Starting from early July and bringing this right up to date
Drone Facility Irbil, Iraq
The presence of this drone facility tells me there was no way in hell that the ISIS "surprise" invasion of Mosul went unnoticed and unaided by the US/Israel/UK/NATO global tyranny. The presence of this ever expanding drone base verifies that my disbelief in the spin was correct and that the US is prepping for a wider war.Check our Irbil- In Kurdish run territory- Check out Mosul- Location?I will highlight the interesting bits-
A supposedly secret but locally well-known CIA station on the outskirts of Irbil’s airport is undergoing rapid expansion as the United States considers whether to engage in a war against Islamist militants who’ve seized control of half of Iraq in the past month.Western contractors hired to expand the facility and a local intelligence official confirmed the construction project, which is visible from the main highway linking Irbil to Mosul, the city whose fall June 9 triggered the Islamic State’s sweep through northern and central Iraq. Residents around the airport say they can hear daily what they suspect are American drones taking off and landing at the facility.
Really? So the drone facility is right there along the main highway linking Mosul to Irbil and the ISIS take over of Mosul was a surprise? Completely unexpected ? Coming out of nowhere? No! No! And, no way in hell!
Expansion of the facility comes as it seems all but certain that the autonomous Kurdish regional government and the central government in Baghdad, never easy partners, are headed for an irrevocable split _ complicating any U.S. military hopes of coordinating the two entities’ efforts against the Islamic State.
Against ISIS. I laugh. Expanding the facility
“Within a week of the fall of Mosul we were being told to double or even triple our capacities,” said one Western logistics contractor who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he’d signed nondisclosure agreements with the U.S. government on the matter. “They needed everything from warehouse space to refrigeration capacity, because they operate under a different logistics command than the normal military or embassy structures,” the contractor said. “The expansion was aggressive and immediate.”
Getting ready for what?
Other contractors who deal extensively with moving heavy equipment through Irbil’s airport, which has supported a rapidly expanding oil and gas drilling industry, said they were aware of the expansion. One British oil executive said he’d detected a “low-key but steady stream of men, equipment and supplies for an obvious expansion of the facility.” The local Kurdish intelligence official described what was taking place as a “long-term relationship with the Americans.”
In a statement July 3, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that Irbil would host such a center, in addition to one being set up in Baghdad, and suggested that it had already begun operating.“We have personnel on the ground in Irbil, where our second joint operations center has achieved initial operating capability,” he said then.
“It’s no secret that the American special forces and CIA have a close relationship with the peshmerga,” said the Kurdish official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing covert military operations. He added that the facility had operated even “after the Americans were forced out of Iraq by Maliki,” a reference to the 2011 U.S. troop withdrawal after the Obama administration and the Iraqi government couldn’t agree on a framework for U.S. forces remaining in the country.
Recall a post from June when I mentioned exactly that? The US Departure from Iraq was all Illusion!Refresh your memory then keep on reading below
“Most of our ‘mukhabarat’ worked directly alongside both the CIA and JSOC throughout the war in Iraq because of our language ability and long experience battling both Saddam and radical terrorists,” he said, using the Arabic term for “information office,” usually ascribed to local intelligence.
“Peshmerga fighters fought closely alongside the American Green Berets throughout northern Iraq in places like Mosul, Tal Afar and Kirkuk because we are very professional and trusted,” he said. “And many of our men would work directly with the most secret units as interpreters and Iraqi experts.”
During a recent visit to the site, extensive construction of new roads off the main highway could be seen, as well as what appeared to be construction of a fortified gate complex to protect access, which previously had been controlled by a simple dirt road and checkpoint flanked by two bunkers guarded by men in peshmerga uniforms.
Armored sport utility vehicles driven by military-appearing Westerners in civilian clothes were seen entering and exiting the facility in convoy fashion.“Irbil is a very friendly place for people in the intelligence business,” a Western military attache said on the condition he not be identified because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter. “So many locals worked with the Americans and remember them fondly, that you didn’t need the hardened defenses that you’d find normally this close to a battlefield.”
