Page 81 of 106 FirstFirst ... 3171798081828391 ... LastLast
Results 1,601 to 1,620 of 2113

Thread: Syria in 2017 (January-April)

  1. #1601
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Love affair over?

    Russian TV's Kiselev: "Trump has made a 180 degree turn.
    He's definitely not the same figure, that was once so liked"

    Russia's state TV: "The #Kremlin already noticed the change in words and deeds of the new American administration.
    Changes for the worse."

    Russia's state TV re: Syria strikes:
    "Actions of a neophyte, with no victories, defeats or any experience in int'l politics under his belt."

    Russia's state TV re: US strikes in #Syria:
    "If Trump continues to act this way towards Russia, there's no way he'll get along with Putin."

  2. #1602
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Assad allies say U.S. attack on Syria air base crosses 'red lines'
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mi...-idUSKBN17B0K7

    A joint command center made up of the forces of Russia, Iran and militias supporting Syrian President Bashar al Assad said the U.S. strike on a Syrian air base on Friday crossed "red lines" and it would respond to any new aggression and increase its support for its ally.
    The United States fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian air base on Friday from which it said a deadly chemical weapons attack had been launched earlier in the week, escalating the U.S. role in Syria and drawing criticism from Assad's allies including Russia and Iran.
    "What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red lines. From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well," said the statement published by the group on media outlet Ilam al Harbi (War Media).
    U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meanwhile, blamed Russian inaction for helping fuel the chemical weapons attack it had reacted to, saying Moscow had failed to carry out a 2013 agreement to secure and destroy chemical weapons in Syria.
    He said the United States expected Russia to take a tougher stance against Syria by rethinking its alliance with Assad because "every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility."

    PUTIN, ROUHANI SPEAK
    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani said in a phone call that aggressive U.S. actions against Syria were not permissible and violated international law, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
    The two leaders also called for an objective investigation into an incident involving chemical weapons in Syria's Idlib and said they were ready to deepen cooperation to fight terrorism, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
    Syrian army forces had been losing ground across the country until Russia intervened militarily in September 2015, propping up Assad and protecting its own interests in the region.
    Assad has also drawn heavily on foreign Shi'ite militias sponsored by Iran, led by Lebanon's Hezbollah group, for his most important gains since the Russian intervention.
    Also In World News
    The joint command center also said the presence of U.S troops in northern Syria where Washington has hundreds of special forces helping the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to oust Islamic State was "illegal" and that Washington had a long-term plan to occupy the area.
    The regional alliance said the U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian base which Washington said was involved in a chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians would not deter their forces from "liberating" all of Syrian territory.
    Many Syrians opposed to Assad's rule consider Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian-backed troops as occupiers seeking to drive out mainly Sunni Syrians from the areas they live in. They hold Iran and its allies responsible for the displacement of millions outside the country.
    They also see Russia as a foreign occupier whose relentless aerial bombardment of rebel-held areas has led to thousands of civilian casualties. Some accuse Moscow of applying a "scorched-earth policy" that targets hospitals, schools and residential areas more than frontlines to break the resolve of the anti-Assad insurgency
    .
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 03:35 PM.

  3. #1603
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    McMaster: "how could it be" that Russia didn't know Syria was preparing and executing chemical weapons attack given RUS advisers at airbase

    Rex says the battle against ISIS "is being coordinated somewhat with the Syrian regime..." Wait, WHAT??? @ThisWeekABC

    So weird how Moscow and Damascus -- and sometimes #ISIS -- always seem to know our ops plans, isn't it?
    Rex says strike was meant "to render that airbase... no longer usable." Seems like he's admitting the strike failed


    SO did the US DoS just fully admit that the US is coordinating with Syria against IS???

    If true, this is an example of what happens when you warn #Russia (who in turn warns #Assad) of strikes, in advance.

  4. #1604
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Russia's state TV: "Losses from US strike on Syria were mainly planes that were being repaired or about to be decommissioned."
    Convenient.

  5. #1605
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    A few notes on what Russia is doing when it demands the U.S. provide evidence for things everyone knows happened.

    The US spent the Cold War developing all kinds of ingenious capabilities to monitor enemy (read: "Russian") military capabilities/movements.

