Op-ed: 

A Condemnation, A Declaration, and Hopes for Peace  

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor

The article is the author's opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google    

...And while the multitude of Arab/muslim nations that surround the tiny Jewish State of Israel might be great in size and number, some are still unfortunately mired down in a 6th century mindset minus the doctrine of what is reality, while Israel not only embraces this, the 21st century, but looks forward to a future where all people can share in the concept of not only “peaceful coexistence,” but of actual, long lasting peace itself.

Remember, it's the civilized man who embraces peace, while the uncivilized man hungers for blood...as in the blood of those who do not believe, think, say, or act as they do especially, in this case, those not embracing the tenets and dogma of radical islam, Simply, the sorts who refuse to see the tangible truth now unfolding before their very own eyes...the truth that with the now fall of the old Iran and the sure to come rise of a new and free Iran...it becomes obvious that what the uncivilized sorts like Khamenei feared most was peace itself. Why so...because with peace comes both individuality and the right to free thoughts, the very things that are the antithesis of all theocratic based regimes...Read entire article, and see video here.

Op-ed: 

A Condemnation, A Declaration, and Hopes for Peace  

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor

The article is the author's opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google   

President Trump's initiated“Operation Epic Fury” coupled with Israel's “Operation Roaring Lion” has indeed set the world ablaze with hope for a new future...a future heralding in both peace and stability not only in the Middle East, but hopefully spreading outward from there. And with its ramifications running deeper than just the death of Khamenei and his theocratic based terrorist regime, not only is the Iranian people's quest for democracy and freedom close at hand, but just as important is that a much needed “quantum shift” in international alliances has truly started to take hold.

And while this alliance shift was once but a dream, the retaliatory actions taken by Iran against its fellow muslim nations have helped to expedite a process that logic alone dictated would eventually have come in due time. Why so... because the Trump brokered “Abraham Accords” not only laid the foundation for cooperation between the more modernized/westernized muslim dominated nations and the Jewish State of Israel, but within its very concept was an actual framework for lasting peace.

And while the multitude of Arab/muslim nations that surround the tiny Jewish State of Israel might be great in size and number, some are still unfortunately mired down in a 6th century mindset minus the doctrine of what is reality, while Israel not only embraces this, the 21st century, but looks forward to a future where all people can share in the concept of not only “peaceful coexistence,” but of actual, long lasting peace itself.

Remember, it's the civilized man who embraces peace, while the uncivilized man hungers for blood...as in the blood of those who do not believe, think, say, or act as they do especially, in this case, those not embracing the tenets and dogma of radical islam, Simply, the sorts who refuse to see the tangible truth now unfolding before their very own eyes...the truth that with the now fall of the old Iran and the sure to come rise of a new and free Iran...it becomes obvious that what the uncivilized sorts like Khamenei feared most was peace itself. Why so...because with peace comes both individuality and the right to free thoughts, the very things that are the antithesis of all theocratic based regimes.

And while both “Operation Epic Fury” and “Operation Roaring Lion” have just begun in their efforts to help free both a nation and its people, now entering center stage is one of the most divisive, hateful, and openly antisemitic organizations ever devised...as in the “United Nations”...aka the “Useless Nations” as I call them...whose seeming goal is to not just blatantly look away from what was the reasoning behind the islamic terrorism being perpetrated by Iran, but to manipulate and shift said reasoning onto the shoulders of both Israel and the United States instead. And this joke of an organization now has the unmitigated gall to claim...without fact...that overwhelming “international concern” is calling for U.S. and Israeli de-escalation of its attacks on Iran just as this rightful campaign is now starting to kick into high gear.

And it's not just the UN who must be called to task, but also the European Commission ...the very commission whose president...one Ursula von der Leyen...described the current U.S./Israeli operations as being “greatly concerning,” along with the need to not only prevent further escalation, but for the U.S. and Israel to exercise restraint while protecting civilians, and respecting international laws...the very laws this commission itself willingly ignores. And also know that this is the same commission who ignored Iran’s 47-year history of supporting terrorist groups; the same commission who looked away from terrorist acts already having been committed (October 7th quickly comes to mind); and the very same commission whose goal seemingly remains, to me anyway, to actually profit off regional destabilization.

And what of the European powers themselves...as in those who are supposedly our allies, but who continue to play both sides against the middle...what has been their reaction?  First, while both UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the European Commission still continues their ongoing condemnation of the use of force against Iran by both the U.S. and Israel...saying that said actions “undermine both international peace and security,” here I must honestly say that I did not know we had either (sarcastically said of course) before the U.S./Israeli operations commenced or before seeing what's left of Iran's military keeping busy launching retaliatory missile and drone attacks into both U.S. military facilities and civilian areas of our Mideast allies...allies including into Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain.

