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Thread: Syria in 2015

  1. #2801
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    Another day of "altered state of reality" statements from the Russian FM.....

    One of the current Russian myths/lies that is cruising on Russian troll network...total lie......

    MFA Russia ✔ @mfa_russia
    #Zakharova: The US should take note of the reported arrest of #ISIS men in Kuwait who allegedly bought MANPADS in #Ukraine
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 03:17 PM.

  2. #2802
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    NOT so sure Putin understands Turkey is serious..........

    Turkey moves 20 tanks to its border and sends 18 fighter jets on patrol
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...border-6903087
    Turkish Pres. Erdogan tells @CNN that it is Russia, not Turkey that should apologize over shoot down of Russian jet: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/26/middle...inkId=19082677

  3. #2803
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    Russia airstrike on School in the residential area of #Maarat_al_Nouman
    #Idlib #Syria Nov26
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_s0bkT9l7A … pic.twitter.com/zE4SZyyKAb

    RuAF attacked a school and a marketplace in Ma'rrat al-Numan #Idlib today.
    https://youtu.be/V_s0bkT9l7A

    Rumor control.........
    There are lots of rumors that #Russia supply manpads to kurdish #YPG/#PKK forces - to shot down #Turkey warplanes
    -will see if true


    Ahrar al-Sham shelling Russian airbase #Hmymim in rural #Latakia with 130 mm.

    Finally visual evidence.
    Some of the #Russian-hit trucks and warehouses in #Azaz WERE loaded with food.

  4. #2804
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    Another TOW ambush another killed commander...

    FSA Fursan al-Haq says killed commander of al-Nujaba Iraqi militia & sr. Hezbollah leader with TOW S #Aleppo y'day.

    yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2015/11/26/syriafsa-fursan-al-haq-brigade-killed-ytday-2-halesh-and-iraki-commanders-in-aleppo/ …

    Clashes reported between #FSA #ShamFront & allies vs #IS at Al-Bel, Sandaf & Kafrah farms in north #Aleppo countryside

    Syrian Rebels kill Assad regime commander Louay Mohamed Yaqoub in Deraa he's originally from Latakia
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 03:40 PM.

  5. #2805
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    [B]
    Ahrar al-Sham shelling Russian airbase #Hmymim in rural #Latakia with 130 mm.
    Apparently Al Hamamin airbase was shelled in Syria where Russian troops were deployed. No word on the number of casualties at the moment

    Damn just heard a rumour if true then there are plenty of new Russian casualties on the ground in Syria.

  6. #2806
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    Turkey is smart & won't pass #USA & #Russia another 1991 #Kuwait setup. They'll impose a Safe Zone in #Syria whether they like it or not..

    Rebels said they will use force to retake the village unless YPG / JaTh leave: Maryamin, Inab, Qanbrya, Mrash, Shawaghirah, Tanab, Kashtaar.

    Coalition planes drop leaflets to civilians in Deir-ez-Zour warning them to stay away from oil fields. https://twitter.com/DeirEzzor24/stat...48573853491200

  7. #2807
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    Russian MoD announcement on the suspension of all military channels of communication with Turkey https://twitter.com/mod_russia/statu...18481240956928

    Russian military cutting all coop w/ #Turkey military, incl. hot line set up to avoid accidents during Russian airstrikes in Syria.

    Of course: Russian MOD says audio of Turkish pilot's warning to Su-24 is "fake"
    http://www.interfax.ru/world/481808
    AND naturally we all know Russia has never lied in their takeover of Crimea, their invasion of eastern Ukraine and their shot down of MH17

    Let's escalate. Things weren't enough complicated yet
    https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/statu...17289874120705
    It sounds all a get out of Dodge while you can messaging.......

    Russia deployed S-400 missiles to #Latakia to fend of Turkish fighter jets...
    Latakia is in range of the Turkish Army's missile artillery.

    Russian exports to Turkey: $25 billion
    Turkish exports to Russia: $6 billion
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 05:02 PM.

  8. #2808
    Council Member AmericanPride's Avatar
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    Outlaw,

    This thread reads like your own personal blog. It's quite entertaining really.