    Russia knows we're not likely to divulge all of what we know and, more importantly, *how* we know it. So on one level, they're trolling us.

    But Russia also has a professional interest in our sources and methods, which they want to know more about so they can adjust their actions.

    So if in the course of an international incident's aftermath we show a little leg, that's a small victory for the Russians.

    You beat the Russians at this game by refusing to play it. Don't let them goad you into revealing sensitive US capabilities.

  6. #1606
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    Assad allies say U.S. attack on Syria air base crosses 'red lines'
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mi...-idUSKBN17B0K7
    Hezbollah, Russia and Iran coalition is now threatening U.S. to not attack Assad
    Attached Images Attached Images

  7. #1607
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Both airworthy SyAAF IL-76 [YK-ATA/ATD] + Iranian Pouya Air [EP-PUS] cargo planes between Damascus and Tehran today and yesterday

  8. #1608
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    This has been my opinion for years ..........

    We will be fighting Salafi jihadism, in various forms, for many decades to come.
    But it will eventually burn out.

    USG lacks the skills - & stomach - to do the non-kinetic things that would actually defeat Salafi jihadists faster.

    It's INCREDIBLY difficult to defeat an idea with bullets. It will burn out but it's gonna take time, patience, and commitment.

    In Europe this has been true since the 50s....Red Brigades...2 Juni...RAF..Baader Meihof....All Palestinian groups......all blossomed and then faded....and surprisingly there were far more people killed in those attacks than anything IS has done.

    Most European leaders view this as a long term state security and police effort...
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 04:31 PM.

  9. #1609
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Stockholm's truck-jihadist is an Uzbek plus the six who were also arrested with him...... Oslo's would-be 17 year old Russian who was claiming refugee status bomber is from Russia.

    Lot of ex-Soviet badness in Scandinavia these days.

    Hmmmm....wonder why Scandinavia???

  10. #1610
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Rare photos of the Technicals' annual migration across the Levant Desert. Isn't nature wonderful?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  11. #1611
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    A few notes on what Russia is doing when it demands the U.S. provide evidence for things everyone knows happened.

    The US spent the Cold War developing all kinds of ingenious capabilities to monitor enemy (read: "Russian") military capabilities/movements.

    Russia knows we're not likely to divulge all of what we know and, more importantly, *how* we know it. So on one level, they're trolling us.

    But Russia also has a professional interest in our sources and methods, which they want to know more about so they can adjust their actions.

    So if in the course of an international incident's aftermath we show a little leg, that's a small victory for the Russians.

    You beat the Russians at this game by refusing to play it. Don't let them goad you into revealing sensitive US capabilities.
    Kosachev, chair of the FA cmte, called cynical DJT refusal to show evidence of Assad's involvement in sarin attack.


  12. #1612
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Idlib: #Russia|n warplanes attacking civilians in #Idlib Province with incendiary bombs this evening.

    Russian Su-34 attacked Sarmin town in Idlib
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-L1DG6S8b4#
    pic.twitter.com/9aLzeomPq7

    BREAKING: Russia sent its most advanced jets in Syria (Su-35) to bomb Rebel-held Daraa
    pic.twitter.com/gixopEaGYb

    Daraa: 15 more pro-Assad confirmed killed in Al-Manshiyah. 1st one is Brig. General
    pic.twitter.com/JQf5j5GAx7

    Bombardment of Khan Shaykhun town in Idlib today
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32lORsQLtVc#

    2 helicopters flying over Daraa countryside
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBS30JZJ-Zg#

    Video from inside Al Manshiyah district of Daraa
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsW6QkLYLPA#

    Syria: Violent strikes on Al Qabun district of Damascus this morning
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7r97Xs6NtI#

    Close call when RuAF drops incendiary bomb targeting Saraqib area. Idlib
    https://syria.liveuamap.com/en/2017/...omb-targeting#

    Aircraft hit Zamalka, Qabun. Number of civilians were wounded
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gAExAjMTds#
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 05:57 PM.

