Saudi Arabia and Qatar promise cut off support for ISIS, Al-Nusra

[Bleipriester]

Now they want to support the FSA instead...

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the “moderate” armed opposition in the country, receives a lot of attention. But two of the most successful factions fighting Assad’s forces are Islamist extremist groups: Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the latter of which is now amassing territory in Iraq and threatening to further destabilize the entire region. And that success is in part due to the support they have received from two Persian Gulf countries: Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar’s military and economic largesse has made its way to Jabhat al-Nusra, to the point that a senior Qatari official told me he can identify al-Nusra commanders by the blocks they control in various Syrian cities. But ISIS is another matter. As one senior Qatari official stated, “ISIS has been a Saudi project.”
ISIS, in fact, may have been a major part of Bandar’s covert-ops strategy in Syria. The Saudi government, for its part, has denied allegations, including claims made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, that it has directly supported ISIS. But there are also signs that the kingdom recently shifted its assistance—whether direct or indirect—away from extremist factions in Syria and toward more moderate opposition groups.

The United States, France, and Turkey have long sought to support the weak and disorganized FSA, and to secure commitments from Qatar and Saudi Arabia to do the same. When Mohammed bin Nayef took the Syrian file from Bandar in February, the Saudi government appeared to finally be endorsing this strategy. As The Washington Post’s David Ignatius wrote at the time, “Prince Mohammed’s new oversight role reflects the increasing concern in Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries about al-Qaeda’s growing power within the Syrian opposition.”
The worry at the time, punctuated by a February meeting between U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and the intelligence chiefs of Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, and others in the region, was that ISIS and al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra had emerged as the preeminent rebel forces in Syria. The governments who took part reportedly committed to cut off ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, and support the FSA instead. But while official support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia appears to have dried up, non-governmental military and financial support may still be flowing from these countries to Islamist groups.

'Thank God for the Saudis': ISIS, Iraq, and the Lessons of Blowback - Steve Clemons - The Atlantic

 

[waltky]

Like playin' whack-a-mole...

As ISIS falls, a more dangerous terror group, the second Islamic State, is being born from the ashes
Sunday 12th March, 2017 - As coalition forces in Syria continue to defeat the Islamic State and reclaim territories that were once strongholds of the world’s most dreaded terrorist group - now claims made by a former captive have shocked the world.

In October 2012, American journalist Peter Theo Curtis – who also goes by the name Theo Padnos, sneaked into the rebel-controlled Syrian territory to write an article about an abducted journalist Austin Rice. He was kidnapped by the al-Qaida affiliated group al-Nusra Front in Syria - a group that had announced their formation earlier the same year. The group initially praised ISIS attacks on the West - but is now said to be pursuing its own take on Sharia law. He was held in the war-torn region for two years, during which period, his family reportedly received several calls for a ransom from the group and after a tough period, he was finally freed in 2014 with the help of the Qatari secret service. Theo has now issued a grave warning - one that has shocked the world - as he claims that a new, more dangerous terror group is on the rise near Europe.

According to Theo, rebels from across Syria have formed a new terror group, to replace terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s outfit, described as a “second Islamic State.” Theo has claimed, “Something very dangerous and alarming is occurring in northwestern Syria, and this is the emergence of the second Islamic State there. It’s right on the Turkish border.” He claimed that the Syrian government is winning the war in Syria, but the victory is coming with a cost. "[The Syrian Army] is dispersing the rebels. The rebels have been concentrating in certain urban neighborhoods, and now they're going off into the countryside. They're occupying villages. And when the U.S. Army or the Kurds or some combination finally arrives in Raqqa [the capital of the Islamic State], all those ISIS fighters — they will have been gone for weeks. They're out of town now."

He said that a number of dangerous groups, including “hardcore Islamists”, are going unnoticed in Syria - warning in an interview, “We will know it when they turn up in Paris or London with Kalashnikovs." Recalling his two years of torture, Theo said that while he was abducted, he was able to witness a number of armed factions emerging in northwestern Syria. This, he said, led him to believe there will be rise of a “second Islamic State” near Europe and the Turkish border. He said, “I think that the Western understanding of what is happening in Syria is inadequate. They [The West] don’t know what’s happening on the ground, they either don’t understand the language, or they can’t make sense of the videos, or their informants are, perhaps, biased,” He even noted that the rising rebel group possesses “tonnes of weapons” and could be more dangerous than ISIS.