Also, what say the key “E-3 nations”...France, Germany, and the United Kingdom...who while they did issue a statement to the affect that while Iran must put an end to both its current nuclear program and to any future nuclear ambitions; that Iran must cease its regional destabilizing actions (read acts of terrorism here); and stop its still ongoing “repression” of the Iranian people, cannot mask the fact that they did indeed “wimp out,” when the going got tough.

And to give credence to what I just stated is the fact that the “E-3” made it clear to both the U.S. and Israel that they while they did not want and still do not want to become militarily involved in either operation ...while reiterating ad-nauseam that they took no part in either “Operation Epic Fury” or “Operation Roaring Lion”...the “E-3” still tried to give themselves some relevancy of sort by adding that they remain in close contact with the U.S., Israel, and their regional partners...which personally I do not believe for neither President Trump nor Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are the kind to placate those who are wimps.

But what really needs to be understood here is the fact that it's Iran's retaliatory strikes that have now heightened regional tensions, and which in turn has led the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates to issue an official condemnation not against the U.S. or Israel, but against Iran and the man who not only armed Hezbollah, funded Hamas, slaughtered his own people, and brought the Middle East to the precipice of nuclear war, but they made it clear that said condemnation was not just mere words on paper, but was an official declaration of what well might be both a new regional alignment against Iran, coupled with hope for a true and lasting peace...a peace that I bet no one saw coming.

And so Iran and it's maniacal now thankfully dead leader Ayatollah Khamenei...the man who spent over four decades pushing his “Death to Israel, Death to America” narrative down the collective throats of the muslim world...now finds his own words and actions having helped to put the final nail into the coffin of what was his and Iran's theocratic dictatorial regime. And it was done courtesy of not just superior U.S. and Israeli military and air power, but with the help of the Iranian people and their brave “freedom fighters” who dared to ask for both U.S. and Israeli help...help to attain their long sort after quest for freedom even while knowing that actual regime change itself could not be guaranteed without internal opposition forces being willing to take up arms and fight to the death if need be. And now Kurdish forces from Iraq, armed with U.S. and Israeli militaries, have launched a ground incursion into Iran as well.

Simply, the brave men and women of Iran also knew that the time of the old ways was indeed over, and that with what was sure to be Iran's misguided attempt at retaliation against their fellow muslim nations...nations who dared to side with the enemy...would see this one act alone being the very catalyst needed to see a new alliance of sorts starting to take hold. After all, it truly was only a matter of time before Iran's fellow Gulf and other Arab nations discovered the well kept secret that those they once considered to be their enemies were actually their friends all along, and what was forced indoctrination to the 9th degree is now now finally being exposed. Case closed.

Copyright © 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Enough Was Enough.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!                                                    Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10th from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'A Condemnation, A Declaration, and Hopes for Peace'; 'Enough Was Enough';  and important news of the day. Tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE.'

Op-ed:

Dead By Rightful Design

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

"Last night was a great night for the United States and for the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated.”

- President Donald Trump on the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

There were no U.S. casualties during the compound raid, with but a military working dog named Conan sustaining minor injuries when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Caliph Ibrahim, blew himself and his three young children up...children he had been using as human shields...in a true act of cowardliness after realizing his fate had been sealed...sealed thanks to President Trump.

It was an operation five months in the making...an operation involving joint ground intel as well as ongoing monitoring which culminated in a daring, two-hour nighttime raid on al-Baghdadi's compound. Located in Idlib province's Barisha hamlet, this particular hamlet and compound had been under our surveillance for some time due to its being in what was left of ISIS held territory in northern Syria.

And so the actual lead-up to al-Baghdidi's death started around 5p.m. EST last Saturday evening when after having finished rehearsing the raid in Erbil, Iraq, eight helicopters carrying teams of elite U.S. troops included Delta Force commandos, launched from al-Assad airbase in Anbar province Iraq and flew over what President Trump called "very, very dangerous territory" towards the compound where “al-Baghdadi spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him.” Finally meeting his demise in what was a dead end tunnel...Abu Bakr al-Baghadadi detonated his suicide vest and blew himself and his three children straight into hell.

And know that al-Baghdidi is indeed dead contrary to what the naysayers are now saying as DNA tests done about 15 minutes after his “very messy demise” positively confirmed that that the dead man indeed was ISIS founder and Iraqi national Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In fact, U.S. teams on the ground as per President Trump, "brought body parts back" so there could be no questions as to who was killed, unlike Barack HUSSEIN Obama who had our military, “respectfully” dump Osama bin Laden's body into the sea. More like destroying the evidence I'd say.

And while our president's critics are now chiming in with condemnation regarding his actions taken...you can read about that in my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's article, He Died Like a Dog...also know that President Trump tentatively approved the final mission about a week before it commenced. 

