Syria is Fighting Islamic Jihadists: Chechen Islamists, NATO Turkey and Gulf Money Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Syrian government is fighting international Islamic jihadists which are funded by feudal Gulf monarchs and whereby NATO Turkey is a friendly participant in the destabilization of Syria. Indeed, it is amazing that America, France and the United Kingdom are playing the “international jihadist card” against Syria after the deplorable reality of what happened in Afghanistan. This applies to America, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other nations, openly funding terrorists throughout the 1980s and 1990s in Afghanistan and clearly this reality existed long after the demise of the Soviet Union. Indeed, when America needed help after September 11 it was the Russian Federation supported Northern Alliance which helped Washington against its former Islamist friends.

However, under the Obama administration the terrorist ratlines which existed pre-September 11 have once more been re-opened. This can be seen by events in Libya where many Islamic jihadists which were fighting in Iraq suddenly fused together with powerful Gulf nations, America, France and the United Kingdom. Clearly this “unholy alliance” resembled the reality of Bosnia whereby international jihadists went to this part of the former Yugoslavia in order to slit the throats of Orthodox Christian Serbs. America under Bill Clinton marched in step with international jihadists, Iran, Saudi Arabia and an array of different nations which supported the jihadist banner against Orthodox Christians in Bosnia. Like usual, the media was at its compliant best because somehow all the beheadings, international jihadists, covert ratlines linking the CIA and Iran, and so forth, were conveniently missed.

Modern day Syria resembles the political spin of Bosnia because international jihadists, supporters of sectarianism and outside nations have been given the usual free ride. The real “David” is Syria which faces many “Goliaths” which seek to crush the independence of this nation. America, France and the United Kingdom have geopolitical ambitions but just like in Afghanistan the long-term will be won by Gulf Islamist indoctrination if Syria is crushed. It matters not that Islamist terrorists on the ground are cleansing minorities, killing mainstream Sunni Muslim clerics and putting women in the shadows. After all, elites in London, Paris and Washington know full well that secular Syria will be crushed by sectarian Islamists if the government of Syria falls.

Chechen Islamists and Caucasus Jihadists

Islamic jihadists from all over the world are flocking to Syria and clearly NATO Turkey is “pimping itself out” in order to enable Islamist to enter the north of this country. At the same time, Gulf petrodollars are helping to arm international jihadists against secular Syria alongside spreading Islamist indoctrination by manipulating charities, refugee camps and by spreading media propaganda throughout the Middle East. The Chechen and Caucasus Islamist angle is also increasing and given the notoriety of Chechen fighters then clearly the allies of America are enabling this to happen – this applies to Turkey and Georgia.

In a past article by Modern Tokyo Times it was stated that “It is known that Turkey and Georgia have given either tacit approval of safety to Chechen Islamists in the past, or both nations have been involved in covert operations aimed at the Russian Federation. Either way, it is clear that Chechen Islamists were given breathing space in parts of Turkey and Georgia. Georgia could claim that the internal convulsions which continue to cause problems in several parts of this nation, is a valid reason why they couldn’t prevent Chechen Islamist intrigues in the past. Yet, Turkey can’t provide any such excuse and given the nature of this nations support for sectarianism, terrorism and sedition within Syria, then clearly the “Chechen connection” may be based on the intrigues of Ankara.”

In 2012 Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal, stated that “The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that is fighting Bashir al Assad’s regime in Syria, has claimed credit for yet another suicide attack as well as another joint operation with Chechen fighters.”

Murad Batal al- Shishani wrote in the Jamestown Foundation on April 19, 2013, that “A video posted on YouTube in the last week of March documented the unification of two Syrian armed groups; the Katibat al-Khattab (Army of Khattab Brigades) and the Katibat Jaysh al-Muhammad (Army of Muhammad Brigades), with the Katibat al-Muhajireen (KaM – the Brigade of Migrants). [1] The video showed armed men giving their bayat (allegiance) to the amir of the Katibat al-Muhajireen, Abu Omar al-Shishani, an ethnic Chechen from Georgia’s Pankisi valley. The newly unified groups announced their incorporation into a new movement using the name Jaysh al-Muhajireen wa’l-Ansar (JMA – the Army of Migrants and Supporters) and under the command of al-Shishani (“The Chechen”). Like its components, the new movement will continue to be dedicated to helping Syrians topple the rule of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. [2]”

He continues by stating that “The KaM was formed in the rural areas of Latakia (northwest of Damascus) in mid-2012 by Libyan volunteers who joined the Syrian revolution after toppling Mu’ammar Qaddafi’s regime in Libya. However, the leadership of the group is currently dominated by Chechens. With a membership of roughly 1,000 fighters, the Muhajireen operate in various areas of Syria and have seen action primarily in the Aleppo area (Kavkaz.tv, March 26). The KaM also coordinated attacks with other armed groups in Syria, especially with the jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), which renewed its allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in mid-April (al-Shorfa.com, April 15). One of the best known of these joint attacks was the assault on Air Defense Brigade 602’s base in the Handarat district of Aleppo (Jabhat al-Nusra, Statement No. 166, November 21, 2012; as-ansar.com; al-Jazeera Arabic TV, November 6, 2012).”

