Pirates in the sand: The Islamic State's paramilitary, America's 21st century terror privateers?

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What is ISIS? If you believe government and corporate media propaganda, then you probably still think that ISIS is a grassroots Islamic ideological movement - with no connection to foreign agencies like the CIA, Britain's MI6, Turkish (NATO) intelligence, Saudi intelligence, Israeli intelligence, or Pakistan's ISI.

You would be partly correct, in that there is a grassroots element to ISIS, one which coalesces around vulnerable poor, economically and politically disaffected, young Sunni Muslims - all needed to refill the lower foot soldiers ranks of their fighting force, and yes, some members of ISIS have an ideological belief system, even though it's not a very pleasant one. Theirs is a highly distorted, violent version of Islam, and a 360º theater of terror.

According the latest UN report, foreign jihadists are heading into Iraq and Syria on "an unprecedented scale", with bulk of the Syrian rebellion being 15,000 'Islamist' foreign fighters. Hardly an Arab Spring. The middle and upper ranks of ISIS include thousands of seasoned mercenary Islamic fighters from countries far and wide including, but not limited to, escaped terrorist convicts, and former detainees released from Guantanamo Bay.

The other mythology that's been

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erected around ISIS, is the idea that they are an "Islamic State" and economically self-sufficient, fledgling - with global ambitions. How western leaders and their media minions can refer to an terrorist-organized crime confab as a "state" defies belief and, in a funny way, actually dignifies and lends an air of political legitimacy - which this 'brand' .

No, they're not a state, and cannot actual govern territory in any real sense. Still, you can't stop America's reactionary millionaire pundit class (FOX's Sean Hannity, Megan Kelly et all, and Michael Savage, Glenn Beck) in the US from talking up ad nauseum the threat of an ISIS Islamic Caliphate taking over the western civilization and implementing Sharia Law. That's a free hint, and nice little take-away for producers at CNN, FOX News, BBC and the rest - all of whom are supplying ISIS will countless millions in free PR by keeping those camp terrorist propaganda YouTube videos on heavy rotation.

The substance and timing of that series of poorly produced 'beheading videos' (in which no one was actually beheaded on camera) is also suspect. Our mainstream media are only feeding the monster.

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Left: ISIS FOR HIRE: Mercenaries, and ISIS actors are always masked, coming from the most unusual places (South London?).

On closer inspection, these marauding paramilitary ISIS gangs are nothing new. They're being paid for, and directed at the highest levels by powers outside of Iraq and Syria. So it's no surprise that the US, UK, Saudi, Qatar and Turkey all share the exact same objective as ISIS - the destabilization of secular nation states in the Middle East and the removal of Bashar al Assad in Syria. With the same objectives and agenda, the Western Coalition and ISIS work together like a well-oiled machine. Think of them as McCain's Private Army (see video, below).

For either financial or political reasons, Empires have always used external militarized cells and mercenaries to commit unsavoury acts under a flag different than the monarchy, nation state,or private corporation who was directing them behind the scenes.

In 1979, US agencies, together with Pakistani intelligence, formed the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Years later, this fighting force, led by CIA asset Osama bin Laden (code named 'Tim Osman'), was rebranded into 'al Qaeda'. Like ISIS, the Mujahideen were also .

In the 1980′s, the Nicaraguan Death Squads

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and CIA-backed 'Contra' rebels, were under the financial and political control of Washington DC and death-squad specialist John Negroponte (photo, left). Through cocaine and narcotics trafficking, these paramilitary gangs were also able to fund their conquest to destabilize and terrorize Nicaraguans. So, it was no surprise when Negroponte showed up as US Ambassador in Baghdad, Iraq in 2004, that Islamic death squads began to appear in Iraq featuring some of the most brutal sectarian violence to date.

Negroponte's understudy during this period was US operative Robert Stephen Ford. After completing his study in Iraq, Ford was then moved in 2010 to become US Ambassador to Syria. Soon after Ford's arrival, western-backed Flash Mobs and targeted violence against Syrian police and military - erupted in parts of Syria.

It wasn't long before the Assad government realized why Ford was installed when he was, and promptly forced him out of Damascus in 2011. Not surprisingly, critics believe that it was US operative Robert Ford who laid the groundwork for the emergence of ISIS in Syria.

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Ruthless and unconventional "asymmetric" enemies are nothing new to the United States. Historically, the Privateer, or Barbary "Corsair", was a private person or ship authorized by a government to attack foreign vessels or governments, often covertly. During the 17th, 18th and 19th

centuries, Ottoman Corsairs operated along the North African coast, and attacked Colonial American ships for decades.

OLD SKOOL ISIS: .

Later, many of these Barbary Pirates (Image above) fell under the control of Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III. Privateering was also a way of mobilizing a small army without sacrificing real troops or spending state funds to do it. Privateers would generate income and operating capital through black market smuggling, pillaging and plundering treasure booty along the way. They also captured and impressed people into slavery along the way - just like ISIS today.

ALL YOU NEED IS A FLAG: ISIS sans navy. Notice the similarity.

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It could be said that the ladder day role is being shared by the US-UK-Franco (NATO) Axis and their GCC Gulf allies - the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain - all sponsors of the terrorist confab currently laying siege to two of the Middle East's only secular governments - Syria and Iraq. Each of these monarchies have their own designs on the important strategic and resource rich compartments in Syria and Iraq. It's been said how the former Emir of Qatar was looking forward to seeing his son Tamim as head of a new . Gas-rich Qatar has been a primary backer of the Syrian rebels since the armed civil war began in 2011, hoping to topple the Bashar al-Assad regime.

In addition, Qatar is also supporting Afghanistan's theocratic Taliban militants - by giving them increased political clout and a plush office in Doha next door to US Central Command (US CENTCOM) in the same capital city. Small world.

In the end, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Sham), or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), . Anyone could be ISIS, and ISIS could anyone - all you need is a black flag.

In 2014, maybe all we need is a gentle word from the , or the King, to call off the ISIS pirates. If only it were that simple.

These pirates are really 21st century 'Privateers'...