Obama’s Fatal Fatalism in the Middle East by Fred Hiatt, Washington Post
Surveying the wreckage of the Middle East and the fraying of Europe, President Obama understandably would like us to believe that no other policy could have worked better.
The United States has tried them all, his administration argues: massive invasion, in Iraq; surgical intervention, in Libya; studied aloofness, in Syria. Three approaches, same result: chaos and destruction.
So why bother? Why get sucked into “a transformation that will play out for a generation,” as Obama described it in his State of the Union address this year, “rooted in conflicts that date back millennia”?
Even setting aside the offensiveness of such a sweeping dismissal of Arab potential, the formulation is wrong on two counts, one prescriptive and one analytical…
Comments
Second thread conversation.....
Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
CrowBat....has Turkey and KSA in fact given up on northern Aleppo???
I don't think they have 'given up'. Rather 'slackened' under US pressure, and 'waiting for their turn'.
According to my sources, the Daesh offensive on Mare'a was a sort of 'pre-emptive attack': it hit the insurgents there at the time many of these were inside Turkey, preparing for a big offensive on Jarablus. The insurgent groups there have recently taken in plenty of new recruits and need time to train these. Now they have suffered heavy losses, especially between inexperienced novices, and the entire process has to be repeated.
So, Saudis and Turks understand their proxies in this part of Syria - insurgents of the Hawar Kilis and Mare'a ORs - are in need of more training, better coordination etc. - i.e. more time to organize themselves.
From that standpoint, it's OK if the USA support the SDF in attack on Daesh: this is buying time for Saudi and Turkish designs.
CrowBat is offline Report Post
NOTICE...the comment that the Saudi's and the Turks fully understand their proxies....WE the US have not the faintest clue about ours the Kurds especially the YPD/PKK linkage...
Bill..notice that US MSM is not carrying the same dialogue we are having over on Syrian 2016 thread when Russia states something of importance....
Quote:
Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
CrowBat....then was this a trial balloon for ongoing internal Russian discussions on whether to go "full in" and conduct actual for all to see Russia combat operations and was it a signal to the US that they might in fact go to full combat operations and to remain out of it meaning a not so subtle warning to not counter them militarily via Turkey or KSA????
CrowBat response
I can't directly answer this question, because I've got no clue about what Russians might intend or not.
What I can do is analyse what they are doing. For example, sometime next week, WarIsBoring is about to publish my article on whys and hows of Russian aerial operations over Syria, based on an extensive study of Russian national doctrine of defence, VKS' doctrine, strategy and tactics.
In this regards, it can only be concluded that the Russians went to Syria with - their own - very clear, 'political' aims, and are hell-or-bent on achieving these through 'military' means, regardless the cost (primarily the cost for Syrian civilians).
I think this should be kept in mind all the time.
From that aspect, Moscow now sees this big PYD/YPG/SDF offensive east of Manbij, US SOFs, US Army's pontoon brigdes, USAF flying 60+ air strikes on the Daesh each day. The operation is likely to result in establishment of a strong, US-supported, Kurdish grip on all of northern Syria - and, especially: it's bigger and more effective than anything Russians, Assadists, IRGC and all of its allies in Syria have done against the Daesh so far.
So, chances are that:
- a) Putin would like to score similar PR-points like he thinks the Americans and Kurds are now doing;
- b) he can see that the Daesh is crumbling and is in a rush get as much of Syria under 'regime' control (even if this 'regime' would actually mean 'IRGC'); and finally:
- c) a very important, though usually ignored 'motivation' for what Russians are doing in Syria is their obsession with the idea of proving their military might is equal to that of the USA and other Western powers.
That means: Putin (not really 'Russians') have 'multiple important reasons' for possible expansion of Russian intervention in Syria.
If this can then also disrupt Turkish and Saudi designs in the country, 'even better'.
CrowBat is offline Report Post
Bill....here is the problem...things are right now so bad for the Syrian civil society I am personally not sure what "worse" looks like??
The article talks about the Obama fatal "fatalism" which refers to their lack of a extensive intellectual think through and a lack of a formulated strategic level strategy...that is the goal of the article.
To this end....this is the most perfect example of just how badly this "fatal fatalism" has gotten us.....with this massive of a FP failure...the Obama WH should just openly admit they have failed, pack it in and go home....AS they have now absolutely no further influence or leverage anywhere in the ME NOT even in Iran.....
The Russian MoD's conclusion of the day ...
Maybe they don't even lie ...
Maybe they only hit civilians.
Our politicians think if they don't admit,#she is attacked by #Russia,the problem is solved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1kmJ3k2JY4 …
From rarely to daily.
Devastating night air strikes.
Country XYZ evidently wants to hide his jets ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Y4R1kZ5Qw …
Designed to avoid video footage of Russian AC conducting the strikes making it into social media....
Even in #Daraa #Russian jets dropped cluster bombs fr. high altitude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXBIRxSM8gc …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX1YclRPgPk …
Sooo, what did I miss #TODAY?!
Aaah! The #Russian air force murdered dozens across #Syria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zffHHksxYLE …
Bill...here is the problem...two major hospitals get flattened in night time air strikes AND the US states they are looking into the strikes....NOTICE with literally billions invested into ISR in the last 13 years, with major NATO AWACs and satellites in place and some of the heaviest air surveillance in the Med...."we will look into it"....and four days later they cannot state who dropped the bombs???...come on....just as they claimed they could not do the last time the RuAF hit an IDP camp and hospital...WHY does Obama want to openly admit they do not care and are fully supporting the Russian actions??
AND then when Russia openly via info warfare publicly states we are investigating the bombing together with the US giving the impression/perception they were not behind the air strikes...THE Obama WH remains SILENT absolutely silent.
Forget the theoretical debate...answer the core question WE could not identify which AC dropped eight strikes on a hospital??...come on that is a total intel failure if true....secondly why has this Obama WH never pushed back a single time and I have been tracking now Russian info warfare in Syria and Ukraine for over two years...never a single pushback on a Russian open and blatant disinformation aimed directly at Obama and the US ....WHY is that??
Is that the leadership one anticipates/expects to see in the US WH?????
Or in fact is the article actually correct....??
Debate the article not me....
Outlaw:
The question to you is fairly easy, simple and straightforward:
Given that the national security objective of the U.S./the West, post-the Old Cold War of yesterday, was and still is the transformation of outlying states and societies more along modern western political, economic and social lines,
Then do you advocate that the U.S./the West intervene in those cases -- or in such a manner -- as to cause, via our such intervention, the handing over of the human and other resources of these outlying states and societies to our non-western/anti-western organized, ordered and oriented enemies?
Thus, to ask ourselves whether, for example, our introduction of such things as no-fly zones in Syria, and/or the delivery of MANPADS to the rebels there; these such activities might indeed lead to exactly these such negative and unintended -- rather than positive and intended -- consequences?
(In this regard, see the R2P/humanitarian intervention in Libya which, I suggest, provides us with such a lesson-in-point re: [a] the best of R2P/humanitarian/leader of the free world intentions but to [b] horrifically negative R2P/humanitarian and strategic results.)
Bottom Line: Given the lesson of Libya, should we not approach current and future R2P/humanitarian cases/causes with an understanding that, should we intervene, we may be as likely, or indeed may be more likely, to make things dramatically worse; this, for (a) the populations of the outlying states and societies, for (b) we ourselves (think increased terrorism) and for (c) our post-Cold War national security objective (outlined at my second paragraph above)?
Bottom Line Questions:
a. Are these not reasonable concerns?
b. If so, then how would you suggest that we address them?
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/p...art-1-hezbolla
Findings from the State Department’s Annual Terrorism Report (Part 1): Hezbollah and Iran
Quote:
Contrary to recent intelligence assessments by other agencies, the State Department’s latest report documents Hezbollah and Iran’s ongoing, deep involvement in terrorist activities.
In March, when Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress about threats to the United States, Iran and Hezbollah were conspicuously absent from the list of terrorist threats. Several weeks later, he responded to senators’ concerns about the omission in a letter acknowledging that Iran and Hezbollah “directly threaten the interests of the United State and our allies,” adding that the intelligence community still sees Tehran as the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism.”
