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I might do a post about the equipment the Islamic State have been seen using, there's not really a great summary of it yet, although a lot of it seems to be pretty standard AK47, PKM, RPG stuff.
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Aug 8, 2014 10:01
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If you'd be willing to poke around for what sort of anti-aircraft weapons they might've looted from Iraq or brought over from Syria (probably some ZU-23s?), that's probably the stuff most relevant to the US intervention right now. Also worrying is what they might buy with some of that oil money. What kind of stuff could they get from North Korea or a Soviet breakaway?
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Aug 8, 2014 10:05
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The aspect ratio for those slides looks ridiculous. *adjusts spectacles*
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Aug 8, 2014 10:27
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Keshik posted:I've been following the ISIS Crisis for a while now and have been kinda wondering this for a while, but now that Erbil is apparently being threatened, I just heard Andrea Mitchell saying that John Kerry is trying to come up with a way to get an Iraqi government together that the Kurds are happy with, and I'm wondering why the hell we are even opposing an independent Kurdistan. Because presumably the US wants this to be a two-way civil war with the federal government and KDP on the same side. The big sticking point is the issue of Kirkuk, which the KDP claims for Kurdistan. Their relationship with Baghdad really deteriorated when they seized the city after Mosul fell to ISIS.
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Aug 8, 2014 10:38
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Randarkman posted:What about the fact that Iran executes its own people at a higher rate than any country in the region not embroiled in war? That adultery, homosexuality and use of alcohol are punished by capital punishment, sometimes even execution? How is that for most civilized? What do you even mean by calling Iran "one of the most civilized in the area"? Is it just because they aren't Arabs? I don't think I have ever even mentioned the word Arab in this thread or my posting history. Teheran is unironically safer than New York and the people there are way way friendlier than Americans. You should travel more and post less.
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Aug 8, 2014 10:39
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Brown Moses posted:I might do a post about the equipment the Islamic State have been seen using, there's not really a great summary of it yet, although a lot of it seems to be pretty standard AK47, PKM, RPG stuff. They seem to have bought the combat ready scimitars from the medieval reenactment store too. 
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Aug 8, 2014 10:49
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SedanChair posted:I always enjoy this exchange: To be fair, sometimes it goes like this:  : Maybe we should do something? : YOU WANT TO BOMB WOMEN AND CHILDREN: No I'm just: WOMEN AND CHILDREN: I wonder if: WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND BABIES
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Aug 8, 2014 11:41
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The Americans should stay out of this and give al-Baghdadi a chance. Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan have already done their blitz of conquest for greater powers (in Middle East). Oh, they also employ soldiers from many different nationalities too! (sometimes after massacring their fellow countrymen of course)
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Aug 8, 2014 11:49
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Cippalippus posted:I don't think I have ever even mentioned the word Arab in this thread or my posting history. Teheran is unironically safer than New York and the people there are way way friendlier than Americans. You should travel more and post less. What does you saying the word "Arab" have to do with anything? You know people can be real friendly and their cities safer even if they might support or live in a "less civilized" country. The fact still stands that Iran regularly publically executes criminals by hanging, and homosexuality and such is a crime there. I mean Sweden has a pretty high rape rate (as does Norway) even though most would probably view that as one of the most civilized countries around. But maybe we shouldn't poo poo up the thread with this crap? I mean it's already going into a spiral of arguing about intervention. e: also not American and have travelled plenty.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:13
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Randarkman posted:What does you saying the word "Arab" have to do with anything? You know people can be real friendly and their cities safer even if they might support or live in a "less civilized" country. The fact still stands that Iran regularly publically executes criminals by hanging, and homosexuality and such is a crime there. I mean Sweden has a pretty high rape rate (as does Norway) even though most would probably view that as one of the most civilized countries around. There's a lot more to that then there simply being more rape in Scandinavia so that's a horrible example. While Iran still has a long march ahead of it when it comes to matters of sexuality that doesn't change that it's one of the better countries in the middle east to live in. For better or worse it's heading in the right direction. In comparison both Israel and Turkey are heading backwards, Saudi Arabia is a backwards as ever and Iraq & Syria are both imploding. MiddleOne fucked around with this message at 12:22 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 12:20
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Cippalippus posted:I don't think I have ever even mentioned the word Arab in this thread or my posting history. Teheran is unironically safer than New York and the people there are way way friendlier than Americans. You should travel more and post less. do you have any other political opinions apart from a bizarre adoration of repressive shiite regimes
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Aug 8, 2014 12:21
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Except for the 6,500 deaths per year in traffic Tehran's is as safe as can be. (NYC had 274)
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Aug 8, 2014 12:23
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CeeJee posted:Except for the 6,500 deaths per year in traffic Tehran's is as safe as can be. (NYC had 274) How does that happen?
