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US, Iran, and Iraq, Battle Al-Qaeda in Western Iraq
Reports have been filtering through the Israel media that for the first time, Iran and US military forces have joined in to help Iraq win its offensive in Anbar Province, Iraq, against the rebel al-qaeda forces withdrawing from Syria.
This is such an odd development for a common cause- to not allow al-qaeda create a haven in Iraq. However, Iran also wants to secure Syria and to create more influence in Iraq. Thus, the big winner is Iran, again. America, if the Iraqi offensive against al-Qaeda is successful, will have kept the terrorists at bay,
The Iraqi military has been waging war for over a week. American drones and other assets are at the Iraqi disposal, while Iran's Al Qods Brigades from Syria have also assisted the Iraqis. Iraqi and Syrian al-Qaeda branches, ISIS and the Nusra Front, have declared a holy war to this end under their commanders Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Abu Mohammed al-Golani.
They want to create a al-Qaeda zone in Anbar province, which is a huge slice of Iraq and Syria. The US has provided Iraq with EagleScan drones and attack helicopters with Hellfire missiles. Now, this is not a joint affair-both Iran and the US so not share information or intelligence as true allies do, they simply are helping Iraq deal with the growing threat. Al-Qaeda has long been establishing in Iraq and until recently, has remained rather invisible to many because their camps are in remote areas. But, this is different. If they are allowed to create a quasi-, it state, it would make all of the neighboring countries unstable, with Assad being the most fragile.
It clearly seems that the Free Syrian Army has lost its bid to overthrow Assad. That effort is dead. Many of these men are being recruited by al-Qaeda and well paid. Their common goal remains to remove Assad. They differ as to what happens after it happens!