Earlier today, the State Department released its Country Reports on Terrorism 2014, which describes how the “Islamic State”/ISIL emerged last year as the preeminent terrorist threat to U.S. interests (an issue that will be covered in Part 2 of this PolicyWatch, to be released later today). Yet the report — which covers much of the same timeframe as Clapper’s testimony — also clearly demonstrates that Iran and Hezbollah actively pursued destabilizing terrorist, criminal, and militant activities throughout 2014.
IRANIAN SPONSORSHIP “UNDIMINISHED”
The new report singles out Tehran and Hezbollah from its introductory chapter: “Iran continued to sponsor terrorist groups around the world, principally through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF)…These groups included Lebanese Hizballah, several Iraqi Shia militant groups, Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad.” In addition, it accuses Iran of “prolonging the civil war in Syria, and worsening the human rights and refugee crisis there.” Later, the authors describe Iran’s terror sponsorship as “undiminished.”
Contrary to recent intelligence assessments by other agencies, the State Department’s latest report documents Hezbollah and Iran’s ongoing, deep involvement in terrorist activities.
In March, when Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress about threats to the United States, Iran and Hezbollah were conspicuously absent from the list of terrorist threats. Several weeks later, he responded to senators’ concerns about the omission in a letter acknowledging that Iran and Hezbollah “directly threaten the interests of the United State and our allies,” adding that the intelligence community still sees Tehran as the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism.”
Earlier today, the State Department released its Country Reports on Terrorism 2014, which describes how the “Islamic State”/ISIL emerged last year as the preeminent terrorist threat to U.S. interests (an issue that will be covered in Part 2 of this PolicyWatch, to be released later today). Yet the report — which covers much of the same timeframe as Clapper’s testimony — also clearly demonstrates that Iran and Hezbollah actively pursued destabilizing terrorist, criminal, and militant activities throughout 2014.
BTW...the DoS NCTC was carrying the Kurdish YPG as part and parcel of the PKK terrorist organization thus "terrorist"....THEN in late 2015/early 2016 it was removed from the NCTC website...
Washington’s mixed messages inhibit Syria negotiations
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/pos...a_negotiations
Quote:
At a meeting between Bashar al-Assad and a Lebanese Hezbollah delegation in Damascus in April 2013, Assad assured his guests that “the Americans are pragmatic” and “won’t fully commit” to a policy to put an end to his regime. They will, he claimed, eventually “side with the winner.” Policy statements and recent revelations about the Obama administration’s deliberative process on Syria raise the question: Is the United States proving Assad correct?
The U.S. State Department is currently grappling with the problem of the Geneva II peace conference scheduled for late November. For Geneva II to succeed, Washington must somehow find a way to make the conference a step toward the exit of Assad and his inner circle, but this intended result makes it highly unlikely Assad will participate to that end. As U.S. officials in Foggy Bottom contemplate this thorny puzzle, their bosses at the White House could help by reconsidering the public messaging of their Syria policy.
U.S. policy toward Syria has been confused and full of sharp reversals. Remarks made by Secretary of State John Kerry illustrate this confused public messaging. Not long ago, Secretary Kerry described Assad as a “thug and a murderer,” and labeled the authoritarian state structure as “a dictator and his family’s enterprise.” After the Assad regime unleashed its chemical arsenal on innocent civilians, and subsequently was forced to agree to surrender those chemical weapons, Kerry’s words reflected a dramatic but unsurprising reversal. He said that the United States has been “very pleased” with the progress and level of compliance with the agreement. Kerry added that the quick progress on the chemical weapons agreement was “a credit to the Assad regime…It’s a good beginning, and we should welcome a good beginning.”
Kerry made this final statement with Lavrov at his side. On October 22, scrambling to salvage the peace conference with disgruntled Syrian opposition figures and representatives of frustrated allies at his side in London instead, Kerry swung back to the previous line that Assad “has lost all legitimacy, all capacity to govern the country.”
This is just a recent case in a point. Another notable example is the rhetorical shift away from the phrase “Assad’s days are numbered,” prolifically featured in the speeches and remarks of top U.S. officials for almost two years. It was replaced with “Assad will never ever again rule all of Syria,” by White House spokesman Jay Carney in July of this year. The administration has retracted some of these statements, but their issuance and retraction only compound the negative effects of mixed messaging.
U.S. policy equivocations lend weight to the Assad regime’s own spin that Bashar al-Assad is cunning, rather than delusional. Washington’s mixed messages can only help Assad’s fortunes as he convinces those around him to stay at their posts, and thereby maintain cohesion within his ruling clique and delay the internal unraveling of his regime.
Outlaw,
First up as a Vietnam Vet you have every right to critizise what individual troopers choose to wear or behave and I respect that unreservedly, but I find it difficult and somewhat distracting from your valid POVs.
I am also incredulous at the West allowing the Mad Mullahs out of the cage they have been in since 1978 but like I've said before I believe the WH was poorly advised by our perfumed Generals to let the dogs loose. I dare suggest some of them are hankering back for the good old days of the Peacock Throne. I believe it hastens a nuclear exchange so as far as I 'm concerned it is insane.
By comparison manning up alongside the PPK strikes me as relatively risk free. As you suggest all the Kurdish are PKK and it is somewhat disingenuous to suggest otherwise. But who else can be relied upon to not be in bed with the Wahhabi stranglehold on all Sunni manned forces.
Needless to say the Fruitcake do not represent mainstream Sunnism but a combination of murderous viciousness and extreme wealth gives their fascist intentions a great deal of influence.
IMHO the Turks are missing a trick here and should invade. Like I suggested earlier a German led Turkish force shaped by Mission Command would be an eye-opener for the US military.
I suspect the reason that is not happening is the threat is not considered sufficiently existential to warrant such a massive strategic decision. IMHO I believe this to be a huge mistake both for Turkey and Germany.
At the heart of my misgivings is I don't believe many folks realize the KSA already has nuclear weapons and the Mad Mullahs are desperate to get their own.
I mean to ask how bad does Europe want it to get before they get their head in the game?
RC
Just how much more totally convoluted can the US be in Syria....is there anyone at home in the Obama WH.......?????
US backs YPG and the Mu'tasim Brigade. YPG and ISIS are hitting Mu'tasim in Marea. Centcom running guns to Mu'tasim:
.@thedailybeast spent two days asking about stalled Centcom air drops to Mu'tasim Brigade. Tonight, they got them:
Big Win Over ISIS Could Mean a New War
http://thebea.st/2840PuH
RC.....here is then the interesting logic......we complain that the Saudi's are the biggest supporters of Sunni terrorism.... I would argue that in fact we seem to have completely overlooked Iranian revolutionary Islam and that Khomeini's form of Shia terrorism is by far more dangerous in the long run especially Hezbollah and the Iraqi Hezbollah which if you were in Iraq and had met "an EFP" one might have a different view of Iran.
If you look at KSA today with it's new generational change in leadership...one has to slowly ever so slowly change without upsetting the apple cart if one is taking an extremely tightly controlled country into the 21st century especially if a minority of Shia inside your country are in fact driven by the Khamenei messaging ...is that not exactly what the Chinese are trying to do as they move to a more market driven society.....actually yes it is.
So yes while a few women drivers does not sound like much to you and me ...it is for KSA...baby steps is what drives long term society changes....or did we miss anything in the Mao "Great Leap forward".....
While you have valid complaint points with KSA I still today have not seen an equally adamant argument being made about Shia terrorism and it is definitely there for all to see...the question is why is it not being discussed in DC and in the US MSM....??
Remember Iran has linked into the Taliban, was a and still is a massive supporter to AQ and IS as is Assad and yet you and I debate KSA...why is that??
One has to become mildly concerned with some of the recent statements being made by US military personnel........
Col. Chris Garver: Everyone agrees no matter what their politics that we have to defeat ISIS... War sometimes makes strange bedfellows
Next time can you press him to say clearly state that the US is supporting Iran and the Shia militias they back.
Genocidal dictators are NEVER acceptable bedfellows.
Robert Ford @fordrs58
to be honest, i'm having growing difficulty understanding what the administration means when it discusses Syria.
BTW...one of the major AQ 9/11 planners spent an unusual amount of time in Tehran and had close ties to the IRGC before the attack.....BUT did the 9/11 Commission address that at all....crickets...and the evidence was there for them to review....crickets...why...it did not fit the "narrative"...about Sunni jihadists....who would have thought in 9/11 about Shia jihadists which do exist.
