All things Syria

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NonZeroSum
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All things Syria

Post by NonZeroSum »

I know no side is innocent in this war, I'm sure all groups have broken the geneva convention more than once on rules of engagement, prisoners of war, torture, collective punishment etc. etc. We can still judge actions like satellite images of ISIS mass graves of yazidis, and barrel bombing of Aleppo without equating.

Starting this thread to discuss the realities on the ground faced by the people in Syria.

I guess nothing should surprise us anymore about the bizarre cynical turns of events, but this week my head was turned by this inroad Kurdish militia opened up for Assad's Syrian Army to move in to create a buffer between Turkeys Euphrates Shield.

"Turkey will find it very difficult to attack Manbij, which the SDF captured from Isis after ferocious fighting last year, because the SDF said on Sunday that it is now under the protection of the US-led coalition. Earlier last week, the Manbij Military Council appeared to have outmanoeuvred the Turks by handing over villages west of Manbij – beginning to come under attack from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) militia backed by Turkey – to the Syrian Army which is advancing from the south with Russian air support."

http://syria.liveuamap.com/en/2017/12-march-highranking-russian-and-syrian-military-personnel

I guess Turkey is at fault for instigating fighting with the Kurdish militias, but it is a dark day for those supporting a democratic transition when the opposition invites the enemy in to create a buffer between the warring sides, I do wonder what the citizens of the towns only recently liberated from ISIS have to say about being handed over to Assads Syrian Army. Doesn't sound very bottom up democracy, more top down bargaining with the enemy.

I also know there are pro-Assad demonstrations within rebel held Idlib as there were opposition demonstrations brutally put down by Assad that started this whole mess.

And yes Kurdish militias and Assad's Syrian Army have maintained a mostly cozy alliance, that seems to be only getting cozier.
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NonZeroSum
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Re: All things Syria

Post by NonZeroSum »

Holy crap,

US targeted Syrian aircraft, runways and fuel stations.

US Destroyers launch between 50-70 tomahawk cruise missiles against an airbase near Homs, Syria.

Targeted Airbase is Al-Shayrat Field near Homs, Syria from which they believe Tuesday's chemical attack was launched

Trump: "I call on all civilized nations to end the slaughter in Syria."

Trump delivers statement following US military strike on Syria
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwhrJGfRz-w

Live CBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo66BAChtmY
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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Re: All things Syria

Post by Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz »

Holy shit the Donald has just gone and betrayed his voters today by bombing Syria so that many conservatives are now off the Trump train including Paul Joseph Watson who says that Trump is a puppet of the neocon globalists holy shit holy shit!!! I knew this would come but when it actually happens HOLY SHIT!!
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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Re: All things Syria

Post by Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz »

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EquALLity
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Re: All things Syria

Post by EquALLity »

Can we extend this topic to all of the Middle East?

So, Trump dropped a MOAB, the largest bomb we have besides nukes. People said Hillary Clinton was a hawk, and I agree, but Donald Trump is far worse. Trump pandered a bit to not supporting this kind of thing during the campaign because it was popular, but if you actually examined his record you would see that he not only supported the Iraq invasion but also said (during the campaign) that he wants to invade Iraq AGAIN.

He manipulated people well enough so that they thought he would be isolationist, but he is exactly the opposite. Wtf? Dropping a MOAB? Why??? With no regard to civilian casualties? He's not even 100 days into the Presidency.
And of course, Fox News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFTblmpwYDc
When I first saw that reaction, at first I was horrified, but then I started laughing. They are a parody of themselves. SNL couldn't make a better skit if they tried.

And what the hell is going on with relations with North Korea? North Korea is a brutal dictatorship, but why are we on the brink of war with them? Wtf? Trump is totally unstable and has no idea what he is doing. He can't stop tweeting about North Korea - they've even accused Trump of stirring up trouble with his tweets. His tweets. He's the President.

Ugh. America is really going down a hole of shit, and it's taking the rest of the world with it.
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: All things Syria

Post by brimstoneSalad »

This reversal is a little surprising (but not extremely so given all of the others), since he's been consistently anti-intervention for years.
It just goes to show he has no real strongly held principles. He's mostly a typical republican now, molded as such by those around him.

The silver lining is that if Democrats can win back the legislative branch in two years, he may flip and sign whatever they come up with too, since he'll likely follow the tide of political power.
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Re: All things Syria

Post by EquALLity »

brimstoneSalad wrote: Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:32 pm This reversal is a little surprising (but not extremely so given all of the others), since he's been consistently anti-intervention for years.
It just goes to show he has no real strongly held principles. He's mostly a typical republican now, molded as such by those around him.

The silver lining is that if Democrats can win back the legislative branch in two years, he may flip and sign whatever they come up with too, since he'll likely follow the tide of political power.
Not really surprising, since he hasn't been consistently anti-intervention, ever. That was just his narrative during the campaign.
He supported both the invasion of Iraq and a second invasion - in fact, the second invasion was something he proposed during the campaign, while simultaneously acting isolationist. o_O

No way, he's not going to become a democrat. Hahaha. If only.
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