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US Officials Outline "Secret" Summer Operation To Stop Flow Of Dollars To ISIS

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Over the last five or so weeks, Washington has been in panic mode with regard to America’s “fight” against ISIS. Once the Russians arrived at Latakia and began to provide air cover for Iranian ground troops operating in Syria it was clear that the clock was ticking on the strategy of using Sunni extremists to overthrow the Assad regime. 

That was bad news for Washington and its regional allies for a number of reasons. First, it meant that Iran was set to preserve the “Shiite crescent” and therefore Tehran’s supply line to Hezbollah. Second, it meant that the installing a “friendly” puppet government in Damascus was no longer in the cards and that doesn’t bode well for lucrative energy deals like the Qatar-Turkey natural gas pipeline. Third, it raised the possibility that the public would begin to get wise to the rather peculiar arrangements in place between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the various Sunni militias fighting in Syria - including ISIS. 

That last point is critical. If the US electorate ever gets anything that even looks like definitive evidence that Washington is knowingly supporting the group that’s been held up as the scourge of humanity they’ll be a public outcry the likes of which America hasn’t seen since Vietnam. So, Washington has done its best to suggest that the US is set to step up the fight. The campaign began with helmet cam footage depicting a successful raid on an ISIS prison in northern Iraq and swiftly morphed into an announcement from the Obama administration that America would soon put boots on the ground in Syria, presumably to be embedded with the Kurdish YPG.

Well, in the latest example of Washington playing catch up, “officials familiar with the matter” have told WSJ about a concerted effort to cut off the flow of dollars to ISIS. Allegedly, the US became concerned about the amount of hard currency being shipped to Iraq over the summer. The problem: the requested amounts didn’t seem to be consistent with the country’s economic fundamentals and so, the US cut off Iraq’s access to dollar funding, nearly plunging the the country into crisis. Here’s more:

The previously unreported move to stop the cash shipments pushed the Iraqi financial system to the brink of crisis and marked a climactic moment in efforts to avert the flow of dollars to U.S. foes.

 

The situation sheds light on an important facet of the long-running U.S. battle against terror: Just as military officials worry about U.S. weapons getting to enemies, finance officials are on a global hunt to keep dollars from getting into the hands of adversaries who could use it to finance their activities.

 

The spread of Islamic State set off alarms among U.S. officials about the potential for the currency shipments to be exploited by terrorists. The Sunni extremist group controls about a third of the war-torn country, including the second-largest city, Mosul, and is already well-funded from tax collections, oil sales and a range of other activities.

 

The problem dates to last December when Fed and Treasury officials called a secret meeting in an Istanbul hotel conference room with Iraqi officials. The Americans were alarmed by the rising volume of dollars being shipped into Iraq and the lack of clarity into where the cash was ending up, the people said.

 

Since the U.S. overthrew Saddam Hussein and helped establish the Central Bank of Iraq in 2004, the U.S. dollar has largely become the country’s chief currency because so much of the economy runs on cash. When Iraq needs more paper currency, the money is drawn from the country’s account at the Fed, funded largely by oil reserves, and flown to Baghdad.

 

The amounts have been soaring. In 2014, annual U.S. dollar cash flow from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to Iraq was $13.66 billion, more than triple the $3.85 billion in 2012, according to data compiled by Iraq’s parliament and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

 

That spike doesn’t mesh with the sluggish Iraqi economy of late, and as a result U.S. officials suspected the dollars were being hoarded rather than circulated.

 

The system for distributing dollars within Iraq works like this: Foreign central banks hold dollars and can call on the Fed for currency distribution. The new $100 notes are flown to Baghdad after leaving a Fed facility in East Rutherford, N.J. In Baghdad, the bills are moved to the Iraqi central bank, where they are sold in daily auctions in which Iraqi financial firms request dollars that they pay for largely using dinars, the country’s currency.

 


 

Early on, U.S. concerns centered on roughly 2,000 financial firms called exchange houses, which are active participants in these auctions.

 

U.S. officials believe several of these Iraqi firms have ties to Islamic State and have deep concerns the exchange houses are being used as conduits of dollars to the group, said a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter. While the U.S. inevitably loses control at some point over the dollars it sends abroad, the Fed is barred from sending cash to entities it knows will distribute it to U.S. enemies.

