Middle East Thread: Clarissa Explains the Fall

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Middle East Thread: Clarissa Explains the Fall

TapTheForwardAssist: Apr 9, 2007; Pretty Little Lyres

Duckbox posted:

Sure they look good, but their papercraft game is poo poo.

The problem with a culture that uses water ewers in the toilet is that they lack cardboard toilet paper tubes with which to make guard towers. Really throws off the whole aesthetic.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 07:25

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# ? May 24, 2024 06:36

Willie Tomg: Feb 2, 2006

I am the Talib spending an extra two hours doing separate moulding on the doors and windows, shut the gently caress up guys, it looks good

# ? Jan 30, 2018 08:11

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

Interesting news on chemical weapon use in Syria:

quote:

Exclusive: Tests link Syrian government stockpile to largest sarin attack - sources

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Syrian government�s chemical weapons stockpile has been linked for the first time by laboratory tests to the largest sarin nerve agent attack of the civil war, diplomats and scientists told Reuters, supporting Western claims that government forces under President Bashar al-Assad were behind the atrocity. Laboratories working for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons compared samples taken by a U.N. mission in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta after the Aug. 21, 2013 attack, when hundreds of civilians died of sarin gas poisoning, to chemicals handed over by Damascus for destruction in 2014.

The tests found �markers� in samples taken at Ghouta and at the sites of two other nerve agent attacks, in the towns of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib governorate on April 4, 2017 and Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, in March 2013, two people involved in the process said.

�We compared Khan Sheikhoun, Khan al-Assal, Ghouta,� said one source who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the findings. �There were signatures in all three of them that matched.�

The same test results were the basis for a report by the OPCW-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism in October which said the Syrian government was responsible for the Khan Sheikhoun attack, which killed dozens.

The findings on Ghouta, whose details were confirmed to Reuters by two separate diplomatic sources, were not released in the October report to the U.N. Security Council because they were not part of the team�s mandate.

They will nonetheless bolster claims by the United States, Britain and other Western powers that Assad�s government still possesses and uses banned munitions in violation of several Security Council resolutions and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The OPCW declined to comment. Syria has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons in the conflict now in its seventh year and has blamed the chemical attacks in the rebel-held territory of Ghouta on the insurgents themselves.

Russia has also denied that Syrian government forces have carried out chemical attacks and has questioned the reliability of the OCPW inquiries. Officials in Moscow have said the rebels staged the attacks to discredit the Assad government and whip up international condemnation.

Under a U.S.-Russian deal after the Ghouta attack in 2013, Damascus joined the OPCW and agreed to permanently eliminate its chemical weapons programme, including destroying a 1,300-tonne stockpile of industrial precursors that has now been linked to the Ghouta attack.

But inspectors have found proof of an ongoing chemical weapons program in Syria, including the systematic use of chlorine barrel bombs and sarin, which they say was ordered at the highest levels of government.

The sarin attack on Khan Sheikhoun in April last year prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to order a missile strike against the Shayrat air base, from which the Syrian operation is said to have been launched.

Diplomatic and scientific sources said efforts by Syria and Russia to discredit the U.N.-OPCW tests establishing a connection to Ghouta have so far come up with nothing.

Russia�s blocking of resolutions at the Security Council seeking accountability for war crimes in Syria gained new relevance when Russia stationed its aircraft at Shayrat in 2015.

Washington fired missiles at Shayrat in April 2017, saying the Syrian air force used it to stage the Khan Sheikhoun sarin attack on April 4 a few days earlier, killing more than 80 people.

No Russian military assets are believed to have been hit, but Moscow warned at the time it could have serious consequences.

In June, the Pentagon said it had seen what appeared to be preparations for another chemical attack at the same airfield, prompting Russia to say it would respond proportionately if Washington took pre-emptive measures against Syrian forces there.

�SERIOUS LAB WORK�

The chemical tests were carried out at the request of the U.N.-OPCW inquiry, which was searching for potential links between the stockpile and samples from Khan Sheikhoun. The analysis results raised the possibility that they would provide a link to other sarin attacks, the source said.