Outlaw,
I'd be interested in Hilary Clinton's or Angela Merkel's answer to your observation that an indicator flagging an approach towards Universal Suffrage was a few women driving cars.
When your citizens are raping, enslaving, torturing, murdering thousands of innocent men, women and children in a dozen different countries and inciting every foreigner to do likewise you need to do considerably more than rein in the thought-police in your local town.
Some might argue the 'reforms' currently taking place suggest the WH strategy is having the desired effect
IMHO it all too little too late. The HoS has to give over to a fully representative government. Sure the Fruitcake will represent a significant political party within such a Parliamentary system but the political energy that has been spewing out across the globe for the last 30 years will recede inwards.
If such a reformation devours the HoS and various other segments of the native body-politic then 'you reap what you sow' comes to mind.
Currently their is no check on the level of political violence inflicted by the Fruitcake because it is being aimed at kafirs. And it is my experience all Gulf Arabs believe everyone but themselves are kafirs - their fellow Gulfies included.
IMHO our own strategic interest should be shaped by the choice of whether we desire the political reformation of the KSA to take place on a post-nuclear landscape or just the normal revolutionary carnage that comes about when political revolutionary energy incites the misery of civil war.
The latter will kill hundreds of thousands and former tens of millions. IMO we have choices we can make to influence the latter; time will ensure the former chooses itself.
RC
RC....a challenge for you and other SWJ readers...just how many points of "disinformation" are being mentioned in this WaPo....article mentioned above???
BEIRUT — A U.S.-backed force of Kurds and Arabs advanced toward an important Islamic State transit town in Syria on Wednesday, brushing aside Turkish opposition to the involvement of Kurds in operations to recapture the strategically vital area.
U.S. commandos are accompanying the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they push north toward Manbij, backed by intense U.S. airstrikes, as part of an offensive aimed at recapturing the town in Aleppo province, said Col. Chris Garver, a U.S. military spokesman.
Manbij lies on the main route used by foreign fighters traveling across the Turkish border to join the Islamic State in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group’s self-proclaimed caliphate. Capturing Manbij would sever the vital supply route, cut off militant fighters and further squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa, Garver said.
[Offensive in Syria targets Islamic State’s capital]
But the offensive also risks incurring the wrath of Turkey, which reiterated this week its opposition to using the SDF to take control of the predominantly Arab area. The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which has ties to the militant Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and Turkey.
An American fighter, battling alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, holds a U.S. flag as he stands with SDF members in the northern province of Raqqa, Syria, May 27, 2016. (Rodi Said/Reuters)
The Kurdish organization has declared an autonomous region in the part of northeastern Syria it already controls, and Turkey fears that its continued advance westward into Arab areas of Syria will further expand the Kurdish region emerging along the Turkish border and encourage Kurdish separatist sentiments inside Turkey.
Pentagon officials said that the SDF fighters advancing on Manbij are predominantly Arab and that the YPG has agreed not to retain control of the town after it is captured but rather to hand over its administration to local Arabs. Garver put the percentage of Arabs in the advancing force at 80 to 90 percent.
But SDF units fighting elsewhere are overwhelmingly Kurdish. One U.S. official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue, said that overall, “Kurds are the main fighting force” in the SDF. “We shouldn’t be under any illusions about that.”
Despite Pentagon claims that Turkey has consented to the operation, the Turks are “not happy” about it, the official added. Turkish officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The offensive signals the abandonment, at least for now, of a long-standing U.S.-Turkish plan to coordinate on efforts to reconquer the Islamic State-held pocket of territory in Syria’s Aleppo province, known as the Manbij pocket, using vetted Free Syrian Army rebel groups. Those efforts have stalled since the Islamic State repelled a rebel offensive in March aimed at recapturing areas of the province that border Turkey. The Islamic State subsequently has not only pushed the rebels back from the areas they have taken but also has captured new territories that were formerly under rebel control. These gains have left the U.S.- and Turkish-backed groups battling for their survival and in no position to launch any new offensives against the al-Qaeda offshoot, which is also known as ISIS and ISIL.
Instead, the United States has decided to back the Kurdish-led assault on the Manbij area. “We have bitten the bullet on the Kurds,” said the U.S. official.
The Manbij operation comes as part of a broader effort to squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa. It began last week with a push by the SDF to capture villages in the mostly desert area immediately north of the city. Those forces have advanced several miles, and the operation is ongoing, Garver said.
The Raqqa offensive also claimed its first U.S. casualty ov
er the weekend. One of the 300 U.S. Special Operations forces working alongside Kurdish and Arab fighters in northeastern Syria was injured north of Raqqa over the weekend, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
BTW......the so called launched with much US MSM hype and fanfare and the CENTCOM Commanders visit of the YPG/SDF attack against Raqqa...largely failed after only 40kms and a high loss of YPG personnel and the Raqqa attack was basically suddenly "forgotten"....
SECOND major point not mentioned by the Obama WH and absolutely no US MSM is....YPG/SDF shares a long common front line with IS....CHALLEGNE any SWJ reader or commenter to show me where YPG/SDF launched any attacks along that common front line in say oh the last two years against IS??
None...in some areas you could actually take tourists to the front lines and not even get shot at by IS.... that is how utter quiet it is.
BUT YPG/SDF the US proxy HAVE launched countless attacks against FSA positions WITH Russian CAS and at the exact same time IS launched attacks against FSA...and that is not "coordination"...since when does the US fight together with IS?????
BTW this has been fully documented and the US DoS/DoD spokespeople tap dance like crazy when journalists ask them about it.
WHY??
RC...tend to disagree with you for a number of reasons....many somehow have totally missed the political loosening that KSA has started this last year after a new younger leadership assumed power with women being allowed to actually participate in elections with a number of them being elected onto local government positions actually number in power positions in the local governments.
Even the so called anti women driving campaign started by the Imams has lost stream and they are now driving in far greater numbers....
Then they made a bold move that surprised even me...they took away the power of the Religious Police....a really really bold move against their own supposedly all powerful clerical base and lastly they have made an even bolder move to come off oil and shift to "green energy"...the sun which they have plenty of with their first 4B USD in start funds.
We ourselves are still just "talking" about green energy...
Then they have reigned in the funding from and to IS/AQ/JaN where some so called western countries still really have not done themsleves.
If though we take their efforts by working through the JaI and the HNC to get a political solution to Assad at face value and actually the FSA/HNC presented with KSA assistance a truly unified front at Geneva..for the first time in years...WHICH by the way Kerry did not like at all.....then in fact KSA is slowly growing under their new leadership in a direction we can actually support long term.
That is if the Obama WH has not destroyed all links to the Arab Sunni ME and the rest of the global Sunni community.
BTW...KSA is facing the AQ threat themselves with increased internal attacks as AQ really over the years has viewed KSA next to the US to be their "true enemies".
WHAT is not being discussed in DC or the US MSM is the deep Iranian support to both AQ and IS since 2003 that has been documented with plenty of evidence...BUT the Obama WH has largely refused to discuss out of fear of ruining their Iran tilt.
Both Turkey and KSA has offered and the offers were serious...troops and AC to move against IS and AQ inside Syria IF the US would participate and lead....the Turks again offered this week the same exact offer with their own Special Forces.
WHAT was the response out of DC........crickets..........
NOW this shows up in WaPo this morning and then you can see the "tilt to the Kurds"...by the Obama WH.
Sidelining its NATO ally, the U.S. admits: "We've bitten the bullet on the Kurds."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-backs-kurds-in-driv… …
THERE is an increasing number of solid ME analysts with great track records for being right in the ME especially when it comes to the Kurds that have repeatedly warned the US to not go this route.
YET the Obama WH wants the short term tactical success for the American press and their legacy NOT the necessary long term strategic success against both IS and AQ. In fact this move will truly make it virtually impossible for the next President to make any kind of ME moves.
WHY is that??
Both AQ (JaN) and IS have already stated yes you can beat us in the desert BUT will it end IS or AQ...no it will not AND guess what they are 30000000% correct.....these types of movements take between 20-35 years to completely cycle through an evolution phase.
Example...JSOC supposedly had eliminated virtually the entire top and middle AQI management when they were in Iraq...was AQI beaten and kicked out Iraq????