 

Around June, Iraqi officials working under the enhanced information-sharing agreement reported to their U.S. counterparts that three sanctioned Iranian banks—Islamic Regional Cooperation Bank, Bank Melli and Parsian Bank—had obtained at least millions of dollars through the auction. Like other Iranian banks, those were operating under international sanctions, and it was illegal for the Fed to knowingly ship dollars to them.

 

U.S. officials around that time had concerns that Islamic State had gained access to dollars through the auctions,

U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter said. The Iraqi officials believe the money has definitely gone to Islamic State through these auctions.

 

Exchange houses in the northern, Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk—outside of Islamic State control but close to extremist front lines—are among the most active in allowing dollar flows into Islamic State-controlled territory and to Islamic State militants, Iraqi officials said. In addition, Islamic State in 2014 stole about $100 million from a Central Bank of Iraq-run vault in Mosul, said a person familiar with the theft.

 

Based on the new information, U.S. officials sent a written demand around July to Iraqi officials that the Iranian banks be cut off and separately conveyed to Iraqi officials that the Fed wouldn’t approve cash requests until the overall situation improved.

 

The decision was delivered just as Iraq’s central bank was running out of cash. Many Iraqis panicked after large withdrawal requests were denied, and the exchange rate fluctuated much more than usual.

Right. Ok, so this is another one of those scenarios where we’ll probably never know what the actual story is or was nor will we ever be able to gauge how accurate any of the above is in terms of depicting real events, but there are a couple of key takeaways. 

First, to the extent that the bit about Iranian banks accessing dollars through the FX auctions is true, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Tehran is deeply embedded in Iraqi politics and one certainly imagines that it would be exceptionally easy for Iran’s financial institutions to tap into auctions where record keeping is poor, especially if there are a few bribes exchanged. 

Second, we find it particularly amusing that the US is apparently so concerned about supplying Sunni extremist groups with dollars that Washington is willing to push Baghdad to the precipice of crisis in order to cut off the flow. After all, supplying Sunni militants with money and weapons is the whole strategy in Syria and has been from the beginning. Sure, the Kurds are involved on both sides of the border, but generally speaking, the Saudis and Qatar, with the tacit support of the US, have been arming and funding Sunni extremists in Syria for years and so if the Fed is concerned about the flow of dollars to those groups, they may want to consider... oh, we don’t know, not funding those groups and making sure Washington’s regional allies don’t either. 

Even more amusing is this line: "...just as military officials worry about U.S. weapons getting to enemies." Yes, the US is so worried about that possibility that the Pentagon embarked on a $500 million effort to arm "properly vetted" fighters earlier this year and has now resorted to paradropping hundreds of tons (literally) of ammo and weapons into the middle of the desert and hoping the Kurds pick them up. Meanwhile, the CIA has funneled a completely unknowable amount of money and arms to a mishmash of Syrian Arabs battling the regime. Needless to say, there's absolutely no telling where those weapons will end up and where those fighters' loyalties will lie in the future.

Obviously, this is just the latest piece of propaganda in what has become a truly epic farce. We'd also note that if the US is interested in stopping ISIS from robbing central bank vaults , Washington may want to consider giving some of the ammo and weapons the Pentagon is dropping into the desert in Syria to the Iran-backed Shiite militias operating in Iraq. Unlike the US-trained Iraqi regulars, they don't tend to run away when they're getting shot at. 

 

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Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:02 | 6743295 JustObserving
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ISIS sells crude oil to Turkey and Israel to raise money.  The CIA has spent billions founding and funding ISIS:

 

The so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria(ISIS) began selling Iraqi crude oil extracted from oil fields which its seized in recent months and exporting it through the Kurdish region to Turkish refineries and from Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan ultimately to Israel.

http://whatsupic.com/economy-world/1407936162.html

 

The US arming of ISIS

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/06/03/pers-j03.html

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:03 | 6743303 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

 

There will be no money....but guns, tanks, and SUVs.....no problem.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:08 | 6743313 Silky Johnson
Silky Johnson's picture

It takes a secret operation to stop dropping pallets of cash?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:19 | 6743350 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

"The amounts have been soaring. In 2014, annual U.S. dollar cash flow from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to Iraq was $13.66 billion, more than triple the $3.85 billion in 2012"

How did they miss the opportunity to point to this fact as proof of Iraq's economic recovery under the guidance of support of the US?

