Syrian Civil War: News #2

Don't know who this guy is but I'd go along with all he said.

The bombardment of Libya and the eventual overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi was a lesson for Russia, as Moscow will not now let Syria fall to the United States, Iranian Press TV reported. Russia understands that the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad and his army are the world's best bet to beat ISIL and bring stability to the Middle East, argued Brian Becker, the national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition group.

Syria has been a long-time Russian ally, with their political and economic relations going back decades. Both Russia and China abstained from their vote on the issue of Libya, allowing the United States, Britain and France push through the idea that Gaddafi had to go. This, in turn, led Libya into irreversible chaos.

The mistake made with Libya made Russia realize the importance of keeping al-Assad in power. Only al-Assad is capable of keeping the country in order, preventing ISIL from taking over the entire region, Becker said. "When you look at what's happening in Syria, you can clearly see that the Russian government's statement is correct that Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria and the Syrian National Army are the most effective forces in fighting against ISIS," the analyst said, as cited by Press TV.

Now if the United States truly considers ISIL an existential threat, then why wouldn't the US government support al-Assad in his fight against the Islamic terrorists? It should be a no-brainer, Becker concluded.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150915/1027007427/russia-to-support-al-assad-to-fight-islamic-state.html#ixzz3loq1R6J5

Freedom fries....

''US Should Keep Calm and Help Russia in Syria

Instead of criticizing the Russian policy in Syria, Washington should help Moscow to solve the Syrian crisis, French newspaper Le Figaro reported....

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150915/1027026546/us-should-help-russia-to-solve-syrian-conflict.html

Keep out, don't poke your nose into what we are up to, seems to be the message.

WASHINGTON, September 15. /TASS/. The United States and its allies do not coordinate their steps with Russia while conducting an operation against the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, Captain Nikolaj Thide, a representative from the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, told TASS. Thide said that the Combined Joint Task Force engaged in the Inherent Resolve operation was not coordinating its combat activities with any of Russian structures.

Earlier, Washington said the United States would welcome Russia’s constructive contribution to the fight against the Islamic State but the US Administration categorically opposes any Russian assistance to Damascus.

On Sunday Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a weekly review programme on Russia's First Channel that defence and technology cooperation with Syria was bound to have specialists sent over from Russia for training Syrian personnel use the supplied weapons, "As for our approaches, they are absolutely transparent," Lavrov said. "Over all these years, from the very beginning of the Arab Spring, from the time it degraded into development of terrorists and extremists, who began overthrowing regimes in various countries and began being supported by those who also shared negative attitudes to the former leaders, we have been declaring we shall help the Syrian authorities, like we have been assisting Iraq and governments of other countries, which are facing the terrorist threat." "These are the objectives of our military-technical cooperation," he said.

On Monday the spokesman for the US Department of State, John Kirby, said that the participation in the operation against the IS "can’t include direct support to the Assad regime."

PapaDragon wrote:
Freedom fries....

''US Should Keep Calm and Help Russia in Syria

Instead of criticizing the Russian policy in Syria, Washington should help Moscow to solve the Syrian crisis, French newspaper Le Figaro reported....

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150915/1027026546/us-should-help-russia-to-solve-syrian-conflict.html

It seems that the flood of refugees and immigrants wake up Europeans, that the Russian way to solve the Syrian and ME crisis and to stop the flow of immigrants is the only right one. I wonder how much time will take for EU politicians to get to the same conclusion or will EU citizens will need to change them on next elections. The fall of today EU leadership will also bring the fall of US influence in Europe as those opposition parties know well how much damage and troubles US bring to Europe.

PM Valls: France to decide alone on Syria airstrikes targets

Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said France will decide “alone” regarding its targets when conducting airstrikes in Syria to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) group. In a parliamentary speech, Valls assured France would have “full autonomy of decision and action,” AP reported. The PM also ruled out any intervention on the ground by French soldiers. The country’s military began reconnaissance flights over Syria last week, and President Francois Hollande said airstrikes would follow soon.

Well not that I think France is trustworthy in the slightest after involvement backing jihadis in Syria and Libya,
but this bit of news has me thinking of the reports that the US was veto'ing strikes on confirmed ISIS positions by the NATO-GCC "coalition".

Ron Paul, as always, with a decent commentary...

https://youtu.be/rMEmmVAAyHk

ضربت حرة الجيش السوري تقسيم وحدة واحدة المتمردين تلة الجيب آل غار في اللاذقية
Free Syria Army 1st division unit hit the Syria Assad Jib al-Ghar hill in Latakia [HD Cam]
Published on Sep 13, 2015 [09.16.2015 14:46:39]

FSA 101st division rebel unit the Coastol division strike the SAA the hill Jib Al Ghar the Latakia region.

