Syria in 2016 (October onwards)

[CrowBat]

[B]APPEARS now the Russian military is directly involved in war crimes against civilians.....


GRAPHIC execution in Syria: Women & men look like civilians lined up and shot in back. You can hear Russian-speaking men are w/ the killers.
'Careful: that's a two-years old video, and showing Daesh thugs of Russian origin (some of about 25,000 Putler 'exported' to Syria).

[CrowBat]

The battle becomes a nightmare for #Turkey.
Must go all-in or all out now.Not really.

This is just a 'welcome to fighting Daesh reminder'.

Something that so many people have not understood about the FSyA, earlier this year.

Remember all the 'ping-poing' between Syrian insurgents and the Daesh in the area between Azaz and ar-Rai (along the Turkish border) earlier this year? On one day, the FSyA would assault and capture 6-8 villages. On the next day the Daesh would counterattack and recapture five, etc.

Everybody was laughing about and belittling insurgents back then (especially all the PKK-fans - in Syria, and in the West). Quasi, they couldn't capture a single place, nor hold it in face of Daesh's counterattacks; they're inexperienced, running away etc.

Problem was: the Daesh unleashed about 80 SVBIEDs and VBIEDs against them between January and August this year (at least I ceased counting at about 73 or so, that was back in July) - and not only some 4-5 like against Turks so far. But nobody has given a damn. And it did so especially in built-up areas, where it's hard to ID and knock out these on time (plus, word is they have brought some unit specially trained for urban combat to al-Bab, few days ago).

It's the same that's happening to Iraqis in Mosul, or to the GNA in Syrte: both are either going to win a major battle against Daesh, or have already won it. And this with full support from the USA and allies. But, they're still suffering such losses, that they'll have no effective military capability left once the nightmare is over.

[CrowBat]

CrowBat....appears now the Assad backstabbing of the Kurds has started....

On the day, pro-regime forces expel the last rebel from #Aleppo, #Assad tells part time ally #YPG to leave Aleppo within 8 days

Seems that Iran...Assad...Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shia militias forgot the Kurds currently control 30% of Assad's territory.....and if stabbed in the back might in fact side then with their natural allies....FSA
I'm rather surprised they managed to wait for 'that' long...

Dumb Kurds: they just can't learn from their own history.

[Azor]

...which, on the other side, was kind of 'necessary' because Iranians actually got few nukes.

Must admit, I have it really hard to believe what I just wrote - and then in the public. But, Al Venter (a highly experienced South African author who researched that affair for years and wrote a book to the latter topic) is in full agreement in this regards - and that since some 3-4 years...

Venter certainly expressed alarm at Iran's nuclear program, although one can agree with him when it is compared to developments in Iraq and Syria, as well as the United States' failure to detect Pakistan's cold testing and Chagai-I.

However, I see no evidence that he believes that Iran possesses any bombs. I highly doubt that the Israelis would permit Iran to have any bombs, even of the Fat Man/Little Boy types that North Korea has.

Suffice it to say I am surprised you wrote that as well...

[OUTLAW 09]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/aleppo-and-american-decline/2016/12/22/1c025a5a-c877-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Aleppo and American decline



The fall of Aleppo just weeks before Barack Obama leaves office is a fitting stamp on his Middle East policy of retreat and withdrawal. The pitiable pictures from the devastated city showed the true cost of Obama’s abdication.

For which he seems to have few regrets, however. In his end-of-year news conference, Obama defended U.S. inaction with his familiar false choice: It was either stand aside or order a massive Iraq-style ground invasion.

This is a transparent fiction designed to stifle debate. At the beginning of the civil war, the popular uprising was ascendant. What kept a rough equilibrium was regime control of the skies. At that point, the United States, at little risk and cost, could have declared Syria a no-fly zone, much as it did Iraqi Kurdistan for a dozen years after the Gulf War of 1991.

The U.S. could easily have destroyed the regime’s planes and helicopters on the ground and so cratered its airfields as to make them unusable. That would have altered the strategic equation for the rest of the war.

And would have deterred the Russians from injecting their own air force — they would have had to challenge ours for air superiority. Facing no U.S. deterrent, Russia stepped in and decisively altered the balance, pounding the rebels in Aleppo to oblivion.

The Russians were particularly adept at hitting hospitals and other civilian targets, leaving the rebels with the choice between annihilation and surrender.

They surrendered.

Speaking about the bloodshed and violence in Aleppo, Syria, during a news conference, Dec. 16, President Obama reflected on the actions he took and the responsibility he felt. "Unless we ... were going to take over Syria, we were going to have problems," he said. (Reuters)

Obama has never appreciated that the role of a superpower in a local conflict is not necessarily to intervene on the ground, but to deter a rival global power from stepping in and altering the course of the war. That’s what we did during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Moscow threatened to send troops to support Egypt and President Nixon countered by raising America’s nuclear alert status to Defcon 3. Russia stood down.

Less dramatically but just as effectively, American threats of retaliation are what kept West Germany, South Korea and Taiwan free and independent through half a century of Cold War.

It’s called deterrence. Yet Obama never had the credibility to deter anything or anyone. In the end, the world’s greatest power was reduced to bitter speeches at the United Nations. “Are you truly incapable of shame?” thundered U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power at the butchers of Aleppo. As if we don’t know the answer. Indeed the shame is on us for terminal naivete, sending our secretary of state chasing the Russians to negotiate one humiliating pretend cease-fire after another.

Even now, however, the Syria debate is not encouraging. The tone is anguished and emotional, portrayed exclusively in moral terms. Much less appreciated is the cold strategic cost.

Assad was never a friend. But today he’s not even a free agent. He’s been effectively restored to his throne, but as the puppet of Iran and Russia. Syria is now a platform, a forward base, from which both these revisionist regimes can project power in the region.

Iran will use Syria to advance its drive to dominate the Arab Middle East. Russia will use its naval and air bases to bully the Sunni Arab states, and to shut out American influence.

It’s already happening. The foreign and defense ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey convened in Moscow this week to begin settling the fate of Syria. Notice who wasn’t there. For the first time in four decades, the United States, the once dominant power in the region, is an irrelevance.

With Aleppo gone and the rebels scattered, we have a long road ahead to rebuild the influence squandered over the past eight years. President-elect Donald Trump is talking about creating safe zones. He should tread carefully.

It does no good to try to do now what we should have done five years ago. Conditions are much worse. Russia and Iran rule. Maintaining the safety of safe zones will be expensive and dangerous. It will require extensive ground deployments, and it risks military confrontation with Russia.

And why? Guilty conscience is not a good reason. Interventions that are purely humanitarian — from Somalia to Libya — tend to end badly. We may proclaim a “responsibility to protect,” but when no American interests are at stake, the engagement becomes impossible to sustain. At the first losses, we go home.

In Aleppo, the damage is done, the city destroyed, the inhabitants ethnically cleansed. For us, there is no post-facto option. If we are to regain the honor lost in Aleppo, it will have to be on a very different battlefield.

[Azor]

Aleppo and American decline

Yawn. Where was the WaPo during the Hainan Island incident or the war in South Ossetia?

How much mass murder did Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton tolerate? Were Rwanda, Congo and Sudan all examples of "American decline"?

The Neo-Conservatives who wanted Iraq on a platter really have crossed the aisle now haven't they?

[CrowBat]

Venter certainly expressed alarm at Iran's nuclear program, although one can agree with him when it is compared to developments in Iraq and Syria, as well as the United States' failure to detect Pakistan's cold testing and Chagai-I.

However, I see no evidence that he believes that Iran possesses any bombs. I highly doubt that the Israelis would permit Iran to have any bombs, even of the Fat Man/Little Boy types that North Korea has.

Suffice it to say I am surprised you wrote that as well...
Well, for my part, I can only say that when one gets to hear detailed reports about special storage sites, exercises in delivery of special cargoes to specific air bases, and training of Su-24-crews by suitably experienced foreign instructors in very typical delivery profiles... then certain conclusions are more than logical.

Call it an 'educated guess' if you like, but the moment when one 'connects the dots' and that 'light bulb' somewhere behind my eyes goes on, the feeling is similar to the one from this morning.

