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

habal · Post by **habal** » 12 Jan 2016 21:38

The southern part of East Ghouta is about to fall soon, it may take some days but it is inevitable. Eyes on the main west-east road that crosses East Ghouta that passes by Jisrin and Hazrama (Al Nashabiyah), this is the terrorists artery, once the SAA/NDF gets into that expect a quicker fall out.

Without the farms in the south/east/center of East Ghouta, the terrorists will have no food by the summer.

http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/0c43/t ... ?size_id=b

https://twitter.com/A7_Mirza/status/686901824226508800

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 12 Jan 2016 21:38

ok, back to the "let's bomb the oil trucks" tactical answer to the ISIL question:

1. Obama who is in charge of US forces, is highly reluctant to deliberately bomb what he personally thinks are non combatants, that is to say civilian drivers of the oil trucks. in that mode, he will not authorize cluster bombing of said targets because he thinks that deliberately to do so would be a war crime. So he does the following:

a. drops leaflets
b. sends AC-130 and A-10 gun ships that can loiter and wait for the drivers to run from their tucks.
c. he does not authorize a hit on a moving vehicle unless it has some sort of armament or a leadership target.

2. This is the Middle East. It is a savage place but there are relationships going on. To wit:

a. Turkey obviously buys oil from ISIS.
b. Syria buys oil from ISIS
c. The Kurds buy oil from ISIS.

3. Turkey is a key NATO ally. Has been since the Korean war when Turkey sent troops to fight there along side the US. There are some considerations in that relationship:

a. The population of Turkey is becoming more Islamic and going away from Atturk's policies.
b. There is a rug merchant cultural imperative that wants to make money from the conflict.
c. The Kurds hate the Turks and the Turks hate the Kurds.
d. The US seems to get along just fine with the Kurds as well as the Turks.

So no, we didn't bomb the cr*p out of the oil trucks.

However, the next president could see things in a different light.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 12 Jan 2016 21:44

SAA recent gains Northern Lattakia via @PetoLucem

Peto Lucem ‏@PetoLucem 32m32 minutes ago
NEW MAP: #SAA captured the strategic town of #Salma, the most important insurgent stronghold in #Latakia. #Syria

habal · Post by **habal** » 12 Jan 2016 21:45

Uncle Scam will not burn down what he & allies created with such great effort.

For Uncle Scam the biggest threat is North Korea. Uncle Scam knows that the North Koreans can fight. In one of the Bond movies they even show Bond being captured and tortured by the North Koreans reflecting a Hollywood awareness of how tough the North Koreans are.

North Korean detonation of a nuclear bomb may have been after they were prodded on by China after the currency attack on it by the US

China is trying to tell the US to back off from destroying China's economy and currency or "someone else" someone "not China" i.e. North Korea can wipe out half of America (in terms of economic, political value i.e. the west coast)!

As soon as Hitlery is elected as President, she will start war on Iran. Logic is why approach Iran via Syria & Lebanon. Destroy Iran first and then take on Syria.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 12 Jan 2016 21:58

For Uncle Scam the biggest threat is North Korea. Uncle Scam knows that the North Koreans can fight. In one of the Bond movies they even show Bond being captured and tortured by the North Koreans reflecting a Hollywood awareness of how tough the North Koreans are.

Oh geezus.....

the NoKos can bomb and destroy the SoKo's economy in which the US has worked decades to build up into one of the Asian Tiger's. We loathe to give that up or else we could have wiped NoKo off the map. And if China is not very careful they could see an incinderized country right on their step.

so go ahead, take a shot, their leadership won't survive. they can't dig deep enough. and if they can dig deep enough, we'll seal them up for ever in their own personal tomb that they dug for us. and we're patient and we got the gear in reserves to hit their first responders, if any or left, who try to dig them out.

