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Syrian Civil War

Book Review – “Murphy’s Law” And the Truth Will Set You Free

I always balk at when someone I know writes something and I’m asked to give an opinion on it. As my circle of friends has grown smaller, I have erred on the side of caution, not wanting to hurt any of my friends’ feelings. Jack Murphy has never had that problem.

Jack has been on a mission, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And when you’re blunt, do your homework and research and then write what you believe is the right thing, the truth, you’ll invariably piss some people off. Jack has done that. In fact, in the Special Forces community of which he was a member, many men of the Regiment have a case of the red-ass against him.

Murphy was a member of the Ranger Regiment and deployed to Afghanistan with them. He then moved on to Special Forces, and was on an A-Team in the 5th Special Forces Group, “The Legion”. He deployed again to Iraq with SF. He then decided to leave the military and graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Political Science. Murphy is near a perfect fit that the OSS in World War II was looking for.

OSS was the forerunner to both CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces. General William “Wild Bill,” Donovan said they were looking for “PhDs who can win a bar fight.” Murphy is an Ivy League graduate who was a Ranger and Green Beret.

Along the way, he co-founded the website “SOFREP” which later became “NEWSREP” and developed a ton of aspiring writers who came from military backgrounds and had the itch to write. SOFREP developed a reputation as a hard-hitting journal of military and current affairs that spoke plainly and covered it all. The great successes and the failures with equal attention. It was far from a PR firm or just a cheerleader squad for the military. That was Murphy’s doing. Which brings us to his book.

“Murphy’s Law” is basically a two-part book, the first half deals with Murphy’s military career and the second part, which is the next chapter in his life takes you on the trail with an investigative journalist. But this is one who covers the military with the trained and sometimes jaundiced eye of someone who has “been there, done that”.

This book is an absolute page turner and as with everything that Murphy writes, he covers the “who, what, where and most especially, why” of his experiences. Murphy hardly paints himself as a hero, in fact, he delves into a particularly sensitive subject of a friendly fire incident in the Ranger Bn. That could’ve easily been glossed over, but again, that wouldn’t have been the “whole truth” and Murphy hardly paints himself in glowing light there. That’s part of what makes this so intriguing.

Murphy’s experiences during the Global War on Terror (GWOT), gives his perspective on what has been the United States’ longest war in its history. And like he always does, Murphy tells it like it is. His take on al-Qaeda and their fighters is an instant classic.

“The Iraqi insurgency consisted of hardcore criminals, jihadists, and a ton of foreign fighters looking to get their kill on. These dudes were murderers, members of a death cult called al-Queda. The Nazis, the Soviets, and all the North Vietnamese Army were at least fighting for some twisted vision of a better future. By comparison, al-Queda was, and is gutter trash”.

Awesome stuff there.

After graduating from Colombia, Murphy wasn’t a sit in the office type of journalist. He traveled to the Philippines where his interview with the commanders of the Light Reaction Regiment of the PI’s SOF, while they were actively engaged with Abu Sayyaf terrorist units. He snuck into Syria to report first-hand on the brutal fighting that tore the country apart there.

Murphy wrote about the religion of the Yazidi and Peshmerga peoples of Syria, as in the Middle East religion is everything. Something that I never knew about was that the Yazidis predated both Christianity and Islam. All stuff I’ve never seen anywhere.

I can’t recommend this book more, it is a great take on one man’s life with extraordinary events and people thrown together. Murphy has already written some military novels but this book was different. He was trying to put down the events of his life, thus far and was worried about appearing “douchey”.

As with anything, I have to put an anecdote in there. Our local Veterans Council consists of vets from the VFW, American Legion and unaffiliated veterans. Every year we visit all of the schools in the area at Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day.

We were finishing up a school visit last week when one of our vets named George who was a Major in Army Intelligence who is now a retired attorney asked me, “Have you ever heard of a guy named Jack Murphy?”

“My wife and I were walking thru Barnes and Noble and I saw his book and picked it up. And after scanning thru it for a moment, had to buy it. I brought it home last night and can’t put it down. It is a fantastic read. The guy was a Ranger, a Green Beret…now he’s a globe-trotting journalist. Have you read it?”

After I explained the workings of NEWSREP and SpecialOperations.com and the relationship I have with Murphy, George said, “I think he’d be a great guy to sit down and have a beer with to just be able to pick his brain.”

Yes indeed.

Being so young, Murphy and his wife, who is also an investigative journalist should have plenty of adventures left in their lives for another book sometime in the future. I’d put that one on the reading list, but for now, head to the nearest bookstore and read “Murphy’s Law” asap. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo: Amazon, NEWSREP

With ISIS Routed in Syria, Assad Is the Big Winner in the Civil War

Opinion: The US-led coalition which supported the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) have routed the Islamic State’s (ISIS) fighters out of Baghouz which was the last bastion of their self-proclaimed “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq.