    Anyway, we can probably write off the U.S. objective of removing Assad from power now that Russia is directly involved in the conflict. If he steps down, it will be at the behest of his Russian and Iranian benefactors who see that concession to Washington as valuable for some other gain. I doubt that this will be a repeat of the Russo-Japanese War or Afghanistan for the Russians though there is the risk of entanglement now for them. The question for the U.S. is how to make the Russian victory as costly as possible.
    When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles. - Louis Veuillot

  9. #2809
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    [I]Apparently Al Hamamin airbase...
    It's Hmemmem, just that, no 'al-' in front of it.

    And this was already the fifth attack of that kind launched by Ahrar.

    The first caused Russians to 'disperse' their aircraft down the eastern runway.

    The second didn't hit anything.

    Nothing is known about results of the third and fourth attack, one of which was undertaken by BM-21s, and one by M54 cannon (130mm).

    Whatever... Russians have meanwhile constructed several blast pens and dispersal sites, so that their aircraft are not that tightly bunched together like earlier. Underground fuel- and ammo depots have been constructed too.

  10. #2810
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Even allowing for diplomacy and the Montreux Treaty on passage through the Dardenelles, I do wonder if Turkey will suddenly discover obstacles and restrict the flow of Russian ships? That would make logistic support for their expedition rather demanding on airlift capacity.

    Wiki's summary:
    The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits is a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships. The Convention gives Turkey full control over the Straits and guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime. It restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states. The terms of the convention have been the source of controversy over the years, most notably concerning the Soviet Union's military access to the Mediterranean Sea.
    davidbfpo

  11. #2811
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    Why is it that when these writers are no longer part of the administration they tend to speak truth to power.............she was the DoD expert of Russia and especially Putin AN absolutely ignored by the Obama WH and NSC....ND when she spoke power to truth Obama did not like it..

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...irspace-213393

    Putin Is Testing Our Resolve

    A former senior Pentagon adviser says recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace are evidence of the Kremlin’s growing aggressiveness.

    By Evelyn Farkas
    November 24, 2015

    If the Turkish military shoot-down of a Russian SU-24 fighter aircraft is a “stab in the back,” as President Vladimir Putin characterized it on Tuesday, then the knife wound came after some very loud footsteps from behind and shouts of “Here I come!” Following recent Russian incursions into Turkish airspace, in other words, no one should be surprised.

    On October 3 and 4, Russian fighter jets first veered into Turkish airspace. Both incursions were met with sharp warnings from Ankara, as well as from NATO headquarters and Washington. In one official explanation, the Russian military blamed weather conditions—which an Internet search demonstrated were excellent. And Tuesday, according to the Turkish government, the Russian pilots were warned 10 times before their plane was dispatched to the ground.

    We may never learn definitively whether the pilots strayed into Turkish airspace accidentally or whether this incursion was a test of Turkish and NATO resolve. But considering Putin’s past behavior, we should go on the assumption that it is the latter.

    In the end, it is Russia that is wielding the knife here—shredding international law and conventions that have held firm for decades. The hard cold truth is that the sum of Russia’s agenda, not just in Syria but globally, runs counter to the values and interests of the United States, its allies and partners. Russia’s challenge is so fundamental to the international system, to democracy and free market capitalism that we cannot allow the Kremlin’s policy to succeed in Syria or elsewhere.

    As regrettable as it is to go back, in a sense, to a Cold War-type confrontation, it will be increasingly difficult not to do so as long as Russia continues on its current course. As a former senior State Department official said to me recently, “The only thing worse than bilateral escalation is unilateral escalation.” If we fail to counter Russia’s actions, deterring and responding to Russia will become more difficult over time and we will be forced to do so having already lost the initiative. For this reason, even while the coalition expresses genuine interest in cooperating with Russia to fight ISIL, Turkey’s shoot-down of the Russian SU-24 makes sense.

    The problem we in the West have, apart from ISIL, is Russia. While we must do everything to avoid miscalculation or conflict with the Russia, we must demonstrate resolve on small probes or even what may be accidental air incursions. If we don’t do so, in an excess of caution, the result could well be that we only embolden Russia. Let’s keep the stakes low.

    The confrontation between Turkey and Russia comes at a time when Putin is already testing transatlantic unity over Syria policy by attempting to forge a new coalition with France to respond to the ISIL attacks specifically on Paris and on the Russian Metrojet airliner over the Sinai. It remains to be seen what action Putin may take to retaliate against Turkey for the downing of the aircraft. There are potential targets; the two countries have strong trade and economic ties, with Turkey providing a major tourist destination for Russians and Russia providing over half of Turkey’s natural gas. But relations were already soured because of the fundamental difference between Russia and the U.S.-led coalition’s policy toward Syria.