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:54 | 6743469 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

"That last point is critical. If the US electorate ever gets anything that even looks like definitive evidence that Washington is knowingly supporting the group that’s been held up as the scourge of humanity they’ll be a public outcry the likes of which America hasn’t seen since Vietnam."

LOL.  After the silencing of the anti-Iraq war movement over ten years ago, the American anti-war movement has been gelded. TPTB would like to manufacture consent on this issue, but they'll plow ahead without it.

The opinion of the American does not matter whatever form it takes.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:12 | 6743530 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

Holy shit, the commies have outflanked us. Burn the evidence, Cover our ass.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:54 | 6744267 Surviver22
Surviver22's picture

Obama will not finish his second term! Current Events Linked to Ancient Biblical Prophecy...

http://motivationdose.com/is-america-babylon/

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 13:06 | 6744337 MalteseFalcon
MalteseFalcon's picture

Stay out of my threads, bible boy.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:10 | 6743319 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

"There will be no money....but guns, tanks, and SUVs.....no problem."

I agree but you forgot to mention that the flow of bullshit will also continue to flow unimpeded.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:13 | 6743327 The Count
The Count's picture

Look into who owns major US oil companies. There you have the source of most evil.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:13 | 6743538 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

Cheney had a series of meetings with oil corporation CEOs prior to the destruction of Iraq. He abused privilege to suppress the record of the meetings. Release those records now.

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:22 | 6743857 Shad_ow
Shad_ow's picture

Look into who is funnelling money to them from the White House.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:24 | 6743365 junction
junction's picture

If someone bothered to peel back the layers of rotting corruption, that person would find out that the Israel's Netanyahu and the Saudis sre busy grabbing probably half the shipments of greenbacks to Iraq and funneling them into United States real estate through cutouts.  Theft that top American officials at Treasury and the Justice Department encourage as long as they get their cut.  Then again, the time interval between any outsider uncovering this theft of billions of dollars and their demise would be short.  Obama's death squads are ready, willing and able to bump off anyone who could upset the apple cart. 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:41 | 6744208 Canadian Dirtlump
Canadian Dirtlump's picture

I'll say it again. Given that they have the world's airforces against them, and that oilfields take work to be kept producing even in non war situations, the idea that they were making a bunch of hay on oil alone ( unless they were ALLOWED TO ) is absolute bullshit.

 

You want to stop their funds? Bomb langley, mena arkansas, the opium fields that nato is guarding, the us state department, and the entire gulf coast.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:03 | 6743302 hairball48
hairball48's picture

And all this surprises who?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:04 | 6743305 gladih8r
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"US Officials Outline "Secret" Summer Operation To Stop Flow Of Dollars To ISIS" and as in all .gov initiatives ended up accomplishing the exact opposite. 

I want a refund.

 

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:06 | 6743308 williambanzai7
williambanzai7's picture

After losing how many bazzillion skid loads of dollars in Iraq, suddenly this?

What a load of Krugturds...

Vichy DC is totally out of fucking control

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:18 | 6743347 XqWretch
XqWretch's picture

ALL IS WELL! KEEP CALM! ALL IS WELL!!

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:34 | 6743390 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Sure all is well, like a well is just another hole in the ground. Time to panic I say, build the ark, the rain won't stop.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:06 | 6743310 wmbz
wmbz's picture

Pallets loads up U.S. dollars "vanish" over there all the time.

I forget how many billions just fell off a C-130 back when we were fucking up Iraq, for the second time.

Nobody could figure out where all that paper went. Just one of those unsolved mysteries.

Funny how that shit works.

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:12 | 6743325 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

As if serial numbers could not allow them to trace such a big load of cash.

But then again who was trying.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:06 | 6743311 Moonrajah
Moonrajah's picture

This is just a signal to Iraq to not request Russian military aid. The rest is sugarcoating at its' dumbest.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:32 | 6743383 Ghost of Robotrader
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I think it is pushing them closer to Russia. If your benefactor is insane you may need to keep an eye out for a new sugardaddy

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:09 | 6744062 HenryHall
HenryHall's picture

The Iraqis would be as crazy as anyone else to be holding large amounts of dollars when the dollar's collapse is inevitable; regardless as to whether it is, or is not, imminent.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:08 | 6743312 Reichstag Fire Dept.
Reichstag Fire Dept.'s picture

So...the Americans have "lost" Iraq??