Namely CO Jaysh an-Nasr (FSyA, Idlib) - ex-SAA officer and thus well-informed thanks to his informants on the regime side, as always - issued the following message (https://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2016/12/23/syriafsa-jaish-al-nasr-commanders-dont-look-at-the-situation-as-the-regime-wants-you/):

“Don’t look at the situation as the regime wants#you”

- The regime is exhausted and Russians get weaker as the result of a war that lasts longer.

- There are deep contradictions between the Russians and the Iranians in Syria about the power sharing and control.

- They try to present another situation to the Syrians, which shows them victorious and strong.

- The rebels’ commanders are weak because they are unable to take a decision and live in the world of illusion that Assad’s regime and# his Mukhabarat though which they see their# their strengths and weaknesses .

To all the commanders, you should know you have fighters and people enough to change 180° within few days the de facto situation. We owe to show responsibility and not let ourselves dragged by the Mukhabarat inforAations# spread by# the regime news outlets.
Now, please pay attention at the first two of his points:
- The regime is exhausted an Russian get weaker as the result of a war that lasts longer.

- There are deep contradictions between the Russians and the Iranians in Syria about the power sharing and control.

Namely, this is precisely what one can hear from all sorts of regime-sources in Syria (except Assadist/IRGC's online trolling brigades (https://twitter.com/WithinSyriaBlog/status/810101744508211201), of course). When I reported the same here (https://warisboring.com/pro-regime-forces-in-syria-are-stretched-thin-and-fighting-among-themselves-a0f88b1d0d38#.6e1mj6msa) I've had all possible trolls accusing me of spreading propaganda, working for Qatar (https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/810142165317910528) and similar nonsense.

'Best' of all was some journo from Ireland. She came with questions like, if I've ever at least been to Syria, why am I writing such science fiction, haven't I ever read any of reports by Robert Fisk etc.

After answering most important of her questions, I 'dared' asking back (https://medium.com/@x_TomCooper_x/how-do-you-know-this-is-true-4eec05837a67#.p8a0hu3wd): Have you verified your standpoints that are making you questioning mine? Who told you these are ‘correct’ and mine would be ‘wrong’?

She blocked me and 'disappeared'.

[Azor]

Well, for my part, I can only say that when one gets to hear detailed reports about special storage sites, exercises in delivery of special cargoes to specific air bases, and training of Su-24-crews by suitably experienced foreign instructors in very typical delivery profiles... then certain conclusions are more than logical. Call it an 'educated guess' if you like, but the moment when one 'connects the dots' and that 'light bulb' somewhere behind my eyes goes on, the feeling is similar to the one from this morning.

My "educated guess" is that Iran wants to have a viable delivery system prior to constructing the bomb. North Korea is currently reliant upon a handful of heavy helicopters and cargo aircraft to toss out an unguided device, and Teheran is mindful that an undeliverable bomb will be useless in deterring the Israelis. Moreover, Teheran knows that Saudi Arabia will acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan, complete with reliable delivery systems shortly after Iran becomes a nuclear power.

Therefore, I believe that the issue is over how much potential has, and whereas the clerics want the lead time reduced to a few months or less (as in Japan and South Korea), the Europeans, Americans and Israelis want a much longer lead time if the decision is made.

I agree that Obama would throw the Sunni Arabs in Iraq and Syria under the bus in order to secure an agreement with Iran and thereby re-establish monitoring mechanisms. However, I disagree that Tel Aviv and Washington were fooled by Teheran.

Both you and Venter have a rather dim view of the post-revolutionary regime in Iran, and it is odious to be sure, but I have to take that bias into account. And by "bias" I mean the emotion attached to the Iranian government as opposed to other equally bad or worse governments...


- The regime is exhausted an Russian get weaker as the result of a war that lasts longer.

I disagree that Russia is necessarily becoming weaker. That would be the case if a certain black Republican Sovietologist were president rather than a certain black Democrat social worker/activist.

Russia's Syrian adventure would become a quagmire if Russia were forced to spread its forces thinly in multiple theaters, such as Ukraine, the Caucuses and Syria, in addition to dealing with non-military threats to its influence in say Kazakhstan and Belarus. There is no way that Russia could deal with a rebel counter-offensive in Aleppo and a sudden Ukrainian surge to retake Donbas, without abandoning the pretense of limited war...

Yet the world watches as Russia shuttles forces to and fro to Ukraine and Syria and across the length and breadth of Russia, repeating the Israeli transfers of 1973, when the Arabs failed to coordinate and pressure both fronts equally.


- There are deep contradictions between the Russians and the Iranians in Syria about the power sharing and control.

Well, that much is obvious. Putin seems ambivalent about Assad, so long as Syria is not garrisoned by the US and so long as Russia retains its facilities in Latakia and the pipeline deal is resurrected.

Have you come across Eva Bartlett? (https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children)

Did CSIS think that Russia was just dabbling with DeLisle?

[CrowBat]

My "educated guess" is that Iran wants to have a viable delivery system prior to constructing the bomb.Within certain circles, there was 'lots of talk' about this issue back in, say, 1990s, then mid-2000s again, etc.

But, long before, that question was solved through above-described measures - 'rumours' about which resulted in my artworks/colour profiles like the attached one (nobody wanted to publish it back then, so it ended in an article on 'IRIAF in general', published in Scale Aircraft Modelling magazine, back in January 2008 or so).

Meanwhile (and shortly after certain 'exercises' were run), Khamenei issued his Nuclear Weapons Fatwa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamenei%27s_fatwa_against_nuclear_weapons). When this became known in the West - which was years later (in 2003) - some insta-understood this as 'ah see, no, they have no nukes, after all'. And, hand at heart, it's text does sound 'nice', doesn't it?

On the contrary, few nifty nerds like me consider it 'doctrine for nuclear weapons'. No 'assembled and ready for deployment' weapons, no doubt; but, 'available in form of availability of all necessary components'.

...which in turn is prompting the question: 'why to hell do they need a doctrine if they don't have nukes'....?

Whatever, years later the situation of delivery was solved through development of suitable missiles (just like the issue of replacement of 'cradles' that run out of their shelf-life was 'never, never, never' solved through development of... 'suitable components').


... Teheran is mindful that an undeliverable bomb will be useless in deterring the Israelis.Don't worry: they're not even that far. Actually, they simply have no clue how to make use of them (in indirect, i.e. political, or... well, 'direct' sense). And, since the country is actually ruled by dozens of instabile cliques, and corruption is endemic - resulting in a situation where nobody trusts each other (not even various of IRGC cliques trust Khamenei, and versa-vice) - it's better for things to remain the way they are.

...which in turn would explain why, 'few years later', Oblabla became (and remains) as obsessed with 'respecting Iranian interests', and then that Nuclear Treaty.


Both you and Venter have a rather dim view of the post-revolutionary regime in Iran, and it is odious to be sure, but I have to take that bias into account. And by "bias" I mean the emotion attached to the Iranian government as opposed to other equally bad or worse governments...Oh, we certainly have our biases etc. And 'it just so happens' that countries like Iran are somethining like 'centrepieces' of our attention. No doubt about this.

It's just so that each of us run his own research around the same time, independently from each other (indeed: without knowing that the other was researching about the same topic), yet both of us came out with the same conclusion - and this for entirely different reasons.

I would say that this should make one curious at least about 'how is that possible'. ;)


I disagree that Russia is necessarily becoming weaker. That would be the case if a certain black Republican Sovietologist were president rather than a certain black Democrat social worker/activist.Forget the US-centric POV. Start with defining 'powerful' and 'becoming weaker'.

It should be obvious that modern-day dictatorships like those of Iran and Russia - dictatorships of state-sponsored organized crime - relay on ideology as much as on oppression for their survival. Part of that ideology is to make own population want to suffer for the sake of their nation recovering its prestige and power. From that POV, anything symbolizing 'the power' - like some military intervention, somewhere abroad - is 'good', and costs don't matter. Surely enough, costs do matter, and a lot too (at least for dictators in question), but as long as they can be kept within limits, and explained with ideology, everything's fine.

