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

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Apr 2016 19:23

Syaf back in Palmyra airbase
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syr ... a-airport/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 10 Apr 2016 19:31

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ru ... -overnfht/

Ruaf continues to raid East homs and raqqa

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Apr 2016 21:14

deejay wrote:Urban warfare tank:

Reminds me of Rat cage we used to get from Mumbai BMC

Seriously how does their sighting system works with such obstruction , must be some r&d stuff by SAA

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 11 Apr 2016 00:16

What I suggested when US tanks eere being hit in Iraq.Shoul've patented the idea. This one looks like a travelling hen cop what?!

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 11 Apr 2016 04:55

Peto Lucem Retweeted
Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai 8h8 hours ago
Syrian Rebels attacking #SAA sahel al-Ghab n rural #Hama (Haqura/Mansoura) & attack #Aleppo Khan Touman from Hay al Amiriyeh. NO Cease-fire.

The tweet with the video below says RuAF hit an ammo dump. Probably marked "children's hospital".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--VqbH4531A

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Apr 2016 06:03

^^ this will come as a huge relief to Daesh as SAA can no longer focus on the east.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Apr 2016 06:11

beheadings continue here a iraqi shia militia with a JN head
https://twitter.com/IvanSidorenko1/stat ... 1824741376

could be after the JN fellow died in combat.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Apr 2016 07:33

Hamas seems to have joined fray on side of IS/rebels

they were only party missing in the soup so far.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 11 Apr 2016 07:43

Haliburton guys are eagerly waiting.

The Int'l Spectator
‏@intlspectator
The US has facilitated $33 billion worth of weapons sales to its Gulf state allies over the past eleven months.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Apr 2016 07:51

this could solve a few problems in syria. a few milk runs a day...

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 11 Apr 2016 08:58

Armed Mi-17 and Mi-24 in Syria

http://i.imgur.com/wF91dCX.jpg

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 11 Apr 2016 11:44

Iraq has ramped up sending militias to Syria to deal with swarm tactics if rebels arracking on many fronts. They are at best at ndf level but useful to hold safer areas and defensive work if stiffened with regular SAA, hezbollah or irgc units.

Today nusra has struck in Latakia trying to regain land.

Every front is active. Ceasefire is dead except in South Damascus province

Loss of face for Russia and they will not be kind anymore..they will look to extract vengeance..

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 11 Apr 2016 16:23

Don't know if this was discussed. Been scarce in BR recently. Russia and US secretly working on a new Syrian constitution.

Plus Russia also reasonably confident that it can mediate between Tehran and Riyadh on an oil output freeze.

Linked or no linkage?

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 11 Apr 2016 17:32

Reports of Turkey - Syria talks in Algeria.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/tu ... -el-watan/

According to the Algerian online publication “El-Watan“, the Turkish and Syrian governments have been secretly conducted meetings in Algiers to discuss the federalist government the Kurdish PYD regime was promoting inside northern Syria. Citing a diplomatic source, El-Watan alleged that Turkey requested to meet with the Syrian government to ease the tensions between the two countries; these meetings have been reportedly facilitated by the Algerian government. The same source stated that the Algerian government also played a role in easing tensions between Turkey and Russia after the former’s military shot down an SU-24 fighter jet inside the Latakia Governorate’s northern countryside in November 2015.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/tu ... -el-watan/ | Al-Masdar News

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 12 Apr 2016 00:17

Ground situation is not good.
Peto Lucem Retweeted
Al-Masdar News ‏@TheArabSource 23h23 hours ago

Syrian Army retreats from hill top in Latakia as Islamist rebels push back - ... http://bit.ly/1Wm4Mpr

See-saw battles all over the place.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2016 06:19

IS has recaptured all they lost to rebels in north aleppo.

Peto Lucem Retweeted
N i d a l ‏@Nidalgazaui 14h14 hours ago
N Aleppo
#IS Recaptured:

Al-Raii
Tall Safir
Qantarah
Karagöz
Qasajiq
Tat Hims
Sheikh Rih
alBal
Kardish
Tal Battal
Qizi Mazraha
Tilal Husyn

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Apr 2016 10:53

Breaking: ISIS downs Syrian jet on the eastern outskirts of Damascus http://bit.ly/25V1Ggf

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 12 Apr 2016 12:32

A RuAF Mi28 crashed near Homs. This is different from SyAF fighter crash.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ru ... ts-killed/

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the death of 2 pilots on Tuesday after their helicopter reportedly crashed in the east Homs countryside. Citing technical issues, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the helicopter was an MI-28NE (Night Hunter).