And while the SDF, supported by U.S. airstrikes continues to pound the remnants of the ISIS fighters in the tunnels and caves along the eastern Euphrates River as SDF technicians remove mines and booby traps from the liberated areas, the question remains, is Syria any better off now?

Removing ISIS is a plus anywhere in the world but the eight-year bloody civil war will go down as a resounding victory for the oppressive regime of Bashar Assad.

When in 2011 the civil war started, many both in the West and in the Arab world were looking for a change from the authoritarian brutal rule of the government of Assad. But as events played out, everything worked in favor of Assad.

As the civil war began by rebels in Idlib province, springing out of the Arab Spring protests, calls for Assad’s removal were met with violent suppression. There were several factions involved in the very confused fighting. Facing the forces of Assad were a loose alliance of Sunni opposition groups (including the Free Syrian Army), Salafi jihadist groups (including al-Nusra Front), the mostly Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Islamic State.

The Islamic State saw an opening and poured fighters in and began to seize territory in both Syria and Iraq to proclaim its own caliphate. The fighting spilled over into Lebanon with fighters from ISIS and al-Nusra battling Lebanese Army units.

The morass got worse with several other countries entering into the fray. Russia, a long-time ally of the Assad regime conducted airstrikes on the rebel-held areas. Iran saw an opening to make itself a bigger power player in the region and poured troops and money into the support also for Assad. They also saw an opening to establish bases on the border with Israel which they quickly have set up.

This prompted air strikes from the Israelis who vowed never to allow Iranian troops on their border. The Israelis ravaged Iranian, their puppet Hezbollah as well as Syrian government bases with heavy airstrikes.

The United States and a coalition led by them entered the fray on the side of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, which the SDF fights for both militarily and logistically. They set up bases inside of Syria for the sole purpose of fighting ISIS and removing them from Syrian territory. Therefore, the U.S. coalition, enemies of Assad was actually helping the government by helping to rid them of the ISIS threat, which is a friend to no one in the region. The Americans and Russians worked out an agreement not to fly or operate in each other’s areas.

That arrangement was tested when Russian “contractors” attacked a U.S. base with armored vehicles reportedly by mistake and were savaged by U.S. airstrikes and artillery fire.

The situation took on an even more twisted perspective when Turkey became embroiled in it. The Turks supported the rebels battling the Assad government and attacked ISIS as well, but they also consider the SDF and the Kurds terrorists. They’ve moved into the northwestern part of Syria and have threatened an offensive against the Kurdish SDF. Like Israel with Iran, they won’t accept an armed Kurdish faction on their border.

The refugee crisis has become a world-wide problem. And no place that is more keenly felt right now than in Idlib province. With the ISIS threat removed and the US-led coalition scaling back their troop levels, the threat to Assad’s power is basically gone.

And in Idlib, which is still a rebel stronghold, Assad is targeting civilian infrastructure with his airstrikes. News reports had Syrians bombing a hospital, other medical facilities, and a bakery. Idlib is currently home to three million people.  Two million of them are from there and a million are refugees fleeing from the fighting elsewhere.

Assad has shown in the past and currently that the ends justify the means. Therefore, his government forces along with Russia are conducting airstrikes with impunity, forcing the civilians to flee while he exerts control once again over the area.

“The ongoing attacks in Idlib fit the same pattern we’ve seen before, in Aleppo, Daraa, Damascus Countryside, whereby Syrian government forces hit hospitals, medical facilities, emergency responders, bakeries, schools, leaving people no choice but to flee,” Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International said.

The rebel forces in Idlib are no match for the government forces of Assad and although the fighting may become protracted like in other large population areas, the outcome is not in doubt. Assad has one and the other countries in the region have already come to grips with it.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and other countries are reestablishing diplomatic relations with Syria. The country is in shambles and despite Russia and Iran pumping a lot of cash into reconstruction, Assad will need money from the West to aid there.

Will the West and the U.S. see the overwhelming need to aid in a humanitarian crisis and offer their help to a government that caused it all in the first place? The lack of help from the West, should they refuse would be to set the stage for another civil war and even more bloodshed. And worse, set the stage for ISIS to return.

The European Union and Washington will ask for political reforms before they agree to commit billions to rebuild Syria. However, Assad, Russia, and Iran are hardly the players who give that any semblance of succeeding.

There are estimates that state that Syria needs $400 Billion to rebuild. Those estimates sadly may be smaller than what will actually be needed.

Syria is a mess and it isn’t getting better anytime soon, but in Damascus, Assad is happy…he won. With the help of his enemies.

Photo: Wikipedia

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Dunford Shoots Down WSJ Report of US Troops Remaining in Syria

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Joseph Dunford is denying an earlier Wall St. Journal report that the United States is planning on leaving 1000 U.S. troops in Syria, which is more than double what was initially reported. “A claim reported this evening by a major U.S. newspaper that the U.S. military is developing plans to keep nearly 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria is factually incorrect,” he said.

