The Only Way to Defeat Terrorism

by Stephen Lendman

ISIS, al-Qaeda and likeminded groups thrive from foreign support - from America, NATO, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel and other regional rogue states.

Washington created these groups, supports their fighters with funding, weapons, munitions, training and direction, deploys them to its war theaters as imperial foot soldiers.

They can show up in any nation Washington targets for regime change - most recently in the Philippines, perhaps for that purpose.

America's so-called war on terror is a fabricated hoax. Its alleged anti-ISIS campaign supports the scourge it claims to oppose.

In Mosul, it provided a corridor to redeploy thousands of its fighters to Syria. In nothern Syria, something similar appears planned to facilitate a southern withdrawal from Raqqa to a new location.

According to Tass,  "(c)ommanders of the Russian group of forces in Syria ha(ve) taken measures to avert the withdrawal of the Islamic State militants from Raqqa (southward) towards Palmyra."

"The terrorists have received an opportunity for unimpeded withdrawal on the condition they will head toward Palmyra."

On Friday, Sergey Lavrov blasted  Trump administration policy in Syria, saying "(t)he US-led coalition is behaving the same way it did under President (Barack) Obama's administration." 

It's "doing everything to shield Jabhat al-Nusra from strikes. This is a very alarming issue. We often ask about this during our contacts with American partners (sic), and we don't get any clear answers, but would like to have them."

US and Russian objectives are world's apart - America waging war OF terror, claiming otherwise, supporting ISIS, al-Nusra and similar groups.

Russia alone among major powers is combating terrorism in Syria effectively - respecting the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity Washington and its rogue allies want destroyed.

On Friday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized US reluctance to cooperate with Russia in combating terrorism. Instead of a common struggle against a universal scourge, both nations are on opposite sides of the war in Syria.

On May 28, Russian warplanes struck an ISIS command post in northern Syria where its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and others in his chain of command were discussing exit routes for its fighters from Raqqa through a southern corridor.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, al-Baghdadi is believed to have been "killed in the airstrike" along with other high-ranking ISIS commanders and hundreds of its fighters.

Sergey Lavrov said he hasn't gotten "100% confirmation" of al-Baghdadi's death. Earlier reports of his elimination proved untrue, Lavrov adding:

"(A)ll examples of…actions to 'decapitate' terror groups had always been presented with great enthusiasm and pomp, but experience shows that later these groups restored their combat capabilities"

They and their "numerous reincarnations are still active" - because of support from Washington and its rogue allies. Without it, these groups can't exist.

Their heavy weapons, munitions and other material support come from foreign sources. They need regular resupply to sustain themselves like all fighting forces.

Cut it off entirely and these groups will wither and fade away - the only way to defeat them.

As things now stand, they remain a serious threat to all countries where they're deployed, with or without al-Baghdadi and other commanders like him - because Washington wants them used to serve its imperial interests.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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