Syrian Crisis in One Picture (Warning: Very Sad)

[Bendit]

@McHappy, @Mapko

Here is a prescient opinion piece written about a year ago about possible motivations of some of the parties involved which serve as a logical backdrop to what is happening with the Russian moves last week in Syria.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world...ices_down.html

[mcHAPPY]

US propaganda machine in full force on latest with Russia now bombing extremists:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...d-rebels-syria


Funny how al-Qaeda is now a moderate.

The US doesn't seem to think funding and training non-government people to overthrow the government is an act of terrorism.

The hypocrisy and double speak is unbelievable.

[Bendit]

US propaganda machine in full force on latest with Russia now bombing extremists:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...d-rebels-syria


Funny how al-Qaeda is now a moderate.

The US doesn't seem to think funding and training non-government people to overthrow the government is an act of terrorism.

The hypocrisy and double speak is unbelievable.

The goalposts have changed and there are some just shy about admitting it. One curious aspect of the protestations is that it was admitted a few days ago by the Pentagon that their training of moderates had pretty much been a failure. About 500 mill. down the drain...again. The trainees took the humvees and ammo etc and were either relieved of them/or gave it over to al qaida types. Job well done! Back to my point...if their training had failed who is it that Washington seeks to protect within the "moderate" forces. The only guys giving Assad a hard time are the extremist (choose your group) sunni forces fighting the Alawite (shia) Assad forces.

A fine mess it is.

The foll. is a link of an interview with the Brit corresp. Robert Fisk who I have been following since the Iraq war. He is currently travelling in Canada and has some worthwhile comments on the Syrian problem. and the Canada response.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/loca...hanging-canada

[mcHAPPY]

Russia is destabilizing Syria — according to those destabilizing Syria.

In a move many consider to be an act of bitter defiance to the West, the Russian government appears to have significantly increased its military aid to the Syrian regime. This support hinges largely on the provision of providing advanced weaponry — such as tanks and artillery — training Syrian soldiers to use those weapons systems, and Russian-led airstrikesagainst ISIS. Unsurprisingly, Western media pundits and officials (and their devoted followers) are expressing renewed outrage over Russia’s involvement in the Syrian conflict — at the same time, excluding pertinent background information on Russia’s historical roots in the region.

Russia’s support for Syria dates back to 1946, when Russia helped consolidate Syria’s independence. The two countries mutually came to a diplomatic and military agreement in the form of a non-aggression pact, which was enacted on April 20, 1950. In this pact, Russia promised support to the newly-created Syria by helping to develop its military and by providing tactical support. Essentially, Russia and Syria have been cooperating for decades both militarily and economically, with Russia maintaining a naval base on the Syrian Mediterranean.

Regardless of history, it matters little if global consensus opinion supports Russia. The reality is that the war in Syria has no positive outcomes for the people living there. If Assad is removed from power, it is likely the country will fall completely into the hands of ISIS and other terror groups — much like what occurred in Libya and Iraq. The United States’ prospects in the region seem dismal to anyone with a track record of our earlier interventions. If the U.S. placed more emphasis on diplomacy and less emphasis on arming belligerents, however, a political solution to the Syrian conflict would be much more of a possibility.

A primary criticism of Russia’s relationship with Syria is that arming Assad is an attempt to prolong the conflict and destroy the nation. U.S. pundits point fingers at Russia as if its allegiance with Syria is a new development without understanding the historical intricacies of the Russian-Syrian relationship. In contrast, many individuals complaining about Russia’s role in “destabilizing Syria” and “prolonging the conflict” do not apply the same scrutiny to the United States’ new-found interest in the country.

It is no secret the United States has armed, trained, and financed the Syrian rebels for nearly the entire duration of the conflict. Does this implicate the United States in prolonging the conflict? U.S.-backed fighters have consistently defected to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, transferring their battle experience and weaponry to virulent terrorist groups. When Al-Qaeda violently occupies villages and towns and ISIS fighters send scores of refugees fleeing for their lives, should the U.S. policy that caused such a catastrophe be questioned?

Critics concerned by what Russia is accused of doing — destabilizing Syria and prolonging the conflict— should be equally opposed to U.S. intervention in that country. U.S. intervention in Syria, much like U.S. intervention elsewhere, has culminated in unprecedented destabilization and blowback. However, most people — as George Orwell understood — have a lopsided view of history, as they ignore and almost refuse to come to terms with the atrocities their own state commits, and by that logic, ignore the detrimental role the United States has played in Syria.

The tragedy of the current crisis in Syria is not that hundreds of thousands of people have died or that millions more have become refugees. What makes the death and suffering of so many Syrians tragic is that their pain and grief achieved nothing. It seems there will be no silver lining around the bottomless and ever-expanding pit of war and death in Syria.

