Syriaously??
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The War in Syria is STILL going on?!?!?
I thought the Assad Regime and the Russians won it all!
lmao
I thought the Assad Regime and the Russians won it all!
lmao
This is the US Rebels jockeying for the scraps. (or getting rid of potential witnesses at the ICC)
For many watching from a distance, the shock value of reports about the aftermath of barrel bombs, suicide attacks, torture and starving civilians can diminish with repetition.
One tactic that some Syrian activists are deploying to try to shortcut this is to tap into the global phenomenon that is Pokemon Go and to exploit it for all it's worth.
Pikachus, squirtles and weedles and the other characters in the augmented reality game have been unofficially co-opted to highlight the harsh realities of war.
This week the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office - a group of media activists which supports groups opposed to President Assad's regime - has posted a series of photographs of children posing with drawings of Pokemon characters.
The drawings are all captioned with a line identifying that the child is from a particular town or village in a rebel-held area in northwest Syria. The one in the image below reads: "I'm from Kafr Nabl in Idlib province. Come and save me."
Pokemon's tears for Syria - BBC News
One tactic that some Syrian activists are deploying to try to shortcut this is to tap into the global phenomenon that is Pokemon Go and to exploit it for all it's worth.
Pikachus, squirtles and weedles and the other characters in the augmented reality game have been unofficially co-opted to highlight the harsh realities of war.
This week the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office - a group of media activists which supports groups opposed to President Assad's regime - has posted a series of photographs of children posing with drawings of Pokemon characters.
The drawings are all captioned with a line identifying that the child is from a particular town or village in a rebel-held area in northwest Syria. The one in the image below reads: "I'm from Kafr Nabl in Idlib province. Come and save me."
Pokemon's tears for Syria - BBC News
Really?? There must be a mistrake in the headline cause as it is it's just to stupid to mention. (obviously not)
Erdogan Hints at Executing 13,000, Exits European Human Rights Convention
What is the real number 13??
Erdogan Hints at Executing 13,000, Exits European Human Rights Convention
What is the real number 13??
I think Syria has escaped the American yoke and this will give great hope for the rest of the Yankee oppressed nations on earth, it's time draws to a close, and that is unfortunate I liked a lot of them and it makes me sad to see that they could not get thier shjt together.
Bit of a bind for barac in his quest to butcher assad, russians ignore his 'moderate rebels' bs and attack them, erdogan is at war with his kurd allies and his saudi arabian pals navel gaze only cheering him on from the sidelines. Poland a nato partner accuses ukraine a country he is wooing of ww2 genocide, turkey a key nato ally has turned rouge and appears poised to dump the democratic process in favour of autocracy prompting barac to urge kerry to lay on some strong language... nato won't be pleased.
CIA has so many pokers in the global fire kerry and nuland can't possibly keep all from overheating.
CIA has so many pokers in the global fire kerry and nuland can't possibly keep all from overheating.
So the facts are changing from it being an American child to it being a Palestinian child and by the looks of him he must have been in Israeli custody for months or years.
Syria: Outrageous Crimes and Genocide Protected by Western Lies and Duplicity
Syria: Outrageous Crimes and Genocide Protected by Western Lies and Duplicity
The US prefers mass starvation for women and kids, men are put in a shipping container and left out in the open for a full month or so. Hospitals being bombed is another of their 'preferred methods'.
Casualties, Heavy Damage as Maternity Hospital Bombed in Syria's Idlib — Naharnet
Casualties, Heavy Damage as Maternity Hospital Bombed in Syria's Idlib — Naharnet
NP, sneaky Russians even have 'Made in Yankee land' put on the bombs.
Apparently only one side is in the grinder.
Syrian Forces Repel al-Nusra in a Major Offensive Marred by Suicide Attacks
Turkey Says FBI and CIA Behind Failed Coup, Gulen 'Only a Pawn'
School is in ES.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/354022-western-media-political-syrian/
Media in the US and Britain are not independent; they are part of the political elite in Washington and London, and their responsibility is to guide policy makers and shape public opinion, says Marcus Papadopoulos, publisher and editor of Politics First.
Syria has appealed to the UN, claiming that 45 civilians were killed and 50 injured in US-led airstrikes outside the city of Manbij near Aleppo on Thursday. Following the strike, US Central Command (CENTCOM) admitted the airstrikes “may have resulted in civilian casualties,” but did not provide a figure, pending an investigation.
