Syria in 2017 (April-December)

[OUTLAW 09]

BTW...confirms many of mine and CrowBat's posted comments.....

Assad forces & #Iran lead Shia militias prepare assault on #FSA held Tanf border crossing at triangle #Syria #Jordan #Iraq

BUT WAIT...I thought that the US was providing direct SOF assistance to these FSA units via the 5th SFGA along with CAS????

This is the perfect example of the interaction of Assad...Iran and Russia..FIRST FSA kicks out IS and controls the area THEN they get directly attacked after clearing IS by Assad...Iran and Russia...which then takes over the area...

AND where is the US in this "game"...MIA......

BUT WAIT...no they then fly CAS for Assad and Iran.....and PKK but not FSA????

[CrowBat]

So where exactly do Iran and Russia differ over Syria? Where does Damascus differ with Teheran and Moscow?

It seems to me that Moscow is satisfied with the current status quo (i.e. “freezing” the conflict with “peacekeepers” deployed), but that Damascus and Teheran want total victory, with Moscow’s help.

Yes, it's something like that, and as explained nearly a year ago at the end of the feature here: Russia, Syria and Iran Have Made a Mess of Their Military Alliance.

Yet according to other commentators at SWC, Russia has:...

Yup, according to other commentators - not according to me.

So the Kurds were living in a prosperous, secure, liberal and democratic society before the Soviets and Syrians convinced them to turn on their Turkish brethren?

Nope: they lived under the same military dictatorship which the NATO considered 'necessary', just like all other Turkish citizens.

How else to respond to marauding soldiers, secret police and paramilitary gangs?

Eh? To your information: it was during the latest cease-fire with the Turkish government that the PKK turned a number of towns and villages inside Turkey into military fortresses. That's why the Turkish military and security then had to go fighting for these, the last two years. Even then, more Kurds were killed by other Kurds all over Turkey in the same period of time, all of them in honorary killings, than by the Turkish military and security forces.

What has that got to do with 'marauding soldiers, secret police and paramilitary gangs', please?

There was a time when NATO included more than one dictatorship, out of necessity. Now, Turkey is the one that does not fit with the others.

Aha. So, the NATO considered that dictatorship 'necessary' at the time, and thus left the Turkish military terrorise its population as much as it liked. And now the NATO considers a democratically elected Turkish government for 'wrong in place' and thus isolates it at every possible opportunity...?

Man, don't you ever ask yourself any questions...?

I don’t know, which is why I asked. Support the non-PYD factions. Ensure that the YPG only includes Syrian Kurds. But any initiatives would be less than meaningful without a reckoning with the Assad-FSA conflict.

How? In what fashion? Thanks to the PKK and the Daesh, it's since nearly four years that the war in northern Syria has next to nothing to do with the Syrian Civil War.

It must be nice taking potshots from the Habsburg’s former realm.

Well, at least it is so that after playing a prominent role in causing two world wars with dozens of millions of casualties and colossal destruction of Europe, we've learned our lesson (sure, not all of us, but at least most of us).

Now compare this with 60+ screwed up military interventions, and the the USA can't learn anything at all. See here:

Your heroic 'SAA' (with this now standing for 'Sohail's Ass Admirers') is attacking the US-supported FSyA in south-eastern Syria, and advancing in direction of the Tanf border crossing to Iraq - and this while completely ignoring the Daesh-held area further north. Curiously, involved units are including a battery of SA-13s (still from the related video is attached below: probably because the FSyA is renown for operating F/A-18 Hornets and A-10 Thunderbolts II...

At the same time, a Turkish officer refused a US/NATO decoration for valour in combat against the Daesh (in Turkish).

BTW, he was about to be decorated by Col Kevin Leahy, CO of the 5th SFG (US Army's SF unit responsible for the MIddle East - and one of most politicised military positions in the USA). Word is, when Leahy approached him, he said something like, 'I do not want to upset you, but I can not accept this medal - because those who give this medal are in cooperation with my enemy, the YPG. My Honour does not allow me to accept this medal.'

This happened at the same time the US government took the decision to start providing heavy weapons - including 6 light howitzers - to the terrorist organization PKK/PYD/YPG.

...to which Turkey reacted with threats to shut down Incirlik AB for US forces.

