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suboptimal posted:I know you've been tracking IRAMs in Syria; is it possible that this is basically a dramatically upgraded one? Absolutely, I've been collecting all sorts of images of variants on the IRAM concept (standard artillery rocket with it's warhead replaced with a much larger one), and there's plenty that have been popping up in Syria and Iraq being used by Shia groups. Here's some examples      Interestingly, some of those are based on the Iranian Falaq-2 rocket, so at least some of these are coming from Iran. In this image from Iraq you can see a Falaq-2 crate dated 2013  In other news: 
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Nov 26, 2014 10:51
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That is the most British headline ever and I love it. The Middle East: Weak from constant bouts of MAN LOVE Gen. Ripper fucked around with this message at 10:59 on Nov 26, 2014 |
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Nov 26, 2014 10:55
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Brown Moses posted:In other news: In case folks don't recognize it, that's the evidence-based approach to dissuade ISIS recruitment. Its effective, and for individuals not actively isolated from their social network with a higher-perceived value than their ISIS-affiliated network, its the best method currently known. The world needs more front-page, full-color articles linking militant islam with pants making GBS threads. Would be an interesting policy to attempt in Kenya to demonstrate cost-effectiveness before European roll-out.
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Nov 26, 2014 11:13
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My Imaginary GF posted:In case folks don't recognize it, that's the evidence-based approach to dissuade ISIS recruitment. Its effective, and for individuals not actively isolated from their social network with a higher-perceived value than their ISIS-affiliated network, its the best method currently known. British Tabloids: The Epitome of Evidence Based Investigative Journalism. Stopping Jihadi Recruitment One Gay Sex Headline At a Time.
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Nov 26, 2014 11:35
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Muffiner posted:British Tabloids: The Epitome of Evidence Based Investigative Journalism. Stopping Jihadi Recruitment One Gay Sex Headline At a Time. Whether the journalism is evidence based doesn't matter, it's that "if you join ISIS you're gay and poo poo your pants" hurts the ego of wannabe toughguy jihadists.
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Nov 26, 2014 11:41
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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[citation needed]
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Nov 26, 2014 12:40
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The Sunday Sport doesn't even pretend to do journalism though, they just make up ridiculous stories for fun and intersperse them with pictures of tits. It's a parody tabloid, basically an Onion/Daily Mash equivalent for really, really stupid people.
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Nov 26, 2014 13:14
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You made me curious and I looked for it. It's available for free on the internet and in this issue they're talking about the Iraqi army training lions to kill ISIS, next to a story of a dude having sex with some packaged Lasagne and some naked chicks reading Shakespeare's sonnets. I'm not making this up.
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Nov 26, 2014 13:37
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Shakespeare sonnets, that's how you know it's classy. One of their most famous stories was a apparent WW2 bomber being found on the moon. It's basically the onion without the clever writing or social commentary.
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Nov 26, 2014 13:43
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Nov 26, 2014 22:41
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blowfish posted:Whether the journalism is evidence based doesn't matter, it's that "if you join ISIS you're gay and poo poo your pants" hurts the ego of wannabe toughguy jihadists. But the gays!!! And the diaper fetishists!!! With these new lifestyle recruits ISIS will be unstoppable
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Nov 26, 2014 22:49
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blowfish posted:Whether the journalism is evidence based doesn't matter, it's that "if you join ISIS you're gay and poo poo your pants" hurts the ego of wannabe toughguy jihadists. Absolutely, i hope we see more of this. Baudolino fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Nov 27, 2014 |
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Nov 26, 2014 23:35
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An Italian female journalist is embedded with the Badr Brigades, or so she just said on TV. Anyway, is it me or the ISIS is starting to lose ground, at least as far as media support goes? The few last reports haven't been favourable to them, and in the last few days/pages there's been few good news for them.
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Nov 27, 2014 00:57
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Cippalippus posted:An Italian female journalist is embedded with the Badr Brigades, or so she just said on TV. They've probably reached their natural limits (where they have to evict/kill a sizable minority/majority of the population).