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/ru ... ts-killed/ | Al-Masdar News

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 12 Apr 2016 22:30

Bad problems. Wonder what Gen. Vodkov is doing?
From PetoLucem
Al-Masdar News ‏@TheArabSource 7h7 hours ago
#ISIS on the brink of seizing #Yarmouk Camp in Damascus http://bit.ly/23razPZ #Palestine #Syria
***********************

Al-Masdar News ‏@TheArabSource 4h4 hours ago
Hezbollah assault on Al-Eis in southern Aleppo repelled by Jabhat al-Nusra http://bit.ly/20y9jFi
*********************************************************************************
Islamic World News ‏@A7_Mirza 22h22 hours ago
Military Situation in N #Aleppo #حلب
#ISIS recaptured #Rai #الراعی town & border crossing again
*******************************************************
Peto Lucem Retweeted
Pieter Van Ostaeyen ‏@p_vanostaeyen Apr 11
Two maps of the military situation in Northern Aleppo show IS advancing ~> 1. By @PetoLucem 2. By @deSyracuse
***********************************************************
Peto Lucem ‏@PetoLucem Apr 11
Al-#Nusra Front Deploys Up to 10,000 Terrorists Near #Aleppo - #Russia/n MoD: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160 ... shortening … via @SputnikInt @DR_SHAHID
***********************************************************

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 12 Apr 2016 23:41

gee willikers! the red team ain't doin' so hot........

guess Putin will have to break out the nukes.

hope he gives a warning so the blue team can get out of the fall out.

member_23370 · Post by **member_23370** » 12 Apr 2016 23:45

Why nukes? Su-25/30 and BM-30's will do.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 13 Apr 2016 00:17

Keep bombing rats if you see 3+ rats together. Regardless of where boundaries of conflict are, or temporary/semi-temporary outcomes or peace chatter.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 01:38

Other than el eis where they are going cautiously on infantry to save casualties..all the above incl yarmouk, north aleppo are between isis vs eagle team of fsa, eagle and anatolian eagle.

Even assad has cleared decks saying eagle is welcome to bomb isis and jn around aleppo. But jn holds entire idlib province and has 10,000 fighters in north per above..no pushovers...equal in ferocity to hezbollah.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 01:41

Eagle ahowed up in al rai with a a10 but fsa lost all gained in two weeks in two days and back to atart line
Ambitious plans to race sdf to jatablous in tatters

So long as jn is a huge threat in west, isis has a free run in east. Saa has no resources to fight both at high intensity in parallel. And airpower whether eagle or bear cannot hold ground.

Thats why iraqi and irani hands whoever is willing r being sent to syria

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 01:45

Even the rump iraqi army of oif needed a huge ground invasion to defeat and many floated out amf became ied experts and snipers. Despite big and sophisticated air campaign

Boots on.ground matter. Unless iran sends in two divisions , a stalemate and never ending see saw is developing like fsa isis yo yo in north aleppo

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 13 Apr 2016 07:56

Singha wrote:Eagle ahowed up in al rai with a a10 but fsa lost all gained in two weeks in two days and back to atart line
Ambitious plans to race sdf to jatablous in tatters

So long as jn is a huge threat in west, isis has a free run in east. Saa has no resources to fight both at high intensity in parallel. And airpower whether eagle or bear cannot hold ground.

Thats why iraqi and irani hands whoever is willing r being sent to syria

It proves my hunch that Putin's campaign was limited in objectives and the only real "red line" Putin has is: ensuring that ISIS/JN and other jihadi rats don't get a toe-hold on the Mediterranean sea.

Russia's only goal in this is to ensure an Alawite stronghold which protects whatever minorities it can: while still retaining enough military capacity to deter a serious offensive by the Jihadis and other irregular outfits.

ISIS is here to stay....it will not be that easy to exterminate this pest.