Twist it as you like, Azor, but if this is no evidence for the Pentagon's 'foreign policy' in Syria coming apart in most absurd fashion possible, I don't know what else is ever going to be...

Of course, you can always decide not to draw any kind of lessons from that.

Which country was it again that ensured the Ivans didn’t overstay their welcome in Vienna again?

In your place I would urgently check the facts: the contract was negotiated between Austrians and four occupation powers.

You and Outlaw have an interesting habit of delving into the nuances of Arab and Turkish Sunni Islam and Islamism, but are decidedly more judgmental on the subjects of Russia, the Kurds, the Shias and the United States....

Wrong. People like you are all the time discussing the latter topics, while having giant gaps in knowledge - though never asking - about the former topic.

I find myself wondering whether you both have gone native given your experiences in the Middle East, and if you have personal attachments that prevent objectivity.

When it comes to Syria, I have never made it a secret that yes, I'm emotionally involved, and indeed: that I am biased. The introduction to my book Syrian Conflagration clearly says:

That said, I would like to stress that my reporting about this conflict is not only certain to contain mistakes, which are all mine, but is also biased. I find there is no doubt about causes for this war; no doubt about who turned it into an inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife; and even less doubt about who is prolonging the bloodshed and agony and turning large parts of beautiful Syria into a wasteland through internationalising this conflict.

That book was written back in late 2013 and early 2014. Ever since, I remain staunchly against - and thus biased - the Assad regime, against all the US messing around in Syria, against the IRGC presence, against Russian military intervention, against US support for terrorist organization PKK/PYD/YPG, against Turkish, Qatari, Saudi, Kuwaiti meddling, against Iranian and Russian support for terrorist organizations IRGC, Hezbollah, PFLP-GC, PLA, Daesh/IS/ISIS/ISIL, against Daesh, JAN/JFS/HTS etc., etc., etc.

From my standpoint, the situation is therefore crystal clear, and I've got all of my reasoning in this regards well-supported.

And you?

[OUTLAW 09]

If one cannot "see and understand" the intertwining of Russian non linear warfare in direct support to the Russian political war being directed at the West especially the US...then that person has a serious problem in "seeing and understanding" world events.....

If one cannot "see and understand" just how this President is driving US FP into a ditch based on whims, bluffs and simple stupidity then one has a serious problem...he is making the "Wag the Dog" look like a raving success right now.....but it is a total failure....

If one cannot "see and understand" the failures of the Obama WH in the ME especially directed at Sunni's with a full tilt to Iran then there is a serious problem....

If one cannot "see and understand" the now the failure of Trump ME FP because there is simply none..then there is a serious problem....

If one cannot see the coming clash between Turkey, FSA and the YPG/PKK with the US in the middle there is a serious problem.....

We are about two weeks away from that clash...WHY....the Turkish senior military leadership attempted to convince Mattis that they are serious about their taking of Raqqa and failed....

Erdogan is in DC next week to explicitly tell Trump they will take Raqqa and if that fails Turkish media is indicating they will cross in force and all bets are off then....

So sometimes a cannonade is what is needed to get some people to "see and uinderstand "....

PARET of the massive US failure in Iraq was never really seen by many commenters here......

Saddam was on his last legs anyway and some very astute commenters made that point in 20033....the Iraqi ISI was constantly putting down small revolts up through and including shortly before the US invaded...from both Shia and Sunni elements...

There is an interesting political theory that says if the uprising comes from within and it is successful then the self pride generated by the "locals doing the job" tends to carry over and the revolt is in the end successful...

BUT when an outside foreign power especially in the ME does the job for the locals...there is no "self pride" and the intervention ends eventually in failure....

Because the "perception" is and in the ME it is all about "perception" we the locals were simply too dumb/stupid to do it ourselves and we needed a foreign power to tell us what to do....and there is no "pride in their achievements"....

REMEMBER this when looking at Syria....had the US simply provided the FSA with the means and tools to throw out Assad and them remained back and lent support after Assad was thrown out...we truly would not be where we are today...

BUT REMEMBER what the Obama WH "smokescreen" was and it was a "smokescreen" meant to provide him the reasoning to do nothing....

"We are still trying to find out who the "moderates" are and who we can "vet".....then the next mantra..."we need to seriously vet the moderates to make sure TOWs do not fall into the hands of IS/AQ".....and oh surprise surprise none have ever been transferred to IS/AQ.