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Nov 27, 2014 01:00
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NYTimes: U.S. Adds Air Power, but ISIS Presents an Elusive Target http://nyti.ms/1yYoVnr phone posting so can't quote properly. interesting piece on the targeting side of things in the ISIS war. Worth nothing that the article says of all strikes in Syria through the past week, only 25% have been planned. In Iraq - 5%. The rest - opportunity or "popup" strikes. As in, hey there's a convoy over there, drop all the bombs. This is fascinating to me. Does anyone have any further reading on the air war that would go into depth on targeting? and someone smarter than me can probably weigh in on this, but this sort of data being pushed out there is aimed at supporting the argument for more troops on the ground, to assist with targeting, right?
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Nov 27, 2014 02:16
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http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-warplanes-kill-isis-commander-heet-22-aides/
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Nov 27, 2014 03:15
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See the freedom. Feel the freedom.Aswat Masriya posted:CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft anti-terrorism law that would give the government blanket power to ban groups on charges ranging from harming national unity to disrupting public order. Under this law, practically every single group that goes against the government can be classified as a terrorist organization. Also, the government released its fact-finding mission on events post June 30, 2013, and unsurprisingly, blamed everything on Islamists and recommended that every religiously-oriented party be dissolved. Wonder how stupid Al-Nour feels for hitching themselves to Sisi.
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Nov 27, 2014 04:27
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Man, I remember in the aftermath of the army opening fire on peaceful protestors in the wake of the coup how some goons were still rattling on about how having the Muslim Brotherhood remain in power would have been worse.
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Nov 27, 2014 04:29
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Funny of the media articles goes out of their way to never mention the word coup when speaking about Egypt, and uses words such as "ousted" instead while pointing out that Sisi really is "elected".
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Nov 27, 2014 06:36
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Egypt is so goddamn depressing, all hope for change brutally crushed 
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Nov 27, 2014 06:52
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 This is the most depressing thing about Egypt
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Nov 27, 2014 07:17
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Xandu posted:
If you live under an authoritarian regime, how likely are you to trust that your answers to a survey will truly be anonymous?
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Nov 27, 2014 07:19
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Xandu posted:
To be fair to Egyptians, Sisi's administration has been using the gulf money pretty visibly. There's a ton of infrastructure projects all over Cairo that give the impression of an active government. Besides, Sisi has the full support of most media outlets, and it turns out that's really all you need to be a successful autocrat here.
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Nov 27, 2014 07:27
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Absurd Alhazred posted:If you live under an authoritarian regime, how likely are you to trust that your answers to a survey will truly be anonymous? I'm inclined to believe it's genuine given how the aftermath of the coup played out. The military definitely has a lot of support, for whatever reason.
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Nov 27, 2014 07:30
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http://abcnews.go.com/International/special-ops-team-frees-al-qaeda-hostages-yemeni/story?id=27194197 This is pretty crazy. US special forces on the ground attempting to rescue an American hostage (presumably this guy) and some other Westerners, but ended up rescuing a bunch of other hostages instead. Absurd Alhazred posted:If you live under an authoritarian regime, how likely are you to trust that your answers to a survey will truly be anonymous? Definitely plausible. I imagine Mubarak also enjoyed very high approval ratings. edit: quoted wrong person Xandu fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Nov 27, 2014 |
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Nov 27, 2014 07:35
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I wouldn't place your thoughts in these polls, they mean nothing because it's easy to poll high when everyone who might oppose you is dead and in jail, and when the net is being monitored very extensively. The real proof was the horrible turnout for his rigged elections. If some Egyptians (especially those garbage who call themselves Egyptian seculars and liberals) want to live like pigs who are happy to eat poo poo forever let them, I for one will never return there because every good person I knew has had their lives destroyed (in more ways than one) and I severed relations with everyone who supported Sisi. So I've got nothing to go back there for except one thing which is super important but even then I'd go there half scared for my life. I just really wish this thing wasn't as big a black cloud as it is, I really feel bad for Ham and the few remaining good people I know who actually have to try and eke out an existence in that place. Al-Saqr fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Nov 27, 2014 |
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Nov 27, 2014 07:43
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http://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/05/militias-baghdad-287142.html?piano_d=1 newsweek profile on shiite militias battling in Iraq. pretty decent. quote:“The truth is,” says Safa Hussein al-Sheikh, the deputy national security adviser, “they prove to be more effective fighters than the security forces in many situations. They have experience from fighting the Americans, and from recently fighting in Syria.”
