The Syria Thread: Everything you wanted to know or say about it

[MHz]

These are the 'good guys' right? But they are losing badly to 'the bad guys'
http://rinf.com/alt-news/uk-news/nationwide-uk-protests-illegal-iraq-syria-wars/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Western-airstrikes-against-terror-group.html

 

[EagleSmack]

Watch live coverage of the Lords debating a motion on UK military intervention in Iraq against Islamic State.

The motion states that IS is a threat to the UK directly; that the government of Iraq has requested assistance; and that authorisation does not extend to action in Syria.

The Commons debate has just finished and the Lords debate is just starting.

It is thought that it will be around 5pm tonight UK time that parliament will vote on whether or not Britain should partake in airstrikes.

If the vote passes, and I think it will, then RAF airstrikes could begin tonight.

MPs debate military action - BBC News

Late as usual

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Late as usual

Six Tornadoes.


Woo



Hoo

 

[MHz]

U.S. Beheading Suspect May Face Death Penalty — Naharnet

Somewhat 2-faced, be really apparent if the guillotine was still in use by the 'State'

 

[BaalsTears]

This thread is full of Islamaphobes. Stop the hate.

 

[MHz]

I officially challenge 'the usual suspects' to debate the items proposed in this link. My first troll-like move is to ignore my own rules, . . . completely. Here is the current voice of calm and reason and who better to have an insight to events on the inside.

Syria's Assad Says Countries Feeding Terrorism Unable to Fight It: Reports | World | RIA Novosti

At the moment the US could bail and say they were being 'duped' go too far down the path and the ICC gets to listen to the US drone on and on and on in the 100's of court cases that arise from IDF hackers 'stumbling ' onto some secret NSA archives. (even has the stab in the back moment)

(in part)
The Syrian leader also emphasized that the fight against the extremist ideology, nurtured by certain regional powers, is as important as combating those who commit actual acts of violence and destroy the historic and cultural heritage.

Send the bill to a few OPEC members. Kuwait has a few US troops so they are safe (from being a threat to anybody in the region)

Six Tornadoes.


Woo



Hoo

6 trips each, feel better now?

More cardboard fighters?
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/...h-tomb-seeks-parliament-ok-for-military-steps

 

[Blackleaf]

This is the moment a missile from an RAF jet fell on an ISIS target in Iraq yesterday - as the Ministry of Defence today confirmed further attacks were carried out on jihadi positions overnight.

Images taken from one of the two planes' cockpits during the strike show an armed pick-up truck carrying a mounted machine gun being destroyed amid a cloud of smoke.

A heavy weapon position was also successfully targeted as the RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft carried out its first raids on Islamic State fighters since Parliament voted for strikes.

The Ministry of Defence said two RAF Tornados fired Brimstone missiles against an armed pick-up truck and transport vehicle west of Baghdad in further attacks overnight.

Yesterday's strikes, the first on ISIS targets in Iraq , came after the Foreign Secretary, Michael Hammond, insisted the UK would not be 'panicked' into action.

The Tornado warplanes flying out of Cyprus bombed the ISIS heavy weapons post and used a missile to destroy the truck, the Ministry of Defence said.

Two jets launched the attacks in support of Kurdish forces fighting the jihadist insurgent group, said officials, in the sixth RAF sortie since Parliament authorised airstrikes on Friday.

Speaking at lunchtime today, Mr Hammond also risked infuriating the French - who have committed a greater number of fighter jets in the campaign against ISIS - by dismissing the idea that the French Air Force had anything like the same operational capabilities as the RAF.

'If there is an air force in the world that can carry out this task while minimising the risk of civilian casualties and the risk of collateral damage, the RAF is the air force,' he said.

'There is nobody who knows anything about air power who is suggesting that the French air force is a more formidable force than the RAF.

'It is not just about how many formations you have, it is about the training of your people, it is about the capability of your equipment, it is about the structure and the organisation.'

Meanwhile, the Americans have shown once again that they can't hit a cow's backside with a banjo after they killed two civilians after US jets bombed a residential area in Aleppo.

PICTURED: The moment Britain finally bombed ISIS - RAF Tornados launch second wave of attacks on targets in Iraq

Tornados flying out of Cyprus bombed heavy weapons post and vehicle​

Two jets carried out further attacks on Islamic State positions overnight ​

Air attacks were launched to support Kurdish fighters against ISIS forces​

It was the sixth sortie flown by the RAF since Parliament authorised attacks ​

Foreign Secretary defended record saying caution could save civilian lives​

By John Hall and Damien Gayle for MailOnline
1 October 2014
Daily Mail

This is the moment a missile from an RAF jet fell on an ISIS target in Iraq yesterday - as the Ministry of Defence today confirmed further attacks were carried out on jihadi positions overnight.