Both have been seriously proven to be true "smokescreens".....

WHAT Obama and now Trump do not realize is that IS/AQ are Sunni based...and it must be Sunni's that end the problem not US supported Kurdish PKK....

That is the reasoning behind what Turkey is saying about they taking Raqqa as well as blocking PKK from controlling the entire Turkish border zone.

It is just great that Mattis publicly states the US will defend Turkey BUT you should realize Erdogan fully understands that is a farce of a statement unless it comes straight from Trump's own mouth....

ACTUALLY in the 40 years of PKK attacking Turkey that is in fact what the US has always stated...and still the PKK is not under control is it??

Now you can cut and paste all you want to with this..but it will not disprove what we are seeing right now on the ground in northern Syria....and it will not coverup the current Trump ME FP failure...as well as the total Obama failures....

Here is where Trump will have serious problems with Erdogan next week in DC..

1. Erdogan does not take no for an answer..he is blunt and does not smooze at all which is the world Trump comes from and Trump cannot "bluff" are well as a Turkish bazar carpet salesman can....

2. Erdogan will hold up all US statements from the last 40 years made in the so called "defence of Turkey"

3. Erdogan will point out that Turkey has been hit hard by IS and PKK and it is now time to "eliminate both"...as the US has even named PKK a terrorist group....

4. He still has the USAF base as collateral....

5. He will point out that Turkey voted in 2001 to trigger Article 5 in support of the US and now wants a favor in return

BUT it is the issue of a single word what will cause Trump problems...."credibility"....

Erdogan knows Trump has no credibility after the Comey affair...and credibility is what drives a solid FP on just about anything...

Hard to decide who at White House now has least credibility:
@realDonaldTrump
@PressSec
@KellyannePolls
(New entrant) @SarahHuckabee

IMHO I have never seen the US WH so tangled up in so many false statements and holding press conferences in the dark next to bushes...as we have seen in the last three days and that will not be lost on Erdogan.....

Turkey warned the United States on Wednesday that a decision to arm Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in Syria could end up hurting Washington, and accused its NATO ally of siding with terrorists.
The rebuke came a week before President Tayyip Erdogan is due in Washington for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who approved the arms supply to support a campaign to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State.
Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and Europe.
"We want to believe that our allies will prefer to side with us, not with a terrorist organization," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara, saying he would convey Turkey's stance to Trump next week and at a NATO summit later this month.
He said he hoped that recently taken decisions would be changed by the time he visits the United States.
Earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters the U.S. failure to consider Turkey's sensitivities "will surely have consequences and will yield a negative result for the U.S. as well".
The United States regards the YPG as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State militants in northern Syria. Washington says that arming the Kurdish forces is necessary to recapturing Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria and a hub for planning attacks against the West.
That argument holds little sway with Ankara, which worries that advances by the YPG in northern Syria could inflame the PKK insurgency on Turkish soil.

[OUTLAW 09]

New video from Jabhat Ansar al-Islam (southern Syria rebel group) features some shots with fighters holding MANPADS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRwnsZzeq30#

Confirmed..there was in fact a shipment of MANPADs..mainly designed to eliminate copter threats and to force aircraft to fly higher and fire flares....

[OUTLAW 09]

Azor...now we get confirmation of US intentions on Raqqa and you wonder why the Turkish blood pressure is growing....

US now admits it's liberating Raqqa for the regime:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/kurd-le...ke-1494522632#

Paywall article from my end...

[CrowBat]

To recapitulate news of the day, i.e. consequences of the Pentagon - supported by a gang of idiotically short-sighted EU governments - running the US foreign policy in Syria...

1.) Some might recall that already the administration of the US President Barack Hussein Obama declared the 'Kurds' - which here stands for the SDF-conglomerate - for the most 'effective fighting force' against the terrorist organization named 'Islamic State', colloquially known as the 'Daesh' in Syria.

The issue of this 'effectiveness' is easily put under a big...nah: huge... question mark, but let's say 'never mind'. 'Problem' is that essence of the SDF is the PYD/YPG, for which most of informed Western observers - indeed, even the NATO - agree is the same like the Marxist organization PKK, established by Turkish Kurds to fight against Turkey, a NATO-ally, 30 years ago...and considered a 'terrorist organization' by the USA, by all of the NATO and most of the EU.