(Even more so, in the case of Iran, one can say that the current suffering is made 'even more bearable' by what appear to be 'clear prospects' for people's situation significantly improving. See, lessening of sanctions, outlooks to opening etc. In such situation, nobody cares if these prospects remain forever some sort of 'light on the horizon': everybody can see them - if in no other form then in that of soon-to-be-delivered airliners made by Boeing and Airbus.)

Therefore, Putler's successful breach of international isolation through what is essentially symbolic military intervention in Syria, and Tehran's successful breach of international isolation through a mixture of that Nuclear Treaty and a military intervention in Syria, are illusions of 'power'.

...even more so if not countered by 'declared enemies' in any meaningful fashion.

The longer the situation remains that way, the more likely that 'even sceptics' - i.e. people understanding the reality is different - might become convinced that this power is real. But, this is not making any of this reality: on the contrary, realists between the people in charge of what is going on on battlefields of Syria have different POVs, because they see what's going on with their own eyes.

Surely, one can describe such people for 'biased' too. But then, it could be that - considering they're not really 'just a few', and all of them came to such conclusions on their own, independently from each other - they might be right, and that 'power' is actually decreasing (if for no other reason, then because it's over a year since insurgents - and jihadists too - got adjusted to Russian military presence in Syria, just for example).


Have you come across Eva Bartlett? (https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-eva-bartletts-claims-about-syrian-children)Not personally. But even if: she's just another of RT's trolls.


Did CSIS think that Russia was just dabbling with DeLisle?No idea. Sorry, but I'm too busy with what I'm monitoring but to monitor CSIS etc.

[OUTLAW 09]

Yawn. Where was the WaPo during the Hainan Island incident or the war in South Ossetia?

How much mass murder did Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton tolerate? Were Rwanda, Congo and Sudan all examples of "American decline"?

The Neo-Conservatives who wanted Iraq on a platter really have crossed the aisle now haven't they?

Azor...all these comments have nothing to do with the article......if you noticed the article ties nicely into the Rhodes and then the Obama interviews..on why they basically did nothing......but find reasons to not engage even after the massively proven continued use of CWs by Assad.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia and Iran's military axis is growing larger than ever before —
http://read.bi/2hkgS63

Aleppo: #Russia|n airstrikes with cluster bombs on towns & villages in Western #Aleppo Province today.

US sanctions 18 ppl, 5 companies tied to #Syria regime's "daily attacks on civilian centers" per @USTreasury's Adam Szubin

Let's hope that the #Idlib rebels will start any offensive in the coming weeks or 100.000s of people in Eastern #Ghouta are doomed.

[OUTLAW 09]

When your ideal press corps is 22 year-olds who don't know anything and have never gone anywhere, you get this:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/rubio-experts-rip-obama-administration-for-trivializing-iranian-influence-in-syria/article/2005812?utm_content=buffer7daa9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#

[OUTLAW 09]

Damascus: #Assad regime announced that the pro-#Assad forces will recapture Eastern #Ghouta.

This will be greater than Aleppo for human suffering.....


BREAKING Putin calls Assad to congratulate on Aleppo 'liberation'

[OUTLAW 09]

First #Iraqi #Militia member to be killed in #Yemen evidence that Iran sponsored Iraqi militias are not only fighting in #Syria and #Iraq

Damascus: #Assad regime and #Hezbollah are blocking "evacuation" from besieged #Madaya.

Idlib: Regime/#Iran|ian plane dropped more weapons & ammunition on #Fuah today (for the upcoming #Idlib offensive).

Russia sends battalion of military police to Aleppo.
Have fun with that next stage of the insurgency to come.

[OUTLAW 09]

Putin’s ‘achievement’ in Syria: now Russians the target for Muslim anger, Portnikov#says
http://euromaidanpress.com/2016/12/24/putins-achievement-in-syria-now-russians-the-target-for-muslim-anger-portnikov-says/#

[OUTLAW 09]

Assad and #Putin have command responsibility, a war crime in Aleppo Crimes Against Humanity.
http://ln.is/www.newyorker.com/ne/Jh1AD#

Aleppo: #Assad regime and #Iran|ian militias launched a new offensive and trying to capture the area west of #Al_Assad Suburb.

[OUTLAW 09]

Merry Christmas and a safe slide into the New Year........

Taking a few days off......The worlds violence will still be us in 2017........

[Azor]

Merry Christmas and a safe slide into the New Year........

Taking a few days off......The worlds violence will still be us in 2017........



Hopefully it will abate for a few days, although there are the usual plots...

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Richard, and have a prosperous New Year.

Will

[OUTLAW 09]

Santa SOF....

[OUTLAW 09]

Aleppo: Rebels destroyed 2 #Assad regime excavators with ATGM strikes at #Al_Hader. First rebel ATGM strikes since 2 weeks.

How the post-red line world created by Obama+@rhodes44 made a U.S.-Russian nuclear exchange thinkable
http://www.vox.com/2015/6/29/8845913/russia-war#hybridwar#

Palmyra: Reports that #ISIS has captured 50 pro-#Assad forces west of #Tiyas Airbase.

Palmyra: #ISIS has killed 18 pro-#Assad forces and destroyed 3 regime tanks west of #Tiyas Airbase near #Sharifah village today.

[OUTLAW 09]

Chechen military police en route to Aleppo. Reportedly will serve as Russian leverage against Iran's Shiite militias there

[OUTLAW 09]

Syrian online activists can be brutal but they have a point with this.....

BREAKING
Last image before #Russia Tu-154 heading to Syria crashes in the black sea.
#merrychristmas

Russia Death Toll Last Week:
Irkutsk-75
Donbas-40
Sochi-92
All preventable by Kremlin.

Turkish Air Force - 1
Russian Air Force - 3

Being reported from Russian sources that this particular plane was 33 years old...crash due to pilot error or technical failure being reported by Russian Interfax....

[davidbfpo]

This lady's name has cropped a few times this week and via Twitter there is an expose of her that starts with:
Eva Bartlett is a Canadian activist who has dedicated herself to supporting Syria’s Assad regime through propaganda. For months, she has been featured on conspiracy sites denigrating civilians and rescue workers in opposition-controlled areas. Recently she gained international attention with an appearance at the UN, organized by the Assad regime’s representative Bashar al-Ja’afari.
Link:http://eaworldview.com/2016/12/syria-analysis-pro-assad-activist-un/

There is a lively comments section.

[OUTLAW 09]

Getting clearer.
The Chechen Military Police unit prepared the stage for the today-crashed RU Army chorus in #Aleppo
https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2016/12/25/71020-tu-154-propal-s-radarov-v-rayone-sochi-na-bortu-83-passazhira-i-8-chlenov-ekipazha-onlayn?utm_source=push#

Similar to E. #Aleppo, 10s of thousands of civilians are now at the mercy of Hezbollah’s & Assad’s scorched earth policy in Wadi Barada

The regime continues to pound the small towns in the rebel pocket in Wadi Barada with all types of IRAM rockets & heavy artillery.##Damascus

Rebels continue to fight off Hezbollah & regime offensive on the Basimeh, Hussainiyah & Deir Qanoun fronts in Wadi Barada, rural #Damascus

Turkey sends more T-155 howitzers toward northern #Syria /al Bab battle against #IS after lost several tanks last week
#EuphratesShield

[OUTLAW 09]

Syrian online activists can be brutal but they have a point with this.....

BREAKING
Last image before #Russia Tu-154 heading to Syria crashes in the black sea.
#merrychristmas

Russia Death Toll Last Week:
Irkutsk-75
Donbas-40
Sochi-92
All preventable by Kremlin.

Turkish Air Force - 1
Russian Air Force - 3

Being reported from Russian sources that this particular plane was 33 years old...crash due to pilot error or technical failure being reported by Russian Interfax....




2 crashed #Russia'n warplanes Su-27SM on Borisovsky Khotilovo airbase some days ago

[CrowBat]

This lady's name has cropped a few times this week and via Twitter there is an expose of her that starts with:
Link:http://eaworldview.com/2016/12/syria-analysis-pro-assad-activist-un/

There is a lively comments section.
Eva Bartlett is no 'independent journalist', but working for Russian PR-outlet RT. Enough said.

