Nusra attacked the Unicorns. (Division 30) Washington is amazed! Amazed!

"...  the American-aligned unit, known as Division 30, in fighting off the assault, according to an American military spokesman and combatants on both sides. The strikes were the first known use of coalition air power in direct battlefield support of fighters in Syria who were trained by the Pentagon.

The attack on Friday was mounted by the Nusra Front, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda. It came a day after the Nusra Front captured two leaders and at least six fighters of Division 30, which supplied the first trainees to graduate from the Pentagon’s anti-Islamic State training program.    

In Washington, several current and former senior administration officials acknowledged that the attack and the abductions by the Nusra Front took American officials by surprise and amounted to a significant intelligence failure."  NY Times

----------------

"a significant intelligence failure?"  No! No!  Based on my 34 years experience in government in the war-fighting, policy and intelligence fields I would bet you a month's pay that the intelligence community told the policy people (elected and appointed) that the Nusra Front are inherently and permanently  enemies of the United States and the west in general. 

What has happened in this is that the policy people, unable to find tools with which to bring down the Syrian government, (at Israel's behest) have been working for the last several months at the considerable task of convincing themselves that not all Nusra jihadis are "bad people." Some are now said to be "misguided" by policy people in the hope that the Nusra Front can be made into useful idiots willing to serve the interests of what they would call the Crusader and Zionist foe. 

Well, pilgrims, if someone or some group of someones in the IC contradicted that idea I am quite sure that the response from the policy side would be to tell them to go play amongst themselves quietly whilst the grown-ups talk. 

Contributing to this catastrophe visited upon the hapless 60 members of Division 30 (the Unicorn Army) is the willingness of Israel to support the rebels fighting the Syrian Government south of Damascus.   Guess what!  These rebels include Nusra Front elements.  Israel is treating their wounded in Israeli hospitals and providing them close air support.

Well, pilgrims, if Israel thinks they are all right...

pl 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/world/middleeast/nusra-front-attacks-us-backed-syrian-rebel-group.html?hpw&rref=world&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Comments

[Fred]

annamaria,

I am shocked to find that before Citizen United not a single rich person anywhere ever influenced an American election. Thanks for pointing out that George Soros' money is okay since he was spending plenty pre-Citizen's United, as were the Pritzkers and a multitude of others. Please tell me which members of the House of Representatives were voted out of office for voting for that war you are so upset over?

The loudest defenders of Christian values have been found with their trousers down."? Pray tell when was his holiness Pope Francis "found with his trousers down"? You might ask his holiness why he has not excommunicated Tony Blair, but it would be a bit more difficult for him to do that to GWB since the latter is a Methodist.

For the conduct of the US Government perhaps you can ask that man I voted for twice why he hasn't directed the US Attorney General to charge anyone involved with that war with "crimes against humanity", or even jail a single banker responsible for the financial collapse (Eric Holder did manage to get a job at Goldman Sachs, so maybe that is reason for not jailing bankers). Neither he nor my senior senator will answer me on that question:https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

[William R. Cumming]

Does the nation-state once known as the USA seem likely to survive this century?

[William R. Cumming]

Is my info correct that only 25% of those under 30 qualify physically for military service?

[William R. Cumming]

Was it Professor Liddell Hart of the UK that coined the term THE AUDIT OF WAR? Few that have not served in combat [including myself] understand the real truth behind Professor hart's choice of phrase.

The British Coat of Arms contains one word--ENDURE! Not likely for the USA as the fictional City on a Hill IMO!

[William R. Cumming]

How is it that so few understand that the NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE USA has been unintentionally undermined by Israel and other allies?

I saw a booknotes on C-Span featuring former Ambassador Michael Oren from Israel to the US and as evidenced by his own words he almost completely fails to see the forest for the trees. And the forest is now ON FIRE as is a large swath of California.

[rjj]

Not questioning how it turns out.

But placing the administration of civilian control in the hands of statecraft-naive, political commissar equivalents promotes the "jobs program" model and the advancement of careerists.

What's the remedy?

[Mishkilji]

The IC will take intelligence failures over being told to go to the corner and play among themselves.

Failure is an argument for more money; irrelevance (the Clinton years) was hell for them,

[Babak Makkinejad]

You wrote:

"The problem and root of failure in Iraq, Libya and Syria is in the amount of social engineering necessary to achieve the stated goals."

No amount of social engineering could alter Iraq and make it into something resembling Greece or even Romania.

European Union does not have that power - nor the United States, nor anyone else for that matter.

France was in Algeria for 130 years and failed, utterly failed, in remaking of Algeria and Algerians.

[turcopolier]

rjj

There is no remedy. Countries rise and fall. We are falling as the "United States." "The centre won't hold." Something else will come after. pl

[William R. Cumming]

In support of your argument on owned politicals read the fictional novel by Gore "Washington, D.C. [1876]"! The railroads owned Congress including LINCOLN most of the 19th Century.