...all of which is a standpoint for which there is more than enough publicly-available evidence, too.

2.) Now, as mentioned above, the PKK is clearly listed as a terrorist organization by the US. Correspondingly, any cooperation between US citizens and the PKK is strictly forbidden by US law, i.e. the Code 2339B.

However, the US foreign policy in Syria is not run by the State Department and the CIA (i.e. as determined by valid US laws and regulations), not even by the White House - but by the Pentagon, i.e. Department of Defence, and the DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency).

Clearly, the latter three had to circumnavigate related US laws, and thus have established that SDF conglomerate to cover-up their illegal support for the PKK. Further in this regards, the Pentagon insists it cannot see any kind of relations between the PKK and the PYD/YPG, and this despite US military officers being regularly photographed in company of top PKK commanders (who at the same time are top PYD/YPG commanders too).

3.) So, now, the latest development is the Pentagon's decision to provide heavy weapons - including 6 light howitzers, and Javelin ATGMs, (which, BTW, it wouldn't sell even to the NATO ally Turkey) - to the PKK/PYD/YPG conglomerate.

'Surprisingly', this results with Turkish threats to shut down the Incirlik Air Base for US forces.

It also results in such 'incidents', like a Turkish officer refusing a US decoration for valour in combat against the Daesh. He was about to get decorated by Col Kevin Leahy, CO of the US Army's 5th SFG - the US Army special forces unit responsible for the Middle East - and generally considered one of most politicised military positions in the USA.

Word is, the Turkish officer in question did so with the following explanation to Leahy: 'I do not want to upset you, but I can not accept this medal - because those who give this medal are in cooperation with my enemy, the YPG. My Honour does not allow me to accept this medal.'

Word is too, some of Turks consider this as a message to Erdogan: look how weak is your state, actually... But, why should anybody in the USA, the NATO or the EU care about what do the Turks think of that...?

Cooperation with the PKK is far more important...

4.) At the same time this is happening in northern Syria (and southern Turkey), there is a major new development in south-eastern Syria - and then one related to all those (including the Assadist-Regime in Damascus, but also plenty of talking-heads all over the Western hemisphere) that insisted that the Assadist-Regime would be a US ally against the Daesh.

Namely, the 'heroic' military of that regime (colloqually known as 'SAA', which seems to stand for 'Sohail's Ass Admirers') is ignoring the Daesh, and instead attacking the US-supported units of the Free Syrian Army.

Indeed, Assadists are attacking units that have US special forces operators embedded with them - and ares advancing in direction of the Tanf border crossing with Iraq, held by the US/Jordan-supported FSyA...

Curiously, involved 'SAA' units are including a battery of SA-13 surface-to-air missiles: one is left to guess for what purposes are these necessary, considering neither the Free Syrian Army, nor the Daesh (should the Assadists ever find any) is operating any kind of aircraft (or helicopters)...?

Of course, I could be wrong, and the FSyA and the Daesh are operating combat aircraft and helicopters... but, that itch in my big toe tells me the only party actually operating aircraft and helicopters over that part of Syria is... surprise, surprise: US military (and allies).

5.) Ah yes: and, all of this is happening at the same time the PKK/PYD/YPG/SDF conglomerate has captured the Daesh-held town of Tabqa and the nearby dam (the single most important installation in all of Syria), put up two giant PYD/YPG flags on the top of it (instead of handing over this facility to the local civic authorities, as promised prior to this operation), while Western diplomats are already reporting, that the PKK/PYD/YPG/SDF conglomerate intends to hand over Raqqa to the Assadist-Regime, once this would be recaptured from the Daesh.

Dear proponents of this kind of the US foreign policy: now it's your opportunity to explain me all of this - especially in the light of 'ending the war on terror', indeed, 'winning the war on Daesh', please.

And, please, kindly feel free to whine and twist it as you like: I do not expect you might ever understand how wrong you are, and what a mess this is going to cause (i.e. how much is this all going to prolong the war), but if this is no evidence for utter failure of the Pentagon's (and, meanwhile, White House's) 'foreign policy' in Syria... sorry, I still don't know what else is ever going to be...

