Why the Showdown with Islamic Extremists Is the War the Pentagon Was Hoping For

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/world/why-showdown-islamic-extremists-war-pentagon-was-hoping



As the U.S. escalates its bombing campaign against ISIS (or IS or ISIL), U.S. officials seem to have found an enemy we can all love to hate and fear. ISIS beheads hostages, conducts brutal ethnic cleansing and has links to Al-Qaeda. DC power players have eagerly embraced a small war made to order to restore America's wounded military pride after the first Iraq debacle.

The contrived nature of the narrative presented by U.S. officials was evident from the outset if one cared to look behind the propaganda screen. As the U.S. bombing campaign began, German Left Party MP Ulla Jelpke told a press conference in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) on August 11th that the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar were rescued by the Kurdish PKK, who the U.S. government classifies as "terrorists." Refugees told Jelpke that they were saved by "Allah and the PKK," not by U.S. bombing.

Ulla Jelpke hailed the PKK as the most effective force fighting ISIS and other jihadis in Syria and Iraq, and she condemned Turkey for its role on the other side, providing bases, training and support to the jihadis. Even as Turkey has kept its border with Syria open to a flood of fighters and weapons, it has closed it to shipments of food and humanitarian supplies to Rojava, now home to thousands of Yazidi refugees. As Jelpke said, "If the US government and its allies are going to wage a serious struggle against ISIS, they must first end the support for the jihadis coming from Turkey and the Gulf states."

At the same time, journalist Judit Neurink, who has spent the past 5 years training local journalists in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, told Belgium's De Standaard newspaper that reports of ISIS massacres were exaggerated and based mainly on rumors. De Standaard asked, "Is the United States' bombing based on a false hypothesis?" She replied, "Yes. The US is bombing because the battle was approaching too close to Erbil, where a small American base lies. The Yazidis are useful to add a humanitarian sauce. Indeed there are also Christians fleeing. But if you act only for the Christians, other religious communities in the world would attack you. Now this Yazidi tragedy suited the Americans politically and the stories are exaggerated. Terrible things happen and have happened, that's a fact. But we have no numbers, no details."

[flamingdem]

1. This article is full of bullshit

The Yazidis did need the airstrikes and the US is friendly with the PKK. It's the Kurd military in Turkey and Syria that is classified as terrorist and that's only to placate Turkey.

Exaggerated massacres? Sorry, we saw them on camera and the Yazidis testified to them.

The premise of the article is that the MIC somehow engineered this or wanted this when the whole thing was a surprise. Obama clearly did not want to get involved.

Too bad the left news sources will exaggerate to make an anti-war claim.

[leftstreet]

3. 17+ Intel agencies, but this 'was a surprise.' Bullshit n/t

[leftstreet]

2. DURec