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What the hell does that guy actually do? Looks like he wouldn't be much good in a firefight.
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Jun 7, 2013 05:39
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Volkerball posted:The rebels have seized a crucial city connecting Damascus to Southern Syria, but it's a crucial location for someone else as well. Welp. That lasted long. Government forces brought in tanks and artillery to retake the city, and the rebels retreated closer to the Israeli border. Two UN peacekeepers on the border were wounded. The tanks and artillery were brought into the demilitarized zone in Golan Heights, and Israel filed a complaint to the UN over it. Israel saying this is the closest the fighting has gotten to them.
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Jun 7, 2013 06:14
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gunblade posted:This article from Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) tells of a 32 year old Norwegian-Algerian who was killed while fighting for the rebels. I'm going to guess that VG (the paper) didn't care if it was true or not that they were real russian forces because someone fighting Spetznaz is going to sell papers. Another weird thing is that he was supposed to have been the commander of a Scandinavian battalion. While there certainly are Scandinavians fighting for the rebels, it seems highly unlikely that there would be more than a couple dozen actively participating in the fighting. edit: spelling
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Jun 7, 2013 06:43
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Fader Movitz posted:I'm going to guess that VG (the paper) didn't care if it was true or not that they were real russian forces because someone fighting Spetznaz is going to sell papers. Another weird thing is that he was supposed to have been the commander of a Scandinavian battalion. While there certainly are Scandinavians fighting for the rebels, it seems highly unlikely that there would be more than a couple dozen actively participating in the fighting. Rebel 'battalions' seem to range from 2 guys and a dog to several thousand fighters.
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Jun 7, 2013 07:54
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Yeah, as the article said, the guy didn't have any prior military experience. So he probably used the word the way it is used in Syria, not in NATO.
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Jun 7, 2013 08:01
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New Division posted:Shias have gone to Syria to fight for the regime, but I haven't heard of anything like a war tourist going there to get their kicks by fighting the rebels. Here in the Netherlands there were quite a few cases of teenagers 'joining the Jihad' to fight against Assad. Enough that the government considered banning them from travel for a while.
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Jun 7, 2013 08:16
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Fader Movitz posted:I'm going to guess that VG (the paper) didn't care if it was true or not that they were real russian forces because someone fighting Spetznaz is going to sell papers. Another weird thing is that he was supposed to have been the commander of a Scandinavian battalion. While there certainly are Scandinavians fighting for the rebels, it seems highly unlikely that there would be more than a couple dozen actively participating in the fighting. They wouldn't even know it's Spetznaz. It's not like they'd be wearing zippy Russian uniforms there if they are there, and it's not like they wear unit identifiers to start with. There are certainly Russian people there, and techs for the gear they sold them. But that sounds like bullshit. And if those clowns did actually execute Spetznaz things would get a lot worse fast, and that's not the type of unit that people with no experience can just take the gently caress on.
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Jun 7, 2013 08:21
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SilentD posted:They wouldn't even know it's Spetznaz. It's not like they'd be wearing zippy Russian uniforms there if they are there, and it's not like they wear unit identifiers to start with. There are certainly Russian people there, and techs for the gear they sold them. But that sounds like bullshit. And if those clowns did actually execute Spetznaz things would get a lot worse fast, and that's not the type of unit that people with no experience can just take the gently caress on. Well, he IS dead now so... Though more likely he or someone else heard them speak with some slavic accent, and they thought "Russians!!" when it was actually random mercenaries.
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Jun 7, 2013 09:11
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Zudgemud posted:Well, he IS dead now so... Though more likely he or someone else heard them speak with some slavic accent, and they thought "Russians!!" when it was actually random mercenaries. Considering the clusterfuck of different groups operating in syria that is probably more plausible. Could be that they found some chechens jihadists and executed them out of suspicion towards russians or foreigners. Though that is probably a bit far fetched.