Rightfully keeping the mission a secret, Trump knew that to do otherwise would see a number of Democrats “letting slip” certain key bits of information, thus jeopardizing not only the mission to take out the world's most wanted man, but would also put those involved in said mission in serious danger. 

 

In fact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed with President Trump's decision to keep the mission for the most part mum saying that “there were only a handful of us that were dialed into this operation, myself and a handful of others, and then those, of course, who were executing the mission, in the run-up to this.” Also according to Pompeo those involved in the operation had two priorities, ensuring information security and executing the mission...and I believe this is exactly how all critical operations should be handled...as in the less who know the better.

“We’ve been tracking this guy for a long time, we wanted to take no risk that anyone would ever compromise the operation, so we were very focused on information security...and we wanted to make sure we were doing it right, and so we were focused on delivering the outcome that we got,” were Mike Pompeo exact words. 

And so successful was our president and those few who knew in keeping this operation a secret that only now has it become known that two or three previously planned missions were scrapped until every last detail for success was locked into place.

But while it was our U.S. forces alone who actually went in and accomplished what they were tasked with doing... a task that also saw at least nine members of ISIS killed in addition to al-Baghdadi with many of them being his family members...the mission itself was still a joint operation of sorts...a chain of both information and cooperation...with trusted Iraqi officials, Vladimir Putin, as well as the Kurds living in Syria's northeast quadrant...being given a heads-up as to what was going to take place. Even Turkey was given a cursory heads-up no matter that they deem the YPG Kurds to be terrorists, for it was those very YPG Kurds who also saw the danger ISIS posed not only to the region in general, but to their all important quest for an autonomous state, thus solidifying their cooperation. 

In fact, it was the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish forces in Syria, one Mazloum Abdi, who admitted in a tweet after the operation was completed that the intelligence gathering that led to al-Baghdai's death had indeed began in earnest about five months ago...thus proving to Trump's critics that this was no impulsive move on our president's part. And Commander Abdi also announced within hours of al-Baghdadi's death that U.S. backed anti-ISIS forces remaining in northern Syria had also taken out Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, a close associate of al-Baghdadi, and that they did so courtesy of SDF intel shared with our military.

And then just this past Monday, Commander Abdi told NBC News that another of his SDF informants actually helped lead the Americans to al-Baghdadi’s compound. Adding that the still unnamed informant had gained al-Baghdadi's trust to such a degree that he was a "facilitator and logistics aide" involved in helping al-Baghdadi move from numerous safe houses in Idlib province before settling into the compound where he met his end, and also that the informant provided personal details about al-Baghdadi, including the fact that he always wore a suicide vest when traveling so that he could blow himself up if cornered.

And as I write this neither the Pentagon nor the White House has officially commented on a "high-level mole" being part of the mission to kill or capture al-Baghdadi. And yet that is not out of the whelm of possibilities as "moles" have at times been an integral part of such types of operations.

But to me what is most critical to this mission's success was the fact that Russia..who controls the much needed airspace over Idlib province...made no attempt to stop said mission as Putin...remember he had been informed of the mission and his country is part of the U.S. led coalition against terror...knew that not only is ISIS a destabilizing force in the region, but that they are an enemy of all civilized men.

And so at around 3:30am Syrian time after the mission was successfully completed... including our gathering up of ISIS intel and documents laying out their future plans...U.S. choppers took off for the return journey to Erbil, Iraq, flying unchallenged over the so-called “badlands of Syria,” briefly crossing into Turkey, then into northeastern Syria, continuing on to the Kurdish held north of Iraq, the very place where the long hunt for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had really begun. After all it was in Camp Bucca where al-Baghdadi was reportedly held back as late as 2009, only to be “unconditionally” released to the Iraqi's who in time let him go...and so began al-Baghdadi's unrelenting killing spree. 



And so the seedlings of what became ISIS...seedlings that were actually planted in Iraq back in 2009...grew to where on June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed that a "caliphate" was now straddling both Syria and Iraq and that it was under ISIS control.

But the question still remaining is what exactly allowed what became “Operation Kayla Mueller”...named in honor of the young American aid worker who was kidnapped, tortured, and then killed on al-Baghdadi's orders...to go forward? The fact is that up until a little over a month ago we still had little if any serious leads as to al-Baghdadi's current whereabouts. But a much needed break finally came in September courtesy of Iraqi National Intelligence Service officials who were able to identify a Syrian man who had recently moved his own family from Iraq to Syria as being the same man who had smuggled into Syria's Idlib province through Turkey the wives of two of al-Baghdadi’s brothers. In fact, it was also learned that this very same smuggler had previously helped smuggle al-Baghdadi’s children from Iraq into Syria, again through Turkey. And luckily these same Iraqi officials were then able to “bribe,” if you will, the smuggler and his wife, along with one of al-Baghdadi’s own nephews, into providing information about the route al-Baghdadi had used along with the final destination of those traveling with him.     

