Syrian Civil War: News #5

Interesting...most of the rebels might soon officially become terrorists ...I'll believe it when I see it, but there does seem to be some movement on the diplomatic front....Jihadi Julian is getting desperate  

flamming_python wrote:

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:

JohninMK wrote:OK so all those rumours are untrue then ...

There weren't "all those rumors", were they? I think the story had just been made up yesterday?

On a practical note, I think everybody can do himself/herself a favor by totally ignoring the "Sputnik", not that Sputnik started this one though. It's a shame that Sputnik is getting away with using the name "Sputnik".

Sputnik News reminds of Pravda.ru. Not quite as ridiculous, but still.

Either way there's nothing better, at least in terms of English-language Russian media.

You have CNN and Fox and VICE Flamming to keep you updated with the anti Russian crap
you like.

NATO has shown that they're not looking for an escalation with Russia, and that's satisfactory for me.

And i declare you the most naive of all people in the forum . NATO = USA with a coalition of puppets. and escalation is exactly what AMericans wants to pressure Russia to submit to American imperialism or else face an endless war with Ukraine and Turkey and world economic isolation. Is only Europe major European powers ,more friendly nations to Russia the ones trying to pressure Americans to end their cold war with Russia . But NATO secretary general is only a propagandist of American imperialism and he will twist anything to put the blame on Russia on everything and defend any NATO ally .

Cyberspec wrote:Interesting...most of the rebels might soon officially become terrorists ...I'll believe it when I see it, but there does seem to be some movement on the diplomatic front....Jihadi Julian is getting desperate    

It's only a technicality,  if you take up arms against the government and start killing people, then you are part of the bad people. As far as the government is concerned, your group affiliation is largely irrelevant, as it's just a subset of "the enemy"




South Front must have gotten some more funding, I think they are based in Crimea.

I pretty much agree with FP... at the end of the day NATO is not going to disappear... they can either actively oppose Russia in Syria, they can do nothing, or they can cooperate... personally I prefer do nothing as the other two options don't bare thinking about...

magnumcromagnon wrote:

Solncepek wrote:

Is this a Coptic/Orthodox church in Damascus?

One thing is sure that's an Eastern Iconostasis. Maybe the Melkite Church in Damascus, it's one of the most interesting views. Bit there are about 3/4 other orthodox churches so he's got the choice.

Militants took advantage of horrible weather conditions and recaptured Mount_Nuba

The bad weather conditions will stop the syrian advances...The next months will be very tough,
i don't expect any significant gains on the front...

Iran has decided to unify its stance with Russia's in the push for a political deal to end Syria's civil war, Iranian officials said, in a sign it could ease its opposition to the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of the agreement.

While maintaining its firm backing for Assad in public, Russia has recently made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to him stepping down as part of the peace process, diplomats said.

Iran's decision to step up its coordination with Russia was made after a meeting last month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, according to a senior Iranian official with knowledge of the discussions.

Like Russia, Iran has insisted publicly that Assad should only step down if he is voted out in an eventual election.

"What was agreed was Iran and Russia will pursue one policy which will benefit Tehran, Moscow and Damascus," the senior Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "Iran seriously believes that the Syrian nation should decide about their fate. But first calm should be restored."

"It is possible that the Syrian people decide Assad should leave, and then he must leave," the official added. "If he cannot serve his country and his people, then a capable successor should run the country."

A second Iranian official told Reuters that Iran and Russia are in "full harmony over Syria and Assad's fate".

"The meeting between Putin and the Supreme Leader Khamenei was very successful and now Iran and Russia share the same view on Assad," the official said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-iran-idUSKBN0U12OM20151218?utm_so

That Reuters article is 90℅ guesswork and wishful thinking from whoever wrote it. Another version of "Assad must go'' BS...

I would not worry myself too much over it...

Aaaaand Assad stays...

''Putin: Moscow Ready to Work With Both Assad and Washington, Russia Not Changing Position on Syria''

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151219/1032015354/moscow-syria-us-putin-interview.html

Breaking: Syrian Army Captures the 5th Precinct in Maheen
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-captures-the-5th-precinct-in-maheen/

hi has anyone got a recent map? only one i can find was updated on 09/12/15

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:

JohninMK wrote:OK so all those rumours are untrue then ...

There weren't "all those rumors", were they? I think the story had just been made up yesterday?

On a practical note, I think everybody can do himself/herself a favor by totally ignoring the "Sputnik", not that Sputnik started this one though. It's a shame that Sputnik is getting away with using the name "Sputnik".

A story is being fabricated claiming the Turkish Airforce having taken some action in Iraq.

I would like to suggest that this story is like the one above and should best not to be believed.

Completely ''unrelated'' article from Sputnik

''Turkey Headed Toward Civil War''

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151220/1032033126/turkey-civil-war.html


Smart thing for Turks to do after that Su-24 fiasco was to just swallow their medicine and take a cruise missile up their posterior like big boys, but no, they had to play the ''tough guys''.

Now they will learn the bitter value of hindsight...

PapaDragon wrote:
Completely ''unrelated'' article from Sputnik

''Turkey Headed Toward Civil War''

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151220/1032033126/turkey-civil-war.html


Smart thing for Turks to do after that Su-24 fiasco was to just swallow their medicine and take a cruise missile up their posterior like big boys, but no, they had to play the ''tough guys''.

