Free Republic

The American media has been providing evidence since 2013, that the so-called Free Syrian Army and The Al-Nusra Front, are one and the same organization. Here is a Washington Times article from 2013: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/30/al-nusra-front-free-syrian-army-seize-border-cross/ Al-Nusra Front, as the Washington Times makes clear, is the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda Have Al Qaeda now become the "moderates"? The so-called Syrian moderates belong to a movement that has killed more Americans than ISIS (Remember 911?) ISIS used to be the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, before they re-organized themselves into a new movement - ISIL/ISIS Both the Al-Nusra Front and ISIS want...

Washington has been continuing to develop measures against the Russian strategy in Syria. First of all, the US has to demonstrate the existence of the so-called “moderate rebels”. For that reason the topic of the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) became popular in the US and European media. But what is the FSA? FSA units were created about half a year after the start of the Syrian war.Turkey supported this idea. However, it always was a PR myth and never was a real power in the battlefield. The first FSA activity was noted in 2011 when its leader, a former colonel...

<p>The U.S. military airdropped 50 tons of ammunition to Syrian rebels fighting ISIS on Sunday — the latest maneuver in the United States' attempt to help turn the tide of a chaotic civil war.</p> <p>The airdrop, consisting of AK-47 rounds, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds, targeted rebels in ISIS-held territory in northern Syria, senior defense and military officials told NBC News.</p>

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked that, instead of funding Syrian rebels, the U.S. should have just given the money to Russia. The U.S. halted its training program after many rebels defected and U.S. weapons landed in the hands of al-Qaeda. “It would have been better to give us $500 million,” quipped Putin. “At least we would have used it more effectively from the point of view of fighting international terrorism.”Al-Qaeda kidnapped or killed multiple “New Syrian Force” fighters, which left American weapons in their hands. The Pentagon also provided vehicles and ammunition to Nusra Front, a radical Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda,...

While Toyota’s own figures show a tripling of sales of the Hilux in Iraq during 2013, US authorities are also investigating other sources from which the cars could have originated, as part of a broader effort to “prevent Western-made goods from ending up in the hands of the terror group.” But the US has, in fact, knowingly exported Toyotas that could now potentially be in the terrorist group’s fleet. In April 2014, a report published by Public Radio International announced that US State Department aid sent to Syrian rebels included 43 Toyota trucks. At the time, the Hiluxes were meant...

Syria's leading Kurdish militia and several Arab rebel groups that have fought alongside it have formalised their alliance in a new group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. The formation of the alliance comes after Washington said it was abandoning a plan to train and equip rebels to fight the Islamic State group and could provide the US with a new partner in the battle against the jihadist group. The alliance was announced in a statement published online by a spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). "The sensitive stage through which our country Syria is passing and the rapid...

A U.S.-backed Syrian-Kurdish militia, a number of Arab rebel groups and an Assyrian Christian group in Syria have formed a coalition to build a democratic representation for a number of moderate parties within Syria, according to a statement seen by Reuters on Monday. The new alliance, which is calling itself the Democratic Forces of Syria, includes the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that beat back the Islamic State (ISIS) with the support of U.S. airstrikes in the Syrian-Kurdish border town of Kobani earlier this year. The YPG continues to battle the radical Islamist group in areas of northeastern Syria and...

CNN)U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups. Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced. C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US,...

Hitting Back 10.12.151:03 AM ET Written by Austin Bodetti, David Axe Syria Rebels Plan Suicide Attacks on Russians The Homs Liberation Movement, a Free Syrian Army faction close to al Qaeda, plans to infiltrate the Syrian military to find where the Russians are—and blow them up. After more than a week of Russian aerial attacks, Syrian rebels plan to hit back with double agents and suicide bombers. “First, we will endure the violent aerial bombardment, then move to weaken Russia by all means available, such as recruiting agents in the ranks of the regime to provide us with the movements...