We left and AQI was still in Iraq strong as ever....
Outlaw,
I believe the strategy the WH is employing is one to force the HoS to address their Wahhabi problem.
For the last 30 odd years the HoS has exported their Fruitcake problem by getting them to go to foreign countries (including downtown Manhattan) and vent their political revolutionary energy on some hapless foreigners.
Needless to say everyone has had enough of their fascist BS masquerading as Islam and the need to reel all the misery back in is long overdue.
Essentially the thrust of the argument is we will support your sworn enemies (Mad Mullahs, PKK, Alawites etc.) until you get a grip on their Fruitcake.
The obvious question is can we afford another oil embargo (I believe that is a Yes) and perhaps most importantly, can the HoS survive the domestic backlash that a Fruitcake crackdown will entail. (I hazard a guess that is a negative).
So it comes down to political reform in the KSA is unavoidable. If the HoS won't do it the Shia will.
IMHO the current strategy of the WH is accelerating the timeline when political reform in the KSA will be a reality.
The thorny question is whether it will occur upon a post-nuclear landscape. My guess is the longer we wait the chances of a nuclear exchange grow - thus we need to grasp the nettle now and hence the WH strategy and the POTUS long face on his trip to the KSA.
We all have one,
RC
Bill...BTW remember that other famous Obama WH "spin doctor echo chamber" statement in 2014 just after Crimea and the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine THAT this WH declared to be an "incursion" NOT an invasion...I simply guess for the Obama WH THAT over 450 MBTs are not an "invasion" along with 15K Russian regular troops.....
"we will judge Putin by his actions not his words..."
Bill...the problem with attempting to intellectually analyze something is the simple fact it totally misses the ground reality and the suffering the civil society is going through and in the end it is all about them not the theories or analysis.
We the so called leaders of the "free world" and the only adult left in the room that is filled with literally kids and Putin is acting as a kid...WE have totally forgotten this....in th era of globalization and instantaneous mass media.....WHEN we walk away it has serious consequences......AND we have under this Obama WH....WALKED AWAY with a really loose set of virtually non existent intellectual arguments....
UNLESS you can actually show me the truly thought through intellectually founded/challenged Obama WH national level strategic strategy for anything and that includes catching mice inside the WH.....
Bill..for FOUR long years the Obama WH declared via their "spin echo chamber" Assad is the problem and he must go before anything can be achieved"......IT is recorded multiple underline multiple times in MSM.
THEN Putin moves in and suddenly this same Obama WH goes totally silent and accepts the Russian demands that Assad remain.
So do not tell me that the Obama WH is not NOW fully complicit in the killing of civilians WHEN they had the opportunity to ACTUALLY do something...anything is better than abject silence and being complicit in war crimes and genocide....
If you cannot see that then there is a serious problem in your questioning of world events.....
Airstrikes on Ma'arat al-Artiq in #Aleppo, @SyriaCivilDef rescuing civilians from under the rubble.
https://youtu.be/Cy128awoinE
More airstrikes on the al-Sukkari district in #Aleppo today, @SyriaCivilDef on scene
https://youtu.be/OUBjQhIuCcU
Wounded children terrified after Assad airstrikes on al-Ansari district in #Aleppo
https://youtu.be/glg-kKGWDqo
Sorry the vid in #pt is from al-Amryia district, this is the other part, “Bidi Baba“, I want my father
https://youtu.be/Uvpk0k2JkCc
Aftermath of a #Russian cluster bomb attack on an aid truck convoy outside #Saraqib, #Idlib.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO9JQZHKSiw …
THAT this occurring is the perfect example of the tone of this article...
"the fatal fatalism" of the Obama intellectual thought FP processes OR I this case the lack thereof.....
Outlaw:
Here appears to be the definition of market-democracy that was used by National Security Advisor Lake in announcing the new National Security Strategy of the United States in 1993. (As such, one can be sure that Clinton and others agreed with it.):
BEGIN QUOTES:
America's Core Concepts: Democracy and Market Economies
Let us begin by taking stock of our new era. Four facts are salient. First, America's core concepts -- democracy and market economics -- are more broadly accepted than ever. Over the past ten years the number of democracies has nearly doubled. Since 1970, the number of significant command economies dropped from 10 to 3.
This victory of freedom is practical, not ideological: billions of people on every continent are simply concluding, based on decades of their own hard experience, that democracy and markets are the most productive and liberating ways to organize their lives.
Their conclusion resonates with America's core values. We see individuals as equally created with a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So we trust in the equal wisdom of free individuals to protect those rights: through democracy, as the process for best meeting shared needs in the face of competing desires; and through markets as the process for best meeting private needs in a way that expands opportunity.
Both processes strengthen each other: democracy alone can produce justice, but not the material goods necessary for individuals to thrive; markets alone can expand wealth, but not that sense of justice without which civilized societies perish.
END QUOTE
Note, accordingly, the suggested -- ironclad -- relationship between democracy and justice -- and between markets and prosperity -- BOTH of which the U.S./the West believes are needed to promote/attain (a) a peaceful world order and (b) a world order that can accommodate the wants, needs and desires of the U.S./the West.
(Outlaw: Should National Security Advisor Lake's definition of "market-democracy" not suffice, then I do not know what more I can do for you.)
Outlaw:
Returning to our discussion of "market-democracy," "civil society" and "strategic sense" (or no) re: "Obama's Fatal Fatalism in the Middle East:"
Note that, as then-National Security Advisor Anthony Lake clearly articulated in 1993, enlargement of the number of the world's market-democracies would become THE -- formally articulated and announced -- National Security Strategy of the U.S. (Thus, the formal National Security Strategy of the U.S. that would replace "containment of communism" immediately following the Old Cold War.)
"The successor to a doctrine of containment must be a strategy of enlargement -- enlargement of the world's free community of market democracies."
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/lakedoc.html
(NSA Lake discusses "market-democracies" fairly thoroughly here.)
Likewise note that, as per then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010, "civil society" activities would only be recognized as valid by the U.S./the West within the context of (you guessed it) the advancement of market-democracies:
"These three essential elements of a free nation -- representative government, a well-functioning market, and civil society -- work like three legs of a stool. They lift and support nations as they reach for higher standards of progress and prosperity."
http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2010/07/143952.htm
(Note: "Civil society" groups that work to adopt/support/create, for example, a communist, a fascist, or a radical Islamist-based economy, government, state, society [etc., etc., etc.]; these such "civil society" groups, for obvious and understandable reasons, we do not recognize/do not support/do not see as valid.)
Thus, as you should be able to clearly see now, the U.S./the West is not likely to (and for good reason):
a. Embrace the idea of "self-determination" -- except for a "self-determination" based on an overwhelming desire by the native populations for transformation of their states and societies more along modern western political, economic and social lines ONLY. (Moves by differently-oriented "civil society" groups, to achieve "self-determination" along NON-exactly-modern western political, economic and social lines; these we [a] obviously do not see as being in our best interest and thus [b] do not recognize/do not support/do not consider as valid.)
Likewise, as you can clearly see now, the U.S./the West also is not likely to (and again for good reason):
b. Intervene in other states and societies strictly on "humanitarian"/"R2P" grounds; this, unless it can be confirmed first that the native populations of these states and societies (1) have an adamant/ overwhelming desire for market-democracy and (2) have the ability to achieve same mostly on their own and via their own capabilities. (Minus these two specific criteria -- and as per the lesson of Libya, etc. -- these such humanitarian/R2P interventions are now seen as being as likely, or indeed as being more likely, to result in "strategic reversal," to wit: the subject country, and its human and other resources, being turned over to our non-western organized, ordered and oriented enemies.)
Video: Rescuer carries slain child from rubble of #Idlib hospital (Warning --- Graphic)
http://eaworldview.com/2016/05/syria-videos-and-pictures-deadly-attack-… …
So who says the US is not conducting a common war together with Russia....
against the Syrian civil society......in the name of protecting their Kurdish proxy YPG which has proven ties to the terrorist group PKK...
US has ceded airspace bloc over idlib to regime, tacit exchange 4 non interference of US close air support 4 SDF
Moment when #Russia strikes #Idlib hospital last night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWqD...ature=youtu.be …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6x3NZX-VEQ …
Just when you think you have heard all of the Russian MoD lies about their air strikes against hospitals in Syria and especially the brutal eight strikes on a single hospital last night...they manage to outdo themselves again.....