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Nov 27, 2014 07:53
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Ham posted:To be fair to Egyptians, Sisi's administration has been using the gulf money pretty visibly. There's a ton of infrastructure projects all over Cairo that give the impression of an active government. Besides, Sisi has the full support of most media outlets, and it turns out that's really all you need to be a successful autocrat here. Mada Masr just ran a long, but good article about Sisi's grand development projects. After the moribund later years of Mubarak and how Morsi was on the defensive since more or less day one, it seems as though Sisi's trying to come out swinging. I'm sure there's no shortage of scapegoats at the ready in the event of failure.
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Nov 27, 2014 08:21
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And in another Egypt development, Ajnad Masr (Soldiers of Egypt), a jihadist group which has pulled off some very well-targeted bombings, released a pretty flashy video of their own yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gpPWG3ID0A Edit: I'm only about five minutes in, but these guys know their audience. Lots of shots of the Rabaa dispersal, Sisi, Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, and various raids by the police and military. What's interesting to me is that the video is really Egypt-centric, but I'm pretty sure that the announcer is speaking Fusha as opposed to the Egyptian dialect. Could be wrong, though. pantslesswithwolves fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Nov 27, 2014 |
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Nov 27, 2014 10:27
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Sorry for spamming the thread; I'm on night shifts and bored. File this one under "Ghouta Can't Catch A Break:"quote:GENEVA/BEIRUT, Nov 27 (Reuters) - At least three wounded people have been infected near Damascus with a tropical disease spread by flies that had never before been reported in Syria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
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Nov 27, 2014 12:00
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Unusual video from the YPG in Kobane, they claim this is an Islamic State VBIED they managed to stop before it reached it's target. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoEJtjYz6vs
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Nov 27, 2014 22:56
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Brown Moses posted:Unusual video from the YPG in Kobane, they claim this is an Islamic State VBIED they managed to stop before it reached it's target. Are those cylinder-objects just shell casings they filled with the explosive, or what?
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Nov 28, 2014 00:36
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It's a fairly standard thing with these to have those cylinders filled with explosive and connected together with det cord.
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Nov 28, 2014 01:10
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My Imaginary GF posted:In case folks don't recognize it, that's the evidence-based approach to dissuade ISIS recruitment. Its effective, and for individuals not actively isolated from their social network with a higher-perceived value than their ISIS-affiliated network, its the best method currently known. Local Man Intuits His Way to a Bunch of Silly Foreign Policy poo poo on the Internet
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Nov 28, 2014 01:43
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My Imaginary GF posted:In case folks don't recognize it, that's the evidence-based approach to dissuade ISIS recruitment. Its effective, and for individuals not actively isolated from their social network with a higher-perceived value than their ISIS-affiliated network, its the best method currently known. "Brother I'm too busy to go with you to the dubstep show, I'm going to sit around smoking player's originals and reading the sunday sport" -A vulnerable young Muslim Briton
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Nov 28, 2014 01:48
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Volkerball posted:I'm inclined to believe it's genuine given how the aftermath of the coup played out. The military definitely has a lot of support, for whatever reason. as far as unelected dictators go nasser's military regime left a much more positive impression on egyptians than any of the civilian autocrats that followed him
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Nov 28, 2014 02:17
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Farm Frenzy posted:as far as unelected dictators go nasser's military regime left a much more positive impression on egyptians than any of the civilian autocrats that followed him Military dictatorships are usually extremely popular among the vast majority of citizens, until precisely the moment when they aren't, at which point the unhappy elite come out the woodwork to demand money and tax exemptions.
