West Asia News and Discussions

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Y. Kanan
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Y. Kanan »

UlanBatori wrote:Saudis are sneaky terrorist-sponsoring goat-buggers. Iranians are just self-destructive.
Self destructive? How is Iran self-destructive (beyond the inherent self-destructiveness of being an "Islamic Republic"). I see them fighting well above their weight class and frustrating US\Saudi\Isreali goals despite being outspent and outgunned by thousands to one.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Parasu »

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 416175.cms

After NSA Doval, PM Modi will be visiting Saudi Arabia.
Great proactive steps by the government to improve relations with KSA. 8)
Both UAE and Saudis have promised investment in India with some already materialising. India must upgrade the relations to security ties.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Y. Kanan wrote:
UlanBatori wrote:Saudis are sneaky terrorist-sponsoring goat-buggers. Iranians are just self-destructive.
Self destructive? How is Iran self-destructive (beyond the inherent self-destructiveness of being an "Islamic Republic"). I see them fighting well above their weight class and frustrating US\Saudi\Isreali goals despite being outspent and outgunned by thousands to one.
Self-destructive as in beating up/killing/imprisoning their own best people. Look how MUCH better they would be if they stopped doing that. Paranoia driven by experience no doubt, but self-destructive. Its something basic in the shia mindset: the festivals involve cutting up one's own forehead with swords. Sunnis just cut goats or people (other than themselves).
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Parasu wrote:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 416175.cms
After NSA Doval, PM Modi will be visiting Saudi Arabia.
Great proactive steps by the government to improve relations with KSA. 8)
Both UAE and Saudis have promised investment in India with some already materialising. India must upgrade the relations to security ties.
Isn't this like buying 50% share in ENRON? Joint military Pact with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard? Army of Anastasio Somoza? (or all 3 combined). Hopefully MAD see something deeper.
OTOH, it looks like KSA/MBS, as the quicksand comes up to neck level, is reaching out to the YYY in desperation. Need to extract a very good price at least - and AVOID bissing off Eyeran, Syria and Putin.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by hgupta »

Why do we care about pissing off Iran, Syria, or Putin?

Its not like we need Iran, Syria or Putin. Putin knows that he can't put all his eggs into one basket such as China. For starters, China shares a long border with Russia and I am sure Putin hasn't forgotten the border clashes with China during the 60s and even the 70s. India shares no such border. Syria is in shambles and doesn't have money. Iran doesn't have money or industry and only has oil. The way things are going with renewable energy and EVs, oil will take on lesser importance in the future.

India has money, relatively speaking and is strong enough to challenge China if it wants to and has its own industries. Let India make its own opportunities and make money and increase development without having to worry about pissing off anybody. In fact, I think India should go ahead and make deals with Iran notwithstanding Trump's threats. His threats are pretty much hollow. If he wants to go on with sanctions, let him go ahead. I think the sanctions would be nothing.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

India has money, relatively speaking and is strong enough to challenge China if it wants to and has its own industries. Let India make its own opportunities and make money and increase development without having to worry about pissing off anybody.
:roll:
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Rudradev »

UlanBatori wrote:
Parasu wrote:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 416175.cms
After NSA Doval, PM Modi will be visiting Saudi Arabia.
Great proactive steps by the government to improve relations with KSA. 8)
Both UAE and Saudis have promised investment in India with some already materialising. India must upgrade the relations to security ties.
Isn't this like buying 50% share in ENRON? Joint military Pact with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard? Army of Anastasio Somoza? (or all 3 combined). Hopefully MAD see something deeper.
OTOH, it looks like KSA/MBS, as the quicksand comes up to neck level, is reaching out to the YYY in desperation. Need to extract a very good price at least - and AVOID bissing off Eyeran, Syria and Putin.

Oh, all those people and more are going to get bissed off all right. But no one can play in the big leagues without bissing others off, any more than one can make bhurji-pav without breaking eggs.

