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Throatwarbler posted:IS Mosu counter-offensive has broken the encirclement and reestablished link to Raqqa. hahaha, wow Unless this was somehow part of the plan? I know some were advocating leaving a route out of Mosul open, so that the fighters within had options other than fighting to the death. I know I know, its a big stretch. e: have a link to this breakout? Count Roland fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Dec 2, 2016 |
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Dec 2, 2016 19:38
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Coldwar timewarp posted:What a surprise! Having the ISF try to handle things alone is a bad idea. The Peshmerga and PMUs should have a more prominent role rather than being sidelined. The article on the way both seiges are covered is very funny, hadn't realized it. Which article?
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Dec 2, 2016 19:59
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http://isis.liveuamap.com/en/2016/2-december-daesh-reportedly-took-control-and-reopened-again?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Dec 2, 2016 20:03
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Dec 2, 2016 20:28
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Even if ISIS did crack the blockade, temporarily, there's not much they can do aside from hope the Iraqi army breaks itself against Mosul or the political unity behind the offensive crumbles. It's less a strategy and more a desperate hope. If the Iraqi army stalls in its offensive the militias will be employed against the city as well. Part of the reason the Iraqis are having as much problem as they are is that the eastern front is the only one open right now and the militias are being held back due to the certain...reputation they've developed. Although to be quite frank I don't know if the real power behind the militias mind the Iraqi army bleeding itself white over Mosul.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:53
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Brother Friendship posted:Even if ISIS did crack the blockade, temporarily, there's not much they can do aside from hope the Iraqi army breaks itself against Mosul or the political unity behind the offensive crumbles. It's less a strategy and more a desperate hope. If the Iraqi army stalls in its offensive the militias will be employed against the city as well. Part of the reason the Iraqis are having as much problem as they are is that the eastern front is the only one open right now and the militias are being held back due to the certain...reputation they've developed. Although to be quite frank I don't know if the real power behind the militias mind the Iraqi army bleeding itself white over Mosul. The Iraqi army isn't exactly well known for its tremendous courage in battle. I agree its a desperate hope, and that on paper IS loses this every time. Morale can be a funny thing though. IS may be despicable but they're brave and they're effective fighters.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:39
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Throatwarbler posted:IS Mosul counter-offensive has broken the encirclement and reestablished link to Raqqa. Coldwar timewarp posted:What a surprise! Having the ISF try to handle things alone is a bad idea. The Peshmerga and PMUs should have a more prominent role rather than being sidelined. The article on the way both seiges are covered is very funny, hadn't realized it.  The Peshmerga are in the yellow areas, the Iraqi Army is to the east of Mosul, and the PMUs are in the southwest and west. The PMUs are the ones who cut the road to the west of Tal Afar. (There's overlap between areas, I'm just keeping things simple for now.) And just because ISIL temporarily reestablished a link to Raqqa doesn't mean it'll stay reestablished: Brother Friendship posted:Even if ISIS did crack the blockade, temporarily, there's not much they can do aside from hope the Iraqi army breaks itself against Mosul or the political unity behind the offensive crumbles. It's less a strategy and more a desperate hope. If the Iraqi army stalls in its offensive the militias will be employed against the city as well. Part of the reason the Iraqis are having as much problem as they are is that the eastern front is the only one open right now and the militias are being held back due to the certain...reputation they've developed. Although to be quite frank I don't know if the real power behind the militias mind the Iraqi army bleeding itself white over Mosul.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:40
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So a dumb on my facebook circle has started claiming the white helmets are part of al qaeda and are often taped executing prisoners. She says that RT is "balanced media", showing "both sides of the issue", so I don't even know if it's worth trying to convince her. I mean, sure the white helmets probably reflect some of the sectarian issues in the society they come from, but I thought killing people was the exact opposite of their job?