CENTCOM said the aerial strike had been aimed at hitting ISIS forces concentrated in Manjib. Meanwhile, Western media has been quiet about the alleged strikes that reportedly killed dozens of civilians.
RT: Why do you think the western media is staying silent on the story, despite the large loss of civilian life?
Marcus Papadopoulos: It’s very important for people to understand the relationship between Western governments and Western media. Media outlets in America and Britain are not independent; they are very much a part of the political elite in Washington and London. Their responsibility, their job, their duty is to guide policy makers in America and Britain, to influence them and then to gather domestic support behind American and British foreign policy objectives wherever they are in the world.
Why has Western media barely reported on American strikes against civilians in Syria? Well, it’s very simple. Western media is there to do the PR job of the British and American governments. They are there to project America and Britain as beacons of civilization, as the protectors, the guardians of human rights and democracy… It is therefore no surprise that they are not going to cover what was a blatant massacre by the American air force of civilians in Syria.
How is it possible to frame any argument to counter that claim?
If you want the straight goods go to the we luv hillary network below, only syrian or russian explosives bloody innocents all ally explosives find and make mincemeat of bad guys only. Baracs' moderate rebels if he can ever ID them make good 'moderate' use of his weapons.
U.S. eventually apologized for bombing the crap out of a hospital in afghanistan so if this one was also their bad I'm sure an apology will offer comfort to those grieving lost family members.
Syrian maternity hospital bombed - CNN.com
The US has to be pretty f*cked up to make Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei sound like a logical moderate.
SYRIA: Erdogan’s ‘U-Turn’ – Fact or Fiction?
The Iranian Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei (photo, above) today acknowledged that the nuclear agreement with the U.S. is a failure. The U.S. did not deliver on its end. Iranian money is still blocked in U.S. controlled accounts and no international bank wants to do business with Iran because the U.S. is threatening to penalize them. The conclusion, Khamenei says, is that no deal with U.S. over any local issue in the Middle East is possible and that all negotiations with it are a waste of time. This new public position may finally free the limits the Rouhani government of Iran had put on Iranian deployments to Syria. Why bother with any self-limitation if the U.S. wont honor it?
How the situation in Syria will develop from here on depends to a large part on Turkey. Turkey is changing its foreign policy and turning towards Russia, Iran and China. But how far that turn away from the “west” will go and if it will also include a complete turnaround on Syria is not yet clear.
[It’s possible that Turkey, and even Erdogan himself, might be in the process of a major geopolitical re-alignment – away from Washington, and towards spheres of influence centred in Eurasia and Asia, namely Russia. Only time will tell if this is genuinely the case.]
Should Turkey really block its borders and all supplies to the Jihadis, the war on Syria could be over within a year or two. However, should (secret) supplies continue, the war may continue for many more years. In both cases, more allied troops and support for the Syrian government would significantly cut the time (and damage) this war is still due to take. That alone would be well worth additional efforts by Syria’s allies.
Will Tehran and Moscow agree with that conclusion?
US 'secretly shipped' $400mn to Iran for release of 4 hostages – report
Video: Two separate chemical attacks reported in northern Syria
SYRIA: Erdogan’s ‘U-Turn’ – Fact or Fiction?
The Iranian Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei (photo, above) today acknowledged that the nuclear agreement with the U.S. is a failure. The U.S. did not deliver on its end. Iranian money is still blocked in U.S. controlled accounts and no international bank wants to do business with Iran because the U.S. is threatening to penalize them. The conclusion, Khamenei says, is that no deal with U.S. over any local issue in the Middle East is possible and that all negotiations with it are a waste of time. This new public position may finally free the limits the Rouhani government of Iran had put on Iranian deployments to Syria. Why bother with any self-limitation if the U.S. wont honor it?
How the situation in Syria will develop from here on depends to a large part on Turkey. Turkey is changing its foreign policy and turning towards Russia, Iran and China. But how far that turn away from the “west” will go and if it will also include a complete turnaround on Syria is not yet clear.
[It’s possible that Turkey, and even Erdogan himself, might be in the process of a major geopolitical re-alignment – away from Washington, and towards spheres of influence centred in Eurasia and Asia, namely Russia. Only time will tell if this is genuinely the case.]
