oxmox

U.S. rejects Russian charge that Turkey involved in Islamic State oil smuggling (Reuters, Dec 2nd) The United States on Wednesday flatly rejected Russian allegations that the Turkish government was in league with Islamic State militants to smuggle oil from Syria. U.S. officials dismissed Russian allegations Wednesday that Turkey's president profited from oil trading with the Islamic State. "The Turks have been great partners" in fighting the Islamic State militants, said Col. Steve Warren, the coalition spokesman in Baghdad. “There is no Turkish government complicity in some operation to buy illegal oil from the Islamic State," he said, according to the Associated Press. "We just don’t believe that to be true in any way, shape or form." http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/02/mideast-crisis-russia-usa-idUSL1N13R27B20151202 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/12/02/russia-claims-turkeys-president-selling-oil-islamic-state/76654566/

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Look for Wahhabism for more background infos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabism Most of the Jihadi Terrorism, suicide bombing and major International Terrorism derives from sunni/salafism since 911.

The state religion of Saudi Arabia is a sect, founded in the 18th century and its not just sunnis in general. It plays a special role in the sunni religion. Definately watch at least the first posted video about the Iran..quiete interesting and shows that both countries are not really compareable like you would think.

I wonder that you think that Iran would be similar like Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia you cant even take a Bible into the country, no rights for woman, ...i dont continue the examples and you will find a lot with google search. Saudi Arabia is not only the most intolerant country in the Arab World, it also has the most extreme type of Islam in form of a sect: Wahhabism or abroad called Salafism. Some examples what you find in Iran but not in Saudi Arabia: ( I did post this already some months ago in the world politics thread) * Iran has a christian Bishop and religious minorities have quiete their freedom * they are integrated into the government and have seats in the parliament i.e. jews have a parliament seat aswell Of course the Ajatollahs at the end have the decree, and you can describe parts of their political system more like with pseudo democratical structures, but it exist. Iran has some freedom but only to a certain degree i.e. critical about politics and islam. The country has also harsh laws, but it is not a state which lives in the middle ages and is quiete developed. Check out these videos: Jews in Theran, Iran - a western Journalist visits them. Vodka as a welcome drink. 25 Synagogues exist alone in Theran. Here the Archbishop from Iran visits the Pope Google about Nightlife in Iran, rights for woman or more examples... These few examples alone are impossible in SA....

Exactly, I mentioned it with similar sentences in the post before. It is questionable if you can quickly bomb away an ideology, but it is neccessary to weaken the IS i.e. their source of income. The Islamic State has a much higher potential of threats than Al Qaeda in the years before, they are mostly independant financially and run their organisation and captured areas like a government. Why should the Saudis disappaer ? It is rather needed that their own religiuos leaders throw in some important and critical words to the faith community when it comes to terror organisations, like in the article mentioned there is a lack of a "Muslim Answer" to the Islamic State. Just recently the german BND did release a security warning about Saudi Arabia as one of the destabilizing factors in these regions, which did not really surprise. The government did critisize it and was talking about an eclat which would not fit with their foreign politics. Its true, extremism in general is a problem, doesnt matter if about religions, politics or economics. But you have to look aswell to the roots and when it comes to Al Qaeda and the IS you wont get around the most extreme form of the Islam, which is whabism/salafism. It takes a special role in sunni Islam and is rather some kind of sect. And - Not only islamic nations did or do sponsor questionable groups, dont forget this. About Iran, well the Syrian conflict is also a part of the strategy to weaken the Iran itself. The Iran with all its issues is still a more liberal country than certain arabic states, especially Saudi Arabia. Yes, if you look at your posted wiki link it shows that the Iran has aswell as other Islamic/arab nations a history with sponsored terrorism, wheras the main international terror attacks since 911 and the responsible terrorists are supportive members of the sunni/salafism movement.

