In a show of solidarity, US special forces in Syria frequently wear the insignia of the troops they are fighting with.
In a show of the stupidity by warmongers (President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Senator John McCain, etc.) who think participation in this madness makes any sense, US backed forces now openly fight other US backed forces, some of which contain US army special forces.
If US special forces are on both sides, which would not surprise me in the least, then US special forces would be fighting each other.
The Guardian reports US Military Special Forces Pictured Aiding Kurdish Fighters in Syria.
Elite US military forces have been photographed for the first time in Syria as they join largely Kurdish forces on an advance toward, Raqqa, the Islamic State terror group’s capital.
A photographer with Agence France-Presse captured US special operations forces with Kurdish forces known as the YPG, part of the US-mentored Syrian Democratic Forces, in a rural village less than 40 miles from Raqqa. Some US troops wear the insignia of the YPG in an apparent show of support.
Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, resisted commenting on the photographs and would only describe the US special operations forces’ mission in generic terms.
American Green Berets in Syria Wear Kurdish Militia Insignia
Military.Com reports American Green Berets in Syria Wear Kurdish Militia Insignia
This is what US Green Berets wearing Kurdish insignias looks like.
The first insignia is that of YPG. Despite color difference, it matches the Green Beret insignia. The second insignia is that of YPJ. It was clipped from the Guardian article, but I did not see Green Berets wearing it. I explain the difference a bit later.
Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary
“Our special operations forces in the past have, yes, worn insignias and other identifying marks with their partner forces,” said Peter Cook.
US-Backed Rebels Fighting One Another in Northern Syria
Having clearly identified US special forces, let’s now turn our attention to who is fighting whom.
Please consider US-Backed Rebels Fighting One Another in Northern Syria.
In the northern part of Aleppo Province, territory is constantly changing hands along the frontiers between several factions, including a group that includes parts of the US-armed Free Syrian Army (FSA), the US-armed Kurdish YPG, and ISIS.
The US armed the other factions with an eye toward them fighting ISIS, and they have, sometimes. Repeatedly throughout the past several months, however, the two factions have ended up fighting one another for territory as well, with the FSA recently firing TOW missiles at Kurdish YPG positions.
FSA officials cited a “deepening divide” with the Kurds, saying the situation is heading toward escalation, with the YPG insisted they are confident they could take the FSA groups in a war if it comes to that. And it just might.
Both factions have very different views toward the region, with the Kurds looking mostly to cement gains around ISIS territory while the FSA is more focused on fighting the Assad government, with a little pushing on ISIS. But both also want their respective spheres to grow, and as they inevitably bump into one another, the US weapons they’re wielding are quickly turned on one another.
Conflict Among U.S. Allies in Northern Syria Clouds War on Islamic State
Reuters reports Conflict Among U.S. Allies in Northern Syria Clouds War on Islamic State.
A smoldering confrontation between Syrian armed groups backed by the United States but hostile to each other is escalating, complicating the fight against Islamic State in the war-torn country.
Syrian Arab rebels under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner say they are in a growing struggle against the Kurdish YPG militia that are helping the United States wage its campaign against IS in Syria.
On June 12, one of the many FSA groups in the Aleppo area fired a guided TOW missile at a YPG position, the first attack of its kind, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and YPG said.
YPG spokesman Redur Xelil said his group did not aim to spark a battle with FSA groups. But he added: “If they want a war, they will certainly lose.”
More than five years since it began, there is no end in sight to the war in Syria that has created the world’s worst refugee crisis, helped the rise of Islamic State, drawn in foreign states, and killed several hundred thousand people.
Now, the escalating clash between the two U.S.-backed groups has exposed a fault-line that presents a challenge to the anti-IS campaign as it moves into predominantly Arab areas east of Aleppo with YPG support, starting with the city of Manbij.
