 24, after it sensed that the FSA brigades are slacking in the fighting, according to a source close to Jabhat al-Nusra.

What confirms that Jabhat al-Nusra is serious in its decision to storm Mhardeh is the news that that the group leader Abu Mohammed al-Joulani has moved to the countryside of Hama, in news leaked by journalists close to the group, where Joulani spoke to nearly 1,500 fighters before they headed to battle in Mhardeh. The general military commander of Jabhat al-Nusra, Abou Hammam as-Suri, and Saudi sheikh Abdullah al-Muhsini were also present during the gathering, to lift the moral of the fighters. The journalists who leaked the news said Joulani will remain in the countryside of Hama until the outcome of the battle in Mhardeh was clear. This was because it is of strategic importance for Jabhat al-Nusra as it connects the countryside of Hama to the countryside of Idlib, which Jabhat al-Nusra desires to make its new stronghold after it lost the eastern parts of Syria.

IS, the trojan horse of US intervention

Western officials have ramped up a campaign of deception to provide a pretext for military intervention in Syria by pointing out the necessity of military action agains the Islamic terror group IS (Islamic State). The suggested actions against IS may well serve as a Trojan horse to escalate the war against the Syrian government.

The foundations of the campaign were laid in March, when US officials warned that Islamists bent on launching strikes against Europe and the United States were massing in Syria, and kicked into high gear with IS’s territorial gains in Iraq and the organization’s beheading of US journalist James Foley. Now US officials say they are considering air strikes against IS targets in Syria.

To justify the possibility of an air-war in Syria, US officials employ nebulous language about safeguarding US “security interests.” US defense secretary Chuck Hagel calls IS an “imminent threat to every interest we have,” adding that ISIS “is beyond anything that we’ve seen.” Hagel doesn’t say how IS is a threat to even one US interest, let alone all of them, while his elevation of IS to a threat “beyond anything that we’ve seen” is blatant, unabashed fear-mongering. Hagel also invokes the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, usually a sign, that the public has to be prepared for military intervention.

France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, utters a similar rallying cry, noting that “the attacks in New York on September 11, 2001, cost $1 million. Today, we estimate the Islamic State has several billions.” The obvious conclusion minister Fabius wants us to draw is that IS will launch hundreds or thousands of these attacks.

General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, declares that IS aspires to absorb “Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, and Syria into its caliphate,” and adds, that if IS “were to achieve that vision, it would fundamentally alter the face of the Middle East and create a security environment that would certainly threaten us in many ways.”

Former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden also goes on air with a sober warning about possible IS attacks on targets in the USA or Europe. “IS is a very powerful local organization, and probably a reasonably powerful regional terrorist organization, [...] But it’s one that has global ambitions — and it has the tools.”

He says further: “There’s no more powerful way to express their street credentials among the jihadist community than a successful attack against the West,” finally concluding, that US airstrikes inside Syria, in addition to those being conducted in Iraq, would make a significant difference in the fight against IS.

Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes makes clear that going after IS forces based in Syria is an option: “We will do what’s necessary to protect Americans and see that justice is done for what we saw with the barbaric killing of Jim Foley. So we’re actively considering what’s going to be necessary to deal with that threat, and we’re not going to be restricted by borders.”

The media steps in

The media quickly picked up the cue and The Wall Street Journal suggested that James Foley’s beheading was reason enough to warrant US airstrikes on Syria. Until now beheadings, carried out by IS and other Islamists in Syria for a long time, have hardly lifted an eyebrow in Western media. Beheadings in other countries are also usually passed over silently, US ally Saudi Arabia beheaded at least 19 convicted criminals in the least weeks, nearly half of them for nonviolent offenses, including one for sorcery.

The New York Times reports that “The president and his top cabinet officials have all denounced the Islamic State as a medieval menace,” adding that “Secretary of State John Kerry said the group should be destroyed.” What the New York Times doesn’t point out is that Saudi Arabia is just as much a “medieval menace.” which underscores the reality that Washington bears no animus toward medieval menaces — not when, as in the case of Syria, they operate against the government of a country targeted for regime change, not when they govern a source of immense profits for Western oil companies, and not when, as in Afghanistan in the 1980s, they fight against a progressive, pro-Soviet government.

Reuters writes: “Extending the fight into Syria would allow opportunities for disrupting the group’s supply lines. Republican Senator John McCain told Reuters this week that Islamic State fighters have moved military equipment seized in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul into Syria and that they hold enclaves in Syrian territory that have been identified.”