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Aug 8, 2014 12:26
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Iran is actually quite stable and advanced politically for the region that's true. But it really isn't some enlightened paradise it's still very much a middle eastern country with a middle eastern authoritarian state
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Aug 8, 2014 12:27
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Xoidanor posted:There's a lot more to that then there simply being more rape in Scandinavia so that's a horrible example. While Iran still has a long march ahead of it when it comes to matters of sexuality that doesn't change that it's one of the better countries in the middle east to live in. For better or worse it's heading in the right direction. A bad example yes, but so is just using the fact that Teheran is safer than New York or saying that people are nicer. A better example might be to be bring up the high amount of women taking higher education in the country and somewhat more developed political system. That does not however change the fact that parties in an election have to be approved by a council of priests, that women have inferior political and legal rights, and that the country has a goddamned morality police, and that it responded to demonstraions with snipers and hired thugs a few years ago. I am not saying that the US should not pursue friendlier relations with Iran. But there is the implication that he is perhaps motivated a bit by bigotry and poo poo when he brings forth the reason the US should pursue relations with Iran as the country being "more civilized" than others, which is heavily implied to be the Sunnis whom he has pretty much called savages more or less throughout the thread. Still, the "racist bigot" guy got annoying.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:28
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Sucrose posted:How does that happen? Traffic lights and crosswalks aren't really a thing. People just walk all between the cars and drive like mad. Tehran.  Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Cbh0imjJo&t=380s Volkerball fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 12:29
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Sucrose posted:How does that happen? Poor emergency care, badly designed roads, proliferation of un-safe cars, no regard for road laws and gas simply being to drat cheap.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:30
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Randarkman posted:What does you saying the word "Arab" have to do with anything? You know people can be real friendly and their cities safer even if they might support or live in a "less civilized" country. The fact still stands that Iran regularly publically executes criminals by hanging, and homosexuality and such is a crime there. I mean Sweden has a pretty high rape rate (as does Norway) even though most would probably view that as one of the most civilized countries around. Scandinavia has a high rape rate because of a broader definition of rape and a higher rape report rate, not because of a higher absolute prevalence of rape than similar countries (this is also why any cross country crime statistics are either hard to interpret or totally useless).
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Aug 8, 2014 12:32
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Zudgemud posted:Scandinavia has a high rape rate because of a broader definition of rape and a higher rape report rate, not because of a higher absolute prevalence of rape than similar countries (this is also why any cross country crime statistics are either hard to interpret or totally useless). I'm actually from Norway and we don't really have a very broad definition of rape, though Sweden might. In fact a problem in the country is that it's very hard in general to actually get someone sentenced for rape, even of the assault kind, of which there has been a lot of coverage and focus on in the capital, though rapes on parties and festivals are a lot more common. But let's not go there, it was a bad example, but I believe so is just saying you are more safe from crime in Teheran to prove anything other than that fact.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:36
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The US is bombing the Makhmur front in coordination with advancing Peshmerga forces.
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Aug 8, 2014 12:57
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Kurdish Rudaw News is also reporting US airstrikes on the Islamic State positions in Gwer and Makhmur.
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Aug 8, 2014 13:06
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Sources are overrated.
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Aug 8, 2014 13:16
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Someone posted an article in here that was an explanation of the idea of proportionality from a legal perspective. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I started reading it but misplaced it. Also I know the air support thing happened already, but the air strikes are just an implied threat so far, right? I have a feeling the propaganda potential of being bombed by the US in Iraq is not something the next ISIS video/massacre will overlook
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Aug 8, 2014 13:42
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Libluini posted:To be fair, sometimes it goes like this: That's actually a point though, not a smear.
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Aug 8, 2014 13:46
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vapoursquid posted:do you have any other political opinions apart from a bizarre adoration of repressive shiite regimes And in Switzerland I vote for the Green Party, being a center/leftist enviromentalist. Randarkman posted:What does you saying the word "Arab" have to do with anything? You know people can be real friendly and their cities safer even if they might support or live in a "less civilized" country. The fact still stands that Iran regularly publically executes criminals by hanging, and homosexuality and such is a crime there. I mean Sweden has a pretty high rape rate (as does Norway) even though most would probably view that as one of the most civilized countries around. I'm sorry if my point wasn't clear, but I just think that you're a loving idiot and intellectually dishonest for shoving in my mouth words that I never said. Also, I think it's too comfy for you to accuse me of being racist and then ask me to not reply. Kindly go gently caress yourself. Then again, what has Teheran traffic to do with the thread is beyond me. Sure they drive crazily, but not worse than in Pakistan or India. Iran as others said is improving and it has never been terrible. Americans hate it for the facts of 1979 but what the USA did to Iran before and after that is on a completely different scale. As far as I know Iran never helped a coup to enjoy USA's oil, or downed an airliner then didn't apologize about it "because we're not into the apologize for Iran thing." As usual this thread has terrible issues coping with reality. Saying that Iran is a civilized state doesn't meant that Iran is the Platonic Republic of perfection, I am astonished that I even have to specify this. It just means that it's by no means the evil state pictured in certain propaganda, and actually some (unfortunately not all) minorities are granted seats in the Parliament and protection. Homosexuality is still frowned upon but laws concerning it are rarely enacted, even though even a single occurrence is still one too many. Cippalippus fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 13:47
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The US is blowing up US howitzers. 