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Jun 7, 2013 11:03
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A video was leaked a few days ago of a government recruitment drive in Aleppo, which I've had fully translated here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAt7L9Lzl2c
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Jun 7, 2013 11:07
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SilentD posted:They wouldn't even know it's Spetznaz. It's not like they'd be wearing zippy Russian uniforms there if they are there, and it's not like they wear unit identifiers to start with. There are certainly Russian people there, and techs for the gear they sold them. But that sounds like bullshit. And if those clowns did actually execute Spetznaz things would get a lot worse fast, and that's not the type of unit that people with no experience can just take the gently caress on. I've met some of those guys, and unit tattoos are really common. If some were found, you'd be able to guess they were in the Russian military. Of course, ex-Russian military are no strangers to mercenary work. And yes it is. No unit is even close to invincible when the other guys have guns and they're shooting bullets. Edit: In fact, spetsnaz were the ones who tried to retake the hospital in Buddyonnovsk from the Chechens and were completely ineffectual. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 11:17 on Jun 7, 2013 |
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Jun 7, 2013 11:10
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The humanitarian side of the conflict is all kinds of hosed. Guterres's an extremely competent man, I hope he can do well in handling the safety of the refugees 
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Jun 7, 2013 13:51
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https://flashpoint-intel.com/upload/syria_martyrs/2013-06-02_Convoy_of_Martyrs_Report.pdf Have you had a chance to read this, brown moses?
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Jun 7, 2013 15:12
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Xandu posted:https://flashpoint-intel.com/upload/syria_martyrs/2013-06-02_Convoy_of_Martyrs_Report.pdf Not yet, I might print a copy for my flight to Washington, bit of lighthearted reading material. Speaking of reports here's a piece on the Fall of Qusayr Brown Moses fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Jun 7, 2013 |
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Jun 7, 2013 15:17
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Xandu posted:https://flashpoint-intel.com/upload/syria_martyrs/2013-06-02_Convoy_of_Martyrs_Report.pdf Jamal al-Yafi was apparently the AQ equivalent of a goon.
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Jun 7, 2013 15:18
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Xandu posted:https://flashpoint-intel.com/upload/syria_martyrs/2013-06-02_Convoy_of_Martyrs_Report.pdf Awful lot of engineers and other educated types seem to eager to run off to Syria and shot and/or blown up.
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Jun 7, 2013 15:35
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Dr. Tough posted:Awful lot of engineers and other educated types seem to eager to run off to Syria and shot and/or blown up. Not entirely surprising. A lot of the jihadi movement has been well educated, middle-class types.
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Jun 7, 2013 22:42
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Dr. Tough posted:Awful lot of engineers and other educated types seem to eager to run off to Syria and shot and/or blown up. I remember reading somewhere that alot of Engineers become terrorists. Didn't Bin Laden and al Zawahiri go to school for it? Maybe it is the appeal of using violence to create a tabula rasa.
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Jun 7, 2013 22:43
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New Division posted:Not entirely surprising. A lot of the jihadi movement has been well educated, middle-class types. Reminds me of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1L6J05RvK8
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Jun 7, 2013 22:47
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God I'm a terrible person, but I couldn't help but chuckle at this biography from the "Convoy of Martyrs" paper.quote:Al-Maghrebi was reportedly 55 years old with a heart condition, and had heart surgery before
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Jun 7, 2013 23:04
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New Division posted:Not entirely surprising. A lot of the jihadi movement has been well educated, middle-class types. Is this leading to a brain drain in jihadi countries?
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Jun 7, 2013 23:07
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New Division posted:God I'm a terrible person, but I couldn't help but chuckle at this biography from the "Convoy of Martyrs" paper. I found Jamals coupled with his pic funny...so don't worry.