Two compounds in the Ghouta sample matched those also found in Khan Sheikhoun, one formed from sarin and the stabiliser hexamine and another specific fluorophosphate that appears during sarin production, the tests showed.

�Like in all science, it should be repeated a couple of times, but it was serious matching and serious laboratory work,� the source said.

Independent experts, however, said the findings are the strongest scientific evidence to date that the Syrian government was behind Ghouta, the deadliest chemical weapons attack since the Halabja massacres of 1988 during the Iran-Iraq war.

�A match of samples from the 2013 Ghouta attacks to tests of chemicals in the Syrian stockpile is the equivalent of DNA evidence: definitive proof,� said Amy Smithson, a U.S. nonproliferation expert.

The hexamine finding �is a particularly significant match,� Smithson said, because it is a chemical identified as a unique hallmark of the Syrian military�s process to make sarin.

�This match adds to the mountain of physical evidence that points conclusively, without a shadow of doubt, to the Syrian government,� she said.

NO CHANCE REBELS BEHIND GHOUTA
Smithson and other sources familiar with the matter said it would have been virtually impossible for the rebels to carry out a coordinated, large-scale strike with poisonous munitions, even if they had been able to steal the chemicals from the government�s stockpile.

�I don�t think there is a cat in hell�s chance that rebels or Islamic State were responsible for the Aug. 21 Ghouta attack,� said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an independent specialist in biological and chemical weapons.

The U.N.-OPCW inquiry, which was disbanded in November after being blocked by Syria�s ally Russia at the U.N. Security Council, also found that Islamic State had used the less toxic blistering agent sulphur mustard gas on a small scale in Syria.

The Ghouta attack, by comparison, was textbook chemical warfare, Smithson and de Bretton-Gordon said, perfectly executed by forces trained to handle sarin, a toxin which is more difficult to use because it must be mixed just before delivery.

Surface-to-surface rockets delivered hundreds of litres of sarin in perfect weather conditions that made them as lethal as possible: low temperatures and wind in the early hours of the morning, when the gas would remain concentrated and kill sleeping victims, many of them children.

Pre-attack air raids with conventional bombs shattered windows and doors and drove people into shelters where the heavy poison seeped down into underground hiding places. Aerial bombing afterwards sought to destroy the evidence.

The large quantity of chemicals used, along with radar images of rocket traces showing they originated from Syrian Brigade positions, are further proof that the rebels could not have carried out the Ghouta attack, the experts said.

I actually noted the chemical connection between Khan Sheikhoun and the August 21st 2013 attacks back in November. and there's also the same connection to the March 30 2017 attack in Al-Lataminah, as well as the same bomb remains being recovered from that and the April 4th Khan Sheikhoun attack. Regarding Khan al-Assal, the Russian government created a dossier it presented to the UN which it claimed showed rebels were responsible, including naming the specific DIY rocket used by a specific rebel unit. I wrote about that back in 2014, and noted the many issues with their claims, and the above report confirms it was bullshit all along. So that's 4 Sarin attacks linked to the Syrian government's chemical weapons stockpiles, and looking at other information I've gathered there's likely at least 3 more.

Brown Moses fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Jan 30, 2018

# ? Jan 30, 2018 10:16

Cat Mattress: Jul 14, 2012; by Cyrano4747

Willo567 posted:

Is the National Interest a credible source?

Not much, honestly. It's a neocon mouthpiece (created by Bill Kristol's dad) which tends to go for sensationalistic clickbaity titles. Also, they think Andrew "Trail of Tears" Jackson is one of the best POTUS of all time.

Plus, look at their "region" categories for article and how well-thought it is: they cover regions like Asis, the Midde East, Iram, Russi, Sout Asia, the Uniterd States, Unites States. But all regions have the exact same list of articles anyway.and the

# ? Jan 30, 2018 12:09

CherryCola: Apr 15, 2002; 'ahtaj alshifa

Al-Saqr posted:

If Turkey was serious about fighting agianst assad I would suck erdogans dick and declare him the greatest middle eastern ruler since sliced bread. The problem is that he isnt serious because if he was he'd have done this sooner when it was sorely needed, and he wouldnt be cynically doing this only for his own calculations vis a vis the kurds, he's only interested in subduing the kurds, not actually helping the Syrians freedom when it was needed most.

