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Has anyone else noticed the media portraying the Manaf Tlass defection as the sexiest defection? I'm just sayin', there has to exist a more... subtle... photo to represent the man. So rugged. 
Sivias fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Jul 11, 2012 |
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Jul 11, 2012 17:42
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Sorry I'm not much of a military hardware enthusiast. What are the alternatives for shooting down a reconnaissance jet of this variety, and are they more 'sinister'?
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Jul 13, 2012 18:15
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Evil Fluffy posted:There won't be a World War 3 because... How's the old saying go? World War II occurred because no one thought it could.
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Jul 13, 2012 22:34
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Alchenar posted:Except everyone spend most of the 30's scrambling to prepare for the next European war. The US is setting up a military base in northern Australia. Turkey has deployed forces along the Syrian boarder. Jordan and neighboring countries are participating in large scale military games. Russia and Iran are strategically positioning warships in the Mediterranean and Strait of Hormuz, respectively. I'm not saying this is anywhere near the scale of the buildup of WW2 or that it will, but the idea of small conflicts conflagrating into a larger crisis is not unheard of.
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Jul 14, 2012 00:58
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Ghetto Prince posted:So what was up with Captain Schizophrenic there? Does he think that everyone writing on twitter is talking to him personally? The thing to look out for in conspiracy theorists is the lack of critical thinking, or the imposed thought in place of critical thinking. Take for example the 'Qatari/Syrian Flag' presumption. What are the direct and indirect consequences if this were some Qatar conspiracy. Why would secret agents financed by Qatar working in Syria flaunt their flag? They most certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to enter a war zone with any easily identifiable evidence connecting them with a foreign force, or at least their financiers would be quite upset if they were doing so. Not to mention the negative attention and possible targeting by both sides of the conflict. Which makes the case that it is the local forces flaunting a Qatari flag to stir up the controversy of a conspiracy much more likely. Although, all of this is moot since it's quite clearly not a Qatari flag and, considering the situation and scenario, appears to be a Syrian national flag. Not everything has to be a conspiracy, unless you're looking for it. Then it's all you'll find.
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Jul 16, 2012 16:54
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Well, you're presuming the FSA is at a military disadvantage. The number of defected soldiers vs. actual Syrian Army soldiers in the field may not be as uneven as you think. I watched the interview with the recently defected ambassador to Iraq on Al Jazeera and he was saying the army is only sending it's most elite and loyal forces into the field for fear of further defections. Moral in the Syrian army can't be high.
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Jul 17, 2012 04:54
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If a chopper was shot down within the city limits, someone has to have video of it. It's just a matter of time till they get it uploaded to the internet. Unless it didn't actually happen.
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Jul 17, 2012 16:15
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Zedsdeadbaby posted:Bruno, you're a spectacular idiot. Why can't you comprehend that English is actually taught over in Syria, with protesters displaying signs in English because they know Western media will broadcast it? Don't bother answering that question, I just wanted to highlight your complete lack of cognitive ability, as if that hasn't been done enough times by yourself already. Is it just me or is reading posts like this more difficult than Bruno's? Let's try to keep things civil in here guys. Exasperating the argument with flagrant insults is only going to make things worse.
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Jul 17, 2012 16:46
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Doesn't Ramadan begin on Friday?
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Jul 18, 2012 16:42
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Nilbop posted:This region sounds so close to erupting into outright war any day. Welcome to the Middle East!
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Jul 18, 2012 20:10
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Maybe his top advisers always told him there's nothing to worry about, the rebels are being contained and they pose no threat. Go, hang out with your wife and don't worry about anything. The West is lying about the severity, everything is under cont- DEAD!
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Jul 18, 2012 21:38
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SpaceMost posted:Yeah but you'd think he'd want to dispel rumours that he was hurt in the blast or was being treated for burns or whatever. Unless...  
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Jul 18, 2012 21:45
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Patter Song link posted:"The top official said Iraqi border guards had witnessed the Free Syrian Army take control of a border outpost, detain a Syrian army lieutenant colonel, and then cut off his arms and legs. Yikes
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Jul 19, 2012 19:13
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An Israeli invasion of a Muslim country, what could possibly go wrong!? I can't imagine America would be ok with that, though. I mean... Would they sanction their most trusted and closest ally in the middle east? 