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Nov 28, 2014 02:23
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My Imaginary GF posted:In case folks don't recognize it, that's the evidence-based approach to dissuade ISIS recruitment. Its effective, and for individuals not actively isolated from their social network with a higher-perceived value than their ISIS-affiliated network, its the best method currently known. lmao, MIGF. Thanks for making a Middle East thread on SA, Lascivious Sloth, it looks really great. I do enjoy political discussion with diverging opinions. Hopefully incisive & thoughtful posts are the norm, but I am familiar with SA forum general standards as a long-time 'Lurker' so I am not holding my breath for that. That is ok as "Mediated Arguments" can be fun as a serious expression of points of view in a moderated 'nexus' context. Like any set of large buildings, really. They bring out the best in me. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Israel, headed by PM Benjamin Netanyahu & President Reuven Rivlin, & supported by the Americans, has successfully kept clear of their enemies & recruited allies in this latest ISIS disaster. The Middle East is like a 'no flex zone', or a sauna without a venthole/blow off valve (BOV): blasting out waves & waves of random heat constantly. You need a big bucket of ice water to throw on rocs just to cool off. Guarantee you this is the catchphrase that officials say in the Middle East: "Very Nice, I Like! You said it!" It would be funny if they did cause that's pretty much what they're like. Israel has come a long way from the Six-Day War era & the Lebanon War timeframe in terms of the tenets of their foreign policy, but they're still really militant about boundaries. It seems like a bad idea for Israel to engage in 'police action' with regards to ISIS so I'm glad that they haven't flexed any muscle there. Too much blood & gore in the Middle East as is. On that note, it's 2014 and Israel still does not accept opposition leader Yasir Arafat's Palestine as a real nation, which is unbelievably blockheaded. My Lebanese classmate would be irked, i say. Irked! Maybe that's why Israel doesn't play well with other nations? Not everyone loves a macho, pushy culture. When my middle-aged parents visited Israel on an international trip with coworkers from my mom's work, I 'interviewed' them about it after they got back, & they said it was like a castle every few miles. I saw some pictures of it & everything seemed really epic, like Saladin was still alive in the Middle East or something. But I digress. e: In general, it seems like Somalia, Iran & Saudi Arabia make the most news in the conflicted Middle 3ast with this ISIS debacle. Yeah, Ham, Sisi has done a 'fairly good' job applying infrastructure changes inside Egypt, or I should say, as good as one could expect given the circumstances. Nobody in Egypt is complaining about yet another 'big cheese' at the pinnacle, at least not publicly, even though there is palpable unrest at the edges of society. Mr. Sisi looks like Mubarak who looked like the last tireless & unpopular boss in office inside Egypt.. just sayin. I feel like maybe that this is just 'the product that Egypt publishes,' to borrow a phrase from Carlson School of Business. My Iranian classmate with the 300z would say, "That's just how they roll over there." e2: Basically it seems to translate that OPEC is the center of gravity of the Middle East. They are nicely fronted by Saudi Arabia & stapled together with Kuwait/U.A.E./Iraq against Iran. My cousin at Weatherford lives in North Dakota, and he has said that there are oilfields in the Americas in Bakken, Saskatchewon & the Gulf of Mexico, so coming to the Middle East just to get some oil is really stupid. A3th3r fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Dec 1, 2014 |
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Nov 28, 2014 02:52
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Brown Moses posted:Unusual video from the YPG in Kobane, they claim this is an Islamic State VBIED they managed to stop before it reached it's target. Side note, but why call a Car Bomb a "VBIED"? Let's just call it a car bomb, and leave dumb acronyms to the americans. Anyway, why do you find it unusual?
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Nov 28, 2014 10:45
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Cippalippus posted:Side note, but why call a Car Bomb a "VBIED"? Let's just call it a car bomb, and leave dumb acronyms to the americans. Because when IED is already the norm, using car means you would have to use a different term if it was a truck, tractor, unimog, bus, caterpillar, etc. VBIED is inclusive.
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