Obama envisions the Free Syrian Army as providing combat troops to fight the Islamic State. But the Free Syrian Army is either giving its arms to the Islamic State, or cannot prevent it from capturing them.
“Islamic State fighters using US arms – Report,” AFP, September 8, 2014 (thanks to Twostellas):
Islamic State fighters appear to be using captured US military issue arms and weapons supplied to moderate rebels in Syria by Saudi Arabia, according to a report published on Monday.
The study by the London-based small-arms research organisation Conflict Armament Research documented weapons seized by Kurdish forces from militants in Iraq and Syria over a 10-day period in July.
The report said the jihadists disposed of “significant quantities” of US-made small arms including M16 assault rifles and included photos showing the markings “Property of US Govt”.
It also found that anti-tank rockets used by IS in Syria were “identical to M79 rockets transferred by Saudi Arabia to forces operating under the Free Syrian Army umbrella in 2013″.
The rockets were made in the then Yugoslavia in the 1980s.Islamic State is believed to have seized large quantities of weapons from Syrian military installations it has captured, as well as arms supplied by the United States to the Iraqi army after it swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks.
Terry says
No surprise here, just Yankee stupidity and lack of foresight.
Budvarakbar says
Coupled with high treason in the WH, DOS, and DOD
kikorikid says
That RPG doesn’t have USA anywhere on it!
pfbonney says
“No surprise here, just Yankee stupidity and lack of foresight.”
Now THAT’S a case of the pot calling the kettle “black”.
With Great Britain’s lack of foresight, it fused together, what should have been, 3 separate countries right after WW I and created Iraq, creating problems for almost the the world throughout the 20th Century and here on into the 21st Century.
Britian really screwed up Africa and the Middle East when it decolonized those areas, showing absolutely no forsight whatsoever. These countries were created in the interest of British strategic interests, NOT with respect to existing tribal boundaries, splitting and weakening some ethnicities and trying to bond hostile tribes together to form other nations.
To this day, Africa is a basket case, and the Middle East, the same.
And do you want to talk about the amount of British foresight that went into introducing rabbits into Austrailia, a land where the rabbit has no natural predators?
Budvarakbar says
Sooo — when left to their own devices and freedom — just what did the followers of the false prophet accomplish in 100 years?
pfbonney says
Now THAT question is as clear as mud.
TH says
Being Irish, and no lover of the Brits, I do think it also needs to be said that they came out of World War II in a desperate situation, practically broke, and could no longer maintain their empire. America was also big on decolonization at the time, not that they don’t still have colonies like Puerto Rico and Guam, which they conquered from Spain. There are still people in Puerto Rico who would prefer to be part of Spain, but it is not viable as they get plenty of cash from Uncle Sam. They also conquered part of Mexico, in fact half of it in 1848. So, they could haldly lecture the Brits on decolonization.
Hrothgar54 says
Apples and grapes comparison.
pfbonney says
“I do think it also needs to be said that they came out of World War II in a desperate situation, practically broke, and could no longer maintain their empire. ”
Is that any excuse for them having done such a poor job of preparing their colonies for independence, after holding them for so long?
They should have had a better idea of the makeup of their colonies, and a better idea as to just where to draw borders as a result.
“Colony” is not the nature of either Puerto Rico’s or Guam’s relationship to the United States.
“There are still people in Puerto Rico who would prefer to be part of Spain, but it is not viable as they get plenty of cash from Uncle Sam. ”
True. But wouldn’t that then make them a colony of Spain?
But, yes, they get too much cash from Uncle Sam. And they wouldn’t get as many handouts from Spain, most likely.
“They also conquered part of Mexico, in fact half of it in 1848. So, they could haldly lecture the Brits on decolonization.”
What does THAT have to do with the price of rice in China? Your argument makes no sense.
We’re talking about “stupidity and lack of foresight”, remember?
