WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — An anti-tank guided weapon made in Europe and sold to the United States, ended up in the hands of Daesh in Iraq within just two months, the Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group said in a newly-published report.
CIA DELIBERATE PROGRAM
The anti-tank missiles in question were apparently purchased under a secret program run by the Central Intelligence Agency and allegedly destined for Syrian opposition groups, according to BuzzFeed, although skepticism abounds on the nature of their ties to Daesh.
"The United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Gulf sheikdoms and Turkey have been illegally arming, equipping, supplying, financing and supporting all the terrorist jihadi groups in Syria including the Islamic State (Daesh) from the very get-go for the purpose of overthrowing the Assad government," University of Illinois Professor of International Law Francis Boyle told Sputnik on Friday.
However, the US policy of building up Daesh and other jihadists groups to topple the legitimate Syrian government had been thwarted by the support Russia and Iran had provided to Damascus, Boyle pointed out.
"They [US policymakers] would have accomplished this objective if not for the military intervention by Russia and then Iran at the request of the Syrian government pursuant to the right of collective self-defense recognized by United Nations Charter article 51," he said.
Boyle warned that Washington intended to maintain its illegal military presence in Syria indefinitely and planned to use its bases there as a springboard to attack Iran.
DEMOCRATIC FACADE
Retired US Army Colonel and military tactician Douglas Macgregor told Sputnik that the weapons sent to allegedly strengthen democratic forces in Syria had flowed to the extreme Islamist groups instead.
"Yes. These weapons went to the alleged "Sunni Arab Rebels" fighting for a democratic Syria. In reality, they and their cohorts were Islamists in coalition with al-Nusrah [Nusrah Front] and al-Qaeda affiliated groups," Macgreor said.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump ended an enormous program of pro supporting and providing weapons to those groups, recognizing that they advanced Islamist goals, not secular democratic ones, Macgregor observed.
"This is why President Trump halted the arms flow to them," he said.
Macgregor commanded in the Battle of 73 Easting, a decisive tank fight during the 1991 Gulf War.
Most of the weapons Daesh obtained trough unauthorized retransfer were supplied to the Syrian opposition by the United States and Saudi Arabia, the report found. The diverted materiel was made up of Warsaw Pact-caliber weapons and ammunition that the US and Saudi Arabia purchased from states in Eastern Europe, the report said.
The views and opinions expressed by Francis Boyle and Douglas Macgregor are those of the experts, and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