Hit the assad hard

Some interesting statistics: 82% see ISIL as the products of the U.S., 79% believe that foreign troops make things worse, and 79% don't believe that today's life is better than under Assad.

Group Jaish al-Islam is approaching Damascus from the north.

http://sokol-ff.livejournal.com/1077948.html



Huge explosions reported, either SAA detonating ammo dumps while retreating or thermobaric strike.

http://sokol-ff.livejournal.com/1076960.html




Proof that Saudi military is training and supporting of ISIS (shocker... )

http://sokol-ff.livejournal.com/1078250.html

Recent UK research poll of ‪#‎Syria‬ covering all 14 governates:

- In Syria, just 21% prefer life now to what life was like under the full control of Bashar al Assad – 40% preferred life four years ago, 35% saying life is essentially the same.

- 81% say ISIL was created by the USA

- Assad has higher positives (47%) and lower negatives than either ISIL, Al Nusra, the "Syrian Opposition Coalition" or the West-backed FSA

- 70% of Syrians are against dividing up the country .

79 % prefer life under Assad .  40% say that explicitly, 21% say better now, 35% say no difference . 56% don't prefer life under Assad to now

Conclusion: After 4 years of civil and proxy war, the ‪#‎Assad‬ government still has a strong plurality of support of all the factions of the country, making it the only possible choice to rally the country around and defeat ‪#‎ISIS‬, as the ‪#‎Russian‬ government has obviously concluded.






http://www.opinion.co.uk/article.php?s=orbiiacss-poll-in-iraq-and-syria-gives-rare-insight-into-public-opinion



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/15/one-in-five-syrians-say-islamic-state-is-a-good-thing-poll-says/?postshare=9381442346331254



http://www.opinion.co.uk/perch/resources/syriadata.pdf

A certain son of a b**** claimed that Assad is the reason for the growth of ISIL.

http://www.rt.com/usa/315474-kirby-state-department-assad-isis/

The retired US Navy admiral, now speaking on behalf of the US foreign ministry, repeatedly blamed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for the very existence of Islamic State terrorists. “He is the reason ISIL, and other terrorist groups, have been allowed to fester and grow and sustain themselves inside Syria,” Kirby said. “Assad regime has allowed groups like ISIL to fester and grow inside the country.”

What I don't understand is how that SOB can be appointed as spokeman of U.S. State Department.

free shitty army isn't fighting IS anywhere.

iraqidabab wrote:free shitty army isn't fighting IS anywhere.

Of course not, usually suicide isn't committed so why kill themselfs off?

FSA =ISIS, US just invented ISIS to justify bombings, hard to justify bombing of Assad since russia and china made that pretty clear, hard to justify bombing of FSA which they claimed are all just civilians that were facing mass murder from assad and wanted free democracy and no tyranny, so invent another terror group and pretend you are fighting them while you target Syrian military to pave the way for FSA terrorists.

1. Who is fighting IS in Aleppo countryside? Orcs and dwarves? Or maybe Harry Potter?
2. How is US military targetting Assad? Are they bombing the Syrian Army? If yes, why don't Syrians complain that the coalition si bombing them?
3. Who bombarded IS in Kobane? God the Almighty? If the airstrikes were fake, why didn't the Kurds complain about that?

First of all, you can't say that Us created ISIS because there is no proper "ISIS" per se. Core ISIS is maybe 10,000 fighters, it's military leadership is made of ex-Baathists and the rest are simply tribal and neo-Ba'athist militias.And it's a group with one of the most diverse funding sources on the planet, so it's nor easily controllable. FSA, Ahrar and other rebel factions will not fart without permission of their sponsors because they have one source of income and weapons.

You wrongly assume that the rise of ISIS gives more reasons to support rebels. Actually, it only makes Assad more legitimate.

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:1. Who is fighting IS in Aleppo countryside? Orcs and dwarves? Or maybe Harry Potter?
2. How is US military targetting Assad? Are they bombing the Syrian Army? If yes, why don't Syrians complain that the coalition si bombing them?
3. Who bombarded IS in Kobane? God the Almighty? If the airstrikes were fake, why didn't the Kurds complain about that?

First of all, you can't say that Us created ISIS because there is no proper "ISIS" per se. Core ISIS is maybe 10,000 fighters, it's military leadership is made of ex-Baathists and the rest are simply tribal and neo-Ba'athist militias.And it's a group with one of the most diverse funding sources on the planet, so it's nor easily controllable. FSA, Ahrar and other rebel factions will not fart without permission of their sponsors because they have one source of income and weapons.