*************

This is probably as 'reliable' as Bartlett, but Daesh's Amaq should've claimed an USAF A-10 (https://twitter.com/RamiAILoIah/status/813051665075044357) as shoot down over northern Syria.

[OUTLAW 09]

CrowBat...was this confirmed or denied as of yet?

BREAKING: Unconfirmed Report that the US Pilot was Captured by #ISIS. #Syria #Raqqa

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian Syrian Express...

Russia flaged, Gov chartered merchant Ro-Ro vessel Alexander Tkachenko returns from #Tartus #Syria & transits Bosphorus towards BlackSea

Alexander Tkachenko carried Russian military equipment to #Tartus #Syria 12 days ago:

[OUTLAW 09]

Syrian online activists can be brutal but they have a point with this.....

BREAKING
Last image before #Russia Tu-154 heading to Syria crashes in the black sea.
#merrychristmas

Russia Death Toll Last Week:
Irkutsk-75
Donbas-40
Sochi-92
All preventable by Kremlin.

Turkish Air Force - 1
Russian Air Force - 3

Being reported from Russian sources that this particular plane was 33 years old...crash due to pilot error or technical failure being reported by Russian Interfax....




Head of #military police of #Russia's defence ministry Vladimir Ivanovsky was onboard the crashed Tupolev-154:

BTW...those two SU 27s
Dec15 #Tver oblast, #Russia: 2 Su-27SM collide

[OUTLAW 09]

EuphratesShield
Turkish special forces continue the preparations to take Al Bab.

[CrowBat]

CrowBat...was this confirmed or denied as of yet?

BREAKING: Unconfirmed Report that the US Pilot was Captured by #ISIS. #Syria #Raqqa
Until they publish a photo/video - nothing firm.

***********

BTW, David: here somebody one can rely upon - even if many are damning and hating him to the bone, declaring him a 'Qatar-lackey', and 'jihadist/al-Qaida' and whatever else:

Bilal Abdul Kareeem (https://twitter.com/BilalKareem/status/812697699531321344) - from New York, fresh out of Eastern Aleppo, and still reporting for On the Ground News (OGN; sometimes also for al-Jazeera).

[Azor]

Thoughts on the Tu-154 crash? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Russian_Defence_Ministry_Tupolev_Tu-154_crash)

I can't think of a single person on that plane, who is not a soldier, official or agent of the Russian government.

Moreover, they are flying to visit a county where Russia is committing war crimes and supporting war criminals.

Therefore, despite the crash occurring on Christmas, I feel no pity. I consider all of the Russians non-combat casualties of war, and I am not in favor of them or their side. Suffice it to say, I am in favor of any increase in costs for Russian aggression in Ukraine and Syria, whether accidental or not.

[OUTLAW 09]

Kind of applies to the outgoing Obama ME FP and the incoming confusion of Trump and his not so clear view of the world....

Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[OUTLAW 09]

Poles tend to go overboard..when one talks about Russia..but have a point.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ-SNl914MY

BTW..during the Cold War in the early 80s we would watch the Warsaw Pact Polish special purpose troops like a hawk...even then they were head and shoulders above GDR or Soviet same type units....


~A little girl in a foreign country prayed that angels would come and save her and her family from evil. ETA: 2 minutes!~

[CrowBat]

Thoughts on the Tu-154 crash? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Russian_Defence_Ministry_Tupolev_Tu-154_crash)

I can't think of a single person on that plane, who is not a soldier, official or agent of the Russian government.One civilian journo might have been on board.


Moreover, they are flying to visit a county where Russia is committing war crimes and supporting war criminals.

Therefore, despite the crash occurring on Christmas, I feel no pity.Don't make a mistake: there's no Christmas in Russia on 24-25 December: as Orthodox Christians, they're celebrating Christmas in early January.

That aside, nobody is calling 'RIP' for dozens of Syrian civilians massacred by Russian bombs every single day - like in this case in Atarib, western Aleppo, on 24 December (warning: GRAFFIC!!!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruBeZxBH6WY

Oh, and BTW... here some 'connecting the dots'. Namely, another 'thing' entirely ignored by the Western media is the situation inside 'liberated' Aleppo. It seems that in reaction to reports about widespread looting and torching (https://twitter.com/Paradoxy13/status/813086085182013441) by the IRGC and Assadists, Russians (should) have decided to deploy a battalion of MPs to the city (http://orient-news.net/en/news_show/129350/0/Russia-deploys-military-police-battalion-to-occupied-Aleppo). Some are going as far as to announce that these are about to 'evacuate (https://twitter.com/AsaadHannaa/status/812422954118246400)' all the militias from the city.

I don't think they could manage anything of that kind, but they can always try.

Of course, others are going to say 'no surprise' there's looting and torching - given the SOHR is reporting (https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/813106735460323333) up to 60 IRGC and its thugs KIA by mines left behind by insurgents. Given all the insurgents were left to evacuate the place, Shi'a jihadists might find it hard to 'extract revenge'...

BTW, one of mines went off inside an ex-FSyA base in Sukkari District, and right in front of regime's media (https://twitter.com/AhmadAlkhtiib/status/813046355149094913). Several IRGC and Hezbollah should've been KIA there.

[OUTLAW 09]

Turkey?????

After blaming USG for involvement in July coup attempt & murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey, govt now seeks US support in Syria?

[OUTLAW 09]

Sechin's chief of staff found dead in a car in Moscow.

By my count, this is the first time an FSB general has been murdered in Russia.

FSB is investigating, and its initial diagnosis is announced as "heart failure". Lesin's initial "diagnosis" was also heart failure.

REALLY a heart failure...the FSB can do better than that.....?????

Lots of accidents and early deaths among the Russian elite.

[OUTLAW 09]

Raqqa: #ISIS has recaptured #Jabar village from #YPG.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=35.934375&lon=38.489914&z=12&m=b#

[OUTLAW 09]

While Russian FSB still says....pilot error...bad fuel...technical failure,,,suddenly this pops up today.

Russian expert claims with 99% certainty #Tu154 was act of terror.
https://twitter.com/fontanka_news/status/813404102747156480#

Источник в ЗВО: Найдено тело летчика, но не командира Волкова
http://www.fontanka.ru/2016/12/26/123/?utm_source=novapress#…

[OUTLAW 09]

The Moscow Times
✔
@MoscowTimes
On this day in 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the #Soviet Union formally dissolved the Soviet Union.

[OUTLAW 09]

Aleppo: A rebel IED inside a washing machine, that was looted in Eastern #Aleppo, exploded and killed several pro-#Assad forces today.

Raqqa: Huge #YPG flag in the Arab town of #Suluk. Locals: "It's a provocation!"

EVERYONE see the large Red Star...the core logo of the PKK since 1979n in all of their flags.....

[OUTLAW 09]

On board of the #Tu154 were army 8 senior officials:
1 Gen-Lt.
4 Col.
1 Lt.
Col.
1 Maj.
1 Capt.
http://newsader.com/31669-yekspert-rasskazal-o-bombe-v-shassi-tu-154-99/#

[OUTLAW 09]

The Moscow Times
✔
@MoscowTimes
Elizaveta Glinka, Russia’s most prominent humanitarian, died in yesterday’s crash. We look at what her life meant.
https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/the-time-she-didnt-come-back-alive-56650#

[OUTLAW 09]

Against families, homes, schools, hospital & markets:
Russia tested over 160 new weapons in #Syria
https://www.rt.com/news/371302-russian-military-annual-report/#.WGFG4aQT9O9.twitter#

As Western and Arab leaders remain inactive after the fall of #Aleppo, #AssadPutin & #Iran bomb to cleanse new besieged areas across #Syria.