There are only 4 countries with large enough military forces to even attempt it: USA, Russia, PRC, India. The Indian State is confused and ambiguous about Islamism in general....so India will never have the decisiveness to take a clear stand against ISIS. PRC wants Islamic allies and sees them as useful to its own imperial agenda. Russia has learned its lesson -- they will not fall into the trap of decisively fighting Jihadis on foreign terrain and risk the threat of West doing an about-face and claiming that ISIS/JN are "freedom fighters" (Taliban, anyone?) and supporting their fight against Russia. USA, as usual, has its own investments in Sunni Jihad and will not want to totally crush ISIS (who knows....ISIS might be the future leverage against Iran or even a stick to dangle in front of Saudis if and when the Jihadi rats start openly targeting the al-Saud dynasty).

This leaves Iran, the regional power, to spend serious resources and imperial energy in fighting and crushing ISIS. Iran, at best, will play the long game of attrition while trying its best to limit casualties on itself.

Needless to say, ISIS/JN are not going anywhere. This war has entered the next phase: ISIS now has no option but to tie up with Jihadi outfits around the world and spread the fire as much as it can. They'll continue the attrition war in Iraq and Syria. But North Africa is ripe for the picking. Central Asia is another target, but they might wait a bit longer to keep PRC neutral. NA is probably the most inviting target to get a foothold on the Med'nean sea. If they want leverage on Europe, North-Africa is an inviting target.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 08:27

>> ISIS is here to stay....it will not be that easy to exterminate this pest.

indeed like a mutating stomach bacteria, once it enters the gut, it is almost impossible to eradicate unless you nuke everything good and bad with antibiotics, which has consequences as the good bacteria also die.

JN and its associated uighur and turkoman militias have strong deep state support in turkey and easy access to the border. some of their kit is better than SAA militias - lately many are sporting kevlar helmets while militias just have the yellow headband or cap. they are going nowhere either and have the seasoned manpower to back their dhamki.

Iran is in a precarious position between lifting of sanctions and full integration with world economy, and with low oil prices would not want to risk a rash involvement too heavy in manpower. they will do enough to ensure SAA does not lose any more territory but may be unable to turn the tide on ground.

Y. Kanan · Post by **Y. Kanan** » 13 Apr 2016 09:44

TSJones wrote:gee willikers! the red team ain't doin' so hot........

guess Putin will have to break out the nukes.

hope he gives a warning so the blue team can get out of the fall out.

... and this obviously pleases you, seeing ISIS & their pals killing the good guys. You're such a pathetic troll, cheering for these scum. Did you cheer when the twin towers fell? Is there any consistency to your warped moral code (if you even have one).

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 13 Apr 2016 13:02

Singha wrote:IS has recaptured all they lost to rebels in north aleppo.

Peto Lucem Retweeted
N i d a l ‏@Nidalgazaui 14h14 hours ago
N Aleppo
#IS Recaptured:

Is it possible IS reclaiming lands & maintaining strong holds is a part of US deal with Putin after which his forces withdrew? this development gives a hunch Putin may not be standing that tall & strong behind Assad which he was till recently.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 13 Apr 2016 16:17

I don't see the basis for that, IDji. These are pleasant exchanges of territory, slaves, severed heads etc between devout Believers, nothing to do with Putin or Assad. For some reason El Rai border crossing appears to be a place where they alternate possession, maybe to make it convenient for Erdogan to convey aid convoys directly to the end users.

From Putinassad pov, why is it bad to have a constant state of war between ISIS and JN there, killing off many of both sides and expending ammo and soosai pakis that would otherwise target Deir Ez Zor, hain? Maybe PutinAssad provide some artillery and air strikes to hit whoever is the Incumbent at that border crossing hut - which after all these so-called Battles, seems to remain intact. Suspicious, no?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 18:37

Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai Apr 12
#JN allowed #ISIS to cross from Hajar al-Aswad into #Yarmouk camp, fighting Palestinians and their supporters. Now #ISIS turned against #AQ.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 18:41

claim is 2 more days for syria parliamentary elections to be over, get a vote of approval from new MPs and continue the war afresh.