Bhurishrava · Post by **Bhurishrava** » 12 Jan 2016 23:15

http://www.todayszaman.com/national_rep ... 09456.html

Report: President Erdoğan files 93 criminal cases for insult in 3 months

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 12 Jan 2016 23:29

TSJones wrote:
For Uncle Scam the biggest threat is North Korea. Uncle Scam knows that the North Koreans can fight. In one of the Bond movies they even show Bond being captured and tortured by the North Koreans reflecting a Hollywood awareness of how tough the North Koreans are.
Oh geezus.....

the NoKos can bomb and destroy the SoKo's economy in which the US has worked decades to build up into one of the Asian Tiger's. We loathe to give that up or else we could have wiped NoKo off the map. And if China is not very careful they could see an incinderized country right on their step.

so go ahead, take a shot, their leadership won't survive. they can't dig deep enough. and if they can dig deep enough, we'll seal them up for ever in their own personal tomb that they dug for us. and we're patient and we got the gear in reserves to hit their first responders, if any or left, who try to dig them out.

Turn that thinking crank and move the gears a bit further. Its not just Soko. Its Soko, Japan, AND, china. Noko doesnt expect to survive attacking Soko. But it is fully capable of ruining japan and china to an extent where Walmart shelves will run dry for decades.

Noko may die of hunger, but no one is attacking it. Even if it makes a minor poo on the neighbors lawn.

China cant put an oceans between them any more than india can with bakistan. A smarter indian governmand would have befriended, propped and weaned noko of the quranic djinn technology. But furrin policy is not indian forte.

Next up is the US role, as much as you glorify it the pivot has been for naught and the influence is miniscule compared to last century. Soko is watching out for itself. Sure its ok with the manned armistice line but it does not ignore the fact that its ships can still be torpedoed to celebrate the great leaders birthday.

The US really is looking more and more like an uninvited ex lover coming to stay indefinitely. With Japan, and with korea, and with phillipines, and so on.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Jan 2016 23:53

The attacker was Nabil Fadli, a Saudi Arabian-born Syrian national and member of the Islamic State (ISIS).[8]

per wiki.

So snakes coming back to bite them.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 13 Jan 2016 05:42

Shreeman wrote: A smarter indian governmand would have befriended, propped and weaned noko of the quranic djinn technology. But furrin policy is not indian forte.

The only quranic djinn technology in NoKo is suryeong's juche, which means eternal Kim family rule over NoKo and isolation from the rest of the world to the point of suffocation.

There's very little that India or anyone else can do to wean NoKo of that. NoKo is almost entirely dependent on China for just about everything- Fuel, electricity, food, remittance money, tourism. Japan and South Korea have tried to wean NoKo away from this ideology through generous aid and it has come a cropper.

India has done it's bit with food supplies, some trade (especially rare earths and mining) and some exchange programmes, but that's as much as we can do. All China needs to do is slow down cross border trade, send back NoKo workers and stymie fuel supplies and NoKo will be on its knees in no time.

NoKo leadership gives a rats arse about its people, they are expendable commodity. Yet, NoKo populace is a potent weapon for Kim since they represent potentially 26 million starving fleeing refugees that will simply overwhelm SoKo, Chinese border districts and even Japan, should the Kim regime fall. None of these countries want that.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 13 Jan 2016 06:51

ten US sailors captured by Iran and have been turned over to the revolutionary guards.

Iran promises to release them as soon as possible.

we'll see how Obama handles this. he negotiated a settlement with Iran on his watch.

this is a potential powder keg....it could go any which way.....

I feel saudia arabia celebrating right now as I write this...........

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 06:57

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/world ... .html?_r=0

iran has promised to return the wayward boats and sailors soon , but confiscated GPS eqpt that would prove where they strayed 1 mile into iranian waters near the farsi island.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 07:40

with Salma gone, SAA can advance due NE along the highway toward Jisr al Shugur and force a general rebel withdrawal toward that town for fear of being cut off in the mountains to the south of the road.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 13 Jan 2016 08:09

So much for Irans Chess playing brilliance

just when they had the Saudis on the backfoot - they go and screw up

cannot trust either side

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Jan 2016 09:12

Iraqi Mi-35M hit powerline did emergency landing in safe area , caught fire post landing

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1676488.html

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 13 Jan 2016 09:26

Surya wrote:So much for Irans Chess playing brilliance

just when they had the Saudis on the backfoot - they go and screw up

cannot trust either side

It is non-news at present. The boats are not even dvora long, and these folk arent in any danger. Le island bin faras is somewhat of a raw nerve for dem guardas el rebuplica so they meddled over what could simply be a navigation oversight or traffic related detour or fuel miscalculation. Or it could be recce. Either way, the state of union wasnt impacted and these folk will be on their way, hopefully with boats in a day.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Jan 2016 09:34