On Sunday, Dunford shot down the WSJ’s story, stating, “There has been no change to the plan announced in February and we continue to implement the President’s direction to draw down U.S. forces to a residual presence,” he said.

The White House said in February that about 200 troops would remain in Syria, on what was termed as a “peace-keeping mission”, something the Department of Defense has pushed back on as too definitive for stabilization operations. DOD’s plan would be for there to be a separate 200 troops at the Al-Tanf airbase. However, they know that President Trump has been adamant about wanting to pull all of the troops out of Syria.

The initial report of U.S. troops remaining quoted sources inside the American government as stating that American troops will continue working with Kurdish fighters in Syria who face threats from Turkey. The Turks regard the Kurdish SDF as terrorists. American troops, mainly Special Operations Forces would provide a buffer between the Kurds and Turks.

This story comes on the heels of thus far fruitless talks between the U.S.-led coalition, the Kurds and the Turks for a safe zone for the Kurdish people. Al-Tanf also runs along a supply route the Iranians use to supply their proxy forces in Syria. There are currently about 2000 U.S. troops inside Syria.

Despite Dunford’s denial, the WSJ stated that they were standing by their story and their reporting. The rest of Dunford’s statement below spells out the difficulty in trying to pigeon-hole an exact number of troops.

“Further, we continue to conduct detailed military planning with the Turkish General Staff to address Turkish security concerns along the Turkey-Syria border. Planning to date has been productive and we have an initial concept that will be refined in the coming days,” he added.

“We are also conducting planning with other members of the Coalition who have indicated an intent to support the transition phase of operations into Syria.”

As the US-led coalition is working with the Kurdish SDF on eliminating the last small ISIS bastion, the United States was planning on withdrawing several hundred troops. But even the 1500 troops that the Pentagon was citing in the interim is not a given. Those numbers were based on having enough troops to ensure a Kurdish safe zone in the north which will be part of a “multinational observer force” numbering between 800 and 1,500, mostly European NATO allies, including France and Britain. But with our European allies not committing any troop numbers, U.S. troop numbers will remain high…for now.

The Europeans have stated that they will not remain if the U.S. completely withdraws, fearing it will already strengthen Russia and Iran’s position there. German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized theTrump withdrawal plan. “Is it a good thing to immediately remove American troops from Syria, or will it not strengthen Russia and Iran’s hand?” she asked.

Meanwhile, in the fighting in the last Islamic state stronghold in Syria, the progress has been slowed by the presence of mines, tunnels and an increasing amount of women and children refugees streaming out of Baghouz. Most of them, families of ISIS fighters, and an increasing amount of fighters trying to sneak out with them.

Dozens of militants surrendered on Monday night, some of whom the SDF identified as part of the suicide bombing that killed 4 US troops in January. And ISIS fighters are now confined to a 200 x 200-meter perimeter. They are trapped between the Euphrates River and the encampment just captured by the SDF.

Photo: DOD

ISIS In Syria Being Decimated, Russia, Assad Call For US to Withdraw

Opinion: The Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) have continued to hammer the forces of the Islamic State (ISIS) that lay in front of them. The Syrian government of President Assad, along with their Russian allies are calling for the United States now to withdraw from the country.

“We also call on the United States, whose military units are on Syrian territory illegally, to leave the country,” the joint statement said.

The ISIS fighters are being squeezed into a four-square-kilometer sliver of territory along the Euphrates River. The fighting is fierce where the ISIS troops are now left with the prospect of having nowhere to run. In the recent fighting for the villages of Susa and Marashida, the Daesh, the Arabic word for ISIS are taking reprisals against the civilians who try to flee from the fighting. SDF troops, like everywhere ISIS has been are finding piles of bodies at every turn.

In the fierce fighting in Susa, SDF troops took the town, only to have ISIS counterattack and force them back out. But SDF augmented by Kurdish Special Forces troops, massive amounts of artillery and air strikes, routed the ISIS elements in the town, which lay in ruin now.

Because of the reprisals, ISIS has taken against the civilian populace, they’ll follow on with their next tactic out of their playbook which is to use the civilians as human shields. And the international community will call for them to be given another free pass like the one they were given at Raqua. ISIS made a deal with the SDF to allow “a few hundred” fighters and their families leave Raqua.

The BBC reported that 250 fighters were permitted to leave Raqqa. They left with 3,500 family members to ISIS-controlled territory. According to the BBC, their convoy included nearly 50 rented trucks, 13 buses, and more than 100 ISIS vehicles. Ten trucks were loaded with weapons. What was told was that just a few dozen fighters and their families would be let go. With no foreigners and no weapons.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about ISIS over the past several years, is that they deserve no quarter from anyone. Have they given any to any civilian anywhere? The U.S. and British would not attack the convoys as the vehicles were driven by civilians and the coalition said they wouldn’t bomb women and children.

