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Singha wrote:
Haidar Sumeri @IraqiSecurity 24h24 hours ago
You think Bush's #Iraq war was bad? $10 trillion and 20,000+ dead US troops later, we'll see what you guys think of Trump's #Iran war.
For more official Congressional Budget Office estimate ( I say estimate because even CBO cannot determine precisely how much has been spent ) on Money Spent on War http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/201 ... 9-trillion
Fifteen years later, after protracted conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria, as well as operations in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, Boston University analyst Neta Crawford with the Cost of War project has calculated the price of that promise.
Government spending on the military, diplomacy, foreign aid, homeland security and services to veterans have cost U.S. taxpayers upward of $4.79 trillion in the post-Sept. 11 era.The tally of $4.79 trillion comes from Pentagon and State Department spending for its emergency war budget
More than the financial cost of these needless war the Human Loss is irreplaceable for US Citizens and its Armed Forces , GWB & BO would have been tried for War Crimes for the acts their soldiers committed in Iraq and their Drones in Afghanistan.
I view afghanistan as a necessary war to clean up the monsters the mujahideen had morphed into/sheltered.
iraq - 1st time was baited into invading kuwait when a immediate show of force would have given pause, 2nd time the WMD lies. with a lot of bombing, NFZ and starving in between.
somalia - no plan, no endgame, just military power was never going to resolve it...but still I would say no great ulterior motive was there (?)
libya - not needed - a functioning country at middle income level has been shattered into pieces and humpty dumpty cannot glue it back again. it was not even a great strategic prize or location.
syria - worst form of conspiracy in collusion with gcc and turkey
yemen - war profiteering
pakistan - low cost drone war , but a constant drain on money due to afpak supply transit payments and keeping the TSPA in good humour
Singha wrote:I view afghanistan as a necessary war to clean up the monsters the mujahideen had morphed into/sheltered.
Not with Fighting Taliban with Right Hand and Funding Pakistan Military who supports Taliban with the Right both went on Parallel hence Afghanistan is a Stale Mate with 100 of Billions gone and many NATO soldiers dead and Taliban surviving and growing...... Sorry I mean the Good Paki Support Taliban
Reminds me of Indias IPKF war ,While IA fought LTTE and RAW was busy supplying Arms and Saving the Top Bosses Arse
SyAAF rapid response fighters denied a Turkish Air Force formation from entering Syrian Airspace. The TuAF formation intended to attack targets inside Syria.
This comes after the a Turkish airstrike killed over 150 Syrian civilians, and thus the General Command of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces issued a warning that any Turkish breach of Syrian Airspace will be considered hostile and will be countered with all available means.
Picture from the archive, Hama Air Force Base
More details when available.
Syrian Arab Army
Syrian Army advances deep inside Bustan Al-Basha District of east Aleppo
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (5:30 P.M.) - The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), alongside Liwaa Al-Quds (Palestinian paramilitary), advanced deep inside the Bustan Al-Basha District of east Aleppo on Saturday, capturing several sites after a fierce battle with the jihadist rebels.
Led by the 102nd Brigade of the Republican Guard, the Syrian Armed Forces managed to seize the southern and central sectors of Bustan Al-Basha, leaving only a small portion of the district left to capture from Fatah Halab.
According to a military source in Aleppo, the Syrian Armed Forces are in control of 75 percent of Bustan Al-Basha after killing at least 11 jihadist rebels amid their renewed offensive.
With this latest advance at Bustan Al-Basha, the Syrian Armed Forces are on the verge of closing another important gap in east Aleppo, while also shrinking the last rebel pocket in the provincial capital.
For two days in a row, SAAF fighter jets scrambled to block Turkish terrorists backing regime from entering Syrian airspace, it seems the party is over for TAF to support the turkish backed terrorists in northern Aleppo, they won't get into al Bab without air support.
Kuweires airbase received a lot of new hardware, beside AA missiles and new defense systems such as Pantsir S1 (at least one spotted inside the AB), new radar systems were installed to cover for the northern airspace, P-18 “Spoon Rest D” radar on Ural-4320 truck @ Eastern Aleppo Kuweires Air base... all coalition of the killing airplanes will be tracked down form now onwards, meaning they could be intercepted whenever Syria/Russia feel cosy to do it.
Remarkable news coming from Iraq few minutes ago, the PMU (Iraqi Militia) has done it, it surrounded Tell Afar and cut ISIS terrorists inside the Mosul pocket off from Syria.
It is always good to recall that:
1) The US and the coalition of the killing did not support the Iraqi PMU a single time, the PMU have done with the help of Iraqi Army and Iraqi Air force.
2) ISIS being cut off won't necessarily accelerate ISIS defeat in Mosul but will avoid thousands to cross into Syria.
3) Mosul and all Nineveh Province have been a recruiting ground for ISIS, the absence of that will surely have positive impact in Syria.