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Jun 7, 2013 23:10
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Russia has offered to send peacekeepers to Golan to replace the withdrawing Austrians, but the idea was immediately shot down by UN because the agreement between Syria and Israel doesn't allow contingents from permanent security council members. What was Putin thinking anyway? Peacekeepers from neutral countries face enough problems day to day.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:19
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Nenonen posted:Russia has offered to send peacekeepers to Golan to replace the withdrawing Austrians, but the idea was immediately shot down by UN because the agreement between Syria and Israel doesn't allow contingents from permanent security council members. Trolling. Putin loves to do that.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:22
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Well if Israel didn't steal that particular piece of land 46 years ago they wouldn't have to worry about fighting there.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:32
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LP97S posted:Well if Israel didn't steal that particular piece of land 46 years ago they wouldn't have to worry about fighting there. This is a bit of a derail but I have a question about forum policy: is the general moratorium on I/P discussion just in this thread, or forumwide as a whole? Or do I/P threads usually turn into Bad Places so quickly that it's effectively impossible to keep one of those fuckers alive for more than a few hours?
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Jun 8, 2013 00:35
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Namarrgon posted:Here in the Netherlands there were quite a few cases of teenagers 'joining the Jihad' to fight against Assad. Enough that the government considered banning them from travel for a while. This was in the news today, a clip has surfaced of a Shiite in Syria getting his throat slit while some of the people in the background speak Dutch with a Flemish accent (link just leads to the article and not to the clip itself). The Dutch government has opened an investigation as well. I'd say this one of those cases where you can legitimately say 'gently caress you, don't bother coming back'. If it's real, that is.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:37
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illrepute posted:This is a bit of a derail but I have a question about forum policy: is the general moratorium on I/P discussion just in this thread, or forumwide as a whole? Or do I/P threads usually turn into Bad Places so quickly that it's effectively impossible to keep one of those fuckers alive for more than a few hours? I never mentioned Palestine, the Golan Heights were controlled by the French Mandate for Syria from 1922 to 1946 Syria from 1946 until it's seizure by Israel in 1967.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:40
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LP97S posted:I never mentioned Palestine, the Golan Heights were controlled by the French Mandate for Syria from 1922 to 1946 Syria from 1946 until it's seizure by Israel in 1967. I'm aware, and I'm not disagreeing. I just didn't want to miss my one opportunity to ask my question when it was pseudo-relevant. Edit: For the sake of content- Volkerball posted:Welp. That lasted long. Government forces brought in tanks and artillery to retake the city, and the rebels retreated closer to the Israeli border. Two UN peacekeepers on the border were wounded. The tanks and artillery were brought into the demilitarized zone in Golan Heights, and Israel filed a complaint to the UN over it. Israel saying this is the closest the fighting has gotten to them. I do find it very funny that the Israelis of all people can get away with filing a complaint over the Syrian army's "border violations" within their own territory, after themselves bombing the hell out of Damascus just weeks ago. How bad is that as far as border violations go, I wonder? illrepute fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Jun 8, 2013 |
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Jun 8, 2013 00:42
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LP97S posted:I never mentioned Palestine, the Golan Heights were controlled by the French Mandate for Syria from 1922 to 1946 Syria from 1946 until it's seizure by Israel in 1967. Hey perhaps Syria shouldn't have been planning an attack, granted they could have recovered in 1973, then again the Syria military isn't really good at things not involving killing civilians (and lets not even talk about their Air Force)
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Jun 8, 2013 00:45
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gfanikf posted:Hey perhaps Syria shouldn't have been planning an attack, granted they could have recovered in 1973, then again the Syria military isn't really good at things not involving killing civilians (and lets not even talk about their Air Force) Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights is only recognized as a legal action by one country (guess again, it's the Federated States of Micronesia) and was ruled as an illegal act by Security Council Resolution 497. Not a great example of a just action taken to repel an attacker, if I'm reading your train of thought correctly as Syria threatens Israel -> Israel is justified in flagrantly violating international law.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:52
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illrepute posted:Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights is only recognized as a legal action by one country (guess again, it's the Federated States of Micronesia) and was ruled as an illegal act by Security Council Resolution 497. Not a great example of a just action taken to repel an attacker, if I'm reading your train of thought correctly as Syria threatens Israel -> Israel is justified in flagrantly violating international law. Who said anything about that? I was pointing out that perhaps Syria should have not taken actions triggering things that they couldn't defend against due to overall incompetence of its military in non internal matters.
