Over the weekend, Andrew McCarthy wrote in National Review that not only does the now infamous “Khorasan Group” not exist, but that the Obama administration created it as a “rationale for an emergency air war there was supposedly no time to ask Congress to authorize”:
Khorasan? Figment of #Obama's alternative reality. It's all al Qaeda,original & un-"decimated" -My wknd @NRO column: http://t.co/HpY9tvf7TR
— Andy McCarthy (@AndrewCMcCarthy) September 27, 2014
As McCarthy is the the guy who prosecuted Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman (the “Blind Sheikh”) and is an expert on terrorism, maybe we should look into this claim?
Pfft to that. This story hasn’t gained much traction in the MSM, with Media Matters — of course — doing its best to discredit it:
Conservative Media’s Khorasan Conspiracy: Obama Administration Invented Terror Cell To Hide Its Al Qaeda Roots
But now there’s this…
Jenan Moussa of Arabic Al Aan TV, reported last night that documents obtained at the scene of a recent U.S. airstrike in Syria on the alleged headquarters of the “Khorasan Group” allegedly confirm what McCarthy wrote: There is no such entity known as the “Khorasan Group”:
Exclusive: We got a camera at spot recently bombed by US near #Aleppo. US claims this is HQ of “Khorasan group” Check http://t.co/bcy8KRoXO2
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) September 30, 2014
U.S calls them “Khorasan” but document we spotted btwn rubble shows Khorasan is in fact “Wolf Unit of Jabhat AlNusra” http://t.co/bcy8KRoXO2
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) September 30, 2014
Now let’s look at what McCarthy wrote over the weekend:
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The “Khorosan Group” is al-Qaeda. It is simply a faction within the global terror network’s Syrian franchise, “Jabhat al-Nusra.” Its leader, Mushin al-Fadhli (believed to have been killed in this week’s U.S.-led air strikes), was an intimate of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaeda who dispatched him to the jihad in Syria. Except that if you listen to administration officials long enough, you come away thinking that Zawahiri is not really al-Qaeda, either. Instead, he’s something the administration is at pains to call “core al-Qaeda.”
Both McCarthy and Ms. Moussa are reporting the same thing.
And here is Ms. Moussa from this morning explaining in greater detail the Khorasan Group/al-Qaeda link and offering an explanation as to why the U.S. would create it:
I will explain more on the "Khorasan/ Wolf Unit story" in upcoming tweets. >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
"Khorasan group" as name doesnt exist on ground in #Syria. U.S used this name to refer to "Wolf Unit JaN", elite unit of AlQaeda in #Syria >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Point is AlQaeda affiliated Nusra calls group hit by U.S "Wolf Unit". U.S calls it "Khorasan" as some of its members served b4 in Af/Pak >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Question now is: Why did U.S make up name “Khorasan group”, not just admit bombing Jabhat AlNusra? >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
1 explanation: Nusra fights Assad regime &has some popular support in N. Syria. >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
By “not bombing Nusra but only Khorasan group”, U.S hoped it wouldn’t alienate more Syrians/ moderate rebels who work w/ Nusra agnst Assad >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Document we found among rubble of bombed out “Wolf Unit JaN” contains names of 13 “Wolf Unit” members who lived in compound bombed by U.S >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Significant: Members on list of bombed “Wolf Unit – JaN” all foreigners. 4turkey, 2Egypt, 2Tunisia, 2Yemen, 1Serbia, 1Palestine, 1Caucasus >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Acc. to document, “Wolf Unit-JaN” is headed by top sniper Abu Yousef AlTurki, confirmed dead by Nusra in U.S airstrike. >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Also acc to docu, all members of “Wolf Unit-JaN” have next to their names written the designation “artillery” & which weapon they carry. >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Our pics of bombed out “Wolf Unit-JaN” show tunnel near compound of group. Sources: 50 Nusra dead in U.S strikes/ 200 survived >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
Also acc to source, there are total of 10 Jabhat AlNusra compounds in area hit near Aleppo. 3 bombed by U.S, 7 not. Reasons unknown. >
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
All details of "Khorasan/ Wolf Unit" story, u find here. Video, pics & text in English: http://t.co/MPTRBzo58T
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 1, 2014
To summarize Ms. Moussa, the Obama administration thinks this “Wolf Unit” is somehow different from the rest of Jabhat al-Nusra which is itself part of al-Qaeda, but some of Jabhat al-Nusra is working with “moderate” Assad rebels so we don’t want to bomb all of Jabhat al-Nusra. Simple? Hardly.
It’s time for the Obama administration to explain in greater detail just what is going on here.
Related:
Updates on last night’s bombing campaign against ISIS and Khorasan targets in Syria [photos, maps]
Obama won’t like this deadpan snark from Bret Baier (nor the responses), so take a look!
Media love Obama’s war, but what should it be called? This name suggestion is GENIUS
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