Britian showed stupidity and lack of foresight in how it divided up the former Ottoman Empire and its colonies, and how that set into motion the chains of events leading to many of today’s problems.
How come you failed to agree with me that the UK shouldn’t lecture the United States on “stupidity and lack of foresight” when it has displayed those traits itself? You obviously have a double standard, I see. A high standard for the US, and a low standard for the UK.
Hrothgar54 says
Well said, lest it be forgotten.
International attention spans have devolved to last night’s leakage of nude model photos. Comments limited to what one or two thumbs can press into a tiny ‘keyboard’.
Hrothgar54 says
that just previous “Well said”….refers to “pfbonney
September 8, 2014 at 10:39 pm”
Hard here to post replies at the intended comment.
pfbonney says
Thank you.
lindy2 says
could it be part of some diabolical plan hatched in some political misbegotten ugly?
wtd says
IS/ISIS/ISIL is using American armaments …and likely will don uniforms of captured enemy who were stripped of their uniforms before being frogmarched to their demise. They will blend into the landscape of any enemy they seek to overtake because of the incompetence and treason of this administration.
Don McKellar says
I don’t see the difference between supplying the Saudi Islamic supremacists and the ISIS Islamic supremacists with American weapons. There are both truly on the same side: Islamic conquest of the world.
Budvarakbar says
Hey — this guy gets it!
Champ says
“It’s obama’s fault!”
Why, yes, it is.
kikorikid says
AW JEEEZ Champ! Quit trying to Think, I can’t stand
the smell of burnt rubber.
kikorikid says
CHAMP, This is a full retraction. Having been deluged and overwhelmed
by the thousands of,”Its Bushes fault”, In a dim-dreamlike state of
awareness I read your post as such. Sorry and Yes, of course it
is Obamas fault!
Champ says
no-prob-lem-o! 😀
An Unhappy Camper says
Any regular watcher of Vice magazine online and seen the video of the Islamic State would have noticed the large numbers if M-16 rifles. The Long War Journal had a video from IS showing large amounts of weapons and ammo captured from the Syrians after IS had over ran one of the Syrian Army Bases. That’s on top of the stuff captured from the Iraqi’s.
Beagle says
I realize the IS has US uparmored HUMVEES, US artillery, rifles, MRAPs, and more.
But the M79 is a Yugoslavian bazooka. Time for some Yugoslavian conspiracy theories. C’mon western Left and Islam, you can do it!
Hrothgar54 says
This turning our expensive arms against us is an excellent reason for us Ameddicans[sic] to get out of West/Central Asia altogether and let these myriad Muslim factions butcher each other without our latest and finest equipment on their turf.
Our Muslim threat is right here at home in the mosques and madrassas popping up in our cities and universities.
We managed to contain the Soviet empire including mainland China all of those years until Russia collapsed from within, and the ever resourceful Chinese reverted to state controlled …gasp!…..capitalism.
Alibaba is the classic example of that imaginative app [pun alert!] …..just look at Jack Ma counting his hoard in his cave.[s]
Only the Muslims aren’t so interested in the material [they’re so very fond of saying] except for the Kuwaitis and the Saudis with their Mercedes’ and their Mayfair flats.
Philip Smeeton says
At home in the US citizens are prepared to take action.
http://www.inquisitr.com/1465830/isis-terrorist-cell-formed-just-a-…
http://news.yahoo.com/armed-patriots-private-citizens-secure-u-bord…
Wouldn’t it be nice if armed citizens were allowed to patrol the borders of the UK.
wolfgang says
Is Obama such an idiot ? why for friggin sake doesn’t he give an order to the joint chiefs to bomb the livin f@#k out of the captured American artillery, Humvee’s , M1’s ? can’t tell me the CIA doesn’t know where they are ? if spy birds in the sky can supposedly spot someone smoking from 20 miles up, they can find all the nice gear that has been looted !……..are the leaders in W so moronic ? ( no don’t answer that they are that moronic ! )