Is Barack Obama Actually Trying to Start World War III? - Michael Snyder

The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year. So why in the world do these targets still exist? (Reuters)

Is Barack Obama Actually Trying to Start World War III?

10/14/2015 MICHAEL SNYDER  charisma news

Why has Barack Obama airdropped 50 tons of ammunition into areas that "moderate rebels" in Syria supposedly control? This is essentially the equivalent of poking the Russians directly in the eyes.

Much of this ammunition will end up in the hands of those whom the Russians are attempting to bomb into oblivion, and so to Russia it appears that we are attempting to make their job much harder. Of course, the truth is that there aren't really any "moderate rebels" in Syria at all. Nearly all of the groups that are fighting are made up primarily of radical jihadis or hired mercenaries. Personally, I don't see anyone over there that you could call "the good guys."

At the end of the day, the U.S. supports just about anyone who wants to get rid of the Assad regime, and the Russians are working very hard to keep Bashar al-Assad in power. Just like the civil war in Ukraine, the conflict in Syria is in great danger of being transformed into a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and many fear that these conflicts could eventually be setting the stage for World War III.

The ferocity of Russian airstrikes in Syria has surprised observers all over the planet, and over the past couple of days these airstrikes have been extended to include some new areas:

Russian Air Forces have extended the range of their airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria to four provinces, focusing primarily on demolishing fortified installations and eliminating supply bases and the terrorists' infrastructure.

Over the last 24 hours Russian aircraft have attacked terrorist positions in the Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Raqqa provinces of Syria. In total, 64 sorties targeted 63 Islamic State installations, among them 53 fortified zones, seven arms depots, four training camps and a command post.

When I read reports like this, I am deeply troubled. The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year. So why in the world do these targets still exist?

Was the U.S. military incapable of finding these installations?

That doesn't seem likely.

So why weren't they destroyed long ago?

Did the Obama administration not want them destroyed for some reason?

What seems abundantly clear is that the Russians are doing what the Obama administration was either unwilling or unable to do. There is now mass panic among ISIS fighters, and thousands of them are fleeing the country:

An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan, fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency.

"At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk have fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the Syrian army having stepped up activities on all fronts and of Russian airstrikes," the RIA source said.

The mainstream media in the United States is not talking much about this, are they?

But the U.S. media is reporting on this latest airdrop of ammunition to rebel groups in Syria. For example, the following comes from CNN:

U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups.

Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced.

C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items (such as) hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition.

If you were the Russians, how would you feel about this?

I know how I would feel.

And just as Joe Biden has previously admitted, the "moderate middle" in Syria simply does not exist. The following is an extended excerpt from a piece that was originally written by investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed:

The first Russian airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Talbisah north of Homs City, home to (al-Qaida's) official Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the (pro-al-Qaida) Ahrar al-Sham, among other local rebel groups. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in Homs City, which is 12 kilometers south of Talbisah.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that as part of "U.S. and Turkish efforts to establish an ISIS 'free zone' in the northern Aleppo countryside," al-Nusra "withdrew from the border and reportedly reinforced positions in this rebel-held pocket north of Homs city."

In other words, the U.S. and Turkey are actively sponsoring "moderate" Syrian rebels in the form of (al-Qaida), which Washington, D.C.-based risk analysis firm Valen Globals forecasts will be "a bigger threat to global security" than IS in coming years.

Last October, Vice President Joe Biden conceded that there is "no moderate middle" among the Syrian opposition. Turkey and the Gulf powers armed and funded "anyone who would fight against Assad," including "al-Nusra," "(al-Qaida) in Iraq (AQI)," and the "extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world."

In other words, the CIA-backed rebels targeted by Russia are not moderates. They represent the same melting pot of (al-Qaida-affiliated) networks that spawned the Islamic State in the first place.

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It has been well-documented that many of these so-called moderate rebel groups in Syria have fought alongside ISIS and have sold weapons to them. So this false dichotomy that Barack Obama keeps trying to sell us on is just a giant fraud. The following comes from a recent Infowars report:

In September 2014, a commander with the FSA admitted cooperating with ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.

"We are collaborating with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front by attacking the Syrian Army's gatherings in: Qalamoun," Bassel Idriss said. "Let's face it: The Nusra Front is the biggest power present right now in Qalamoun, and we as FSA would collaborate on any mission they launch as long as it coincides with our values."

In July 2014, a report in Stars and Stripes documented how the 1,000-strong Dawud Brigade, which had previously fought alongside the FSA against al-Assad, had defected in its entirety to join ISIS.

