"On October 22, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that it is time for “Iranian militias” that’s fighting ISIS in Iraq to “go home” according to Reuters Agency.

“Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against Daesh and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home. The foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control,” Tillerson said.

According to Reuters an US official explained that Tillerson was referring to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and the Iranian Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

However, the PMU consists of Iraqi forces with some Iranian support and assiastance. Considering this, Tillerson statement is either based on very poor understanding of the situation in Iraq, or it might be meant as propaganda, and nothing more." SF

https://southfront.org/us-state-secretary-iranian-militias-must-leave-iraq/

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The PMU are overwhelmingly IRAQI Shia Arabs. They ARE home. Tillerson looks foolish sitting next to Adel Jubair (aka The Chihuahua) broadcasting to the world the policy desiderata of the Saudi kingdom. We all know that DJT made his obeisance to the throne of the Wahhabi state. Tillerson is obviously there as the deputy mukhtar of America. Does the Shia run government of Iraq welcome such a statement? I doubt it. pl



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"US.-backed fighters captured Syria's largest oil field from the Islamic State group Sunday, marking a major advance against the extremists in an area coveted by pro-government forces.

With IS in retreat, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian government have been in a race to secure parts of the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province along the border with Iraq." Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-syria-oil-field-islamic-state-20171022-story.html

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Well, pilgrims, IMO the US/SDF has done this to cripple Syrian reconstruction. The income from this field will be needed for the re-building of places like Raqqa and Aleppo. What do the neocons and their general officer allies think they are going to do with their possession of this Syrian national property? Are they going to try to negotiate Kurdish autonomy amounting to independence? pl

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"Turkish troops first deployed in Idlib last Thursday with the purported aim of enforcing the so-called de-escalation zone that Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed to in the Kazakh capital of Astana last month. In a statement last week, Turkey’s prime minister said that the operation also aimed to reduce refugee flows into Turkey, prevent conflicts between civilians and militants in Idlib, and establish control points for future deployment in the area.

A wide-scale military campaign against HTS, however, was not listed among the objectives, and Turkey has not demonstrated any hostility toward the group. The two are believed to have coordinated operations in Idlib and HTS has escorted Turkish troops into the province at least four times in the past month." newsdeeply.com



https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/10/23/hostility-toward-militants-grows-in-idlib-as-turkey-deploys-troops

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IMO the new Sublime Porte speaks with Forked Tongue. How's that for a mixed metaphor? Sultan Tayyip and his band of neo-Ottomans harbor irredentist dreams with regard to the more or less united lands of the empire as it once was. . The Russians have fed them a slice of Syria both in Idlib Province and northeast of Aleppo City. It is reported that the Turkish military is occupying eight garrison positions in Idlib including two air bases. Good luck on getting them to withdraw to Turkey once they are well installed. pl

