How the CIA and its allies help the Jihadis in Syria
Colonel Cassad, May 31 2019
Maxim Sheng, an expert on covert operations, intelligence and U.S. foreign policy, is a journalist and regular contributor to GlobalGeoNews.com. He wrote a book “La guerre de l’ombre en Syrie” (“the secret war in Syria” published by French publishing house Éditions Erick Bonnier), causing shock, in which he reveals detailed information about the support provided by several Western intelligence agencies jihadist groups in Syria, starting with the CIA. His investigation revealed a multidimensional state scandal and points to the dubious game waged by the Western powers and their middle Eastern allies in the Levant. Exclusive interview with Emmanuel Razavi (founder and editor GlobalGeoNews.com)
Emmanuel Razavi : first, refresh, please, our memory as to what operation Timber Sycamore.
Shes Maxim: Sycamore Timber is the code name for a covert operation authorized by Obama in June 2013 to train and equip anti-Assad uprising, which was started actually in October 2011, when CIA acted through the British service MI6, so they didn’t need to inform Congress that they are arming the rebels in Syria. Initially, the CIA and MI6 (British foreign intelligence) have created a network of delivery of weapons to the rebels in Syria from Libya – this plan included the participation of Saudi, Qatari and Turkish intelligence services. In 2012, probably in the spring, Obama reluctantly signed a top-secret decree, of which little is known except that he allowed the CIA to provide “non-lethal support” to rebels in Syria. Specifically, the CIA tied the Qatari and Saudi allies with a number of manufacturers of weapons in the Balkans (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, etc.). With the support of NATO, which controls the export of weapons from the Balkan countries through EUFOR, Qatari and Saudi intelligence agencies have started to buy weapons and ammunition from these countries to illegally arm the anti-Assad rebels. A few months later, in October 2012, “new York times” reported that extensive illegal arms trade under the auspices of the CIA, will support the main jihadist groups in Syria, while growing exports of arms by air, import of weapons to the Syrian territory of the “operational departments” of Turkey and Jordan with the help of the FSA (“Free Syrian army”) and local illegal arms dealers. Finally, it was found that these “operating divisions” were created in haste fifteen Western and middle Eastern intelligence services, including HDIS (General Directorate of external security of the Ministry of defense of the French Republic) and MI6, although we don’t yet know exactly what role performed the various services in this secret war. What is clear – and what I demonstrate in my book with undeniable evidence is that tens of thousands of tons of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition were delivered to the Syrian theater of military operations through the operation. Also it is proved that the weapon went into service in mainly jihadist groups, including the terrorist armed groups that have declared themselves “Islamic state” in June 2014. Ultimately, Donald trump decided to phase out this operation in the early summer of 2017. This was a major failure for the CIA, as the President of the United States admitted thus defeat the United States and its partners in the war against Syria and its Russian, Iranian and Lebanese allies.
ER: What specific evidence have You to show that US intelligence agencies provided support to armed jihadist groups in Syria?