Images taken from one of the two planes' cockpits during the strike show an armed pick-up truck carrying a mounted machine gun being destroyed amid a cloud of smoke.

A heavy weapon position was also successfully targeted as the RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft carried out its first raids on Islamic State fighters since Parliament voted for strikes.

The Ministry of Defence said two RAF Tornados fired Brimstone missiles against an armed pick-up truck and transport vehicle west of Baghdad in further attacks overnight.

Target: This is the moment a brimstone missile (circled) from an RAF jet fell on an armed pick-up truck in Iraq during an airstrike against Islamic State fighters yesterday

Destroyed: The Tornado warplanes flying out of Cyprus bombed the ISIS heavy weapons post and used a missile to destroy the truck (pictured)

Impact: Images taken during the strike show a pick-up truck carrying a mounted machine gun being destroyed amid a cloud of smoke

Bombing: A heavy weapon position was also successfully targetted as the RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft carried out its raid on Islamic State fighters

Blast: Yesterday's strikes, the first on ISIS targets in Iraq , came after the Foreign Secretary insisted the UK would not be 'panicked' into action

VIDEO

The Moment British RAF Bombed ISIS Target - YouTube


Yesterday's strikes, the first on ISIS targets in Iraq , came after the Foreign Secretary insisted the UK would not be 'panicked' into action.

The Tornado warplanes flying out of Cyprus bombed the ISIS heavy weapons post and used a missile to destroy the truck, the Ministry of Defence said.

Two jets launched the attacks in support of Kurdish forces fighting the jihadist insurgent group, said officials, in the sixth RAF sortie since Parliament authorised airstrikes on Friday.

An RAF Tornado GR4 returns to RAF Akrotiri in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus, minus one Brimstone missile

The Tornado's two remaining Brimstone missiles can be seen beneath its unused Paveway bomb

How the trio of Brimstone missiles usually look when they are freshly loaded onto a Tornado warplane

VIDEO

RAF Tornado fighter bombers hit ISIS targets as Britain joins Gulf War III - YouTube


Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: 'I can confirm that the RAF were in action today in support of the Iraqi government in north west Iraq.

'Two GR4 Tornados from RAF Akrotiri were tasked to assist Kurdish troops who were under attack by Isil terrorists.

'They identified and attacked a heavy weapon position that was endangering Kurdish forces and they subsequently attacked an Isil armed pickup truck in the same area.

'Both Tornados have now returned safely to their base, and initial assessment is that both attacks were successful.'

A RAF Tornado is checked at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after conducting further air strikes in Iraq overnight

The Ministry of Defence said two RAF Tornados fired Brimstone missiles against an armed pick-up truck and transport vehicle west of Baghdad

The self-designated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known by the acronym ISIS, is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and, since declaring its 'caliphate' across a swathe of the Middle East, simply Islamic State. In Arabic, the group is known by an acronym that transliterates to 'Da'esh' or 'Dash'.

The attacks came after Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, insisted Britain would not be 'panicked' into dropping bombs in Iraq.

He had denied the lack of any attacks since last Thursday, when parliament gave the green light for UK participation in the international military effort, was of any particular significance.

Isis has reportedly advanced to within just one mile of the Iraqi capital Baghdad - killing hundreds of highly trained and expensively equipped soldiers loyal to the country's Shia-led government in the process.

On a mission: RAF jets in Iraq, where they struck twice at what the government said were ISIS targets today

Caution: Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond had earlier confirmed that the RAF had made another two sorties over ISIS-held territory in the north of the country today without launching any attacks against the powerful terror group

Militants: ISIS has reportedly advanced to within just one mile of the Iraqi capital Baghdad

Speaking of the RAF's earlier lack of involvement in Western bombing raids against ISIS militants in Iraq, Mr Hammond said the air force was simply gathering intelligence to ensure civilians are not mistakenly hit.

'They haven't yet attacked a target, because there is a process going on of surveillance, gathering intelligence data, synthesising that, establishing pattern of life,' he told the BBC's Daily Politics.

'When we do release our weapons we have to be absolutely sure that they are against Isil targets, that they are not going to kill innocent Sunni Muslim civilians in areas that are occupied by Isil,' he added, using an alternative acronym for the group, which rebranded as the Islamic State in June.

'Otherwise we are having the opposite of the effect we are intending to have,' he went on to say.

Mr Hammond's explanation comes less than a day after two civilian workers were killed during a U.S. airstrike in ISIS-held territory in Syria, when the grain silo in which they worked is believed to have been mistaken for a jihadist base.