That sordid affair was captured here in its entirety:

The Syrians and Russians are also calling for the U.S. to allow refugees in Rukban along the Syrian-Jordan border to be evacuated by Syrian and Russian troops. The regime is supplying buses to move the refugees in the camp where conditions are dire.

Rukban lies smack in the middle of the US-Russian demilitarized zone, created by the two superpowers so that no “mistaken” conflicts arise between the two countries. Neither the Americans nor Russians would take responsibility for the camp.

The nearby U.S. military base near al-Tanf also allows the US to be close to a supply route where Iranian weapons enter Syria from Iraq.

The Jordanians will no longer help the camp after ISIS attacked its troops near the border. The civilians in the camp (about 50,000) are stuck in the middle. They initially fled from the Assad regime and ISIS. Assad’s forces have not allowed aid to reach the camp.

The Russians claim that a recent poll conducted by the U.N. had 95 percent of its refugees wanted to leave Rukban and that 80 percent wanted to return to areas under Syrian regime control. Yet when the Russians opened a pair of “humanitarian corridors” to territory held by the Assad regime, not one refugee left.

The civilians (80% women and children) fear arrest, torture, and even death at the hands of Assad.

But yet, the Syrians and Russians try to lay the blame on the Americans. “The command of the US group in the al-Tanf zone interferes the exit, moreover, misleads the refugees about the inability to leave the camp, spreads rumors, that on the territory controlled by the Syrian government, they will be devastated, forced into conscription and arrested,” they said in their statement.

The Trump Administration had said that they were completely pulling out of Syria, which is exactly what the regime, the Russians and the Iranians have wanted. But after speaking with Turkish President Ergodan, Trump reversed his field and has decided to leave about 400 troops in the country at two different locations. That is about 20 percent of the currently 2000 troops in the country.

Erdogan has made it clear that his government will not tolerate armed Kurds on the border with Turkey as he considers the SDF the same as the YPG and the outlawed  Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which his government sees as terrorists.

Meanwhile, freezing temperatures, lack of food, medicines, and doctors have the refugees on the brink. Eight children have starved to death in Rukban since the beginning of the year.

Now is not the time for the United States to leave too soon or to allow ISIS to leave the country unmolested. European nations are refusing to allow nationals who left to fight for ISIS back in their countries. The United States should adopt the same policy.

Photo: Getty Images

SAS Hits Back Hard Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria

The SAS got a bit of payback this week it seems. The British special operations unit earlier this week hit an ISIS-controlled village in eastern Syria. And in doing so, they dispatched 20 of ISIS fighters as they ran from the battlefield, scurrying away in vehicles. While the British make it a point not to comment on their Special Forces operations, this action was confirmed by sources on the ground.

The Brits were spoiling for some payback after two of their own were seriously wounded in a mortar attack a few weeks while supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are mainly the Kurdish fighters who have been loyal to the U.S.-led coalition. The two seriously wounded operators are expected to survive.

Earlier this week, the Special Air Service (SAS) mounted a raid against an Islamic State (ISIS) fortified position near the village of al-Shaafa in eastern Syria. According to the scant available information—the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) declines to comment on any inquiries about the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF)—the SAS assault force was comprised of around 30 operators, to include assaulters and snipers. Catching the jihadis completely unawares, the SAS raiding force managed to kill approximately 20 ISIS fighters as they attempted to flee the battlefield in vehicles.

The operation was a retaliatory strike for the serious wounding of two SAS operators by ISIS mortar strikes earlier in January. Although in critical condition, the two British commandos are expected to survive. The SAS operators were supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are predominantly comprised of Kurdish fighters, as they attacked close to the towns of Ash-Sha’Fah and Hajin.

Subject to the relentless pounding of coalition airstrikes and SDF attacks, ISIS’ hold in eastern Syria has shrunk to only a few small enclaves. On Wednesday, January 23, the SDF—supported by coalition special operations forces (SOF)—captured the village of Baghouz, one of the last ISIS strongholds in the area.

“Search operations are continuing in Baghouz to find any ISIS militants who are still hiding,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, to the Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The SDF will now have to push on into the farmland around Baghouz.”

Around 500 ISIS fighters, however, managed to escape.

Another SAS trooper was in the news recently when a lone operator helped local Kenyan authorities clear a hotel and rescue civilians that had been hurt in a terrorist attack.

Al-Shabab terrorists killed 21 people in the attack on the Hotel DusitD2 complex on January 16 and 17. And the SAS operator is being credited with saving countless lives.

The rest of the article on the Syrian operation can be read here:

Photos: British MOD

Two British SAS Operators Wounded in ISIS Rocket Attack

The fighting in Syria with the U.S. led coalition has claimed more Allied casualties. The British press has reported that two British Special Operations troops were seriously wounded in a missile attack by Islamic State fighters in eastern Syria.