MSH: the role of the coordinator to which the Administration agreed in the fall of 2011, is now a proven fact, because we know that it was confirmed back in June 2018 Ben Rhodes, chief adviser to Obama from 2009 to 2017. During that interview, Rhodes said that the introduction of “Front al-Nusra” in the list of terrorist organizations of us state Department in December 2012 was “schizophrenic” decision, as it was obvious that jihadist armed groups was a “big piece” of anti-Assad opposition, as he put it. During this interview, the journalist Mehdi Hasan, not only can get out of him that the CIA played a coordinating role in this large-scale arms trade, but that US involvement in this shadow war was much more extensive than we thought. According to the Washington Post, it was one of the “largest covert operations” by the CIA in its history. In January 2016, “new York times” confirmed this, noting that the maneuvers of the CIA in the overthrow of Assad was part of an international campaign using billions of petrodollars, the Gulf countries spent mostly in Saudi Arabia. We must understand that this secret war was the beginning of a close cooperation between Western intelligence agencies and their Turkish and middle Eastern partners. As a result, many experts and journalists have made the mistake of analyzing the operations of various middle East powers in isolation from the operations of Western governments. In fact, as admitted by the former Qatari Prime Minister in 2017, it was a joint and coordinated operation with the participation of all of these intelligence services. Given the record number of public and private donors who supported this campaign, and tens of thousands of anti-Assad Mujahideen that the CIA and its allies helped, directly or indirectly, I believe that this may be the most ambitious covert operation in the history of Management. However, I could not establish with certainty because of the secrecy surrounding this shadowy war that gives access to the archives and greatly limits the number of leaks to journalists. However, the fact remains that I was able to gather in my book hundreds of authoritative sources that, taken together, corroborate me. In this book, internationally known researchers, such as Joshua Landis and Christopher Davidson, support my argument that I have developed after a long investigation, initiated me in 2014. And again I invite Your readers to seek evidence contained in my book, as they are undeniable. I use this opportunity to note that Bashar al-Assad and his allies have committed serious violence against Syrian civilians, and that the aim of this book is to justify something for which they are responsible. However, to this day, Western media concentrated mainly on the crimes of Assad and his supporters, at the same time ignoring or downplaying the huge importance of the secret war launched by CIA and its partners in autumn 2011.
ER: What is the role of France in these jihadist armed groups in Syria? Supported by far the members of the Muslim brotherhood and al-Qaeda?
MSH: Sycamore Timber Operation is a covert operation, and those who help them are not recognized in these campaigns – at least usually. However, in this case the operation is eventually reached such a scale that the Western powers had something to say about it, though, and introducing at the same time misleading. That is, using jihadist groups have long described by Western governments as “non-lethal support” for the so-called “moderate” rebels, but the reality on the ground was such that the “moderate rebels”, that is, the Free Syrian army (FSA), served as the common Fund for fighters, weapons and ammunition for anti-Assad jihadist enterprises, the experts in tactical Affairs and the militia which was much more efficient than the SSA. As I explain in my book, the SSA depended on jihadist groups, primarily from the “Front EN-Nusra” and Vice versa. Other groupings of PAS was completely withdrawn from combat jihadists, and their stockpiles of weapons were looted by Islamist groups including the Islamic front in December 2013. At least it is clear that PAS is as divided and complex Association anti-Assad armed groups supported by the Western powers when she fought the United efforts together with jihadist groups, including with the group that later became known as “Daish”, until the winter of 2013-2014. In January 2014 broke out the first major clash between the “Daish” and other rebel groups, including “al-Nusra Front”. You should pay particular attention to the fact that prior to their breakup in April 2013, “Front EN-Nusra” and soon received the name “Islamic state” were a single entity. More specifically, the founder of “al-Nusra” were sent to Syria in August 2011, the leader of the future “Daish”, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to fight with Assad’s troops. However, in the period from 2012 to 2014 there is no doubt that “al-Nusra” was the leading force of the uprising in Syria, and its tactics have developed large operations, which helped to gain various territories of the “Islamic state”, such as the Yarmouk camp South of Damascus, raqqa or Deir ez-Zor. Summing up, the joint operation of the SSA and “EN-Nusra” made it possible for the nascent “Daish” to establish themselves in many Syrian cities soon after the gap between the “an-Nusra” and “Islamic state”.
