Those ISIS troops are training in Syria, not Israel

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Oct 29, 2017 at 03:28

Hi, Debanjan

I wasn't interested enough to look up all your links; so I just clicked on the last one, namely,

https://www.timesofisrael.com/tv-report-islamic-state-chiefs-gather-near-israel-border-set-up-training-camp/

I didn't see anything in that story that said Israel was sheltering ISIS. Here is a recent situation map from Syria:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNH6oDoX4AAlY8H.jpg

Notice that there is a small ISIS enclave on the SYRIAN side of the border. It has been there for some time. Would you accuse Syria of "sheltering ISIS"? I doubt it. On the Israeli side, there are only Israelis -- save a few Americans at Dimona.

The only change I might make on the map, is to note that the rebel forces around Idlib are also "Turkish backed". There immediate plans, according to Turkish Pres. Erdogan himself, are to attack the Kurdish enclave around Afrin (the yellow patch in NW Syria). As soon as the Russians allow him to do that, he would be able to connect his forces and control much of Syria. I dare say, the Russians are not allowing this at the moment.

The red areas on the map are labeled as controlled by "Syrian government forces". I presume these are subservient to the Iranians and Hizbullah. The Syrian Civil War has a lot of life left in it. The main forces may change a little, just as the have been for years; but ultimately, the target is Israel. I don't think anyone who has been following the conflict has any delusions that the situation is otherwise.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".