The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc)

mahaperu · Post by **mahaperu** » 09 Nov 2015 06:24

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/us/po ... .html?_r=0

"They have a fraught relationship and it’s fueled by a belief on the part of both of them that the other is trying to screw them, trip them up, thwart their policies, corner them, ambush them,” said Martin Indyk, the president’s former special envoy to the Middle East. “They each have a number of cases where they feel the other acted in bad faith.”

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 09 Nov 2015 07:05

imp part from the above report is this:

Then came Mr. Obama’s decision not to follow through on threats of airstrikes against Syria if it was found to use chemical weapons. When it did, he instead struck a deal to eliminate Syria’s chemical arsenal.

Y. Kanan · Post by **Y. Kanan** » 09 Nov 2015 18:25

Despite Russian strikes, Syrian rebels hold ground
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/mili ... d/75295606

The rebels say they have been able to hold out because of support from their own allies: An increasing flow of American anti-tank TOW missiles that have allowed their fighters to blunt attempted advances by Assad's forces. Despite more than 1,000 combat sorties by Russian aircraft hitting more than 2,000 targets, government forces' gains have been minimal.

"We don't deny that the airstrikes are effective, but they (troops) will not advance on the ground," Lt. Col. Fares al-Bayoush, commander of the 1,300-strong Fursan al-Haq Brigade, told The Associated Press, speaking in the Turkish border city of Reyhanli.

The TOW rockets have been instrumental, he and other commanders said. The United States has been supplying the missiles to select rebel factions for months, part of its program alongside Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar to boost the insurgency.

Al-Bayoush, a defector from Assad's army, said his fighters have a constantly replenished supply and use them not only against tanks but also against troop formations and other positions. "We fire 15 TOWs and we get 15 TOWs in return," he said.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Nov 2015 18:29

not sure whose flag the white is, but some truly crude artillery and mortars on show here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntlEgUEvU1I

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Nov 2015 18:47

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ead_module

British tourists having rough time in sharm.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 09 Nov 2015 20:48

Happy Days Are Here Again

: time to connect the Rainwater Catcher and sweep out the basement and stock up on canned catfood, Prussian Blue and Potassium Iodide. Or save oneself the trouble and just stock up on enough booze to end it all swiftly and in happy anesthesia.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Nov 2015 20:52

the encircled tuweires airbase near aleppo would be relieved soon by SAA/SAF/Hez lashkars it seems per this petolucem map posted a hour ago

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 09 Nov 2015 21:01

Putin may harden

Indeed, the idea that the West created the Islamic State in the first place is taken as a given here. And it took little time for allies of the Kremlin to frame the plane’s downing as yet another example of Western malfeasance.
One official almost immediately seized on the early British suspension of flights to Sharm el Sheikh, from which the downed plane took off, calling it a form of psychological warfare on Russia.
“There is a geopolitical pressure against Russia’s actions in Syria,” Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.
He added: “It might sound blasphemous, but there are plenty of those who, without any grounds, would like to deliberately blame this catastrophe on the reaction of the jihadists to Russia’s actions.”
Sputnik News, an arm of the Russian government efforts to spread its point of view globally, published a column suggesting that British intelligence might have blown up the plane.
“It is not hard to imagine that both would like to see Russian President Vladimir Putin incurring a political backlash from his nation over what is Russia’s worst-ever air crash,” said the commentary. “Was it really terrorists, or was it British MI-6 agents palming the deed off as terrorists?”
Suspicions that the West is withholding information, voiced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, reflect the distrust between the two sides. The United States raised similar suspicions after the Boston Marathon bombers turned out to be two brothers with roots in the Russian Caucasus.
Other analysts said that the slow Kremlin reaction compared with other governments’ responses reflected both Mr. Putin’s own caution and the desire not to harm Egypt: Russians make up about a third of the nine million tourists who visit the country annually. Almost 80,000 still need to be flown home, government officials said.
Egypt used to be the Soviet Union’s most important ally in the region, until President Anwar Sadat expelled all its military advisers in 1972. Mr. Putin has been trying to rebuild that relationship.
Not only does it counter American influence, but it is important for domestic reasons for Russia to have a strong Sunni Muslim ally at a time when it is allied with two Shiite Muslim governments, Iran and Syria, in a fight against Sunni jihadists. The estimated 20 million Muslims in Russia are overwhelmingly Sunni.
“It is important for Russia to be seen in the Middle East to be in close touch with the biggest Arab country,” said Dimitri Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “It feels uncomfortable with this alliance with Shiite power.”
Still, many expect a forceful response in Syria if the airplane downing is traced back to the Islamic State.
“A terrorist attack against Russian citizens means a declaration of war against all Russians,” wrote Tatiana Stanovaya, an analyst, on Slon.ru, a current events website. “The Syria campaign will thus become not a matter of Putin’s ambitions, but of national revenge.”