The same month factions within the FSA—including Ahl Al Athar and Ibin al-Qa'im—pledged services to the Islamic State.

Members of the Islamic State claim to cooperate with the FSA and buy weapons provided by the U.S.

"We are buying weapons from the FSA. We bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti-tank weapons," ISIS member Abu Atheer told al-Jazeera. "We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam."

U.S. anti-tank weapons are playing a critical role in the Syrian conflict. As reported by the Washington Post, U.S.-made anti-tank missiles are being used by the rebels to destroy lots of Russian-made tanks that are being used by the Syrian army:

So successful have they been in driving rebel gains in northwestern Syria that rebels call the missile the "Assad Tamer," a play on the word Assad, which means lion. And in recent days they have been used with great success to slow the Russian-backed offensive aimed at recapturing ground from the rebels.

Since Wednesday, when Syrian troops launched their first offensive backed by the might of Russia's military, dozens of videos have been posted on YouTube showing rebels firing the U.S.-made missiles at Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Syrian army. Appearing as twirling balls of light, they zigzag across the Syrian countryside until they find and blast their target in a ball of flame.

Like I said earlier, this is looking more and more like a proxy war between the United States and Russia.

Could that be what Obama actually wants?

Obama is poking China in the eyes lately too. CNN is reporting that U.S. warships may soon be sailing into territorial waters around the Spratly Islands. These are islands that the Chinese government claims ownership over, but the U.S. government disputes that claim, and Obama seems determined to flex his muscles in the area:

The United States (U.S.) may soon deploy war ships near China's artificial islands in the South China Sea.

It wants to send a message that it does not recognize China's territorial claims over the area.

This is according to a Financial Times report quoting a senior U.S. official who said its ships will sail within 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as its territory around the Spratly Islands within the next two weeks.

If Obama sends warships into that area, there is a very real chance that they could get shot at. According to Newsweek, the Chinese are saying that they will not permit U.S. ships to violate those territorial waters under any circumstances:

"We will never allow any country to violate China's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to a question about possible U.S. patrols. "We urge the related parties not to take any provocative actions, and genuinely take a responsible stance on regional peace and stability."

Such exchanges appear to be moving China and the U.S. toward a much feared, yet long expected, military confrontation. Just as unsettling, both sides seem confident they can prevail.

Over the past couple of years, our relations with China have really gone downhill very rapidly, and if the trading relationship between the two largest economies on the planet breaks down, that would have massive implications for the entire global economy.

In addition to everything above, the civil war in Ukraine continues to rage on. The United States funded, equipped, trained and organized the forces that violently overthrew the democratically elected government in Ukraine, and then once those thugs (which actually included some neo-Nazis) took power, the Obama administration immediately recognized them as the legitimate government of Ukraine.

The Russians were absolutely infuriated by this, and they have been providing soldiers, equipment and supplies to the rebel groups that are fighting back against this new government. Of course the Russians deny that they are doing this, but it is exceedingly obvious that they are.

The rebel groups that the Russians have been backing have been doing very well and have been steadily taking ground, and this is not how the power brokers in D.C. envisioned things playing out in Ukraine. So in a desperate attempt to shift the momentum of the conflict, a bill is going through Congress that would provide "lethal military aid" to the government in Kiev. Initially the bill would have provided 200 million dollars in lethal aid, but now it has been upped to 300 million dollars. There are some that believe that the final figure will be significantly higher.

Once this bill gets passed, it will be an extremely important event. For the Russians, it will mean crossing a red line that never should have been crossed. You see, the truth is that Ukraine is Russia's most important neighbor. Just imagine how we would feel if the Russians helped overthrow Canada's government and then start feeding weapons to the new pro-Russian government that they helped install. That is exactly how the Russians view our meddling in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, I wrote an article in which I discussed an opinion poll that showed that 81 percent of all Russians now view the United States negatively, and only 13 percent of Russians have a positive view of this nation. Not even during the height of the Cold War were the numbers that bad.

The stage is being set for World War III, but most Americans are completely and totally oblivious to all of this because they are so wrapped up in their own little worlds.

Most Americans still seem to assume that the Russians and the Chinese are our "friends" and that any type of conflict between major global powers is impossible.

Well, the truth is that conflict has already begun in Ukraine and Syria, and tensions are rising with each passing day.

It won't happen next week or next month, but we are on the road to World War III.

So what will the end result be?

Michael T. Snyder is the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and author of The Beginning of the End.

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