American Congressman:
Anti-Iran U.S. Allies Back ISIL
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- A Congress member has disclosed that certain U.S. allies, which oppose Iran, are supporting the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
"There is support going to ISIS from people who are our friends who don't like Iran, this is not something we want to play in or tolerate," said Congressman Jim Himes.
Himes made the remarks in response to questions asked by employees from the Deloitte, one of the largest professional services networks in the world.
Throughout the years, the American leaders have made mistakes with regard to national and international crises because of fear, Himes said.
He suggested that the U.S. should do "what only we can do", noting Washington actions "are making this worse by tolerating our so called 'friends' playing a double game”.
The Democratic lawmaker was referring to "Saudi Arabia” and some other Persian Gulf states.
He went on to say that the U.S. budget is facing "profound challenges” primarily caused by huge spending in the Middle East.
The U.S. financial problems result from "the decision to spend a trillion [or so] dollars in the Middle East”, asking "should we be spending another $500 billion in Iraq and Syria?"
A senior Turkish official says ISIL is still receiving significant financial support from Arab sympathizers outside Iraq and Syria, enabling it to expand its war effort.
Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the regional Kurdish president Massoud Barzani, told The Independent on Sunday: "There is sympathy for Da’esh in many Arab countries and this has translated into money – and that is a disaster.”
He pointed out that until recently financial aid was being given more or less openly by Persian Gulf states to the opposition in Syria – but by now most of these militant groups have been absorbed into ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate, so it is they "who now have the money and the weapons”.
Hussein would not identify the states from which the funding for ISIL comes today, but implied that they were the same Persian Gulf oil states that financed militants in Iraq and Syria in the past.
Mahmoud Othman, a veteran member of the Iraqi Kurdish leadership who recently retired from the Iraqi parliament, said there was a misunderstanding as to why Persian Gulf countries paid off ISIL.
It is not only that donors are supporters of ISIL, but that the group "gets money from the Arab countries because they are afraid of it”, he says. "Persian Gulf countries give money to Da’esh so that it promises not to carry out operations on their territory.”
"I know three foreign fighters,” said Ahmad, a 45-year-old shopkeeper still working in Mosul. "I usually see them at checkpoints in our neighborhood: one is Turkish and the others are Europeans. Some of them speak a little Arabic. I know them well because they buy soft drinks from the shops in our neighborhood. The Turkish one is my customer. He says he talks to his family using the satellite internet service that is available for the foreigners, who have excellent privileges in terms of salaries, spoils and even captives.”
Himes made the remarks in response to questions asked by employees from the Deloitte, one of the largest professional services networks in the world.
Throughout the years, the American leaders have made mistakes with regard to national and international crises because of fear, Himes said.
He suggested that the U.S. should do "what only we can do", noting Washington actions "are making this worse by tolerating our so called 'friends' playing a double game”.
The Democratic lawmaker was referring to "Saudi Arabia” and some other Persian Gulf states.
He went on to say that the U.S. budget is facing "profound challenges” primarily caused by huge spending in the Middle East.
The U.S. financial problems result from "the decision to spend a trillion [or so] dollars in the Middle East”, asking "should we be spending another $500 billion in Iraq and Syria?"
A senior Turkish official says ISIL is still receiving significant financial support from Arab sympathizers outside Iraq and Syria, enabling it to expand its war effort.
Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the regional Kurdish president Massoud Barzani, told The Independent on Sunday: "There is sympathy for Da’esh in many Arab countries and this has translated into money – and that is a disaster.”
He pointed out that until recently financial aid was being given more or less openly by Persian Gulf states to the opposition in Syria – but by now most of these militant groups have been absorbed into ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate, so it is they "who now have the money and the weapons”.
Hussein would not identify the states from which the funding for ISIL comes today, but implied that they were the same Persian Gulf oil states that financed militants in Iraq and Syria in the past.
Mahmoud Othman, a veteran member of the Iraqi Kurdish leadership who recently retired from the Iraqi parliament, said there was a misunderstanding as to why Persian Gulf countries paid off ISIL.
It is not only that donors are supporters of ISIL, but that the group "gets money from the Arab countries because they are afraid of it”, he says. "Persian Gulf countries give money to Da’esh so that it promises not to carry out operations on their territory.”
"I know three foreign fighters,” said Ahmad, a 45-year-old shopkeeper still working in Mosul. "I usually see them at checkpoints in our neighborhood: one is Turkish and the others are Europeans. Some of them speak a little Arabic. I know them well because they buy soft drinks from the shops in our neighborhood. The Turkish one is my customer. He says he talks to his family using the satellite internet service that is available for the foreigners, who have excellent privileges in terms of salaries, spoils and even captives.”