Images above: US soldiers then and now. Left: 1940s World War II Army Air Force soldier, my father, Ed Mullen, who fought because the US had been attacked at Pearl Harbor. (Photo with his Stearman biplane at end of this post). Right: Abu Mohammad al-Jolai, leader of Salafist jihadist militant group HTS in Syria, unvetted US “boots on the ground” in Syria, a country which hasn’t attacked the US nor is a threat to do so. As of 2019 jihadist group HTS has taken control of Syria’s Idlib province. Trump champions the group’s evidence-free complaints geared to incite more US taxpayer funded bombing. US says if you don’t back Al Qaeda groups in Syria you’re effectively a Putin stooge, believing “disinformation."…Per Wall St. Journal, 9/9/2018, Trump openly advocates for Islamic terrorists and their alleged complaints for all the world to see, threatens President of Syria with “massive” US taxpayer funded attack if Assad dares to clear 70,000 Islamic terrorists out of Idlib, Syria: “In a recent discussion about Syria, people familiar with the exchange said, President Trump threatened to conduct a massive attack against Mr. Assad if he carries out a massacre in Idlib, the northwestern province that has become the last refuge for more than three million people and as many as 70,000 [Islamic terrorists] opposition fighters that the [everyone in the world including the government of the sovereign nation of Syria] regime [knows to be] considers to be terrorists."…"U.S. Says Syria Plans Gas Attack in Rebel Stronghold,” Wall St. Journal, Dion Nissenbaum…3/14/2013, “Why We Shouldn’t Be Arming Syria’s Rebels,” Huffington Post UK, Charles Shoebridge
“In fact, the US [Trump administration] communiqué endorses an accusation initially made by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham, [HTS] which is the current denomination of al-Qaeda in the Syrian region of Idlib.”…
“Most of the international community considers Tahrir al-Sham to be a terrorist organisation. The US embassy in Syria confirmed on May 2017 that HTS had been designated a terrorist organization in March 2017. The United States Ambassador to Syria stated that “HTS is a merger and any group that merges into it becomes part of al-Qaeda’s Syrian network.” and “the core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organization. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it.” Canada designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization on 23 May 2018. In August 2018, Turkey designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization….Commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham and abbreviated HTS, also known as al-Qaeda in Syria, is an active Salafist jihadist militant group.”
Above image on right of Islamic terrorist leader in Syria, Abu Mohammad al-Jolai, via “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism, itct.org.uk
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Added:
12/30/2018, “US flag flies in Syria’s Manbij despite pullout notice,” AFP, Delil Souleiman
Added: More on US jihadist “boots-on-the-ground” in Syria’s Al Qaeda controlled Idlib province:
“Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism, itct.org.uk
“Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Arabic: هيئة تحرير الشام) “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant” or “Levant Liberation Committee“), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham and abbreviated HTS, also known as al-Qaeda in Syria, is an active Salafist jihadist militant group involved in the Syrian Civil War. The group was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra Front), the Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. After the announcement, additional groups and individuals joined. The merged group is currently led by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and former Ahrar al-Sham leaders, although the High Command consists of leaders from other groups. Many groups and individuals defected from Ahrar al-Sham, representing their more conservative and Salafist elements.
Currently, a number of analysts and media outlets still continue to refer to this group by its previous names, al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The Ansar al-Din Front and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement have since split off from Tahrir al-Sham.
Despite the merger, Tahrir al-Sham [HTS] has been accused of working as al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch on a covert level, and that many of the group’s senior figures, particularly Abu Jaber, held similarly extreme views. However, Tahrir al-Sham has officially denied being part of al-Qaeda [a transnational group] and said in a statement that the group is “an independent entity and not an extension of previous organizations or factions”. Additionally, some factions such as Nour al-Din al-Zenki, which was part of the merger, were once supported by the US….