    In Syria, Russia’s main objective—despite occasional official comments indicating that Moscow is not wedded to Bashar Assad per se, or to his staying in power indefinitely—is to keep Assad in power. The one indicator of this intent is Russian military action; the fact is, Russian airstrikes have mainly targeted Syrian opposition forces, not ISIL. Meanwhile, try as Putin might to fracture coalition or NATO unity, the United States, Turkey and France are adamant that the dictator who used chemical weapons and barrel bombs against his citizens be removed.

    So even if Russia starts targeting ISIL increasingly as part of bilateral cooperation with France or an arrangement with the U.S.-led coalition, we’ll still have a big gap in overall objectives, as President Barack Obama made clear at his news conference with French President François Hollande on Tuesday. "We've got a coalition: 65 countries," Obama said. "Russia right now is a coalition of two: Iran and Russia supporting Assad." The world and the Syrian people are crying for a political compromise, but an arrangement acceptable to Russia and the coalition, as well as Syrian opposition leaders, Saudi Arabia and Iran, is not in sight.

    The chief obstacle, again, is Russia.

    Russia’s objectives in Syria are driven by Putin’s overall political objectives. Those include: 1) Retaining his position as the leader of the Russian Federation and preserving the autocratic political system and mafia-style crony economy that together comprise “Putinism”; 2) restoring Russia’s status as a great power, prospering economically and militarily and capable of not only balancing but checking U.S. and Western power; 3) rewriting the international rules and norms to prevent interventions in sovereign affairs of states to protect its citizens; 4) maintaining political control of Russia’s geographical periphery (Europe/Eurasia and Central Asia) to ensure economic access and to provide a geopolitical buffer zone against purported NATO encirclement; and 5) breaking NATO, the European Union and transatlantic unity.

    To achieve these objectives, Russia has invaded neighboring countries, occupied their territory, and funded NGOs and political parties not only in its periphery but also in NATO countries. It has exerted economic pressure through its near monopoly of oil and gas supply and through its corrupt ties with elites worldwide. And it has used lies and propaganda to influence ethnic Russian populations and the international community and to confuse policy debates. In Syria, as in Ukraine, military force is being used to set the diplomatic table; much as Slobodan Milosevic did in the 1990s during the war in Bosnia, the map created by the fighting will determine the new baselines for negotiations.

    While the United States and its allies intervene to try to save Syria’s citizens from further abuse from their dictator, the Russian government intervenes to save the ruthless leader. True, we can forge a temporary alliance with Russia against ISIL, and we should. Retribution should rain down, and ISIL should be eliminated. This is one important element of any Syrian settlement. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that Assad can never be regarded as a legitimate leader again.

    Meanwhile, Russia is not finished in Ukraine; its military equipment and forces in Ukraine and over the border can and may be moved into renewed action. It is not finished in Georgia or Moldova, and if Belarus continues to resist the new base Moscow wants to build there, what will happen next? Kremlin officials are making noises about Afghanistan and putting pressure on the Central Asian states. Putin likes to surprise his opponents and keep them off balance. If Russia’s Syria intervention stalls, the temptation to strike again elsewhere will be that much greater.

    So we must look up from Syria and beyond Syria and forge a consistent policy that prioritizes political, economic and military assistance to allies and partners globally in the face of Russian pressure. Senior U.S. officials must be present in the vulnerable Russian periphery—as Secretary of State John Kerry was recently (in Central Asia). And diplomats must focus again on the former Yugoslavia, where Russia is attempting to take advantage of existing political tensions to undermine the existing central governments and integration with NATO and the EU. In the NATO context, we must continue to build our ability to deter Russia militarily, and we must provide assistance to allies to break their dependence on Russian military hardware. The Defense Department should also continue to provide training for territorial defense to Ukraine, but also to Georgia and Moldova. Defensive lethal assistance (mainly anti-tank weapons) should be provided to those countries so they have a chance at deterring the larger, more ready Russian forces. We must also devise additional economic means to pressure Russia. We cannot take for granted the low oil prices that have fortuitously assisted us so far. At some point, the price of oil will increase.