The two British troops who are reported to be members of the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), who, like the American and French Special Operations troops, are working with the Kurdish, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and were operating near the Al-Shafah area of eastern Deir Ezzo. Four soldiers were injured, one Kurdish fighter was killed along with the two British troops.

The troops were hit by an anti-tank missile this weekend while trying to clear the southern area of Deir Ezzo of ISIS. One SAS member was supposedly hit in the throat with shrapnel. ISIS fighters have been pushed out of the remaining part of the town but are holding on in the south. The two wounded British troops were medevaced by U.S. aircraft immediately.

With the coalition and SDF pushing the remaining ISIS presence out of Syria with the assistance of heavy artillery bombardment and air strikes from coalition aircraft, the Islamic State fighters are holding just a small swath of territory. There are reports that they’re mixing in with civilians in the area.

An SDF official told the news media, Rudaw, a Kurdish news outlet, “Due to a smart missile attack by ISIS, a fighter of the YPG [Kurdish forces] was killed and another wounded, in addition to two British soldiers.”

The British Ministry of Defence (MOD), as is their custom, refused to acknowledge any reports of British SOF.  “We do not comment on Special Forces,” they released in a terse statement. However, it is a generally accepted truth that British SOF are among the coalition troops working with the SDF.

Back in March, a British soldier, Sgt Matt Tonroe of 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, was killed by an IED while embedded with US forces during an operation in Manbij, Syria.

ISIS took advantage of the chaos in the Syrian Civil War to take large amounts of territory in both Syria and Iraq where they declared its “caliphate” in 2014. They used the city of Raqqa as their de facto capital.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces took to Twitter where he said: “heavy clashes are taking place currently between our forces and ISIS terrorists due to an attack by ISIS on one of our points in Dier ez zor.”

He added, “everybody should be aware that ISIS is not defeated.”

That last message was no doubt geared toward the United States. Last week, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from Syria as ISIS had been defeated.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency,” Trump said. This move caused much consternation among both the US’ allies and within the Trump administration.

U.S. Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, and a top US official in the fight against ISIS, Brett McGurk, resigned soon after. Trump has also been roundly criticized by several former generals for this quick about-face on the Syrian situation. However, some U.S. defense department officials have stated that the withdrawal of the U.S. troops, thought to be around 2000, will be slowed down to take months rather than days and that some troops may remain.

However, the coalition has amped up their airstrikes in Syria, carrying out .469 strikes between December 16 thru December 29, which destroyed nearly 300 fighting positions, more than 150 staging areas, along with multiple supply routes, oil lubricant storage facilities, and equipment.

With their area shrinking to just the southern part of Syria along the Euphrates River and northern Iraq, with airstrikes taking an ever-increasing toll, Middle East experts believe that ISIS will revert to a rural insurgency where it will use the vastness of the desert to carry out guerrilla-style attacks.

Meanwhile, two Americans, two Pakistanis and an Irish man were among the prisoners that the Kurdish SDF captured in Syria.

The Kurds identified the men as Warren Christopher Clark (Abu Mohammad al-Ameriki) and Zaid Abed al-Hamid (Abu Zaid al-Ameriki). Clark is reportedly from the Houston area originally. Clark, according to the New York Times submitted a cover letter and a resume to ISIS seeking a position as a “teacher” with ISIS.

“Dear Director, I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State,” Clark reportedly wrote. “I believe that a successful teacher can understand a student’s strengths and weaknesses and is able to use that understanding to help students build on their understanding of the English language.”

U.S. coalition spokesman said that the coalition is “aware of open source reports of reportedly American citizens currently in custody believed to be fighting for ISIS.”

Photo: MOD

Mission Accomplished 2 for US SOF? No Easy Answers in Syria

President Trump ruffled quite a few feathers both here in the United States and abroad when he tweeted out a few days ago that our troops were being pulled out of Syria. The President said, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” which he said during the Presidential campaign of 2016 that he would pull us out of there once elected.

We currently have about 2000 troops, mostly Special Operations forces in Syria. They were initially sent there in 2015 by then-President Obama as the civil war in Syria reached a point where the Islamic State (ISIS) had taken advantage of the chaos and carved out a huge swath of Syrian territory as their own, calling it a “caliphate.”

Now the civil war is approaching its 8th year. ISIS is on the run definitely, now controlling just 1 percent of the territory they possessed a few years ago. They are locked into a small enclave around the town of Hanin where they have endured airstrikes from coalition partners.

Part of Trump’s reasoning is that he doesn’t want to help the Syrians (not a US friend in the region), stabilize their own country. While true, the situation remains much deeper than that. There are so many other players involved, it is an extremely fluid situation. Number 1 on the US agenda should be the Kurds.

The Kurds (Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF) were the Americans’ best allies inside the country. The U.S. Special Operations Forces inside Syria have provided training, advising and equipment to fight ISIS and they’ve (with massive US air support) made significant gains against the ISIS forces there. The SOF troops are the only buffer between the Kurds and the Turkish forces that have invaded from the north.