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Dec 2, 2016 21:55
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Tias posted:So a dumb on my facebook circle has started claiming the white helmets are part of al qaeda and are often taped executing prisoners. She says that RT is "balanced media", showing "both sides of the issue", so I don't even know if it's worth trying to convince her. You are correct about the white hats. It is also worth arguing with this person, at least so that third parties to the conflict see that there is another (sane) side to what they are saying. Start with RT's funding and purpose, and cite articles to back you up on what they are.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:39
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Tias posted:So a dumb on my facebook circle has started claiming the white helmets are part of al qaeda and are often taped executing prisoners. She says that RT is "balanced media", showing "both sides of the issue", so I don't even know if it's worth trying to convince her.  spotlessd posted:Okay but the idiots on this site who gather round the campfire and let Brown Moses tell them fairytales about White Helmets probably aren't in a great position to cast stones about who is unwittingly repeating propaganda, right? thatfatkid posted:Alternatively what exactly should the regime do once they've retaken areas formerly held by jihadist rebels? Should suspected fighters not be detained and vetted? it's gotten hard to tell who's a gimmick and who isn't...but I think Vonnegut would say it doesn't really matter.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:54
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Tias posted:So a dumb on my facebook circle has started claiming the white helmets are part of al qaeda and are often taped executing prisoners. She says that RT is "balanced media", showing "both sides of the issue", so I don't even know if it's worth trying to convince her. Are these videos real? Maybe. Are they authentic? Who knows? That's one of the charming facts of both the present propaganda age and the Syrian Civil War! Did someone who actually is a member of the volunteer(?) organization strap on their suit, capture someone, then turn on the camera and go "Hello, here I am, a member of X, and it's time to torture you because of Y"? Or did someone who wants to make them look bad do that to muddy the waters and make them look bad? Both are possible outcomes in this conflict. Six months ago some rebels filmed themselves beheading a child, filming it and saying 'Yea, we're gonna kill you then post it on the internet ' And two months ago or so that some journalist went and interviewed a 'Nursa Commander' who said things like 'The Israelis and the United States help us out all the time, it's great, but we always need more help because we're bad at war and can't win'. There was some debate if it was real or not, then the interview was geo located to a quarry held by government forces and the interview was bunk. There is deception and counter deception in an endless dance in this modern age of ours. Honestly? Just focus on the root of the problem and not the branches.I won't say that your friend is a lost cause, but that it would take a very specific message to break through to her. I think that's true of anyone under a certain perception, true or not, and it's what makes the difference between propaganda and white noise. In the 21st century we certainly have created a terrifying and efficient means to instill a programmed narrative into the populace. The Information Age has turned into the Propaganda Age and I don't think human society, and civilization, has the means or capacity to defend itself. There is so much information being pushed out where every fact is met with a counter fact if not multiple, and the truth gets buried like a fossil. It's on purpose, and meant to divide society into as many fragments as possible to prevent unity of purpose. Look at Russia's behavior, in particular in regards to when their redneck friends in the Ukraine shot down a civilian passenger jet with cutting edge Russian anti air weaponry. It was obvious from the start what happened, they denied it, then spread a dozen theories why it wasn't them then accused Ukraine of doing it to kill Putin. Assad did it with Ghouta by claiming the rebels gassed themselves from government positions for pity military intervention. The domestic political situation in the United States has dissolved the way it has because society just cannot get informed in the present media environment. And so long as our journalism structure remains broken I don't think that's going to change. Honestly I feel that all of this is the precursor to the resurgence of true fascism at home and abroad. Look who just got invited to the white house: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-usa-idUSKBN13R20P http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-duterte-icc-idUSKBN13C0GS http://www.reuters.com/article/us-duterte-philippines-commentary-idUSKBN13Q4RD we're gonna have to deal with this rear end in a top hat until 2022 (more like forever when he liquidates the opposition am i rite)Combine all of the above with the conclusion of the Syrian Civil War (and...certain other events in Europe and the United States) and it feels like very bad omens for the coming decade for the liberal society built in the aftermath of World War II.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:13
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I hope Bashar Al-Assad executes everyone in this thread. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 2, 2016 23:20
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Human Grand Prix posted:I hope Bashar Al-Assad executes everyone in this thread.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:57
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Brother Friendship posted:Honestly I feel that all of this is the precursor to the resurgence of true fascism at home and abroad. Look who just got invited to the white house: That's precious. I'm guessing that Duterte has stopped courting China when he realized that the various insurgencies in the Philippines, whom he actually fears, are backed by Chinese allies like North Korea or Chinese organized crime.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:04
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Crowsbeak posted:If you really want to gently caress Russia, flood it with cheap heroin and accelerate the demographic decline by a decade. Is it weird that I've thought this same thing? Like it's straight-up evil but it would probably work very well.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:15
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I'd also like to note here that I've been an extremely fierce critic of the Iraqi militias, Iraqi state corruption, and was the first person in this thread to begin posting Human Rights Watch reports about their massive systemic human rights abuses in Tikrit and Baghdad. I'm not some partisan hack taking one side and backing it just because. I'm very dedicated to human rights.