The Washington Post writes: “…officials stressed that Obama has not made a decision to launch strikes in Syria — an action the administration has avoided since the start of that country’s civil war. But the video-recorded execution of American journalist James Foley this past week has prompted a reevaluation of the threat posed by the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot that holds other American hostages and controls territory across northern Iraq and Syria.”

The British Guardian titles its contribution to the campaign: “US ‘set to launch air strikes’ on senior Isis leaders in Syria,” and the paper concludes: “If Washington widened its attacks to extremists in Syria, this would mark a turning point, ending its hands-off approach to the country’s civil war.”

The propaganda campaign has not gone on unnoticed in non-Western media, Andrew Korybko of Ria Novosti writes:

The US info war against Syria has just reached a new, heightened phase. It is depending on a strong and emotional public reaction to Foley’s widely disseminated beheading to coalesce support for military strikes against Syria on anti-terror grounds. This is nothing more than convenient window dressing to cover up a regime change operation against Assad and fulfill the US’ original objective in Syria. Foley’s beheading is being used as the ultimate backdoor attempt to wage war against Syria, as prior to his death, it would have been political fantasy for one to seriously consider a US anti-terror campaign in the country, let alone one launched from Iraq. Thus, the world is witnessing a dangerous escalation of the info war against Syria, where tempting humanitarian and anti-terror justifications are being used to launch another attempt at regime change.

IS, a creation of the West

Until now the Wester powers were perfectly willing to allow, indeed, even to foster “the cancer of IS” (as it is now called in one of the newest catch-phrases), to metastasize throughout Syria. They expressed no apprehensions then about IS threatening attacks on the United States, and did nothing to stop the flow of money to the anti-Assad group from supporters in the Gulf monarchies.

IS has demonstrated its savagery and disregard of human life for a long time. The terror groups brutality in Iraq, its beheading of journalist Foley, and its ability to seize and hold territory, have been no more shocking than what has going on in Syria for three year, where IS and its fellow Islamists have carried out equally bloody displays of depraved cruelty, while seizing and devastating large swathes of territory, amply assisted by Turkey, Jordan, the Gulf monarchies, the USA, and NATO allies Britain and France.

The evidence is circumstantial, but all known facts from funding IS by Saudi Arabia via Kuwait to the significant logistic help from Turkey suggest that IS is a covert US operation.

Who pays?

Wester media pundits suggest, that the group generates most of its funding from protection tax, Islamic tax (jizya), kidnapping, extortion, looting, and smuggling. The looting of Mosul’s banks is cited as an important source.

Luay Al Khatteeb of the Brookings Doha Centre says, that IS is reportedly smuggling via Turkey every day around 30,000 barrels of oil, generating 2 million US$ revenue.

All these criminal activities, which undoubtedly are taking place, cannot explain the nearly unlimited funds of IS.

Germany’s Development Minister Gerd Mueller is suggesting, that Qatar also could be supporting the group. Qatar has evidently sent cash to all Islamic terror groups in Syria, but even more donations came from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The money is channeled via Kuwait, whose banking system is the main conduit for funds to Islamic groups all over the word. It is said that the money comes from rich individuals and not from the governments, but in autocratic and tightly controlled states like the Gulf monarchies such donations would not be possible without tacit approval by the authorities.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar are all carefully monitoring their financial sector and can easily prevent any unwanted transfers.

Where do IS fighters come from?

A quarter of IS fighters are Turkish and IS ranks also include at least 3,000 Europeans. The group has been joined by so many foreigners who do not speak Arabic that some units need to employ translators to ensure orders are understood.

A documentary by Vice found one Islamic State unit in Syria that had to have interpreters who could speak Russian, English, French, and Dutch. Many of these fighters are not Islamic fanatics but simply mercenaries.

Who provides the weapons?

Recently, when the US State Department resumed sending so called non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels, the delivery list included 43 Toyota Hilux trucks. These are iconic off-road vehicles used by insurgency groups around the word.  They can easily be mounted with crew-served machine guns or other type of military equipment. From the Toyota brochure: Toyota Hilux. An unstoppable pick up with legendary 4×4 capabilities and outstanding reliability. Hilux is tough, versatile and comfortable.

There are hundreds of pictures in which IS troops parade in columns of brand new Toyota Hilux trucks and one can easily guess where the vehicles came from.

There are also pictures of IS troops in M1 Abrams tanks, T-55 Tanks, T-72 tanks, personal armored carriers, Humvees, 155mm M-198 artillery batteries, and at least one SCUD missile.

Many of these pictures on the internet date from before the fall of Mosul, which makes one wonder…

SA-7 surface-to-air missiles, BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, Fim-92 Stinger Manpad shoulder missiles, ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns, M79 Osa, HJ-8, and AT-4 Spigot anti-tank weapons are also available to IS. Some reports speak of IS helicopters.