Sivias fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Jul 20, 2012 |
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Jul 20, 2012 22:01
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And what if the Israeli intelligence preparations discovers possible Syrian chemical weapons being delivered to Lebanon?
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Jul 20, 2012 22:17
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Valley Troll posted:I've read some criticism of the FSA for essentially using civilians as human shields by deliberately holing up in civilian areas, which are then attacked indiscriminately by the regime. It it considered using civilian areas as human shields if it's your own home?
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Jul 23, 2012 21:21
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Xandu posted:Once the rebels started organizing, they started having obligations under international law to avoid civilian causalties, even if that would mean fleeing. That was essentially the excuse as to why the FSA retreated from the Milan district of Damascus, correct? I think the criticism of the FSA using civilians as protection is moot in this situation as the government forces have shown little effort of avoidance anyway. Of course this isn't justification for such a tactic. Like you said, it's complicated. \/\/ I think this was obvious and the excuse of leaving to 'protect the civilians' is a fairly empty reason. Once the forces from the Golan Heights arrived, the rebels in the city had little chance of holding out. Sivias fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Jul 23, 2012 |
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Jul 23, 2012 21:34
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cgeq posted:Is there any reason Assad couldn't/wouldn't make like North Korea? North Korea's situation helps in that it's sort of 'out of the way'. Syria is and always has been a central hub of commerce and travel between Europe and the Middle East. To say Assad would be able to lock down Syria for an indefinite amount of time under military rule is a bit far fetched. There is far too much foreign influence, as well as a number of other factors.
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Jul 25, 2012 04:29
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They did look disturbingly happy for being children in a war zone sitting next to a bomb that was dropped in their region. Go go Spiderman!
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Jul 27, 2012 15:48
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Volkerball posted:What does the word he says that sounds like mosh/marsh mean? I've always assumed it was something related to the date because so many videos start out with the narrator saying it. I hear that all the time too. Something like "Fauq tira mosh". I'm sure I butchered the phonetics well and good.
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Jul 30, 2012 21:53
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Well the fallout from this campaign is detrimental. The location of Syria doesn't help either. Damage to infrastructure and geopolitical ties is crumbling. The population isn't going to return as long as Assad continues to fight the rebels, and the rebels aren't going to be easily exterminated. Without a safe and comfortable population, commerce and economic growth and sustainability is impossible. The regime will not be able to sustain fighting against an insurgency. It's like Afghanistan except neighboring nations are supporting the rebels and Assad doesn't have the resources to maintain. Iran and Russia are the only lifelines, but Russia is losing it's ambition to prop up the regime and Iran it severely struggling to maintain it's own national interests. Best case scenario Assad's regime suffers a catastrophic blow (Like the intervention in Lybia, or more of his upper echelon get iced) or maybe an attack leaves Assad himself incapable to continue ruling (Like Saleh in Yemen). Worst case scenario this turns into a long term insurgency that continues to see further infrastructure and humanitarian crisis until moral among the troops cause further defections. In which case we might see something like a military coup.
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Aug 10, 2012 19:15
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The idea that Syria is going to launch any sort of aggressive attack on Turkey is utterly preposterous. Remember when they shot down the jet a few months back how quickly they apologized? They are having a hard enough time with the rebels within their boarders. Engaging a neighboring nation just cause they want to stir some poo poo up is ridiculous. Actions like that aren't made lightly, even, and especially, with a regime in the throws of desperation.
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Aug 10, 2012 20:18
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cgeq posted:Does a coup become more or less likely/easy as fewer people remain at the top? At what point is the line drawn between defecting for ideological conflict and surrendering because they realize they're going to lose?
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Aug 18, 2012 03:22
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If this guy was so important, why was he anywhere near combat? Aren't logistics and that sort of stuff generally handled outside of the combat zone?
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Aug 21, 2012 00:27
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I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure they aren't following FIDE official international competition rules.
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Aug 21, 2012 20:39
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Young Freud posted:I believe this might be the same guy. Definitely not. The first picture the guy has a short goatee and moustache, the second has a thick chin strap beard and sans the moustache. They could hang out and use the same weapon though?  (unlikely)
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Aug 22, 2012 02:20
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