A rapid pullout of U.S. forces sends a bad message to any would-be ally in the region. The French, who worked with the Kurds in Iraq several years ago during the first Gulf War have said that they’ll step up and take the place of our SOF with the Kurdish people.

The Turks, while still technically a member of NATO are growing increasingly anti-West in their sentiments. They pushed into northern Syria because they feel that the Kurds are terrorists.  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to launch a new offensive against the U.S.’s Kurdish allies unless the U.S. promises to cut off aid to them.

The Turks have supported non-Kurdish Syrian opposition groups, such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) since the civil war began. Their biggest worry remains that gains made by Kurds in Syria would embolden the Kurdish population in Turkey to seek independence. Turkey has already launched two operations to help Syrian rebels capture territory from ISIS and the Kurds. And they are threatening more.

Russia has been a longtime Syrian and Assad ally. They provided the regime with air support, as well as troops on the ground. President Putin is trying to keep his biggest foothold in the region and at the same time spread their influence in the region.

The Russian air support which initially targeted ISIS has now spread to targeting other resistance groups including the FSA of Kurdish forces. This past winter a group of Russian mercenaries and Syrian troops attacked a joint US-Kurdish base in a “mistaken” operation and were decimated by airstrikes.

The Iranians, intent on spreading their influence in the region began by offering military advisory assistance to the Assad regime. But now they have several thousand troops in the area and are building bases close to the border with Israel, which they are also doing in Lebanon. The U.S. believes, and rightfully so, that the Iranians are preparing for a long-term presence in Syria. Tehran has spent $16 billion in the area to destabilize the countries of Syria, Yemen as well as Iraq.

So with the President calling for a United States withdrawal in the country, there is definite pushback even among his own administration and political party, calling it a big mistake. Back in June, the President floated around a plan for an all-Arab army to replace the U.S. in a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis warned against a premature withdrawal that bought some time for those in the administration that wanted to remain. However, with the news that the U.S. is indeed pulling out, Mattis announced he was retiring in February. Obviously, the reasoning behind the timing of Mattis’ retirement was in protest over this latest flap. In his letter of resignation, Mattis said that the President had a right to a Defense Secretary “whose views are better aligned with yours” on policy.

Now Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy for the global coalition to defeat Islamic State (ISIS), has resigned as well. McGurk was an Obama administration appointee and was due to leave in February but his letter of resignation states that his last day will be Dec. 31.

McGurk in December 11 press conference called the idea of leaving Syria too soon reckless and added that the “enduring defeat of a group like (ISIS) this means you can’t just defeat their physical space and then leave.”

“Nobody is saying that they are going to disappear. Nobody is that naive,” he said. “So we want to stay on the ground and make sure that stability can be maintained in these areas.”

McGurk led the way for the secret talks with Iran where the Iranians released prisoners in return for boatloads of cash.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. called the Trump decision to leave Syria early an “Obama-like decision”. He added, “I don’t know what they’ve done, but this is chaos.”

There have been many positive results because of the albeit smaller but very effective U.S. Special Operations presence in Syria. ISIS has been largely destroyed and removed from nearly all of the areas that they controlled. The northeastern portion of Syria has been stabilized. The Iranian attempt at expansion has been blocked and the Russians have also have been checked as they are no longer the only power brokers in Syria.

What will probably happen now is that the country will again become destabilized as the Turks and their proxies will do their own bidding in the north? They’ve already been accused of massive human rights abuses in Syria and no one believes that will cease without the coalition there. The Kurds? They will bear the brunt of our leaving. The Kurds wanted their own autonomous mini-state within Syria. No one believed that would ever happen. But when the Turks bullied Trump and the U.S. into withdrawing, it is an ominous sign that worse times may yet lay ahead of our allies there.

Some of our troops will remain across the border in Iraq but any incursions into Syria now for our Special Operations Forces would be fraught with peril. Will any other members of the administration be able to talk the President out of an early withdrawal? That will bear watching.

Photo of US Special Operations Forces: DOD

Russian Spetsnaz Take Out Terrorists in Dagestan

Much of what we post here is based on preparing the potential Special Operations candidates for what they will face in the various Selection or qualification courses. But sometimes it is good to change things up a bit and delve into our shared history to learn and respect where we come from. Other times, like today, it is important to learn about our potential adversaries, even in small doses. And something that occurred over the weekend definitely piqued our interest.

The Russian government released information that an FSB/Spetsnaz Special Operations unit in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan killed two people, identified as Islamic State terrorists on Saturday, October 13. Spetsnaz is basically an umbrella term from the abbreviation used. But refers to Special Purpose Forces. Little is known about them and generally, a lot of misconceptions abound about the shadowy Russian SOF unit.

