^^Interesting to see that The Guardian (i.e. one of its editors) found there is a 'story' in reporting about Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
I do not understand though: why are they claiming them something like 'the' Iran proxy sent to fight in Syria?
After all, the Iranians (that is: al-Qods/IRGC) are operating a bunch of Iraqi Shi'a assets in Syria, including Kata'ib Sayyid ash-Shuhada, Liwa al-Youm al-Mawud (successor to Moqtada as-Sadr's Jaysh al-Mahdi), Failaq al-Badr, Liwa Ammar Ibn Yassir, Liwa al-Imam al-Hassan al-Mujtaba... etc., etc., etc.,... and the LAFA (Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade), and most of them are better financed (i.e. 'sponsored with more money from Tehran') than the Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
Furthermore, I am yet to hear from anybody there that the Asaib Ahl al-Haq is sending its troops to fight for the LAFA; the latter something like discredited itself already during its early presence in Syria, because of lack of discipline (including 'too much presence on the internet'), quarels and several cases of opening fire at other Iraqi Shi'a and even IRGC units deployed in Syria. That was the reason why it was kicked out of Sayida Zainab Shrine and split into two parts: the 'original' LAFA is ever since protecting Damascus IAP, while a newly created, 'moderate' part of the LAFA is now operatinal as the Liwa al-Zulfiqar and is responsible for the defence of the Sayida Zainab Shrine.
************
Anyway, the Hezbollah (the 'original' from Lebanon) was in the process of assaulting the 1st defence line of insurgents in Yabroud, two days ago - when snow fell and stopped all the fighting.
So, instead of more photos like this one, showing the Hezbollah taking away one of 76 JAN combatants they claimed to have captured while assaulting that 1st line of defence:
http://www.acig.info/forum/download/file.php?id=9165
...and more videos like this one (from al-Manar TV), showing Hezbollah infantry fighting somewhere in outskirts of Yabroud:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcBcoyjyY0
...we're now getting to see photos like this one, showing Hezbollah artillery pieces (hell, the regime obviously lacks troops to man even these!) covered by snow:
http://www.acig.info/forum/download/file.php?id=9163
Last edited by CrowBat; 03-14-2014 at 09:41 AM.
Crowbat,
What do we know about this guy?
In Syria, rebel with a cause
I would describe him as a 'typical protege of Prince Bandar': a Syrian businessman, first and foremost, with good, business-style links to Saudis. Same style like Bashar Zoubi, the leader of the (Saudi Supported) Southern Front which is recently so successful in the Dera'a Province.
Both are classy examples of the genuine Syrian revolution: business- and money-oriented, not related to old ideologies (or religion), opposing the regime and desinterested in extremists of all sorts, but also all the possible politicians in diaspora (they grew up without any connections to all of these sorts, so why should they care about them?).
It's ironic that as such they found support from 'conservative' al-Sauds, and ended in clinch with (supposedly) 'progressive' Qatar (major financier of the ISIS and the JAN), but also the Brotherhood (and thus with Turkey and the USA). Even more so because the Saudis were - until Obama once again came in between (obviously following advice from his ah-so-clever Princeton-graduates) - organizing support for their groups in a very clever fashion: buying weapons from Croatia, ammo and spares for which are available from Croatia only too. (For those in rearmost rows, this means: should anything of that stuff end in wrong hands - like those of the ISIS or JAN - it can't be reloaded or replaced, and has got an expiry date...)
Anyway, since even the JAN (not only the ISIS) has both of them on its 'to do list', we should hope neither might fall to one of so many assassination attempts (like the one that recently nearly killed Col al-Assad, the originator of the FSyA).
More importantly (and since it's sure that - all provided they get enough money - Maarouf and Zoabi can make it), we should hope that Obama - and all of his Virginia rabbits - might stay preoccupied with the Ukraine issue for a while longer, and thus mix into Saudi deals with Maarouf and Zoubi in least imaginable fashion.
I know, sigh, chances are slim. But, if you don't mind an example: it's simply stupid - plain dumb, nothing less - to deny them the MANPADs and another load of ATGMs, just because they've got groups within their alliances that used to cooperate with the JAN. Nearly all of Syrian insurgent groups did so (many still do), more or less, for longer or shorter periods of time, and usually because the Syrians are Syrians, and because 'welcoming a guest' - including the most retarded Saudi Wahhabist one can imagine, the sort of which is actually despised by any decent Syrian Salafist (including founders of the JAN), not to talk about all the other Syrians - is an elementary part of being a Syrian.
So the only problem can be somebody in Amman - i.e. from DC, and with 'strong influence in Riyad' - thinking that because two out of some 70 different 'brigades' from Zoabi's Southern Front used to 'cooperate more closely' with the JAN than the others did, 'he' (people like Maarouf and Zoabi) isn't trustworthy enough...
(Even more so because the simple truth is that had anybody from Amman - i.e. DC & Riyad - paid the Syrians on time [for example back in summer 2012], nobody would ever come to the idea to cooperate with the JAN [or ISIS], and even the JAN would've probably never come to the idea to declare itself 'AQ'.)