Should Turkey really block its borders and all supplies to the Jihadis, the war on Syria could be over within a year or two. However, should (secret) supplies continue, the war may continue for many more years. In both cases, more allied troops and support for the Syrian government would significantly cut the time (and damage) this war is still due to take. That alone would be well worth additional efforts by Syria’s allies.
Will Tehran and Moscow agree with that conclusion?
US 'secretly shipped' $400mn to Iran for release of 4 hostages – report
Video: Two separate chemical attacks reported in northern Syria
The grind continues.... and the Russians thought they won.
Russian helicopter shot down in Syria, 5 on board killed - CNN.com
And in revenge the Assad Regime launches a chemical attack on innocent women and children.
Rescuers say toxic gas dropped on Syrian town where Russian helicopter shot down | Reuters
Russian helicopter shot down in Syria, 5 on board killed - CNN.com
And in revenge the Assad Regime launches a chemical attack on innocent women and children.
Rescuers say toxic gas dropped on Syrian town where Russian helicopter shot down | Reuters
Protesters first took to the streets against Syrian President Bash al-Assad in March 2011, starting the Syrian chapter of the regionwide protest movement that had already swept through much of the Middle East. At first, the demand was not the removal of the president but instead a series of pro-democratic reforms. Those protests were met with violence. As more cities and towns took to the streets and the protests in each one of them grew larger, so, too, did the violence against the protesters grow more intense
First, protesters were arrested and beaten, then teargassed, and then they were shot at. As members of the military and police grew disgusted by their orders to shoot unarmed civilians, those who did not follow orders were also attacked by the military. By the summer of 2011, regime defectors were hiding in the deserts and mountains, and the battle for the future of Syria began.
By February 2012, the protest movement in Syria was making its final transition into a full-blown civil war. By this time, Homs, a working-class city in the center of Syria, was in full rebellion. Assad, in direct contradiction to his agreement with the Arab League, deployed his tanks and artillery to the city. The death toll exploded, and even peaceful protesters began to realize that Assad would stop at nothing to kill all those who opposed him. For many Syrians rebels whom I've spoken with over the years, the siege of Homs was the moment they realized that there was no peaceful solution to the conflict. It was time to take up arms.
Despite what Syria has become, it might come as a surprise to many that at this time there were effectively no armed groups that had an obvious jihadist or Salafist ideology. Syria was a secular country with a secular military, most rebels were former military or police, and despite being driven to take up arms, they were not particularly interested in overthrowing their government, much less installing some sort of Islamic caliphate, the stated goal of groups like Al-Qaeda and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), which were relative latecomers to this crisis. What Western leaders often refer to now as the “moderate opposition” made up nearly the entirety of the opposition back in early 2012.
But already there were rumors of “bad men” among some rebel groups. Syrian activists whom I consulted at the time, both nonviolent activists and rebels, warned of a group that was increasingly popular with both rebel fighters and some citizens alike – the Al-Farouq Brigade. At a time when most of the armed opposition simply identified as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Farouq took its own name. It operated under its own orders, often overruling other FSA fighters and commanders in the area around Homs. The rumors quickly spread, some propagated by the Assad regime and others by rival rebel groups or scared civilians, that it was ruling Homs like a mafia state, collecting taxes and intimidating the populace. More than anything, though, the Al-Farouq Brigade was more committed to doing whatever it took to defeat Assad. It was the first rebel group to focus on taking and controlling inhabited cities and towns, and it preferred to take the fight to Assad in offensive battles.
The group's reputation soon grew because it was winning, and because it was taking the initiative. Many FSA fighters saw their leaders as weak and indecisive, and so Farouq was a welcome alternative.
Success bred success. The more battles it won, the more popular the group became.
But the Al-Farouq Brigade was still part of the moderate opposition. Soon, another group was gaining prominence in northern Syria -- the Al-Nusra Front, Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate. Al-Nusra started as little more than a YouTube video in January 2012. By taking credit for terrorist attacks, some of which it may not have even perpetrated, Al-Nusra soon proved that it, too, was capable of doing what it took to win. Its radical Islamic ideology allowed it to motivate its followers behind a religious objective – the destruction of the government of the Alawite sect and the construction of a Sunni Salafist caliphate. Its adherence to Shari'a law, not pro-democracy ideals, gave it an excuse to dictate orders from the top, rather than seek consensus, which made its leadership, its rule, appear stronger than it really was.