cautious signs that eagle is willing to put in some heavy work in north aleppo, maybe even co-ordinating with rus since russi af also regularly bombs al bab , azaz etc.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 18:43

problem is division13 and some other FSA groups who are US approved in north aleppo to fight ISIS (and have swank US gear) joined with JN and Shams front in south aleppo offensive that broke the ceasefire.

so usual pak style hunting with all parties play makes it very hard to gauge their real intentions. US weapons dropped into north aleppo to fight IS will end up in other fronts.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 18:49

the region before islam

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 18:50

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 13 Apr 2016 18:53

Y. Kanan wrote:
TSJones wrote:gee willikers! the red team ain't doin' so hot........

guess Putin will have to break out the nukes.

hope he gives a warning so the blue team can get out of the fall out.
... and this obviously pleases you, seeing ISIS & their pals killing the good guys. You're such a pathetic troll, cheering for these scum. Did you cheer when the twin towers fell? Is there any consistency to your warped moral code (if you even have one).

moral code? And Putin and Assad are your heroes for the middle east? troll yourself.......

there is a difference between the people of Syria that yearn for freedom and ISIS.

and they have been the recipient of Putin and Assad's special "attention" not ISIS.

and I can't help it if Russia has no stamina.

it will be the US that ultimately defeats ISIS.

and it obviously won't be led by Obama.

member_23370 · Post by **member_23370** » 13 Apr 2016 21:17

US will do jackshit. Like they have done in 15 yrs with Taliban. Cut and run all the way

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 13 Apr 2016 21:27

Not to intervene in the MOHAWG contests, TSJi, but I wonder if the narrative about the Evil Dictator Assad should be given any credence any more. Thinking back to the start of the Syria Color Revolution, Assad has been saying from day 1 that those inciting rebellion were "terrorists". I didn't believe him then, since I always place great faith in the pronouncements of President Obama, SoS ~~Humedin~~ Clinton and CNN, but today I wonder if it is not time even for such entities to revisit their prejudices.

Would you call the Syrian Opposition to Assad "Pro-Democracy Protestors?" "Innocent Idealistic Schoolchildren"? "Non-violent debators"? "Champions of Individual Freedom"? "Martyrs to The Proposition That All (wo)Men are born Equal"? "Medal of Freedom Candidates"?

Or just plain old ..... terrorists?

Did Assad REALLY use chemical weapons on his own people? Or was it really Saudi Arabia/NATO and their proxies? Was it really Syrian Pro-Democracy Protestors who took over Homs - or was it Blackwater and other mercenaries?

Back in the days of the Eqyptial Color Revolution, if you asked Coptic Christians in Egypt, they would have told you how terrified they were: the breakdown of law and order that accompanied the Revolutionary Overthrow of the Dictatorial Regime also meant that it was a free-for-all for the Islamists to terrorize minorities such as the Copics. The Revolutionaries were a.k.a. Islamic Brotherhood.

Duh! How smart do you have to be to have figured that out?

What amazes me is the level of "We Don't Think" stubbornness in the US establishment. A while back, I asked an Ambassador-in-Residence at a major US university, why he thought there WAS such a thing as the 'Al Qaeda' (AFAIK, the name originates in a CIA translation of "Base/Root Directory" on a PC captured from the CIA-ISI Safe House in Peshawar circa 2002). The guy immediately got defensive:

IF YOU ARE ASKING WHETHER THE TALIBAN WEREN'T CREATED BY THE US, OF COURSE WE DID, BUT THAT'S ALL OLD NEWS

Not a hint that given the same Experts and the same 404-ness in Foggy Bottom, they wouldn't go down the same stupid path again - as demonstrated in Iraq, Libya, Syria..

So, no, I don't believe that the US is going to win any war in Syria. Any more than in Vietnam, ~~Non-Vietnam~~Afghanistan, ~~Non-Vietnam-2~~ Iraq.... That's independent of the party in power, or the POTUS p-ing in the WHOTUS.

As they say:

Ignorance can be cured. Stupidity is permanent.

shaun · Post by **shaun** » 13 Apr 2016 21:29

∆∆ no wonder with such skewed mentality , Bush was searching saddam's bush for WMD !!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Apr 2016 21:31

Ok ok we hear you all and duly noted.

Please get back to news and mil armchair theory