The "Moron-of-Cam" finally admits that there aren't enough mod Syrian rebels.In fact other Brit experts believe that this rebel army is a ghost army like Hitler's non-existant division that he wanted to fight the Russians when they were on the outskirts of Berlin.They wonder if this number exists in the few hundreds even.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 08021.html
Syria air strikes: David Cameron admits 'there aren’t enough' moderate fighters on the ground and some are 'hardline'

PM jokes that some of the 70,000 fighters are not the 'sort of people you bump into at Liberal Democrat party conference'

hardline Islamist groups”.

He insisted however that the Government’s strategy of relying on 70,000 on-the-ground rebel fighters to seize Isis-held territory following Western air strikes was the right way to defeat the Isis, also known as Daesh and rejected the idea that the only way of beating it was by supporting President Assad’s forces.

Faced with criticism over his claim that 70,000 “moderate” fighters existed in Syria, Mr Cameron said it “wasn’t a figure I invented” but was provided by the security services and was a “best estimate”.

He accepted that not all of the rebel fighters were the “sort of people you bump into at Liberal Democrat party conference” but refused a request to publish the names of groups British intelligence services had identified as part of the 70,000 figure.

Doing so would boost President Assad’s chances of winning the civil war in Syria, Mr Cameron said as he insisted a “third way” between Isis and President Assad was achievable for the future of Syria.

Challenged over the 70,000 figure during his appearance before the Liaison Committee – the group of 32 Select Committee chairs – Mr Cameron said: “Are all of these people impeccable democrats who would share the view of democracy that you and I have? No, some of them do belong to Islamist groups and some of them belong to relatively hardline Islamist groups but nonetheless that’s the best estimate of the people that we have potentially to work with.

“The reason for not breaking down in huge amounts of granular detail exactly who they are is simply this: we’d be effectively be giving President Assad a sort of list of the groups of the people and potentially the areas that he should be targeting and that’s not my approach.”

“People want to say there aren’t enough opposition ground troops – I totally agree, they’re not all in the right places, I couldn’t agree more, they’re not all the sort of people you bump into at Liberal Democrat party conference – correct.

He added: “I would agree with all those assessments but the point I would make is: Is there a third way between a Daesh-style state and President Assad the butcher remaining in charge of his country?

“My answer is there has to be a third way, we have to find a third way, it should involve, of course, people [like] Alawites, perhaps even who’ve taken part in the state run by Assad – we don’t want to dismantle that.”

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 13 Jan 2016 10:40

Iran - US Tango and those boats

https://www.rt.com/news/328716-us-maneu ... lf-arrest/

US aircraft carrier made 'provocative' maneuvers in Gulf after Iran detained US sailors - Tehran

Iran said a US aircraft carrier “acted provocatively and unprofessionally” after its Revolutionary Guards seized two US boats that strayed into Islamic Republic's territorial waters.

Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Navy, talked about the incident with the American boats in a live interview on state TV.
Sadegh Ghorbani @GhorbaniSadegh
Com of IRGC navy says US soldiers arrested "without much resistance," but US navy force "showed some unprofessional acts for about 40 mins."

Fadavi dismissed reports that the ten American troops detained by the IRGC would soon be released as “speculation.” He said they would be questioned and warned that Iran would “act properly” if it concludes that the boats entered Iranian waters on an espionage mission rather than by accident.
...

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 13 Jan 2016 12:07

What is next in northern Latakia?

http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/wha ... n-latakia/

The Syrian Arab Army’s 103rd Brigade of the Republican Guard – backed by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the National Defense Forces (NDF), Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra (Desert Hawks Brigade), Muqawama Souri (Syrian Resistance), and Liwaa Assadallah Al-Ghaliboun (Iraqi paramilitary) – have imposed full control over the strategic town of Salma after a short battle with the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Jabal Al-Akrad (Kurdish Mountains) on Tuesday.

With this victory in Salma, the Syrian Armed Forces have taken control of the highest point in Jabal Al-Akrad, making their march to the Idlib Governorate relatively easy in comparison to their previous attempts to push towards the imperative city of Jisr Al-Shughour.