   

And in early October, the Iraqi's turned over their now confirmed intel to the C.I.A. who then in turn were able to locate al-Baghdadi, with the Iraqis continuing to provide updated real-time information to President Trump once al-Baghdadi had settled into the Barisha compound. And so the man who was always on the move out of fear for his own safety was now back in Syria where he had been very many times before.

And here I'll include as a side note that back in 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was indeed in Syria masquerading as one of the “supposed” Syrian rebels, and it was here in Aleppo that it appears he met with Sen. John McCain as can be witnessed by these photos. It would have been interesting to know exactly what, if anything, transpired between these two men or if McCain had any idea of who Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi really was or of what evils he soon would become capable of.

But with that being but an interesting yet mute point, the fact remains that once the Iraqi's shared said intel with President Trump...who had made taking down al-Baghdadi one of his top priorities...he was then able to order military commanders to begin drawing up specific plans for al-Baghdadi's take-down. And while the actual decision to move forward...to begin “Operation Kayla Mueller”...was not officially finalized until Saturday morning after his having received “actionable intelligence” that al-Baghdadi was indeed in the Barisha compound, did members of the Joint Special Operations Command Delta Force Team carry out the high-level and still then secret operation. 

"Something very big has just happened!" was President Trump's tweet after Saturday night's successful completion of “Operation Kayla Mueller” had taken place.

And so the annals of history will now show that America once again stood strong and proud under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump as we were the ones who took out one of the baddest of all bad guys. And while this one chapter regarding ISIS is now closed, the ISIS book in regards to Syria itself still has for us at least two chapters remaining open. One chapter concerns our troops still being stationed in eastern Syria to not only protect the oil fields that are under our control, but to keep the oil out of the hands of a possible and highly likely ISIS tried resurgence...an expected resurgence to avenge al-Baghdadi's death.

And while neither Syrian nor Russian forces have to date challenged our control of those oil fields, it should be noted that another still open chapter sees us keeping a small number of troops at the Tanf garrison near the Syria-Iraq border what with American commandos housed at Tanf still being tasked with training an anti-ISIS force separate from the joint SDF mission.

“The death of Baghdadi is an important moment in our fight against terror but the battle against the evil of Daesh [Isis] is not yet over.”

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on hearing of al-Baghdadi's death.

So while ISIS in Syria might seem to be no longer a threat, all parties involved should still be wary for ISIS has well prepared for such an occasion as their founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death. Remember, the deadly rattlesnake can bite even after its head has been cut off, and know that ISIS can too even without its titular head.

Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, He Died Like a Dog.
 

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Tomorrow, Friday, November 1st, from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Dead By Rightful Design';  'He Died Like a Dog'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/

Op-ed: 
The U.S. in Syria...Who's to Blame and Why
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

Let's get something straight upfront...the media, the Democrats, and even some supposed Trump supporting Republicans want you to believe that President Trump has switched sides...that he's not only turned against but deserted our Kurdish allies as well as turning his back on the Syrian people...the very people who have suffered the most during the eight long years that the Syrian conflict has been unfolding...a conflict that's actually a civil war...a civil war that now sees itself morphing into a separate Turk/Kurd civil war as well. And these same folks want you to believe that because Trump is withdrawing our troops, that what was a U.S. “umbrella of protection” no longer exists and thus threatens to destabilize the entirety of the Middle East.

Well folks, while destabilization could eventually occur that too is not of Trump's doing for our misguided incursion into Syria was an incursion born of Barack HUSSEIN Obama's very hesitancy to go in strong with our troop's hands untied, get the job done, and get out...that coupled with his emphasis instead being on “measured diplomacy” and “progressive multilateralism”...and more importantly his aligning us with the wrong side. And the sum of these parts is what has now made President Trump the fall guy instead of the blame being placing on the very man who could have done the right thing but didn't.

And the right thing...the very thing that could have saved not only a lot of lives but Syria's landscape itself...would have been for us to either stay out of Syria's civil war or align us with Bashar al-Assad and his government forces if only for the reason that under al-Assad, Syria saw a secular government...a secular government as opposed to an islamic mullah controlled government...where both Christians and other minorities were protected and could freely worship without fear of reprisal, and where Damascus and it's surrounding areas were living if not in the 21st century at least in the 20th.

Sad isn't it that many still refuse to acknowledge the fact that Obama has never really been on the side of anything but his brethren...a fact proven by his not going after ISIS until he was forced by his own party to see them as a threat to our homeland. But even with that his successes against ISIS were limited at best with President Trump being the one, along with the Kurds, to finally clear ISIS out of Syria...for now anyway for they will be back.