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:30 | 6743376 Ghost of Robotrader
Ghost of Robotrader's picture

A long time ago. You have seen a chicken run around with its head cut off? It can flap for quite a while

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:18 | 6743841 BeansMcGreens
BeansMcGreens's picture

The chicken analogy is nice.

Another is chopping off the head of a posionous snake (which I had to do recently with a copperhead) where snake's head is still quite capable of biting for awhile.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:09 | 6743314 Skateboarder
Skateboarder's picture

Et tu, Tyler?

I've been seeing these two words together far too often from all sources - "Assad regime." A democratically elected opthalmologist in a country where Muslims and Christians have coexisted peacefully... regime...

Bush regime
Clinton regime
Obama regime

Let's at least be consistent in our usage if we're gonna butcher language and ideas.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:28 | 6743369 Ghost of Robotrader
Ghost of Robotrader's picture

So Assad is a doctor? I had forgotten that. So was Che Guevara, one of the insane Serbian rebel leaders was a psychiatrist and that Egyptian leader of all queda is a doctor too.

No wonder Assad is still hanging in there. Just to put in a plug for my profession we are not pushovers lol. Medicine is very much like combat lol

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:31 | 6743380 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Shame on you, you forgot Dr Bernanke.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:24 | 6744135 o r c k
o r c k's picture

And how many Drs in Congress?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:32 | 6743382 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

this butchery of language is a bit older then that. the origin of the "slur" of "regime" is in it's earlier and more complete form, i.e.  "undemocratic regime"

then regime as such is a neutral world like "state", it just denotes a status

and yes, historically it's amazing how many undemocratic regimes like Syria had peace and were not bent on war and conquest

on the other side it's amazing how many democracies were and are bent on war and conquest

so yes, imo Syria's government is a regime, it is an undemocratic regime, and yes Muslims and Christians did coexist peacefully there, and...

no, the absence of democracy is not a valid reason to go to war against them. and this is what is missing in this discussion

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:21 | 6743553 Bastiat
Bastiat's picture

Assad was elected.  So consider your own butchery of facts.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:43 | 6743666 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

I happen to have visited Syria a few times. and I happen to remember what his family did, in Syria. in this context, this Prez is nearly a saint

yes, he was elected. no, those elections aren't what I would call democratic, free and secret

and it's still not about that

but no, in the current "discussion" "one side" calls Assad elected and "the other side" justifies war on Syria... and only two sides are allowed, eh?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:48 | 6743680 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

So was Dubya, just like his daddy H. Dubya before, as was Hafez Assad before Bashar.  Of course the first two times Bashar held elections there was no one else on the ballot, and in 2014 there was a war going on neither of the two tiny minority party candidates received more than 5% of the vote, in the Baathist dominated state, where Bashar faced no intra-party challenge.  Elected... Selected... what difference does it make now, as Hildabeast attempts an Assad-style coronation. 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:54 | 6743732 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

aaaand there is still the discussion going on about which Assad did this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Hama_Islamic_uprising

either the father or the uncle of the current president of Syria was a... pragmatic, ruthless... butcher. of course Machiavelli would point that those are feared, and so cause... peace

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:00 | 6743747 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

meanwhile Dubyia called for a "de-Baathification" of Iraq, which was either a sign of his mental illness or a sign about how much he wanted to destabilize the region

when he called for it I feared he was the first, now I start to fear he always planned for the second

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:09 | 6743803 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

I know that State & Treasury were explicitly told by TPTB in the neighborhood that intentionally spiking the unemployment rate like that would destabilize things and complicate reconstruction efforts, and yet they did it anyway.  While I can't deny the inhuman hubris of Cheney and his minions at Defense, they're also calculating, so my money would be on the second... but I was never privy to any incriminating hearsay about that issue.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:01 | 6743696 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

Ghordi "why" it is ultimately doomed for failure.

The U.S. isn't prepared for ANYTHING after 14 years of what it has done in the Middle East having drastically changed the pillar(s) of it's warfare doctrine that once dealt with Cold War adversaries after 9/11 to in the words of Don Rumsfeld be more "agile" and flexible to do "what"?... The annihilation and total destruction of more than 2/3 of the ME with no intentions of putting back in place secular leadership to fill the vacuum it's created there.