4) The very same PMU that have done awesome jobs in Anbar, Salahadin and Nineveh Provinces have proved themselves a force to fierce, well trained and equipped. This battle hardened group is the one that was invited by the Syrian Government to help on Der ez Zor, a possibility that will for sure have lasting impact on the region and stop cold any SDF attempt to advance toward Der ez Zor.
5) The Turkish terrorist backing regime, that once threatened Iraqi with an invasion if the PMU gets close to Tall Afar will have to eat crow.
Isis has detained dozens of fighters who withdraw from tal afar airport and will execute the whole lot. Local fighters are being obliged to stay while chechens and goras allowed to go.
A long video (17 mins) but very good one related to the last 2-3 days of battle in Khan al Shih, a mix of air attack, a sort of Iranian/Syrian elephant missiles, ground attacks etc...
Khan al Shih is about to be liberated, the latest advances by the SAA and allies were too much for the terrorists, yesterday the asked for the green busses with no conditions to Daraa anymore. By late Monday we will know whether they will respect it or not.
The possible implication of a liberated Khan al Shih pocket (5 cities) is huge for the southern Syria, there will be massive attempts from individual cities to reconcile with the Government, mostly in north and northwest Daraa, then there will be some 5,000 prime soldiers from the 1st and 4th Division freed to go either south and deal a final blow in Quneytra and Daraa or East Ghouta. Late Monday will be an important moment.
Another long video (25 mins) but with the impressive report of Iraqi PMU advance toward Tal Afar airport, some interesting perspectives to see:
1) The flat terrain in the Iraqi desert favor quick advances with light armoured vehicles, resupply & logistic seems key, as it was in north Africa in WWII.
2) The Hezbollah Khataib group (main contributor for the PMU) has developed some nice expertise in desert battles, it will be priceless when it helps the SAA in Deir ez Zor, Hasaka and Homs.
3) Mid video there are few scenes of Mi35 machine gun firing, reminds the A10 firing tune, a beauty indeed.
the iraqi army has detached some armour off one division to help out the PMU also.
I suspect at some point a large heavily armed convoy of daesh remnants will attempt to fight their way out from western Mosul. the PMU lines on the west will be thin, mainly a thin screen and logistical convoys going to Tal afar where the main PMU units will be now. so they will shatter those lines and try to make a break for Syria. either the Iraqi AF, or the coalition AF(if they are not playing games) will have to track and destroy them in the desert followed by ground forces to catch up and count bodies.
to prevent this, they need a strong Iraqi army force positioned on western flank of Mosul close to the city. with tanks and ATGMs.
^^^^^^^
secure gulf oil/gas pipeline into europe and to specifically undermine the monopoly russian energy market in europe.
The european/amreki need to cut russia to size is very strong. gulfies need big markets to dominate and to once again control the price.
turkey is like a stray dog, feeding off european and amreki scraps. Got truly bitch slapped by putin and learned the hard way not to eff around with the big boys.
The ruskie S400 system positioned in syria, it basically creates a no fly zone of 400 km radius, has the turks and all others shitting bricks.
Some time back it was commented here about Phillipines president Duterte after anti Obama rant that he is Kejriwal and after he is gone foreign policies of him will be reversed.
Having talked to number of Phillipino staff it is noteworthy their president is extremely popular in their country, he carries impression of impeccable honesty and has been able mayor in past. He is respected and feared, he has unusual and at times extra judicial ways of getting rid of criminals, not all his actions are within ambit of law , that does not mean he is not hugely popular.
In fact people remember him in same breath as legendary leader Marcos!
So Duterte is not an aberration (as per media) but a popular choice and for sure Phillipines is moving into China-Russia orbit.
At least 16 people died and 50 were wounded in Libya in four days of clashes between rival factions in the southern city of Sabha, a health official said on Sunday.
According to residents and local reports, the latest bout of violence erupted between two tribes after an incident in which a monkey that belonged to a shopkeeper from the Gaddadfa tribe attacked a group of schoolgirls who were passing by.
The monkey pulled off one of the girls' head scarf, leading men from the Awlad Suleiman tribe to retaliate by killing three people from the Gaddadfa tribe as well as the monkey, according to a resident who spoke to Reuters.
City officials could not be reached to confirm the accounts.
"There was an escalation on the second and third days with the use of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons," the resident told Reuters by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the denigrating security situation.
In significant development Syrian rebels have been supplied anti air missiles
Ansar al-Islam Front says it has 'good number' of man-portable missiles in south Syria, in first apparent relaxation or breach of US ban
"The US confirmed the green light to begin sending them to rebels through supply routes still open through Jordan and Turkey," the source told MEE at the time. "Rebels are being told only to target Syrian helicopters, not Russian - but it's not clear they will abide by this."
Obama Treated Putin badly and humiliated/insulted him many times in interviews and even People of Russia.