Arab nations are mentioned because they are members of the coallition, the Iran supports the Hizballah which is fighting IS in Syria and probably other rebels. You dont hear much from the arab nations or arab league when it comes to military support except fighting in Yemen. The current problem is wahabism/salafism when it comes to radical Islamists and the ideology and religious view of the IS/Al Qaeda have close ties to it. This news article offers some background infos: Anti-ISIS coalition crumbles as Arab allies focus elsewhere (Washingtong Post; Nov 30) The Obama administration consistently touts the “65-nation coalition†it has assembled to fight the group also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh — but critics say that fewer than a dozen nations today are contributing anything significant to the campaign. ....administration and military officials admit that air support from such key Arab allies as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — something the White House once touted as an unprecedented and essential part of the coalition — has all but evaporated. One Pentagon official directly involved in the counter-Islamic State fight told The Washington Times that the Saudis haven’t flown a mission against the group in nearly three months. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Bahrain is still involved, but confirmed that Jordan stopped flying sorties against the extremists in August and the UAE hasn’t flown one since March. A top former Obama administration official who helped build the coalition last year, meanwhile, said that Persian Gulf Arab powers made a strategic gamble months ago to focus their military resources on helping Saudi Arabia wage war against Houthi rebels seen as Iranian proxies in neighboring Yemen — wagering that the U.S. and the European Union would lead the fight against Islamic State. “Their calculation was that the Americans would take care of leading the coalition against Daesh while they take care of fighting the Iranians in Yemen,†the former official said. “This is a ‘65-country coalition’ of which only about nine are doing something,†said Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington. An internal State Department memo obtained by The Times maintained that the UAE has contributed $1.1 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria and Iraq since 2011, while the Saudis have put forward roughly $36 million...Qatar has also made numerous financial contributions, most recently announcing a pledge of $160 million for an education initiative for Syrian refugees, according to the memo, which also noted that Kuwait has donated at least $800 million. The coalition is missing the “Muslim answer†to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,... http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/30/obama-anti-isis-coalition-crumbles-as-arab-allies-/

Libya is a mess and IS troops are raising in numbers.... The question is: what comes after ISIS ? You wont be able to quickly bomb away an ideology. You can read and hear about western countries and military engagements against the IS, but what about the arabic league ? You dont hear anything from any arab nations

Inside the Battle: Al Nusra-Al Qaeda in Syria David Ignatius for The Washington Post described Al Nusra then as the most aggressive and successful arm of the FSA. In November 2012, they were considered by The Huffington Post to be the best trained and most experienced fighters among the Syrian rebels. On 10 December 2012, the U.S. designated Nusra a foreign terrorist organisation and an alias of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In 2015, rebel factions in southern Syria vowed to distance themselves from the ‘extremists’ of al-Nusra in April 2015, but were seen cooperating with them in Daraa only days later. During successful Syrian opposition offensives in the northern Government from March until May 2015 (see also March–April offensive and April–June 2015 offensive), al-Nusra effectively coordinated its operations with Free Syrian Army, moderate and conservative Syrian Islamists, and some independent jihadists factions. Russian air strikes reportedly targeted positions held by al-Nusra. Al-Nusra has set a reward for the seizure of Russian soldiers. Russia sees al-Nusra as a "terrorist organization". (wikipedia )

quiete a quick brake through...

double

Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi (also spelled al-Aqidi) is a commander of and spokesman for the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo. Video from 2014 (?) - Commander of the FSA/Aleppo about the Islamic State & Al Nusra: "The relationship is good, even brotherly." (0:18min. about IS and 3:50min about Al Nusra) authenticated by the top academic Syria expert in the U.S., Joshua Landis, of the University of Oklahoma