Unlike the author of that read I disagree with him completely on the Vietnam comparison. 

This won't be anything like what the U.S. military has EVER gotten itself into after more than 14 years of where it's been and I think the downing of Metroject flt 9628 with the antics in Kiev the last year will have been the last "straw"!

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:37 | 6743391 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

another way to explain this is by... assholery

assholery explained in a very rough hierarchy, from very small, excusable assholeries to huge, inexcusable assholeries:

1. declare war for a just cause (example: defense from aggression), fight it openly, trying to cause as little damage as possible, for limited ends, fail in some points on the way

2. do not declare war, but engage into warlike actions for no cause except "interests" and without regard to the damage caused

3. create the "reasons" for 2., with covert actions, rebel financing, rebel equipping, propaganda, assassinations and terrorism

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:11 | 6743320 Niall Of The Ni...
Niall Of The Nine Hostages's picture

Stopping dollars from getting to ISIS would be easy to do if they were serious. Freeze Saudi Arabia's assets and inform Russia that DC will not oppose her violently changing the regime of the House of Saud. 

But they're not.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:21 | 6743563 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

The Treasury Department has a massive group working on investigating the funding of 'terrorists'. They had great success against charities supporting children in Gaza. As for the rest .... crickets. The outcome is not surprising given the nature of those in charge of said department.

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:11 | 6743321 The Count
The Count's picture

If the US would have just stayed out of Iraq and told Israel to get its shit together we would not have any of the problems the world now faces.

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:15 | 6743334 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

In all fairness we must remmeber that spreading democracy is such a thankless task. (LOL)

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:40 | 6743409 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Like the lost war on drugs? Those kind of problems??

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:13 | 6743328 Doubleguns
Doubleguns's picture

Guess the CIA thinks they are not getting their money's worth. 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:16 | 6743333 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture
ISIS Oil Exports Worth $500 Million a Year ‘Conducted through Turkey’


Global Research, November 01, 2015 http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-oil-exports-worth-500-million-a-year-c...
Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:18 | 6743344 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Is that what you call a Turnkey operation?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:29 | 6744154 o r c k
o r c k's picture

They gobbled up that oil.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:22 | 6743362 Ghost of Robotrader
Ghost of Robotrader's picture

The previously unreported move to stop the cash shipments pushed the Iraqi financial system to the brink of crisis and marked a climactic moment in efforts to avert the flow of dollars to U.S. foes.

So we are going to destroy the Iraqi economy in order to save it lol. If bureaucrats manage the Iraqi economy the way they have managed healthcare then the iraqis are doomed lol. No wonder they are becoming more friendly with the Ruskies if this is an example of our "help"

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:29 | 6743374 SharkBit
SharkBit's picture

Kind of sums up the lack of transparancy happening withing the global Central Bank model.  The sooner the world gets off the PetroDollar standard the better humanity will be.  It is clear to see how Washington will do anything to continue the current Central Bank cartel status quo (ie. bomb anyone trying to leave the standard).  But the game is about up, thanks to Russia, China, BRIICS etc.  Once oil starts to trade in soverign paper, the USSA jig is up.  Looking forward to that day.  US economy goes KABoom.  You reep what you sow.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:33 | 6743384 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

those fucks. if you asked for that much cash in the usa you'd be arrested. let it burn. let it burn then stir the coals and let it smolder. then stir the ashes and let a breeze blow through until it is nothing but dust drifting in the wind.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 12:31 | 6744162 o r c k
o r c k's picture

asses to ashes

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:32 | 6743387 RawPawg
RawPawg's picture

i call it...Not Fair

to collapse Iraq before the collapse of USA

and after all the money(taxes) i gave them

USA not dancing with the ones who brought them(American tax payer)

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:34 | 6743388 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

After reading this I feel like "Regan" in the Exorcist complete with a spinning head and projectile pea green puke!

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:38 | 6743404 silverer
silverer's picture

I don't see how anybody in the middle east could ever have any respect or trust for the US.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:39 | 6743408 VW Nerd
VW Nerd's picture

As Iraq tells the US no thanks to our offer to assist fighting ISIS and they pivot toward Russia, this happens.  How Ironic...