FSA rebels are part of the nationalist opposition to Assad, who is also being fought by al Qaeda-linked groups. A number of groups receive military aid in a covert, CIA-backed program.
Senior International Crisis Group Analyst Noah Bonsey said it would be better for all if Turkey, the rebels and the YPG struck a deal on a division of labor to drive IS from the northern Aleppo area, and on who would control it afterwards.
Turkey is deeply suspicious, however, of the Kurdish YPG because of its links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency in southeast Turkey.
The YPG-FSA conflict has also spilled into Aleppo itself, whose Sheikh Maqsoud district is under YPG control. Rebels accuse the YPG of aggression by firing on the only road into opposition-held Aleppo. In turn, rebels have shelled it heavily.
The TOW missile attack was a notable escalation. The YPG said it had notified the United States, saying the weapon was supplied under the U.S.-backed program.
Guide to the Syrian Rebels
I think we need a refresher course on who is who. This Guide to the Syrian Rebels from 2013 is very outdated, but it does help explain the complexity.
The opening line is a gem. “There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters.”
Each of those opposition groups has its own agenda. This is a view from 2013. Each of the main groups below has numerous factions. In particular, note the number of ISIS troops back then.
Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)
SMC-aligned brigades retain separate identities, agendas and commands. Some work with hardline Islamist groups that alarm the West, such as Ahrar al-Sham, and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.
FSA: The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed in August 2011 by army deserters based in Turkey, led by Col Riad al-Asaad. Its banner was soon adopted by armed groups that began appearing across the country. Despite this, the FSA’s leaders had little or no operational control over what was happening on the ground in Syria. Gen Idris, wants it to be a more moderate and stronger alternative to the jihadist rebel groups in Syria.
Martyrs of Syria Brigades: – Estimated number of fighters: 7,000. The Martyrs of Syria Brigades reportedly ascribe to no particular ideology.
Northern Storm Brigade: The Northern Storm Brigade is an Islamist FSA unit that controls an important border crossing between Syria and Turkey. In September 2013, there were deadly clashes between the Northern Storm Brigade and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) after the jihadist group stormed the town of Azaz.
Islamic Front
Estimated number of fighters: 45,000
In November 2013, seven Islamist groups – Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, Jaysh al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Sham and the Kurdish Islamic Front – declared that they were forming the largest rebel alliance yet in the 33-month conflict, with an estimated 45,000 fighters. They said the new Islamic Front was an “independent political, military and social formation” that aimed to “topple the Assad regime completely and build an Islamic state”. They outlined a new command structure, with key roles shared between the seven groups, and said they would work towards a “gradual merger”.
The Islamic Front does not include al-Qaeda affiliates like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the al-Nusra Front, but its charter welcomes foreign fighters, as “brothers who supported us in jihad”, suggesting it is willing to co-operate with them.
Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF)
The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF) is a loose alliance formed in September 2012 by about 20 rebel groups, including the Farouq Brigades, the Islamic Farouq Brigades, Liwa al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Fath, Liwa al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham, and the Deir al-Zour Revolutionaries’ Council. Most of the groups, which ranged from moderate Islamist to ultraconservative Salafist in outlook, recognised the SMC and made up the bulk of its fighting force. In November 2013, Liwa al-Tawhid and Suqour al-Sham declared that they were joining the new Islamic Front, significantly reducing the SILF’s military strength and raising questions about whether it would be disbanded. It is not clear if the remaining members of the SILF will continue to fight under its banner or join the Islamic Front.
Jihadist Groups
Nusra: The Nursa Front for the People of the Levant, is a jihadist group believed to have been created in mid-2011 with the help of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). It declared its existence in January 2012 and has since emerged as one of the most effective rebel forces.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS): Estimated number of fighters: 3,000 to 5,000. The creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in April 2013 was rejected by the al-Nusra Front. ISI’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, known as Abu Dua, nevertheless pressed ahead with expanding its operations into Syria. In August 2013, US intelligence assessed that he was based in Syria and commanded as many 5,000 fighters, many of them foreign jihadists.
