“The Americans stand on our side” by Jurgen Todenhofer

"Abu al-Ezz, commander, says about Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda): “We are one part of al-Qaeda. Our principles are: Fighting vice, pureness and security. Our affairs and our way have changed. Israel, for example, is now supporting us, because Israel is at war with Syria and with Hizbullah."  Todenhofer

*******

"Our aim is the downfall of the dictatorial regime, the tyrannical regime, the regime of the apostate. Our aim is the conduct of conquests, like [the great Arab general] Khaled ibn al-Walid made them. First in the Arab world and then in Europe."  Todenhofer

********

"To whom did the U.S. hand those missiles before they were brought to you? Were those missiles first given to the Free Syrian Army by the U.S. and from there to you?

No, the missiles were give directly to us. They were delivered to a certain group. When the “road” was closed and we were besieged we had officers here from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States."  Todenhofer

******

 "We do not recognize the ceasefire. We will reposition our groups. We will undertake in the next, in a few days an overwhelming attack against the regime. We have rearranged all our armed forces in all provinces, in Homs, Aleppo, Idlib and Hama."  Todenhofer

****

"You do not want those 40 trucks with aid supplies to bring those into the eastern part of Aleppo?

We have demands. As longs as the regime is positioned along Castello road, in al-Malah and in the northern areas we will not let those trucks pass. The regime must retreat from all areas in order for us to let the trucks pass. If a truck come in despite that we will arrest the driver.

Why did a few of your groups pull back a kilometer or 500 meters from the Castello road?

The regime used highly developed weapons against us. We received a backlash. That is why we silently retreated, to recover and to attack the regime anew. But this attack must lead to the downfall of the regime.

So that was a trick, a military tactic?

Yes, it was a military tactic."    Todenhofer

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

Jurgen Todenhofer is a German journalist.  He traveled to Aleppo where he interviewed Abu al Ezz, a Nusra Front Commander.  MoA, Barish and several others have written of this interview but there are several things about it that I find so interesting that I will comment as well.

1.  al-Ezz states clearly that Israel considers the Nusra Front jihadis to be allies because Israel is at war with Syria and Hizbullah.   I have often written that Israel is an inept and short sighted analyst of its own interests.  The Nusra Front is presently fighting its other enemies in Syria, but do the Israelis believe that when that is done the basic jihadi impulse against Zionism will have disappeared in an aura of good feeling created by Israeli support for the jihadis? 

2.  al-Ezz states that deliveries of US weapons (presumably by CIA) is made directly to them and not to the Free Syrian Army "moderates.  He also states that both Israel and the US have liaison people positioned with the Nusra Front in Syria generally and in East Aleppo specifically.

3.  al-Ezz makes it clear that at the time of the interview the jihadis intended to use the ceasefire as cover for a re-positioning of forces and were preparing for a general offensive to be launched after forces were re-positioned under protection of the ceasefire.  We have now seen part of that in Homs and Hama Provinces.

4.  al-Ezz makes it clear that the jihadis in East Aleppo are indifferent to the suffering of whatever remaining civilian population are still trapped there with them.  For the jihadis the movement of relief supplies into East Aleppo is just something to be used as "a military tactic."  pl

https://southfront.org/todenhofer-interview-with-al-nusra-commander-the-americans-stand-on-our-side/

Comments

[David Habakkuk]

All,

‘When the “road” was closed and we were besieged we had officers here from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States."’

And the British were absent, for once?

I feel left out.

(What was Matthew Rycroft doing, for God’s sake !??!)

[Sam Peralta]

The hypocrisy of the Democrats surpasses even Dubya & Darth Cheney and their mushroom cloud propaganda.

Directly supporting al-Qaeda is so far beyond the pale! And then they lecture us about Trump and decency. Obummer & Crooked Hillary and their duplicitousness.

Warmonger Crooked Hillary needs to be defeated on November 8th.

[different clue]

Trump and Clinton are going to have their TV debate tonight. Is Trump fast enough and smart enough to absorb and process this information? Is Trump smart enough to decide whether he supports the DC FedRegime supporting as Nusra or whether he opposes the DC FedRegime supporting al Nusra? If Trump opposes it now, will Trump promise right there on TV to describe in in fully complete while just-simple-enough terms and then make an overt promise, ON TV, that if he is elected president, he will cancel all
aid to the jihadoterrorists, and will fully support the R + 6 in doing whatever is needed to exterminated the rebellion against the legitimate government of Syria?

If Trump is smart enough to do all of that, is he smart enough to ask Clinton to make her overt promise right there ON TV to do specifically whatever it is she believes in doing about Syria?

