An interesting point about Salafi jihadists -- such as Al Qaeda -- is that at the same time as they have declared Israel, USA and the Shia sect of Islam as "enemies of Islam' , their actions in Afghanistan, Iraq Libya and Syria have been consistently in service of US, Israeli and Saudi 'interests'.
Free Syrian Army Snipers! by FreedomHouse
In September 2001, 'Al Qaeda attacks' against the US mainland (9/11) provided the US with the 'Pearl Harbour' moment that Cheney and Rumsfeld had pined for back in September 2000 when they published " Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century ".
In a chapter entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force', the publication states:
"Moreover, the Pentagon, constrained by limited budgets and pressing current missions, has seen funding for experimentation and transformation crowded out in recent years. Spending on military research and development has been reduced dramatically over the past decade...Further, the process of [technological] transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor." (pp 50-51)
The document was produced by a 'Think Tank' (more like a 'Think WMD') established in 1997 with the name: Project for the New American Century or PNAC. It would be no exaggeration to say that PNAC's vision for the 21st Century was fully reflected in its name.
Members of this "Think Tank' included Dick Cheney , Donald Rumsfeld , Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton, all of whom were noisily pushing for regime change in Iraq during the Bill Clinton presidency in the 1990s, and all of whom were members of the Bush Administration.
Not only did the US bomb Taleban-led Afghanistan deeper into the stone age eagerly and remorselessly in 2001 and at the same time established a 'strong' military presence in the country, it went ahead and demolished Iraq starting in 2003 on the pretext of destroying weapons that Iraq did not possess.
Al Qaeda and the Taleban consequently strengthened their own support base in Afghanistan, and on top that spread their influence deeper into Pakistan. Al Qaeda then established a stronghold in Iraq in tandem with the 2003 US invasion of the country. Similarly, Al Qaeda moved into Libya, riding on the back of a NATO bombing campaign in 2011.
Al Qaeda had no presence or any meaningful influence in either Iraq or Libya before the US and NATO wars there.
Today, Al Qaeda, under the name of " Jabhat ul-Nusra ', has got itself a firm foothold in Syria, while devouring its infrastructure and destroying its wealth and resources. Their cultural fascism is winning in Syria, and, as an example, Homs has already been ethnically cleansed of its Christians , at a 90% rate.
The violent destruction of non-subservient regimes in Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003) and Libya (2011) was certainly no loss to US, Israeli and Saudi 'interests', or at least it seemed so before the outcomes were known, especially in Iraq, where Iran emerged as a clear winner of the war without firing a single shot.
After the loss of Iraq and an unclear outcome in Libya, the Saudis, Israelis and Americans would certainly love to see Iran (and Russia) lose a strong ally in Syria. At this juncture, Al Qaeda certainly helps their short-term geopolitical 'cause'.
While it is not suggested that there is any evidence for direct collusion between these parties, it is quite likely that Al Qaeda, including Al Nusra mercenaries in Syria, is infiltrated by CIA and MOSSAD agents, and manipulated into the required direction with full Saudi intelligence support. This has been standard operating procedure for both the CIA (for example in infiltrating Hezbollah) and MOSSAD (for example in the recent case of Prisoner X). And Saudi Arabia, is the original home of Al Qaeda, and the birthplace of Salafism.
And it is precisely the Saudi Salafi Jihadists who represent the most potent internal challenge to the Saudi regime, as Salafi ideology can only accept an Islamic state led by a supreme religious as well as political leader known as a 'Caliph' ruling over all Muslim lands. What better way for the Saudi monarchs to deal with such an internal threat than to pay them to fight for years to overthrow various foreign foes such as Qaddafi or Assad? This strategy has the added "advantage' of getting many of the same Salafi Jihadists killed in the process: two birds killed with one stone, and never mind the cart full of "collateral damage' in a foreign land.
And all the while, US hegemony is 'maintained' as the 'true religion' of this unholy alignment of "interests' raining death on the region.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