[CrowBat]

...and here something for all those trying to explain something else (includes a number of top US officials, British FM, but Keystone Cops in Moscow - like FM Lavrov - too): the story of SyAAF night ops - and then not 'only' from 1st hand, but supported with what many prefer nowadays: 'sources within social media'.

al-Assad’s Nighttime Killers: Yes, the Syrian Arab Air Force can operate under the cover of#darkness (https://www.reddit.com/r/SyrianRebels/comments/5kf18h/al_assads_nighttime_killers_yes_the_syrian_arab/)

[Azor]

This lady's name has cropped a few times this week and via Twitter there is an expose of her that starts with:
Link:http://eaworldview.com/2016/12/syria-analysis-pro-assad-activist-un/

There is a lively comments section.

I was just mentioning her...

She is a real troll...

[Azor]

On board of the #Tu154 were army 8 senior officials:
1 Gen-Lt.
4 Col.
1 Lt.
Col.
1 Maj.
1 Capt.
http://newsader.com/31669-yekspert-rasskazal-o-bombe-v-shassi-tu-154-99/#

Good.

They were ALL military or government personnel.

[Azor]

...and here something for all those trying to explain something else (includes a number of top US officials, British FM, but Keystone Cops in Moscow - like FM Lavrov - too): the story of SyAAF night ops - and then not 'only' from 1st hand, but supported with what many prefer nowadays: 'sources within social media'.

al-Assad’s Nighttime Killers: Yes, the Syrian Arab Air Force can operate under the cover of#darkness (https://www.reddit.com/r/SyrianRebels/comments/5kf18h/al_assads_nighttime_killers_yes_the_syrian_arab/)

They must have F-117's supplied by the Americans!

[Azor]

...and here something for all those trying to explain something else (includes a number of top US officials, British FM, but Keystone Cops in Moscow - like FM Lavrov - too): the story of SyAAF night ops - and then not 'only' from 1st hand, but supported with what many prefer nowadays: 'sources within social media'.

al-Assad’s Nighttime Killers: Yes, the Syrian Arab Air Force can operate under the cover of#darkness (https://www.reddit.com/r/SyrianRebels/comments/5kf18h/al_assads_nighttime_killers_yes_the_syrian_arab/)

Interesting article on WiB, but still waiting for the NFZ one on WOTR ;)

Why is the SyAAF pilot's face obscured? Why delay justice?

It just goes to show that low-tech trainers and light-attack aircraft are very useful in COIN missions in uncontested airspace.

So are the Russians eschewing missions at night? If so, I fail to see how the RuAF can compete with NATO AFs or the USAF at all...

[Azor]

What are your thoughts on Paul Iddon's commentary on Operation Euphrates Shield?

https://warisboring.com/turkish-soldiers-are-dying-in-operation-euphrates-shield-38c5efec3521#.o4lcok90o

Selected Excerpts:
The ramshackle, Turkish-backed offensive has come with deceptive victories and major problems for Ankara since it launched on Aug. 24.

For a week in November, Turkish jet fighters stopped breaching Syrian air space after Damascus said it activated surface-to-air missiles and threatened to use them on Turkish intrusions.
Only after talks with Russia was Turkey able to resume air support to its FSA proxies.

Turkey appears to have tried to compensate for these losses by increasing its bombing of Al-Bab. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights conflict monitoring group reported that Turkish air strikes killed 72 civilians, 21 of them children, on Dec. 22. The following day another 16 civilians, three of them children, died in subsequent strikes.

[OUTLAW 09]

Actually an interesting statistic that many fully fail to realize...Trump included.


The 25 Years after USSR fail

Number of Wars involved in:

Russia: 13

Ukraine: 1 (and Russia started it)

[CrowBat]

Interesting article on WiB, but still waiting for the NFZ one on WOTR ;)
...me too... especially since the latest 'drama' there...


Why is the SyAAF pilot's face obscured? Why delay justice?There are photos of SyAAF pilots (see attachment for one of recent examples), but that is none of that (nobody even distantly related to 'flying'): that one is illustrating 'overhauls at The Works'.

Otherwise, almost everybody passing by and having enough time is taking selfies or letting others take photos of them with L-39s at Nayrab AB (or with Su-24s at Tiyas).


So are the Russians eschewing missions at night?Nope. They fly quite a lot by night. Indeed, one of biggest problems during the last months of siege of Eastern Aleppo was to distinguish their sorties from those by SyAAF.

Namely, while Keystone Cops said they're not bombing Eastern Aleppo, they did - but by night only. Last few nights they're heavily bombing western and southern outskirts of the city.

[OUTLAW 09]

Interesting Russian statement especially in the light of their deliberately targeting and killing/wounding hundreds of Syrian civilians and the direct destruction of hospitals...mosques....critical infrastructure.....

Russia calls U.S. move to supply Syria rebels weapons a hostile act: RIA
http://reut.rs/2hoZN9m

Boy did this Obama really small move get Putin's attention quickly....think what if Obama had decisively acted over the last four years....????


Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it viewed a U.S. decision to ease restrictions on weapons supplies to Syrian rebels as a "hostile act" which threatened the safety of Russian warplanes and military personnel, the RIA news agency reported.

RIA quoted the ministry as saying the administration of Barack Obama was attempting to complicate the situation in the world before Donald Trump took over the White House in January.

Obama lifted some restrictions on arms deliveries to Syrian rebels earlier this month.

The Kremlin, whose air force is supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, said the move was risky and that weapons could end up in the hands of "terrorists".

AN interesting question is based on this Russian statement ..."WHO are exactly now terrorists"...the FSA OR the Russians....Iranians and Iraqi's?????

[OUTLAW 09]

Bild: Kissinger's plan seems to respect "legitimate interests" of Russia over former territories of Empire excluding the Baltic States.

Henry Kissinger: "Russia should be perceived as essential element of new global equilibrium, not as threat to US." http://politi.co/2i2xrkl

AND Kissinger knows this how???????

Kissinger is actually pushing via this article the Putin dream of a Yalta v2.0....voiced since 2006..AND he should this is a direct threat to Europe and former states of the USSR that are now independent..

[OUTLAW 09]

Interesting referring to the Russian air crash......

“The flaps, bitch! "Captain, we’re falling!” - reported last words of crew recorded on Russian Tu-154 black box being examined near Moscow.

Russian Tu-154 crashed into Black Sea after failing to gather enough speed to climb, losing wing lift bcs of flaps malfunction - Ifax source

[OUTLAW 09]

Interesting Russian statement especially in the light of their deliberately targeting and killing/wounding hundreds of Syrian civilians and the direct destruction of hospitals...mosques....critical infrastructure.....

Russia calls U.S. move to supply Syria rebels weapons a hostile act: RIA
http://reut.rs/2hoZN9m

Boy did this Obama really small move get Putin's attention quickly....think what if Obama had decisively acted over the last four years....????



AN interesting question is based on this Russian statement ..."WHO are exactly now terrorists"...the FSA OR the Russians....Iranians and Iraqi's?????

U.S.-backed Syrian force hopes to get anti-aircraft missiles
http://reut.rs/2iAOwki

[OUTLAW 09]

US friendly fire incident....Syria.....
Raqqa: #US warplanes bombed #YPG near #Jabar village by mistake.


Aleppo: #Assad spokesman: "#Assad had entrusted the #YPG with #Sheikh_Maqsoud and now we want it back."

Former Syrian ambassador to the UK Sami Khiyami calls for Russian/Iranian control over Syria to solve civil war
https://www.facebook.com/sami.khiyami/posts/10154790513499144#

[OUTLAW 09]

Only days to go in 2016 and we have a new candidate for my "Dumbest Tweet of that Year" Award.
"Ru Tr and Ir agreed on a secular democracy"

BIG:#Russia,#Turkey,#Syria oppstn negotiatng in Ankara.Oppstn incld AhrarSham,JayshalIslam,FaylaqalRahman,SultnMuradDi vsn,1stCoastDivisn,FIA

[OUTLAW 09]

Aleppo: #Russia|n airstrikes on #Atarib and #Jinah in Western #Aleppo today.