Yes i can fucking say that ISIS is created by US the fucking US had to admitt it.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-23/secret-pentagon-report-reveals-us-created-isis-tool-overthrow-syrias-president-assad

If you are such a guilable fool that believes US creating terror groups to overthrow governments but then bombing their own created and till this very day funded terror groups you are only shitting yourself and no one else.

Yes they are targeting Syrian military, whereever they little subhuman mercenaries on the ground can't win, they bomb. The only bombing against ISIS the US has done are propaganda footage of lonely, toyota pickup trucks in nowhere, with no human lifes visible around it. Propaganda war nothing else.

FSA,ISIS,AL-CIAda all created by US for their little dirty work, no denying there that is simple fact and proven always and repeatedly by US GOVERNMENT sources!

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:1. Who is fighting IS in Aleppo countryside? Orcs and dwarves? Or maybe Harry Potter?
2. How is US military targetting Assad? Are they bombing the Syrian Army? If yes, why don't Syrians complain that the coalition si bombing them?
3. Who bombarded IS in Kobane? God the Almighty? If the airstrikes were fake, why didn't the Kurds complain about that?

The massacre at Kobane and other destruction caused by IS is so blalant and so visible and the U.S. would have lost all the prestige if they hadnt done anything.

Of course they have to do some sort of airstrike etc etc to show the world that they are fighting against terrorists. But fact is fact that ISIL toghether with Al Qaeda and Taliban are the products of U.S. intervention against their politicial adversaries.

Zerohedge...

Right...

Werewolf wrote:es they are targeting Syrian military, whereever they little subhuman mercenaries on the ground can't win, they bomb.

Answer my question - if the coalition is bombing Assad, why Assad never, NOT EVEN ONCE, complained about that? Showing that the campaign is not really against ISIS but against him would cause a political scandal so big that Watergate is a petty affair compared to that. IF US bombed Assad, Assad would have absolutely no reason to hide that. Everyone would gain by exposing it - Assad hismelf and all his allies - Iran, Russia, China. Everyone of them woud work days and nights to expose that. Your claim that Assad is bombed from the air but somehow stays silent about it and all his allies stay silent about is as well is so ridiculous that it ain't befitting for a sane human.

Werewolf wrote:The only bombing against ISIS the US has done are propaganda footage of lonely, toyota pickup trucks in nowhere, with no human lifes visible around it. Propaganda war nothing else.

What about ths one? Here you can clearly see ordnance falling on fighters - nicely visible on FLIR:


More


here you have strike on an armed pick-up


On this video you can also see bombs falling on something more than just empty cars:


A French airstrike:

Only ‘4 or 5’ US-Trained Syrians Are Still in the Fight Against ISIS



It’s far from the 15,000 envisioned over three years, U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Austin conceded to lawmakers.

Werewolf wrote:FSA,ISIS,AL-CIAda all created by US for their little dirty work, no denying there that is simple fact and proven always and repeatedly by US GOVERNMENT sources!

Bin Laden stopped having anything to do with America in late 1980s - and when his group received help (if it did), he was nothing more than just a minor warlord, like hundreds of others in Afghanistan. It's like claiming that USSR was a German puppet throught all of its' existence because in 1917 lenin received some help from German intelligence that wanted to kick Russia out of the war.

... and people must stop treating Assad like a saintly figure fighting against evil opression. IF Assad was overthrown and replaced by a pro-US government, that government would look not much different from Assadist one once the situation is stabilized. Most US allied states in the Arab world look very much like Assad's Syria and some (Turkey) are more secular.

BREAKING: Defense officials tell NBC News that US special ops. forces are on ground in Syria assisting Kurdish forces in fight against ISIS

https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/644171963884261377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Walther von Oldenburg wrote:Zerohedge...

Right...

Werewolf wrote:es they are targeting Syrian military, whereever they little subhuman mercenaries on the ground can't win, they bomb.

Answer my question - if the coalition is bombing Assad, why Assad never, NOT EVEN ONCE, complained about that? Showing that the campaign is not really against ISIS but against him would cause a political scandal so big that Watergate is a petty affair compared to that. IF US bombed Assad, Assad would have absolutely no reason to hide that. Everyone would gain by exposing it - Assad hismelf and all his allies - Iran, Russia, China. Everyone of them woud work days and nights to expose that. Your claim that Assad is bombed from the air but somehow stays silent about it and all his allies stay silent about is as well is so ridiculous that it ain't befitting for a sane human.

Only a completely insane person will believe that US presence in and around Syria and the region is to fight the ISIL. I had already covered the insane point you raised in another thread and posting it below....

