United States support for ISIS

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United States has been accused of providing support to ISIS, a terrorist militant organization that has been fighting Syrian government and Iraqi government and has caused great catastrophe. The allegations of support include deliberate and accidental support.

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Contents

Iranian allegations

Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ali Khamenei claimed that The Americans supported ISIS to sell oil and break sieges placed against them. [1]

A documentary made by an Iranian studio, called the Lord of War, revealed video footage taken by US military drones monitoring ISIS activities without taking act on against them including one of the well-publicized beheading ceremonies that ISIS staged and broadcast internationally. The footage were obtained by Iranian Quds Force Electronic warfare Unit which could infiltrate many US drones as they flew over ISIS-held regions. On one occasion US air force bombed Iraqi bulldozers that were digging tunnels to block advance of ISIS suicide vehicles. Another footage showed ISIS militants inside a US military base in al-Tanaf, close to the intersection of Iraqi, Syrian and Jordanian borders. [1] [2] [3]

Russian allegations

In October 2017, the Russian spokesman accussed the United States of "pretending" to fight ISIS. The Russian spokeman said "The US-led international coalition had sharply reduced its air strikes on Isis in Iraq in September, the same time as Russian air power began to help Syrian government forces retake Deir Ezzor province". According to the Russian spokeman foreign mercenaries and militants were allowed to cross the Iraqi border and reinforce ISIS front line against the advance of the Syrian army due to the respite in bombing. The Russian spokeman said "The actions of the Pentagon and the coalition demand an explanation. The Pentagon claimed that the Russian allegations are ridiculous and said "The Russian propaganda campaign should not be allowed to tarnish our partner forces unrelenting commitment to see these terrorists defeated". [4]

In December 2017, Russian forign ministry has accused the United States of training former ISIS fighters in the US base Tanf. The United States said the Tanf facility is a temporary base used to train partner forces to fight ISIS. The United States has been rejecting similar accusations by the Russian government saying "Washington remains committed to killing off ISIS and denying it safe havens". [5]

Russia has stated several times that areas that remain infested by ISIS overlap with foreign-controlled zones. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman once said that hundreds of terrorists with heavy arms including ISIS and Al-Nusra have hid among civilians in Rukban refugee camp near the border with Jordan under the privity of the US military which controls the 55-kilometer zone around its illegal Al-Tanf base on the Syrian territory. [6]

Trump administration allegations

In 2016, while campaigning for President against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump claimed that Obama was "the founder of ISIS" [7] and "the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton", [8] who was Obama's Secretary of State. [9] [10] "His, [sic] the way he got out of Iraq was [sic] that that was the founding of ISIS, okay?" Trump said. [9] PolitiFact and other media organizations stated that Trump's allegation was false because ISIS was formed in 2003, shortly after the US invasion of Iraq under the George W. Bush administration. [8] [11]

According to an interview given by former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Mike Flynn a year before he pled guilty to lying about communications with a Russian ambassador, [12] US intelligence community reports indicating expansion of the Al-Qaeda insurgency in Iraq were consistently watered down as they reached top officials at the White House under the Obama administration. NSA chairwoman Susan Rice and senior officials of the US Central Command were seen by Flynn as responsible for distorting the reports. This, Flynn said, resulted in ignorance and inaction by top US officials towards an expanding insurgency "with interlinked logistics, transportation, information, money management and strike operations, all of it worthy of a multinational conglomerate." [7] Flynn said that conditions in US-controlled Iraqi prisons resulted in radicalization of thousands of young Iraqis, some of whom would later become some of the top ISIS commanders. The US prisons also acted as a training ground for the extremists, with US Major General Douglas M. Stone, in charge of the US detention system in Iraq, calling it "a Jihadi university that was breeding more terrorists". [13]

A secret US intelligence report in August 2012 predicted "the prospect of a 'Salafist principality' in eastern Syria and an al-Qaida-controlled Islamic state in Syria and Iraq". [14]

Citing a 2013 DIA investigation, Richard Hayden Black, Republican member of the Virginia State Senate, pointed to "Washington’s ties with the Takfiris, They really are one and the same." The state senator mentioned a plan for transferring CIA arms thought some countries in order to supply all rebels, "including specifically ISIS (Daesh) and al-Qaeda." He declared "We do it indirectly because it’s unlawful to do it directly" and "extremely violent organizations are the agents that take our weapons and then distribute them to ISIS (Daesh) and al-Qaeda." [15]