The official Russian statement from their news organization TASS reported that “Today, during a search carried out as part of a counter-terrorism operation in the Khasavyurt region of the Republic of Dagestan, the security bodies were tipped off that armed gunmen had been holing up in a private house in the village of Endirey.”

Endirey is located 50 miles east of Grozny.

The Islamic State terrorists were wanted for the murder of two police officers, the murder of a villager Toturbiykal in 2017 and the imam in the village of Mutsalaul this year. They were also involved in the bombing of a mosque, desecration of graves and other “terrorism-related activities.”

“During the fight, two criminals, who refused to lay down arms and surrender, were neutralized,” the official statement said. “In the exchange of fire, two officers of the FSB special ops unit and one officer of the Russian National Guard were wounded.

This operation of security forces and law enforcement agencies was the final one to eradicate the criminal activity of Islamic State followers in the republic’s Khasavyurt region,”

Dagestan is located east of Chechnya and is composed of a Muslim-majority population that is among the poorest and most unstable parts of Russia. The Spetsnaz has been very active there in trying to eradicate the Islamic State terror which has claimed several attacks on the people in the region. The militants in the region proclaimed their allegiance to ISIS in 2015.

As with most Russian operations, they are more inclined to “eliminate” the threats as they have been quite active in taking on the ISIS targets in the area. Spetsnaz, which falls under the GRU have foiled several attacks since the early summer and has rung up a high body count including a terrorist ringleader and three other militants last month who according to an official release, “refused to surrender.”

Spetsnaz forces belong to both the FSB and GRU and have small special operations units tasked to several individual commands. But watching the Americans closely in Syria, the Russians developed its own command for their Special Ops troops called KSSO due to their acronym.

This unit which is patterned after JSOC is a strictly Special Operations command and has been very active. They used KSSO troops dressed as civilians when the Russians invaded the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine in 2014.

The Ukrainians have their own Spetsnaz group, a holdover from the days of the Soviet Union. The Spetsnaz operate under the control of the Ministry of Interior, and under the Ministry of Defence, while the Security Service of Ukraine controls it own Spetsnaz force, the Alfa group. Other former Soviet republics that have their own Spetsnaz units include Belarus, with the 5th Spetsnaz Brigade and Kazakhstan who have their own “Alfa Group.”

The Alfa Group is based on the Russian model. The Russians have 700 counter-terrorist operators spread out in five detachments based in Moscow and other large cities.

KSSO have been very active in Syria since 2015. According to Business Insider: the KSSO has been involved in missions ranging from recovering the flight recorder of Russia’s downed Su-24M navigator back in November 2015, to reconnoitering targets for cruise missile strikes, disruption behind enemy lines through ambushes, high value targeted killing and retaliation strikes against select groups of fighters.  Four KSSO operators are known to have been killed, including two specializing in coordinating strikes with the air force, which gives some indication of their tasks.

One Russian commander of a 16-man Spetsnaz unit was given a Gold Star and named a “Hero of the Russian Federation” for the repulse of multiple attacks by over 300 jihadists without loss, after being surrounded by the jihadis and abandoned by their Syrian allies. That particular detail won’t sit well with the Spetsnaz or Putin.

Training for the Spetsnaz closely mimics what the western Special Operations Forces conducts for its own candidates. Their physical training consists mainly with the emphasis on strength and endurance. Their training is based heavily on patrolling, sabotage, surveillance, and reconnaissance. They place a heavy emphasis on sniping and sniper techniques.

These Special Operations Troops of the Russians, don’t have as much of the high-speed gear that their western counterparts may have, but they are tough and well trained. Although they are considered a potential adversary, the Spetsnaz and US Green Berets actually worked together several years ago during the fight against Albanian separatists. That story can be read here:

Photos: Tass/Russian Federation

Israel Rocked By Rocket Attacks is the Iranian Two-Front Strategy Beginning

We’ve all seen how since late Friday, Israel has been facing an unending series of rocket and mortar attacks which has kept the country on alert. Hamas from their enclaves in Gaza has launched, to date over 200 rockets and mortars on the Israeli territory around Sderot. Most of the rockets fell into open fields or were shot down by Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems. But one rocket hit just outside a family’s home injuring three while another hit a synagogue although it was empty at the time.

The Israelis have responded with their heaviest air strikes since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge. More than 40 targets were hit including a Hamas training facility that the IDF has stated contained underground tunnels for training as part of Hamas’ tunnel network operations. Hamas claimed that the facility was empty and only two teenaged passersby across the street were killed.

Reports were surfacing of a ceasefire brokered by Egypt which will reportedly stop the rockets for now and the Israeli counter strikes. It will only put off the inevitable because this was just the opening salvo of the Iranian two-front strategy.

This strategy is already well-known by the IDF chiefs in Tel Aviv. It is simple as it aims to put the Israelis under a two-front scenario that they cannot win. They are pumping rockets into Gaza with Hamas and together with the Syrian offensive aimed at retaking the southern areas of the country back from the rebels during the on-going civil war, they are planning on having a presence on the Israeli border at the Golan Heights.