The suggestion that this is all captured equipment is ridiculous.

Who trains IS?

IS fighters suddenly are able to handle armored personal carriers, tanks, self propelled artillery, MANPATS, etc. Nobody asks where they learned to do that. Other people need month of training to use this weapons. 

The Washington Post writes: The CIA has also expanded its network of informants inside Syria, largely by recruiting and vetting rebel fighters who have been trained and equipped at clandestine agency bases in Jordan over the past two years.

There are numerous reports about the training base Safawi in Jordan’s northern desert region and extensive drill and instruction in three other camps. Training is also provided in the US Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey, and in many Syrian refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan.

Most of the “carefully vetted” rebel fighters have joined the ranks of IS, where they are highly respected for their expertise, get a good salary, and have the newest equipment at their disposal

Tom Engelhardt, an icon of the US blogger scene writes:

Think of it this way: first Washington provides the Iraqi military with training and massive infusions of military equipment to the tune of $25 billion. Next that military, faced with its first serious opposition, the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), numbering in the thousands against security forces in the hundreds of thousands, collapses. In June, two full divisions, 30,000 Iraqi troops, flee the city of Mosul, abandoning their posts in the face of the advance of ISIS fighters. In all, four divisions of the country’s 14-division army disintegrate throughout the north. Left behind is a massive trove of US-supplied weaponry, including 1,500 Humvees, 52 US-made M198 howitzers, tanks, trucks, rifles, and ammunition.

ISIS militants, who seem remarkably capable of operating such equipment without an American trainer or adviser in sight, then turn some of that weaponry (as well as weapons captured from the Syrian military) on US-backed forces, including, in the north, Kurdish peshmerga militias. (They have evidently even brought tanks into play near the Turkish border.)

Tom Engelhardt may have earned his laurels as a (moderate) critic of US imperialism, but he is not able to draw the apparent conclusion that without covert operations, mainly bribing high ranking Iraqi officers and providing intelligence to IS, the Iraqi military would not have collapsed, and without solid training by US special teams the IS fighters would not be able to operate the newly acquired equipment. 

Who provides logistic support

When IS captured Mosul, the Turkish consulate there became its interim headquarter and the 49 consulate workers were taken hostage — at least that is what the Turkish government said. 28 Turkish truck drivers who were transporting diesel to Mosul were also abducted.

After the (so called) abduction a media blackout was imposed and coverage stopped. Turkish Prime minister Erdogan refrained from any criticism of IS and called it (and still calls it) an organization. Considering all the signs it seems more than likely that the consulate staff and also the (nominally) abducted truck drivers now work for IS on behalf of the Turkish authorities.

A senior IS commander, called Abu Yusaf, told in an interview: “We used to have fighters — even high-level members of the Islamic State — getting treated in Turkish hospitals  [...] And also, most of the fighters who joined us in the beginning of the war came via Turkey, and so did our equipment and supplies.”

Bilal Erdogan, President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son, plays an important role in IHH (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief), an Islamic charity which allegedly raises funds for and provides material assistance to IS.  IHH had an annual budget of more than 100 million US$.

An IHH truck was stopped by the gendarmerie near Adana in Hatay in January 2014. It was loaded with arms and ammunition destined for Syria. The Hatay public prosecutor tried to launch an investigation, but was blocked. When he filed a criminal complaint alleging obstruction of justice by Turkey’s Interior Minister and the MIT, he was dismissed. The policemen who stopped the vehicle were fired. The Hatay governor said the operation was a “state secret.”

Ammunition was also found on two passenger buses heading to Syria. Officers from the antiterrorism branch of the Adana Police Department released photos of ammunition on the buses to the media. They too were fired.

Cengiz Candar, one of Turkey’s most respected journalists recently wrote that Turkey’s Intelligence Agency MIT was the “midwife” that helped birth IS. Beginning in 2012, according to Candar, Turkey gave weapons and logistical support to jihadis fighting the Syrian regime, including IS. While Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE provided funds Turkey coordinated the travel, payments, and weapons supplies. 

Police officers report the steady flow of unmarked trucks in Adana, Kilis, Gaziantep, and Kayseri — towns near the border with Syria. They believe the trucks are transporting weapons. Residents of Kilis describe routine interaction between Turkish officials on one side of the border and IS on the other.

According to a Turkish doctor, Turkish ambulances deliver war-wounded to Turkish hospitals on the border with Syria. They have no papers or identification. The Ministry of Health covers their expenses. The notorious IS commander Abu Muhammed was photographed receiving treatment at the Hatay State Hospital in April 2014.