[Azor]

Outlaw,

According to you, Obama:

• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations

Given your invective on Trump, one might assume that the Kremlin had more kompromat on Obama, no? And you wonder why I refuse to engage with you on the U.S. political infotainment circus?

As for the WSJ article, you are twisting Assad’s approval of the SDF offensive into the SDF being synonymous with the regime.

[Azor]

…they lived under the same military dictatorship which the NATO considered 'necessary', just like all other Turkish citizens. Aha. So, the NATO considered that dictatorship 'necessary' at the time, and thus left the Turkish military terrorise [sic] its population as much as it liked. And now the NATO considers a democratically elected Turkish government for 'wrong in place' and thus isolates it at every possible opportunity...? Man, don't you ever ask yourself any questions...?

Are you insinuating that NATO in general, and the U.S. in particular, are responsible for military rule in in Turkey during the Cold War? That is quite the excuse, considering that every country liberated by the Western Allies in Europe was reconstructed as a liberal democracy, despite Greece’s self-inflicted lapse in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As for Portugal and Turkey, neither were occupied by the U.S.

During the Cold War, the U.S. followed a dual-track approach, supporting liberal democracy as well as authoritarian anti-Communist states. Conversely, the Soviet Union did the same – with Communism substituted for liberal democracy – as you have seen for yourself in West Asia and Africa. There is no black and white here, but shades of gray.

To your information: it was during the latest cease-fire with the Turkish government that the PKK turned a number of towns and villages inside Turkey into military fortresses. That's why the Turkish military and security then had to go fighting for these, the last two years. Even then, more Kurds were killed by other Kurds all over Turkey in the same period of time, all of them in honorary killings, than by the Turkish military and security forces.

So we are parsing the history of the Turks and Kurds now? Two years out of a forty-year conflict? And that is just referring to the PKK…

Do you have any data to support your claim that the conflict is actually one of Kurds killing Kurds? If cultural or religious murders are being included, then can you compare the rates for ethnic Kurds and ethnic Turks?

…after playing a prominent role in causing two world wars with dozens of millions of casualties and colossal destruction of Europe, we've learned our lesson (sure, not all of us, but at least most of us). Now compare this with 60+ screwed up military interventions, and the USA can't learn anything at all. In your place I would urgently check the facts: the contract was negotiated between Austrians and four occupation powers.

Curious. Despite sending observers to see the Union and Confederacy have a go at it, the Europeans learned absolutely nothing from the carnage, and resorted to Napoleonic tactics fifty years later, in the face of trenches, machine guns and artillery. If the experiences mass death and the destruction of civilization are the only teaching instruments that work, why are Europeans so determined to hector other countries?

You do realize that the invocation of European “wisdom” derived from its 20th Century deluge is about as common a refrain as the “wisdom” of ancient China and Iran passed down through the millennia, right? The people who live in what was the cradle of civilization sure seem wise today, don’t they?

To paraphrase everyone’s favorite uncle, how many divisions did the Austrians have at the time they were negotiating from this position of "strength"? What percentage of Austria’s Typhoons are actually in service? Is it 1/3 or only 1/5, I forget?

More than sixty failed military interventions? I count four…

The United States has liberated some two dozen countries from oppressive military occupation, including Austria, and has protected twice that number from foreign invasion. It is also directly responsible for establishing or re-establishing liberal democracy in some dozen of these countries.

I understand why Europeans have a complicated view of the U.S. Bring up a single rape by a U.S. soldier in 1945 and there may well be a reappraisal by many Americans. Bring up the sacking of Vienna or Berlin to Russia and the response will probably involve some laughing in the Kremlin followed by a redeployment of Iskanders.

It is far easier to confront a flawed guardian than it is to confront an abuser, and the combination of jealousy and resentment offers a greater feeling of strength than fear and shame do. Despite being largely responsible for one of America’s major mistakes, Rumsfeld was not incorrect when he referred to “Old Europe” and “New Europe”. The former was annoyingly self-righteous, whereas the latter was still enjoying the lifting of the Iron Curtain.

But what is Europe and what is European? According to “Old Europe”, Malmö is Europe, not Krakow. Perhaps in a generation it will be debated whether the Iron Curtain was a blessing in disguise, when there are more gated communities, barbed wire, broken glass, cinder block walls and electrified fences in Vienna than in Sao Paulo. You may shrug, but most did in the early 1930s as well.