  13. #1613
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    An 'infantile argument': Experts pour cold water on Russia's 'fanciful' explanation for Syrian gas attack
    https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/in...sh&soc_trk=tw#

    3 airplanes launched airstrikes on Damascus suburbs, also 18 surface-to-surface missiles
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmsORMdDoS0#

    20 killed as result of airstrike on Urum al-Jos town in Idlib
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknAydcdtXs#

    BREAKING: Syria: Aircrafts targeted Al-Habit town
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_QPD8cPjQg#

  14. #1614
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Hama Battle:Central Division destroyed with a TOW a 57 mm gun and killed several pro-Assad

    Hama Battle: Ahrar Al-Sham declares Rebels repelled pro-Government forces assault on Helfaya

    President Erdoğan urges Russia to stop supporting Assad government

    Hama Battle: Jaish Al-Nasr shelling with 122 mm cannon pro-Regime forces trying to advance on #Helfaya front.

    Suqaylbiyah is an important Regime artillery pos. since years but pro-Regime foreign militias (#Hezbollah & #Iraq|is) in #Muhardah are new.

    This is the Regime strategy to use Christian towns like #Muhardah as platform to attack Rebels & then accuse them when returning fire.

    Hama Battle: Jaish Al-Nasr destroyed a mounted 37 mm gun on #Khattab front. http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=35...68587&z=13&m#…

    Hama Battle: #Russia|n presence near frontlines is confirmed. Officer pictured with pro-Regime Baath Brigades. https://www.facebook.com/bbsr.sy/pho...pe=3&theater#…
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 06:24 PM.

  15. #1615
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    Rare photos of the Technicals' annual migration across the Levant Desert. Isn't nature wonderful?
    Free Syrian Army forces expel Daesh from Tanf border crossing on the Syria-Iraq border

    S. #Syria: #FSA repelled #ISIS surprise attack on Al-Tanf base near #Jordan border. SVBIED targeted reinforcements, 2 killed and 7 wounded.
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 06:19 PM.

  16. #1616
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Well worth reading....

    US strikes mark a new turn in Syria and beyond. Destination unknown

    Hassan Hassan

    https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...nation-unknown

    The decision of the US finally to punish Bashar al-Assad for the use of chemical weapons against civilians will turn out to be, no doubt, a catalyst for a new chapter in the Syrian conflict. Even though US officials repeatedly emphasised the missile strikes on the Shayrat airfield were a one-off punitive measure, the unprecedented move comes amid a set of turning points in different parts of Syria and in the way foreign actors operate there. It is against the backdrop of these changes that the regime’s logic behind the use of chemical weapons should be viewed.
    Paradoxically, recent changes in the conflict have seemed to favour the regime. Exactly one week before the missile attack, American officials gave Assad something he long wanted, namely, a new stated policy that his removal was no longer a US objective. This came in the form of top-level remarks from Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, and Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, stating that the long-term status of Assad would be decided by the Syrian people .
    The message was cause for celebration in Damascus, especially as the about-face reflects the approach of the opposition’s regional and international backers in recent months.
    Turkey, for example, turned its attention wholly to its operation Euphrates Shield campaign to check the expansion of the Kurdish YPG, or the People’s Protection Units, which Ankara considers a terrorist organisation, and to combat Islamic State. Since the campaign began in August, Ankara worked closely with Russia to ensure freedom of operation and several officials frequently stated that the removal of Assad was no longer a Turkish objective. Binali Yildirim, the prime minister, even went so far as to suggest that Ankara would prefer it if the Syrian regime took control of Manbij, a former Isis stronghold liberated by the YPG.
    The Gulf states have also reduced their involvement in the Syrian conflict to a minimum. Qatar, the most committed Gulf backer, is less able to increase or even maintain its support, particularly since the Turkish-Russian rapprochement, as aid typically went through Turkey. Saudi Arabia, which continues to support the rebels through the US-run military operations centre in Jordan, has now minimal involvement in military support. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, appears to have fully pulled out any support provided to the rebels. Jordan’s army chief, Maj Gen Mahmoud Freihat, told BBC Arabic in December that Amman would open the borders if the regime took control of the Syrian side.
    ‘Syria is not our problem’: Trump’s past comments on Assad regime
    These statements from regional backers of the opposition represent a remarkable win for the regime and a profoundly frustrating psychological and operational blow to the rebels, particularly after they were expelled from eastern Aleppo in December. The regime feels its future is not threatened, even while the insurgency against it persists.
    The US, meanwhile, continued to focus on its effort in the fight against Isis and al-Qaida. In recent weeks, this focus on extremists began to pay direct dividends for Assad. Last month, for example, the US helped the regime and its Russian and Iranian allies in their campaign to expel Isis from Palmyra by conducting airstrikes against the group there. Also, the planned US operation to dislodge Isis from Raqqa will rely on the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which have no qualms about co-operating with Damascus and Moscow, rather than the Turkish-backed rebels who seek the downfall of Assad.
    The burning question, then, is why the regime would gamble with all those gains? Those who cast doubt on the culpability of the regime in the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, in the northwestern province of Idlib, argue that the behaviour appears illogical and thus unlikely. The regime has everything to lose and little to gain from such an act. On the other hand, what prompted the US to change its posture towards Assad within exactly one week, from declaring that his survival was none of the US’s business?
    One explanation of the regime’s motive offered by analysts, such as Faysal Itani of the Atlantic Council, is that the use of chemical weapons in Idlib was a prelude to Damascus’s effort to recapture this rebel-held province. Idlib, which has the only provincial centre controlled by the rebels, is vital in the regime’s long-term plan to control all of the country. The use of chemical weapons will terrify the local population and weaken the rebel resolve there.
    As Itani explained, the use of chemical weapons is sometimes a tactical necessity for the thinly stretched Syrian army. The regime got away with chemical attacks dozens of times before and it might not have anticipated an American response.
    But what if a US response was part of its calculus? I believe this is a possibility, based on previous conversations with regime supporters, and a theory shared by a former senior regime insider.
    If Damascus cleared the use of the poison gas in Idlib, it likely anticipated two scenarios: the US would either respond with punitive measures or continue to ignore such attacks. The regime knows that the consequences of the first scenario, while real, are limited. The regime, its backers as well as its opponents, recognise that the US has no interest whatsoever in destabilising it, at least while the threats of Isis and al-Qaida are still present. Contrary to popular narrative, even regional backers of the opposition have no interest in the disorderly fall of the regime.
    Here, then, might have been the thinking before the attack: if the US were to opt for inaction, as usual, the regime would obviously stand to benefit from setting the tone against the new administration in Washington. Despite the change of rhetoric in Washington a week before, the situation in Syria was still fluid and the regime believes it had a high point of leverage as the US readies its troops to fight in Raqqa. Rather than showing gratitude to the changed tone, runs this theory, a regime such as the Syrian one would not risk wasting such an opportunity to double down and gain tangible compromises from the US, which can change its policy after Raqqa.

