Sivkov mentioned “accidental” airstrikes, as well as Washington’s inability to separate so-called moderate groups from al-Nusra Front as prime cases in point. “All of these mistakes are extremely weird since they work for the benefit of those forces whom [Washington] backs. Any claims that they are fighting against al-Nusra Front are a myth. They are not really tackling [Daesh] as well. This is an instrument of [America’s] geopolitics. This is why [the US] is not particularly addressing the issue of destroying [these groups] but rather taking them under control to use for other tasks,” he explained. Peshmerga forces near Mosul, Iraq © Sputnik/ Hikmet Durgun Peshmerga forces near Mosul, Iraq Turkish soldiers sit on a tank driving to Syria from the Turkish Syrian border city of Karkamis in the southern region of Gaziantep, on August 27, 2016 © AFP 2016/ BULENT KILIC Russia-Turkey Intelligence Sharing in Syria Signifies Major Changes in Relations The defense analyst pointed out that the Pentagon has helped the militants to move from Mosul to Syria at a time when Iraqi security forces, US-led coalition and Kurdish fighters are trying to push terrorists out of the second largest city in the country that has served as Daesh’s stronghold since June 2014. “This is why all of these ‘mistakes’ are, let’s say, planned,” he noted. In Sivkov’s opinion, the US military and intelligence communities are behind this strategy. “The US military does not have comprehensive intelligence on Syria. They mainly receive information [on the embattled country] from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is how separation of duties works there. It is the CIA that is occasionally making these so-called mistakes. I think one should not blame solely the Pentagon. It is much rather a matter of a concerted stance of America’s political, military and intelligence leadership.” Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces fire a mortar shell towards positions held by Islamic State fighters in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016 © REUTERS/ Rodi Said Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces fire a mortar shell towards positions held by Islamic State fighters in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016 Sivkov further commented on the Pentagon’s apparent decision to launch an operation to free Raqqa in the coming weeks. Earlier, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter suggested that the US had enough resources for two major overlapping anti-Daesh operations, but the Russian defense analyst pointed to another possible explanation. The wreckage of a car outside Raqqa Museum © REUTERS/ Nour Fourat US-Led Operation in Syria’s Raqqa to Be ‘Life or Death’ Fight “At the moment all field personnel is located near Mosul as part of an operation to free the city. This is why Americans do not have enough resources to secure a lasting blockade of Raqqa. What they need is a pretext to justify additional deployment of foreign occupational forces, including those from Turkey, the United States and other countries that have sent their ground troops to Syria without authorization from the Syrian government.” Initially, Washington intended to focus its efforts on helping Baghdad retake Mosul, with Raqqa taking a back seat. However, since the US’ “minions,” as Sivkov put it, referring to Al-Nusra Front and similar organizations, have increasingly struggled on the Syrian battlefield, the US “needs to take perhaps a large part of Syria under control and deploy its forces to the area.”
Read more: https://sputniknews.com/politics/201610271046784361-washington-syria-mistakes/