It should be noted that in the FSA “al-Nusra” had the support of the CIA and MI6 since the start of 2012, but it’s unclear when French HDIS became involved in this operation. According to Francois Hollande, the “moderate rebels” of the SSA, received a lethal French support since the end of 2012, in breach of the EU embargo on arms supplies to Syria, which was cancelled in may 2013. In the same year, Colonel Okaidi, the FSA commander said on camera that his relationship with the “Dais” are the “good and even brotherly”… And, as it turned out during my investigation, then Obama’s Ambassador to Syria, Robert S. Ford called the Colonel Okaidi, to condemn the ongoing cooperation with the FSA “al-Nusra”. At that time, at least since the autumn of 2012, the French intelligence services warned their government that the “Muslim brotherhood” and such jihadist groups as “al-Nusra” is the leading force of the anti-Assad uprising. Despite these alarming spikes in the area of operations, Paris, London and Washington were determined to persevere to support the anti-Assad uprising, feeling calm thanks to the assurances that were given to them by their allies from the Persian Gulf countries that Assad will be overthrown quickly, and that these groups will not be a problem after the fall of the Syrian government. Both these predictions were wrong, and the most brutal group of jihadists in the Levant was a direct attack on France, 13 November 2015.
ER: So I understand correctly: in Your opinion, France has assisted the secret operations by supporting forces, which are then organized the attacks in France?
MSH: As I explain in my book, the French state and its key Western allies did not support the “Daishev” directly, but they run a system that in a big way fueled what I call the anti-Assad jihadist Union, product and the driving force of which was called the ill-fated “Islamic state” on Syrian territory. I don’t think the French government or its allies, in pursuing this operation, ever imagined that “Daish” in the end, the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015. On the other hand, it is clear that our government and its British, American and Israeli allies deliberately arming the jihadist group. In France, some members of Parliament from the Socialist party, the “Republicans” and “southern League” confirmed to me that HDIS involved in support groups that weren’t so “moderate” as they are portrayed for us in the media. I would go even further, and this is one of the main arguments in my book: arming and supporting the FSA in various ways, the Western powers encouraged the growth of what then became the “Islamic state” that fought “closely” with the FSA since the beginning of 2012 until the winter of 2013-2014. Since the gap between the FSA and the Islamic state in January 2014, the FSA and “al-Nusra” had a relationship for the merge, as against the forces of Assad, and against “Daish”.
In August 2014, Francois Hollande acknowledged that France’s support of the FSA continues. He didn’t know about the close ties between the FSA and “al-Nusra”? If so, this level of misinformation at the top of the government is alarming. However, in view of the available evidence it is more likely that the French leadership under President Hollande has been fully aware of what “an-Nusra” was inextricably linked to the SSA. Moreover, in the book, which has never been challenged in court by the then French foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesney claimed that the head of our diplomacy knew about the fact that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been implemented in the network of private funding “al-Nusra” to “paid agents, professional instructors, well-known employees of HDIS”. But despite this, according to Chesney and Malbrunot, Fabius complained that the Syrian state and its armed forces “are applied heavy enough [and] isn’t strong enough.”
ER: speaking of Laurent Fabius, why his name appears in the Lafarge case? Is there any evidence that it had approved a financial agreement between the French company and “Days”?
MSH: Given its active position in the Syrian dossier, it is inevitable that his name POPs up in the Lafarge case. Moreover, in fact, there are even acronyms that are familiar to the French: HDIS (Main Department of internal security), OIA (the French Directorate of military intelligence of the General staff of the armed forces), HDIS (foreign intelligence service) and so on. Let’s be honest: a cement factory in Jalabia built by the company Lafarge in 2010, was transformed during the war into a “bridgehead” for the French secret services: that is, to the Elysee Palace [the presidential administration], Quai d’orsay [Ministry of foreign Affairs of France] and all other ministries, those involved. In fact, as proved by the journalist Guillaume Dasquie, “documents in the case, the testimony of several people who have access to confidential information and documents, to which had access “JDD” [Sunday newspaper “Journal du Dimanche”], recreate a different picture [than that offered by the French authorities.] […] Is directly involved makes the user responsible for the fight against terrorism, the General Directorate of internal security, the foreign Ministry and the foreign intelligence service of HDIS. This explains the incredible game of chess in a war zone between the heads of industrial enterprises, spies, and diplomats, when everyone enjoys the presence of others to promote their “pawns” in a time when “Islamic state” have not committed attacks on French territory.” Laurent Fabius told the investigating judges that he did not know about the actions of Lafarge for payments of cash, various local jihadist groups, including the ridiculously named “Islamic state” – this explanation did not convince some experts on this issue, including Georges Malbrunot. This further raises questions, as it is now revealed that the French Directorate of military intelligence led surveillance of financial transactions between Lafarge and the various armed forces in a combat situation.