Which brings me around to the same question: Who did the airliner attack and why? Because it was a stupid move for the ISIS as pictured, to have done it.
Look at examples:
1. Libya PanAm
2. Khalistan Air India (both Narita and Irish Sea)
Each led to utter destruction of the entities behind it. And absolutely no benefit to these entities.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 09 Nov 2015 21:31

~~Terrorist~~ Moderate Refugee Freedom Fighter sentenced to 6 years for buying from wrong vendor.
Used East European source instead of British

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 09 Nov 2015 21:36

KSA intel?

kit · Post by **kit** » 09 Nov 2015 21:40

deleted

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 Nov 2015 21:47

her is a "who owns what in libya" from a year ago. truly a spectacular success of the piss and democrazy seeded by the sole superpawa

from one country it became nine....

https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KseU31 ... crE0.0.png

habal · Post by **habal** » 09 Nov 2015 22:00

israel.
Says here
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=124186

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 09 Nov 2015 22:04

Singha wrote:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ead_module

British tourists having rough time in sharm.

The Russians aren't the best at standing in line at the breakfast buffet and now they're jumping the queue to fly home,' he said.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 10 Nov 2015 02:42

Identity of ISIL Frontman Who Claims Responsibility for A321 Crash Revealed - Nov 09, 2015

Abu Osama al-Masri is an Egyptian cleric and frontman of the Wilayat Sinai (Sinai Province) group, now considered a branch of ISIL after brokering a pact with the terrorist organization last year in Syria

Militants Allegedly Linked to A321 Plane Crash Spoke in British Accents - Nov 08, 2015

Egypt Takes Out Leader of ISIL Group That Claimed It Brought Down A321 Jet - Nov 09, 2015

While the investigation into the crash of the Russian Metrojet A321 on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is ongoing, the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the incident. On Monday, Egyptian authorities said they eliminated the leader of the IS cell based in the region.

Ashraf Ali al-Gharably was the leader of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group, which recently pledged allegiance to IS and rebranded itself as the Sinai Province of the Islamic State.

A debris from a Russian airliner is seen at its crash site at the Hassana area in Arish city, north Egypt, November 1, 2015

On Monday, Cairo police say Gharably was killed in a firefight while resisting arrest.

So, brishits are having fun with the tragedy?

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 10 Nov 2015 02:43

CNN reporting that Israel provided the clues that have been presented to the Russians.

FBI team has NOT been deployed. Earlier news report was premature.

and, FYI:

https://twitter.com/MedvedevRussiaE wrote: Dmitry Medvedev ‏@MedvedevRussiaE 3h3 hours ago

The Russian plane crash in Egypt may have been the result of a terrorist attack, so all flights to Egypt have been suspended since Friday

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 10 Nov 2015 03:18

On Monday, Cairo police say Gharably was killed in a firefight while resisting arrest.

Yes, but I wonder who fired the pest-e-sha'eedal shot: Cairo police or 007. If Col. Russky of the Spetznaz had "rendered" him like he did with those 2 CIA agints from Yemen, it might have gone badly for Cameronullah NotyetSunnati. Suddenly it makes sense that UQ was the first to rush to evacuate its citjens and stop flights.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 10 Nov 2015 05:13

Combat report: Russian Air Force destroys 448 terrorist facilities in Syria over 3 days - Nov 09, 2015

"Over the last three days, Russian jets made 137 sorties in the Syrian Arab Republic and destroyed 448 facilities of terrorist infrastructure in the provinces of Aleppo, Damascus, Idlib, Latakia, Raqqa, Hama and Homs," Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, was cited as saying by Tass.