Again, aligning us with al-Assad...the lesser of two great evils...would have been the right thing to do as al-Assad was the man whom the Syrian people overwhelmingly voted for in a U.N. monitored and deemed "fair election." And even while he saw both himself and his government having to face its own internal problems...problems that included an accusation that dated back to August 2013 when he supposedly gassed certain factions of his own people, something al-Assad continues to deny claiming that it was the “supposed rebels” themselves who did the gassing as a means by which to discredit him in the eyes of the world...as well as seeing Syria's altercations with Israel increasing especially in the what became ISIS held areas along Syria's border with Israel...yet the majority of Syrians saw in Bashar al-Assad someone who at least understand the dangers posed by both the “supposed rebels” and islamic extremist groups like ISIS...a common enemy we now all face to one degree or another.

And with a fair amount of ISIS fighters actually masquerading as rebels...rebels whose goal was and remains to not only overthrow al-Assad and his government, but to turn Syria into yet another islamic state...the stage was set and the players were in place...all the “supposed rebels” needed was external support of the monetary and military kind...support they knew they could garner from one of their own.

And so these “supposed rebels” got that much needed support courtesy of then President Obama who, in 2011, started laying out what eventually became a truly inane and dysfunctional strategy for his hopefully defeating al-Assad's government forces while at the same time he started dabbling with ISIS a bit, who by this time was quietly starting to make inroads into Syria. And Obama's so called strategy, I believe, was deliberately designed to not only cause more regional problems...which it did...but was a strategy that saw the Syrian people being the ones who paid the price not just in blood but in their country being almost totally destroyed.

And all this was set in motion with Obama's 2012 “red line” in the sand fiasco...a “red line” al-Assad supposedly crossed and which Obama did nothing of substance about...a fiasco that once again saw Obama “leading from behind” as he turned what was a game of words into a game of inaction...a game that now years later has serious ramifications where Democrat miscreants and misguided and/or misinformed Republicans have been publicly calling our president to task for his supposedly deserting an ally.

Deserting an ally I think not for the Trump naysayers refuse to understand that it was not Donald Trump who got us involved in Syria's mess, and that while the YPG Kurds were indeed an ally in the fight against ISIS, there is more to these Kurds motives than appears on the surface. How so...because the Kurds end game was, still is, and will always be to have their own autonomous state even if it's at the expense of using others...including the Peshmerga Kurds as well as the U.S.

Do I frown on the Kurds wanting a homeland...no. Do I approve of their every action used regarding said want... no. But people need to understand that the Kurds... technically ethnic Iranians...are a divided people with most being sunni muslim with the minority being sh'ia muslim, along with a small scattering of Assyrian Christians, Yzidi, and other minorities encompassing the whole. And that split itself is quite telling as the Syrian and Turkish Kurds are for the most part sunni muslim...the more ideological extreme of the muslim sects. But more importantly is that the YPG Kurds in Syria and Turkey are not the Peshmerga Kurds of Iraq, as in the Kurds who helped us topple Saddham Hussein and who were the northern front in our invasion of Iraq. Nor are the YPG Kurds in Syria and Turkey the Kurds who helped us in our, albeit failed, attempt to try and dissuade Saddham Hussein from aligning himself and Iraq with Russia back in the 1990s.

Simply, the Kurds in Turkey and Syria have been for many decades at odds with the Iraqi Peshmerga Kurds for they see them as not only an ideological enemy but an enemy who just might in the end be the ones who secure a Kurdish state instead of them.

But why the rift between these two ethnically same groups...because the Kurds in Syria...as in the YPG Kurds...are the Syrian wing of the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) which is the separatist group based in both Turkey and Iraq who continue to not only support but instigate acts of terrorism inside Turkey. And it's the PKK, a U.S. State Department designated terrorist group, who, since 1984, has been involved in an actual armed conflict with the Turks that to date has resulted in the death of some 40,000 people, all in the name of achieving an independent Kurdish state by their trying to force Turkey into giving up some of its own land. Also, it's these YPG Kurds who comprise the now Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, the very group who was lackadaisical in finishing off the last ISIS enclave in Syria as they had promised to do, believing that to do so would then halt the arms and monies we were supplying them with. Thankfully, President Trump made sure they finished the promised job or be forced to face the consequences of their game playing inactions...which it now seems they're indeed facing.

In other words, these YPG Kurds proved themselves to not really be our friend let alone a true ally but an ally using us and our resources in their quest for an autonomous state, and this is why President Trump did what he did, and rightly so. That and the fact that suddenly the YPG Kurds in Syria started claiming that they no longer were asking for statehood but simply that they needed a U.S. military presence in Syria to deter a Turkish invasion. But if that need was true...as in wanting our help in protecting their own people...they would have broken their ties with the militant PKK, something they still have not done and probably never will do. And besides, it's our very presence in Syria that has drawn islamists like ISIS and other assorted extremists into the region with their hope of forcing the U.S. into a Holy War...a Holy War they envision us losing...a Holy War they believe would see the Levant coming to fruition.