Is the small minded real-estate-hustling short-fingered vulgarian really smart enough to do all of that? Or even any of it? While a hundred million people are watching at home?

[plantman]

If I understand correctly, this interview first appeared in a major German newspaper.

Is it possible that it represents a divide in the German political establishment, some of who (like Merkel) are joined at the hip with the Borg, while others would like to patch things up with Putin, open Nordstream, and go back to making money instead of saber rattling all the time??

[Jack]

DC

I doubt Trump or his campaign staff read SST or Southfront. IMO, all he needs to accomplish tonight is note the outcome of the Borg Queen's disastrous judgment. Anarchy in Iraq, Libya and Syria. And the creation of the environment for ISIS and jihadi terrorism to flourish and attack us at home.

Those of us who frequent SST already knew that Obama and Hillary support and arm the jihadists.

[ex-PFC Chuck]

Charles Hugh Smith of the blog Of Two Minds asserts that the wisest, deepest elements within the Borg (Deep State in his terms) are beginning to heed the push-back from us proletarians against the shoot-first maybe we'll talk later policies of Bush 43 and Obama, and as a result their support of Hilary is cooling. We'll see.
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2016/09/why-deep-state-is-dumping-hillary.html

[Babak Makkinejad]

All of this has been stated repeatedly in Iranian papers for months.

I do not recall UK being mentioned in that list in the Persian sites.

[Eric Newhill]

DC - actually, Trump has, basically, brought this up already. The fact checkers called him a conspiracy theorist.

For example: http://www.factcheck.org/2016/06/trumps-isis-conspiracy-theory/

Hopefully, he reads this and brings it up again, even more forcefully, tonight. But maybe not - both he and Clinton had their obligatory meeting with Netanyahu yesterday. Probably the Zionists threaten to impede the victory of any candidate venturing into this territory.

[kao_hsien_chih]

If Trump is smart enough to absorb these and turn them into a credible policy proposal that he can articulate to the broad public quickly, then there'd be no question in my mind that he deserves presidency. We shall see in mere hours.

[JerseyJeffersonian]

I saw this earlier today at Moon of Alabama (hearty thanks to Bernhard for having taken on the job of translation from the original German interview by Herr Tödenhöfer), and although I thought the claims made herein by the al-Nusra commander to be likely true even before reading this interview, the comprehensiveness with which my previous suspicions have been confirmed still has taken me aback.

The thing that probably struck me the most on first reading were the sections that you extracted, Col. Lang, concerning the Red Crescent aid convoy. The man basically, without explicitly saying so, laid claim to the attack on the convoy. Very clarifying, indeed.

Well, Ambassador Power, how about that s***, huh? So much for the ever-changing story - the Russians did it, the Syrians did it; whichever doesn't matter, as it was a war crime from those peas-in-a-pod barbarians! So now what, Samantha? Well, the US has not been shown to have been very adept at "pivoting" except in regard to their latest line of agitprop, so I'm sure you will find a way, you depraved and disreputable woman. But come to think of it, since changing tack would be an implicit admission that your mendacious cant was willfully false, your response will, in all probability, be to merely shriek the same line yet more loudly and more obsessively. I can't wait.

This interview will, of course, never see the light of day on western main stream media. They go all quiet and cagey when inconvenient truths get articulated, and we weak-minded muppets are sedulously defended from being confused by this sort of information through their news blackouts. Also very clarifying, don't you agree?

[J]

Colonel, TTG,

Two items of note:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-mossad-other-foreign-agents-killed-in-aleppo-strike/

http://www.mintpressnews.com/syrian-intelligence-claims-to-have-proof-of-us-military-coordination-with-isis/220787/

[JerseyJeffersonian]

And here is a link to further information concerning NATO links to Islamist/Jihadi forces, this time operating in the heart of the western Balkans.

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/09/new-balkans-conflict-serbian-referendum.html

Well, wouldja get a load of those campaign posters. Guesses anybody?
And although the author does not mention this element, I would bet that our frenemies, the Turks, are in the mix here, too, revanchism seeming to be all the rage with the Sultan.

Notable was the agreement between Russia and the Republika Srpska for Russia to train their security forces. And Serbia's words about not standing by if the Bosniaks threatened violence against this reported referendum, and any following referendum on independence or unification with Serbia? Well, well.

[VietnamVet]

Colonel,

Interesting interview; as with all wars, understanding the enemy and truth are the first casualties.