Just one week ago, the rebels who controlled the last few neighborhoods of Aleppo that remain in opposition hands found themselves surrounded and running out of time. The Syrian government and its allies had surrounded what was once Syria's largest city and the country's financial capital. Many feared a humanitarian disaster would unfold, and the regime's recapture of Aleppo would be a devastating blow to anti-Assad forces who do not have full control of a single major city in all of Syria.
Today, the situation is very different.
On August 6, rebel forces broke through the walls of perhaps the most important military base in all of northern Syria. As I explained for The Interpreter on August 1, the Ramouseh artillery base and academy has served as the foundation of the Assad regime's control of Aleppo city -- and with it all of Aleppo Province -- since the city was first attacked by rebel groups in 2012:
The Ramouseh artillery base and academy was the key to maintaining some control in Aleppo for the Assad regime between the summer of 2012 and today. The artillery units there were crucial to [intimidating protesting students], and later in the regime's efforts to flatten the Hamadaniyah and Salah el Din districts just north of the base. The artillery turned regime strongholds into death traps, transforming the battle for Aleppo into a game of inches waged by snipers, artillery, and aircraft. Since regime forces were often outnumbered over the course of those years, this leveled the playing field.
The victory may relieve the humanitarian situation in Aleppo (though this remains to be seen). Furthermore, if the base falls and the regime does not quickly recapture it, Assad could be in danger of losing all of Aleppo. This battle is a testament to how weak the Assad military has become. Even with direct support from the Russian Air Force, tanks, and troops, as well as militants from Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, Assad may have just snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
How, then, does he ever hope to restore order to Syria?
But this battle also comes at a price -- a key Al-Qaeda-linked group has helped spearhead the attack on the city. Operating under the umbrella organization Jaish al-Fatah, Army of Conquest, the newly rebranded Al-Nusra Front, now Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, used suicide sappers and tunnel bombs to break open the Syrian Army's battle lines and main defenses, through which various rebel groups are now streaming. As David Patrikarakos explained for RFE/RL on August 4, while many more moderate rebel groups also played very important roles, Al-Qaeda's leading role may impact the entire trajectory of the war moving forward.
more
In Syria, Rebel Victories At Ramouseh Come With A Price
First, protesters were arrested and beaten, then teargassed, and then they were shot at. As members of the military and police grew disgusted by their orders to shoot unarmed civilians, those who did not follow orders were also attacked by the military. By the summer of 2011, regime defectors were hiding in the deserts and mountains, and the battle for the future of Syria began.
By February 2012, the protest movement in Syria was making its final transition into a full-blown civil war. By this time, Homs, a working-class city in the center of Syria, was in full rebellion. Assad, in direct contradiction to his agreement with the Arab League, deployed his tanks and artillery to the city. The death toll exploded, and even peaceful protesters began to realize that Assad would stop at nothing to kill all those who opposed him. For many Syrians rebels whom I've spoken with over the years, the siege of Homs was the moment they realized that there was no peaceful solution to the conflict. It was time to take up arms.
Despite what Syria has become, it might come as a surprise to many that at this time there were effectively no armed groups that had an obvious jihadist or Salafist ideology. Syria was a secular country with a secular military, most rebels were former military or police, and despite being driven to take up arms, they were not particularly interested in overthrowing their government, much less installing some sort of Islamic caliphate, the stated goal of groups like Al-Qaeda and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), which were relative latecomers to this crisis. What Western leaders often refer to now as the “moderate opposition” made up nearly the entirety of the opposition back in early 2012.
But already there were rumors of “bad men” among some rebel groups. Syrian activists whom I consulted at the time, both nonviolent activists and rebels, warned of a group that was increasingly popular with both rebel fighters and some citizens alike – the Al-Farouq Brigade. At a time when most of the armed opposition simply identified as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Farouq took its own name. It operated under its own orders, often overruling other FSA fighters and commanders in the area around Homs. The rumors quickly spread, some propagated by the Assad regime and others by rival rebel groups or scared civilians, that it was ruling Homs like a mafia state, collecting taxes and intimidating the populace. More than anything, though, the Al-Farouq Brigade was more committed to doing whatever it took to defeat Assad. It was the first rebel group to focus on taking and controlling inhabited cities and towns, and it preferred to take the fight to Assad in offensive battles.
The group's reputation soon grew because it was winning, and because it was taking the initiative. Many FSA fighters saw their leaders as weak and indecisive, and so Farouq was a welcome alternative.