    Continued....

  17. #1617
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Latakia: Rebel assault on Zuwayqat front was stopped w/ involvement of #Russian #SOF. 3 BMPs & one T-72 taken out.
    http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=35...27417&z=13&m#…
    Attached Images Attached Images

  18. #1618
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Hama Battle: Jaish Al-Izza destroyed with a #TOW a tank on Tell Sofouh, S. of #Helfaya.

    Hama Battle: Ahrar Al-Sham declares Rebels repelled pro-Regime forces assault on #Helfaya.

  19. #1619
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    Another picture from #Saraqib (#Idlib province), where #Russia right now tries to burn Syrian civilians alive.

    Saraqeb, Idlib, today. The Russian regime has bombed numerous towns in Idlib & Hama with thermite & cluster bombs in the past 2 days

    Saraqeb is on fire after Russia dropped thermite on the town
    https://syria.liveuamap.com/en/2017/...pped-thermite#
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 07:02 PM.

  20. #1620
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    35,749

    Default

    WOW...now even the Russian MoD is finding excuses for their poor anti-cruise missile defenses.....

    In Russian media now: S-300/S-400 "only 30 km object coverage", Pantsyr S-1 was never designed against cruise missiles
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-09-2017 at 06:47 PM.

Similar Threads

  1. Syria in 2017 (April-December)
    By SWJ Blog in forum Middle East
    Replies: 563
    Last Post: 12-28-2017, 05:39 AM
  2. Hizbullah / Hezbollah (just the group)
    By SWJED in forum Middle East
    Replies: 176
    Last Post: 12-19-2017, 12:58 PM
  3. Replies: 18
    Last Post: 11-22-2017, 03:43 PM
  4. Russo-Ukraine War 2017 (January-April)
    By davidbfpo in forum Europe
    Replies: 1093
    Last Post: 04-29-2017, 10:25 AM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •