ISIS update 8\19\2015..Tehran and Moscow’s new mediation role in Syria

Turkey Bombs Kurds Fighting ISIS, Then Hires Same Lobbying Firm Supporting U.S. Presidential Candidates

The one group in the Middle East that is actually standing up to ISIS and successfully resisting it militarily are the Kurds. So what does U.S. ally Turkey do to the Kurds? It bombs the sh*t out of them, naturally.

Submitted by Michael Krieger, Liberty Blitzkrieg:

http://www.silverdoctors.com/turkey-bombs-kurds-fighting-isis-then-hires-same-lobbying-firm-supporting-u-s-presidential-candidates/

On the same day that Turkey announced it would help fight the Islamic State, Turkish forces began an airstrike campaign against one of the very groups that has been crucial to stopping the advance of the Islamic State.

Since the July 24 announcement, Turkey has launched several waves of airstrikes against elements of a Kurdish separatist group known as the P.K.K., which is widely listed as a terrorist group. But that group and its allies in Syria, who have been closely working with American forces, are pushing Islamic State militants out of areas they once controlled.

Clearly cognizant of how bad this looks, the government of Turkey went ahead and hired lobbying firm, Squire Patton Boggs, the same firm tied to 2016 Presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton.

We learn from the Intercept that:

On July 24, Turkey launched a massive military campaign that included sweeping attacks against Kurdish forces as well as minor strikes on Islamic State positions south of Turkey’s border. Just five days later, the Turkish government inked a contract to hire a team of prominent lobbyists to add to its already formidable army of influence-peddlers in Washington.

The contract, revealed Wednesday in a filing with the Justice Department, shows that the law and lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs was retained on July 29 on a $32,000 a month retainer — as asubcontractor to Gephardt Government Affairs, acting for Turkey on its own 10-month, $1.7 million contract.

Squire Patton Boggs is no ordinary lobbying firm. It is among the highest grossing firms inside the Beltway, with a roster of former senior government officials and lawmakers. Individuals from the firm are now helping to fundraise for Jeb Bush and are among the top 20 donors to Hillary Clinton over the course of her political career.

The lobbying registration documents show that Turkey will now be assisted by a Squire Patton Boggs team that includes former Sens. Trent Lott and John Breaux, along with former White House official Robert Kapla and former Republican congressional aide Bret Boyles.

The team from Squire Patton Boggs joins a small army of lobbyists employed by Turkey. They include former Democratic lawmakers Dick Gephardt and Al Wynn; former Republican Senator Tim Hutchinson; retired Central Intelligence Agency Director Porter Goss; former Democratic aide Brian Fornil; the law firm Greenberg Traurig; and Goldin Solutions, a media strategy firm. The Turkish government also uses a number of affiliated nonprofits to organize pro-Turkey publicity events and to organize vacation-style junkets for American journalists, politicians and other influential individuals.

This is how foreign nations buy American foreign policy by paying off former U.S. Congressmen.

Feel dirty yet? Yeah, me too.

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Syria in Last 24 Hours: Army Destroys Takfiri Terrorists’ Positions in Quneitra

The Syrian army destroyed the Takfiri terrorists’ positions in Quneitra province, killing a large number of the militants in heavy clashes.

The army units destroyed the Al-Nusra Front terrorists’ strongholds in Um al-Izam and Nabe al-Sakhr villages in the Southern parts of Quneitra.

Tens of Al-Nusra Front militants were killed and dozens more were injured in fierce clashes with the Syrian troops.

The Syrian army also destroyed the terrorists’ vehicles equipped with machine guns on the road to Kawm al-Basha village also in Southern Quneitra.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian Army’s Tiger Forces, the 87th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division, and the National Defense Forces (NDF) stormed the rebels’ positions in the al-Ghaab Plains of the Hama Governorate and recaptured a number of towns and sites around this area.

Following the recapture of al-Mansoura, Khirbat al-Naqous, and al-Ziyarah, the Syrian army men advanced to the town of Tal Wassit, where they stormed Ahrar Al-Sham’s defensive positions near the strategic hilltop, al-Masdar reported.

Less than two hours after launching their assault on Tal Wassit, the Syrian army troops retook full control over the hilltop, killing over 15 enemy combatants from Ahrar al-Sham and the Syrian Al-Qaeda group Al-Nusra Front.

Not long after the capture of Tal Wassit, the Syrian army concentrated part of their units to the South, attacking the Grain Silos located directly South of Al-Ziyarah.

Once again, the Syrian soldiers were successful in breaching Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra’s defensive positions, resulting in the capture of the Grain Silos.

To the North of Al-Ziyarah, the Tiger Forces and Liwaa Assoud Al-Jabal attacked the town of Al-Misheek, where once again, they were able to overpower the militants of Jaysh Al-Fateh and secure this area.

Currently, the Syrian army men are pushing North towards Qarqur in the hopes that they can reclaim this town that is located less than 15 kilometers from the strategic city of Jisr Al-Shughour.

Elsewhere, the Syrian popular defense forces repelled the Takfiri terrorists’ attacks on two strategic towns in the countryside of Idlib, and destroyed their military equipment in fierce clashes.

The militants of the Jeish al-Fath terrorist group, an alliance of Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham militant groups, tried to penetrate into the towns of Kafraya and Fuaa, but the popular forces foiled their attack.

It is for over four months now that the Jeish al-Fath terrorist group has besieged Kafraya and Fuaa.

Meantime, military sources announced that at least 160 rebel fighters have been killed in clashes with the Syrian Army across the Southern province of Dara’a in the last 24 hours.

The sources said that the militant groups’ offensives against the government forces’ position have failed and they have left at least 160 killed members behind and have pushed back their forces from the battlefronts.

Also, the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance forces made more gains in the Damascus countryside, and took over two more strategic areas in the city of Zabadani.

The army units and the resistance forces seized back al-Zahra and al-Qarbiya districts in Western Zabadani in fierce clashes with the foreign-backed terrorists.

The operation rooms of the terrorist groups, including Ahrar al-Sham were deployed in al-Zahra and al-Qarbiya districts.

The military observers believe that the Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters will take full control of Zabadani in the coming days.

The strategic city of Zabadani is located 45 kilometers to the Northwest of the city of Damascus in the Southern parts of Al-Qalamoun region.

Also, over two dozen foreign-backed terrorist commanders surrendered to the government troops in Zabadani.

A sum of 28 militant commanders laid down arms and surrendered to the Syrian authorities.

The terrorist leaders’ surrender came after ceasefire negotiations between the militants and the Syrian government in Zabadani failed.

Mohammad Abolqasem, representative of militant groups in the ceasefire negotiations with the Syrian army in Zabadani, on Monday blamed the Ahrar al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group for the failure of ceasefire talks in the Southwestern Syrian city.

“The negotiations were about the safe pullout of the militants from Zabadani in the Western countryside of Damascus in lieu of transfer of civilians from the towns of Kafarya and Fuaa in Idlib to Damascus countryside,” Abolqasem told FNA.