[Image: 8/14/2018, Valued US partner, designated as terrorist group by US, Canada, Turkey and others: “Graduation of new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members at a camp in the countryside of the northern Idlib province on August 14, 2018. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)]
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham traces its beginnings to the outset of the Syrian civil war and has remained a dangerous opposition force throughout the duration of the conflict. In May 2018, the group was added to the State Department’s existing designation of its predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Today, HTS can be thought of as a relatively localized Syrian terrorist organization, which retains a Salafi-jihadist ideology despite its public split from al-Qaeda in 2017.
Jabhat al-Nusra, HTS’s precursor organization, was formed in Syria in 2011 as al-Qaeda’s affiliate within the opposition to the Assad regime. Nusra’s leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, [photo above] quickly established a capable organization, which secured its own donors in the Persian Gulf, collected revenue from taxation and asset seizures in the territories under its control, became adept at conducting insurgent attacks, and attracted a growing number of fighters. Jabhat al-Nusra maintained its ties to al-Qaeda even after al-Qaeda’s highly publicized split with the Islamic State, whose leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been instrumental in Jabhat al-Nusra’s initial establishment. In late July 2016, however, al-Jolani announced the dissolution of Jabhat al-Nusra and the establishment of a new group, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The group no longer had “external ties” with al-Qaeda, which many analysts suggested was an indication that while al-Jolani had formally severed its public relationship with al-Qaeda, the group would, in theory, continue to have a secret relationship with al-Qaeda and receive strategic and operational guidance. However, al-Jolani’s announcement was undertaken without consulting Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaeda, and created significant tension within the organization.
HTS remains under the leadership of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, but the group’s goals have shifted somewhat since announcing its independence from al-Qaeda. Though al-Jolani’s public statements do occasionally suggest broader aims (e.g., “With this spirit… we will not only reach Damascus, but, Allah permitting, Jerusalem will be awaiting our arrival”), the far-reaching “global caliphate” rhetoric favored by al-Qaeda is largely absent in HTS publications today. Instead, the group is locally focused, with its primary objective being the establishment of Islamic rule in Syria via “toppling the criminal [elected Assad] regime and expelling the Iranian militias.”
To this end, al-Jolani has promoted a multi-pronged strategy.
The first stage, which HTS claimed to have completed in August 2018, was the removal of “Iranian militias and the militants from the towns of Fu’a and Kafriya, who were a threat to the entire region and an incentive for sectarian mobilization, and which the regime exploits to achieve its goals.” The second stage, which remains ongoing as of October 2018, is a campaign against the Islamic State and its allies in Syria, who al-Jolani has decried as “destabilizing.” The third stage is one of entrenchment, or “fortifying and defending” northern Syria in order to prevent the loss of further territory. Complementing this military strategy is a political one, in which HTS pursues unity amongst jihadist groups in Syria—referring to this unity as “one solid rank”—while maintaining a policy of “no negotiations” or reconciliation with the Assad regime.
Most of the international community considers Tahrir al-Sham to be a terrorist organisation. The US embassy in Syria confirmed on May 2017 that HTS had been designated a terrorist organization in March 2017. The United States Ambassador to Syria stated that “HTS is a merger and any group that merges into it becomes part of al-Qaeda’s Syrian network.” and “the core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organization. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it.”
Canada designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization on 23 May 2018.
In August 2018, Turkey designated Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.
Moving forward, HTS’s future is uncertain. Turkey has pressured the group to dissolve and join a larger Turkish-backed opposition coalition, though HTS leaders have remarked that “matters relating to the organizational structure of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are non-negotiable.” The group also faces an assault by the [elected government of] Syrian regime and its allies, including Russia, in Idlib. Finally, HTS has numerous competitors among the Syrian opposition, including from the National Liberation Front, which includes groups like Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Ahrar, and Suqour al-Sham.”
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Added:
8/25/2018, “America’s ‘Boots-On-The-Ground’ Fighters in Syria are Al Qaeda and Kurds," Washington’s blog
“(This article deals with America’s boots-on-the-ground proxy-fighters against Syria. On 27 July 2018, this was supplemented by an article about America’s governmental allies against Syria: “America’s Allies Against Russia & Iran: Main U.S. allies are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Al Qaeda, ISIS, Israel, & Nazis.”)