Exactly. Remember that Turkey didn't do poo poo against ISIS until the Kurds started taking the border region in earnest. Turkey don't give a poo poo.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 12:16

RandomPauI: Nov 24, 2006; Grimey Drawer

mlmp08 posted:

Too late; imagining Lord Sourdough of House Thicksliced, heir to the Toaster Throne.

He was the first ruler in the region to end the segregation of spreads. Butter was no longer limited to toast. And tahini could finally co-habitate with falafel.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 12:29

Blut: Sep 11, 2009; if someone is in the bottom 10%~ of a guillotine

Al-Saqr posted:

America once again marching ever forward in a sustainable foreverwar against the taliban, I bet those conservative villiage dwellers haven�t changed or improved in any way after being in war for 16 Years!

https://twitter.com/saladinaldronni/status/957881114625966080

...oh.

Those runners/sneakers. One dude clearly didn't get the special forces dress code memo.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 16:05

Radio Prune: Feb 19, 2010

https://twitter.com/ajaltamimi/status/958305294706233344

# ? Jan 30, 2018 16:24

TapTheForwardAssist: Apr 9, 2007; Pretty Little Lyres

Blut posted:

Those runners/sneakers. One dude clearly didn't get the special forces dress code memo.

Cut the dude some slack, he's on a Light Duty chit.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 16:26

steinrokkan: Apr 2, 2011; Soiled Meat

Blut posted:

Those runners/sneakers. One dude clearly didn't get the special forces dress code memo.

What better shoes for a guerilla ambush than sneakers? They have their name for a reason.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 16:40

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Plus, he probably just thought it was jihad casual day

# ? Jan 30, 2018 19:19

Dr Kool-AIDS: Mar 26, 2004

The Turkish convoy in Idlib got hit by a car bomb, and three Turkish soldiers were supposedly killed. It looks like the convoy headed back to Turkey after that.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 20:10

mediadave: Sep 8, 2011

OhFunny posted:

https://twitter.com/Alladin_Al/status/958109940454961153?s=17

It would appear the internationally recognized Yemen government has fallen to the southern separatists.

Edit: That's probably incorrect. BBC is reporting both sides are deploying and calling more forces to Aden. Even pulling troops from the frontlines with the Houthis.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42858270

Welp...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42877851

quote:

Southern Yemeni separatists have surrounded the presidential palace in the city of Aden following clashes with previously allied government forces.

Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghar and members of his cabinet were believed to be holed up inside the compound.

The separatists - who had been backing the government in its war against the rebel Houthi movement - have also seized the city's military bases

....

As the separatists took control of official facilities and military bases, the prime minister denounced what he called a "coup". President Hadi, who is based in Riyadh, ordered his forces to secure Aden.

But by Tuesday morning, the separatists were said to have seized the last stronghold of the Presidential Guards force in the northern Dar Saad district and reached the presidential palace, where Mr Bin Daghar is based.

Security sources told the Associated Press that Saudi guards had stopped the separatists from entering the palace, and that the prime minister and several ministers were preparing to flee the city imminently for Riyadh.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 20:16

Frosted Flake: Sep 13, 2011; Semper Shitpost Ubique

MBS does it again!

# ? Jan 30, 2018 20:19

Lawman 0: Aug 17, 2010

New retro wave but for nations

# ? Jan 30, 2018 20:23

Willie Tomg: Feb 2, 2006

I..... is the Hadi government just falling over now? Where did this come from?!

# ? Jan 30, 2018 22:56

Darkman Fanpage: Jul 4, 2012

This is all 4-D chess machinations by brain genius MBS.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 22:57

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

maybe this is the way the saudi Gov calls it quits by officially splitting yemen in two? I find it flabbergasting that the gulf 'coalition' didnt have an armed presence in Aden to prevent their sides' government from falling unless they wanted this to happen.