President Obama now says he never believed in the $500-million program to train and equip the moderate Syrian opposition. The administration last week halted the failed program, which ended up “training” fewer than 100 Syrians, all but four or five of whom deserted or died after the Americans tried to turn them into anti-ISIS fighters. “Steve, this is why I’ve been skeptical from the get-go about the notion that we were going to effectively create this proxy army inside Syria,” Obama told CBS’ Steve Kroft during an interview for “60 Minutes.” …

Lavrov said he did not know much about the Free Syrian Army and had asked U.S. leadership for more information. "In any case, I asked [U.S. Secretary of State] John Kerry to have [the United States] give us some sort of information of where the Free Syrian Army is and who's running it," he said, according to Sputnik News.

A Saudi Arabian official has reportedly disclosed that the Sunni kingdom sent Syrian rebels a new batch of one of the most effective weapons for battling against the Assad regime this week. BBC correspondent Frank Gardner tweeted that a Saudi official confirmed the delivery of 500 TOW antitank missiles to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The FSA is currently being squeezed from all directions by the Syrian military, Russian airstrikes, and competition from jihadist fighters, including ISIS. The delivery of the TOW missiles — which have also been provided by the CIA — will increase the capabilities of the FSA...

President tells CBS's Steve Kroft in interview previewed on-air Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's moves into Syria are out of weakness, not strength US has abandoned $500 million to train and arm rebels fighting to remove Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from power (snip) 'He's moved troops into Syria, for one. He's got people on the ground,' Kroft said. 'Two, the Russians are conducting military operations in the Middle East for the first time since World War II... Bombing the people we are supporting.' 'He's challenging your leadership, Mr. President. He's challenging your leadership.' Obama replied, 'So that's leading, Steve?'...

The Islamic State has issued a statement claiming that its fighters have seized key several towns north of the city of Aleppo. In addition, the group’s propaganda arm has released a series of photos documenting its newly-gained territory. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s organization made few gains in the Aleppo province over the preceding months, as a complex multi-sided fight had prevented the “caliphate” from claiming any definitive victories. But Russia’s intervention has changed the balance of power, even if only temporarily. It remains to be seen if the Islamic State’s surge in the province results in long-lasting territorial gains. However,...

Rebels with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Wednesday repelled an offensive by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in central Syria, destroying 10 government tanks despite repeated fire from a Russian air assault, their leaders claim.

MOSCOW -- Russian jets carried out a second day of strikes in Syria Thursday, as a senior U.S. politician and activists claimed the targets included rebels backed by the United States. "I can absolutely confirm to you that they were strikes against our Free Syrian Army recruits that have been armed and trained by the CIA, because we have communications with people there," Republican Sen. John McCain, who is head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview with CNN, according to the Reuters news agency.

Health Reform: Workers across the country will soon learn just how big President Obama's "keep your plan" lie was when ObamaCare costs them their beloved Flexible Spending Accounts.

Fighting between the government of Bashar al-Assad and various opposition forces continues to intensify in Daraa province, in southern Syria. For religious minorities, the rising conflict means living in fear of persecution. By either side. “In my village, Namir, there is no difference between Christians and Muslims,” Nour, 28, who studied English literature and fled with her parents during a regime assault, told Syria Deeply. “We all had to leave.” Since the emergence of hard-line armed groups such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), several minority groups – among them Christians, Alawites, Shiites, Druze and others...

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is blocking oil sales to northern Syria, activists say, unleashing an economic weapon that could cause food shortages and hospital shutdowns, and may undermine the rebels’ fight against the jihadi force. The blockade also shows how heavily dependent even the group’s enemies are on the crude it produces, and how much influence that allows the jihadis to wield.

Yet another senior Iranian general has been killed fighting in Syria to prop up President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Iranian news agencies revealed late on Friday. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Maj. Gen. Hadi Kajbaf was killed in April around 60 miles south of Damascus, near the rebel-hold town Busr al-Harir, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim as cited by Reuters. His body was shipped back to Iran last Friday. Another three Iranian soldiers were killed alongside the general, including a mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric, reported the state-run Fars News Agency. Kajbaf's rank was the highest in Iran's military, meaning he was among...