So to say that President Trump has abandoned the Kurds is simply not true for the YPG Kurds are not the more loyal Peshmerga Kurds of Iraq, nor did Trump turn what was an internal civil war into an ongoing and ever so sad humanitarian crisis. That lays now as it always has at the feet of Barack HUSSEIN Obama and his empty “red line” threat coupled with his previous disaster, as in the “Arab Spring.” And also not to be forgetten is that in September 2015, again on Obama's watch, Russia entered the Syrian conflict thereby shifting the balance of power away from Obama's backed “supposed rebels” in favor of al-Assad and his government forces, while at the same time Obama, at least as a diversion, shifted his focus to ISIS which by now had made significant inroads into Syria. And it was ISIS' taking control of large areas of Syria, especially in its northern regions, that led to us building airfields and military bases in Syria's northeastern quadrant, thus solidifying our alliance with the YPG Kurds.

And all the above stated actions together drew us into not only a place we should never have been in, but had Obama now turning us into a formally recognized combatant of Bashar al-Assad when on April 7, 2017 he ordered direct U.S. missile strikes on Syria's Shayrat Airbase. And it's gone downhill ever since.

So where do we stand as I now write this? For starters we know that President Trump has said that U.S. troops along the Turkish-Syrian border were positioned there only to conduct joint patrols with Turkey as part of a way to reassure Ankara that separatist Kurdish fighters would not use said area to launch attacks on Turkey. Mission accomplished there, however, Turkey has now chosen to attack the Kurds via the very same area. We also know that immediately after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from said area that Russian forces again moved in to greatly expand their Syrian military presence...they desperately want the Port at Tartus after all...and that the YPG Kurds then looked to Bashir al-Assad for help, which they got, thus basically returning Syria to al-Assad's control which in turn now changes the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East... but that's for my next article.

And while the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces themselves requested and agreed to what became a cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Turkey...a ceasefire that now extends from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain...how exactly was this ceasefire brokered? Last Thursday, Vice-President Mike Pence along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkey's President Recip Erdogan to arrange for a five-day ceasefire that would allow the Kurds time to withdraw from the now anything but “safe zone” along the Turkey/Syria border as well as seeing the U.S. work with the Kurdish forces to obtain an “orderly withdraw” from the disputed area in exchange for Trump's pulling back on economic sanctions against Turkey. And if all goes as agreed to then the ceasefire would hopefully become permanent.



However, even the best of intentions come with caveats what with Turkey making it clear that they would not be withdrawing from areas they believe to be rightfully theirs or Syria's. Also, the Turks raised the question of who will be the future holders of the Syrian city of Kobani, a city currently under Kurdish control. And know that as I write this, the now day old ceasefire sees limited fighting, drone strikes, and artillery shelling flaring up along the border with smaller clashes elsewhere. And of course each side blames the other as we sit and wait hoping that all calms down so that a true and lasting ceasefire can take hold.

But the bottom line as far as U.S. involvement in Syria boils down to this...our military involvement in Syria's civil war began in earnest in 2014 with the siege of Kobani, a Kurdish town surrounded by ISIS fighters. So instead of doing the right thing Obama deliberately aligned us with the “supposed rebels” many of whom were ISIS fighters in disguise, and formed an alliance with the YPG Kurds... Kurd allies with their own agenda via their ongoing direct connections to the PKK...remember the PKK is a U.S. designated terrorist group...as well as the YPG Kurds having “cordial relations” with both the Russians and the Iranians. And not to be forgotten is that at the same time Obama got us into the Syria mess negotiations were well underway regarding his infamous Iranian nuclear deal, meaning in no way did he want to upset the sensibilities of the Iranians themselves who were now also making silent inroads into Syria.

Simply, our involvement in Syria lays directly at the feet of Barack HUSSEIN Obama not with President Trump as the Democrats claim. The reality is that President Trump is only trying to get us out of a battle that is not now nor ever was something we needed to be involved in. We are caught in the middle of what was always a civil war of sorts between two of our allies, both of whom are tenuous allies at best. And yet they both have one thing in common...they both pulled us in the wrong direction. Hence, President Trump to the rescue...if only his naysayers would put politics aside and see just that.

Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.

To read more of my take on the Syrian situation please read my previous article, Leaving Allies Behind...or Are We?

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Democrats...In the Middle of Their Own Minefield.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 22nd, from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'The U.S. in Syria...Who's to Blame and Why'; Democrats...In the Middle of Their Own Minefield'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/ 

Op-ed:
Leaving Allies Behind...or Are We?
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

“The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend.”