There is a major realignment going on in West Asia/North Africa these days. It's become another Great Game type theatre where outside powers either contend to play roles as influencers, or batten down the hatches and hope for the best (because the result of whatever happens there is certainly going to affect them whether they contributed to shaping it or not).

Earlier this decade, we had:

1) GCC (Saudi-UAE-Qatar-Bahrain-Kuwait-Oman)- Egypt: the US/NATO clientele. Not counting Israel of course.
2) Shia Crescent (Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon): The Putin clientele.
3) Turkey, charting its own course.

1 and 2 leveraged or oppressed Kurds as circumstances warranted. 3 always repressed them murderously.

Today we have:

1) Shia Crescent (Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon): The Putin clientele.
2) Turkey appears to have joined Pakistan and Malaysia in an axis that can only be regarded as Beijing-controlled, and is unremittingly hostile against India.
3) Qatar seems to have decamped from the GCC grouping and tried to form a pole of its own, based on its predominant role in international financing networks involving London and other banking centers. I'd written a post some months ago describing this pole as the Shadow Quadrant (will try to find it and link here later). It gets away with financing ISIS-type terrorist militias (also political parties in many countries) precisely because it is connected to murky and powerfully influential globalist networks. It is also way ahead of all the other poles in terms of soft power/narrative control (hint: Al Jazeera, mainly staffed by former BBC people, is based in Qatar).
4) The erstwhile US-NATO clientele is up for grabs. Like it or not, the US is not seen as a reliable partner under Trump. The pre-Trump US globalist state was not especially reliable either (witness the Kurds and Shias of Saddam's Iraq circa 1991) but not quite so openly transactional as Trump is. These days, Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria and leave the Kurds to their fate is ringing alarm bells across West Asia, particularly for people like MBS and Egypt's Al-Sisi who have found themselves viciously demonized by the US and Western media (I mean, brutal they may be, but are they really that much worse than Fahd/Abdullah or Hosni Mubarak, respectively?) Much insecurity there.

The iron is hot. MAD and Jaishankar have decided to strike. I wish more Indian governments in the past had done that.

We've taken two critically important steps: (A) Moved in on the US' turf to cultivate influence amongst their former West Asia clients (specifically Oman, UAE, and now KSA)-- becoming an investment destination and strategic supporter of these countries even as we become LESS dependent on their oil, which brings us to (B) Concluded a multi-billion dollar deal with Trump's USA to supply us with energy, which both reduces our dependence on ANY West Asian state and convinces Trump to look the other way as we muscle in on the US' traditional sphere of influence in West Asia.

A bold gambit. Who will get bissed off? Why, depending on how things go, likely 1 AND 3 above (2 is already in China's pocket so eff them). Surely, future (post-Trump) US administrations will be unhappy too.

But you know what: there was a time when the entire Arabian peninsula littoral states from Yemen all the way up to Qatar used to trade in the Indian Rupee as their primary national currency. There was a time when the Indian navy held everything from the Malabar coast to the Horn of Africa to the Suez Canal in the palm of its hand. We can seize every opportunity to recreate as much of that sphere of influence as possible. Or we can sit on our thumbs worrying about who will get bissed off while China rapidly, systematically recreates that network of influence from its bases in Djibouti, Pakistan, and (very likely next) Turkey.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Too many threads dealing with Turkey, Syria, Gelf, Saudis etc. Hard to track.

See this report to wonder about linkages.

OK, 2800 US troops is not "THOUSANDS OF US TROOPS", probably this is 800 soldiers and 2000 paper-pushers. But ask urself, why does BOG makes any sense in "countering" Iran? Esp. when u consider that US pulled OUT of Qatar citing need to get ppl out of harm's way, and operate any needed wars from Oklahoma and Nebraska.
"The deployment includes fighter squadrons, early detection aircraft, and air defense systems."
So why are these going to KSA? One possible answer is: to be ready to take down Erdogan. Enforce a No-Fly-Zone. Then again, the Pentagon and its C-in-C seem to be operating a perfect game of disinformation. Or total chaos.