1) Russian Govt finally decided to bolster its military presence in Syria (if it had not already decided/planned) could be due to the fact that US has started/have been targeting the Syrian military in the guise of action against their own creation called ISIL. This would have known to the Russian & Syrian govts but were not made public so as not to give a moral boost to the international terrorists fighting the Syrian Govt.  


Only a totally insane person will ever believe that US is there to fight the IS. Their main aim is to oust an elected Syrian President and everything else is secondary. If their primary aim was to fight IS, they would have long accepted Russian stand to fight IS and helped Syrian army.

And believe it or not, Syrian Army have been loosing ground to the international terrorists in many regions since the US started its campaign against IS.

max steel wrote:

BREAKING: Defense officials tell NBC News that US special ops. forces are on ground in Syria assisting Kurdish forces in fight against ISIS

https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/644171963884261377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Pray that God have mercy on the PKK and make it strong.
Russia also needs to balance the act with Iraq and Iran and start arming the Kurdish fighters with modern weapons including Iglas and howitzers. $cuk the possible nay sayers like Turkey.

higurashihougi wrote:The retired US Navy admiral, now speaking on behalf of the US foreign ministry, repeatedly blamed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for the very existence of Islamic State terrorists. “He is the reason ISIL, and other terrorist groups, have been allowed to fester and grow and sustain themselves inside Syria,” Kirby said. “Assad regime has allowed groups like ISIL to fester and grow inside the country.”

Er yeah, nevermind that DIA report saying US & Ally policy would lead to Salafist principality between Syria and Iraq.  Assad did it!

Here's an interesting story from US (interviewing RU Amb to UN Churkin), although it kind of falls under "Everybody knows this anyways."
U.S. doesn't really want Assad to fall, Russian ambassador claims

Anyways, realizing this clearly means the US' PR "Russia backing for Assad is extending this bloody war." is empty BS.
Powers' crazy talk flies in the face of the recent polls, the % living in government territory, the mass popular elections incl. refugees in Lebanon etc
"[RU] not take account of the views of the vast majority of the Syrian people that want to go in a different direction [against Assad]"
Of course, Assad is not most Syrian's #1 ideal, but the point is a large majority still support the secular Syrian state.

And for all the talk of Assad's political repression (oh wait, who sent him those torture victims?) the US doesn't really care about political opposition.
It only backs "armed rebels/jihadis" ignoring the non-violent political opposition who de facto ended up supporting the government side of war.
(just like Britains who disliked Churchill still supported Britain against Nazi Germany, i.e. normal situation for any country in war)
That's why the talk of political solution with armed opposition is nuts, because those factions DON'T command a large % of popular support.

To consider a future democratic Syria, the non-violent opposition who supports secular Syrian state will need to participate.
The violent opposition's support is so small (as well as being fractured amongst itself) that it ISN'T NEEDED for a democratic mandate.
So the talk of political solution with "armed rebels" is not about democracy, but imposing diktat of foreign sponsors of "rebels" (US/UK/FR,SA,QA,Turkey)
And the casualty figures indicate that ~2/3 of "armed rebels" are now foreign, showing the Syrian jihadi faction is that much smaller/weaker.

Then the idea that US is still trying to claim some "moderate" rebels, ultra focusing on ISIS, as if "real" Al-Qaeda/Nusra is not a problem.
Or Ahrar al-Sham also linked to Al-Qaeda.  By the US' own standards of "supporting terrorism" ala persecutions of Palestianians donating to Palestine,
all those groups CERTAINLY would count as terrorist affiliated, and of course they all push similar extremist sectarian perspectives.

Oh, incidentally here is another very good article:
U.S. training helped mold top Islamic State military commander
Highlighting how the US was happy to cooperate with Chechen terrorists who had fought in Russia, i.e. "it's not terrorism when you kill THEM".

Dima.

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter - so don't be too quick to call them terrorists.

ISIS almost does not fight Assad. In toal maybe 20% of ISIS' military strength in Syria is deployed against Assad, the rest is fighting Kurds and other rebels.

And more important, IS spent several years fighting US troops in Iraq and was responsible for over 50% of all US casualties suffered during the entire war. Al Anbar province (the bastion of IS) had 1% of Iraqi population but accounted for 25% of all US trops killed during the war. In Syria there are lots of other factions that are less radical (FSA stated repeatedly that they will not implement sharia) and more willing to cooperate. Damn, even Nusra expressed desire to cooperate with US and it's considered to be "radical". ISIS is the only faction in the war that never expressed will to cooperate with America.

Cuz cooperating with the US means you are less radical.

The Chechen story is illuminating on FSA, these guys think their ISIS buddy is a "good muslim"
and their whole problem with ISIS was that it attacked other groups not respecting personal bonds.
If "their friend" lead ISIS and didn't attack them, then they would have no problem with it.