It is therefore abundantly clear that the wave of Libyans, Tunisians and other North Africans were unable to topple the government of Bashar al-Assad. Therefore, Gulf petrodollars and the connivance of the Erdogan government in NATO Turkey are intent on funding greater professionalism within the Islamist jihadist ranks. Not surprisingly, the Chechen and Caucasus Islamist angle became most appealing given the links between Turkey and Chechen jihadist groups.

Interestingly, the Chechen angle to the Boston terrorist attack in America witnessed the “crocodile tears” of President Obama. After all, “real Chechen Islamist terrorists” in Syria are being supported by the allies of Washington. Indeed, even after the terrible events of Boston the government of America announced more funding to various factions in Syria in order to further destabilize secular Syria. Therefore, it appears that the United States isn’t interested in the real picture and this echoes the reality surrounding September 11 whereby nearly all the jihadists came from Saudi Arabia.

The Chechen and Caucasus Islamist angle in Syria continues to develop because in the early stages this reality was negligible. Yet from the middle of 2012 it became apparent that Islamists from the Caucasus area were increasingly going to Syria. This reality can be seen today because Chechens and others are playing a more important role within the international jihadist terrorist movement in Syria. Indeed, in the last 24 hours it was reported that two Orthodox Christian bishops were kidnapped in Syria and once more some reports are pointing the fingers at the Chechen angle. Irrespective, if Chechens are involved in the kidnapping of two Orthodox Christian bishops in Syria; it is clear that only “good terrorists” exist in the minds of the governments of America, France and the United Kingdom.

In the past the Gulf petrodollars funded Islamist terrorism and indoctrination throughout the Caucasus region and clearly this reality is still ongoing. Therefore, the Russian Federation should be doing more in Syria to counteract Gulf nations, Turkey and the ratlines which exist within MI6, CIA and other intelligence networks. If Moscow doesn’t send covert operatives into Syria – or at least fund Syrian intelligence units and provide greater arms and intelligence knowledge; then clearly this will come back to haunt the Russian Federation.

Modern Tokyo Times stated in a past article that “The Russian Federation should be very worried about this angle because in recent times several Sufi Muslim leaders have been killed in Dagestan and Tatarstan by Sunni Islamist terrorists. Not only this, these new ratlines could trigger more bloodshed in the Caucasus region and in other parts of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the situation in Chechnya could be reignited in the future if bases become obtainable alongside fresh armaments and capital.”

Lorenzo Vidino stated back in 2005 that “On September 1, 2004, a group of Chechen terrorists took hostage and two days later murdered at least 335 schoolchildren and parents in Beslan, a town in the Russian republic of North Ossetia. The atrocity focused world attention on Chechnya. The Russian government used the event to reiterate its arguments that Chechen terrorists and foreign jihadists supporting them have ideological, financial, and operational ties with Islamist terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda.[1] Although President Vladimir Putin and top Russian security officials provided evidence of links between Chechen fighters and Al-Qaeda, European politicians and mainstream Western journalists focused instead upon the Russian army’s brutality and dismissed Putin’s claims as an attempt to gain sympathy in the West and deflect criticism of Russia’s handling of a nationalist insurgency.”

“Putin may have been opportunistic, but he was also correct. A close examination of the evolution of the Chechen movement indicates that Islamists and followers of Al-Qaeda have increasingly sought to co-opt the Chechen movement as their own.”

In Syria in 2013 it is clear that Chechens and other Islamist jihadists from the Caucasus region are hand-in-hand with al-Qaeda. It is also known that the Russian Federation notified America about the individual involved in the Boston terrorist attack way back in 2011. Clearly, both times the Russian Federation fully understood the reality on the ground while major Western powers just closed their eyes.

Today NATO Turkey is a major conduit for many Islamist terrorist ratlines and clearly Chechens and Caucasus Islamists have entered Syria via the connivance of the Erdogan government. The government of Syria insists that it is fighting international terrorism which is being sponsored and supported by America, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. On top of this, Jordan is playing a murky role and clearly parts of Lebanon are involved in supporting international terrorism and sectarianism. It is therefore incumbent on the friends of Syria to help this nation much more and for major Western powers to take a long look at September 11, the shackling of women in Afghanistan, daily terrorism in Iraq, the failed state of Libya, the collapse of parts of Pakistan, the destabilization of Mali after the Libya debacle – and other brutal realities like 50% of Christians fleeing Iraq after the US led invasion. After all, why are the same nations supporting the side of international terrorism and sectarianism against secular Syria? Similarly, how come NATO Turkey is a springboard for international jihadists like the Chechens and so many more ethnic groups given their brutal future objectives?