A No-Fly-Zone w/o ceasefire would expose ERdogan's convoys to ATGM blizzard.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Don't know if this is RT.com disinfo, but they show an official report and all.
The US demands that Turkey avoid actions that could result in immediate defensive action.
Claims of attack on US positions in Kobani. Seems like excuse-building for a jhapad against Turkish artillery positions. Maybe from KSA-based fighters. There is a high need for targets to test the new stand-off hypersonic weapons.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Putin speaks.
The territorial integrity of Syria must be fully restored and all foreign forces should withdraw, including Russia if Damascus decides it doesn’t need Moscow’s help anymore, according to President Vladimir Putin.
“All the forces deployed illegitimately inside any sovereign state – in this case Syria – must leave,” Putin said in a joint interview with RT Arabic, UAE-based Sky News Arabia, and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya broadcasters. This is true for everyone. If Syria’s new legitimate government chooses to say that they have no more need for Russia’s military presence, this will be just as true for Russia.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s stance on the settlement in Syria remains unchanged and was already relayed to its partners Iran, Turkey and the US, the president noted. “Syria must be free from other states’ military presence. And the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic must be completely restored.”
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from border areas in northeastern Syria, saying it was time to “get out of ridiculous endless wars.”
Unlike the Russian military, which arrived in the country at an invitation of the government in Damascus, US forces have been in Syria illegally since 2016. The Syrian government has repeatedly blasted the American military presence as a violation of its sovereignty.
Putin was also asked about Moscow’s attitude towards NATO's eastward expansion and buildup near Russian borders.
“We are not happy about it… and voiced our concerns,” he replied.
Claims that Russia “has nothing to fear” and that NATO “does not have belligerent intentions” shouldn’t be taken for granted as long as “the North Atlantic Treaty remains in place, in particular, Article Five… which guarantees military support to other members.”
During the interview, the Russian leader decried attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, no matter who was behind them. He also urged Iran's neighbors to “respect” the interests of Tehran as a country that has “existed on its territory for thousands of years,” and praised the increasing level of Russia’s cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the UAE within the OPEC+ format and on a bilateral level.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Oh, brother! The turks are bringing along the Flee Sillian Almy, a bunch of Moderate Child-Beheaders. I thought the Russians had smashed these a while back.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Y. Kanan »

UlanBatori wrote:Self-destructive as in beating up/killing/imprisoning their own best people. Look how MUCH better they would be if they stopped doing that. Paranoia driven by experience no doubt, but self-destructive. Its something basic in the shia mindset: the festivals involve cutting up one's own forehead with swords. Sunnis just cut goats or people (other than themselves).
Interesting perspective, but the self-flagellation that is part of the Shia religious festivals (cutting themselves, etc) may actually demonstrate a tendency towards self-judgement and perhaps a basic form of introspection (well, as introspective as muslims can be).

Sunnis are just brainwashed idiots. They live out their entire lives without a single introspective thought at all. Maybe that's why Shias (or at least Persians, anyway) appear to be generally better educated than Sunnis. You definitely see this in the Middle East; compare Syria and Iran to the Sunni states. The Shia populations, at least in those countries, are definitely more educated and less religiously backward. Shias also seem to be more evolved than their Sunni counterparts in Lebanon and Yemen also. Not sure about Iraq, but it's telling that almost all international terrorism is Sunni in origin.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

I have the thesis that Shias are fundamentally more amenable to reason as in ghar vapasi. At least to whatever religion they had in Persia. So it would be **GREAT** if the present lovefest gets to the point that the Saudis in their infinite wisdom and foresightedness banned shias from Mecca.