Britain also agreed to send only six planes to carry out anti-ISIS operations in Iraq - considerably fewer than the number of American aircraft operating in the region.

Armed: A Tornado at RAF Akrotiri is loaded with a laser-guided bomb

Stand ready: A British tornado fighter jet crew member stands on his Tornado jet at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus

Front line: A Kurdish peshmerga fighter stands guard facing ISIS militant positions - marked by the group's black jihadist flag - near Rashad Bridge. The bridge connects the Iraqi provinces of Salah al-Din and Kirkuk

Brave: Badly-equipped peshmerga fighters are battling ISIS militants at close quarters - such as on Rashad Bridge near Kirkuk. While the Kurdish troops control one side of the bridge, an ISIS flag is flown at the other end

Referring to the territory ISIS is understood to have gained since Britain joined the international military effort against the terror group, Mr Hammond said he did not believe ISIS militants could realistically seize control of the Iraqi capital Baghdad anytime soon.

He said he did not think it correct to suggest that the jihadists had advanced to the outskirts of Baghdad - stressing that there was a difference between the capital itself and Baghdad province.

'Baghdad is well defended and we are confident about that. We will do this properly,' he said.

'We are not going to be panicked into just dropping bombs all over the place because somebody's reporting a movement [of ISIS forces].

'We have to make sure that we identify the enemy, we monitor their movements so we know where they are, and then we attack precisely the targets that we need to attack.'

Location: The militants are understood to have had their advance halted by U.S. airstrikes on Sunday at Ameriyat Al-Falluja - a small city about 18 miles south of Fallujah and 40 miles west of Baghdad. But the clashes did not force the bulk of the fighters to retreat and many are said to have now advanced closer to the capital

Approaching: Reports that ISIS militants are now just one mile from Baghdad came from the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East - an organisation supporting the work of Canon Andrew White

No protection: Canon Andrew White later updated his Facebook page questioning the ability of the Iraqi Army

Reports that ISIS militants are now just one mile from Baghdad came from the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East - an organisation supporting the work of Canon Andrew White, vicar of the city's St George's Church, the only Anglican church in Iraq.

In a message posted on Facebook, the group said: 'The Islamic State are now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad. They said it could never happen and now it almost has.'

'President Obama is saying he overestimated the ability of the Iraqi Army. It is so clear they have no ability. A hard thing to say but it's true,' Canon Andrew White later added.

Speaking at lunchtime today, Mr Hammond also risked infuriating the French - who have committed a greater number of fighter jets in the campaign against ISIS - by dismissing the idea that the French Air Force had anything like the same operational capabilities as the RAF.

'If there is an air force in the world that can carry out this task while minimising the risk of civilian casualties and the risk of collateral damage, the RAF is the air force,' he said.

'There is nobody who knows anything about air power who is suggesting that the French air force is a more formidable force than the RAF.

'It is not just about how many formations you have, it is about the training of your people, it is about the capability of your equipment, it is about the structure and the organisation.'

Speaking of the RAF's lack of involvement in Western bombing raids against ISIS militants in Iraq, Mr Hammond said the air force was simply gathering intelligence to ensure civilians are not mistakenly hit. Pictured is a civilian building in Aleppo, Syria that was hit by a U.S. airstrike yesterday

Hit: Mr Hammond's explanation of the RAF's caution comes less than a day after two civilians were killed during a U.S. airstrike in ISIS-held territory in Syria. The grain silo the men were working in is believed to have been mistaken for a jihadist base. Pictured, a man is rescued from an Aleppo building also destroyed by airstrikes

Buildings in the Al-Bab residential district of Aleppo, Syria, are left destroyed by the American-led airstrikes

Mr Hammond said he did not 'particularly regret' admitting during an interview earlier this month that Britain had 'no idea' where ISIS were holding foreign hostages - including British aid worker Alan Henning and photojournalist John Cantlie.

Mr Henning was last seen being threatened by the ISIS murderer known as 'Jihadi John' during the sickening filmed beheading of another British aid worker, David Haines.

Meanwhile ISIS last night released the latest installment of a video series in which Mr Cantlie is filmed being forced to read ISIS propaganda under the guise of 'educating' Westerners about the conflict.

Speaking of his decision to publicly admit to not knowing where inside ISIS-held territory the hostages are being held, Mr Hammond said: 'I think they probably would work out that we don't know or we would have done something about it.'

However, he also appeared to suggest that the position may have altered since then - saying merely that it 'was the truth' at the time.

'I made that comment over two weeks ago and situations can change... I tend to think that the best answer to a question is the truth, and in this case that was the truth,' he said.