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Aug 8, 2014 13:52
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Where are you getting this airstrike info from?
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Aug 8, 2014 13:55
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Count Roland posted:Where are you getting this airstrike info from? The Pentagon has confirmed it now, but previously I was piecing everything together from a variety of Kurdish sources, ISIS tweets, and a couple other reports from Charles Lister and Michael D. Weiss. Edit: Yeah, it's all over now. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 13:57
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Cippalippus posted:I'm sorry if my point wasn't clear, but I just think that you're a loving idiot and intellectually dishonest for shoving in my mouth words that I never said. Also, I think it's too comfy for you to accuse me of being racist and then ask me to not reply. Kindly go gently caress yourself. The taking exception to the "most civilized" thing was mostly based on the fact that you've recently posted here saying alot about how Sunnis are violent and unable to govern themselves and such and that it really seems that part of the reason for you liking Iran is that they are NOT Sunni Arabs, because if one thing is clear is that you really don't care for those guys, and denying it doesn't make it not so. gently caress you too, I guess. I did not ask you not to reply specifically but simply saying that we are literally making GBS threads up the thread and still are.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:03
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Via CBSquote:JUST IN: U.S. FA-18 fighter dropped 500-lb. bomb on ISIS artillery piece that was shelling Kurdish position near Erbil, David Martin reports
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Aug 8, 2014 14:04
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I suppose it's nice that this might be able to hold off ISIS for a while, but in the long term it's probably gonna accomplish something somewhere in-between jack and poo poo. In fact, I predict that ISIS will simply shift the operational focus to Syria and let the Iraqi government retake a couple of cities and villages. Then they just have to sit tight and wait until the inevitable reprisal massacres against Sunni civilians start up and erode away all public support in the US for continuing the bombing campaign in support of Maliki.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:12
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Where is the US bombing from? Turkey or carriers in the gulf?
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Aug 8, 2014 14:15
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Volkerball posted:The US is blowing up US howitzers. That's a Hannibal Directive I can get behind.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:17
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I'm joining this situation late, but I had a bit of a question, not from a moral/immoral perspective but just regarding what is possible. Isn't the U.S. more than capable of simply wiping out most of ISIS with a short campaign of airstrikes? I mean, we have spy satellites looking up their noses, and they're only about ten thousand goobers with rifles and some minor hardware (unless I am badly mistaken, and I would welcome any corrections). This is not to ask whether we should or shouldn't do it, or whether collateral damage would make it unpalatable -- but isn't it true that we could do it without ever really putting any American in harm's way?
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Aug 8, 2014 14:18
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Gmaz posted:Where is the US bombing from? Turkey or carriers in the gulf? Well NBC reports it was Navy aircraft, so possibly the Gulf.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:19
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mdemone posted:I'm joining this situation late, but I had a bit of a question, not from a moral/immoral perspective but just regarding what is possible. No. EDIT: Or rather not unless you're willing to blow up all the towns and cities that they have conquered in the process.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:19
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Gmaz posted:Where is the US bombing from? Turkey or carriers in the gulf? Turkey isn't telling.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:20
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mdemone posted:I'm joining this situation late, but I had a bit of a question, not from a moral/immoral perspective but just regarding what is possible. Not even if we plowed all their cities under with bunker busters.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:21
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SedanChair posted:Not even if we plowed all their cities under with bunker busters. Because it would rally ten times as many people to their cause, is that what you mean? I guess I am having trouble understanding how such a relatively small number of people can control such a large area, and what level of strain that puts on them defensively. Edit: Let me be clear that I do not support military strikes against ISIS, and that overall you would find me one of the more ardent anti-American Americans around. I think I am just having trouble parsing this situation -- and I guess it is probably true that if we could solve the problem with pure violence, we would already have done so. mdemone fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 14:25
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mdemone posted:Because it would rally ten times as many people to their cause, is that what you mean? This is a group that was born during the American occupation, and established itself in the bloodiest days of the war. They aren't going to disappear because of a couple bombs.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:27
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