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:48 | 6743444 TeaClipper
TeaClipper's picture

Someone at Langley having their bitcoin wallet confiscated? 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 09:59 | 6743488 Hannibal
Hannibal's picture


Report: Israel Bombs Syrian Missile Base

  BY: Morgan Chalfant Israel reportedly bombed a missile base used by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria near the country’s border with Lebanon on Sunday, destroying multiple missile warehouses. “Israeli planes breached Lebanese and Syrian airspace and bombed the Syrian regime’s 155th Brigade [base] in

Nov 03, 2015 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:22 | 6743544 SimplePrinciple
SimplePrinciple's picture

"The base was reportedly one of the primary ones from where Syrian government forces had been firing Scud missiles at areas controlled by rebels combatting the regime, meaning the alleged airstrike would deal a blow to Assad’s fight against insurgents."

That is important news, if true, showing Israel to be in the war against Syria and its Assad government.  That puts Israel at war with Syria's ally Russia.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/report-israel-bombs-syrian-missi...

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:23 | 6743580 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

Israel is trying to keep Syria away from the resource-rich (oil, water, fertile land) parts of south-west Syria that Israel covets for itself.

I think we are still at the 'give them enough rope' stage of this aspect.

 

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:33 | 6743617 SimplePrinciple
SimplePrinciple's picture

Israel is trying to bring down Assad for multiple reasons. Think in terms of incrementalism, though.  The Israeli strike ratchets it up a notch.  If Russia were to retaliate by bombing the base from which the Israeli bombers flew, we would be getting very close to WWIII.  For that reason, I think Russia will not follow that route, but I expect Russia to do something.  Shoot down an Israeli jet over Syria perhaps?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:00 | 6743492 Hannibal
Hannibal's picture
Civil war erupts in Sweden as irate Swedes burn nine Muslim refugee centers to the ground

You Go Sweden

The Swedes have had it with the Muslim invasion currently underway in their country. Nine refugee centers have been burnt to the ground to get the message across – NO MORE MUSLIMS!

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:03 | 6743501 Kina
Kina's picture

I doubt the TPTB give a fuck about what the American public think.

 

USSA bankrupting themselves as USSR in its military spending.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:10 | 6743804 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

the American public? isn't it generally speaking... too distracted to notice?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:08 | 6743516 MrBoompi
MrBoompi's picture

Even if ISIS is able to convert oil to US dollars, what do they do with the dollars?  Do they head down to the local WalMart to buy food and ammo?  This is a bunch of psychobabble.  The oil they control will get onto the market but this probably benefits the purchasers of the oil more than the "sellers".  ISIS needs supplies, not dollars.  And the US and its allies are supplying ISIS either directly or by supplying "moderate" groups who disperse the supplies accordingly.  If you watch network news or get your news from sites like HuffPost, you will only hear propaganda and you will believe ISIS is the enemy.  This fits nicely into the preconceived belief that our government would never lie to us.  Ever since the false flag sarin attack failed to lead to public support for the overt overthrow of Assad, we've witnessed the rise of ISIS and the supposed need to fight them and Assad at the same time, while in reality we are fighting only Assad.  We are a gullible, stupid, clueless, oblivious, apathetic, and pathetic society led by a bunch of fucking psychopaths.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:15 | 6743546 dogismycopilot
dogismycopilot's picture

All of Iraq runs on dollars. You talk in IQD but you demand USD for payment. Suppliers outside of Iraq require wire transfers in USD.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:12 | 6743533 dogismycopilot
dogismycopilot's picture

WHO THE FUCK IS RUNNING IRAQ FOREIGN POLICY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE? BARNEY FUCKING FIFE! HEY, ASSHOLE, HERE IS ANOTHER LESSON FOR YOU

The Iraqi Dinar is a bitch to deal with. Most calculators can't even hand that many fucking zeros. Everyone pretty much uses $100 bills for any transaction over a $1,000. Funny enough, in Iraq, I PERSONALLY AM ALWAYS FUCKING AMAZED AT HOW NEW, CRISP AND FRESH THE BENJAMINS ARE. I CAN'T EVEN GET SUCH NICE VIRGINAL $100 NOTES IN THE US! So yes, the Iraqis deposit all of their oil payments in the Bank of Mellon in NYC. From there the Iraqi goverment is 'privalleged' to buy greenbacks and the Iraqi dinar continues to become toiletpaper. Funny how that works. Quit lying. Of course you want the Iraqis hooked on that greenback dope. Be honest about that at least. If you want them off the smack, give them a peg.

