Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General and retired U.S. General Wesley Clark revealed in anย interview with CNN that the Islamic State (Daesh, ISIS) remains geostrategically imperative to Sunni nations, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as they clamor for strategic power over Shiโa nations, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. He explained that โneither Turkey nor Saudi Arabia want an Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon โbridgeโ that isolates Turkey, and cuts Saudi Arabia off.โ
“Letโs be very clear: ISIS is not just a terrorist organization; it is a Sunni terrorist organization. That means it blocks and targets Shiโa. And that means itโs serving the interests of Turkey and Saudi Arabia – even as it poses a threat to them.” – Retired Gen. Wesley Clark
When asked by the CNN host if Russian President Vladimir Putinโs suggestion that Turkey was โaiding ISISโ had any validity, he responded:
โAll along thereโs always been the idea that Turkey was supporting ISIS in some way. We know theyโve funneled people going through Turkey to ISIS. Someoneโs buying that oil that ISIS is selling; itโs going through somewhere – it looks to me like itโs probably going through Turkey – but the Turks havenโt acknowledged that.โ
After explaining this virtual gateway for the Islamic Stateโs oil, Clark was quick to emphasize that Putinโs allegations about Turkeyโs support for terrorist organization, ISIS, arenโt without their own hypocrisy. Russia, of course, has beenupholding President Bashar al-Assadโs administration in Syria against rebel groups backed by the U.S. โ despite continuing denials by U.S. officials that that particular theater is its primary interest in the region.
He said, โPutin would like to dirty Turkey by saying itโs supporting terrorists, but the truth is that heโs supporting terrorists. I mean, the tactics used by the Assad regime have been terror tactics. Theyโre dropping barrel bombs on innocent civilians.โ
Clark concludes the interview with a statement that encapsulates growing sentiment of many Westerners whoโve grown war-weary with such geopolitical wrangling overseas:
โThereโs no good guy in this – this is a power struggle for the future of the Middle East.โ
This article appeared atย ZeroHedge.com:ย http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-03/general-wesley-clark-isis-serves-interests-us-allies-turkey-and-saudi-arabia