The town of Salma has been captured by the Syrian Armed Forces, but there is still a lot of fighting left to go; especially, in Jabal Al-Akrad.

In the coming days, the Syrian Armed Forces will focus on three different axes; all of which have two important objectives: seal the Turkish border with the Latakia Governorate and push east towards Idlib.

The first attack will likely be concentrated on the rebel stronghold of Al-Rabiyah, where the Free Syrian Army’s “1st Coastal Brigade” is headquartered. The town is already under attack from afar, but the Syrian Armed Forces have yet to make a major push.
The second attack will be conducted at two different flanks: a) the Syrian Armed Forces will capture the small village of Al-Kawm and b) they will push north towards the town of Kinsibba. Kinsibba is similar to Salma in the sense that they’re both located atop of hills and heavily fortified by the Islamists; its capture will open the route to the final border-crossing in the Latakia Governorate.
The final attack will come at the far eastern point, where the Syrian Armed Forces will attempt to recapture the strategic town of Al-Sirmaniyah in Oder to push north towards Jisr Al-Shughour

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 13 Jan 2016 15:12

if the crew is still on farsi island, then we've got it surrounded. that is what I would do. if not then there may be some other options.....

some shipping may be warned off, nothing allowed to kharg island.....

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 13 Jan 2016 15:13

i think that both sides want this mishap to be over as soon as possible and as cleanly as possible
there was a similar incident with british troops in GW1

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 16:34

call off WW3 - the sailors have been freed.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 16:40

pics of the detainees

https://twitter.com/KitadicaCool/status ... 3991308288

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 13 Jan 2016 18:04

For all the bluster and jumping up and down by TSJ

, looks like US apologized to Iranians:

From ZH:

Here's the official word from Fars: “Following technical and operational investigations and in interaction with relevant political and national security bodies of the country and after it became clear that the US combat vessels’ illegal entry into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s waters was the result of an unpurpuseful [sic] action and a mistake and after they extended an apology, the decision was made to release them."

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 13 Jan 2016 18:23

TSJ - the relationship between the US and Iran is not going to go into reverse. That choreography is sorted. That's why the Saudis have their headrags all aflutter. In 10 years of engagement, say by 2026 - you'll be thanking everyone to the highest heavens that Obama and the others took this move. There was bipartisan support for it, I'm damn sure - despite the noises made on the Republican side. It's politics. There's a good reason why German intelligence (BND) went public to raise the alarm over Saudi behaviour recently (specifying the deputy crown prince IIRC) - against public government posture. They were slapped down by the government, but that may have just been further choreography. That information needed to be out.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Jan 2016 18:24

The Brits were treated very well.I am sure that the Persians treated their US visitors with their accustomed hospitality,esp now that Iranian-US relations are on the upward trend.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 13 Jan 2016 18:25

IRNA spins it a bit different:

http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81919167/

The US boats lost contact with their central commanding units due to technical problems but were rescued by Iranian forces.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 13 Jan 2016 21:00

Singha wrote:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... tions.html
riots in Leipzig

Lie-pigz is where Frau Doktor Professeur "Indians are all rapists" does her thing, hain? Sounds like ~~Nazi~~ Moderate Aryan supremacist city. Figures.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 21:38

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/0 ... -vstan.cnn

irani gunboats firing a few rockets in strait of hormuz as the american carrier was passing by

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 21:39

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941023000875

Each of the two US Navy boats that were 3 nautical miles deep into the Iranian waters when they were captured by the IRGC Navy's second naval zone were equipped with three 50mm caliber machine guns and other light and semi-heavy weapons.

IRGC officials said the coordinates recorded on the GPS devices taken from the 10 US marines confirmed their trespassing as well.

Following the capture, two US and French aircraft carriers as well as their accompanying fleets and military choppers started maneuvering near Iranian waters.

The IRGC statement blamed the US flotilla for its "excited and unprofessional moves", but said the IRGC navy could handle the situation and restored calm to the region through powerful and wise moves.

Senior US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, were in contact with their Iranian counterparts on the fate of the marines since Tuesday, and according to Iranian officials, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had told Kerry that the US should extend a formal apology first.

