The bombing of Syria is underway, lead by the US and backed by our Arab partners. But the situation stinks worse than ever, from funding to new propaganda videos.

Today the US and its partners struck modular oil refineries in Syria, and we’ll dig into the details.

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— Show Notes —

ISIS Update

Syria Becomes the 7th Predominantly Muslim Country Bombed by 2009 Nobel Peace Laureate – The Intercept

The U.S. today began bombing targets inside Syria, in concert with its lovely and inspiring group of five allied regimes: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan.

That means that Syria becomes the 7th predominantly Muslim country bombed by 2009 Nobel Peace Laureate Barack Obama—after Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Iraq.

Six weeks of bombing hasn’t budged ISIS in Iraq, but it has caused ISIS recruitment to soar. That’s all predictable: the U.S. has known for years that what fuels and strengthens anti-American sentiment (and thus anti-American extremism) is exactly what they keep doing: aggression in that region. If you know that, then they know that. At this point, it’s more rational to say they do all of this not despite triggering those outcomes, but because of it. Continuously creating and strengthening enemies is a feature, not a bug. It is what justifies the ongoing greasing of the profitable and power-vesting machine of Endless War.

If there is anyone who actually believes that the point of all of this is a moral crusade to vanquish the evil-doers of ISIS (as the U.S. fights alongside its close Saudi friends), please read Professor As’ad AbuKhalil’s explanation today of how Syria is a multi-tiered proxy war.

• Blowback! U.S. trained Islamists who joined ISIS

Syrian rebels who would later join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, were trained in 2012 by U.S. instructors working at a secret base in Jordan, according to informed Jordanian officials.

The officials said dozens of future ISIS members were trained at the time as part of covert aid to the insurgents targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The officials said the training was not meant to be used for any future campaign in Iraq.

The Jordanian officials said all ISIS members who received U.S. training to fight in Syria were first vetted for any links to extremist groups like al-Qaida.

In February 2012, WND was first to report the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training base for the Syrian rebels in the Jordanian town of Safawi in the country’s northern desert region.

That report has since been corroborated by numerous other media accounts.

Last March, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported Americans were training Syrian rebels in Jordan.

U.S., coalition forces hit IS oil refineries in Syria

U.S. aircraft and those from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates struck Islamic State targets in Syria Wednesday, including 12 “modular oil refineries,” the U.S. Central Command said.

The 13 airstrikes used a combination of fighter aircraft and drones, according to Central Command. The targets were in the remote eastern part of Syria near the towns of Al Mayadin, Al Hasakah, and Abu Kamal. Another strike hit an IS vehicle near Dayr az Zawr, also in eastern Syria.

John Cantlie – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Cantlie is a British war photographer and correspondent who was kidnapped in Syria with James Foley in November 2012.[2] Cantlie was previously kidnapped in Syria in July 2012 and was rescued a week later.

Home Work: Syrian wars of proxy

F. William Engdahl – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frederick William Engdahl (born August 9, 1944) is an American German freelance journalist, historian and economic researcher

CIA ramping up covert training program for moderate Syrian rebels – The Washington Post

The CIA is expanding a clandestine effort to train opposition fighters in Syria amid concern that moderate, U.S.-backed militias are rapidly losing ground in the country’s civil war, U.S. officials said.

Feds Name 12 Backers of Terrorism in Syria and Beyond – NBC News.com

Among those named Wednesday were two alleged ISIS officials: Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, also known as Omar al-Shishani, described by the U.S. as a Syrian-based Georgia national who has held numerous top military positions within ISIS and has led a number of attacks, and Tariq Bin-Al-Tahar Bin al Falih al-‘Awni Al-Harzi, who allegedly has worked to raise funds and recruit fighters for the Islamic terror group.

Six others were identified as acting for or on behalf of al Qaeda, its Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, or other affiliated groups. They are: ‘Abd al-Aziz Aday Zimin al-Fadhil, a Kuwaiti; Ashraf Muhammad Yusuf ‘Uthman ‘Abd al-Salam; ‘Abd al-Malik Muhammad Yusuf ‘Uthman ‘Abd al-Salam, a Jordanian; Fatih Hasar, a resident of Turkey; Hamad Awad Dahi Sarhan al-Shammari; and Ibrahim ‘Isa Hajji Muhammad al-Bakr, who is believed to be living in tribal areas in Pakistan.

High Note

Prosecutor to drop all Seattle marijuana tickets | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

Seattle’s elected prosecutor says he’s dropping all tickets issued for the public use of marijuana through the first seven months of this year, because most of them were issued by a single police officer who disagrees with the legal pot law.

KTVA reporter quits on-air, reveals herself as owner of Alaska Cannabis Club | Alaska Dispatch

“Now everything you’ve heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska,” she said. “And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, fuck it, I quit.”

And with that, she walked off camera.