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Dec 3, 2016 00:19
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These days they're not so much rights as human 'nice-to-haves.'
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Dec 3, 2016 00:22
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Sergg posted:Is it weird that I've thought this same thing? Like it's straight-up evil but it would probably work very well. We already did that after we invaded Afghanistan As a bonus it also hit Iran
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Dec 3, 2016 00:26
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Squalid posted:We already did that after we invaded Afghanistan I know Iran's got it bad with heroin. They've got pretty extensive recovery networks in place to help addicts out. Was this by intentional design on our part, or is it moreso that we're willing to look the other way so as not to piss off Afghanis?
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Dec 3, 2016 03:03
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Sergg posted:I know Iran's got it bad with heroin. They've got pretty extensive recovery networks in place to help addicts out. Was this by intentional design on our part, or is it moreso that we're willing to look the other way so as not to piss off Afghanis? I'm not sure I'd call a bunch of cranes and ropes an "extensive recovery network."
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Dec 3, 2016 03:08
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Volkerball posted:I'm not sure I'd call a bunch of cranes and ropes an "extensive recovery network." haha good one... oh wait its Volkerball, he's serious. Iran has a very bad problem with heroin and addiction to other drugs. They know it. They fight an American style War on Drugs on their border with Afghanistan to stop smuggling (good luck, over a border that long) even getting occasional help from the US DEA. Dealers and smugglers can get the death penalty for sure. But for users they're quite progressive. A 2 second google search: quote:Yet Iran has some of the world’s most go-ahead policies for addressing the problem, with methadone clinics, charities for tackling drug addiction and programmes for needle exchanges.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:38
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Count Roland posted:haha good one... oh wait its Volkerball, he's serious. 80% of those executed in Iran were hit with drug charges. It's not a "can get the death penalty" situation. We're talking about thousands of people.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:47
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Volkerball posted:80% of those executed in Iran were hit with drug charges. It's not a "can get the death penalty" situation. We're talking about thousands of people. I think we were talking about addicts.
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Dec 3, 2016 04:46
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Volkerball posted:80% of those executed in Iran were hit with drug charges. It's not a "can get the death penalty" situation. We're talking about thousands of people. The execution of border smugglers is lovely and subject to manipulation by their notoriously vicious police to target people who shouldn't be considered smugglers, but the way they address addiction is considerably better than many European states. There's also widespread support for ending the execution of drug runners, even among people who were some of the largest supporters of it in the past. Granted that means little given that they rely on the SL to allow that legislation to take effect, and I see his response being "We appreciate the well-meaning sympathy blahblahblah but Ali Mobedi of our antinarcotics division thinks that abolishing the death penalty would only embolden the cartels. Under his advice it is now mandatory for police to roast and eat crackbabies. Godbless"
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Dec 3, 2016 04:52
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If only they were progressive enough to use their War on Drugs™ to instead fill
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Dec 3, 2016 08:45
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Al-Saqr, I'm genuinely interested in your worldview, though I'm pretty sure you won't respond to this post: How do you square your belief that the Syrian Kurds have a moral duty to fight Assad and die for Islamists that have routinely denounced and attacked them with your own refusal to say as much as a single negative word against your own tyrannical mass-murdering government? You've gone so far as to say that if the YPG refuses to fight and die for the Aleppo islamists then you hope that the YPG forces are destroyed for not doing everything they could to stop Assad's tyranny. How can you post in this thread about the moral duty of Syrian Kurds to die in armed revolution against a tyrannical monster while at the same time refusing to say as much as one negative word about your own governments horrible abuses at home and abroad? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its wise to be critical of the Saudi Regime or that I would do so if I was in your shoes, but you do see the incredible hypocrisy in saying others deserve to die for not participating in armed revolution while at the same time refusing to utter even a single word of protest towards your own horrible government, right?