But then failue is what's to be expected.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 23:00

Willie Tomg: Feb 2, 2006

Am I insanely out of the loop on this one? My impression of the Houthis from what information I have is that while they weren't going down like punks, they decidedly lacked momentum.

Are the desert hillfolk seriously about to clinch a successful decapitation strike on a basically western-backed government, or is this some other thing? What the hell is going on?

e; i guess i'm specifically confused what the motivation of the separatist faction is, if it was previously backing the war against the Houthi

Willie Tomg fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Jan 30, 2018

# ? Jan 30, 2018 23:00

Lawman 0: Aug 17, 2010

Willie Tomg posted:

Am I insanely out of the loop on this one? My impression of the Houthis from what information I have is that while they weren't going down like punks, they decidedly lacked momentum.

Are the desert hillfolk seriously about to clinch a successful decapitation strike on a basically western-backed government, or is this some other thing? What the hell is going on?

South yemen looked at a map and went :thunk:

# ? Jan 30, 2018 23:01

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

Apparently they arrested one of the most famous popular doctors and the guy who runs one of the biggest hospitals in the country is a big media presence, basically imagine if someone arrested an equivalent to Dr. Phil but he also runs one of the biggest hospitals in the country:-

https://twitter.com/JKhashoggi/status/958092982527365122

Basically, if you're semi-famous and succeeded in any way in the country there's a big target on your head. what a great message to send to people. everything that's been happening is sending a very clear message, a total liquification of any group or person or awhatever who managed to succeed in the poo poo environment they set up in the first place and shaking them down for money they dont have and to make way for foreign companies to swallow the country.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 23:53

Orange Devil: Oct 1, 2010; Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

Willie Tomg posted:

e; i guess i'm specifically confused what the motivation of the separatist faction is, if it was previously backing the war against the Houthi

Some Game of Thrones poo poo going on right here.

# ? Jan 30, 2018 23:54

Ardennes: May 12, 2002

The alliance between Hadi and the separatists was always rather situational (the separatists aren't really interested in a unified Yemen in the first place), it is certainly possible the Houthis sent out feelers to the separatists.

Also, the Houthis have actually made some progress here and there, and if anything may have already had the advantage. In comparison, I think the Saudis are just completely rudderless (especially if this illustrates a growing divide with the UAE).

At this point, their main regional ally (beyond Israel I guess) is Egypt and it doesn't come cheap.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 00:26

Dr Kool-AIDS: Mar 26, 2004

Turkey blamed the car bomb attack in Idlib on the YPG, because of course they did, even though ISIS claimed credit for the attack.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 00:54

Squalid: Nov 4, 2008

Willie Tomg posted:

Am I insanely out of the loop on this one? My impression of the Houthis from what information I have is that while they weren't going down like punks, they decidedly lacked momentum.

Are the desert hillfolk seriously about to clinch a successful decapitation strike on a basically western-backed government, or is this some other thing? What the hell is going on?

e; i guess i'm specifically confused what the motivation of the separatist faction is, if it was previously backing the war against the Houthi

The Houthi didn't do anything to precipitate this besides survive long enough for existing tension to manifest itself. This wasn't a decapitation strike so much as seppuku.

The separatists motivation is that they want to re-split Yemen. In part so they can stop sharing oil revenue with North Yemen, in part because the south is more Sunni/secular than the north and the Houthi's conservative tribalism is a bad fit for them. The Hadi government like the Houthi claim to be the legitimate government of all Yemen, so there is a divergence of interest. South Yemen separatists are not tribal hill-folk, they tend to be urban communists/socialists or at least adopt the rhetoric of the left.

Differences between them and the Hadi government were papered over by the immediate needs of stopping the Houthi advance. Separatists were kept working with Hadi through vague promises and lots of money and weapons from the Gulf. Over time distrust between the factions built up until we had this outbreak of violence.