Now they will learn the bitter value of hindsight...

Actually, the Turkish civil war started a few days ago, almost a week ago. I actually posted about it when it started.

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:

PapaDragon wrote:
Completely ''unrelated'' article from Sputnik

''Turkey Headed Toward Civil War''

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151220/1032033126/turkey-civil-war.html


Smart thing for Turks to do after that Su-24 fiasco was to just swallow their medicine and take a cruise missile up their posterior like big boys, but no, they had to play the ''tough guys''.

Now they will learn the bitter value of hindsight...

Actually, the Turkish civil war started a few days ago, almost a week ago. I actually posted about it when it started.

I'm gonna take a page out of your book, Turkey has been in a de-facto civil war for decades: a political one between secularists and Salafi/Wahhabi Islamists, and a military one between Kurds and Turks, which for the most part was in a cold-shallow phase, and now the heat has been turned up on the frying pan, out of the simmering frying pan and in to the deep fryer...into the deep-hot phase. A Kurdish 'Yemen' style quagmire in the making perhaps?

magnumcromagnon wrote:
I'm gonna take a page out of your book, Turkey has been in a de-facto civil war for decades: a political one between secularists and Salafi/Wahhabi Islamists, and a military one between Kurds and Turks, which for the most part was in a cold-shallow phase, and now the heat has been turned up on the frying pan, out of the simmering frying pan and in to the deep fryer...into the deep-hot phase. A Kurdish 'Yemen' style quagmire in the making perhaps?

That is true. When a society's most important asset, as far as its masters are concerned, is its expendability, then it gets arranged that there is always a lit pilot light ready to light the main burner whenever desired.

IMO, the largest factor of escalation depends on the possibility that certain groups within the Turkish military may be nothing but clean cut ISIS wannabees. With the Erdogan regime's deployment of the military for internal policing, the likelihood of these Islamist cells brutalizing a local population increases.

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:

magnumcromagnon wrote:
I'm gonna take a page out of your book, Turkey has been in a de-facto civil war for decades: a political one between secularists and Salafi/Wahhabi Islamists, and a military one between Kurds and Turks, which for the most part was in a cold-shallow phase, and now the heat has been turned up on the frying pan, out of the simmering frying pan and in to the deep fryer...into the deep-hot phase. A Kurdish 'Yemen' style quagmire in the making perhaps?

That is true. When a society's most important asset, as far as its masters are concerned, is its expendability, then it gets arranged that there is always a lit pilot light ready to light the main burner whenever desired.

I need to make some clarifications of my previous statement: A Kurdish 'Debaltsevo' style quagmire is in the process due to the fact the PKK is predominately made up of secular left-wing partisans, and with those porous southern borders Turkey has (which can easily come back to bite them), you could just as easily bring along a numerous quantity of Shia partisans and you'll could also have a 'Yemen' style quagmire on their hands as well.

Zivo wrote:IMO, the largest factor of escalation depends on the possibility that certain groups within the Turkish military may be nothing but clean cut ISIS wannabees. With the Erdogan regime's deployment of the military for internal policing, the likelihood of these Islamist cells brutalizing a local population increases.

This is not completely impossible, if we take past historical examples, say the Kurds, many people forget that Turks and Kurds worked hand in hand committing the Armenian Genocide (which the Armenians and Kurds have largely reconciled with forgiveness), that's when Turks and Kurds considered each other ideological allies, and now today they're killing each other. If we take Somalia for example, back in the 1970's Somalia and Ethiopia fought a territorial war called the 'Ogaden War', the territorial disputes have their roots with Ahmad the Left Handed's campaigns for conquest within Eastern Africa in the 16th century. The Somalian's employed "conservative Islamic forces" *cough, extremists, cough* called the "Western Somali Liberation Front" (WSLF), and now today those same "conservative Islamic forces", are waging an extremist insurgency in Somalia itself, and WSLF eventually changed it's name in to Al-Shabaab. You also have Pakistan that supported "conservative Islamic forces" in Afghanistan during the 1980's, and now they're fighting those same forces they formerly supported within Pakistan.


...Irony has it's maidens...

New map, Khan Tuman liberated.

First video with SAA operated T90 close to Kahn Thuman...

Hassan Ridha ‏@sayed_ridha 22 hours ago
#SAA soldier in Atira in Jabal Turkmen #Latakia countryside


SAA soldier's posing with dead Militant near Khan_Touman


Hassan Ridha ‏@sayed_ridha 44 minutes ago
Funeral of #Syria-n Resistance commander Ferhan She'lan who was martyred in Israel-i airstrike on Damascus

Ivan Sidorenko ‏@IvanSidorenko1 16 hours ago
#Syria #Aleppo Media Office of the Syrian Resistance In Aleppo 12/19/2015



#Syria Damascus Graduation of a new Cycle of Self Protection Group's "Civilians" being trained to defend themselves

Peto Lucem ‏@PetoLucem 2 hours ago
SAA forces + Hezbollah have captured Khan_Tuman and Qarassi in southern Aleppo countryside.