You want ISIS to stop getting money? Easy: Donald Trump is right. Bomb the ISIS oilfields and pipelines. Turn them into big as night flares. ISIS doesn't worry about environmental standards and there are enough burn pits and VOCs that bombing might actually help stop the environmental havoc ISIS is creating. I mean there are convoys of tanker trucks going up north and coming back with humvees stuffed full of cash.

Who is buying the oil? NATO partner Turkey up North. That's easy enough to stop. Tell Recap to stop buying ISIS oil or he can get the fuck out of NATO. Easy peasy.

Or maybe stop sending free guns and ammo into Syria and Iraq where they end up with ISIS. Just to give you an idea of how much money ISIS is making in gun trading: Right now, a basic M4 in Iraq has a street value of $6,000 - add a nice scope and furniture and it goes up to $8k. That should give you an idea of the ARBITRAGE that ISIS is able to take in based on the "Free Guns" that Obama is sending to the Literal "Free Shit/Syrian Army".

But only the US Tresury would gin up some bull shit article about Iranian banks buying at the Iraqi currency auctions a few months before the sanctions are getting ready to be lifted. "Oh yes, those bad naughty Iranians! Blame them for everything!"

And yes, USD were in short supply in Iraq about a month ago - why? Because the US decided to show them who was boss by limiting the dollars Iraq could buy. Some of the fucking banks in Iraq couldnt even send out USD wires because they didn't have enough USD in their balance sheets. People couldn't get paid, you had everyone scrambling for USD and hundreds of people at the exchanges trying to get money out of the country. Nice move there UST

With 'friends' like the US, who needs enemies. I swear, Obama & Co are like than a bipolar girlfriend coming after you with a meat cleaver after she forgot her lithium.

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:14 | 6743541 Lorca's Novena
Lorca's Novena's picture

So THIS is why all of the Iraqi Dinars Ive bought years ago arent worth shit!!??  whaaaa whaaaaa whaaaaa!!

/sarc

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:18 | 6743552 Kina
Kina's picture

Even the Devil's skin crawls at the mention of Cheney.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:20 | 6743560 Kina
Kina's picture

Time Syria used some Russian anti-aircraft missiles against those Israeli planes bombing the place.

 

Israel is well past getting a lesson handed to them.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:20 | 6743561 Manipulism
Manipulism's picture

GHB. said it: 

 

if the American people knew what we have done, they would string us up from the lamp posts


 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:23 | 6743579 dogismycopilot
dogismycopilot's picture

I remember when the WSJ used to be the world's best newspaper. Shit stories like this make me think we need to rename it WallPravda. They didn't even mention the GCC donations that ISIS is still getting.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 10:34 | 6743614 samsara
samsara's picture

How about leaving a bank with money in it for them to have?

Along with all the equipment with the keys in the ignition?

ISIS just stole $425 million, Iraqi governor says, and became the ‘world’s richest terrorist group’

 

As insurgents rolled past the largest city in northern Iraq, an oil hub at the vital intersection of Syria, Iraq and Turkey, and into Tikrit, several gunmen stopped at Mosul’s central bank. An incredible amount of cash was reportedly on hand, and the group made off with 500 billion Iraqi dinars — $425 million.

 

 

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:07 | 6743795 udopia
udopia's picture

Iraq requests Russian help to fight ISIS and suddenly US money stops flowing.  Maybe unrelated.  Maybe not.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:23 | 6743862 Kina
Kina's picture

Singapore has an elected government, the chances of the 'opposition' winning power in that 'democracy'...

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:25 | 6743874 Kina
Kina's picture

Didn't Assyria whip Israel's arse 2500 years ago? Israel still pissed?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 11:30 | 6743890 PoasterToaster
PoasterToaster's picture

They are pretty good at keeping cash out of the hands of Americans, so this should br child's play for them.

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 13:15 | 6744379 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

LOL.  If they really want paper money, US hundreds, can't they get it from North Korea at a big discount?

Tue, 11/03/2015 - 14:46 | 6744807 theallseeinggod
theallseeinggod's picture

another great plan to undermine the few actors that are actually trying to fight daash. and the propaganda machine is doing its work. 

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