Success bred success. The more battles it won, the more popular the group became.
But the Al-Farouq Brigade was still part of the moderate opposition. Soon, another group was gaining prominence in northern Syria -- the Al-Nusra Front, Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate. Al-Nusra started as little more than a YouTube video in January 2012. By taking credit for terrorist attacks, some of which it may not have even perpetrated, Al-Nusra soon proved that it, too, was capable of doing what it took to win. Its radical Islamic ideology allowed it to motivate its followers behind a religious objective – the destruction of the government of the Alawite sect and the construction of a Sunni Salafist caliphate. Its adherence to Shari'a law, not pro-democracy ideals, gave it an excuse to dictate orders from the top, rather than seek consensus, which made its leadership, its rule, appear stronger than it really was.
Just one week ago, the rebels who controlled the last few neighborhoods of Aleppo that remain in opposition hands found themselves surrounded and running out of time. The Syrian government and its allies had surrounded what was once Syria's largest city and the country's financial capital. Many feared a humanitarian disaster would unfold, and the regime's recapture of Aleppo would be a devastating blow to anti-Assad forces who do not have full control of a single major city in all of Syria.
Today, the situation is very different.
On August 6, rebel forces broke through the walls of perhaps the most important military base in all of northern Syria. As I explained for The Interpreter on August 1, the Ramouseh artillery base and academy has served as the foundation of the Assad regime's control of Aleppo city -- and with it all of Aleppo Province -- since the city was first attacked by rebel groups in 2012:
The Ramouseh artillery base and academy was the key to maintaining some control in Aleppo for the Assad regime between the summer of 2012 and today. The artillery units there were crucial to [intimidating protesting students], and later in the regime's efforts to flatten the Hamadaniyah and Salah el Din districts just north of the base. The artillery turned regime strongholds into death traps, transforming the battle for Aleppo into a game of inches waged by snipers, artillery, and aircraft. Since regime forces were often outnumbered over the course of those years, this leveled the playing field.
The victory may relieve the humanitarian situation in Aleppo (though this remains to be seen). Furthermore, if the base falls and the regime does not quickly recapture it, Assad could be in danger of losing all of Aleppo. This battle is a testament to how weak the Assad military has become. Even with direct support from the Russian Air Force, tanks, and troops, as well as militants from Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, Assad may have just snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
How, then, does he ever hope to restore order to Syria?
But this battle also comes at a price -- a key Al-Qaeda-linked group has helped spearhead the attack on the city. Operating under the umbrella organization Jaish al-Fatah, Army of Conquest, the newly rebranded Al-Nusra Front, now Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, used suicide sappers and tunnel bombs to break open the Syrian Army's battle lines and main defenses, through which various rebel groups are now streaming. As David Patrikarakos explained for RFE/RL on August 4, while many more moderate rebel groups also played very important roles, Al-Qaeda's leading role may impact the entire trajectory of the war moving forward.
more
In Syria, Rebel Victories At Ramouseh Come With A Price
The wests' mid east track record no fiction writer could top, attacking afghanistan as 911 retribution because the saudi house and the whitehouse were close is just for openers. Saddam ruled with an iron fist as did gadaffi and assad keeping a lid on fuedal clans, the u.s. and uk cook up wmd to lynch saddam, the french felt gadaffi was tough on his subjects so attacked him and nato thugs joined in. The west simply doesn't get it, pc does not fly in that neck of the woods, a strongman hasta be ruthless.
Instead of saddam, gadaffi and assad taking care of terrorists and maintaining stable nations nato felt they could do a better job and we see the chaotic result of organized terror groups spreading their ring of terror wider and wider.
Great for arms sales as both sides use the same supplier but not so good for innocents trapped by nato ken, assad has to thank putin for saving him from gadaffis' fate. Judging by corpse count from afghanistan forward nato is far more ruthless than mid east dictators ever were.
Instead of saddam, gadaffi and assad taking care of terrorists and maintaining stable nations nato felt they could do a better job and we see the chaotic result of organized terror groups spreading their ring of terror wider and wider.
Great for arms sales as both sides use the same supplier but not so good for innocents trapped by nato ken, assad has to thank putin for saving him from gadaffis' fate. Judging by corpse count from afghanistan forward nato is far more ruthless than mid east dictators ever were.