Kurdish Groups
The Popular Protection Units is the armed wing of the Kurdish political party, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that runs the de facto autonomous Kurdish zone in north-eastern Syria. The YPG emerged as a force in the summer of 2012 when the Syrian army withdrew from Kurdish areas and it sought to provide security. The PYD has tried to keep the Kurds out of the conflict and consolidate its territorial gains. However, there has been occasional fighting with government troops, and since November 2012 also deadly clashes between the YPG and rebel fighters – particularly those from Islamist and jihadist brigades – over control of several border towns and parts of the city of Aleppo. The Syrian rebels and the Turkish government have accused the Kurdish group of acting as an Assad proxy.
Foreign Policy Idiocy
It was absolutely idiotic to believe we could identify “moderate” rebels out of that mess or that they would stay “moderate” if we could.
In 2013, the BBC report stated there were 3,000 to 5,000 ISIS troops. CNN reported in February of 2016 Estimate: More than 26,000 ISIS fighters killed by coalition.
Today, US special forces wear the YPG insignia to the shock of Turkey.
Turkey’s President Slams Washington Over US soldiers’ Use of YPG Emblem
On May 28, Erdogan Slammed Washington Over US soldiers’ Use of YPG Emblem
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the United States over American troops wearing insignia of Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) during an operation in Syria.
In a Saturday speech in the mainly-Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, Erdogan “condemned” Washington as not being “honest.”
“Those who are our friends, those who are with us in NATO, should not and cannot send their soldiers to Syria with the sign of the YPG,” said Erdogan.
The president also said, “Saying solely ‘We are against terrorism’ does not mean standing against terrorism.”
Turkey accuses the YPG of being linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, which has been engaged in a three-decade fight for autonomy in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast.
Ankara and Washington both regard the PKK as a terrorist organization. The United States does not consider the YPG to be a terrorist group.
YPJ vs. YPG
Inquiring minds may be wondering about the difference between YPJ and YPG. The Kurdish Project explains YPJ is All-Female Brigade of YPG.
The YPJ is an acronym whose translation means “Women’s Protection Units.” It is the all-female brigade of the YPG, the armed forces of the Syrian region of Kurdistan, known as Rojava (meaning Western) Kurdistan.
YPJ and ISIS
The YPJ have been instrumental in the battle to take back control of Kobani from ISIS. These women fighters know that, if captured, they will be raped and killed; therefore they fight knowing that they must succeed in battle or become a suicide warrior to avoid being captured. The YPJ is also thought to be feared by ISIS, who believes that if a female kills them in battle, it will be a disgrace and dishonor, and will prohibit them from entering paradise.
Thanks to their role in liberating Kobani in Syria, the YPJ have captured the attention of both socialist and non-socialist feminists around the world. Additionally, thanks to the YPJ, millions of people around the world have been introduced to the plight of the Kurds in Syria and beyond.
YPJ in IraqThe YPJ also played a big role in rescuing and providing security to the Yazidi community who were trapped on Mount Sinjar in Iraq in 2014. This rescue helped save thousands of Yazidis who had taken refuge on Mount Sinjar and fought thirst and hunger for months, including a large population of women and children.
The sensible US policy is to back those committed to fighting ISIS, not those fighting each other, not rebels with with mad agendas.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
We’re supposed to be confused…very confused. Word games and misleading/contradictory “news” is high up on the Zioglobalist agenda as a primary control mechanism. As long as the pot is being stirred, hate is being promulgated, and profit, however inhumane in origin, is going to the “right” places, it’s a “good” story.
The Turks have been shelling the YPG for a long time now. I say screw the FSA and throw our support behind the Kurds, if we’re going to support anyone. We should close Incirlik too while we’re at it and kick Turkey out of NATO.
The US Military-Industrial Complex is arming both sides? Say it ain’t so!