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Jun 8, 2013 00:59
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illrepute posted:Or do I/P threads usually turn into Bad Places so quickly that it's effectively impossible to keep one of those fuckers alive for more than a few hours? Certain types of threads attract people with readily formed opinions and responses so that you don't need to start the thread to know how it turns. illrepute posted:I do find it very funny that the Israelis of all people can get away with filing a complaint over the Syrian army's "border violations" within their own territory, after themselves bombing the hell out of Damascus just weeks ago. How bad is that as far as border violations go, I wonder? There is a disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that defines these kinds of things in Golan heights. There is no peace agreement between the two countries so technically they have a war going on. (Also I wouldn't describe bombing a military depot in the outskirts of a city as 'bombing the hell out of the city'.)
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Jun 8, 2013 01:03
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Nenonen posted:(Also I wouldn't describe bombing a military depot in the outskirts of a city as 'bombing the hell out of the city'.) The IDF triggered a massive ammo dump explosion in the general vicinity of the urban center popularly known as Damascus. If you want to wheedle at words until you're blue in the face you can be my guest, but you should be aware that you're on the same track that gets Shia neighborhoods in Tripoli labelled as "Hezbollah Strongholds." quote:Who said anything about that? I was pointing out that perhaps Syria should have not taken actions triggering things that they couldn't defend against due to overall incompetence of its military in non internal matters. You did, just now. You're still saying it, in this post I'm quoting. illrepute fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Jun 8, 2013 |
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Jun 8, 2013 01:07
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On the subject of things in Syria blown up by Israel. Say that they hadn't blasted that nuclear reactor back in 07, assuming everything else being the same, would it be operational or fueled yet? Also based on its location how close would it have been to the fighting? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Orchard
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Jun 8, 2013 01:07
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illrepute posted:This is a bit of a derail but I have a question about forum policy: is the general moratorium on I/P discussion just in this thread, or forumwide as a whole? Or do I/P threads usually turn into Bad Places so quickly that it's effectively impossible to keep one of those fuckers alive for more than a few hours? Basically the last two. People get really really care mad about Israel and any thread focusing on them descends into poo poo very quickly.
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Jun 8, 2013 01:08
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illrepute posted:The IDF triggered a massive ammo dump explosion in the general vicinity of the urban center popularly known as Damascus. If you want to wheedle at words until you're blue in the face you can be my guest, but you should be aware that you're on the same track that gets Shia neighborhoods in Tripoli labelled as "Hezbollah Strongholds." Just shut up, okay?
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Jun 8, 2013 01:13
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illrepute posted:You did, just now. You're still saying it, in this post I'm quoting. No you said something about legality, I was talking about starting things with others who Syria can't beat.
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Jun 8, 2013 01:14
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gfanikf posted:No you said something about legality, I was talking about starting things with others who Syria can't beat. Alright that's sensible, if somewhat pat. I was reading into your post that you were arguing the occupation as justifiable owing to aggression by Syria, like an international Castle Doctrine sorta thing.
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Jun 8, 2013 01:20
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gfanikf posted:Who said anything about that? I was pointing out that perhaps Syria should have not taken actions triggering things that they couldn't defend against due to overall incompetence of its military in non internal matters. There were widespread reports that Israel and Syria were actually making progress in secret negotiations in which Syria would recognize Israel in exchange for the return of some territory. The real sticking point with the Golan Heights, though, was freshwater security. Of course, any backdoor talks ended after the Mavi Marmara incident, and any democratic Syria is probably going to be even less likely to make any agreements with Israel.
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Jun 8, 2013 05:49
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