As will be documented here, America’s troops in Syria are not there in order to fight, but to assist Kurdish separatists in the northeast, and to assist the Al Qaeda led-and-trained jihadist forces elsewhere in Syria (such as in the East Ghouta suburb of Damascus, and in parts of Aleppo, and especially in Idlib) to overthrow and replace Syria’s popular and democratically elected, strongly secular and anti-sectarian President, Bashar al-Assad. Occasionally, the U.S. Government also has even helped ISIS to take over and control parts of Syria, such as the city Deir Zor (or Deir Ezzor), which is Syria’s oil-producing capital. For example, on 17 September 2016, the U.S. bombed Syria’s army in Deir Zor so that the surrounding ISIS forces could (and did) rush in and take control there.”…
……………………………… As will be documented here, America’s troops in Syria are not there in order to fight, but to assist Kurdish separatists in the northeast, and to assist the Al Qaeda led-and-trained jihadist forces elsewhere in Syria (such as in the East Ghouta suburb of Damascus, and in parts of Aleppo, and especially in Idlib) to overthrow and replace Syria’s popular and democratically elected, strongly secular and anti-sectarian President, Bashar al-Assad. Occasionally, the U.S. Government also has even helped ISIS to take over and control parts of Syria, such as the city Deir Zor (or Deir Ezzor), which is Syria’s oil-producing capital. For example, on 17 September 2016, the U.S. bombed Syria’s army in Deir Zor so that the surrounding ISIS forces could (and did) rush in and take control there.”…
Added: $12 billion US taxpayer dollars were spent on Syria 2014-2017, per Obama Ambassador to Syria 2011-2014, This doesn’t include monies spent prior to 2014, nor the estimated $1 billion a year the CIA spends there:
2/9/2018, “The US government spent at least $12 billion in Syria-related military and civilian expenses in the four years from 2014 through 2017, former [Obama] ambassador [to Syria] Robert Ford disclosed in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.”…“US Ambassador Confirms Billions Spent on Regime Change in Syria, Debunking ‘Obama Did Nothing’ Myth,” Ben Norton, thegrayzone.com
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Added: The US wasn’t invited into Syria. Since at least 2011 US has said Syrian Pres. Assad “had to go.” Since at least 2012 US taxpayers have been forced to pay for weapons to arm Islamic terrorists (the “opposition”) for bloody regime change in Syria:
June 21, 2012, “C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition [Islamic terrorists],” NY Times, Eric Schmitt:
“The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the officials said.”…
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Added: The Syrian government would be completely justified in bombing US cities and planting Syrian flags on US soil:
12/30/2018, “US flag flies in Syria’s Manbij despite pullout notice," AFP, Delil Souleiman
Map, 6/5/2018, “Map of Syria locating the strategic northern town of Manbij (AFP Photo/afp)”
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Added:
Jan. 2016, “A Special Relationship: The United States is teaming up with Al Qaeda, again,” Harpers.org, Andrew Cockburn
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Added: More photos of World War II US soldier, my father, who fought in response to US being attacked at Pearl Harbor. You don’t need a relative who fought for the US in World War II to wonder why Americans today accept Al Qaeda terrorists as their “boots on the ground” in an unprovoked war on Syria. Syria didn’t attack the US, the US simply declared in 2011 that it wanted “regime change” in Syria, and US has been illegally bombing, occupying, and financing Islamic terrorist fighters there since at least 2012. US “regime changes” always leave much worse misery than existed originally. US elites won’t stop on their own. For this to stop, the US will have to end. Many countries have just cause to make that happen.
Above, Dad in 1940s practicing with his Stearman biplane.
Above, Dad in 1945 on Tinian Island in the Pacific, see map below
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Above, Dad in May 2012 at his New Jersey home. He died on August 24, 2017 a month before his 95th birthday. At the time he joined the Army, he was not a member of Al Qaeda. The only group he had ever joined was the Boy Scouts.
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