Update
#Russia denies all responsibility, blames @SOHR and @Reuters for spreading "horror stories".
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1752133718362710&id=1… …
Eliot Higgins @EliotHiggins
Examples of @mod_russia getting caught out lying about past hospital bombings in Syria.
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2015...ital-in-syria/ …
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena...tals-in-syria/ …
Eliot Higgins @EliotHiggins
New video from SMART about the bombings in Idlib
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vii5S3Aj05U …
Added it to the playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbUb...re5CmBmD6rrtvg …
Eliot Higgins @EliotHiggins
Collected videos from the aftermath of the hospital airstrikes in Idlib
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbUb...re5CmBmD6rrtvg …
Patiently waiting for Russian defense ministry to claim they destroyed an JaN/ISIS HQ! OR that it was the US that bombed the hospital in order to blame Russia........
BUT "spreading horror stories" takes the prize...especially in the face of all the video evidence of a clear and concise night time air strike of which only the Russians can do and not the Assad AF.......
Just part of the "average" day in Syria under the Obama fatal "fatalism" of a totally lacking national strategic strategy on Syria and IS...all we have gotten is nothing really other than words from his spin doctors ...sorry his novelist who carries the title "assistant national security advisor for strategic communications".......well actually he has not been saying much the last few days....as there is nothing that he can say about the simple word..."failure"....
Footage
Several more #Assad air strikes on #EastGhouta filmed today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-nAh4OuURQ …
#CoH is 500% dead.
Also no different picture around #Damascus yesterday.
#Assad jets bomb the towns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNITfNa2TY …
AJE News @AJENews
Struck by regime strikes, this Syrian child begs doctors not to cut his newly bought clothes
http://aje.io/jshc
73 people were killed by #Assad, #Russia and #ISIS across #Syria on Sunday (29.5.2016).
- LCC
Footage
#Aleppo city yesterday.
No #CoH lie can hide the truth of #TotalWar for most of #Syria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNalK4Ih8Mc …
One Russian / Assad air strike every few seconds.
#Aleppo & its suburbs under attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGuXgMaZkgI …
Footage
Multiple #Russian air strikes on #Huraytan and other suburbs of #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiU4f3yJfFg …
REMEMBER that great "spun" statement in 2014 from the Obama WH..."we will judge Putin on his actions not his words"...well they see his "actions" daily and yet appear to not really know what to do.....totally adrift and utterly lost....and that is the great US FP????
Appears that the Obama fatal fatalism has also lost it's moral voice......
Not a single complaint by the Obama WH on the Russian deliberate bombing of hospitals...or maybe they have given up "begging Russia to stop"...
The last night, georic Russians (only Russians are flying by night) flew eight air strikes on Idlib National Hospital, the Ibn Sena Hospital, and the Jaysh al-Fath Hospital, all in Idlib.
The National Hospital was completely demolished, and reports are meanwhile citing over 50 killed civilians, including at least 17 children.
Regime fans claim this attack killed a high ranking JAN member in the Jaysh al-Fath Hospital.
Airstrikes conducted by #Russia on #Idlib hospitals killed so far 50+ people tonight -among them 17 children
https://youtu.be/BwKhGskaRiM
Interesting note.... Curiously, these air strikes came AFTER the JAN announced withdrawal of all of its HQs from Idlib...
So JAN is actually following US policy of trying to separate itself from Syrian civilians AND YET Russia just keeps on killing civilians via indiscriminate air strikes....
More on the US Kurdish proxy actions against IS....BUT WAIT it was against FSA which is actually fighting IS ....YPG is definitely not attacking IS as claimed by CENTCOM and Obama......
Sheikh Issa handed to YPG allied so called "Jaish Al Thuwar" in exchange for safe passage for civilians in Mare
https://youtu.be/nJIAcTV8Eis
Yallasouriya Yesterday at 2:32 am
#Syria, details how PYD blackmailed #FSA in Mare
Quote:
Qahtan Mustafa tell of events that happened in Mare the last 48 hours:
1. The forces of the treachery of Daesh attacked Kafar Kalbin and Jebrin on 25/5/2016 and have managed to control them after violent battles that led to the martyrdom of FSA good fighters.
2. Daesh besieged Marea after occupying the villages leading to Azaz. There was where great fear on civilians in Marea and Sheikh Issa, almost 1,200 families,
3. Contact with Saleh Muslim terrorist forces and QSD to open the road to allow civilians to cross crossing toward Azaz, so it was accepted that almost 200 families will cross out toward Tal Rifaa so that they can access Azaz.
4. Once the civilians were in Muslim and QSD forces grip, they were forced to go to the village called Abin and forced them to hand over the cellular phones and personal identities.
5. On friday evening 26/5/2016 delegation came from the so falselycalled Jaish Thuwar to Azaz to negotiate with FSA on the civilians who have become prisoners of the their masters, and asked them to surrender Mare and Sheikh Issa in return for allowing those who wish to access Azaz to pass within the territory that they have recently occupied Tal Rifaat and Ain Daqne.
6. The meeting ended without reaching an agreement; Friday evening and the negotiating delegation left Mare. Daesh began immediately a strong attack in an attempt to control the besieged city.
7-Near Sheikh Issa forces, Saleh terrorist Muslim pressed the FSA to hand them over sheikh Issa, and in case they refuse they will open a front from the west and therefore Mare will be under fire from all sides and will not be able to withstand Daesh forces or Saleh terrorist Muslim,” QSD”together.
8. Because of th meaness and pettiness of Saleh Muslim’s forces “QSD”, FSA was forced to withdraw from Sheikh Issa in return for the release of civilians who have been detained in advance and opening the road to aid the injured and evacuate the rest of the civilians from Mare in case they wanted to do so (Mediation and guarantees were given by the countries supporting QSD, i.e the US).
9. Today morning Saturday 27/5/2016 forces, Saleh Muslim terrorist and QSD released civilians who were detained in the previous day, of course after they took their personal IDs, so they had to beg for their names from international organizations.
US SOF now fights for Assad a genocidal dictator and Putin against the anti Assad FSA.......
NOW with this announcement by a US CENTCOM/CIA/Obama supported Kurdish proxy....NOW convince me that Obama and his Kurdish proxy are not fighting together with Assad and Putin.........
Image the Obama WH explaining to the survivors of a US SOF that their son or father was killed fighting for a genocidal dictator Assad and for Putin and Russia....
NOW the perception of the ME Arab Sunni states about a "golden handshake" between Putin and Obama have been clearly verified.....AND by the Us Kurdish proxy.....
taken from the Syrian 2016 thread today....
https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/16103.html
Assad Regime forces coordinate with Kurdish militias for Raqqa battle
2016-05-29 22:50:56
Quote:
Kurdish & Assad regime forces have reportedly met "to coordinate fate of Raqqa city after recapturing it from Isis."
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian regime forces are holding meetings in Hasaka city in conjunction with the recent military campaign against Islamic State in northern countryside of Raqqa entering the sixth day, a well-informed source said.
The source told Zaman al-Wasl that Peoples’ Union Party (PYD)-led SDF and regime forces held meetings to coordinate the fate of Raqqa city after recapturing it from Isis. The source pointed out they did not agree on a certian deal in Raqqa yet because the regime proposed handing the Raqqa countryside file to PYD and its allies in SDF. In turn, the regime will control Raqqa city, but the Kurdish leaderships demand running the city as they run Tal Abyad.
The source did not mention any information related to presence of American or Russian officers to these meetings since both the Americans and Russians have bases in Hasaka.
The meetings came in conjunction with statements by official SDF spokesperson Talal Silou to Sham F.M radio station close to Assad regime. He said, “ we refuse the statements saying Raqqa will join the Federal union as well as the statements disclaiming the previous statements. The focus now is on liberating Raqq and later we will negotiate with the regime the destiny of Raqqa. The Raqqa population should make that decision.”
Silou added that SDF made a proposition to the Global Coalition to counter Isis to include Moscow in the military operation in the area and the proposition is being discussed.