[OUTLAW 09]

Al Arabiya English
✔
@AlArabiya_Eng
#BREAKING: Erdogan says has evidence that US-led coalition forces give support to terrorist groups in Syria, including ISIS &Kurdish militia


#Russia|n Military Theorists Consider Future War: Bridging the #NATO-Russia Gap
https://jamestown.org/program/russian-military-theorists-consider-future-war-bridging-nato-russia-gap/#
…

[OUTLAW 09]

Dugin claims that "anti-Americanism is over" because with #Trump it has won in the United States.


Russian reports that rebels executed POWs in Aleppo are untrue. The mass graves contain bodies of civilians killed in regime and Russia airstrikes.

FYI: Russia is a Middle East power now. First 20 minutes of foreign ministry briefing devoted to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia MFA spox continues her over-the-top claims, blames murder of Russian amb to Turkey on West's "deliberate anti-Russian propaganda."


Russia bombed for the #YPG against rebels in February and now it bombs for the "#FSA" - or rather: Turkish-led Syrian forces - vs. #ISIS.

Maxim A. Suchkov
‏@Max_A_Suchkov
BIG:#Russia/n jets provided air support for #Turkey/rebels "Shield of Euphrates" operation bombing al Bab.1st time RU helps non-Assad forces.

NOT confirmed potential propaganda

[OUTLAW 09]

Faylaq al-Sham says ex Jund al-Aqsa (JFS) abducted fighters & equipment in Hama, threatens to respond if not solved

[OUTLAW 09]

True. Meeting in #Ankara to establish ceasefire in #Syria. So far, the current situation.

FSA core groups and Faylaq Al Sham refusing when Ahrar accepts is a first if true

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia & #Turkey not invited kurdish #PYD about "peace talks" with #Syria'n opposition in Astana

Turkey and Russia agree on a draft nationwide ceasefire in Syria, Turkish state-run news agency says.
http://cnn.it/2iCSz3A

[OUTLAW 09]

As we've admitted state sponsored doping, time to re-up the denials highlight package.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian AF is back to their old game of bombing medical facilities and then denying it was them...

Syria Russian airstrike targeted a Red Crescent bldg in #Idlib last night, no casualties reported but bldg damaged & 2 ambulances destroyed

Syria'n regime airstrikes on Baseema in Valley Barada west of #Damascus
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=33.603397&lon=36.205616&z=14&m=b#
…

[OUTLAW 09]

NEW MAP: South #Aleppo | #Syria
Front-line expected to be active soon.
https://goo.gl/hI15nK

[OUTLAW 09]

Producer of #Russia|n new generation main battle tank T-14 Armata, Uralvagonzavod, went bankrupt.
https://twitter.com/DurdomOnline/status/814058152173993985#


Fighter of #IRGC's Fatemiun brigade, Morteza Ataei:"we earn 600$ per month for fighting in Syria."


10 Rebel groups operating in N. #Syria officially started process to fully merge: #FSA Sham Front, 1st Reg., Safwah, Ahrar Sharqiya, Furqan
with Jabhat AlSham (Jaish Mujahideen-led), Faylaq Sham, Suqur Sham, Jaish Al-Islam (N. #Syria) and Shuhada Al-Islam (#Daraya fighters).
fb.me/1JeOU9Gs2

Rebels from besieged areas in #Damascus prov. created 1 Unified Military Command to face Regime strategy of starvation & forced displacement

FSA Levant Front source: Ca 500 FSA fighters from besieged East Aleppo arrived at the Northern Aleppo countryside, here they are welcomed:

Syria Reports: #YPG begin to evacuate their fighters from #Aleppo's kurd Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood toward #Afrin
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.236001&lon=37.147007&z=15&m=b#…

Kyle W. Orton ‏@KyleWOrton
#PYD helped pro-#Assad coalition conquer rebel-held areas of #Aleppo City, now regime tells PYD its areas are next.
http://bit.ly/2i3DIxW

[OUTLAW 09]

The spring of Fijeh installations today shown D amount of damage caused by D regime's bombings of D Damascus' water supply system

The water source of millions of Syrians in & around Damascus. Assad shells it, and says water is cut bcz terrorists poured diesel into it.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian Syrian Express....

HEAVY: #ВМФ #ЧФ BSF Tapir class LST Nikolai Filchenkov 152 transits Bosphorus en route to #Tartus #Syria for its 5th deployment in 2016

[OUTLAW 09]

Jaish al-Izzah fighter manning the Northern Hama frontline with the potent PG-7VT tandem-warhead RPG round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3iqvy98_U#…

Syria SOHR claim 60 #SAA soldiers killed by IED's the past 24h
-left behind by rebels in #Aleppo city
http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=57760

[OUTLAW 09]

Carrier D D #EISENHOWER strike group leaves Sixth Fleet. No US carrier now in the European or Mideast theaters
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=98291#

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia, Turkey, Iran eye dicing Syria into zones of influence
http://reut.rs/2hNvIOE

[OUTLAW 09]

Syrian medical facilities were attacked more than 250 times this year
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/syria-hospital-attacks_us_56c330f0e4b0c3c550528d2e?ncid=engmodush pmg00000004#

Palmyra: #ISIS has destroyed the 4th #Assad tank and a bulldozer west of #Tiyas Airbase today.

The Journal of Intelligence & Terrorism studies based in Cambridge Uni has closed after revelations of Kremlin links
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...s-russia/amp/#

Senator Lindsey Graham says Russia and Putin can expect tough sanctions after election cyber attacks
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-graham-sanctions-idUSKBN14H11Q#

BUT they could not get tough sanctions against Assad and Putin over genocide in Syria.....

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian outlet Republic in a good mood: "Russia, Turkey and Iran decided to divide Polan.. errr Syria in zones of influence"

[OUTLAW 09]

Iran ISNA photos of missile system tests during recent military exercises (Sayyad-3?)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/12/28/1280775/iran-test-fires-high-altitude-missile-with-homegrown-air-defense-system#

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia|n #embassy in #Damascus, #Syria was reportedly shelled today (by RPG? mortar?) :D

https://meduza.io/news/2016/12/28/v-damaske-obstrelyali-posolstvo-rossii#

[OUTLAW 09]

OP-ED @OrientNewsEn

Syria 2016 – A sobering end-of-year review

http://orient-news.net/en/news_show/129563/0/Syria-%E2%80%93-A-sobering-end-of-year-review#

[OUTLAW 09]

Footage
100% unnoticed by the media, #Assad keeps bombing the #Barada valley nonstop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVpndZ1cgLo#…
Tens of thousands besieged.


US Embassy Turkey
Verified account
‏@USEmbassyTurkey
The truth regarding misinformation in Turkish media concerning U.S. and Coalition operations against ISIL in Syria
https://goo.gl/wj3QZD

"We never gave the YPG weapons! We gave it to a newly created 3-letter acronym group that just happens to raise YPG flags everywhere!"

BUT WAIT is not PKK a terrorist group????????

[OUTLAW 09]

Russia has deployed a military police unit to #Aleppo, to keep "order."
= A politically/militarily risky move. Watch this closely.

Jaish al-Islam has launched several targeted offensives in East #Ghouta in the last 48hrs.
Likely to pre-empt an imminent pro-regime push.

[OUTLAW 09]

How did this not cause a bigger stir? OPCW all but accuses Syria of lying; US warns Assad may retain CW
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Jul-13/361877-syria-must-explain-chemical-warfare-agents-watchdog.ashx#.V4Z8HZ1yZKA.twitter#

[OUTLAW 09]

Syria #Aleppo 2 Groups of #Assad-forces hit by TOW's in al Assad suburb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Io5yFJtfA4#

[OUTLAW 09]

WadiBarada: pro-Regime media shows main Ain Fijah's water facility damaged by bombing disrupting supply 4 #Damascus
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.617854&lon=36.177753&z=17&m#

[OUTLAW 09]

Solovey #Russia is de facto leader of #Syrian campaign coalition /w #Turkey & #Iran.

No contest by new USA administration.

[OUTLAW 09]

Ivan Sidorenko
‏@IvanSidorenko1
#Syria #Aleppo N.F.A.C. Aleppo Activist posted about 700 fighters from #YPG withdrew from #Sheikh_Masqoud towards #Afrin 1 hour ago.