Raqqa and Ramadi reports

According to a BBC investigation, under a deal struck by local city officials to spare civilian lives and collateral damage that would be caused by a battle, the US allowed hundreds of ISIS fighters including their most notorious members to secretly evacuate city of Raqqa with their families and equipments. The fighters would then spread out across Syria as part of what BBC describes “an exodus of the Islamic State”. A total of 4000 people were evacuated, as part of a convoy that was three kilometers long including 50 trucks, 13 buses and more than 100 of the Islamic State group’s own vehicles. The ISIS fighters and their families wore suicide belts inside the convoy vehicles, threatening with explosions if the deal failed. Many foreign fighters including European nationals also joined the convoy. Some people heard the US-led coalition aircraft following the convoy, dropping illumination flares to light up the road. [16]

The U.S. watched Islamic State fighters, vehicles and heavy equipment gather on the outskirts of Ramadi before the group retook the city in mid-May. The US provided air strikes and other support to the Iraqi military in their defense of the city, but the city was lost when Iraqi troops abandoned their posts. [17]

Arms transfers

A 2017 report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found that weapons supplied by the United States and Saudi Arabia to the Syrian opposition often ended up in the jihadis' hands. The report also stated that the number of the US and Saudi supplied weapons in ISIS's arsenal were “far beyond those that would have been available through battle capture alone”. The report stated that 90% of the ISIS weapons and ammunition CAR analyzed were made in Russia, China and Eastern Europe. [18]

Rand Paul, junior U.S. Senator from Kentucky, said that the U.S. government of indirectly supporting ISIL in the Syrian Civil War, by arming their allies and fighting their enemies in that country. [19]

Russia and some Afghan local officials have claimed that US has supplied arms to ISIS fighters in Afghanistan. [20]

Al-Jazeera reported that ISIS forces use a number of weapons, provided by Saudi Arabia and the United States, “against the various international anti-IS coalitions that the two states support," [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Salafi jihadist militant group that follows a fundamentalist, Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, officially known as the Islamic State (IS) and by its Arabic language acronym Daesh, is a Salafi jihadist militant group and former unrecognised proto-state that follows a fundamentalist, Salafi doctrine of Sunni Islam. ISIL gained global prominence in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi government forces out of key cities in its Western Iraq offensive, followed by its capture of Mosul and the Sinjar massacre.

Al Waleed border crossing Syrian-Iraqi border crossing

Al Waleed border crossing, known in Syria as al-Tanf, is one of three official border crossings between Syria and Iraq. Al Waleed is located in the Ar-Rutba District of the Al Anbar Governorate, close to the westernmost point of Iraq and the northeasternmost point of Jordan, in the desert Badia region. It serves as the main border checkpoint on the highway between Damascus and Baghdad. The al-Tanf checkpoint is on the Syrian side of the border, in Homs province. The Al-Waleed Palestinian refugee camp is nearby.

Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria

Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War refers to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, as well as active foreign involvement. Most parties involved in the war in Syria receive various types of support from foreign countries and entities based outside Syria. The ongoing conflict in Syria is widely described as a series of overlapping proxy wars between the regional and world powers, primarily between the US and Russia as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Northern Iraq offensive began on 4 June 2014, when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and aligned forces began a major offensive in northern Iraq against the Iraqi government, following earlier clashes that had begun in December 2013.

International military intervention against ISIL military actions against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the first half of 2014, and its universally-condemned executions, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many states began to intervene against it in both the Syrian Civil War and the Iraqi Civil War. Later, there were also minor interventions by some states against ISIL-affiliated groups in Nigeria and Libya.

American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War military campaign against Islamist extremist militant groups in Syria by USA, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE

The American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War refers to the American-led support of Syrian opposition and the Federation of Northern Syria during the course of the Syrian Civil War, and active military involvement led by the United States, which includes the militaries of the United Kingdom, France, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Australia and more against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front since 2014. Since early 2017, the United States and other Coalition partners have also targeted positions of the Syrian Government and allies via airstrikes and aircraft shoot downs.

American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

An American-led intervention in Iraq started on 15 June 2014, when President Barack Obama ordered United States forces to be dispatched to the region, in response to offensives in Iraq conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). At the invitation of the Iraqi government, American troops went to assess Iraqi forces and the threat posed by ISIL.

Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War

Turkey, which had had a relatively friendly relationship with Syria over the decade prior to the start of the civil unrest in Syria in the spring of 2011, condemned the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over the violent crackdown on protests in 2011 and later that year joined a number of other countries demanding his resignation. In the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, Turkey trained defectors of the Syrian Army on its territory, and in July 2011, a group of them announced the birth of the Free Syrian Army, under the supervision of Turkish intelligence. In October 2011, Turkey began sheltering the Free Syrian Army, offering the group a safe zone and a base of operations. Together with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey has also provided the rebels with arms and other military equipment. Tensions between Syria and Turkey significantly worsened after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet in June 2012, and border clashes erupted in October 2012. On 24 August 2016, the Turkish armed forces began a declared direct military intervention into Syria pursuing as targets both ISIL and the Kurdish-aligned forces in Syria.