İn the field, clashes between Isis and SDF continued in Tal al-Samen and al-Haysha villages. Hundreds of people from the villages fled because the villages turned into battle zones and PYD controls them. PYD forced people to go to Ayn al-Arab camp in Aleppo coutnryside of al-Mabrookeh camp in western countryside of Hasaka.
SDF alliance said in a statement on Saturday that clashes erupted between SDF and Isis south of al-Shaqraq village near Ayn Essa city adding that Global Coalition warplanes bombed Isis locations near al-Haysha town.
PYD-led SDF had announced 6 days ago of launch of a military campaign against Isis in northern countryside of Hasaka supported by Global Coalition air force starting from its locations in Ayn Essa and al-Shaqraq town.
The United States had formed PYD-led SDF alliance in October 2015 to counter Isis. The SDF alliance consists of Jaish al-Thuwar, 5 militias subordinate to PYD, and Aliwet al-Jazira, unknown faction where Arab fighters are recruited from recently captured areas south of Hasaka.
Now the Obama fatal 'fatalities" have split the Kurdish civil society in northern Syrian......
New Kurdish revolutionary group in #Aleppo opposes YPG & Assad calls for Kurds to join them.
https://youtu.be/HvX2kR9Jun0
The group members are Kurds from Efrin area rejects YPG's compulsory enlistment of people in the military service & support a united Syria.
Footage from Nubl & Zahraa where Rebels face Regime-foreign militias-YPG backed by RuAF & SyAF scorched earth policy
https://youtu.be/QrATeC9KSCI
Many here do not realize the US Kurdish proxy YPG has been receiving massive Russian and Assad CAS in addition to US CAS....
Obama's fatal "fatalities"......just keep getting worse by the day now.....
Statement from the PYD that seems unlikely to lower tensions in Raqqa, Syria:
http://sobsrvr.com/CXEh3RXq
Syria’s Kurds: Raqqa Will Go to Whomever Liberates It
May 30th, 2016 by Asharq al-Awsat (Pan-Arab, London-based newspaper)
Quote:
PYD says it makes sense that after its recapture, the city will become a part of the democratic federal system created by the Kurds in northern Syria
A leader of a military Kurdish faction announced that the city of Raqqa will be annexed to the federal system that the Kurds established in northern Syria after it is liberated from ISIS. In statements quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, a representative of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Iraqi Kurdistan Gharib Hissou said that since the Syrian Democratic Forces are leading the operation to liberate Raqqa “it makes sense that after its recapture, the city will become a part of the democratic federal system created by the Kurds in northern Syria.”
This stance contradicts what the spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces Talal Slaw told Asharq Al-Awsat previously about Raqqa being handed over to Arab–Kurdish civilian administrations after it is liberated.
For his part, Samir Nashar, a member of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opposition can see “exaggeration and outbidding that will lead to more tension between the Syrian parties” in the new statements.
Hours after Al-Fatisah, a town in the northern Raqqa countryside, was reclaimed, a Syrian Democratic Forces commander on the ground Hoker Kobani said “US forces are effectively participating in the battle and are using missiles to bomb cars that ISIS is using to target the Syrian Democratic Forces."
In New York, the UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura yesterday announced that he does not intend to convene a new round of Syrian peace talks until after two or three weeks. De Mistura gave a presentation of what he has achieved in his mission so far to members of the Security Council via video, and said it is essential that progress is made with regards to the implementation of the ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid before negotiations between the government and the armed opposition resume.
Reuters - Turkey's Erdogan accuses Russia of arming PKK militants
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/32...nts-newspaper/ …
Quote:
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Russia of providing anti-aircraft weaponry and rockets to militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), government officials said on Monday, confirming reports in local media.
Speaking to reporters on board his airplane after a visit to the southeastern province of Diyarbakir over the weekend, Erdogan accused Moscow of transferring weaponry to the PKK via Iraq and Syria, the pro-government Star newspaper said.
“At this moment, terrorists are using anti-aircraft guns and missiles supplied by Russia. The separatist terrorist organisation is equipped with these weapons. They have been transferred to them via Syria and Iraq,” the newspaper reported Erdogan as saying.
Two Turkish government officials confirmed Erdogan’s comments.
The “separatist terrorist organisation” is a Turkish government term for the PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the state that has left more than 40,000 people dead, mostly PKK militants in the largely Kurdish southeast.
While Erdogan has previously castigated Russia for its support of Kurdish fighters in Syria, the latest comments appear to be the first time he has accused Moscow of supplying arms to the PKK, seen as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and Europe.
FIXING TIES
However, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus was relatively upbeat on Monday about the outlook for relations with Russia, a rare departure from months of tough rhetoric after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last year.
“Neither Russia nor Turkey can afford to sacrifice their relationship with each other,” Kurtulmus, the government’s official spokesman, told a news conference.
“I wish such tensions had never emerged, but I believe that Turkish-Russian ties can be fixed in a short while. These two countries have no problems that cannot be overcome. I hope that these issues will be solved through dialogue.”
He did not directly address Erdogan’s comments about Russian military support for the PKK.
Ankara also considers the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters to be terrorists and has been enraged by both Russian and U.S. backing for the militia in its battle with Islamic State in Syria.
NATO member Turkey is part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria and is also a vocal opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow backs Assad but says it also supports the Syrian Kurds in the struggle against Islamic State.
Relations between Ankara and Moscow hit their worst point in recent memory after Turkey shot down the Russian plane over Syria last year, prompting a raft of sanctions from Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in April promised support for Syrian Kurds, saying they were a serious force in the fight against terrorism.
Moscow has accused Ankara of hindering Kurdish forces in their battle against Islamic State and of using the fight against terrorism as a pretext to crack down on Kurdish organisations in Syria and Turkey.
Free Kurds in #Aleppo form Kataib Thuwar al-Kurd (Kurdish Revolutionary Battalions)
https://youtu.be/HvX2kR9Jun0
NOTICE...this Kurdish group is to not tied to YPG/PKK/PYG......
More and more Obama WH fatal "fatalism" examples just get flowing in.....
U.S.-backed Syrian alliance widens offensive near IS capital
http://reut.rs/1qWCoO2
An excellent example of just how western MSM is getting "spun" by someone's "echo chamber".....as they failed to mention that the first YPG offensive with over 300 US SOF against Raqqa basically was a mess and they lost over 70 KIAs and basically withdrew and are attempting to attack in a new direction.
NOR did Reuters indicate they even attacked FSA along the way AND Reuters fully failed to indicate YPG has not really attacked IS along any of the front lines that YPG shares with IS.
SO why is Reuters "spinning for the US and the Kurds"....just write the truth it is that simple....and let the public make their decisions on just how good this US proxy is fighting IS which BTW they are not doing.
Right now YPG is "playing Obama" in the name of how much Arab Sunni territory can we capture to create a new Kurdistan....
It would be fantastic if YPG spent that much time attacking IS as they do attacking FSA and using Russian CAS along the way......
APPEARS that even CENTCOM and the USAF cannot get it right these days and bomb "their very own Kurdish proxy in the process of this confusion".....
Quote:Taken today from Syrian 2016 thread.....
Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
CrowBat....any idea who might have conducted this air strike........
Airstrikes (unknown if coalition) target YPG/SDF convoy near the village of Abu Qalqal in east rural #Aleppo, #Syria
CrowBat response....
Abu Qalqal is south-east of Manbij, which is meanwhile under attack of the SDF. Russians do not fly there, and therefore, the most likely culprit is the CENTCOM (which, BTW, confirmed my report about a video showing a B-52 in action over Azaz pocket):
Crowbat.....
Quote:
Bomber, attack, and fighter aircraft conducted nine strikes in Syria:
-- Near Raqqah, two strikes struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory and an ISIL weapons storage center.
-- Near Manbij, four strikes destroyed 11 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL ammunitions facility and an ISIL heavy machine gun.
-- Near Mar’a, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles and an ISIL vehicle.
Another example of just how bad this Obama fatal "fatalism" has gotten...Remember Kerry stating publicly he had talked to the Russian about their indiscriminate bombing of cities and towns with their deliberate targeting of civilians and critical civilian infrastructure....it is out there in the public domain for all to see and listen.....
More #evidence:
The #RUSSIAN air force bombs cities around #Aleppo, despite all #US begging.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHW8bNRN93c …
Quote: Taken from Syrian 2016 thread today
Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
Graphic!