So, I go back to my previous explanation: a covert operation carried out in such a way that its sponsors have the opportunity to deny any knowledge and their role in all maneuvers of this kind. It is now clear that the French foreign intelligence service at least since 2012, participated in the support networks of armed groups opposed to the Bashar al-Assad. As we know, Laurent Fabius was the most active Minister Hollande on the Syrian dossier, acting in the interests of the volatile “Sunni diplomacy”, which put in first place our trade relations with Saudi Arabia, the main government – donor “operation Sycamore Timber”. And because it is impossible that the French foreign Ministry did not know about the actions of Lafarge in Syria, which were part of several operations or intelligence operations to destabilize undertaken by the French intelligence services in this country. A well-known researcher Fabrice, Balans adheres to the same opinion on this issue, as Guillaume Dasquie or George Malbrunot.
ER: IN whose interest Laurent Fabius could afford HDIS to support the Islamists? Acted in the interests of Saud, as suggested by the same George Malbrunot and his co-author Christian Honestly in their book “a Nos très chers émirs” [“Our dear Emir”]?
MSH: first, it should be recalled that a French President should be the one who organizes, as a last resort, covert operations. But he enjoys legal impunity osushestvleniya their powers, can not be said about any of his Ministers. During the presidency of Hollande, we have witnessed the apparent desire of the French state to support and defend its allies from the Persian Gulf. This policy was realized not only in the rigid position of Fabius against Iran on the negotiations on the nuclear agreement, but also – and this is much more serious in suspicious transactions, the purpose of which was to facilitate the disastrous intervention of the Saudi and their partners in Yemen and in Syria. This favourable attitude to the Saudi monarchy preserved and at the President Makron, but still with the Pro-Qatari impulse that became evident as a result of the Gulf crisis, when the Emirate became the enemy of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in 2017. But until then, the French state is definitely supported by Saudi Arabia because of economic and strategic interdependence, which is the issue price between Paris and Riyadh. As a consequence, and in the interests of this infamous “Sunni diplomacy”, the French state not only turned a blind eye to suspicious activities of Saudi Arabia in Syria and Yemen; it is directly supported by Saudi operations in a most secretive manner as possible. These maneuvers resulted in a literal sense to a schizophrenic political position, in which the French state is trumpeting its operations against terrorism, when he can, but at the level of management and security services strategy, which have a specific effect in promoting jihadist groups, illegally imposed, some countries, such as Syria, Yemen or Libya.