"The intensity of our air group's sorties has been below the normal level in Syria in the past few days. However, the number of targets per flight increased," he said.

“They’re constantly changing routes for arms and ammunition supply, which are mainly carried out at night with all the necessary masking," he added.

According to the spokesman, the terrorists are trying to implement so-called mobile defense tactics, regularly relocating their positions “in an attempt to hide from strikes, by both Syrian government troops and Russian air forces.”

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 10 Nov 2015 05:38

Same general report as SAnji posted:

Moscow (AFP) - Russia's air force struck 448 targets throughout Syria over the last three days, the defence ministry said Monday, as Moscow pushed on with its bombing campaign in the war-torn country.

The ministry said in a statement that Russian planes hit a repair workshop for armoured vehicles near Kfar Nabuda in Hama province, which belonged to (Moderate All-American Terrorist) Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.

Other targets said to belong to Nusra Front were a command centre in Zarbe, a training camp near Kweyris east of Aleppo and a "large munitions stockpile" near Maheen in Homs province.

The air force also said it bombed the Islamic State group's stronghold Raqa, where two more munition stockpiles were "completely destroyed."

Among other targets was a position used by Nusra Front for launching (moderate) mortar attacks in Latakia and a stockpile of (moderate US-supplied) rockets in the mountains near Damascus kept by the Islamic State group, it said.

It added that jihadist groups have "changed their tactics" by constantly "changing the arms and munitions delivery routes" and moving at night.

The ministry claimed that some of the information on the targets had come from the "Syrian opposition" but did not specify which groups it had worked with.

Classic KGB influence. Now the Flee Syrians have to wonder who is telling on whom and is in Moscow's pay.

Suresh S · Post by **Suresh S** » 10 Nov 2015 05:43

UB and Satya,

lull before the storm. fudging and delaying tactics from putin.We are still trying to find out who did it, they know from day one who did it. preparations are underway and hammer will fall in a few weeks. no one knows where and on whom. worth the wait.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 10 Nov 2015 09:03

France joins the cluster fun and its obvious goal is to encroach Syrian territory for 'rebels' and then in turn serve goals of US, GCC, Israel.

For some reason, France is not experiencing refugee crisis of the same level as Greece, Germany, Sweden. Turkey is Pakistan of Mediterranean and so its complains are not worth bothering about.

Nov 10, 2015
French military bombs ISIS oil facility in Syria
The French army has bombed an oil supply center held by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in eastern Syria, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday. “We intervened in Syria… yesterday evening with a strike on an oil supply center near Deir Ezzor on the border between Iraq and Syria,” AFP quoted Le Drian as saying on the sidelines of a forum on African peace and security in Dakar, Senegal.

habal · Post by **habal** » 10 Nov 2015 11:27

AoA

It's game over for ISIS.
Kuwairis airport seige is broken. This is a bellwether, because once RuAF starts operating out of this airport, they can directly attack ISIS from east as well as west axis and Deir Ez Zor, Raqqa and border right uptil and into Iraq become more accessible for airstrike.
http://syrianperspective.com/2015/11/al ... l#comments

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 10 Nov 2015 13:37

^^^ Finally! The rats won't like this. They will mount counter attacks. In the fight against ISIS this is an important break through. A lot of terrorists with Western and Turkish backing have lost an important strategic battle. Body count from this operation will be interesting. Also waiting to get some information in surrenders and shaved beards.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Nov 2015 15:14

it will be some time before that airport is usable as anything more than FARP/CSAR den for hind/havoc helicopters at night as the ISIS/jihadi area surrounds it on three sides and easily within range of artillery/mortars/guns.

they will have to expand the liberated zone out to atleast 50km on all sides before any proper ops can start.

but they may be able to bring some artillery into the airbase and pound people in all directions now.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Nov 2015 15:20

rather close up look at a incoming russian bomb...you can literally see it falling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDYErb1TzN4