Seriously, that is an old story, as 2 time Medal of Honor awardee Gen. Smedley Butler and Gen. Eisenhower knew so well, and they tried (in vain) to warn the nation.
The CIA code for this is ‘Abbott and Costello’ — it was inspired by:
Cliches like decent into madness & race to the bottom come to mind.
I was thinking more like the courtroom scene from the movie “A Few Good Men” where Tom Cruise insists on getting the truth from (USMC colonel) Jack Nicholson who retorts, ” you CAN’T HANDLE the truth!”
“The sensible US policy is to back those committed to fighting ISIS, not those fighting each other, not rebels with with mad agendas.”
An even more sensible US policy, is to quit pretending anyone in the US, nor anywhere else, including Syria, can tell the difference.
Any time you have 1000 groups fighting, alliances are fleeting, and will form, collapse and reform on an as needed basis. Aside from in cheesy Western propaganda outlets, there is no such thing as “The World vs. ISIS”. Just a bunch of different groups fighting. Either for territory, women, honor, or just to keep populations from outgrowing available resources. ISIS is just another bunch joining the brawl.
The fact that some slimebags in the US and Europe figured out they could make them, in particular, the latest hobgoblin with whom to scare the indoctrinati into handing over even more freedoms and treasure, is pretty darned irrelevant to anyone else.
the USA is just a bookie. win/lose/who cares? rake the vig.
Oops, did I accidentally click on to Alex Jones?
What’s that supposed to mean?
You can’t handle the truth
The US government whoring out our military. I wonder what the going rate is?
Just one more senseless war for the Zionist land thieves.
Well in that light the US policy makes a lot of sense… Supply everyone over there with guns & ammo, let them kill each other forever. It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right just keep the conflict going.
If tomorrow 40 ISIS, 10 Al-Nusra, 20 Kurds, 30 Assad troops and 100 civilians die, the score is 200-0 for Israel. For a tiny investment. Mish, I really don’t see how you can criticise this policy.
That’s sarcasm by the way – I’m not advocating the US policy at all.
The photo is clearly taken during a rest period (they are all sitting around) — not in a combat situation.
The US flag on the chest of the soldier leaning on the gun looks very suspicious. Flag goes on your right shoulder, and certainly doesn’t get buried beneath utility belt gear.
Wearing a beard is one thing (although men all over the world can grow beards, not just special forces). For service personnel, desecrating the flag is a whole different thing.
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Saying the politicians in Washington don’t know who is fighting who — that is kind of a given. Special forces guys are a disturbingly tight group who constantly compare bragging rights. Their families back in the states constantly compare notes too. The idea that soldiers in the field are planning attacks on one anther seems a bit far fetched.
In the field at commanders discretion
http://news.goruck.com/gear/gorucks-reverse-flag-explained/
Doubr the US is commanding the infighting, and very unlikely it is pitting Americans against each other, but that aside obviously a struggle to form any cohesive shape amongst the factions. Ousting Russia/regime is still the main unstated priority and so this is likely to drag on until there can be some clear western backed domination across the whole country. So Russia clearing IS does nothing to impress me as a solution.
The actual soldiers in your link all have the flag on their sleeve (and no sh!t sherlock that the flag is “reversed” — waving backwards in the wind as the soldier runs forward).
The two kids wearing flags on utility VESTS at the end of that post do not look like special forces, and they don’t act like special forces
If you ever try to take a photo of an active duty special forces guy, especially without a beard — you won’t be posting the result on the internet. Those guys are paranoid about security.
I think the two kids wearing the vest are models posing for goruck.com store.
The photo in Mish’s post is clearly and obviously not during combat. They are sitting around on the back of a stationary truck. They aren’t fighting anyone, they aren’t giving combat advice to anyone — they are posing for a press photographer.
Agree with all…point being?