One of the best solutions for a peaceful Syria hinges on the United States completely withdrawing from the region and the U.N. strengthening, instead of impeding, democratic movements that usher in a peaceful transition from chaos to stability. Calling for U.S. intervention in this region is simply perpetuating decades-old Russian-American animosity expressed through what could be considered a proxy war between terrorists on both sides of the political spectrum in Syria. This will only hurt innocent civilians by causing death and destruction — and by extension, promoting continued massive movements of refugees.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...bilizing-syria

[mcHAPPY]

One question that’s been asked repeatedly over the past thirteen months is why Washington has been unable to achieve the Pentagon’s stated goal of “degrading and defeating” ISIS despite the fact that the “battle” pits the most advanced air force on the planet against what amounts to a ragtag band of militants running around the desert in basketball shoes.

Those of a skeptical persuasion have been inclined to suggest that perhaps the US isn’t fully committed to the fight. Explanations for that suggestion range from the mainstream (the White House is loathe to get the US into another Mid-East war) to the “conspiratorial” (the CIA created ISIS and thus doesn’t want to destroy the group due to its value as a strategic asset).

The implication in all of this is that a modern army that was truly determined to destroy the group could likely do so in a matter of months if not weeks and so once Russia began flying sorties from Latakia, the world was anxious to see just how long the various rebel groups operating in Syria could hold up under bombardment by the Russian air force.

The answer, apparently, is “less than a week.”

On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it has conducted 60 bombing runs in 72 hours, hitting more than 50 ISIS targets.

According to the ministry (Facebook page is here), Islamic State fighters are in a state of “panic” and more than 600 have deserted.

And here's the Russian Defense Ministry taking a page out of the US Postal Service's "neither rain, sleet, snow, nor hail" book on the way to serving notice that nothing is going to stop the Russian air force from exterminating Assad's enemies in Syria:

Twenty-four hours a day #UAV's are monitoring the situation in the ISIS activity areas. All the detected targets are effectively engaged day and night in any weather conditions.

Now obviously one must consider the source here, but Kremlin spin tactics aside, one cannot help but be amazed with the pace at which this is apparently unfolding. If any of the above is even close to accurate, it means that Russia is on schedule to declare victory over ISIS (and everyone else it looks like) in a matter of weeks, which would not only be extremely embarrassing for Washington, but would also effectively prove that the US has never truly embarked on an honest effort to rid Syria of the extremist groups the Western media claims are the scourge of humanity.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...rikes-72-hours

[Apollo]

Confirming the successful raids, Andrei Kartapolov from the Russian army General Staff, said: We will not only continue strikes... We will also increase their intensity."

And Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: "Over the past 24 hours, Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M fighter jets have performed 20 sorties and hit nine Islamic State installations.

“A bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb dropped from a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber near Raqqa has eliminated the command post of one of the terror groups, together with an underground storage facility for explosives and munitions.

"These and other highly exact means of attack in recent days have been used to target objects of Islamic State terrorists: command posts, stores of weapons and oil products, workshops where weapons of suicide bombers are made."

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...irstrike-Putin

Western and more recently Russian airstrikes, chaotic leadership and mass defections have weakened the jihadi group to such an extent that it would be unable to repel even a small invasion force.

A terror analyst told Express.co.uk that the fanatics have vastly exaggerated their military strength and called on Western leaders to launch a co-ordinated fightback which would obliterate the hate group.

Dr Afzal Ashraf said ISIS has become its own worst enemy with its campaign of terror against the West, which has prompted an international backlash.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...liphate-defeat

[mcHAPPY]

Find the right #Syrian rebel to arm - non-trivial task to start your day with | #Syria #سوريا #ISIL #Nusra #داعش pic.twitter.com/Gc60dVAn7D

— Russian Embassy, UAE (@RusEmbassyUAE) October 5, 2015

Russia is trolling the US.... with the truth.

[mcHAPPY]

As Russia now launches attacks to clear way for Iran ground invasion, what happens next in Iraq?

Does Russia and Co. clear ISIS house in Iraq as well? Nearly a year of 'fighting' ISIS and the US only watched them take more territory and strength. Does Russia clean up the US Iraq mess too?


Seeds are being sown for World War - right on cue as the economy is about to dive and a distraction/enemy is needed to take the spotlight off domestic issues.

[Apollo]

Some in America are crazy enough to now call for the U.S. to take action against Russia. This whole thing has potential to evolve into a war no longer situated solely in the middle east; albeit that is the worst case scenario and one where everyone loses. Hopefully cooler heads prevail and the U.S. gets out of the way. Their whole approach to the middle east has been one of supreme and utter failure.

[mcHAPPY]

Russia has accomplished A LOT in just under 2 weeks.

Not only have they weakened ISIS considerably despite over 1 year of US bombing and training moderates (read: terrorists), but now it appears the US might be stopping their policy of training moderates (read: terrorists) and may scale back Syrian involvement.