The breakdown was exacerbated by terrible coordination between the UAE and the Saudis who at times appear to be working at cross purposes. According to Al Jazeera, the UAE appear to have little faith in the effort to subjugate the Houthi controlled north and have sponsored the separatists presumably with the aim of creating a friendly state that can control the Mandeb strait. The Saudis have instead sponsored Hadi and the Yemen factions dedicated to taking back the whole country. The result has been confusing and poor strategic coordination that has led to this mess. With

There are significant numbers of Saudi-coalition troops in Aden but they have mostly stayed out of the fighting while calling for a settlement. In my opinion the separatists have dim prospects, much of the territory they want is run by IS or al Qaeda including the oil producing parts, they'll never get international recognition without the north's consent and their only hope is a virtually perpetual defensive occupation by Saudi or someone.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 01:17

Kurtofan: Feb 16, 2011; hon hon hon

Is south yemen going to be a thing again

# ? Jan 31, 2018 01:44

guidoanselmi: Feb 6, 2008; I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest post. No lies whatsoever.

Willie Tomg posted:

I am the Talib spending an extra two hours doing separate moulding on the doors and windows, shut the gently caress up guys, it looks good

Spergs in the Taliban? Well I never!

Al-Saqr posted:

maybe this is the way the saudi Gov calls it quits by officially splitting yemen in two?

No, because

quote:

But then failue is what's to be expected.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 02:04

CherryCola: Apr 15, 2002; 'ahtaj alshifa

Sinteres posted:

Turkey blamed the car bomb attack in Idlib on the YPG, because of course they did, even though ISIS claimed credit for the attack.

YPGulen

# ? Jan 31, 2018 02:52

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

this is exactly what I thought was going to happen, Iran isnt going to win because of any particular genius it's because, much like israel, everyone facing them is a loving retard dictator.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 05:06

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

Al-Saqr posted:

a total liquification of any group or person or awhatever who managed to succeed in the poo poo environment they set up in the first place and shaking them down for money they dont have and to make way for foreign companies to swallow the country.

the word you're probably looking for is liquidation, although with enough barrels of acid it could totally be your way

# ? Jan 31, 2018 05:45

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

GreyjoyBastard posted:

the word you're probably looking for is liquidation, although with enough barrels of acid it could totally be your way

I blame the phone, every time I write something it autocorrects when I post.

Also, speaking of foreverwar sustainable fight against the Taliban, lets check up on the overall picture of how things are going now that Pakistan is getting the shitstick of american policy:-

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42863116

OOooooOOOOoooohhhhh.... there's a wide swath of Afghanistan under threat.

There is something deeply, unbeleivably wrong with the way you're running a war if 16 years later a medieval bunch of shitheads are still this much of a threat to your control of the country.

Al-Saqr fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jan 31, 2018

# ? Jan 31, 2018 05:54

OhFunny: Jun 26, 2013; EXTREMELY PISSED AT THE DNC

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/958481321302679552

Look who�s blowing smoke.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 07:55

CrazyLoon: Aug 10, 2015; "..."

OhFunny posted:

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/958481321302679552

Look who�s blowing smoke.

Part of me genuinely hopes they do this and start walking that path to being kicked out of NATO. Cmon Erdogey, you made the Afrin threats 'come true,' not that you're advancing nearly as fast there as you thought you would, but surely 2nd time's the charm!

# ? Jan 31, 2018 12:09

Dr Kool-AIDS: Mar 26, 2004

PM Yıldırım: "Our citizens and Syrians are affected by YPG's rocket attacks. Just today, a 17-year-old girl was killed in Reyhanlı. Civilians are being harmed in Turkey, not in operation areas. This again displays that #OperationOliveBranch is based on legitimate threats"

Everyone does this (I distinctly remember US media going along with the 'how dare Serbia cross the line into Albania where we're basing our attacks on them from!?' routine), but it's always annoying. "We attacked them, and they attacked us back, which proves that we had to attack them."

Turkey's security concerns aren't totally crazy, and I get not wanting to have PKK fighters having this capability on their border, but it's hard to be too sympathetic when Erdogan more or less pushed the PKK back into conflict after a long cease fire which may have held, and when negotiated solutions with other forces guaranteeing the YPG's behavior may have been possible but weren't tried.

Dr Kool-AIDS fucked around with this message at 13:10 on Jan 31, 2018

# ? Jan 31, 2018 13:07

Ikasuhito: Sep 29, 2013; Haram as Fuck.