In the case of this latest Libyan operation HDIS anonymous officer told our colleagues from the television channel Canal+ that he was ordered in February 2011 to destabilize Benghazi in cooperation with the Qatari intelligence agencies, notorious for his support of the “Muslim Brothers”, which at that time dominated the Union of Libyan jihadists. According to journalist françois de Labarre against this policy at the time objected to the French Ministry of defence, with Jean-Yves Le Driana who used HDIS to support the General Haftarot against the armed groups of Islamists. However, it is difficult to explain why the Quai d’orsay [French foreign Ministry] has continued to maintain Abdelhakim Belhadj, one of the founders of al-Qaeda in Libya, who was appointed commander of Tripoli in August 2011. It should be noted that Belhadj is the man of Qatar in Libya, and that he is one of the most influential figures among the “Brothers-Muslims” in this country. According to Francois de Labarre, President Hollande was unable to make a choice between the line of the Ministry of defence in support of the Haftarot and policies in support of Belhadj – that is, in support of Qatar and in support of the “Muslim Brothers” – followed by Quai d’orsay. Therefore speculated whether françois Hollande the ability to make final decisions regarding the external policy of France. Whatever it was, is of concern as a consequence of schizophrenia. Indeed, it can lead to operations against jihadist groups, initially supported by our intelligence agencies and their allies – the operations that are deadly in practice for the civilian population. In October of 2018 co-editor of the magazine Paris Match, Regis Le Sommier conducted an interview with Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. For this reason, Lavrov reported on a shocking conversation between him and Laurent Fabius: “some time after the bombing of Libya, Laurent Fabius, [then] foreign Minister, called me. According to the capital, Bamako, the Mujahideen of Northern Mali closer to the positions of the French contingent. France set out to stop them with the approval of the UN security Council, and I supported it. I told Laurent Fabius: “You realize, of course, now you’ll face the same guys you armed in Libya.” He chuckled and told me “C’est la vie”. (“That’s life”, FR.) Laurent Fabius did not deny the words of Lavrov, so this type of frivolity in the face of the impact of French foreign policy regarding the terrorist groups – and thus regarding the populations they threaten – is alarming. The same is true for the Syrian dossier, which prompted our guide to support for nearly five years, the Free Syrian army, which they could not know that she has close connections with “al-Nusra” in 2012, including time when the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and absurdly called “Islamic state” were a single entity.
ER: whether to start the investigation of the anti-terrorist division of the Paris Prosecutor’s office?
MSH: I was Originally interested in the secret actions of France in Syria in the spring of 2014. At that time, a parliamentarian and former judge of anti-terrorist Affairs Alain Marceau claimed in the media that our government had previously supported and implemented in the “Front EN-Nusra”. The following year he told me that supporting the President most when françois Hollande refused to undertake any parliamentary inquiry on this issue, not to “discover such cooperation with a terrorist group”, quoting his words. It should again be noted that several members of Parliament, including Claude Gauguin (the party “the Republicans”), Jacques Miyara (“Republicans”) and Gerard Batha (socialist party), also presented similar charges to the French government. On the LCP channel [channel of the French Parliament] Mr. Gauguin said in June 2015, the French state helps the “al-Qaeda in Syria,” then the following year, Gerard bat was confirmed to me the “secret support of the French government various Islamist movements in Syria because of the permeability and the proximity of these allied groups in the field”. He added that “the French support the rebels in Syria, and more generally their support of the West, has continued even after the attacks on “Charlie Hebdo” a French Jewish supermarket] Hyper Cacher, although responsibility for them was assumed by al-Qaeda.” I have to say that this explanation Gerard Baht seems to me the most accurate: according to him, the French government supported armed groups that were formed in the network of armed groups that are constantly changing, but among the leading forces which undoubtedly was a “Front EN-Nusra” – as he acknowledged a close Obama adviser Ben Rhodes. Also let’s not forget that Claude Gauguin frequently warned on the French channel LCP state against this policy of supporting anti-Assad groups. Simply put, most likely, the government will by all means oppose a parliamentary and judicial investigation into the secret actions of the French state in Syria. But here we see a case that is obviously much more serious than a failure of operation of HDIS against the “Rainbow Warrior” in the first presidential term of françois Mitterrand. Let’s be clear: if some of our parliamentarians have publicly opposed the support of the French government of the al-Qaeda branch in Syria, it is inconceivable that they did this without specific information, podkreplyalisj their accusations – which the government has never officially denied. As taxpayers and as citizens we should give to our government carried out this dangerous and misguided policies on our behalf and the money from our taxes, but without our consent – and even without that we knew about this from the beginning. Therefore, as I explain in my book, several legal and evidentiary-factual arguments might justify at least the creation of a parliamentary Committee to investigate, although it seems unlikely that the investigating judge ever want to investigate such a sensitive issue. After all, this secret operation is part of the privileges of the state and the implementation of the foreign policy of France – of the Executive authority of such excessive power that it may support Islamist groups abroad, which are officially considered to be enemies of the country.
Niqnaq 