There is hope. Saudis have "asked Russia to investigate" the oil storage tank attacks. Russia has "promised" to tell if it is Eyeran.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by IndraD »

what game is Pakistan playing by cosying up to Erdogan who is on Iran side?
So far we thought Pakistan is a Saudi poodle and survived on their crumbs?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Parasu »

IndraD wrote:what game is Pakistan playing by cosying up to Erdogan who is on Iran side?
So far we thought Pakistan is a Saudi poodle and survived on their crumbs?
Pakistan is on the side of whoever helps it fight India. Since Turkey has turned islamist under Erdogan, it should come as no suprise.
Erdogan is not on the side of Iran. Both Iran and Turkey are playing their own game. Soon enough we will see Syria and Turkey fighting it out in Kurdish region.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by IndraD »

sorry but what about Russia ..! Whose side is it on now? Syria or Turkey?
Also Pakistan cosying up to Iran is weird while its PM drives car for Saudi
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

US troops withdraw from Northern Syria

Russia is on Syria side still:SAA Moves to face Turks. Kurds See Da Light
Tensions are mounting in northern Syria as Damascus started moving its forces to face the Turkish troops that are carrying out an operation against the Kurds in the area, state news agency Sana reports.
The Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached an agreement with Damascus, which will see the Syrian government troops arriving in the northern Kobani region, Mohammed Shaheen, deputy chairman of Euphrates Region, said earlier.

Turkish-backed forces ‘CUT OFF US troops’ after seizing key highway in Syria. The Syrians will deploy to Kobani within 48 hours, Lebanese broadcaster al-Mayadeen reported. RT’s sources in the region also confirmed the reports. Earlier this week, the Turkish military entered northern Syria without consent from Damascus in order to fight the Kurdish militia in the Kobani region, whom Ankara regards as terrorists.
Turkey says the aim of the operation is to create a “safe zone” near its border to prevent the Kurdish fighters from making incursions into the country.
Before the start the Turkish operation, the US called back several dozen of its servicemen, who were embedded with the Kurdish forces. On Saturday, Donald Trump authorized a withdrawal of the remaining 1,000 US troops from Kobani so that they don’t get caught up between the warring sides.
The Kurds, who had been Washington’s main allies in fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) before, called the US move a betrayal.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by IndraD »

:eek:
Several forgotten AQ & ISIS fighters & commanders seen fighting for Turkey , why were they kept alive
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by kit »

Wonder which side Gen vodkov would be in a fight between Syria and turkey !
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by nam »

My,my, will we see T90 go against Leo2?

Su30 go against F16?(again!) :D

Lesson for the Kurds. You fight your own people with the help of outsiders, ultimately you will be stabbed in the back. We have learnt that lesson from being a colony for 200 years, because our own people help the outsiders conquer us.
Last edited by nam on 14 Oct 2019 01:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

kit wrote:Wonder which side Gen vodkov would be in a fight between Syria and turkey !
IMO, once they get the Americanskis out of Syria, the Turkish Army loses its value per Gen. Vodkov. After that, they will be expected to leave Syrian territory, with SAA to ensure that Kurds don't indulge in their mortar-firing pakiness towards Turkish villages.
With pressure growing on Turkey, this may occur to be a wise move from Erdogandoo's pov as well - b4 the accidental mistaken strike or two on Turkish convoys occurs. Or maybe after.

I think US armed forces are seething, per the release of the video of FSA shooting prisoners. (same production company as the White Helmet Gas Attack Productions). Great excuse for a standoff air strike/ SLCM strike to satisfy the "And they lived happily ever after" conclusion b4 US media loses interest.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

nam wrote: Su30 go against F16?(again!) :D
IIRC, Syrian AF has quite a few MiG 21 and 23 left after the Israelis got done over the Bekaa Valley. :)
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by nam »

So fundamentally lots of people are going to die in the process of figuring out, who actually is BFF of whom!
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by IndraD »

developments in a gist https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/ ... 50176?s=20
Syrian army has reached agreement with Kurds & their tanks rolling into Kurdish towns of Kobane etc
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by nam »

Manjib is on the west of the river. Kobane is on the east. Cannot go to Kobane without entering Al Raqqa or crossing the river.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

A Raqqa is still in Kurd-friendly hands I believe - because a lot of civilians were trying to take shelter there. What remains after NATO "reconstructed" it, in the Halliburton sense.

