Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
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.
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