And then moments ago, the NYT confirmed that the de-escalation process has begun, when it reported that "the Obama administration has ended the Pentagon’s $500 million program to train and equip Syrian rebels, administration officials said on Friday, in an acknowledgment that the beleaguered program had failed to produce any kind of ground combat forces capable of taking on the Islamic State in Syria."

Pentagon officials were expected to officially announce the end of the program on Friday, as Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter leaves London after meetings with his British counterpart, Michael Fallon, about the continuing wars in Syria and Iraq.

A senior Defense Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that there would no longer be any more recruiting of so-called moderate Syrian rebels to go through training programs in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Instead, a much smaller training center would be set up in Turkey, where a small group of “enablers” — mostly leaders of opposition groups — would be taught operational maneuvers like how to call in airstrikes.


To be sure, the admin tried to soften the blow: moments ago Reuters added that "The U.S. military program to train and equip Syrian rebels is not "ending" but is instead being refocused, a senior U.S. defense official said on Friday, ahead of an announcement on overhauling the troubled U.S. effort." No matter how one diplomatically phrases it though, at this point the wheels are in motion.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...oderate-rebels

And so, it should be evident 1 of 2 possibilities exist here:

1) US never had any intention of ever toppling ISIS (since they were a CIA created/backed group to begin with), or

2) The US, despite the largest defense budget in the world, is ridiculously incompetent.


Take your pick.

[Bendit]

Some in America are crazy enough to now call for the U.S. to take action against Russia. This whole thing has potential to evolve into a war no longer situated solely in the middle east; albeit that is the worst case scenario and one where everyone loses. Hopefully cooler heads prevail and the U.S. gets out of the way. Their whole approach to the middle east has been one of supreme and utter failure.

Putin has the US in a box no doubt. As long as Obama is in the WH I dont think there'll be a direct confrontation. But there are rumblings that the US do the usual "protect their interests" in the region. I will not be surprised if the Iraqi PM who has already invited Russia over to handle ISIS in his country possibly even ask the US to "cooperate" or stand down in Iraq. This would be a terrible repudiation of the original invasion. This is again a Sunni - Shia fight at it's core and the US dont have any viable allies among the sunnis....they are for the most part dictators and rotten on many counts.

To think when George Bush cavalierly made his choice (and it was a unnecessary war of choice) he didnt know/have any understanding about the deep sunni & shia divide.

[Apollo]

China Declares War On Radical Islam

Here is something I saw posted in another forum. We all know China is involved the the Syrian conflict against ISIS but did you know what they're doing at home:

China has added its name to the growing list of countries around the world that are taking preventative measures in an attempt to lower the chances of a radical Islamist terror attack.

• Ramadan is banned and Chinese restaurants must stay open during this fast.
• Muslim prayer meetings and other religious practices are banned in Chinese government buildings, schools, and business offices in China’s Xinjiang region as reported in The Times of India.
• Religious activities are now restricted to take place only in houses of worship, such as mosques.
• $4,880 fines will be imposed mobile phones users and using the Internet to disseminate messages that undermine national unity, social stability or incite ethnic hatred.
• Female head dresses are banned in conformity with Chinese legislators who have repeatedly said that burqas “are not a national dress of Muslims.” They’re justifying their new laws based on several other countries, such as France and Belgium who have enacted similar bans based on public safety concerns.
• Men with long beards are banned from riding public transportation: Chinese have suffered numerous terrorist attacks from both Muslim men with long beards, women, men in disguise wearing burquas, that obscures their appearance and suicide belts.
• China will pay up to $8,000 for information on their bearded Muslim neighbors.
• Islamic restaurants in China must sell alcohol and cigarettes and these items must be displayed for sale or these restaurants will be force to shut down. This law has been enacted as result of reports by some non-Muslim customers have been assaulted for even requesting these items in Muslim restaurants, or for merely requesting pork in a meal.The Quran (Koran) calls the use of “intoxicants” sinful, while some Muslim religious leaders have also forbidden smoking. Some non-Muslim customers have been assaulted for even requesting these items in Muslim restaurants, or for merely requesting pork in a meal.
• Muslims cannot wear clothing or logos associated with extremism. No ISIS flags or patches allowed.
• Muslim personal phones may also no longer be used to study the Quran or practice religious hymns.

http://www.blindspotreport.com/china...-war-on-islam/

[mcHAPPY]

We all know China is involved the the Syrian conflict against ISIS but did you know what they're doing at home:



http://www.blindspotreport.com/china...-war-on-islam/

Who goes to an Islamic restaurant for the pork?

[raptors999]

Who goes to an Islamic restaurant for the pork?

Jewish shellfish restaurants are awful too

[mcHAPPY]

The newest plan: helicopter ammo. No, really. The US has now resorted to dropping "tons" of ammo into the middle of nowhere and hoping the “right” people find it.

No, really.

Here’s CNN:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...-syrian-rebels

This is the leader of the free world?

No wonder the world is crumbling with Syria apparently the epicentre.