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Dec 3, 2016 14:47
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The west have failed... http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eu-offers-cash-to-assad-regime-for-syria-peace-deal-w8shn8rjx Who is Kaizer Wilhelms closest relative anyway?
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Dec 3, 2016 15:01
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Volkerball posted:https://twitter.com/leloveluck/status/804094762848555008 Maybe if IS stopped using hospitals as supply dumps and refrain from hiding behind little children when poo poo hits the fan things would not be so messy , Sooner the flush out these rats the better
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Dec 3, 2016 16:48
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IS aren't in Aleppo 
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Dec 3, 2016 17:13
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moonraker posted:Maybe if IS stopped using hospitals as supply dumps and refrain from hiding behind little children when poo poo hits the fan things would not be so messy , Sooner the flush out these rats the better useful idiot...
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Dec 3, 2016 17:15
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moonraker posted:Maybe if IS stopped using hospitals as supply dumps and refrain from hiding behind little children when poo poo hits the fan things would not be so messy , Sooner the flush out these rats the better Go back to the RT comments section, buddy.
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Dec 3, 2016 17:26
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Didn't the rebels refuse the civilians to leave aleppo anyway? how is this different from mosul?
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Dec 3, 2016 18:48
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Descar posted:Didn't the rebels refuse the civilians to leave aleppo anyway? No, anyway they did not.
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Dec 3, 2016 19:09
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But of course, there is the very valid argument that people of Aleppo derserve to be bombed since their still there. They could have left and stop hiding behind jihadists (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 3, 2016 19:12
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Sergg posted:I know Iran's got it bad with heroin. They've got pretty extensive recovery networks in place to help addicts out. Was this by intentional design on our part, or is it moreso that we're willing to look the other way so as not to piss off Afghanis? Volkerball posted:I'm not sure I'd call a bunch of cranes and ropes an "extensive recovery network." Schizotek posted:The execution of border smugglers is lovely and subject to manipulation by their notoriously vicious police to target people who shouldn't be considered smugglers, but the way they address addiction is considerably better than many European states. There's also widespread support for ending the execution of drug runners, even among people who were some of the largest supporters of it in the past. Cat Mattress posted:If only they were progressive enough to use their War on Drugs™ to instead fill As someone that had a grandfather whom had fought against Khorasan pre-revolution drug trade as an officer and a cousin with shishe addiction, unemployment and violent tendencies in prison and uncles with teriyak (opium) addiction, I've seen it all. Iran is essentially taking one very extreme approach to smuggling and dealing while actually attempting the approach the US should have gone for back in the late 70s and 80s and continued on instead of straight up waging a war and jailing people for using substance. I don hope this approach is also taken in approach to tackling addiction and substance abuse itself with other middle eastern countries, especially Afghanistan.
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Dec 3, 2016 21:20
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uncleKitchener posted:As someone that had a grandfather whom had fought against Khorasan pre-revolution drug trade as an officer and a cousin with shishe addiction, unemployment and violent tendencies in prison and uncles with teriyak (opium) addiction, I've seen it all. I thought shishe was just Farsi for hookah is it also slang for opium?
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Dec 3, 2016 21:41
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TildeATH posted:I thought shishe was just Farsi for hookah is it also slang for opium? Meth
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Dec 3, 2016 21:44
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TildeATH posted:I thought shishe was just Farsi for hookah is it also slang for opium? Crystal meth. It's called shishe because it resembles glass shards. Not to be confused with Shisha smoking (called Qelioun in Iran). Teriyak = Opium Alaf = Grass/Weed edit: Qalioun is also Qalyan too. Uncle Kitchener fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Dec 3, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2016 22:15
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uncleKitchener posted:Teriyak = Opium I wonder what grilled poppies with soy glazing tastes like.
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Dec 4, 2016 02:03
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There have been serious clashes in Tripoli recently. There isn't much clear about the situation now but it seems the remnant GNC elements led by Khalifa Ghwell have been on the losing side. https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/12/01/fighting-in-tripoli-as-pro-pc-forces-move-to-crush-militants/ Weirdly this article notes Ghwell was supported by some militamen from the city of Misrata, whose fighters have generally aligned with the GNA against him.
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Dec 4, 2016 02:35
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