So finally the Kurds will be welcoming Assad's troops (and Iranians) with relief. And the territory gets back under Syrian liberation. That would be a good outcome. I doubt if Erdogandoos are going to confront SAA head-on - they may race for Kobani. No sense in bissing off General Smirnoff and his pilots who are waiting for the chance....
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

SAA moving. Deal made at Russian air base.
Syrian military units have begun moving north to confront a Turkish offensive on Syrian territory, the official SANA news agency reported.
At the same time, a senior Kurdish politician said the mostly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were holding talks at a Russian airbase in Syria.
Ahmed Suleiman, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria, which is not part of the SDF, said the talks were being held at Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Latakia.
While the SDF responded "no comment" to Suleiman's statement, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said his group would look all "all options that could spare our people ethnic cleansing," in light of Turkey's operation, dubbed Peace Spring.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a deal has been reached through which Syrian government forces will protect the Kurdish-held towns of Kobani and Manbij.
France reacts to instability
US troops had been deployed in both towns since they were cleared of "Islamic State" (IS) militants in 2015. However, last week US President Donald Trump made the surprise announcement that he was pulling the US military out of Kurdish Syria, leaving a key US ally in the fight against IS vulnerable to the Turkish army.
France, which has been one of the main allies in the US-led coalition fighting IS in the Middle East, announced on Monday it was implementing procedures to ensure the safety of its military and civilian personnel in the region.. Generale Clouseau was reported to be searching for someone, anyone to whom he and his forces could surrender.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

RT.com take on Putin's strategy in Middle East. Putin visits Saudi Arabia.
The amicable dealings between Moscow and Riyadh could be baffling for a casual observer, especially if compared to Washington's habit of choking off dissenting positions with economic pressure. But, in an era where the US, particularly with regard to Iran, sees diplomacy as a zero-sum, 'with us or against us' game, Russia has courted multiple, often opposing, sides at the same time – and, as its Middle East ties show, has excelled at it.
Putin has boasted of deepening his country's military ties with Turkey, shipping the S-400 to Ankara earlier this summer and stating last month that "negotiations are underway on promising new weapons." At the same time, Russia backs the Assad government in Syria, which fights Turkish-armed rebel groups.
Moscow manages, without much apparent effort, to enjoy warm relations with both Israel and Iran, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continually labeling Iran a nuclear threat and the latter's calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state.
What Putin therefore brings to the table is options for the Saudis – Russia now presents a viable and stable partner for Gulf nations.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Parasu »

If the Russian/Syrian martial prowess after November 2015 shoot-down of a Russian Su-24 by Turkey is any indication, Erdogan will stay put inside Syria in the territories his army has conquered.
Assad will have to accept that.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Aditya_V »

Parasu wrote:If the Russian/Syrian martial prowess after November 2015 shoot-down of a Russian Su-24 by Turkey is any indication, Erdogan will stay put inside Syria in the territories his army has conquered.
Assad will have to accept that.
That was with active involvement with US AWACS tracking the Aircraft and Russia facing a delicate situation on trade and Ukraine. We will see but better for Russians Syrians to take him fully on if he manages to get himself kicked out of NATO.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

If the Russian/Syrian martial prowess after November 2015 shoot-down of a Russian Su-24 by Turkey
Within a couple of years, Turkey was firmly inside Russian orbit, and paying money for an S-400 air defense system. A case of "Winning Hearts and Minds". Maybe they use brains to complement their poor "martial prowess" unlike Pakis?
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Syrian Army enters Tel Tamer
entered Tell Tamer, a town in the middle of the Kurdish-controlled part of the country, amid a continuing Turkish offensive against Kurdish militias. Syrian Arab Army troops entered the town early on Monday, according to SANA. Tell Tamer is a relatively small town, but it’s located on an intersection of several major roads and is of strategic importance. Footage from the scene, filmed by a Ruptly stringer, showed several buses and cars carrying Syrian soldiers waving national flags.
Buses and cars indicates a faster trip than using tank-carriers I guess? Hope they are not sitting duckullahs.
Earlier, the government troops were reported entering Al-Thawrah, a city in the Raqqa governorate located on the Euphrates River, which is famous for its proximity to a major dam.
Last edited by UlanBatori on 14 Oct 2019 17:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by A_Gupta »

nam wrote:So fundamentally lots of people are going to die in the process of figuring out, who actually is BFF of whom!
Exactly!
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by UlanBatori »