Read more: Moment Britain bombed ISIS in pictures as RAF Tornados launch second wave in Iraq | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[EagleSmack]

Late as usual

 

[MHz]

They have been 1 mile outside of Baghdad for a weeks of Sundays already. You sure Babylon isn't their capital. Baghdad us a DU dump (soon as they flatten Damascus so plans might have to be modified)

 

[Blackleaf]

Late as usual

It's usually you Yanks who turn up late for conflicts, usually by years.

The British have been involved in the fight against ISIS for ages. The SAS have been in there for months now.

 

[MHz]

I don't think the time you spent training them should count.

 

[EagleSmack]

It's usually you Yanks who turn up late for conflicts, usually by years.

The Brits showing up late as usual and with much less impact.

The British have been involved in the fight against ISIS for ages. The SAS have been in there for months now.

...and much more BS.

 

[Blackleaf]

...and much more BS.

The SAS have been there for months. They were probably there long before the US planes started indiscriminately bombing willy-nillily with little effect.

No wonder the Americans were cock-a-hoop when the British decided to partake in the airstrikes. They know we'd do a lot better job and be a lot more accurate than them. We're a lot more professional and intelligent.

 

[EagleSmack]

BL is popping a gasket because the Brits finally decided to show up with half a squadron of antique jets.

Late as usual.

 

[Blackleaf]

BL is popping a gasket because the Brits finally decided to show up with half a squadron of antique jets.

As the pictures show, those "antique" jets work perfectly fine - and we haven't killed any civilians yet.

Unlike the Yanks, the British will try and confine their airstrikes to ISIS.

 

[EagleSmack]

Stock pictures of antique jets. Bombing a broke down pick up truck on the side of the road.

Late as usual... having no impact as usual. Sounds very Briddish

Unlike the Yanks, the British will try and confine their airstrikes to ISIS.

One would hope. It is a good thing no coalition forces are on the ground this time. They were favorite targets of trigger happy Brits.

 

[Blackleaf]

Stock pictures of antique jets. Bombing a broke down pick up truck on the side of the road.

Late as usual... having no impact as usual. Sounds very Briddish

We're bombing armed ISIS pick-up trucks that were a threat to Kurdish forces.

You're bombing grain silos packed with civilians because, as usual, you got your identification wrong. I wonder how long it'll be before you bomb a wedding party. You're quite adept at doing that.

It's no wonder that, during the Iraq War in 2003, British troops had to pin huge Union Jacks to the floor outside their bases and the words "DON'T BOMB US. WE ARE BRITISH" in huge letters to tell the trigger-happy Tanks not to blow them to smithereens.

 

[EagleSmack]

Stock photos of bombed buildings of Syria. lol

The brits show up late (as usual) with half a squadron of old jets, blow up a stationary unarmed pick-up truck and think they saved the world.

Hey... when are you sending in the Spitfires? lmao

Britain also agreed to send only six planes to carry out anti-ISIS operations in Iraq - considerably fewer than the number of American aircraft operating in the region.

Not a big surprise there!

 

[Blackleaf]

Stock photos of bombed buildings of Syria. lol

The brits show up late (as usual) with half a squadron of old jets, blow up a stationary unarmed pick-up truck and think they saved the world.

Hey... when are you sending in the Spitfires? lmao

It was an armed pick-up truck carrying a mounted machine gun that was a threat to Kurdish forces, our allies. It was a job well-done from the RAF, the best in the world. Meanwhile, your gormless trigger-happy idiots were blowing up grain silos packed with civilians. You won't see the RAF lads doing that.

Not a big surprise there!

The USAF is much larger than the RAF.

But those six RAF jets aren't the only things the British military has involved in this conflict. Apart from the SAS, who have been on the ground for months, Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender is already there. Why? To defend US aircraft carrier George HW Bush. The Americans have decided to depend upon a Royal Navy Type 22 destroyer - the world's most advanced warship and the world's most powerful air-defence destroyer - to defend one of their carriers.

Also involved in the conflict is hunter-killer submarine HMS Astute.

British naval assets being used in Operation Shader include HMS Defender, a state-of-the-art £1billion destroyer thought to be providing protection for US aircraft carrier George HW Bush

Astute-class hunter-killer submarine HMS Astute, also involved in the conflict, is bristling with Tomahawk missiles

 

[EagleSmack]

The Brits show up late with six... SIX... Cold War Era jets and blow up a stalled pick-up truck and think they've defeated ISIS.

'Both Tornados have now returned safely to their base, and initial assessment is that both attacks were successful.'

And the Brits are only using two.

Big help.