A global conference of Sunni Muslims was held in Chechnya with the blessing of Russian President Putin, to plan the isolation and undermining of Saudi Arabia and its radical Wahabi brand of Islam that spawned Al Quaeda and ISIS. At the same time, Iran, Iraq and Syria are overcoming political differences to present a united front to exclude the US and work with Russia and Turkey under the guidance of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. US General Joseph Dunford, says the US will remain in northern Iraq to work with Saudis to promote Al Quaeda and prevent Syrian President Assad resuming control. Spokespeople from the US state department claim the General is not citing official policy. It is not clear which way President-elect Donald Trump will eventually lean.
The Salafi movement in Sunni Islam has experienced a strong jolt recently, not only in terms of a challenge to its worldview but even to its very existence. On August 25-27, an international conference held in Grozny, Chechnya, was attended by over 200 leading Muslim clerics from various Islamic schools of thought, sponsored by the president of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov (see photo), and with the blessing of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Participants addressed the question, “Who are the people of the Sunna?” and determined that authentic Sunni Islam is not a militant religion that preaches violence, but rather a religion characterized by inclusion and tolerance towards the “other”.
https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1808/the-grozny-conference-in-chechnya-is-the-salafi-movement-a-rotten-fruit-of-sunni-islam
US military hackers have penetrated Russia’s electric grid,
US hacks into the computer infrastructure of adversary nations such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea is akin to the kind of military scouting that is as old as human conflict.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-hackers-ready-hit-back-if-russia-disrupts-election-n677936
US General says we plan on “governing Raqqa” after takeover, and set up safe zones to train Al Qaeda
The end goal…to keep the war in Syria alive, and keep the diminishing hopes of overthrowing Assad in play, irregardless of the inevitable fact that the legitimate government in Damascus will soon control the major urban western hubs of the fractured nation.
Are US allies in Southeast Asia defecting to China?
Malaysia and the Philippines’ rapprochement with China is the result of realignment of interests.