Your heroic 'SAA' (with this now standing for 'Sohail's Ass Admirers')

Well that’s quite an un-European sentiment. Sexual orientation and gender are fluid constructs, didn’t you know? Time for some re-education, unless you profess Islam, which is a protected bigotry.

Curiously, involved units are including a battery of SA-13s (still from the related video is attached below: probably because the FSyA is renown for operating F/A-18 Hornets and A-10 Thunderbolts II...

And? I realize that this is your wheelhouse, but what does it have to do with the price of rice?

…the US government took the decision to start providing heavy weapons - including 6 light howitzers - to the terrorist organization PKK/PYD/YPG.

Alright. And what of Turkey’s decision to allow Islamists, including Al Qaeda and Daesh, use its border as a revolving door? Or is it all Jordan’s fault?

When it comes to Syria, I have never made it a secret that yes, I'm emotionally involved, and indeed: that I am biased. The introduction to my book Syrian Conflagration clearly says:

That said, I would like to stress that my reporting about this conflict is not only certain to contain mistakes, which are all mine, but is also biased. I find there is no doubt about causes for this war; no doubt about who turned it into an inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife; and even less doubt about who is prolonging the bloodshed and agony and turning large parts of beautiful Syria into a wasteland through internationalising this conflict.

Ever since, I remain staunchly against - and thus biased - the Assad regime, against all the US messing around in Syria, against the IRGC presence, against Russian military intervention, against US support for terrorist organization PKK/PYD/YPG, against Turkish, Qatari, Saudi, Kuwaiti meddling, against Iranian and Russian support for terrorist organizations IRGC, Hezbollah, PFLP-GC, PLA, Daesh/IS/ISIS/ISIL, against Daesh, JAN/JFS/HTS etc., etc., etc.

From my standpoint, the situation is therefore crystal clear, and I've got all of my reasoning in this regards well-supported.

And you?

The situation may be crystal clear, but is an immediate solution? I would expect the blundering to continue until attrition wears out all of the parties. Again, my reference is the Thirty Years War. Compared to Syria, the problems in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s seem relatively simple.

See Lister’s testimony. His recommendations leave much to be desired: http://www.mei.edu/content/article/t...policy-options

I share your antipathy for Assad, but I am no fan of Erdogan, and I believe that he has made Turkey a liability to both the EU and NATO. No one actor is a hero or villain to all.

As for the thorny issue of the PKK, I very much doubt that it will go away unless Turkey either relinquishes its Kurdish territories or devolves into a federated state that would be unacceptable to Ankara. The same is true for the Kurdish militants in Iran. The PKK/KCK has a certain legitimacy in Turkey, Syria, and Iran, not dissimilar to how the Viet Minh did in Vietnam. It will be difficult to repress them while the conflict with Turkey, Daesh and to a lesser extent, Syria, continues.

[OUTLAW 09]

Outlaw,

According to you, Obama:

• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations
• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations

Given your invective on Trump, one might assume that the Kremlin had more kompromat on Obama, no? And you wonder why I refuse to engage with you on the U.S. political infotainment circus?

As for the WSJ article, you are twisting Assad’s approval of the SDF offensive into the SDF being synonymous with the regime.

Azor...so you believe that in fact the US has received the "blessings of Iran.....Assad and Putin.

Let me remind you of a small often overlooked item..in and around Aleppo during the height of the figthing there were FIVE recorded events following this pattern..and it is still ongoing...

BTW all posted here if you took the time to read them....

IS either pulled suddenly out of a location and then in flowed Assad/Iranian Shia units

OR FSA pushed out IS THEN were suddenly attacked by Assad/Iranian forces THEN losing them to Assad....

OR in areas controlled by YPG/PKK they pulled out and handed the area over to Assad and Iranian forces....

Turkish concerns with Raqqa are the same as the FSA..once U/Iran/Russia and PKK take Raqqa it will be turned over to Assad/Iranian forces.

REMEMBER I did post here the statement by the Syrian Russian Ambassador.."Assad has no intentions in attacking Aleppo and will not attempt to retake all of Syria..."

So what do we see now on the ground??

BTW extremely happy you agree with me on the Obama "influence in Syria"....you summarized it nicely....

• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations
• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations

[OUTLAW 09]

Afghan army pickups seen in Iraq... Iran is not only sending mercenaries but also Afghan army equipments with them
https://www.google.se/amp/taskandpur...cks-iraq/amp/#

[CrowBat]

Are you insinuating that NATO in general, and the U.S. in particular...

No. My conclusion is that the USA + NATO were 'OK' with a military regime in Turkey, when that fitted their interests, and are 'not OK' with an Islamist destroying the Turkish democracy when that's not in their interests; i.e. that to the USA + NATO it never matters what Turkish people and/or governments do, and what repercussions that has for Turkey - but only what's in US and NATO interests.

During the Cold War, the U.S. followed a dual-track approach, supporting liberal democracy as well as authoritarian anti-Communist states....

...you forgot to add, 'and destroying democracies for the purpose of private interests' (see Guatemala, Chile, Iran etc., etc., etc.).

So we are parsing the history of the Turks and Kurds now? Two years out of a forty-year conflict? And that is just referring to the PKK…

...sigh... because - or thanks to you, I'll use my time in more constructive fashion, sit down and finally write a history of that conflict - based on official data from both of involved parties.

Curious. Despite sending observers to see the Union and Confederacy have a go at it, the Europeans...

...sigh... Azor: now you're blowing yourself up all over my windshield.

You mentioned Austria, I responded about Austria - which you obviously do not understand, just like you do not understand that with 'European', as obvious from your prose to both topics... sigh... please, go discussing in that style with somebody else.

More than sixty failed military interventions? I count four…

Can't believe you're that clueless. Please, inform yourself: Timeline of United States military operations.

You have my apology, though, then I was wrong too: didn't count all of what's listed, but the total appears to be closer to 200.

Well that’s quite an un-European sentiment.

Ah now comes the usual accusation of 'homophobia' - just because you've never heard of paedophilia, and thus can't differentiate between the two.

And? I realize that this is your wheelhouse, but what does it have to do with the price of rice?

Just disregard and forget about it. Sorry, but it's beyond your ability to understand.

Alright. And what of Turkey’s decision to allow Islamists, including Al Qaeda and Daesh, use its border as a revolving door?

Since by now I'm sure you wouldn't understand my answer, let me just ask you back: would you like to say you don't understand the concept of states where there are multiple, and different political and religious opinions/points of view? Where not everybody thinks and does the same?

The situation may be crystal clear...

Yup, cause the next war while the last is still going on.

...but is an immediate solution?

Who needs solutions?

Only pussies are war-weary.

[OUTLAW 09]

Outlaw,

According to you, Obama:

• Failed to stop the Syrian Civil War early by fully backing the FSA
• Walked back on his “red line”, allowing Assad to use cluster munitions, incendiaries and chlorine gas on civilians with impunity
• Gave Iran a free hand in Syria in order to secure the JCPOA, which is more a Munich than a Versailles
• Gave Russia a free hand in Ukraine in order to secure the JCPOA and possibly prevent advanced Russian SAMs to be deployed in Iran
• Angered allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey
• Began arming and partnering with the PKK in Syria
• Refused the provision of MANPADs to the FSA
• Refused any CAS to the FSA
• Permitted Kurdish ethnic and sectarian cleansing
• Was ambivalent about the attempted coup d’état in Turkey
• Was critical of Turkey’s defense of its airspace but not of Russian violations

Given your invective on Trump, one might assume that the Kremlin had more kompromat on Obama, no? And you wonder why I refuse to engage with you on the U.S. political infotainment circus?

As for the WSJ article, you are twisting Assad’s approval of the SDF offensive into the SDF being synonymous with the regime.

Azor...BTW greatly appreciated your summary of my statements...because if you looked better yet read every single posting over the last two years you would see the ground reality in Syria actually supported your summary very nicely....especially if you then coupled it with the Obama and Rhodes interviews WHICH actually supported much of what you yourself have posted here.....

BTW have you noticed there are very few commenters willing to post "truth to power" regardless of where these days...personal moral courage seems to be largely missing in the drive for banality.....

[OUTLAW 09]

Azor...so you believe that in fact the US has received the "blessings of Iran.....Assad and Putin.