There is reality and then there are lies. The Jihadists left in Aleppo are followers of Allah. They are armed by the West. There are two ways out of the cauldron for them; paradise or evacuation. After 25 years of war in Iraq and 5 in Syria there will be no surrender to the heretics. If arming the Islamists continues, refugees and chaos will engulf the West. There are only two ways towards peace; 1) Get out and build an impenetrable wall around the Middle East and wean the West off of petroleum or 2) Join with Russia and China and quarantine and then eliminate the Islamist threat with secure national borders. I wish Donald Trump or some politician would articulate this. If not, it’s not going to end well.

[Kooshy]

Don't forget economic, military, R2P globalization without representation ( sending US manufacturing jobs to cheep overseas workers and feeling good of being exceptional)

[Jack]

According to Scott Adams people don't vote on the basis of policy proposals. They vote on the basis of emotions and gut feeling about a person. Considering the duopoly establishment and the MSM and the Borg Queen's campaign have continuously made it seem that Trump is a clown and Les Déplorables, all he needs to do is seem presidential like he did with the Mexican president. If he accomplishes that he would have done what he needs to do tonight.

[Jack]

KHC

I have to disagree with you. Getting into the weeds on any policy would be terrible strategy for Trump tonight. He should just give the vibe that many can visualize him in the Oval Office. That's the only thing holding back those inclined to vote for him but are concerned he is a blowhard. He's never gonna convince the urban elites.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/150979891156/trumps-african-american-reframing

[Walrus]

In other news, the Syrian Government alleges they have a recording of a conversation between DAESH and "American Military" prior to the Dier es zor airstrike. Details yet to be released.

If this is credible and the conversation reveals active military coordination between Daesh and the USA, then I think we may be heading for a no fly zone, - enforced by Russia.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-26/syria-claims-have-recording-conversation-between-isis-and-us-military-strike-syrian-

[Bobo]

The President of the United States has placed his country in an untenable position. The American people are now learning that our country is backing a group called al Nursa who consider themselves part of al-Qaeda in Syria. This President has vetoed a bill passed by Congress that would allow the survivors of 9/11/2001 to enter litigation against the Saudi Arabians where the bulk of the criminals that perpetrated the Terrorist acts on 9/11 were citizens. The President has been asked to participate in a joint effort by the Russian government & the Syrian (duly elected) government to restore peace in Syria and destroy the jihadists of ISIS our true concern. The U.S. President seems to be playing both ends of this situation but now is supporting Al-Qaeda and providing them with arms. He may be ill advised, which is no excuse, but within the next few days or weeks he needs to take a position that will be acceptable to the American people & Al-Qaeda is not it.
What is most surprising is that there have been no resignations in Washington. Is there not one Good Man left in our government.

[Ken Roberts]

Some blogger -- I forget who -- used to speculate about a "truth bomb" being held in reserve by Russia. This article in German appears, is translated and starts making its way into the web of info-flow. The path of flight MH17 hit is clarified by "recently discovered, civilian" radar imagery data. These may be instances of a new robustness in the Russian attitude towards US-relations. It may be related to the "not-agreement-capable" perception of the US admin.

[Laguerre]

What he said doesn't surprise me at all. But I think you also have to look at it from the point of view of a Nusra commander. There may be some bragging and exaggeration. Particularly in relation to the claim of direct deliveries from the US. I was less convinced by that.

[ToivoS]

I have to disagree that Israel is short sighted. They have a longer range sight. If their support for al Nusra in Syria is successful in over throwing Assad then they will have succeeded in the short term. The Israelis are fully aware that an al Qaida led Syria will not be their ally. But it will be a very weak opposition that I am sure they believe they can take them out without difficulty. Who will be allies with the Islamic State of Syria? Saudi Arabia? That is a joke. If it turns out that Israel is unable to defeat the Jihadists then without doubt the Israel lobby in the US will be able to bring in the US to save Israel from any kind of military defeat.

So in the short and long term Israel is covered. Though in the longer term I think the Jewish State of Israel is doomed.

[turcopolier]

Toivo S

Disagree all you like. Israel will think it has won but it will be a short lived satisfaction. An Islamic state where Syria is now will not be a weak enemy, quite the opposite. Have you not learned anything from the persistence and malevolence of Islamist jihadis across the region? pl

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

Come now! Why would a jihadi commander brag of making common cause with the Zionists and Crusaders unless it were true? Ah, I remember, you are relentlessly anti-Syrian government and this makes the rebels less "appetizing." pl

[wisedupearly]

What does not kill you makes you stronger?
Lebanon 2006, IDF fails badly, no wonder it now wants to move the killing fields as far away as possible.

[Mike]

Reports from @EHSANI22, who claims to have contacts in E. Aleppo, on Twitter: "Reports that #Nusra & armed groups in E #Aleppo are threatening residents who decide to leave for western part will have their houses burnt."