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Nov 2015 15:28

syrians have adapted their tank tactics to minimize exposure. report by murad from the mountains

habal · Post by **habal** » 10 Nov 2015 16:40

USA Apache attack helicopter following ISIS convey from Iraq into Syria

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 10 Nov 2015 20:24

Great expose,a US Apache protecting the huge ISIS convoy! It is quite clear to any observer that ISIS is nothing more than a US-Saudi proxy meant to gain control of vast swathes of the ME/Arab world for the Saudi led Sunni Whaabi interests.

habal · Post by **habal** » 10 Nov 2015 20:33

look at convoys closely, only drivers. They are meant to resupply ISIS somewhere inside Syria.
black flags will in all likelihood be added once they cross the border.
there is also a black patrol car in between quickly changing lanes to dodge the camera.

SANA confirms break of Kuwayris airport seige
http://sana.sy/en/?cat=495

member_29247 · Post by **member_29247** » 10 Nov 2015 20:45

Syria is the New Angola of 1970 80s, In Angola SU US PRC and Portugal via NATO screwed the people.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 10 Nov 2015 20:55

Ru propaganda alert

:

Arab Allies Have No Wish to Support Washington's 'Game' in Syria - Nov 10 2015

Arab nations, who initially took part in the US-led airstrikes against ISIL, have grown wary of Washington's scheming in the Middle East and have switched their efforts to tackle what they perceive as real threats, military expert Vladimir Prohvatilov told Radio Sputnik

"People [in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar] are used to high living standards and do not want to take part in a war. The Saudi Army is essentially manned by Pakistani mercenaries . Saudi nationals have no wish to fight," he asserted.

"Riyadh views the Houthis as a threat since they are capable of calling to arms as many as 200,000 seasoned fighters . The same goes for Jordan and Qatar. They perceive Yemen as a real threat while ISIL is a subtle game engineered by the US," Prohvatilov noted.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 10 Nov 2015 21:00

Syrian Army Breaks 2-Year ISIL Siege of Airbase in Aleppo - Nov 10, 2015

Shanu · Post by **Shanu** » 10 Nov 2015 21:20

Details are not out yet, but a possible blowback incident happened in Jordan today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/world ... .html?_r=0

5 Coalition police members murdered, including two Americans by a Jordanian they trained. Shades of Af-Pak theater here.

As IS loses more battles in Syria-Iraq, we can expect these incidents to rise in the Arab monarchies. Clearly losing Syria to Persians will have ramifications for the internal politics in Arab lands.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 11 Nov 2015 03:35

Not sure is true;
Long truck Convoy of ISIS into Syria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFFb5E22TvE#t=22

chanakyaa · Post by **chanakyaa** » 11 Nov 2015 06:36

So what does KSA get in return?

Russia Could Propose Saudi Arabia Arms Contracts Worth $10Bln

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 11 Nov 2015 06:37

Folks will remember that some here noted the nefarious plot of Israel's territorial expansion. So, it is not Saudi, not GCC, not Europe, not US, but it is Israeli tail that wagging the dog that is 'the West'

Netanyahu urges Obama to ‘think different’ on Golan Heights annexation - Nov 11, 2015

Netanyahu’s former ambassador to Washington Michael Oren, earlier this week, urged Netanyahu “to ask for American recognition of full Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights through a presidential declaration and accompanying letter,” the Times of Israel states.

“Syria as we knew it has ceased to exist,” Oren claimed, stressing that Israeli recognition would result in the “stabilization and rehabilitation of the area.”

Pt#1 of the agreement which relates to syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity is a big spanner in the works.

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 11 Nov 2015 06:52

So it is now ok to redraw the borders by force if it is done by west. Crimean peninsula was of cou rse wrong.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 11 Nov 2015 07:28

Will be interesting if there are Russian tanks with Russian tank-crews supporting Iranian infantry on the Golan Heights..

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Nov 2015 07:48

egyptian hotels using fake bomb detectors
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/middl ... index.html

member_29247 · Post by **member_29247** » 11 Nov 2015 08:05

udaym wrote:So what does KSA get in return?

Russia Could Propose Saudi Arabia Arms Contracts Worth $10Bln

Assad head on a platter
Or

Assad enjoys walks along the river Moskava also a dacha in Urals