    If the MH-17 tragedy in 2014, where Russian separatists shot down a commercial airliner, didn’t demonstrate the fact that Russia’s challenge is international, Moscow’s actions in Syria have. We must continue to work with the international community—non-transatlantic allies and partners, including Japan, Israel, Australia and Malaysia, among others—to hold Russia accountable for the MH-17 crash, the violation of the Budapest memorandum, which offered political assurances to Ukraine in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons, and for failing to implement the Minsk agreements in Ukraine. Finally, Russia must answer for its violations of and poor compliance with arms control agreements—first and foremost the INF Treaty—and come into compliance or face consequences.

    We need to steel ourselves and outmaneuver Moscow so that U.S. national security interests and objectives prevail.
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 05:43 PM.

  12. #2812
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    Seems kurdish #YPG change its politics- try to expand & gain new territory instead of only defend it
    -Imperialism-

    Russian (#RuAF) targeted Rebels position on the outskirts of Azaz and Al-Malikiyah. Russia supporting #YPG.
    https://twitter.com/aboferasalhalab/...30721914568704 ….

    Syria Kurdish #YPG try to storm #FSA held arab villages in northern #Aleppo
    When #Assad won the war he also finished their independence

    Heavy clashes btw FSA and YPG at the Castello Road,with YPG shelling the road
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 06:50 PM.

  13. #2813
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    The U.S. air campaign in Syria is suspiciously impressive at not killing civilians, writes @MicahZenko
    http://atfp.co/1OhFyoG

  14. #2814
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    Really worth listening to this commenter---he states much of what we here at SWJ have also said ie Robert Jones and what the West does not want to hear about the ME.

    Not sure the WH fully understands this....

    Iyad El-Baghdadi ‏@iyad_elbaghdadi · 29 Oct 2014
    The official video of my speech at @OsloFF is out, captioned in English & Arabic. Please watch, comment, and share:
    http://bit.ly/1tP86g0

  15. #2815
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    Seems kurdish #YPG change its politics- try to expand & gain new territory instead of only defend it
    -Imperialism-

    Russian (#RuAF) targeted Rebels position on the outskirts of Azaz and Al-Malikiyah. Russia supporting #YPG.
    https://twitter.com/aboferasalhalab/...30721914568704 ….

    Syria Kurdish #YPG try to storm #FSA held arab villages in northern #Aleppo
    When #Assad won the war he also finished their independence

    Heavy clashes btw FSA and YPG at the Castello Road,with YPG shelling the road
    This COULD create strife between Turkey and the US (which Russia possibly hopes for) or it could spell the end of the YPG...

    Aleppo
    #ISIL attack from the east, #YPG & Marrouf militia from the west backed by Russians & Regime & IRGC Shia militia from the south..
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 07:19 PM.

  16. #2816
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    CIT (en) @CITeam_en

    Russian jet and helicopter lost in Syria: an open-source analysis
    https://citeam.org/russian-jet-and-h...urce-analysis/
    pic.twitter.com/wonqAVl5ch

  17. #2817
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    Erdogan officially requested a meeting with Putin in Paris on November 30. Will Putin agree?

    Putin has not returned my call’, Turkey's Erdogan tells FRANCE 24
    http://f24.my/1Nap2Sg
    pic.twitter.com/dRv4Inl1N6

    Russia calling the kettle black is coming back to haunt them......
    Russian state TV reports that truculent Turkish media is whipping up nationalist fervor and presenting a biased view

    AND Russian media is not biased against the Ukraine and anti Assad opposition??

    While riveted by the aerial flashpoint between Russia & Turkey, let's not forget Putin's subs have been trespassing in Nordic & NATO waters.
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 07:19 PM.

  18. #2818
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    From Russian MoD.....
    SYRIA #FOOTAGE S-400 AA missile system deployed at #Hmeymim airbase

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCLOfC3FfM
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 11-26-2015 at 07:18 PM.

  19. #2819
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    Interesting to watch........

    Ahrar Al Sham docu exposing ISIS w/ ENG subs
    http://youtu.be/QDyWFLU2d8M

  20. #2820
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    The Latest: Putin: Russia to cooperate with US-led coalition: http://bigstory.ap.org/ce71e672811c4...campaign=share

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