Result of Syrian rebel shelling of #SheikhMeqsud.
Reports say 9 civilians, 6 YPG fighters killed there.
https://twitter.com/4rj1n/status/736901810112368640 …
CrowBat response
They attacked as first, trying to advance into the so-called 'Youth Housing'. That didn't work, because they run into booby-traps and lost 21 KIA.
Then the FH shelled the area too: why are Kurds in Sheikh Maqsood keeping civilians this close to the frontline - no idea. But, sure: we'll hear about every single of their killed. From PYD's standpoint, anything is better but to 'let' the 'Islamists/Salafists/terrorists' made it known how many Syrian civilians are massacred by Russian bombs...
Meanwhile, following reinforcement of VKS' contingent at Hmemmem AB, Russian bombardment of Syria (which never actually stopped) is back in full swing.
In Aleppo province, they have hit:
- Anadan (with CBUs!)
- Hreitan
- Kfar Basin
- Bustan Pasha
- Haydaria
- Sakhour (where they hit another hospital, killing most of an entire family)
- Marjeh
- al-Eis
- Khan Touman
- Tel Daman (local market was hit, resulting in 6 civilians killed and about a dozen of injured)
...plus inside Aleppo:
- Salhin
- Maysar
- Ma'asarniya
- Halk
- Dawar al-Jandoul
- Sheikh Khudr
- Karm al-Baik
Overall, about 20 Russian air strikes were reported yesterday morning alone, for a grand total of 370 Assadist and Russian air strikes on 28 and 29 May.
I do have some doubts about the actual number of sorties flown. Gauging by the numbers of weapons cited ('27 cluster bombs, 58 barrel bombs'), it's more likely that about 40-50 air strikes are flown per day.
Unsurprisingly, all insurgent representatives in Geneva resigned - including Mohammed Alloush - de-facto ending negotiations with Assadists, Russians, Iranians, USA and EU representatives
GRAPHIC but I am posting this as it comes from the Syrian Civil Defense AND it is the reality of what is ongoing hourly inside Syria while the Obama WH simply "rides it out until the next election"...
@SyriaCivilDef dig out old man after a night air strike on #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMH_YTEg2F4 …
AT what point will the Turkish "red line" and Saudi "red line" be crossed...if I were Obama I would be seriously concerned.......
Orient News English @OrientNewsEn
#Azaz and #Marea : Another #Kobane ?
http://ow.ly/TqO9300HhEL
BTW..this is the same SCD that the US DHS refused to allow it's leader into the US to receive a humanitarian award for their recuse work even on a valid US Embassy approved visa because DHS was convinced by a US proAssad troll he was AQ.....
THIS was actually confirmed by social media open source analysis and YET both DHS and the Obama WH said absolutely nothing about it...as if it never happened....
AND the Obama fatal "fatalism" response to this develop is what again....???
SYRIA: UN reverses decision on humanitarian aid airdrops after not getting regime approval - @guardian
BREAKING: Syrian opposition's chief peace negotiator Alloush resigns in protest over failure of Geneva talks - @Reuters
Alloush: "My resignation is a protest to the intl. community's failure to implement its resolutions on #Syria."
The world has come to beg Russia to stop the bombings of cities & beg Assad to stop them from starving
Both said no.
ESPECIALLY after Kerry and his DoS spokesperson is officially on record as stating the aid deliveries must be made as agreed to.....
THIS is now the perception problem of the Obama WH with their own Kurdish proxy YPG outside of it being directly tied to the terrorist group PKK which is another problem.
Actually the US claims it's proxy YPG supported by over 300 US SOF is there to attack IS...BUT along the way YPG seems to have forgotten to attack IS anywhere in northern Aleppo.
Perfect example...with great fanfare and a visit from the CENTCOM Commander himself they charged off to attack Raqqa....then suffered massive losses and then pulled back and cancelled the offensive.
BUT WAIT just as they attacked Raqqa IS counterattacked FSA in Mare and Azaz two critical FSA areas....and almost made it until FSA counterattacked winning back all villages and giving IS a beating.
ALL with virtually NO US CAS support......
THEN YPG swings off of the Raqqa offensive and immediately used the IS attack as an opportunity to attack and capture FSA held villages and now is threatening openly to directly attack another major FSA position in Mare.....if FSA does not pull out...this area is totally Arab Sunni and not a single Kurd is to be seen for miles and it was never "formerly Kurdish" as often used by YPG as an excuse to attack FSA.
AND not a single comment out of the Obama WH and especially CENTCOM from their Commander now his 300 US SOF......
CAN anyone tell me exactly just what the heck the US goals are right now in Syria as I think ALL have truly "lost their way".....
THIS is now truly "embarrassing"....
Well this should convince finally the Obama WH and especially Kerry that their friend and ally Russia has no intention whatsoever in attacking IS nor actually does the US if one takes in all their actions over the last 14 days based on their combat actions via US SOF and CAS....
Nearly 300 airstrikes by #Russia & #Assad-regime on #Aleppo city & surrounding area in 2 days
Not a single on #IslamicState here
Oh and that not connected to the terrorist group PKK...the YPG the so called US supported Kurdish proxy..supported by 300 US SOF, CENTCOM, Obama and CIA...well they are still attacking FSA now directly in Aleppo....BUT STILL not a single attack on any IS position anywhere in northern Syria.....by YPG.....
21 #YPG-forces killed after tried to enter the youth housings in #Aleppo's northern outskirts
We are now experiencing the true "fatalism" of this Obama WH and the total failure of the US FP in the ME and in fact we might now being seeing the actually crossing of Turkey and KSA into northern Syrian if not southern Syrian as well and then the IRGC/Iran gets what it has wanted for a very long time..war against KSA.abeit proxy wise in Syria.
The Geneva process much touted by Kerry and Obama is now officially dead and will never be reborn.....
Al-Zoubi is out of Syrian high negotiations committee and Aloush resigns as chief negotiator! http://orient-news.net/ar/news_show/113575/0/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9-%… …
NOW remember that not PKK associated meaning terrorist organization YPG that was fully supported by CENTCOM, CIA and now with 300 US SOF THAT was suppose to be fighting IS...well they are not fighting IS in the least and then this threat yesterday....this threat if carried out will in the end force Turkey and KSA into northern Syria....NOT so sure CENTCOM, CIA and Obama have thoroughly thought through that move....
As expected, YPG/SDF threatens rebels w/ wide scale attack w/ US air support unless Mare'a is handed over....in Arabic
https://syrian-reporter.net/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%b4%…
More of that Obama WH "fatalism".......
State Dept's Mark Toner denies YPG/PKK relationship. Astoundingly ridiculous.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/05/257787.htm …
Charles Lister @Charles_Lister
On #PYD-#PKK link, by all means dismiss me, but even Kurdish expert @vvanwilgenburg says so:
http://www.thenational.ae/world/midd...turkish-action …
Charles Lister @Charles_Lister ·
Acc. to @StateDept, the #YPG is “separate" from #PKK as it’s:
- “Located differently”
&
- Takes the fight to #ISIS
The latter is certainly true, but doesn’t really matter re. #PKK links
-The former shows inherent misunderstanding of PKK/KCK model
German Intel agency BND still maintaining its traditionally friendly contacts to the Syrian Mukhabarat.
Ever wonder why the German FM is so quiet about the removal of Assad......
Dozens of air strikes on Aleppo & its suburbs today.
Not a single word by Steinmeier German FM & co.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL7bo99wRZQ …
AND absolutely nothing from Obama and Kerry....both totally missing in action......
Remember that CENTCOM and US SOF supported US Kurdish proxy.....YPG that failed in their first attempt to attack Raqqa and then pulled back and attacked FSA in Sheik Issa...........
Remarkable ...
SDF watches heavy fighting between FSA/IS in Marea from SheikhIssa.
ISIS does not attack them anywhere.
Video source.
20 ISIS suicide bombs vs. FSA in Marea since Friday.
Not a single one vs YPG north, south and now west of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cb3k3Mng08 …
AND more importantly THEY do not attack IS...so are they working together and does that mean US SOF is actually supporting IS now....
Day 92 of the CoH in Syria.
Russia & Assad cont to ignore it.