Military activity of ISIL

The military of ISIL is the fighting force of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The total force size has been estimated from tens of thousands to over two hundred thousand. ISIL's armed forces grew quickly during 2014. The ISIL military, including groups incorporated into it in 2014, openly operates and controls territory in Syria, multiple cities in Libya, and Nigeria. In October 2016, it conquered the city of Qandala in Puntland, Somalia. It also has had border clashes with and made incursions into Lebanon, Iran, and Jordan. ISIL-linked groups operate in Algeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and in West Africa. In January 2015, ISIL was also confirmed to have a military presence in Afghanistan and in Yemen.

The response of Saudi Arabia to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has taken many forms. For example, Saudi government agencies have worked with the United States since late 2014 to train and equip Syrian fighters hoping to engage with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants. The Saudi people have suffered attacks at the hands of ISIL agents, such as the August 2015 mosque bombing in the Asir area that killed fifteen people and injured nine. Like past militant incidents in the country, the bombing was met with shock and condemnation. The challenges of dealing with ISIL is complicated by the fact that around 2,500 militants originally from Saudi territory have left for Syria in order to join ISIL, the destabilization created by the Syrian Civil War having a big effect on the region.

The finances of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have come into focus as many countries wage war against the militant group.

In early 2014, the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured extensive territory in Western Iraq in the Anbar campaign, while counter-offensives against it were mounted in Syria. Raqqa in Syria became its headquarters. The Wall Street Journal estimated that eight million people lived under its control in the two countries.

This article contains a timeline of events from January 2015 to December 2015 related to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS). For a list of other time periods, see Timeline of ISIL related events. This article contains information about events committed by or on behalf of the Islamic State, as well as events performed by groups who oppose them.

The 2016 Abu Kamal offensive, also known as Operation Day of Wrath, was launched on the town of Abu Kamal on the Syrian–Iraqi border led by the US-backed New Syrian Army (NSA).

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Timber Sycamore

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Al-Tanf (U.S. military base) Military base of the U.S.-led coalition.

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Battle of Baghuz Fawqani Battle during the Syrian Civil War involving ISIL and Syrian Democratic Forces

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References

  1. 1 2 Hashemi, Alireza. "A Round-up of Evidence Showing ISIS Created by US". ifpnews. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  2. ↑ IFP Editorial Staff. "Iran State TV to Air Documentary on US-ISIS Cooperation". ifpnews. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Lord of war". snn.
  4. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-isis-us-pretending-fight-islamic-state-syria-iraq-a7993501.html
  5. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-usa/russia-accuses-u-s-of-training-former-islamic-state-fighters-in-syria-idUSKBN1EL0KZ
  6. ↑ "ISIS receives arms, funding 'under patronage' of foreign special services & NGOs – Russia's UN envoy". RT. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 Kitfield, James. "How Mike Flynn Became America's Angriest General". Politico. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Trump: 'Obama and Clinton are co-founders of ISIS'". Jerusalem Post. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  9. 1 2 Kopan, Tal (2016-08-12). "Donald Trump: I meant that Obama founded ISIS, literally". CNN. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  10. ↑ Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (2018-12-20). "Trump called Obama the 'founder of ISIS,' why would he make the same mistake?: Marc Thiessen" (Text.Article). Fox News. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  11. ↑ Louis Jacobson; Amy Sherman (2016-08-11). "Donald Trump's Pants on Fire claim that Barack Obama 'founded' ISIS, Hillary Clinton was 'cofounder' | PolitiFact". PolitiFact. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  12. ↑ Herb, Jeremy; Polantz, Katelyn; Perez, Evan; Cohen, Marshall (2017-12-01). "Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI, is cooperating with Mueller". CNN. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  13. ↑ "Transcript: Michael Flynn on ISIL". aljazeera. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  14. ↑ Milne, Seumas. "Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq". theguardian. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Senator speaks of Middle East's true 'axis of evil'". PressTV. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  16. ↑ Sommerville, Quentin; Dalati, Riam. "raqqas dirty secret". BBC.
  17. ↑ Lake, Eli. "U.S. Saw Islamic State Coming, Let It Take Ramadi". bloomberg. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "Isis arms traced back to America and Saudi Arabia". The Independent. 2017-12-15. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  19. ↑ Shabad, Rebeca (22 June 2014). "Paul: ISIS emboldened after US armed its allies in Syria". The Hill.
  20. ↑ TREVITHICK, JOSEPH. "Russia Claims US Coalition "Mystery Helicopters" Supplying Arms To ISIS In Afghanistan". thedrive. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  21. ↑ "ISIL weapons traced to US and Saudi Arabia". aljazeera. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
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