US accuses Syria of buying oil from Isis (IBT, Nov 25) US Sanctions Syrian Businessman For Acting As 'Middleman' In Transactions The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a Syrian businessman Wednesday. Officials say he “served as a middleman†for the Syrian government’s oil purchases from the Islamic State group, Reuters reported. U.S. officials have long been vocal with concerns that Syrian President Bashar Assad was boosting the Islamic State group’s finances by buying oil on territory that was previously controlled by the Syrian government in Damascus. But the U.S. government’s sanctions Wednesday were the first to be imposed on Syria’s oil trade. In the U.S. government’s latest effort to cut off funding for the group, which claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Paris earlier this month, the Treasury Department said it also sanctioned three other individuals and their affiliated businesses, including the Russian Financial Alliance Bank, for allegedly helping Syria’s central bank evade international sanctions. “The United States will continue targeting the finances of those enabling Assad to continue inflicting violence on the Syrian people,†He told Reuters at the time that the EU had no evidence of the oil purchases and suggested it search for intermediaries smuggling oil to Turkey on behalf of the Islamic State group. The U.S. has been looking for ways to hit ISIS’ finances, launching a campaign of airstrikes last month called “Tidal Wave II†on the group’s oil facilities in Syria. http://www.ibtimes.com/syria-buying-oil-isis-us-sanctions-syrian-businessman-acting-middleman-transactions-2200675 Erdoğan: Turkey only buys oil from officially known sources (Daily Sabah, Nov 26) President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday harshly criticized those accusing Turkey of buying oil from Daesh, and called them to prove their 'baseless' claims. "Turkey buys its gas and oil from Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Northern Iraq, as well as LNG from Algeria and Qatar," Erdoğan said in response to some Russian officials claiming that Turkey buys oil from Daesh. He noted that it is the Assad regime which buys oil from Daesh: "Daesh sells the oil they drill to Assad, whom you (Russia) support" he said. Erdoğan underscored that Turkey has suffered the most damage from terrorism and puts forth the biggest fight against Daesh, noting that it was first recognized as a terrorist group in 2005. He said that various Turkish cities, including Niğde, Ankara, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep have been targeted by Daesh, while noting that a total of 140 Turkish citizens and seven security personnel have lost their lives due to terrorist attacks by Daesh. http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2015/11/26/erdogan-turkey-only-buys-oil-from-officially-known-sources Is Vladimir Putin right to label Turkey ‘accomplices of terrorists’? (The Guardian, Nov 24) The relationship hinted at by Russian leader after warplane was shot down is a complex one, and includes links between senior Isis figures and Turkish officials Since the earliest months of the Syrian war, Turkey has had more direct involvement and more at stake than any of the regional states lined up against Bashar al-Assad. Turkish borders have been the primary thoroughfare for fighters of all kinds to enter Syria. Its military bases have been used to distribute weapons and to train rebel fighters. And its frontier towns and villages have taken in almost one million refugees. Turkey’s international airports have also been busy. Many, if not most, of the estimated 15,000-20,000 foreign fighters to have joined Islamic State (Isis) have first flown into Istanbul or Adana, or arrived by ferry along its Mediterranean coast. The influx has offered fertile ground to allies of Assad who, well before a Turkish jet shot down a Russian fighter on Tuesday, had claimed Turkey had enabled or even supported Isis. Vladimir Putin’s reference to Turkey as “accomplices of terrorists†is likely to resonate even among some of Ankara’s backers. From midway through 2012, when jihadis started to travel to Syria, their presence was apparent at all points of the journey to the border: at Istanbul airport, in the southern cities of Hatay and Gaziantep – both of which were staging points – and in the border villages. Foreigners on their way to fight remained fixtures on these routes until late in 2014 when, after continued pressure from the EU states and the US, coordinated efforts were made to turn them back. By then, Isis had become a dominant presence in parts of north and east Syria. Despite that, links to some aspects of Isis continued to develop. Turkish businessmen struck lucrative deals with Isis oil smugglers, adding at least $10m (£6.6m) per week to the terror group’s coffers, and replacing the Syrian regime as its main client. -> Over the past two years several senior Isis members have told the Guardian that Turkey preferred to stay out of their way and rarely tackled them directly. .....in May this year after a US special Force Raid in eastern Syria, which killed the Isis official responsible for the oil trade, Abu Sayyaf. A trawl through Sayyaf’s compound uncovered hard drives that detailed connections between senior Isis figures and some Turkish officials. Senior Turkish officials have openly stated that the Kurds – the main US ally in Syria – pose more of a threat than Isis to Turkey’s national interests. Yet, through it all, Turkey, a Nato member, continues to be regarded as an ally by Europe. --> The US and Britain have become far less enamoured, but are unwilling to do much about it. “Turkey thought they could control it all,†said one senior western official. “But it got out of their hands. It has come back to bite them in the heart of Ankara [a double suicide bombing in October that was claimed by Isis] and it will haunt them for a long time.†http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/24/vladimir-putin-turkey-isis-terrorists-warplane-analysis

It is about a major impact in history, about geopolitics in this area, about dominance and control of ressources, about changes which influence our present time. No other countries like the Brits had such global dominance or possibilities in this time, France played another smaller role, Germany did suddenly arise like a Phoenix from the Ashes and was a major economical threat for the Brits i.e. Baghdad railway, the show up of the Sovjetunion, later the British Empire was weakened and did fall apart and the US took over the role. But, Iam not saying that this is the cause of the Islamic State...these are just important parts of the history to better understand our present.

50 years ? Better around 100 years .... The Brits as the world power before the USA were already heavily involved, dont forget France and other allies like already mentioned. The major impact did happen after world war 1 with the division of the Ottoman Empire for geopolitical interests, the promise of a jewish state in contrast to the not fullfilled promises for the arab independance after helping the brits, revolting against the Ottoman Empire ( i.e. Lawrence of Arabia units). The main reasons for engagements in this area were always gepolitical interests and not just the Cold War. And this did start already before the beginning of World War 1, around 1900 the Brits tried to gain a foothold into Persia and Iraq to secure new discovered oil wells; @By the way, the thread was started to post about the Islamic State (discussion & news) and we are going quiete offtopic since a while.