Seems that defences in Yabroud all but collapsed the last night.
Contrary to earlier reports, the JAN didn't withdraw, but others began withdrawing in direction of Rankus, so that the JAN was the last to fight inside the town. Latest reports (from around the midnight) indicated that the Hezbollah has reached the local Catholic Church, Police Station and the National Hospital, and is working itself through several underground tunnel systems.
There should be numerous groups of insurgents and civilians withdrawing via Rankus, Ras M'arah and Hawsh 'Arab in direction of Arsal in Lebanon. All of these places are already under artillery fire and there are reports about mines and ambushes. This is going to be ugglier than the withdrawal from Qusayr...
Insurgents (the few that are in a position to do so) are bitterly complaining about the lack of action from the SNC/SMC: while the Hezbollah and the IRGC were able to rotate their units in and out of battle, they were fighting for 30+ days without a break - and since the start of this battle they didn't receive a single bullet, not even a message of support from their supposed 'leaders'. Pro-regime side is yubilant of course, like if they won this one, not the Hezbollah and Iranians, and Hezbollah is already considering what to do about Arsal...
Your figures were 10,000-12,000 against 2,000 so not surprising.Originally Posted by CrowBat
An aside, if I were Israel I would be getting concerned about the combat experience Hezbollah is picking up in Syria as this will be used against them in due course.
I'm actually surprised they (Israel) are as quiet.
They opened fire at two Hezzies that approached the cease-fire line in Qunaitra area but...there is an entire Quds Force/IRGC battlefield management system, including plenty of top Quds Force/Hezbollah commanders and a mass of hardware, running around Yabroud - all of that well inside the range of stand-off-PGMs in service on IASF's F-15s and F-16s (even if these would be circling over the Med Sea, i.e. outside the Lebanese airspace, although most of the time their pilots can't care less about 'sovereignty' of something called Lebanon) - and outside the air defence umbrella around Damascus... yet, the Israelis didn't attack even once.
Makes me wonder: how much longer do they want to wait - or do they seriously think the Hezzies and the IRGC are going to return all the T-72s, heavy artillery and MLRS of the RGD to Bashar...?
Bashar might consider himself happy if the IRGC keeps him as its marionette in Damascus for a while longer: makes me think there will be not many 'better opportunities in the future'.
I have raised this issue before of 'inspired amateurs' making grown-up decisions at a massive cost to the recipient country concerned in terms of blood and whatever treasure they may have had. There are no consequences for this incompetence.
Don't know about Princeton but Susan Rice from Stanford at 30 was in a position - in the Clinton administration - to contribute (through sheer incompetence) to the deaths of 800,000 people in the Rwandan genocide. No consequences... she is now the US National Security Advisor.
Now this same bunch of clowns are directing US policy in Afghanistan, Syria and the Ukraine.
Crowbat, you can't make this s**t up.
Last edited by JMA; 03-15-2014 at 09:49 AM.
You're too kind to Rice. Really. Nobody can be that incompetent.
Besides, at those times she was a noob, nobody in comparison with any of figures I mentioned here. Of course, I have no doubts that she did earn herself a handsome retirement from Scowcroft Group, Kissinger Associates or Roger Winter, some nice day - just like all of such conglomerates, think-tanks and other sorts of 'consulting and investment companies' have earned (and are still earning) from imposing RPF/RPA rule over all of Rwanda and Congo.
That's also why they're presently involved in running a combined PMC/SOCOM op against the rest of the FDLR in the Kivus, instead of doing something that would really make sense to such laymen like you or me - like destroying the M23 or hanging Kagame at the nearest lantern.
Ah, the niceties of geo-politics....
**********
But back to Syria...
My concerns about safety of people like Ma'arouf and Zoubi were 'right on the money'. Four days ago, Ahmad Meshe'el, one of Ma'arouf's top commanders (really a skillfull military tactician), was hijacked (either by ISIS or - more likely - by the JAN).
Sigh... today they've found his body... RIP.
This happened just about when the local ex-FSyA, ex-IF etc. insurgents began openly declaring themselves the SRF in delight over recent victories against the ISIS. What's worse: I know of no serious replacement in sight...
But, I was wrong with Yabroud: insurgents there are still holding out.
That is, the Hezzies have faked a major attack from the West, yesterday evening, but then attacked from the East, breaching defences there and reaching the centre of the town. When the insurgents turned to counterattack, the Hezzies swept in from West and North 'too'...
(This is like reading IDF reports about their battles against Hezzies, from back in the 1990s.)
The following is not confirmed, but it appears the insurgents have managed to re-establish something like a new frontline and are still holding out in the west and south of Yabroud. Supposedly this is where the frontlines are as of today (hope, the link's gonna function):
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33...search=Yabroud
Crowbat,
The sad thing is that the US really does have competent people (and plenty of them) but their democracy - the one they keep trying to force on the world - is failing. They get the Presidents and Congress they elect and the quality is pitiful.
What we are witnessing is the last kicks of a dying 'horse' only this horse ain't kicking only making a lot of noise.
Putin has called Obama's bluff and we will see.
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