A retired American special forces officer said it would be a relatively simple matter for the United States to work with peshmerga forces. “A lot of those pesh guys were known and respected for their training and trustworthiness by ODA, OGA and the Secret Squirrels long before the 2003 invasion,” he said, using the acronyms for “Operational Detachment Alpha,” the official designation of the Green Berets, and “other government agency,” a common slang term for the CIA. “Secret Squirrels” is a term soldiers use to describe Joint Special Operations Command units that usually don’t have an obvious unit designation.
A special operations officer, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he’s legally bound not to publicly discuss his career without specific Defense Department permission, said working with the Kurds would overcome a number of difficult issues that would be present as U.S. advisers worked with the Iraqi army.
He also noted there are advantages to working with Kurdish forces if the United States decides to launch airstrikes against Islamic State positions. “Airstrikes are close to useless without good intelligence and targeting, and that’s going to be hard to come by on the Baghdad side of things,” he said. “To me it’s a no-brainer. The only real way you can do that is with the Kurds.”
We know with certainty the US does not want to take out their ISIS stooges. I am sure they can sacrifice a few of them to make it all look good, but, the real target will be Iraq, itself. Delivering the final blows.Expanded drone facility at Irbil airport- Kurdish troops at the ready, for what reason?Perhaps to expanding into Syria? ........ The coming storm in the Middle East
As al-Baghdadi advanced through Syria and Iraq, his men looted financial institutions and imposed punitive taxes on Christians and other groups. Through Iraqi middlemen, he has been selling stolen oil, which has forced the Iranians to close their frontier to the truck loads of crude.
Saudi Arabia has positioned 30,000 troops on its border with Iraq, (as reported also @VOA as linked ) but is ignoring appeals from the Iranians to join efforts to stop the advance of IS(IS). Instead, the Saudis are warning Iran not to intervene to support Iraqi Shiites. Tribes linked to Saudi Arabia are fighting alongside ISIS (big surprise, right?) and the Saudis do not want to provoke a rift with their related tribes that they have been financing by taking a strong position against the Sunni group.
Of course they don't because the Saudis/ISIS/US/Israel are all working together. But it get's even scarier!
So far, IS(IS) has avoided direct confrontations with the Kurds, which has created a false sense of security among investors. The Kurdish Peshmerga is too well organized and directed to be easily defeated, and there is nothing at this time to gain from a conflict. The foremost objective of the IS is to acquire oil fields in Iraq and beyond.
ISIS has avoided direct confrontation with the Kurds for the simple and obvious reason that they are part of the same team!
One development that would raise a red flag that serious trouble in the oil fields is pending is the arrival of Egyptian troops in Saudi Arabia to defend the borders.
Related digression-
Egyptian troops in Saudi Arabia- entirely possible
Gen. Talaat Mosallam, on the other hand, does not rule out the possibility of intervention by the Egyptian army to defend the security of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, despite the presence of US troops in both countries.
Despite the presence of US troops? Or to join in with US troops?Then there is this- Pakistan troops to 'defend jittery Saudis"
Saudi Arabia has deployed thousands of troops from Egypt and Pakistan along its frontier with Iraq, amid fears of invasion by the al-Qaeda splinter group that has declared a radical Islamic state across the border. Panicked by the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (Isis), Riyadh has taken the drastic step of calling in military assistance from its close allies to shore up the porous 500-mile border, Gulf security sources said.
Riyadh is not panicked by the advance of ISIS! I have to be honest this is worrisome to me.Digression ends- back to the coming storm in the ME
In spite of having the most modern equipment available, the Saudi Army is scarcely a real fighting force. They relied in the past upon Pakistani troops and now they will have to depend upon Egyptian forces to protect the oil fields.
Isn't this the perfect timing, from a warmongering point of view, for Israel to start a bombing campaign in Gaza that could be moved into Syria. I don't like this at all.