According to the statement, the Americans have extended an apology.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Jan 2016 21:42

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941023001131

Following the capture, two US and French aircraft carriers as well as their accompanying fleets and military choppers started maneuvering near Iranian waters.

"The USS Truman Aircraft carrier showed unprofessional moves for 40 minutes after the detention of the trespassers, while we were highly prepared with our coast-to-sea missiles, missile-launching speedboats and our numerous capabilities" and were ready to strike them in case they made a hostile move, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said after Iran released the detained US marines.

Fadavi complained of the provocative and uncontrolled behavior shown by the US navy, and said while the 10 captured marines showed not much resistance and accepted to give in to the Iranian troops, the US fleet that arrived near the scene later made many show-off moves near Iran's sea borders.

"But we communicated an announcement through the international (radio) systems and prevented any further irresponsible moves by them," he said, and continued, "Then they came to realize the IRGC Navy has the first and the last word in here."

"The US and France's aircraft carriers were within our range and if they had continued their unprofessional moves, they would have been afflicted with such a catastrophe that they had never experienced all throughout the history," the IRGC Navy commander cautioned.

"They could have been shot, and if they were, they would have been destroyed," he warned again.

Rear Admiral Fadavi reminded that the IRGC is in charge of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf and "exercises Iran's right of sovereignty powerfully".

He said later investigations into their navigation systems showed that they had gone astray and entered Iran's waters unknowingly.

"In the end they and their diplomats acknowledged their wrong action and undertook not to repeat such mistakes," said the Admiral.

He once against reiterated Iran's respectful behavior with the captured sailors until their release.

"The US and its Navy rest assured that they won't be the winner of any battle with Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz as destruction and sinking of their warships will be the end result of any such war. But in those 40 minutes, the Americans were clearly under intense psychological pressure and they did not act like a professional and responsible force," the Iranian IRGC Navy commander lamented.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 13 Jan 2016 22:19

The video is up:

Iranians capturing Americans:

[youtube]9fvGAonihe4&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 14 Jan 2016 05:41

wow...that Iranian Admiral simply pulverizes the eech & dee into a fine powder. The above video puts paid to all/any reverse propagandu as US admin tried its best to deny the apology. Iranian media showed the sailor interview and apology on their national TV.

per this report

A video aired Wednesday by Iranian state television shows an American sailor apologizing for entering Iranian waters, an embarrassing development for a U.S. administration trying to paint the service members' quick release as a diplomatic victory.

"It was a mistake that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake," said the U.S sailor, who was identified by Iran's Press TV as the commander. "It was a misunderstanding. We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water. The Iranian behavior was fantastic while we were here. We thank you very much for your hospitality and your assistance."

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 Jan 2016 06:58

right wingers will seize on this to beat up Obama for :abject surrender: though there was nothing the sailors could do and they did the right thing under circumstances.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 14 Jan 2016 07:55

exactly - hence it was stupid on the Iranians to do this - there is no benefit in holding the personnel - its one thing if it was miles inside their territory or some spec op team on land

while the cunning pakis never overtly affect Amir Khan echandee and get away with murder

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 14 Jan 2016 08:06

CT: I am wondering if fissures between SD and DOD that caused this. Per that seeyenyen or was it youyesyaa today report, this incident happened hours before BOs last State Of The Union address and ended few hours after it. Quite possibly it was timed so that BO included it in the address, make him go full frontal on jingogiri, and force him to make some statements that will go into policy against Iran (or restore status quo).

Nothing like that happened.

If you recall, earlier Seymour Hersh expose about US military being aligned with Assad and Russian plans since 2013 and deliberately worked to sabotage Obama admin's plan to prop up Syrian Rebels is basically to whitewash military association with what is clearly a diplomatic and quasi-military defeat.

This incident (and CT) reinforces the difference that Seymour Hersh suggested but provides counter claim that it is US military that is mucking up the middle east and SD is left to manage the fallout.

Barrack Obama does not appear any different than Nawaz Sharif.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 14 Jan 2016 10:30

Hagel: US 'Paralyzed' in Syria by Assad Focus

WASHINGTON — The US has backed itself into a corner by insisting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be removed from power before the Obama administration will work with Russia and Iran to fight the Islamic State group, former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said.

“We have allowed ourselves to get caught and paralyzed on our Syrian policy by the statement that ‘Assad must go,’” Hagel said at a Wednesday event hosted by the Atlantic Council.