The closest I make out is that it is a purposeful release by US for political/propaganda means, drawing attention to a fact. US would know the soldiers involved and be able to discredit the photo if it were false. No blanked features suggests leaked photo.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ltMD4MV_tYU/maxresdefault.jpg
NATO and Saudi Arabia need to build a natural gas/oil pipeline from Saudi Arabia/Qatar through Aleppo to Turkey and thence to Europe. Such a pipeline would end Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas.
…
Syria under Assad won’t approve such a pipeline because Assad is a Russian ally.
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The NATO/Saudi objective is to hive off an Islamic State that would approve the pipeline. Saudis would provide a King of Islamic State. Saudis finance Islamic State. Europe and CIA provide weapons and manpower to Islamic State.
…
Islamic State cut off a few too many heads, raped a few too many women. CIA is still there. US special forces are still there. The end justifies the means. Right?
Back in the real world, the Saudis are selling assets in the US and Europe (where there is too much debt, not enough energy demand growth) and buying assets in Asia (where energy demand is growing like a weed). China is offering to help the Saudi crown prince with his idea to diversify the Saudi economy.
The Germans and Russians are just about finished building a new north pipeline that bypasses Ukraine. Nat gas goes straight to the country that can pay the bills and has the manufacturing hungry energy sector. The gas is much cheaper and more reliable than anything sourced in the middle east. Netherlands has Rotterdam port and they have existing NG pipelines with Germany. Norway would like to sell more gas to both.
The rest of Europe struggles to pay for relatively cheap Russian gas (paying with never ending IOUs and debt doesn’t count).
The YPG is the military wing of the hard left Kurdish Workers Party. The KWP would feel right at home in Cuba, Venezuela, or any other communist nation. It’s not a surprise the the Obama would support the YPG-KWP, but most Americans would be appalled if they knew what Obama was up to.
Build a giant wall to encircle all and give them just enough guns and ammo to kill each other off. If they don’t want to live like decent Christians, why waste time trying to help them?
“… and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.
Al Qaedqa. Wasn’t that the group that killed nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11, 2001? Our government is siding with terrorists, now?
There is nothing new here…. remember that the CIA funded and armed terrorists in Afghanistan in the fight against the Russians…. A chap named Bin Laden was on the payroll….
Mish, I am saying this somewhat tongue in cheek, but maybe the ideal scenario for the war mongers and the military-industrial complex is a war where they are supplying both sides. They seem to like any war a and will find the flimsiest excuses to supply weapons.
Mark Udden Executive Broker Healthcare Solutions Team 1900 S. Highland Ave Suite 203 Lombard, IL 60148
Cell: 763-607-5928
________________________________
Great – it creates jobs for the winning side – us.
The way the world works:
– The luckiest, fittest, smartest, with the capability for ruthlessness survive – always have – always will
– Resources are finite and therefore ownership is a zero sum game
– The strong always take from the weak – if they do not then that is a sign of weakness and a competitor will take from the weak and will usurp the formerly strong dropping them into weakling status
– Humans tend to group by clan or on a broader basis by nationality (strength in numbers bonded by culture) and they compete with others for resources
– Competition always exist (I want it all!) but it becomes fiercer when resources are not sufficient to support competing clans or nations
– Tribal societies understand these dynamics because they cannot go to the grocery store for their food – so they are intimately aware of the daily battle to feed themselves and the competition for scare land and resources
– Modern affluent societies do not recognize this dynamic because for them resources are not scarce – they have more than enough.
– One of the main reasons that resources are not scarce in affluent societies is because they won the battle of the fittest (I would argue that luck is the precursor to all other advantages – affluent societies did not get that way because they started out smarter — rather they were lucky – and they parlayed that luck into advances in technology… including better war machines)
– As we have observed throughout history the strong always trample the weak. Always. History has always been a battle to take more in the zero sum game. The goal is to take all if possible (if you end up in the gutter eating grass the response has been – better you than me – because I know you’d do the same to me)
– And history demonstrates that the weak – given the opportunity – would turn the tables on the strong in a heartbeat. If they could they would beat the strong into submission and leave them bleeding in the streets and starving. As we see empire after empire after empire gets overthrown and a new power takes over. Was the US happy to share with Russia and vice versa? What about France and England? Nope. They wanted it all.
