Convicted Criminals Serve as “Freedom Fighters” in Syria: Saudi, Pakistani and Iraqi Prison Inmates Replenish Al Qaeda Ranks | Global Research

Convicted Criminals Serve as “Freedom Fighters” in Syria: Saudi, Pakistani and Iraqi Prison Inmates Replenish Al Qaeda Ranks | Global Research

Several hundred prisoners who escaped from carefully guarded
prisons in Iraq have recently joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS) as well as the Al Qaeda affiliated rebel force, Jabhat Al Nusra.

According to the NYT: “the prison breaks also reflect the surging demand for experienced fighters [by
the US and its allies], which led to a concerted effort by militant
groups, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, to
seek them in the one place where they were held en masse — Iraq’s prison
cells.” (Tim Arango  and Eric Schmitt, Escaped Inmates From Iraq Fuel Syrian Insurgency, NYT, February 12, 2014):

“American officials estimate, a few hundred of the
escapees have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, several in
senior leadership roles.”

Acknowledged by the NYT, the prison breakouts are part of the
recruitment of jihadists to serve in the Syrian insurgency. What is not
mentioned, however, is that the recruitment of mercenaries is 
coordinated by NATO, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar with the support of
the Obama administration. Moreover, known and documented, most Al Qaeda
affiliated forces are covertly supported by Western intelligence
including the CIA, Mossad and Britain’s MI6.

The prison breaks in Iraq are part of a coordinated endeavor
entitled  “Operation Breaking the Walls,” established in July 2012 by
the ISIS. Acknowledged by an American counterterrorism official quoted
by the NYT,

 “The influx of these terrorists, who collectively have
decades of battlefield experience, probably has strengthened the group
and deepened its leadership bench.”