Let me remind you of a small often overlooked item..in and around Aleppo during the height of the figthing there were FIVE recorded events following this pattern..and it is still ongoing...

BTW all posted here if you took the time to read them....

IS either pulled suddenly out of a location and then in flowed Assad/Iranian Shia units

OR FSA pushed out IS THEN were suddenly attacked by Assad/Iranian forces THEN losing them to Assad....

OR in areas controlled by YPG/PKK they pulled out and handed the area over to Assad and Iranian forces....

Turkish concerns with Raqqa are the same as the FSA..once U/Iran/Russia and PKK take Raqqa it will be turned over to Assad/Iranian forces.

REMEMBER I did post here the statement by the Syrian Russian Ambassador.."Assad has no intentions in attacking Aleppo and will not attempt to retake all of Syria..."

So what do we see now on the ground??

BTW extremely happy you agree with me on the Obama "influence in Syria"....you summarized it nicely....

Azor...more proof that Assad/Iran and yes Russia are in fact playing the game mentioned above as they ever expand their control...that is why I can state with 10000% accuracy Raqqa will never be turned over to FSA if SDF/YPG/PKK capture it....

S. #Syria: #FSA announce they took back Al-Zaza checkpoint after hours of clashes with pro-Regime forces backed by Hezbollah.

S. #Syria: #SyAF reportedly carried out airstrikes on several #FSA positions, including near their HQ in Al-Tanf.

FSA had previously defeated IS in this area and it was under full FSA
control....

NOW Azor....can you finally "see and understand" what I been attempting to get you to fully understand.....BTW I am not the only one saying this.....

Amazing how @OIRSpox @CENTCOM rush to protect their PKK partners against NATO ally but silence when anti-IS rebels bombd by pro-Assad forces

The US/Jordan and FSA have invested a massive amount of effort in pushing IS out of this area...ONLY to then be blatantly attacked by Assad....Iran and Russia....

Does that make any sense???

[OUTLAW 09]

S. #Syria: pro-Hezbollah map showing 100 km left for Regime to reach border with #Iraq, through #FSA HQ in Al-Tanf.

So Azor...the massively interesting question which you yourself even pointed out and agreed with me....

IF Obama had been supporting FSA since say 2012 WOULD we be seeing this Hezbollah led attack on FSA on the Syrian Iraqi border.....

THEN ask the question...WHY is it critical for Iran to control this border crossing point....??

I give you the answer but will wait to see if you get it first....

[OUTLAW 09]

Pertains to our old Syrian friend who is credited for downing more Russian aircraft than Turkey....the Kuznetsov......


Steamer, pretending to be aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov won't get Kalibr missiles upgrade.

Old system will remain.

They could have turned her into a floating cruise missile battleship..strange that they did not...

[OUTLAW 09]

#Syria US anarchist fighter with #YPG on American support after USA decided to arm YPG directly
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/

I posted here the first comments on this US anarchist group....

[OUTLAW 09]

#Homs: #Assad forces shelling agriculture areas in Northern #Homs and destroying the harvest today.

[OUTLAW 09]

Azor...please pay attention to this...as it is further proof of what PKK has in mind....Manbij based on the US countless statements to be turned over to the Arabs within SDF BUT it has not been....AND in countless statements US told Erdogan the SDF/YPG would be pulled back east of the Euphates....DID that even come close to actually happening???

US-liberated Manbij has become a PKK-regime fief, writes a resident there:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...assad-friends#

THIS is exactly what CrowBat and I have been trying to get to "see and understand"....

NOTICE the mentioning of the "Baath Party"....CrowBat can fill you in on their activities within Syria and their support to Assad....

SO explain to me again just why you tend to believe that Raqqa once taken by PKK will not fall under Assad control again??

[OUTLAW 09]

~15 Russian airstrikes targeted FSA groups backed by US and UK to fight ISIS in Bir Qassab San' Abiar south Syria.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33...4872&z=13&m=b#

NOW balance this ground reality against the countless flow of US great feel good messaging in support of the SDF/YPG/PKK

US-backed forces just got ISIS to surrender a Syrian city, and it's not the first time
http://read.bi/2qcba9k

[OUTLAW 09]

US strategy to mitigate Turkey's concerns could also include supporting a more influential Turkish role in Idleb gov
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/12/...-syria-trump/#