Jet & helicopter bombings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaPp8fS2kw4 …
Obama "fatalism" hard at work......
The Obama "fatalism" in Syria also applies massively right now to the Russian occupied eastern Ukraine where there is an ongoing war largely ignored by Obama and his spin machine......
There is absolutely no ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and Minsk 2 is a total failure and yet western MSM ignores the fighting and the Obama WH basically ignores it as well.......
ATO spox reported 5 KIAs and 4 WIA UAF servicemen for yesterday https://inforesist.org/vsu-ponesli-bolshie-poteri-za-minuvshie-sutki/
BTW....The UAF has had over 21 KIAs and over 60 WIAs just in the month of MAY..does that sound like FULL and COMPLETE Russian compliance with the 11 point Minsk 2 agreement?????
BUT WAIT...Obama and Kerry state often...the "ceasefire" is largely holding"...the same exact words used for the CoH in Syria....
Anyone see a pattern.....??
Toll death of 39 people killed in #IS attack on Kaljibrin including 19 #FSA fighters. No coalition support reported.
US CAS only arrived AFTER IS had taken the village and subsequent US CAS killed approximately 40 plus civilians still in the town.
Here is the core US CAS problem...they fly constantly for the Kurdish YPG WHO is absolutely not attacking IS BUT attacking FSA positions....BTW there is an area in the Kurdish Erfin canton that faces IS positions and YET it is so peaceful one could run tourist tours of the front lines and never get shot at....not even by an IS sniper
THAT is the CENTCOM supported proxy that is and was suppose to be fighting IS??
While the YPG and the 300 US SOF together with a much vaulted MSM support structure designed to evidently take IS controlled Raqqa..PULLED back after three days...... BUT did take FSA territory when they were suppose to be attacking IS and when IS was massively attacking FSA both the YPG and US CAS basically did nothing to assist them...why is that?
BUT WAIT...YPG after taking the Arab Sunni town claimed they were helping "their brothers" in repelling IS, JaN and AAS....BUT only IS was in the town and JaN and AAS are not even in the area....AND YPG did not mention that they were not turning the Arab Sunni town back over to the FSA they "claimed" were their "brothers".....
Aleppo: Syrian Rebels managed to repel the most heaviest ISIS offensive ever on Mare
http://eldorar.com/node/98752
Simply stated the much vaulted YPG/US SOF attack on Raqqa was nothing more than a propaganda move.....as there never was a serious intent to attack IS and take Raqqa.....just a lot of talk....
Obama, Kerry, the UN and especially Putin need to urgently understand the Kurdish issues and that not all Kurds especially in the south east fully support PKK and YPG/SDF.....
Diyarbakir: Erdogan receives heroes welcome in Kurdish majority. Blasts the PKK
Diyarbakir: Seems like Erdogan still has a lot of support in Kurdish majority. Let's hope he delivers on promises
The interesting point in all of this is that actually both Putin and Erdogan clash naturally as both are strong willed leaders, have national visions they drive on and understand their own civil society needs and demands....a clash is always for programed between this two leaders...
AND Obama, the NSC and Kerry just do not get it....
Bill...this is an example of the Syrian civil society to peacefully protest even in the face of JaN which is AQ in Syria......
The instant the Cessation of Hostilities went into effect and no bombs were dropped initially ......suddenly 75 peaceful demos sprung up protesting against Assad.....even after five years of genocide and war crimes...they peacefully demonstrated.....
Footage
Women and children in #KafrNabl block road, protest arrest of relatives by #Nusra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXxw5t4FEJ8 …
Idlib : Angry locals set on fire a #Nusra and a Ahrar Sham checkpoint in #Ras_Maasara after Nusra arrested a young man from the town.
An actually JaN does listen to the demonstrators and does in the end release the arrested...due to the PR hitting the social media....
More Obama WH "fatalism"...hard at work......NOTICE not a single mention of the FSA who has been fighting IS far longer than the YPG ever has and has beaten IS completely in 2014 but then lost ground fighting YPG, Hezbollah, Iranian IRGC and now the Russian AF in 2015....and they are combat experienced against IS and Arab Sunni......
State Dept's Mark Toner denies YPG/PKK relationship. Astoundingly ridiculous.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/05/257787.htm …
Quote:
QUESTION: Can we go to Syria?
MR TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: Yesterday you didn’t address the question of the shoulder flashes that appear on the soldiers – U.S. soldiers who were photographed by AFP in northern Syria. Obviously we talked to the Pentagon about that, but now it’s become a diplomatic incident. The foreign minister of Turkey said some very strong words. He said that if American soldiers are going to be wearing YPG flashes, why don’t they just wear al-Qaida flashes or ISIS flashes? They’re all terrorists and you’re hypocrites for pretending otherwise. What’s your response?
MR TONER: So I’m going to stay in large part where it was yesterday, in that I’m not going to talk about or provide information about these specific photos, and the reason why – and I think Peter Cook also spoke to this, as you noted at the Pentagon – is that I’m not going to talk about where our Special Forces may be located at any given moment. We’ve said before they’ve been deployed to northern Syria to work with the Syrian Democratic Forces who are fighting there, but I can’t get into any specifics. It’s not in my purview, but also I don’t think it’s in the best interests of their operational security.
With respect to Turkey’s comments about these photos, we’ve been very clear from this podium and elsewhere, our belief that the YPG is not connected to the PKK, which we have designated as a foreign terrorist organization. On the contrary, we believe the YPG, as well as other forces in Syria, in northern Syria, are effectively taking the fight to ISIL and we’re going to continue to support them with our advise and assist operations there.
QUESTION: Well, when you say that PYG is not connected to the PKK, they don’t have any ties at all or you just don’t think they fall under the same command?
MR TONER: We have said that we believe they’re – and we hold to this – that we believe they are separate entities. I can’t rule out that there’s some connections. Look, I can’t – let me put it this way, David – I can’t categorically say that there’s not any connections, but we have made very clear that the YPG is a separate entity from the PKK with – is located geographically in a separate area in northern Syria and is, as we have said before, taking the fight to Daesh in northern Syria and is a very effective fighting force, I might add.
QUESTION: But some YP – PYG personnel have been PKK and vice versa. They train in each other’s camps. They have a similar ideology. They’re born from the same movement.
MR TONER: Again, I’m going to stay where I was.
QUESTION: Okay. And do you think this is a crisis in relations with Turkey?
MR TONER: No, look, we’ve been – we understand Turkey’s concerns, and let me make that clear. And we continue to discuss this as well as other concerns that Turkey has regarding Daesh and regarding issues in northern – concerning northern Syria. We’re going to continue to work through those, such as providing stronger border security as well as other aspects that we – where we feel we can strengthen the relationship with Turkey. But Turkey’s been a member of the anti-Daesh coalition, continues to be an active member, and we – we’re grateful for Turkey’s support.
I’ll get to you.
QUESTION: Same subject?
MR TONER: Are we a different subject or still Syria?
QUESTION: On that, on that very issue.
MR TONER: Okay.
QUESTION: You always say Turkey is an ally, a NATO member, and all that, but in this particular conflict --
MR TONER: Because they are.
QUESTION: -- in this particular conflict in Syria, is Turkey really an ally when they view America’s partner forces on the ground, the YPG, the patches of which U.S. troops are wearing on their uniforms right now, as terrorists? Doesn’t that suggest a huge difference in goals in this conflict?
MR TONER: No, it does not. Because the goal here is to destroy and degrade Daesh and remove them from the battlefield. Frankly, it’s a --
QUESTION: But isn’t YPG the same as --
MR TONER: Frankly, it’s a --
QUESTION: -- Daesh and al-Qaida, just like the Turkish foreign minister said?
MR TONER: It is a goal we share – but it’s a goal we share with all members of the ISSG; it’s a goal we share with all members of the anti-Daesh coalition. Now, are there disagreements among members of the coalition as to how we proceed and with whom we’re cooperating on the ground? I’m not going to say that there aren’t. And obviously, Turkey’s made very clear their feelings about the YPG. We have also been equally clear, while we understand Turkey’s concerns, that we’re going to continue to work with the YPG as a part of the overarching Syrian Democratic Forces. So the YPG is not the sole group that we’re working with on the ground. We’re working with Syrian Arabs, Syrian Turkmen, and other groups that are fighting Daesh.