Ppl, what all this means is that the narrative that we have seen on the Syria threads of BRF, mostly courtesy of Twitter and Singhaji (not in that order), is the truth, or very close to it. POTUS Trump has now come out and said it bluntly, saying he may be alone in the US establishment in recognizing what is really going on in Syria.

The narrative given by the western "mainstream media", NATO and all western govts (some were just silent) was totally false. Lies is the word I was looking for.

We saw this history unfold before our eyes for about 9 years now. It proves many things, and many lessons can be drawn about the nature of the western MSM.

And, shocking as it may be for some, the Russians were telling the truth (most of the time.. with a few zingers thrown in. maybe as opportunity arose for "large payoff").
Now think back to Trump's response to the White Helments Gas Attacks. It was all show.
Pulling out the US troops was the right thing, to open the way for the Kurds to decide to end the war and not try to carve out more un-viable states. For the first time in a long time, the US of A is coming slightly better in line with the purpose of the United Nations - respecting the borders of states.
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by nam »

The Russians are learning from us in terms of diplomacy. We are friends with everyone except the Paks. Everyone wants to sell weapons to us and the poor Chinese watch in envy, how they cannot sell their kit to us.

The Russians now employ the same rule in Middle East.. Syrian, Turkey, Saudi, Egpyt.. everyone is a friend :rotfl:

While they are busy killing each other...
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by AdityaM »

One has to give it to the leadership of Turkey, Iran & Saud that they have the balls to pick fights and act as bullies.
Irrespective of how the outcome plays out, it shows leadership & resolve in Erdogan to invade another country unmindful of the international condemnation.

All our leaders past & present do get swayed by what the west will say and finally succumb to pressure and never escalate. Even our most aggressive modern day military strategy of Cold Start is based on the underlying presumption that we will have to succumb to international pressure within a few days of initiating aggression.

Where do these countries get so much over confidence from!
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by Aditya_V »

If Turkey gets kicked out of Nato, you will see a very change. NATO is big elephant with its article 19. Take it out and lets see what happens
habal
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by habal »

If US leaves Kurd controlled areas, Syria+Russia+IRGC will overwhelm turk+isis+nusra in a jiffy. Do also remember the battle hardened veterans of the turk army were all purged in the revolt. Now all that remains are pre-pubescent teens placed in tanks. Heavy lifting & fighting is still done by irregulars just like in ally pakistan.
dinesh_kimar
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Re: West Asia News and Discussions

Post by dinesh_kimar »

AdityaM wrote:One has to give it to the leadership of Turkey, Iran & Saud that they have the balls to pick fights and act as bullies.
Where do these countries get so much over confidence from!
Erdogan is attacking Syria, a raped and discarded nation. Maybe nothing much to it.

He didn't attack Iran. He won't attack Israel. Russia took a hit from the Turks (plane shot) but choose not to retaliate.

Real guts is calmly attacking a nuclear rabid dog, like Modi did in Balakote. He apparently sent in a nuke sub as a decoy !

Its like intruding into territory covered by PLA, and not budging, like in Doklam.

We don't know the exact sequence of events in both these cases, just like we don't know what happened in Nathu La in 1967 completely. Why did China withdraw after 300 casualties , a nuclear power against non nuclear India ?

Even Sumdrung Chu (Operation Falcon) is not open source yet. I have read of Indian battle casualties in Sumdrung Chu, and large no. Of gallantry awards given between 1986-89.

Erdogan is small fry compared to Modi.
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