Who pulls the strings?

IS is not only supported by the West, it is most likely a special creation of the West, designed to encircle and weaken Iran by destabilizing Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia is bankrolling it, Turkey provides logistic support and a deployment zone, the USA coordinates and helps with intelligence from spy satellites, surveillance drones, and CIA/NSA data gathering.

Francis Boyle, a constitutional scholar and law professor at the University of Illinois, voices the opinion, that IS is a covert intelligence operation by the USA which aims at setting a predicate for further military inervention in Iraq and Syria.

There are reports which suggest that IS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was trained by the Israeli Mossad in psychological warfare and that he is essentially an actor playing the role of an “Islamic radical.” Abu Bakr Baghdadi spent five years in a US detention facility, and also three of his four military commanders were at one time in detention by US forces.

The fall of Mosul and the sudden dissolution of the Iraqi army looks like a typical CIA operation, who may have bribed the high ranking officers of the Iraqi army with suitcases full of banknotes. The CIA did such things during the US occupation of Iraq, when it organized the then called “uprising.”

The precise military operations and surprise attacks at the weakest points in the enemy frontline can only be explained by superb intelligence provided with the help of US spy satellites and surveillance drones. The USA launches dozens of spy satellites every year equipped with high resolution cameras which can identify objects down to 20 cm. The satellites have also infrared sensors which can even detect isolated small arms fire.

The information from satellites and drones is most likely analyzed in the US and transferred to the US embassy in Ankara. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone is allegedly leading a control room there where the exact military operations of IS are designed.

Misinformation, deception, and smoke screens

It is traditional US diplomacy to play a double game — on the one hand training, arming, and financing terrorists to overthrow or destabilize non-compliant governments, while at the same time condemning those same malcontents when it is convenient to do so. Al-Qaeda got its start as CIA mercenaries against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. That fact didn’t stop President Bush from his fraudulent “war on terror,” vowing to eliminate the CIA’s very own Frankenstein creation.

Everything that is written about IS seems to be disinformation and cover-up. Western journalists know that IS is huge and that it is in essence a covert US-operation, so they do anything to obscure and blur the facts and confuse their readers.

Mohammad Ballout, correspondent of As-Safir in Paris, claims that the US has been providing intelligence to the Syrian regime regarding positions of IS in Syria, while Ghaleb Kandil, another Lebanese journalist with close ties to the Syrian government, says the West would be forced to deal with Assad sooner or later. In return for security cooperation, Assad would demand full political rehabilitation.

This is completely out of the question and a rapprochement with Assad will not happen. These are planted misinformations to muddy the waters. It is, as already stated above, more likely that IS gets information about Syrian Army movements via the US embassy in Ankara.

Various commentators suggest, that IS and the Syrian government are cooperating to destroy the so called “moderate rebels.” This allegation is disproved alone by the intense fighting over the Tabqa airbase, where some 360 IS fighters and 170 Syrian soldiers have been killed. The base has unfortunately fallen, though fighting is still going on. 

The numbers of IS fighters has for years been downplayed and estimated by Western “experts” to be between 6,000 and 9,000 fighters. Suddenly the estimates are corrected upward to between 20,000 and 40,000 fighters, with nobody explaining how this sudden increase is possible.

According to the US administration, the US Air Force has conducted 90 airstrikes in order to stop IS’s progress in the region. The operations aim is restricted to protect US personnel at the consulate in the Kurdish capital Erbil and prevent the genocide of the Yazidi minority, though the strikes are now said to hit also IS targets near the Mosul Dam.

Yet there are no pictures of destroyed IS-equipment, only one lonely picture on NPR depicts an overturned IS car and some pictures show clouds of smoke. Where is the proof of the alleged damage to IS? With 90 airstrikes conducted, there should be ample material about the caused destruction. 

Not only is the US air operation limited and maybe only a staged show, the USA has refused Iraq’s plea for help against IS, it has not delivered promised F-16 fighter jets and Iraq has to rely on quickly supplied Russian SU-25.

In light of the above, it is obvious, that the suggested US air-strikes in Syria, once they have started, will expand their target list from IS to Syrian government forces, if IS positions are bombed at all. The campaign to mobilize public support for an air war against IS in Syria is a Trojan Horse to escalate the war against the Assad government, and on a broader level, against the interlocked Hezbollah-Syria-Iran resistance which until now prevented a complete US/Israeli domination of the Middle East.

IS attacks Syrian army in Raqqa

Abdullah Suleiman Ali  As-Safir

The battle for control of the Syrian army’s last remaining base in Raqqa province, the Tabaqa Military Airport, is underway in a confrontation that promises to be extremely difficult for both sides.