What, he said was even more worrisome was that, “To get to this second Islamic State from any European country, it’s a couple of days on the bus. Young kids are going every day, that’s what the guys on the ground in Syria are telling me: ‘Oh yes, we have new French people, new English people every day.'” Adding, “I know because I'm in touch with some of these people, and they're making videos all the time. We just haven't connected the dots.” The warnings come at a time that the coalition forces continue their offensive against ISIS and reports from the region indicate that the terror leader al-Baghdadi has admitted defeat. Theo said, "We must develop a strategy that is more powerful than their 'fade into the hills' strategy. Otherwise, it will be whack-a-mole forever … If it sounds like I'm advocating for peace with ISIS, well I am. There's too many of them to kill."

As ISIS falls a more dangerous terror group the second Islamic State is being born from the ashes

 

[Bleipriester]

Like playin' whack-a-mole...

As ISIS falls, a more dangerous terror group, the second Islamic State, is being born from the ashes
Sunday 12th March, 2017 - As coalition forces in Syria continue to defeat the Islamic State and reclaim territories that were once strongholds of the world’s most dreaded terrorist group - now claims made by a former captive have shocked the world.

In October 2012, American journalist Peter Theo Curtis – who also goes by the name Theo Padnos, sneaked into the rebel-controlled Syrian territory to write an article about an abducted journalist Austin Rice. He was kidnapped by the al-Qaida affiliated group al-Nusra Front in Syria - a group that had announced their formation earlier the same year. The group initially praised ISIS attacks on the West - but is now said to be pursuing its own take on Sharia law. He was held in the war-torn region for two years, during which period, his family reportedly received several calls for a ransom from the group and after a tough period, he was finally freed in 2014 with the help of the Qatari secret service. Theo has now issued a grave warning - one that has shocked the world - as he claims that a new, more dangerous terror group is on the rise near Europe.

According to Theo, rebels from across Syria have formed a new terror group, to replace terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s outfit, described as a “second Islamic State.” Theo has claimed, “Something very dangerous and alarming is occurring in northwestern Syria, and this is the emergence of the second Islamic State there. It’s right on the Turkish border.” He claimed that the Syrian government is winning the war in Syria, but the victory is coming with a cost. "[The Syrian Army] is dispersing the rebels. The rebels have been concentrating in certain urban neighborhoods, and now they're going off into the countryside. They're occupying villages. And when the U.S. Army or the Kurds or some combination finally arrives in Raqqa [the capital of the Islamic State], all those ISIS fighters — they will have been gone for weeks. They're out of town now."

He said that a number of dangerous groups, including “hardcore Islamists”, are going unnoticed in Syria - warning in an interview, “We will know it when they turn up in Paris or London with Kalashnikovs." Recalling his two years of torture, Theo said that while he was abducted, he was able to witness a number of armed factions emerging in northwestern Syria. This, he said, led him to believe there will be rise of a “second Islamic State” near Europe and the Turkish border. He said, “I think that the Western understanding of what is happening in Syria is inadequate. They [The West] don’t know what’s happening on the ground, they either don’t understand the language, or they can’t make sense of the videos, or their informants are, perhaps, biased,” He even noted that the rising rebel group possesses “tonnes of weapons” and could be more dangerous than ISIS.

What, he said was even more worrisome was that, “To get to this second Islamic State from any European country, it’s a couple of days on the bus. Young kids are going every day, that’s what the guys on the ground in Syria are telling me: ‘Oh yes, we have new French people, new English people every day.'” Adding, “I know because I'm in touch with some of these people, and they're making videos all the time. We just haven't connected the dots.” The warnings come at a time that the coalition forces continue their offensive against ISIS and reports from the region indicate that the terror leader al-Baghdadi has admitted defeat. Theo said, "We must develop a strategy that is more powerful than their 'fade into the hills' strategy. Otherwise, it will be whack-a-mole forever … If it sounds like I'm advocating for peace with ISIS, well I am. There's too many of them to kill."

As ISIS falls a more dangerous terror group the second Islamic State is being born from the ashes

The article is a bit alarming - a new group does not necessarily mean that new fighters fell from the skies.
The article is probably about the new Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham group. It comprises "rebel" groups such as Nusra, Zinki and FSA-fractions and is now the largest "rebel" force. It goes not unnoticed but has been labeled terrorist organization by the US already. Trump is unloading some firecrackers on them.

US declares newly merged Syrian jihadist group a terrorist organization