Rather than use Hezbollah’s bases in Lebanon which would invite an Israeli incursion, they are going to establish Iranian bases in southern Syria. That’s what Tehran wants, an Iranian presence in the Golan. Under the current de-escalation agreements between the United States, Russia and Jordan, the southern area of Syria were supposedly off-limits. However, Syrian forces under the Assad regime are actively attempting to retake the southern areas and return them to government control with a heavy dose of Russian air power in support.

President Putin has frequently stated that only Syrian troops will occupy the borders along the Jordanian/Israeli.Syrian border. And that any Russian or Iranian troops will withdraw soon after the area is retaken. Right now the Syrian troops are moving east towards Daraa close to the Jordanian frontier. It is when they turn southwest towards Quneitra that things are likely to get dicey. It is no secret that Iranian militias are embedded with the Syrian troops.

Israel has made it clear that it will tolerate no Iranian bases or troops along its border. In the past several months, their intelligence has been able to pinpoint the Iranian bases inside Syria and they’ve been decimated by air attacks. But these bases were mainly Iranian bases. Once embedded with Syrian forces it presents another factor entirely. Will Putin and the Russian Air Force, which hasn’t lifted a finger to stop the Israeli airstrikes thus far respond now as they’ll be attacking both Syrian and Iranian troops? Right now the answer is no, but this has all the earmarks of a quagmire in the area.

The Iranians know that of right now an all-out conventional conflict with Israel will go badly. But that’s not what they’re looking for. A two-front conflict with Israel with rockets poised in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza will effectively stop the Israelis from acting decisively in any location.

And the Iranians haven’t even been trying to do so covertly, they’re broadcasting their aims openly over social media. Back in June, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) deputy commander Hossein Salami spelled out Iran’s plan to use Hezbollah, which he called a “mighty power” with 100,000 rockets aimed at Israel.

He also called upon the “Islamic Army in Syria, operating in the Golan Heights was awaiting orders “to eradicate the evil regime.” He added that the Palestinians, armed with missiles can now act against Israel, the Americans and the west.

In typical Iranian rhetoric, Salami said that Iran controlled the shipping lanes that operate out of the gulf and that any attempt by the West (read Europe) will result in the Islamic Republic squeezing the Europeans off from their oil and goods shipped thru the gulf.

Some of his comments during the Quds speech are here:

The Islamic Revolution created a mighty power called Hezbollah, that today, as the Zionist regime itself acknowledges, has over 100,000 missiles ready for launch. Hezbollah today has tremendous might on the ground that can on its own break the Zionist regime. The Zionist regime has no strategic-defensive depth, and in some places, the breadth of this regime is barely 34 km, and in order to destroy it, it will take only one ‘Jerusalem operation to destroy it.

“Today an international Islamic army has been formed in Syria, and the voices of the Muslims are heard near the Golan… Orders are awaited so that the custom of God vis-à-vis the eradication of the evil regime [Israel] will land and the life of this regime will be ended for good. The life of the Zionist regime was never in danger as it is now.

“Once, the Palestinians fought with stones and slingshots, but today they are armed with missiles. Every regime site is today under fire from the missile launchers. The farther and more deeply [we look], the more we see that there is a politically and militarily powerful regime in the world that raises the flag of fighting evil. This regime is Iran.”

“Iran Invites The Muslims To Jihad”

“We Have A Duty To Defend The Palestine Movement That Is Now Fighting… We Are Creating Might In Lebanon Because We Want To Fight Our Enemy From There With All Our Strength”

“Does today’s world know that [its] energy is under Iranian security control? They must know that if their industry flourishes thanks to Persian Gulf energy, they owe this to Iran, and they must not annoy Iran. Their life’s vein is in our hands. The security of their interests is in our hands.”

The Israelis were well aware of the Iranian plans and hard-liners in the government were already debating whether the IDF should hammer Gaza hard now before the Iranians are digging into southwestern Syria.

In regard to Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is of the opinion that if war is coming with Iran, it is better to deal with it now rather than later. The Israelis know that an Iranian presence on their border is going to lead to conflict between the two countries. Tehran is wanting for the low-intensity type with the Israelis being hamstrung between two fronts and limited to carrying out airstrikes in Gaza and Syria, without the capability to decisively deal with either threat.

The leaders in Tehran have no issue, as in the past by using the Palestinians for that purpose. Meanwhile, the mainstream media ties the recent rocket attacks from Gaza as a continuation of the “protests” along the border that hit the area recently. It is not. Nor will it, as is repeatedly stated effect the “peace process” between the Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas is of the opinion that Israel doesn’t have the right to exist.

What this is, however, is a power play by Tehran and how events unfold in southwestern Syria will bear watching in the very near future.

Photo: AP