"Earlier today, brave Turkish forces conducted a successful strike on the leadership of the vile terrorist forces of the PKK!"

https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/958692677012348928

Footage of the strike.

https://twitter.com/worldonalert/status/958727248403730433

Ikasuhito fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Jan 31, 2018

# ? Jan 31, 2018 15:17

Dr Kool-AIDS: Mar 26, 2004

I'm kind of surprised they haven't just murdered Ocalan himself by now.

In other news, the SAA gobbled up a bunch of villages on the way to Saraqib today, so the Idlib offensive is back on. Russia's providing air support too.

Dr Kool-AIDS fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Jan 31, 2018

# ? Jan 31, 2018 15:33

Saladin Rising: Nov 12, 2016; When there is no real hope we must
mint our own. If the coin be
counterfeit it may still be passed.

Sinteres posted:

I'm kind of surprised they haven't just murdered Ocalan himself by now.

In other news, the SAA gobbled up a bunch of villages on the way to Saraqib today, so the Idlib offensive is back on. Russia's providing air support too.

Hmm, if only Turkish forces could do something about that, maybe stop tying up a bunch of TFSA members and let them go fight the SAA.

Nah, better just attack Afrin harder, that's what's really important.

# ? Jan 31, 2018 20:41

Crowsbeak: Oct 9, 2012; by Azathoth; Lipstick Apathy

Al-Saqr posted:

this is exactly what I thought was going to happen, Iran isnt going to win because of any particular genius it's because, much like israel, everyone facing them is a loving retard dictator.

Helps that Israel has also been going insane since getting dirt rubbed in its face in 2006.

# ? Feb 1, 2018 00:58

Squalid: Nov 4, 2008

Al-Saqr posted:

I blame the phone, every time I write something it autocorrects when I post.

Also, speaking of foreverwar sustainable fight against the Taliban, lets check up on the overall picture of how things are going now that Pakistan is getting the shitstick of american policy:-

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42863116

OOooooOOOOoooohhhhh.... there's a wide swath of Afghanistan under threat.

There is something deeply, unbeleivably wrong with the way you're running a war if 16 years later a medieval bunch of shitheads are still this much of a threat to your control of the country.

It's interesting to note the difference in resolution between this map and the kind we are used to seeing from Syria. Resolution is much lower, there's just much less information on the status of any given location. For many districts the most recent information available may be years out of date. In part I think this is due to the shallowness of both the Afghan state and the Taliban, which might might both have virtually no presence beyond the most superficial symbols in some regions.

Reporting on Afghanistan and mapping the conflict is really hard. For example earlier this month I came upon this document: https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/erm-household-assessment-report-khost-district-13-25-november-2017

Describing the displacement of "Harsin" people from Khost province on the Pakistani border by semi-nomadic Pashtuns (Kuchi in the text) who:

quote:

locked them from going outside of their area, for livelihood, market, school, healthcare
centers. By the Kuchi people, the homes of the Harsin are completely damaged. Women and children were not
safe from the violence. The government have no control on the Kuchi people to stop the conflict. The Kuchi tribe
wants to capture all the land in the border which is belongs to Harsin. They don�t allowed other tribes. They are
powerful in the area.

Unfortunately I have never read or heard anything about any ethnicity called the "Harsin." Nor have I ever seen in reference in the media to this crisis which has apparently driven over 800 hundred people to flee to a refugee camp 100 miles away. Are they permanently sedentary Pashtuns, driven out by the nomads? Tajiks? One of several gypsy communities known by the derogatory epithet "Jat?" I have no idea and don't know how I could find out.

# ? Feb 1, 2018 04:43

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# ? May 24, 2024 06:36

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

After today's chlorine attack in Douma, the third in 2018, I've been getting calls from US journalists telling me they were briefed by the Trump admin who were claiming Assad is developing new chemical weapons and there's an open source report of Sarin being used after their bombing of Shayrat airbase. Sounds like their building a case to bomb Syria for chemical weapon use again.

# ? Feb 1, 2018 20:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Middle East Thread: Clarissa Explains the Fall

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