He called in 2014 , Russia Does not Make Any thing , in 2015 Russia is a Regional Power , in 2016 Russia is a Global Power , Seems Obama cannot make his mind.
Putin being a better statesman , Said This About Obama in APEC Sumit yesterday.
Putin thanks Obama for years of joint work, invites him to visit Russia
"President Obama and I said both of us always treated each other's positions with respect, although the dialogue between our two countries was rather complicated and sometimes it was difficult to work with each other," Putin said.
"I thanked him for the years of joint work and said we would be glad to see him in Russia anytime if he found it possile or necessary or had a wish to go there," he said
That is what makes him a True Statesman , Respecting and Showing Humilty inspite of the Insult US threw at him
The hottest political topic in Turkey these days is the major constitutional amendment the government is cooking up to introduce a “presidential system.” This, in fact, has been the grand ambition of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the past few years. But only now, thanks to the political alliance they formed with the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), they can find enough mandates in the parliament — more than 330 seats out of 550 — to realize this major transition. If this transition takes place, Turkey would be abandoning the European-style “parliamentary system” it has been adhering to since the beginning of the republic in 1923 — or even from the first Ottoman Constitution of 1876. In this system, the president is a nonpartisan head of state, whereas the real executive power lies in the hands of the prime minister. Erdogan had no problem with this design throughout his first decade in power when he himself was the prime minister. Once he decided to run for the presidency in 2012, however, he and his advisers began advocating the “presidential system” and a new constitution that would allow that.Some Turkish advocates of the presidential system point to the United States as a good example, but this comparison is flawed for various reasons. First, America is a federation made up of 50 states that have their autonomy in many matters, making the overall system quite decentralized. In contrast, Turkey is, and will keep on being, a very centralized state. Moreover, the presidency Erdogan seeks will have astonishing powers that would be unimaginable in America, such as appointing the heads of all universities across the nation. Given the electoral system and political culture, a partisan president is also very likely to fully dominate his own party, which can give him the full control of both the executive and legislative branches. Add to this the large appointment powers envisioned for the president over the high judiciary, what may come out is a system of “unified power” — as critically noted by a former adviser to former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. This would be the exact opposite of the system of checks and balances that is built into the American model.
However, as insider reports also suggest, the transition will not take place overnight. There will be a two-year “provisional period,” during which Erdogan will use his newfound powers. The new constitution will fully come into effect in 2019 — also the year Erdogan’s current five-year term ends. Then, the first presidential elections for the presidential system will take place. Since his current presidency will not count, Erdogan will have the chance to go for two more terms, or for 5+5 years, keeping him in power until 2029. He would be 75 years old then — and in power for 27 years. This would be almost twice the time Mustafa Ataturk spent in power, giving Erdogan a much bigger continuum of incumbency than any other political leader in modern Turkish history.Is this really possible? Legally, it is certainly possible — and that is, in fact, the whole point about the presidential system, at least according to the opposition. Politically, Erdogan will have to sustain his popularity to keep winning elections in the next 13 years. He already has a large ideological base whose devotion to his persona seems unbreakable, but he also gets the support of pragmatic voters who think they have been better off under the AKP. To sustain the latter, Erdogan will have to keep the economy going, and whether he can really do that may be the pivotal question regarding Turkey’s political future.In any case, we will be witnessing a remarkable political experience. It will be an experience that gives euphoria to its supporters, fear and trauma to its dissidents, and marks a significant place for itself in the political history of the world
IndraD wrote:In significant development Syrian rebels have been supplied anti air missiles
Ansar al-Islam Front says it has 'good number' of man-portable missiles in south Syria, in first apparent relaxation or breach of US ban
"The US confirmed the green light to begin sending them to rebels through supply routes still open through Jordan and Turkey," the source told MEE at the time. "Rebels are being told only to target Syrian helicopters, not Russian - but it's not clear they will abide by this."
Afghanistan 2.0. I'm sure that if the Americans have their way, 10-15 years down the line, OBL 2.0 will be sitting in Raqqa or Aleppo plotting the next 9/11 while cradling the Stinger given to him by the Americans to fight big bad Assad.
rebel fronts in eastern aleppo are slowly crumbling, albeit not collapsed yet , SAA is moving around the perimeter launching incursions and shaking bars of the cage at will.
in a week the pocket could be cut in half by intrusions from both sides.
some fierce clashes have been occuring in golan heights between ISIS affiliated formations (backed by israel) and NDF/SAA. a unit of the repub guard has been pulled off the ghouta thing and moving there soon. hezbollah and lebanese army are also going after these formations in their areas. armed village civilians also help if they can.
Singha wrote:some fierce clashes have been occuring in golan heights between ISIS affiliated formations (backed by israel) and NDF/SAA. a unit of the repub guard has been pulled off the ghouta thing and moving there soon. hezbollah and lebanese army are also going after these formations in their areas. armed village civilians also help if they can.
