The Syria Crisis

[Ridwan]

Syria slipping from Russian hand is assured.

[Ridwan]

I won't call US religiously insane. It simply has the tendency of evolving a wee bit too slow.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I think people are missing the point: We're assuming we'll get a repeat of Libya, but for all purposes I see even more factionalism and radical Islam groups festering in a post-Assad Syria, meaning there is no guarantee we'll not get a anti-Russian/foreign government in the end.

Even Islamists seem to be taking root in Libya already let alone Syria

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Even Islamists seem to be taking root in Libya already let alone Syria

Only because of all the so-called "Stong-men" who were running the place. Secular governmentve became associated with corruption, and a few decades of that makes people search for an alternative.
It's cause and effect. People would gave everything a try if they think it helps.

[AnimeFan188]

Report: IAF strike in Syria hit Iranian Guards:

"Iraqi daily Azzaman quoted a Western diplomatic source as saying Thursday that
the alleged Israeli attack on Syria reported on Wednesday caused heavy
casualties among special Iranian Guards stationed at the Syrian facility. The
source also said that the attack took place more than 48 hours before it was
reported, eventually being leaked by Israel.

The source for the story, who was interviewed by the paper in London, said that
the report about a strike on a convoy to Lebanon was probably meant to divert
attention away from the main objective of the operation, which used F-16 aircraft
to fire at least eight guided missiles at the facility.

The source also said that the base was heavily fortified and contained experts
from Russia and at least three thousand Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who have
been guarding the site for years. Many of these Iranian Guards suffered
casualties."

See:

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=301751

[konart]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

Report: IAF strike in Syria hit Iranian Guards:

"Iraqi daily Azzaman quoted a Western diplomatic source as saying Thursday that
the alleged Israeli attack on Syria reported on Wednesday caused heavy
casualties among special Iranian Guards stationed at the Syrian facility. The
source also said that the attack took place more than 48 hours before it was
reported, eventually being leaked by Israel.

The source for the story, who was interviewed by the paper in London, said that
the report about a strike on a convoy to Lebanon was probably meant to divert
attention away from the main objective of the operation, which used F-16 aircraft
to fire at least eight guided missiles at the facility.

The source also said that the base was heavily fortified and contained experts
from Russia and at least three thousand Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who have
been guarding the site for years. Many of these Iranian Guards suffered
casualties."

See:

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=301751

People in comments sound funny. "OMG Russians were there, omg they are helping bad guyz!!!111"

Just FIY: there were tens of thousands of russians in Syria to begin with. Not ten scientists or generals, or commanders, or whoever. EMERCOM is now gives a hand to those, who are eager to come back to Russia(I'm not sure if they are talking about whole families or just Russian citizens though). They have a plan for evacuation if needed too.

What's the big deal?

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by konart

What's the big deal?

True, the Iranians send in Syria have probably a bigger impact on the conflict than thoses Russians

[killer3000ad]

Some more tank action. These cameramen have real balls of steel to be under fire from a tank and still filming.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/c7GAIQRf304

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[ganbaru]

Senate Hearing Draws Out a Rift in U.S. Policy on Syria
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/us...zi-attack.html

Neither Mr. Panetta nor General Dempsey explained why President Obama did not heed their recommendation. But senior American officials have said that the White House was worried about the risks of becoming more deeply involved in the Syria crisis, including the possibility that weapons could fall into the wrong hands. And with Mr. Obama in the middle of a re-election campaign, the White House rebuffed the plan, a decision that Mr. Panetta says he now accepts.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Well, it's understandable that handing out weapons to people you aren't sure are your friends, is not a good idea.

And let's face it, the American voters don't want to get involved either. Obama does many things in secret, but the case of arming the Syrian Rebels just isn't worth it. Not unless they have a reason to believe the Rebels won't become a new threat later.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Well, it's understandable that handing out weapons to people you aren't sure are your friends, is not a good idea.

And let's face it, the American voters don't want to get involved either. Obama does many things in secret, but the case of arming the Syrian Rebels just isn't worth it. Not unless they have a reason to believe the Rebels won't become a new threat later.

This is true, and it's made even worse by Al Qaeda joining the Syrian rebel cause. Having been responsible for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Al Qaeda is pretty much America's #1 enemy. It doesn't matter that they would be fighting on "our side" in the Syrian conflict; many Americans (including those in the government) would be absolutely livid at the idea of working alongside Al Qaeda, and even more so with arming them.

America does not want to empower Al Qaeda in any form. Arming them aside, validating their existence as an organization that can do good is a potential issue. However, America can't isolate Al Qaeda in this case. According to our news reports, Al Qaeda is now rather popular with the Syrian people, who view the organization as being friendly and fighting on their behalf. By comparison, America is viewed as being distant and a bit uncaring.

The situation for America would have been a bit difficult before, but Al Qaeda's presence drastically limits what America can do for the rebels.

[AnimeFan188]

Syria rebels seize dam, blast on Turkish border:

"Rebels have captured Syria's biggest hydro-electric dam and battled army tank
units near the centre of Damascus, activists said as the opposition renewed an
offer on Monday to negotiate the departure of President Bashar al-Assad."

See:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/0...91A0BM20130211


==================================================

Lebanese military seals off a town involved in Syrian rebellion:

"The Lebanese military has surrounded the town of Arsal after a deadly
gunbattle between troops and residents. The tensions are linked to the
conflict in neighboring Syria."

See:

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middl...ory-topStories

[AnimeFan188]

Rebels shoot down two warplanes in northwest Syria: activists:

"Syrian rebels on Thursday shot down two military warplanes over the
northwestern province of Idlib, said a monitoring group.

Both jets were hit with fire from heavy machineguns while the air force was
carrying out a series of raids in the area, much of which is under the control of the
rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said."

See:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...#axzz2KvELW68J


==================================

Elite Iranian general assassinated near Syria-Lebanon border:

"A senior commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has been killed while
travelling from Syria to Lebanon, according to Iranian authorities.

A man identified as General Hassan Shateri was reportedly assassinated by what
Iranian officials described as "the agents and supporters of the Zionist regime"
while travelling from Damascus to Beirut.

It was not immediately clear in which of the two countries Shateri was killed but a
Syrian rebel commander said an Iranian official was killed in an attack carried out
by Syrian rebels in Zabadani in southwestern Syria, close to the Lebanese
border."

See:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...-syria-lebanon

[AnimeFan188]

Syria rebels overrun towns near border with Israel, monitoring group says:

"Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels have captured Khan Arnabeh,
which sits on the Israeli-Syrian disengagement line and straddles a main road
leading into Israeli-held territory."

See:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-e...-says-1.511000

[ganbaru]

Insight: Syrian government guerrilla fighters being sent to Iran for training
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...9330DW20130404

The Syrian government is sending members of its irregular militias for guerrilla combat training at a secret base in Iran, in a move to bolster its armed forces drained by two years of fighting and defections, fighters and activists said.
The discreet program has been described as an open secret in some areas loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who is trying to crush a revolt against his family's four-decade hold on power.

[sbg711]

Originally Posted by Ridwan

Syria slipping from Russian hand is assured.

Wishful thinking is wishful thinking.
Russia sees a defeated Syria (that is Assad's government) as the greatest threat to its own domestic security. That is mainly because Syria is now a hive of radical islamists from northern Africa, middle east and primarily the caucasian region. Once Assad's government is crushed, all of that crap is going to redirect itself towards Russia's southern borders, making both of the Chechnyan wars seem like child's play. And don't take my word for it, the Syrian "freedom fighters" themselves admit it. Russia's going to do everything it can to prevent the chaos from spilling outside of Syrian borders, in whichever way it would be hurtful for Russia's own security.

Russian government relies on Assad's own military capacity to deal with the situation, and continues to supply his forces with weapons based on old contracts. Currently, Russian laws do not permit the head of state to send troops on actual combat missions outside of the country's own territory. But as it was made known in the past weeks, the creation of a "special operations command" (Cилы специальных операций (ССО)) has just been completed, and Vladimir Vladimirovich himself is now trying to push a law through the federation council which will authorise him to send troops wherever he pleases.
Undoubtedly, if Assad fails to meet Russian expectations, we know where Spetsnaz is going to set its feet in the near future And it's deffo gonna be a force to reckon with unlike the 4-week trained SAA. Above all, considering Syria holds a viable air-defence capability (which will only continue to increase in the upcoming months), NATO won't dare to launch any air nor sea invasions, unless it's ready to deal with soldiers going back home in caskets. Sadly, Libya lost its air-defence capability due to Medvedev's betrayal. May he burn in hell.

[AnimeFan188]

Israel: Syria has used chemical weapons, victims seen 'foaming from the mouth':

"Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons in the country’s civil war,
the Israeli military’s top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday, citing photographic
evidence of people "foaming from the mouth."

If the claim by Brigadier-General Itai Brun is confirmed, it would mean Syria’s
President Bashar Assad has crossed what the State Department has previously
described as a red line that would trigger some form of U.S. response. President
Barack Obama also warned Assad using chemical weapons would be a "tragic
mistake" that would have "consequences.""

See:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...the-mouth?lite

[AnimeFan188]

The Thin Red Line:

"Chemical weapons — the ‘red line’ which President Obama said he would so
resolutely oppose — have emerged in Syria. Blood tests have confirmed the
exposure of patients in hospitals to these weapons. Readers will recall that
President Obama issued a stern warning against their use. Now they’ve been
used. The problem is now how ignore them. The National Journal’s article is
headlined: “Obama Is Looking for Reasons to Delay Response to Syria’s Chemical
Weapons Use.”"

See:

http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/...thin-red-line/


Ok, the Red Line's been crossed.

Now what?

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

The Thin Red Line:

"Chemical weapons — the ‘red line’ which President Obama said he would so
resolutely oppose — have emerged in Syria. Blood tests have confirmed the
exposure of patients in hospitals to these weapons. Readers will recall that
President Obama issued a stern warning against their use. Now they’ve been
used. The problem is now how ignore them. The National Journal’s article is
headlined: “Obama Is Looking for Reasons to Delay Response to Syria’s Chemical
Weapons Use.”"

See:

http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/...thin-red-line/


Ok, the Red Line's been crossed.

Now what?

draw another line

unless the chickenhawks want to sent their kids to war this time.

[Ithekro]

The Line Must Be Draw Here!

Or maybe over there?