Thank you, I will delete it.

@sudayev The video shows at 3:01 min rebels who are shooting a russian pilot. This has nothing to do with the current su24 incident, thats a video posted on youtube in

Russia was warned by Turkey already longer ago. In October this year Turkey announced to shoot down every russian plane which is violating their territory again. Remember the incident because of bad weather/navigation issues, that was a longer overfly by a russian military plane over turkish territory. ---------------- Rebels open fire against the pilots while parachuting: One person shouting "Don't fire. Let's take them prisoners. Don't fire. Prisoners." ... over sounds of gun fire. https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/669171741923672064

By whom in seconds in Switzerland ? The vast majority of weapon owners who are part of the Swiss Militia (active or none active) are allowed to store their weapon at home but without ammuntion. It is not allowed in general to carry guns in public or abuse military weapons for private use, Switzerland is not the USA with a right of "individual self defence" in form of the the 2nd armendment. Lots of misinterpretations about Swiss gun laws by pro-gun lobbies. Probably not even in the US you could carry weapons during a music concert ... Guns n Alcohol - dont mix.

UN Resolution - Islamic State UN Security Council calls for "all necessary measures" against IS (Die Welt, Nov. 21 - google transl.) Members vote unanimously for French resolution The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on all States to take "all necessary measures" to fight the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. Here, the "international law, in particular the UN Charter" should be complied with, according to the text put forward by France, which was adopted one week after the bloody attacks in Paris. --> The resolution does not obtain the legal permission to take military action against the IS-militia. However, it backs up political support for the fight against the Islamic State who had claimed responsibility for the attacks with 130 dead in Paris. Russia has introduced its own resolution: calling to fight the IS-militia with the approval of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The United States, France and Britain rejected the draft because they refuse cooperation with Assad. They accuse him to feed extremism by suppressing the population. France and Russia both fly since the end of September airstrikes against the jihadists in Syria. While Paris relies on the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Moscow followed a request by Assad for assistance. Before western countries accused Russia to try to prop up Assad attacking even moderate rebels and less combat the extremists. The Security Council described the IS-militia in the resolution as a "global and unprecedented threat to peace and international security" and reaffirms the determination of Member States to combat this danger "by all means". The adoption of the resolution took place a few hours after Islamist bombers stormed a luxury hotel in the Malian capital Bamako and 27 people killed, including several foreigners. Die Welt

Infos about this was posted only one page before... U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Oil Trucks in Syria (NYT; Nov 16) Intensifying pressure on the Islamic State, United States warplanes for the first time attacked hundreds of trucks on Monday that the extremist group has been using to smuggle the crude oil it has been producing in Syria, American officials said. Until Monday, the United States refrained from striking the fleet used to transport oil, believed to include more than 1,000 tanker trucks, because of concerns about causing civilian casualties. As a result, the Islamic State’s distribution system for exporting oil had remained largely intact. According to an initial assessment, 116 trucks were destroyed in the attack, which took place near Deir al-Zour, an area in eastern Syria that is controlled by the Islamic State. American officials have long been frustrated by the ability of the Islamic State to generate tens of million of dollars a month by producing and exporting oil. To disrupt that revenue source, American officials said last week that the United States had sharply stepped up its airstrikes against infrastructure that allows the Islamic State to pump oil in Syria. To reduce the risk of harming civilians, two F-15 warplanes dropped leaflets about an hour before the attack warning drivers to abandon their vehicles, and strafing runs were conducted to reinforce the message. The area where the trucks assemble in Syria has been closely monitored by reconnaissance drones. As many as 1,000 trucks have been observed there, waiting to receive their cargo of illicit oil. The strike came just days after Kurdish and Yazidi fighters, backed by American airstrikes, cut an important road, Highway 47, that the Islamic State has used to move supplies and fighters between Syria and Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was captured by the militant group last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/world/middleeast/us-strikes-syria-oil.html?_r=0 @ Why did they wait more than a year with taking out the supply route of the Islamic State. What about the money transfers, why cant banks not stop it ? The Guardian did report last year about IS Oil routes from Syria. The Guardian Report (Nov. 2014): Coalition air strikes have not stopped the militant group from earning millions of dollars a week from its Iraqi oil operations Islamic State has consolidated its grip on oil supplies in Iraq and now presides over a sophisticated smuggling empire with illegal exports going to Turkey, Jordan and Iran, according to smugglers and Iraqi officials. Coalition air strikes against tankers and refineries controlled by Isis have merely dented – rather than halted – these exports, it adds. From early July until late October, most of this oil went to Iraqi Kurdistan. The self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate sold oil to Kurdish traders at a major discount. From Kurdistan, the oil was resold to Turkish and Iranian traders. These profits helped Isis pay its burgeoning wages bill: $500 (£320) a month for a fighter, and about $1,200 for a military commander. But oil is still finding its way to Turkey via Syria, with Islamic State deftly switching from one market to another, smugglers say, with cheap crude channelled to Jordan instead. On Monday, a UN panel urged countries neighbouring Iraq and Syria to seize oil trucks that continue to flow out from jihadist-occupied territory. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/19/-sp-islamic-state-oil-empire-iraq-isis

