MESOP FACT SHEET : FOREIGN POLICY INITIATIVE (FPI) – SYRIA’S MODERATE OPPOSITION / AN ANATOMY
By Tzvi Kahn, Evan Moore | September 16, 2014 – Congress plans to vote this week on legislation that would authorize the Obama administration to provide the moderate Syrian opposition with equipment and training to combat ISIS. Media reports indicate that significant bipartisan cooperation will be required in order to approve the measure. The Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) believes the following fact sheet will be useful as lawmakers and staffers prepare for a vote on this critical legislation.
I. Key Background on the Moderate Armed Syrian Opposition
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC, also called the Syrian National Coalition) is recognized by the United States as the official representative of the country’s moderate opposition. The SOC is currently led by Hadi al Bahra, a businessman who has served as a negotiator at the unsuccessful Geneva talks and was elected to the position on July 9, 2014.
MESOP : YPG COLLABORATES WITH FSA / NOW ASSAD COLLABORATES WITH ISIS
Pro-Assad forces hold ceasefire with rebels in Syria’s Hasakah
September 18, 2014 – ARA News – Al-Hasakah, Syria – Following three weeks of clashes and bombardment, pro-Assad military forces with gunmen of Ahrar Geweran in the city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria reached a ceasefire on Wednesday.Ahrar Geweran gunmen had recently declared allegiance to the Islamic State (IS/ISIL) –which controls areas in the southern countryside of Hasakah.
MESOP : PKK TRIED TO BE INVOLVED IN STRATEGIES OF U.S. IMPERIALISM / REVOLUTIONARY OPPORTUNISM
PKK Fails in Bid to Secure US Military Support
“One of the PKK wings headed by the Kurdistan Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) co-chief Cemil Bayık, has ties with Syria and Iran and therefore arming them would present a threat to US allies, especially Israel,” sources stated
16.09.2014 – Shwan Barzinji – BasNews, Erbil – On Sept 11th United States President Barack Obama set out the US strategy to tackle IS militants. According to BasNews sources, he revealed that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has shown an interest in being part of the plan; however, other sources point out that the USA has no interest in having the PKK participate in any military operations or arming them.
Islamisten in Syrien: IS-Terroristen erobern Dörfer an türkischer Grenze
MESOP : DESHALB VERLEGT ANKARA TÜRKISCHE TRUPPEN NUN IN GRENZNÄHE
SPIEGEL ONLINE : 18-9-2014 – Augenzeugen sprechen von einem Blitzangriff: Kämpfer des “Islamischen Staats” haben mehrere Dörfer an der syrisch-türkischen Grenze eingenommen. Damaskus/Ankara – Die Terrororganisation “Islamischer Staat” ist inSyrien weiter auf dem Vormarsch. Die Extremisten haben mehrere kurdische Dörfer entlang der Grenze zur Türkei überfallen und eingenommen.
MESOP TODAY’S NEWS ROUND UP WEST KURDISTAN : IS captures Kurdish towns
18-9-2014 – The Islamic State took control of a series of villages around the city Ain al-Arab in northern Aleppo from Kurdish PYD battalions and Free Syrian Army fighters Thursday, according to the pro-opposition Smart News Agency. IS’s attack on the villages is part of its larger push to capture the mixed Arab-Kurdish city of Ain al-Arab, known as Korbani in Kurdish, located between its bases in Aleppo and A-Raqqa. Last week, PYD and FSA forces in Aleppo and A-Raqqa formed an unprecedented alliance to combat the IS threat.“IS controls 16 Kurdish villages in the countryside of Ain al-Arab,” the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Thursday, “using tanks and heavy artillery.”Meanwhile, the official PYD social media account claimed Thursday that the Kurdish forces at one point had reclaimed the villages Wednesday. “[The PYD] killed dozens of IS fighters and liberated a number of villages in vicinity of Kobani [Ain al-Arab].” At the time of publishing it appeared IS had seized the upper hand.
MESOP : U.S: House Approves Arming Moderate Syrian Opposition – Analysis of ressource persons
18-9-2014 – “The current crisis gives us an opportunity to restore the proper balance between the branches. America’s history since 2001 should compel us to fix the way we make the significant decision to go to war,” writes Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) for the New York Times.
“The legal justification the Obama administration relies upon for its war powers is the same one that justifies air strikes against extremist groups in Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan—failed or failing states where US counter-terror policy relies on dubious local allies and drone strikes to manage extremist groups. That may well be the future in Iraq and Syria,” writes Tim Fernholz for Defense One.
“There may be good reasons to go to war against ISIS, but no one has actually articulated them. Are we protecting Erbil and American personnel? Undertaking a humanitarian mission? Fighting evil? Helping the Free Syrian Army? Assisting Washington’s regional allies against the ISIS threat? No one knows, but we are nevertheless turning the aircraft carriers into the wind. This is no way to go to war,” writes CFR’s Steven A. Cook.
MESOP : QUOTATIONS BY CHAIRMAN OBAMA (II)
As President Obama ramps up efforts in the fight against Islamic State militants, the Syrian army appears to be increasing attacks and assassination attempts against opposition forces and the Islamic State group. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a surveillance drone was seen for the first time over Islamic State-held territory in Aleppo province, though it is unclear who was operating the drone. Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian National Coalition began an investigation into the deaths of at least 15 children finding a muscle relaxant was administered to them rather than measles vaccines.
MESOP : QUOTATIONS BY CHAIRMAN OBAMA (I) – U.S. HOUSE APPROVES PLAN TO TRAIN & ARM SYRIAN REBELS
The U.S. House of Representatives approved President Barack Obama’s plan to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels in the fight against Islamic State militants. The amendment, which does not include funding, is part of a stopgap spending bill that is expected to be passed by the Senate as early as Thursday. Some lawmakers have criticized the measure over concerns that weapons will get into “the wrong hands” while others claim it doesn’t go far enough, saying the president should consider sending U.S. ground forces into Syria and Iraq. In a speech at the United States Central Command Wednesday, Obama insisted he would not send U.S. troops into direct combat in Iraq. Meanwhile, over a hundred Muslim groups and leaders across Britain signed a letter condemning the killing of British aid worker David Haines by Islamic State militants and calling for the release of another British aid worker, Alan Henning.
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA) Shams al-Shamal confirms YPG-FSA coalition
18-9-2014 – WELATI – Abu Layla who’s the field commander for Kata’ib Shams al-Shamal confirmed to Welati that they have agreed with YPG to fight against the IS in Raqqah countryside/Kobani fronts. Courtesy Van Wilgenburg – http://welati.info/nuce.php?ziman=ar&id=17270&niviskar=1&cure=3&kijan
MESOP : SOS – Kobane
Die in Nordsyrien, zur türkischen Grenze liegende Stadt Kobane, steht seit Stunden unter schwerem Beschuss der Kämpfer des Islamischen Staates. Auf dem obigen Bild sehen wir nach Angaben der Seite kurdishquestion.com, einen türkischen Zug, der ISIS-Kämpfer beliefern soll. Viele zahlreiche Tweets aus der Region behaupten ebenfalls die Türkei hilft der ISIS bei ihrem Vormarsch. Neben den drei bereits bestehenden Fronten, kommt nun auch eine aus dem Norden, da die Türkei ISIS-Kämpfer erlaubt aus ihrem Staatsgebiet heraus Kobane anzugreifen. In der Region Kobane leben etwa 400 Tausend Menschen und sie stehen kurz davor von ISIS_Monstern massakriert zu werden. #SOSKobane
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