A suicide bombing carried out by a member of IS (Islamic State) on the perimeter of the airport was followed by a wide-scale offensive that began on the night of August 19. This came after many probing attacks from IS to test the resolve and strength of the garrison, an indication that the battle has entered a critical phase.

Clashes subsided somewhat yesterday morning (August 20), after the first wave of attacks by the extremist organization failed, only to intensify anew in the afternoon, when IS re-attempted to breach the airport perimeter, leading to intense fighting.

Reporters affiliated with IS claim that the organization’s fighters succeeded in downing a warplane above the airport and that they managed to take control of an unspecified Syrian army position near the airport, believed to be one of the security checkpoints spread around the airport. In response, warplanes launched several strikes against IS troop formations and a number of villages, such as al-Safsaf, where IS supply warehouses are located.

The outcomes of the clashes over the past two days indicate that the battle for the airport will not be easy for either side. On one end, the suicide attack carried out by Abu Obaida al-Masri failed to create a breach allowing entry inside the airport. On the other end, the task of defending the airport will be more difficult for its garrison, due to the loss of weapons support once provided by the 17th Division and the 93rd Brigade, which targeted IS positions and columns during previous attacks.

The difficulty of the battle may be the reason why both sides brought in additional reinforcements, in preparation for violent confrontations to come. In this regard, a source close to IS confirmed that a large number of Chechen and Caucasus fighters were called in to spearhead the attack on the airport, most of whom participated in last year’s storming of the Meng Military Airport in Aleppo’s countryside, where they gained combat experience that may be put to use in the battle for the Tabaqa airport.

Furthermore, sources on the battlefield told As-Safir that the Syrian army strengthened its fortifications inside the airport and supplied its garrison with large quantities of ammunition and food, as well as an unknown number of additional troops, called to supplement the hundreds of soldiers already there. This is an indication that a decision has been made to hold Tabaqa airport, not only due to its importance in future plans to regain control of Raqqa province from IS, but also because it forms a barrier protecting the Deir ez-Zor airport, which would be seriously threatened if Tabaqa airport fell.

On another front, tensions continued in Aleppo’s northern countryside as IS took control of the border towns of Akhtarin, Dabiq, Doudiyan, as well as other villages adjacent to the Turkish border, as the organization continued its advance toward Marea in the west and Azaz in the north, where a border crossing with Turkey is located. As a result, the Islamic Front, in a joint effort with other armed factions, is trying to repel IS’ attack and prevent the latter from advancing toward those two cities, considered to be main strongholds of the Islamic Front.

Furthermore, the Islamic Front fears falling victim to unexpected surprises, particularly a switch of allegiance by some factions, which might suddenly favor its foe, as occurred in Abu Kamal, when Jabhat al-Nusra warlords surrendered the city and pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In this context, the Abdul Aziz Salamah-led Islamic Front in Aleppo issued a statement demanding that the Army of Muhammad withdraw from Azaz within three days, due to security considerations.

The statement reads: “You are well aware of the dangerous security situation that prevails in the region, particularly in Azaz city. As a result, we ask that you withdraw from the area within a maximum period of three days, asking God to safeguard the lives of Muslims, and preclude us from using our weapons, except to overthrow the criminal regime and overcome the wicked.”

The statement came following the Islamic Front having received information that the Army of Muhammad intended to remain non-aligned in any fight with IS, while it should also be noted that Jabhat al-Nusra had announced a while ago that it did not have any organizational relationship with the Army of Muhammad. This announcement reinforced existing suspicions about the Army of Muhammad and exacerbated the lack of trust toward it by past allies.

The Army of Muhammad is composed of 300 to 400 fighters, mostly Egyptians, led by Abu Obaida al-Masri. Recent rumors indicate, that Masri was incensed by Jabhat al-Nusra’s announcement that the two factions were not affiliated, an announcement which was surprising because he had pledged allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani six months ago. This affront is thought to have lead to Masri’s rapprochement with IS, and it is a prime concern of the Islamic Front, that he has secretly pledged allegiance to IS leader Baghdadi.

In a related development in Hassakeh province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that clashes erupted in the countryside around the town of Yarubia between IS and Kurdish People’s Protection Units, as IS continued to advance in the area. The statement added that on August 19 IS had taken control of the village of Jazaa near the Syrian-Iraqi border adjacent to Yarubia.

The Syrian news agency SANA reported that the Syrian army was advancing in the town of Atman in Daraa’s countryside. It quoted a field commander as saying, “Terrorist movements there are now within range of army fire, bringing the town under effective military control.”