With this move Regime asserts its full control over #Aleppo-city & seeks to reactivate the joint Regime-#YPG offensive vs #ISIS near Al-Bab

[OUTLAW 09]

Aleppo: Al-Quds Brigade acknowledges loss of 2 elite figthers and 3 more wounded in Rebel shelling on Assad suburb. http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=36.174465&lon=37.082806&z=13&m=b#…

E. #Damascus: Faylaq Al-Rahman destroyed a BMP on #Jobar front.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.529590&lon=36.327238&z=14&m=b#…

I counted claimed (mostly confirmed via released footage) regime material losses in Palmyra/eastern Homs in Q4 2016.
h/t to @JACM212

[OUTLAW 09]

Just noticed the Ops-Core RAC Headset used by this Turkish SOF in Syria

[OUTLAW 09]

Putin TV: Aleppo Slaughter Is Fake News
http://thebea.st/2hvjazA

"Russia wants not only a 'New Yalta',
but also western endorsement of its right to interpret rules as it sees fit"
http://app.ft.com/content/5d3d406a-c229-11e6-81c2-f57d90f6741a#

[OUTLAW 09]

Anonymous Hawker 800XP bizjet from Moscow Vnukovo on a nightly sightseeing tour over Aleppo before heading to Latakia/Larnaca(?)

20 minutes earlier another Hawker 800XP [LY-LTD] from Vnukovo touched down in Larnaca, Cyprus already

[OUTLAW 09]

UN: At least 53,700 or 60% of East Aleppo IDPs ended up in government areas. 35,000 or 40% evacuated to rebel areas.
http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-aleppo-situation-report-no-10-23-december-2016#
…

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian info warfare hard at work now against Merkel in Germany truing to get her unelected in order to rescind the EU sanctions against Russia and those recently issued EU sanctions over Syria.....

Fascinating to see Kremlin trolls starting up the Merkel operation in real time today. Mostly repurposed pro-Trump accounts.

Because US or Russian trolling networks can't find enough decent German speakers willing to work for low pay

Ah...that German language....tough to learn even tougher to tweet in German using only 140 characters...

[OUTLAW 09]

Excellent showing Putins record of first lying and then admitting its true: Kremlin Denial Bites The Dust
http://www.rferl.org/a/28201651.html

[OUTLAW 09]

In the year 2106...Russia has new global friends....

Russia's friends these days: Hesbollah, Hamas, ISIS, and now Taliban.

[SWJ Blog]

A Rare Visit to Raqqa Front Line Shows How Defeat of Islamic State is So Close and Yet So Far (http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/a-rare-visit-to-raqqa-front-line-shows-how-defeat-of-islamic-state-is-so-close-and-yet-so-far)

Entry Excerpt:



--------
Read the full post (http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/a-rare-visit-to-raqqa-front-line-shows-how-defeat-of-islamic-state-is-so-close-and-yet-so-far) and make any comments at the SWJ Blog (http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog).
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[OUTLAW 09]

After publicly denying any possible act of terror...WHY is the Russian MoD backtracking their comments now......

Interesting phrasing.
Russian MoD doesn't exclude act of terror on #Tu154 but no explosion on board.

There was a single twitter comment immediately after the crash that indicated a small charge was placed in and or near one of the engine turbine gears....it would not have been detected as a blast but as an engine failure......that comment never appeared again....

[OUTLAW 09]

Interesting Russian comment in face of the Obama WH notice of pay back for the Russian hacking in the 2016 election and the DNC.....the hacking that Trump still adamantly denies ever happened when his on Senate RP members state it did in fact happen......

Klimenko tells @RT_russian Russia should be ready for the country to be cut off from the worldwide internet
https://russian.rt.com/russia/article/346157-intervyu-klimenko-internet#

Klimenko is a close advisor to Putin...Trumps best friend...

Putin's adviser urged Russia to prepare for disconnection from the world Internet.

Please, no ... We'll miss the RU MFA statements

BTW...this would also mean all SWIFT money transfers would be delayed as well....

[OUTLAW 09]

Syria Opposition media team for northern #Hama working in underground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EndBICZ8vZU#

Dozens of Assad airstrikes, barrel bomb & IRAM rocket attacks + heavy artillery shelling targeting Bassimeh & Ain Fijeh in Wadi Barada today
East Qalamoun FSA forces threatens to attack regime army gas & communication lines until attacks on Wadi Barada stops


Down the US Alt-Right’s Syrian Rabbit#Hole
http://pulsemedia.org/2016/12/29/down-the-alt-rights-syrian-rabbit-hole#

Ardent supporters of Trump especially this particular blogsite...REALLY worth reading this article to understand the US "alt right"....

[OUTLAW 09]

Talks on ceasefire in #Syria stopped by Opposition's negotiators as #Russia keep insisting to exclude #Ghouta & #JFS.
Vladimir Putin says agreement reached on Syria ceasefire, Russia and Turkey to act as guarantors - AP

W. #Aleppo: Jaish Al-Mujahideen destroyed with a #TOW a supply truck on #Menyan front.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=36.188806&lon=37.083492&z=14&m#

TOWs are starting to reappear again in Syria....after being stopped by Obama....

[OUTLAW 09]

PUTIN: AGREE RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESENCE IN SYRIA SHOULD BE CUT

Well they did that once on March but then they never really ever left......

[OUTLAW 09]

Will be interesting to see if this so called 18th ceasefire even holds past midnight.......

BREAKING: Syria ceasefire to take effect at midnight on Dec 30 - Russia Defense Minister

That is in about 12 hours and to get the Iranians...Hezbollah and the Iraqi's to shut down their attacks...highly doubt it...

Russian president Vladimir Putin says the Syrian government and rebels have signed a truce deal and are ready to begin peace talks

SO has Iran...Assad/Putin and Turkey actually sliced up Syrian into zones of influence??????


Source to SANA: Reports that a ceasefire in Syria is almost reached. Will not include Nusra/JFS or IS

BUT WAIT...reached and or not reached that is the question.....seems to be two sides to the same story.....

[OUTLAW 09]

Concerning Syrian so called peace talks.......

Meeting and negotiations continue between Turkey & Russia, yesterday Turkey prematurely announced reaching an agreement

Unlike with US talks militant groups in which majority have direct links to Turkey have larger role than eg. the Saudi negotiation committee

Regarding the Kurds; Turkey does not want PYD to be invited while Russia has reportedly reached out to KNC to form Kurdish bloc with PYD

NOTE...PKK will not allow that to happen....

Sides involved are presenting demands through their ally; Damascus through Russia and rebels through Turkey, no Syr-Syr talks yet

Rebels want Nusra aka formernotreallybutstillalqaeda aka JFS to be part of ceasefire

RT
Verified account
‏@RT_com
'The new Syrian ceasefire agreement is very fragile' - Putin
https://on.rt.com/7z59

Appears to be an actual agreement.....

BREAKING: Syrian government, opposition agree to a nationwide ceasefire
http://dw.com/p/2Uzlg?maca=en-tco-dw#

Turkey foreign ministry says #Syria ceasefire excludes groups UN Considers terrorist organisations

Seems,#Turkey will allow #Russia to keep fighting "Nusra", meaning Russia & co. will continue to fight all groups not under Turkish control.

BUT WAIT...that was the same concept Russia used to attack Aleppo...JFS had 700 fighters inside Aleppo not thousands and YET Putin directly attacked Aleppo.....where it was mainly FSA fighters....

[OUTLAW 09]

Footage
Heavy #AssadPutin air strikes on school in #Arbin this morning.
Kids flee in panic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFZ37pfJFuk#…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJyHYjxXrno#…

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Footage
#AssadPutin air strikes on #EastGhout this morning.
Reports of up to 10 killed, many injured.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXLVNyhavew#…

[OUTLAW 09]

Concerning Syrian so called peace talks.......

Meeting and negotiations continue between Turkey & Russia, yesterday Turkey prematurely announced reaching an agreement

Unlike with US talks militant groups in which majority have direct links to Turkey have larger role than eg. the Saudi negotiation committee

Regarding the Kurds; Turkey does not want PYD to be invited while Russia has reportedly reached out to KNC to form Kurdish bloc with PYD

NOTE...PKK will not allow that to happen....

