One is an emerging Shia Foreign Legion politically named
for now, the
"Fifth Corps" of the Syrian army, In reality according to the US congressional
staffers as Israeli analysis, the "Fifth Corps" is the underpinning of the soon
to be formed global international Shiite brigade of Foreign Legion with a pool
of 300,000 "axis of resistance" fighters
from seven countries in just this region. They will be available once trained,
to join the
Shitte Foreign Legion on orders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Gen.
Qassem Soleimani the Commander of Iranian Mid East operations. It is his
officers who officers who are overseeing
the organization of the historic military legion. According to local sources here in Aleppo,
the Shia Foreign Legion is composed of the remnants of the Syrian army's First
and Second Corps, which were battered during the five years of conflict, Also
merging with the Shia Foreign Legion is Hezbollah's expeditionary force in
Syria and Shiite militias which Tehran imported to Syria starting in 2012 from
Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Bahrain, Pakistan and elsewhere to fight for Bashar
Assad's government. The Shia Foreign Legion reportedly seeks to field as many
as 50,000 over the next six months added
to the approximately 70,000 Shia forces Iran has recruited and financed who are
currently fighting in Syria, thousands of them in Aleppo.
References to the Shia Foreign Legion came from two Hezbollah media sources this week who insisted that the Fifth Corps is an important turning-point for the ties between allied forces within the same axis -- Syria, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah. They claim that the Shia Foreign Legion command structure has rapidly been formed and that it is different for the Syrian army model of command structure and indeed any other fighting forces in the region. Hezbollah and foreign Shiite officers will make up the command structure of the first Foreign Legion in the Middle East. Once fully organized the Foreign Legion will be available for international deployments, per orders from Tehran.
Russian officers in Aleppo have denied rumors that Russia may contribute forces to the new Shiite Legion. The rumors are largely based on reports over the past month of Hezbollah's deepening ties with Russia across the Aleppo front, given the fact of "Abu Ali Putin's" appreciation of the Lebanese Shiites' battlefield performance. This despite casualties exceeding 2000 dead and nearly 8000 wounded Hezbollah fighter since the spring of 2011. Yet some here speculate that Russia, envying the generous American gifts, since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, of Iraq and other areas of the region, from the US to Iran, Putin may seek a larger share of the region for Russia. This as Washington's presence continues to recede. Putin's envy could set up a Moscow conflict with Tehran given the latter's Shia-Crescent "historic Persia" geopolitical plans for the region.
Unlike with most Hezbollah militia units, non-Shia will be welcomed in the Shiite Foreign Legion just are they are today in Syria where they are paid $ 200 per month with ten days leave for every month they are on active duty. Hezbollah members are paid double that sum plus a range of benefits to their families if they are killed. Most militiamen here use the ten days per month leave to visit their families, even outside of Syria and try to find work during their monthly ten day R & R to supplement family income.
Some western and Arab observers tend to believe that once Aleppo is "liberated" in the coming weeks, the Shite Foreign Legion forces will turn to southern Syria and the new battle will seek to cleanse the Jordan-Israel border area of rebels often literally dug into villages including Jasim and Daraa.
Hezbollah is also said to be preparing for an Israel attack on their forces in Syria and Lebanon when Aleppo 'falls" because the Assad government controlling all of Aleppo would signal to Tel Aviv that Syria has essentially become, like Lebanon and Iraq, an Iranian colony. Israel struck Hezbollah targets again inside Syria on 12/6/2016 with several missiles hitting the Mazzeh military air base outside the capital Damascus to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining sophisticated weapons arriving from Iran according to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Can neo-Ottomans Trump a neo-Persian Empire?
The Sunni response to the Shia Foreign Legion has been increasing preparations to form a Sunni Foreign Legion with financing and leadership from Gulf Cooperation Council GGC plus Turkey and others.
One journalist from Lebanon offered his view which he claims is share by 90% of the world's Sunni Muslims: "This region will be Sunni or it will be Shia. One or the other and no fake live and let live nonsense. The battle has been drawn. The sooner it begins the better. We need to finish this, let the Shia go to Iran and stay there!"
Time will tell if the battle of Aleppo spawns Sunni and Shite Foreign Legions for determinative second battle of Karbala, the military engagement that took place on 10 Muharram, 61 A.H.(October 10, 680) in Karbala, in present day Iraq.
If so, the stakes will be high for Sunni and Shi'a Muslims and for the future of Islam itself.
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