Syrian Control of Border with Iraq a Strategic Turning Point?

by Stephen Lendman

On Saturday, Syria's General Command of the Army and General Forces announced the following:

"Units of the Syrian Arab Army, in cooperation with the allied forces, completed on Friday evening the first stage of the military operations in the Syrian Badia and were able to reach the border with the friendly Iraq northeast of al-Tanf."

"This achievement is a strategic turning point in the war on terrorism and a springboard to expand military operations in the Badia and along the border with the friendly Iraq."

For the first time since 2015, the Syrian flag flies on the border with Iraq, a significant achievement, whether a turning point remains to be seen.

According with Al-Masdar news (AMN), US and Russian forces agreed to let Syrian and allied troops take control of Al-Boudah village - northeast of the strategic al-Tanf crossing between Syria and Iraq, now under Syrian Arab Army control.

US-supported terrorists in southern Syria, masquerading as moderate rebels, are surrounded, vulnerable to elimination, government and allied forces fortifying the area to secure it. 

Washington's goal to control southern Syria is considerably weakened - short of escalated terror-bombing on government forces to change things in its favor it may be reluctant to do at this time.

On Sunday morning, Syrian media reported ISIS leader Ibrahim Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed by an airstrike in Raqqa.

Earlier reports of his death were false, perhaps this one as well without verifiable proof. He's been wounded before but survived, perhaps the case this time unless proved otherwise. 

Unverified earlier reports suggested he might be several people using the same nom de guerre, unlikely but possible.

In 2004, he was reported captured by US forces and held at Camp Bucca. The facility held inmates later recruited as top ISIS operatives.

Perhaps the CIA recruited Baghdadi to lead US-backed ISIS foot soldiers. An unconfirmed report claimed he was trained by Mossad operatives for months.

Separately, US-backed terrorists comprising the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqqa from the west, part of the al-Sabahiya neighborhood captured, fierce fighting reported.

Last week SDF spokesman Talal Sello said "(w)e declare…the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqqa," an ISIS stronghold.

Will Washington redeploy most of its fighters to serve as imperial foot soldiers elsewhere in Syria - the way it shifted thousands of its elements earlier from Mosul to Palmyra and elsewhere in the country?

Raqqa is the caliphate's self-declared capital. Does it have another location in mind in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere - with US-led coalition help?

Washington created this monster and likeminded ones. It's not likely abandoning their use to advance its imperium.

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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