Sides involved are presenting demands through their ally; Damascus through Russia and rebels through Turkey, no Syr-Syr talks yet

Rebels want Nusra aka formernotreallybutstillalqaeda aka JFS to be part of ceasefire

RT
Verified account
‏@RT_com
'The new Syrian ceasefire agreement is very fragile' - Putin
https://on.rt.com/7z59

Appears to be an actual agreement.....

BREAKING: Syrian government, opposition agree to a nationwide ceasefire
http://dw.com/p/2Uzlg?maca=en-tco-dw#

Turkey foreign ministry says #Syria ceasefire excludes groups UN Considers terrorist organisations

Seems,#Turkey will allow #Russia to keep fighting "Nusra", meaning Russia & co. will continue to fight all groups not under Turkish control.

BUT WAIT...that was the same concept Russia used to attack Aleppo...JFS had 700 fighters inside Aleppo not thousands and YET Putin directly attacked Aleppo.....where it was mainly FSA fighters....

Waiting to see 1/ which rebel groups agreed to it 2/ what are the caveats 3/ Assad and Iran's responses

Ah...the devil is in the details.....

BUT WAIT how can Russia drawdown as Putin says they will if they are suppose to continue fighting IS and JFS WHICH they naturally have not done in the past year......

Breaking: Putin orders reduction of Russian military presence in Syria, vows to continue fight against terrorism and support for Assad

[CrowBat]

[B]Waiting to see 1/ which rebel groups agreed to it 2/ what are the caveats 3/ Assad and Iran's responses

Ah...the devil is in the details.....

BUT WAIT how can Russia drawdown as Putin says they will if they are suppose to continue fighting IS and JFS WHICH they naturally have not done in the past year......Oh, they did. The RT said so... :D

Seriously: this are the same 'conditions' for a cease-fire like those for the case-fire from 28 February.

...with same (read: non-existing) control mechanisms...

...decided by Russians and Turks but without involvement of Iran, Saudi Arabia etc.

With other words: with worse predispositions than the cease-fire of 28 February.

That aside, even if the Russians would now become horny about fighting the JFS, they would first have to find it and to distinguish it from insurgents. So far, they proved not only 'entirely unable to do so', but not even curious in trying to do anything of that kind.

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First rebel TOW strikes since weeks, rebels around #Damascus fight under 1 command, regime is under pressure by #ISIS in Eastern #Homs.

Exclusive: The Syria ceasefire deal — the unsigned draft text
http://www.trtworld.com/mea/syria-ceasefire-deal-the-unsigned-draft-text-263103#

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Russian soldier writing on the wall in Aleppo. "Ya Hossein" (by Shia militia) is already written on wall.

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Hama: Rebels have blown up another #Assad 14.5mm gun with TOW at the same position at #Maardas a few hours later

Palmyra: #ISIS has destroyed 9 #Assad tanks and 1 Shilka around #Tiyas Airbase since Wednesday. #Homs






.

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Contradicting reports from opposition and Assad regime about including/excluding JFS from ceasefire deal. Will know more in coming days.

Assad saying JFS is covered...Turks and opposition are saying the direct opposite...

Wow. Russian Defense Ministry published list of "moderate opposition" groups that signed on to cease-fire. Includes Ahrar and Jaysh al-Islam

The #Assad/#Putin/#Iran|ian plan under the fake ceasefire agreement: Recapture #Palmyra, capture Eastern Ghouta & #WadiBarada & then #Idlib.

WITH every so called Russian and Assad ceasefire comes a Russian and Assad ground offensive...JUST as they do in eastern Ukraine....

Syrian ceasefire does not include Islamic State or YPG, rebel spokesman says:
http://reut.rs/2hzp8zj

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Looking at the Turkey-Russia deal on Syria it seems like we've arrived at that once in a generation moment Kurds get shafted by great powers

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Putin signed a law that allows send conscripts "to fight terrorism outside of Russia"
http://www.fontanka.ru/2016/12/29/134/

Syria, Ukraine, ...???

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Quote of the century: In the Middle East there is room for all men. Just not their ambitions.
- Kamal Jumblat (Later killed by Hafez Assad)

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Aleppo: Rebel group #Ahrar_Al_Sham denied it has signed the "ceasefire" deal.

[CrowBat]

Wow. Russian Defense Ministry published list of "moderate opposition" groups that signed on to cease-fire. Includes Ahrar and Jaysh al-IslamNearly wetted my pants over this: Keystone Cops - who fiercely resisted any such ideas during negotiations with the USA for months - are now declaring Ahrar for 'moderates'...? :rolleyes: :D

...and Eastern Ghouta (largely controlled by Saudi-supported JAI, dominated by Syrian Salafists) is to be included in the cease-fire...?

...if they add the Ra'astan-Talbiseh pocket to this, and this proves truth, I'll consider it a 'late Christmas Wonder'... :faceslap:

[CrowBat]

So much about a 'cease-fire'... Since two hours, Assadists are flying air strikes on Wadi Barada Pocket and northern Hama; IRGC is assaulting in southern Aleppo, and there is a pitched battle going on in Madani, in Eastern Ghouta.
I would be glad if proven wrong, but the Russians and Turks claiming they could impose any kind of a serious cease-fire in Syria - without Iranians and Assadists - is a spectacular combination of sensationalism and foolishness.

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Syria #Assad-forces shelling Musaybin/ northern #Aleppo suburb from Bashkuy
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=de&lat=36.317546&lon=37.112374&z=15&m=b#

[OUTLAW 09]

Syrian Air A230 YK-AKF did a round-trip via Russian Air Base in Latakia on 17+24 Dec: Abu Dhabi -> Latakia -> Kuwait -> Latakia -> Abu Dhabi


RuSOF watching technicals driving towards al-Qahira
https://youtu.be/CZpzwAD6Mpg?t=124s#… [2:04-2:10]
from the same rooftop
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=35.609240&lon=36.325307&z=18&m=b#…

Eastern Homs frontline still south of Sharifah village
https://twitter.com/jacm212/status/814900112996569089#

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December 2016 might be the end of the beginning of #Russia’s power projection into the #MiddleEast. Our analysis:
https://www.aspeninstitute.it/aspenia-online/article/emerging-costs-russia%E2%80%99s-mideast-presence#

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Russian SOF pictured with Hezbollah patch, Dec 2016.

Glock Field Knife carried sideways in the lower back by some SSO in Syria (and a mix of Hezbollah and "Infidel" patches ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

There are four RU SOF videos floating around...trying to chase them down.....

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RuSOF using mortars in Syria

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Same SSO operator redeployed to Syria or still there?

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And also Side Armor for the FAST Ballistic, via @KirpiveKobra

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BUT WAIT there is a Russian Turkish guaranteed "ceasefire in place".....

The @LccSy has documented the violent death of 39 people yesterday in Syria......

The only ones apparently not adhering to it are Assad and the Iranians....

Sad but foreseeable, Turkey joins the #AssadPutin group of ceasefire violation deniers, ignoring dozens of mortar, arty & even air strikes.

[OUTLAW 09]

To all those that have commented here and or read through the year this thread........

Have a Happy New and a safe slide into 2017........

I am heading into Berlin to attend the largest street party in Europe....over 1M from the Victory Column to the Brandenburger Tor on the 17th of June street (historically important for Germany)..........and for a spectacular fireworks display......

Again stay safe and secure in 2017...the Russian war in Syria/Ukraine and the Russian hacking attacks on both the US...Ukraine and Europe will rejoin us in the New Year...AM 3000% sure of that..

BTW....Merkel gave her New Years speech today.....WHILE all have critiqued her decision on accepting 1.2M refugees...this sentence stands out as a beacon of light in this crazy world and counters deeply Trump:
All the horrors of war crimes and genocide being committed in Aleppo daily in front of the entire world has shown that we were correct in our decision to accept refugees in need....I am proud of how the German people have accepted the challenge...but we still have more to do....