- 4th century B.C. “Indian Machiavelli” Kautilya in the Sanskrit military book, the Arthashastra

On October 7, 2019, President Trump announced the withdrawal of our troops from along the northeastern Syrian/Turkish border, and from the moment he did the consternation from surprisingly both sides of the political aisle started building...reaching a level of what amounts to a public crucifixion of our president.

How so? Well for starters House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted that, “The President’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Northern Syria is a deeply disturbing development that betrays our Kurdish allies who have been instrumental partners in our mission to eradicate ISIS.” And of course Rep. Adam Schiff got his jabs in by saying that, “We will be pouring over the intelligence to determine what steps Congress might need to take to protect American interests in light of this reckless, impulsive and dangerous action by the president.” Even Trump supporting South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted that, "No matter what President Trump is saying about his decision, it is EXACTLY what President Obama did in Iraq with even more disastrous consequences for our national security...So sad. So dangerous. President Trump may be tired of fighting radical Islam. They are NOT tired of fighting us.”

Hey Lindsay, I'm sure President Trump knows that.

And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was probably the worst for he issued a statement that, “A precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime....As we learned the hard way during the Obama administration, American interests are best served by American leadership, not by retreat or withdrawal.” In other words, Mitch McConnell compared Trump's leadership regarding the Kurds to that of America-hating, islamic condoning Barack HUSSEIN Obama...a political backstabbing of our president if ever there was one.

It's one thing to disagree with Trump's decision...a decision made by his focusing on the big picture instead of on individual parts...but it's quite another to shame your president without knowing all the facts...facts few are aware of...but I guarantee they're facts President Trump knows well.

But let's begin by giving credit where credit is due in that since 2014 the Kurds have been our faithful ally in the ground war against our common enemy ISIS. But one must also know that the Kurds are seen by the Turkish government as an ally of the SDF Kurdish separatists...separatists based in both Turkey and Iran who Turkey claims has ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the party responsible for ongoing violent attacks within Turkey itself...violence in name of the Kurds trying to secure a Kurdish state. In other words, our Kurdish ally appears to be our ally Turkey's enemy thus catching us in the middle of their fight...a fight that we're no part of.



And so a dilemma arose for President Trump...the very man who promised to start withdrawing our troops now bogged down in wars that seemingly have no end. Do we support the Kurds against Turkey as both sides brought their war to what is now the “buffer zone” between Turkey's southern border and Syria's northern border or do we support an allied NATO partner...albeit a tenuous ally at best. And while we all know that Turkey's President Recip Erdogen is an islamist supporter who pretends not to be one, he has for the most part stayed out of our and the Kurds way in regards to trying to rid Syria of ISIS. 
 

But all the players know well that ISIS is not defeated but laying low until all American troops are gone to make their return...just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan. And Trump I'm sure knows that while we as a country have witnessed numerous shifts in Turkish policy towards ISIS, Syria's civil war, and towards the Kurds themselves...the one thing that's remained an absolute constant for Turkey is their unwavering opposition to Kurdish autonomy... especially if said autonomy means that a Kurdish state would be sitting on and partly within what is currently the area encompassing their southern border.

The truth is that Erdogen wants to extend Turkey's existing so-called “buffer zone” into Syria's northern Afrin region even if it means having to kill the Kurds currently living there and replace them with at least two of the three million Syrians who sought refuge in Turkey, thus ridding himself and his country of people who are not only causing trouble but who are a drain on Turkey's economy.

In fact, I believe former National Security Adviser John Bolton knew of Erdogen's true motives, including that Turkish forces would start their ground and air onslaught against the Kurds as soon as we started pulling out... which they have in operation code name "Peace Spring." And more likely than not it's over the Kurds and Bolton's not wanting to pull out where he and President Trump did finally break ranks. But if this be the case then even John Bolton left out one key component in his thinking...the Kurds and the Turks have been at each others throats for well over a century in what amounts to a Turk/Kurd civil war...a civil war also seeing no real end in site...a civil war we have no “skin in the game.” And so if it's a game being played who better to play it than Donald Trump.

Let me explain. President Trump is getting the blame for us being in Syria when it was Obama who put us there to aid the so-called Syrian rebels in their battle against President Bashir al-Assad's government forces. However, those rebels turned out to be not rebels per se but ISIS fighters who themselves wanted inroads into Syria. And so Trump kept our Obama committed forces there, and with the aid of the Kurds together we drove most of ISIS out. Our job there was done with what's left being the Turk/Kurd civil war...a civil war we should not get directly involved in as both sides, for better or worse, we consider to be allies. So why not remove our troops from there, remove them but not bring them home, but move them elsewhere for strategical reasons.