Russia and Iran have said they are willing to join with the US in fighting ISIS, but not at the expense of Assad, a longtime regional ally for both nations. The US continues to insist that no serious discussions on working with those two nations can occur until Assad is removed.

But, Hagel said, “there cannot be, will not be, any possibility of resolution or solution until there is a platform of stability. Stability in the sense that it is stable enough, stable enough to start taking it to the next level of trying to sort out what’s going on.

“That means working with Russia, clearly,” the former secretary continued. “I think it means working with the Iranians. I don’t think you will see any possibility of any stability in the Middle East until the Russians, the Iranians, the United States and the Arab nations are part of that.”

“Assad is eventually going to have to leave, in my opinion,” he added. “That should not hold us captive to everything else.”

Hagel’s comments come a month after Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to open the door to setting aside the issue of Assad in order to work with Russia against the Islamic State group by saying the US is not seeking “regime change” in Syria; a State Department spokesperson later denied that meant Assad would be allowed to stay.

The focus on Assad, Hagel indicated, has clouded the situation.

“Assad was never our enemy. A brutal dictator? Yes. There are a lot of brutal dictators out there. I’m not for brutal dictators. But we should have learned from Saddam Hussein and Gadhafi, you can take a brutal dictator out but you better understand what you may get in return,” Hagel said. “Let’s get to this platform of stability.”

Hagel’s comments are particularly interesting in light of the revelation, made during an interview with Foreign Policy magazine in December, that the Obama administration was prepared to launch strikes launching strikes against the Assad regime in 2013, after it used chemical weapons.

The strikes were nearly finalized before Obama called them off, despite the statements from top administration officials that the use of chemical weapons by Assad crossed a “red line.” By not acting then, Hagel said, Obama cost himself standing around the world.

“It did hurt the credibility of the president of the United States,” Hagel said. “When a president of the United States says something, it means something. We Americans, I think, kind of take that for granted, [and say] ‘well the president said this, so what.’ It isn’t that way around the world.

“When a president of the United States says something, especially about something on foreign policy or about another leader of another country, that means something,” Hagel continued. “And we have to understand that that means something. And the White House has to understand that means something.”

The wide-ranging interview, which was billed as a retrospective of his two year term as secretary of Defense, also revealed Hagel’s view on whether Congress should vote on an authorization of the use of military force, or AUMF.

“The Congress has a responsibility to go on the record on this,” Hagel said about the war vote. “My goodness. If the Congress of the United States can’t even put themselves on the record on something this serious, and yet the same people who refuse to vote or don’t want to vote or make excuses, go out and give campaign speeches about how terrible ISIS is and blaming the Obama administration for mishandling it and so on — that’s not just disingenuous, that’s dishonest.”

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 14 Jan 2016 10:54

yep, Iranian Ayatollah types are not doing themselves a favour, by this song and dance. They have already sold their asses to the Americans, over the nukular deal. As Surya said, bakis have shown, how you can slit all sorts of american throats using highly qualified LSE grads, but without all this gloating and lots of F16s.

It is not like the random Ayesha Isfahani on the street will say "I am going to elect THAT Ayatollah to the Majilis next time, because he lifted his caftan at the Satan's direction. That is hot". The stakes are low in this case and sunnis will not care anyway.

But then, we should be glad that Iran is still doing all this, despite changed circumstances. A smarter Iran is not in our interests

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 14 Jan 2016 11:14

Iran did the right thing by arresting them even though temporarily ,As they yankees had intruded into Iranian waters , not doing it means the intrusion will keep rising.

Inside Iran it must be good PR and diplomatically releasing them as good gesture goes well for West.

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 14 Jan 2016 11:35

Austin, the arrest was appropriate for sovereignty reasons. But the latest song and dance is playing upto anti-Iranian interests in the west. And Iran is not as strong as say, India or China in soft-power, to play out this game

After the nucular sell-out, Iran should have broken out of that press conference to show "the latest thing from west that failed inside our borders". They do not seem to have an internal political need at this point.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 14 Jan 2016 14:01

Four Indians who planned to join Islamic State arrested in Syria — Syrian foreign ministry

http://tass.ru/en/world/849511