– Many of us (including me) in the cushy western world appear not to understand what a villager in Somalia does – that our cushy lives are only possible because our leaders have recognized that the world is not a fair place — Koobaya Syndrome has no place in this world — Koombaya will get you a bullet in the back — or a one way trip to the slum.
– Religious movements have attempted to change the course of human nature — telling us to share and get along — they have failed 100% – as expected. By rights we should be living in communes — Jesus was a communist was he not? We all know that this would never work. Because we want more. We want it all.
– But in spite of our hypocrisy, we still have this mythical belief that mankind is capable of good – that we make mistakes along the way (a few genocides here, a few there… in order to steal the resources of an entire content so we can live the lives we live) — ultimately we believe we are flawed but decent. We are not. Absolutely not.
– But our leaders — who see through this matrix of bullshit — realize that our cushy lives are based on us getting as much of the zero sum game as possible. That if they gave in to this wishy washy Koombaya BS we would all be living like Somalians.
– Of course they cannot tell us what I am explaining here — that we must act ruthlessly because if we don’t someone else will — and that will be the end of our cushy lives. Because we are ‘moral’ — we believe we are decent – that if we could all get along and share and sing Koombaya the world would be wonderful. We do not accept their evil premises.
– So they must lie to us. They must use propaganda to get us onside when they commit their acts of ruthlessness.
– They cannot say: we are going to invade Iraq to ensure their oil is available so as to keep BAU operating (BAU which is our platform for global domination). The masses would rise against that making things difficult for the PTB who are only trying their best to ensure the hypocrites have their cushy lives and 3 buck gas (and of course so that the PTB continue to be able to afford their caviar and champagne) …. Because they know if the hypocrites had to pay more or took at lifestyle hit – they’d be seriously pissed off (and nobody wants to be a Somalian)
– Which raises the question — are we fools for attacking the PTB when they attempt to throw out Putin and put in a stooge who will be willing to screw the Russian people so that we can continue to live large? When we know full well that Putin would do the same to us — and if not him someone more ruthless would come along and we’d be Somalians.
– Should we be protesting and making it more difficult for our leaders to make sure we get to continue to lead our cushy lives? Or should we be following the example of the Spartans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZeYVIWz99I
– In a nutshell are our interests as part of the western culture not completely in line with those of our leaders – i.e. if they fail we fail – if they succeed we succeed.
– Lee Kuan Yew is famous for saying ‘yes I will eat very well but if I do so will you’ Why bite the hand that whips the weak to make sure you eat well…. If you bite it too hard it cannot whip the weak — making you the weak — meaning you get to feel the whip….
– Nation… clan … individual…. The zero sum game plays out amongst nations first … but as resources become more scarce the battle comes closer to home with clans battling for what remains…. Eventually it is brother against brother ….
– As the PTB run out of outsiders to whip and rob…. They turn on their own…. As we are seeing they have no problem with destroying the middle class because it means more for them… and when the weak rise against them they have no problem at all deploying the violent tactics that they have used against the weak across the world who have attempted to resist them
– Eventually of course they will turn against each other…. Henry Kissinger and Maddy Albright bashing each other over the head with hammers fighting over a can of spam – how precious!
Clearly the ones we need to be supporting are the All-Female Brigade of YPG. Those are some hot babes.
The US arms merchants make way more money this way.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/cia-weapons-syrian-rebels-jordan-black-market-160626141335170.html
Why does The U.S. House of Republicans/Conservative/Tea Party allow hard earned tax dollars to be spent on this FUBAR?