                                                                                        

And so just last week the pullout began as 50 U.S. soldiers...50 special forces personnel...began leaving bases in Tel Abyad and Ras al Ayn near the Syrian side of the “buffer zone”...which many feel is a mistake not unlike the mistake Obama made in Iraq, the very country that has now ceded partial control of some of its territory to Iran...not unlike the mistake JFK made in regards to the Bay of Pigs.  

But what many are forgetting is never take President Trump at face value for to do so is a mistake in and of itself.

President Trump is not only our president but commander-in-chief of our armed forces, and as such he must make important tactical decisions based not upon what seems on the surface to be a simple solution, but upon military logistics as well. And it's actually military logistics that's being overlooked as being but a rash shift in our foreign policy directive when in reality it's anything but.

Again let me explain. Right now we know many are quite angry at President Trump for what they believe is the deserting of an ally during a time of war...an ally who helped us win, if you will, the battle against ISIS in Syria. And I must admit that I too was quite peeved at first, after all American policy has always been that America leaves no man...no troop...behind, and that such a policy should extend to our allies as well. But the more I thought about this the more unsettling it became as our president is not the type of man to leave an ally behind. And that in turn led to the fact that we have been equipping the Kurds with weapons of war for quite some time and that those very weapons while used against ISIS are now being used against another ally of ours..Turkey...all in the Kurds quest for an autonomous state.

And while Turkey is an ally...an ally we best always keep one eye open to...they're an ally nevertheless. And this led me to the realization that our troops still stationed along the border in question are but witnesses to yet another Middle East civil war...albeit a smaller scale civil war...a civil war between two allies that we were forced into the middle of.

And I believe this is why President Trump announced this particular troop withdrawal at this particular time, but it goes even deeper than that for I now believe he has a bigger plan in mind...a plan it seems few if any have figured out yet. The “Master of the Deal” has with this withdrawal sealed the deal that might see all American troops being able to soon come home...come home after one more battle that is...one more battle that just might set the world on the road to long sought after peace.

To understand what I'm about to say you need to look at the two maps below and the logistical end and my reasoning will fall into place. Let's start with Map 1. Here you see the regions key players...Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Egypt, and most assuredly Israel. Now add in the United States as we have either troops and airbases in or have been allowed staging grounds within all the above stated countries, except Iran of course.

Now comes the logistics and what I believe to be President Trump's ultimate end game. First, President Trump is withdrawing us from Syria, a war torn country no use to us, but withdrawing is not for the reasons most think. Remember, Trump never stated that those in Syria were coming home just that they were being withdrawn. Second, I think he's sending them to either Iraq or Afghanistan to help bolster our forces in the region. Third, we have operational military bases in Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Afghanistan along with flyover privileges also from the Saudis and the UAE as well as unwavering Israeli and Egyptian support. We even have access to certain Pakistani military bases to use for logistics, relief efforts, and as a launching base for drone operations as well as us having access to use almost all the military airfields of Turkmenistan, including the airport in Nebit-Dag near the Iranian border. And Albanian officials have offered and we have accepted the establishment of U.S. military bases in Albania. Fourth, in other words the United States and our allies have a military presence to the north, south, east, and west of Iran...the very country that is not only the Middle East's but the world's most destabilizing force.
 

And fifth, the bottom line is that I believe President Trump's end game, to which he now has actually added more U.S, troops to without most being aware, is that if you look below at Map 2 you will see that we have Iran surrounded and that sooner rather than later we will launch from those bases in allied and somewhat friendly countries, and that together with Israel's, Saudi Arabia's, and Egypt's standing alongside us go in and take Iran out.

Too many people think President Trump to be an impulsive hothead, a tweeting cartoon character of what a president should be instead of seeing him as the strong, smart, clever, and patriotic leader that he is. President Trump knows that Iran must be taken out as much as he knows that we have been bogged down in wars that seem to see no end...but the no end is because Iran keeps fueling the fires of war as they think they have everything to gain and nothing to lose not realizing that they have already lost if only the true battle would begin.

And I believe President Trump has now set the stage for just that very battle...the only battle that really matters as it's the only battle that could actually in the end bring peace...if only Trump's naysayers would see the big picture and not focus on but one small piece of what is a much larger and more important game.

So a big thank you must go out to the Kurds for helping us fight ISIS, but now the time has come for the Kurds and the Turks to fight their own battles...and the Kurds are already doing so with weapons supplied to them by the U.S. And while we can still support them logistically we can do so without American troops being put in harms way. Their quest for autonomy is not our battle as we have a bigger fish to fry...a fish I think President Trump, after having seen the big picture, is now in the process of preparing to cast that final tactical net.

Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Alinsky's Rules for Rhetorical Radicals.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************ 

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 15th, from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Leaving Allies Behind...or Are We?'; 'Alinsky's Rules for Rhetorical Radicals'; and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history...or on Tune-In at: https://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/