[Mattias]

We are unfortunately not that generous. We will allow perhaps 50 000 Syrians that make it here to stay. No help at all to make the journey though. The reason they go here is largely because we have taken refugees from various conflicts since the 70:s and onwards. There are already countrymen living here making it plenty easy to blend in.

I think we mostly hope that the rest of Europe could take a similar number of refugees per capita, because then we would actually be part of a solution. Now it feels pretty useless - whatever small thing we do it has no real impact on the horrible situation.

[robt willmann]

This just in on Sunday, 2 August 2015: according to the Wall Street Journal, president Obama has "authorized" -- but the U.S. Congress did not authorize -- the use of air power "to defend" a new U.S.-backed "fighting force" in Syria should it come under attack from Syrian government forces or other groups--

http://www.ibloomberg.net/obama-authorizes-use-of-air-power-to-defend-pentagon-trained-forces-against-assad-regime-others/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-to-defend-new-syria-force-from-assad-regime-others-1438549937

Well, now, in the midst of all the talking about the agreement with Iran about nuclear power, has the U.S. Senate approved a treaty with the new "U.S.-backed fighting farce", I mean, fighting force, which the U.S. military is going "to defend" within the borders of a foreign country -- Syria -- which is not the 51st state of the U.S.?

The article also says--

"The new rules, which the Pentagon recommended last week and which President Obama approved, will apply only to forces trained and equipped by the Pentagon. Those forces are currently only in northern Syria, and officials made clear the new rules won’t apply to forces backed by the U.S. in southern Syria."

If there is such a thing as a specific, identifiable mental disorder, this is the result of one.

[Ted B]

Does this work: No matter how we scale the ME, what matters is that Oil, Defense, and IT contracts, live another decade .. are safe here and wherever.

Our "talk-shopping" known knowns, unknown knowns, unknown unknowns isn't going to get us much further than here, or so it seems, re: ISIS, AQ, NF, Israel, Libyan Unicorns:

"None of our analysts, soldiers, diplomats, intelligence officers, politicians, or journalists has yet produced an explanation rich enough—even in hindsight—to have predicted the movement’s rise.

We hide this from ourselves with theories and concepts that do not bear deep examination. And we will not remedy this simply through the accumulation of more facts. It is not clear whether our culture can ever develop sufficient knowledge, rigor, imagination, and humility to grasp the phenomenon of ISIS. But for now, we should admit that we are not only horrified but baffled."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/aug/13/mystery-isis/

PS if it matters my DD214 reads US56316xxx

[turcopolier]

Ted B

The neocon Wolsey once said to the world that my opinion does not matter. He was correct but all that you complain of was foretold on SST over the last ten years. pl

[FB Ali]

This appears to be part of the implementation of the agreement reached with Turkey to establish a 'safe zone' in Syria on its border.

I doubt that US planes will attack Syrian government forces (there are those pesky concerns about legality and such that are bound to be raised by 'bleeding hearts', etc), but it'll provide the green light to the Turkish air force, not subject to such petty qualms.

[SteveG]

Mattias

You are telling me a large percentage
of refugees from various conflicts have
settled and fully assimilated. Are they perceived
as Swedes not only by the nativists and
themselves not unlike what we do here in
theory in the great melting pot of humanity
called the U.S. of A?

[robt willmann]

FB Ali,

Here is an article on the Turkey-U.S. agreement about Syria by Patrick Cockburn of the Independent newspaper in Britain--

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/turkeykurdish-conflict-obamas-deal-with-ankara-is-a-betrayal-of-syrian-kurds-and-may-not-even-weaken-isis-10432524.html

I do not know how independent Cockburn is, but his stories have more of an appearance of reporting than of propaganda.

[Ursa Maior]

"refugees from various conflicts have
settled and fully assimilated"

Nothing can be farther away from truth. Not even in Sweden have they succeeded in integrating not even the majority of christian refugees from the Balkan wars. As there is no need or pressure to adapt or assimilate (what is being a 'european' anyway?) they live in even Norway or Sweden like they used to do.

[gemini33]

This comment explains so much in just one paragraph. I hope we never reach that critical mass. With the latest changes at the top of the chain I'm not confident.

[gemini33]

I'm very confused about the legality of any of our military action in Syria (especially if it is based on 2001 AUMF for using force against al Qaeda)

[FB Ali]

I think this is a fairly realistic assessment by Cockburn.

Like other such analysts, he may have his prejudices and blind spots, but he is no "propagandist".

In my opinion, the outstanding observer and commentator on events in the ME is Chas Freeman. I recently read a March piece of his; as usual, it is brilliant. In case you haven't seen it, it's at:

http://tinyurl.com/nsdyqas .

[turcopolier]

FB Ali

Cockburn and Freemen are really worthwhile authorities but the discourse on SST is as good as anything they write. pl

[SteveG]

FB Ali
Thank you for the link. It is now
crystal clear why the elites
sabotaged his appointment to
head the National Intelligence Council.

[turcopolier]

All

Freeman was never going to be head of the NIC. The influence of the Borg and its imbedded fifth column were always going to block that. pl

[FB Ali]

I agree. And it often predates what appears in published commentary.