Mitch McConnell is up for re-election in a few weeks. Because elections are so much more important to politicians than National Security, Congress has no time to debate the merits of funding Saudi Arabia's terrorist group: alQaeda, whose affiliate, Free Syrian Rebels, helped al-Qaeda kill US Troops in Iraq after the US invaded Iraq.
One al-Qaeda in Iraq member said al-Qaeda is helping and working with Free Syrian Rebels because the members of the Free Syrian Rebels helped them kill US Troops after the US invaded Iraq.
“This is just a simple way of returning the favor to our Syrian brothers that fought with us on the lands of Iraq,” said a veteran of Al Qaeda in Iraq, who said he helped lead the Nusra Front’s efforts in Syria.
~ New York Times December 8, 2012
With that statement, we now know that the Free Syrian Rebels helped al-Qaeda in Iraq kill an unknown number of US Troops in Iraq after US invaded Iraq.
Mitch McConnell is encouraging Republicans in the Senate and, is preparing himself, to vote "yes" on funding and training the rebels fighting Assad in Syria. However, the group's make-up is such that the US Congress will be funding and training a group, Nusra Front, who the US designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in May 2014.
Short list the U.S. designates as Foreign Terrorist Organizations
10/08/1999 -- al-Qa’ida (AQ)
12/17/2004 -- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] (formerly al-Qaida in Iraq)
05/15/2014 --al-Nusrah Front
The make-up of the Rebels who work together fighting Assad in Syria.
- Free Syrian Army -- Sunni: also called FSA, considered moderate Sunni.
- al-Qaeda in Syria -- Sunni: also called "Nusra Front" led by Jabhat al-Nusra, designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S and the UN
To be clear, the Free Syrian Rebels and Nusra Front are fighting together, as a team, against Assad in Syria.
Brief History
- In 2004, al-Qaeda in Iraq was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who officially pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and Bin Laden. In an audiotape bin Laden declared that "the dear mujahed brother Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the prince of al-Qaeda in Iraq," and announced that "we, in al-Qaeda organization, welcome him joining forces with us."
- Members of Nusra Front, were members of al-Qaeda in Iraq who, in 2004, pledged their allegiance to Osama bin Laden and who fought against and killed US Troops after the US invaded of Iraq.
- In 2012, al-Qaeda in Iraq (Sunni) wanted to have a group in Syria to fight Assad (Shiite), so they started al-Qaeda in Syria. The group, al-Qaeda in Syria call themselves Nusra Front.
The New York Times
reports that al-Qaeda in Iraq helped found Nusra Front.
The Iraqi group played an active role in founding the Nusra Front and provides it with money, expertise and fighters, said Maj. Faisal al-Issawi, an Iraqi security official who tracks jihadi activities in Iraq’s Anbar Province.
Free Syrian Rebels Will Not Stop Working With Nusra Front
Congress is either irresponsible in thinking Free Syrian Rebels will stop working with Nusra Front in exchange for arms and training, or they are lying to us.
Leaders of the Free Syrian Army, the loose-knit rebel umbrella group that the United States seeks to bolster, expressed exasperation that the United States, which has refused to provide weapons throughout the conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people, is now opposing a group they see as a vital ally.
The Nusra Front “defends civilians in Syria, whereas America didn’t do anything,” said Mosaab Abu Qatada, a rebel spokesman. “They [USA] stand by and watch; they look at the blood and the crimes and brag. Then they [USA] say that Nusra Front are terrorists."
~New York Times report December 2012
Since Al Qaeda in Iraq along with Nusra Front, are two, of many, groups the US designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Congress is a violating of US Federal Law and a violating of US Treaty obligations when they vote "yes" to fund or aid those groups in any way, shape or form.
Designating al-Nusra [Front] as a terrorist group means US authorities can freeze any assets the group or its members have in US jurisdictions. It also prohibits US citizens from giving it any material support.
~Al Jazeera, December 2012
I would think that would also prohibit Congress from funding Nusra Front.
Mitch McConnell and the rest of the US Congress pretend President Obama can start a new war based off of the 2001 AUMF because they, ISIL, had been associated with al-Qaeda.
Based on ISIL’s longstanding relationship with al-Qa’ida (AQ) and Usama bin Laden; its long history of conducting, and continued desire to conduct, attacks against U.S. persons and interests, the extensive history of U.S. combat operations against Isil dating back to the time the group first affiliated with AQ in 2004; and Isil’s position - supported by some individual members and factions of AQ-aligned groups - that it is the true inheritor of Usama bin Laden’s legacy, the President may rely on the 2001 AUMF as statutory authority for the use of force against Isil, notwithstanding the recent public split between AQ’s senior leadership and Isil.
~ US Official Statement as per the Guardian reporting
Only difference between Nusra Front and ISIL is that Nusra Front is
still, currently, part of and working with al-Qaeda in Iraq whereas, ISIL is not. (SMFH).
To Summarize
- Both al-Qaeda groups, ISIL and Nusra Front, are direct offshoots of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
- Members of the Free Syrian Rebels helped al-Qaeda in Iraq kill an untold number of US Troops.
- Nusra Front is an al-Qaeda group who moved from Iraq to Syria to help Free Syrian Rebels fight Assad because the Free Syrian Rebels helped them kill US Troops after the US invaded Iraq.
- US Congress voted "yes" to fund and train people who are designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
There you have it. Mitch McConnell is running for re-election while simultaneously voting to use U.S. taxpayer money to fund and train al-Qaeda in Syria. Oh my the webs we weave when we just want to get elected ... National Security be damned.
To Complete Congress' Insane Circle-of-Irony ...
Congress' Insane Circle-of-Irony begins at the point where Saudi Arabia is the largest bankroller for worldwide Sunni Terrorist groups: al-Qaeda, including ISIL, Hamas and the Taliban.
(wikileakes) U.S. Secretary of State Clinton: "Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide"
wikileaks documents
That insanity comes full circle as the US Congress attached an Amendment, which funds and trains members of Free Syrian Rebels, who helped al-Qaeda kill US Troops in Iraq, to the Continuing Resolution Spending Bill, which will continue U.S. Government spending through Dec. 11, 2014.
Remember, Bin Laden's stated goal is to "bleed America to the point of bankruptcy."