The CIA's favorite proxies strike again... (edit: my bad, intended to link archive.ph)
Holy fuck, this is so sad.
al-Qaeda & ISIS seem to be doing the praxis for American Imperialism.
Why is this the case? What are their motives? And why (other than US direction) are they focusing on the Sahel states now?
Why is this the case? What are their motives? And why (other than US direction) are they focusing on the Sahel states now?
They've been focusing on the Sahel states for a while now, actually. Several states in the region (one of the poorest, most exploited regions on earth) have been liberating themselves from Francafrique imperialism and the "post-colonial" impositions on royalties for resource extraction, etc.- most prominent of which have been Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which overthrew the "democratic" regimes (which were essentially comprador dynasties) the west had imposed ever since their "independence" over the last few years, and have been trying to expel the western nations out of their foreign military bases, etc. as well.
Russia and the BRICS have been aiding these efforts- some if not all of which (I know Ibrahim Traore absolutely is) are explicitly socialist in nature. The three aforementioned Sahel states are working together to create a federation, and have pledged mutual defense (as France was trying to get ECOWAS to invade). Russia in particular has sent military (advisors? Wagner group also, etc) to help support the resistance, and is developing a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso among other things (many other developments w/ Russia and China), whereas for decades the region has been selling its uranium to France at prices that are worse than theft (and trapped under the West African franc and all its limitations- basically being forced to store a large portion of their wealth in French banks, having their monetary policy directly controlled by France, etc). Now they are also selling their resources at market rates.
The popular sentiment in the region, and the claims of the resistance, are also that while the west has been militarily occupying these countries for the longest time, citing "counter-terrorist activities," they have in fact been the ones causing the problem in the first place. Personally, obviously, I agree with that assessment (and I think anyone with half a brain cell would).
Basically that's the situation as it exists in the region, right now. The focus on the Sahel states has definitely been a thing for the past 1-2 years or more to my recollection.
Why is this the case?
As Lenin wrote in Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism, imperialist wars marked a departure from wars conducted in the prior eras in that they are fundamentally rooted in the expansion of finance capital.
The Sahel kicking out imperialists, establishing their own protectionist bloc, nationalizing resources and their economies, all of which threaten and disrupt the free flowing of trillions of dollars of American capital while shutting them out of the region.
These acts that violate the sanctity of the Free Market must be punished, by any means necessary.
This is the obvious part. Resisting Imperialism is always the 3rd rail.
The part I'm unsure of is why al-Qaeda doing the dirty work of these Imperialists. How does the state dept convince them to expand into the sahel? Or are they under the direct command/funding of the state dept?
I've never believed they were anything but tools of the empire that the empire reins in from time to time if they go al little too far
Right, but surely they aren't doing it because they love the empire like the little NAFO dweebs you see online.
So the empire must either:
- coerce them into doing their bidding
- provide them with something they want/need
- share mutual interests with them so they can expect them to fall in line
I want to know which so people I try to convince don't roll their eyes when I say al-Qaeda and ISIS are western puppet orgs.
How about all three at once? Most people can at least connect the dots and recognize (it's basically universal knowledge for all but the willfully ignorant bootlickers) that the US is behind the origins of both al-Qaeda and ISIS, as the ones who funded, armed, and created the conditions from which they could exist.
Anyone with a decent understanding of the region will also understand that the US (and before them, the Brits) made a policy of supporting the most extreme sect (Wahhabism) in the Arabian peninsula, and has a long history of toppling secular governments and leaders in the Islamic world (even democratically elected non-socialist ones), and they used these Islamist tendencies to counteract socialist and pan-Arab movements.
To build further though, ISIS and al-Qaeda are not so different from, say, the cartels, mafias, bratvas, triads, and other organized crime (or insurgencies)- both in how they operate (besides a particular focus on terror), and in their deeply intertwined history with the US and western alphabet agencies. They provide a service to the empire- regional destabilization, and in certain areas like Syria and Iraq, also oil- and what the west supplies in exchange, apart for financing and support for these crime warlords- is to further escalate tensions and encircle their nations to destroy legitimate governments- it is a mutually beneficial relationship, as both compliment each other greatly- they feed off of each other's destabilization.
Nearly 600 people were killed within a few hours in Burkina Faso by terrorists linked to Al Qaeda, according to a report by France's top intelligence agencies.
We should pay close attention to the source on this one I think. Is there a corroborating source for this? "Al Qaeda Massacre" would be a pretty convenient excuse to French/US military involvement, so I'm a bit suspicious of this report. The article mentions the UN estimating roughly 200 deaths, but not much info beyond that. Could this group be getting funding/training from western intel, maybe through a proxy? We saw that happen before in Syria, so it wouldn't be anything new. Also, the end of the article pretty much says outright how this benefits western powers:
A series of coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger has led to the departure of French and American forces, creating a power vacuum that has allowed jihadist groups to thrive.
Could this group be getting funding/training from western intel, maybe through a proxy?
That was my assumption from the start, tbh (and that would fit the claims of the affected nations). Ukraine is also involved supporting these terrorists, while Russia is aiding the Sahel states.