Its ok..... But did you know that the majority of victims from radical Islamic Terror are actually muslims themselves ? Just a recent example: Besides the terror in France, IS did do a bomb attack in Lebanon/Beirut just a day or two before Paris with around 50 deaths and 250 injured.

Dont be a fool and remove the link, this is a stupid reaction from you.

Rebels from the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army firing a U.S.-supplied anti-tank guided missile at what it is clearly a U.S.-made HumveeThis video shows the absurdity of the war in Syria (WP, Nov 17) The above video, reportedly recorded outside of Aleppo, Syria and posted online Tuesday, features rebels from the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army firing a U.S.-supplied anti-tank guided missile at what it is clearly a U.S.-made Humvee. It is unclear if the U.S. Humvee is one that the Islamic State might have captured from Iraqi security forces during its blitz across parts of northern Iraq last year, or if it’s from U.S.-supplied Iraqi militias who have since entered Syria to prop up President Bashar al-Assad’s fledging forces. But one thing is for certain: that truck was built in the U.S.A. Video & News Report: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/11/17/this-video-shows-the-absurdity-of-the-war-in-syria-in-one-single-blown-up-humvee/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_daily202

U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Oil Trucks in Syria (NYT; Nov 16) Intensifying pressure on the Islamic State, United States warplanes for the first time attacked hundreds of trucks on Monday that the extremist group has been using to smuggle the crude oil it has been producing in Syria, American officials said. Until Monday, the United States refrained from striking the fleet used to transport oil, believed to include more than 1,000 tanker trucks, because of concerns about causing civilian casualties. As a result, the Islamic State’s distribution system for exporting oil had remained largely intact. According to an initial assessment, 116 trucks were destroyed in the attack, which took place near Deir al-Zour, an area in eastern Syria that is controlled by the Islamic State. American officials have long been frustrated by the ability of the Islamic State to generate tens of million of dollars a month by producing and exporting oil. To disrupt that revenue source, American officials said last week that the United States had sharply stepped up its airstrikes against infrastructure that allows the Islamic State to pump oil in Syria. To reduce the risk of harming civilians, two F-15 warplanes dropped leaflets about an hour before the attack warning drivers to abandon their vehicles, and strafing runs were conducted to reinforce the message. The area where the trucks assemble in Syria has been closely monitored by reconnaissance drones. As many as 1,000 trucks have been observed there, waiting to receive their cargo of illicit oil. The strike came just days after Kurdish and Yazidi fighters, backed by American airstrikes, cut an important road, Highway 47, that the Islamic State has used to move supplies and fighters between Syria and Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was captured by the militant group last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/world/middleeast/us-strikes-syria-oil.html?_r=0 @ Why did they wait more than a year with taking out the supply route of the Islamic State. What about the money transfers, why cant banks not stop it ? The Guardian did report last year about IS Oil routes from Syria. The Guardian Report (Nov. 2014): Coalition air strikes have not stopped the militant group from earning millions of dollars a week from its Iraqi oil operations Islamic State has consolidated its grip on oil supplies in Iraq and now presides over a sophisticated smuggling empire with illegal exports going to Turkey, Jordan and Iran, according to smugglers and Iraqi officials. Coalition air strikes against tankers and refineries controlled by Isis have merely dented – rather than halted – these exports, it adds. From early July until late October, most of this oil went to Iraqi Kurdistan. The self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate sold oil to Kurdish traders at a major discount. From Kurdistan, the oil was resold to Turkish and Iranian traders. These profits helped Isis pay its burgeoning wages bill: $500 (£320) a month for a fighter, and about $1,200 for a military commander. But oil is still finding its way to Turkey via Syria, with Islamic State deftly switching from one market to another, smugglers say, with cheap crude channelled to Jordan instead. On Monday, a UN panel urged countries neighbouring Iraq and Syria to seize oil trucks that continue to flow out from jihadist-occupied territory. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/19/-sp-islamic-state-oil-empire-iraq-isis