Middle East General: Aleppo electronic boogaloo edition

So has Aleppo been fully recaptured yet?

Nothing in the regular news because reporters are too pussy to do anything besides chum around with Al Qaeda and take sad photos of the children they use as "rewards" for their soldiers

>>31535982
Kek fuck no man, the SAA and friends are advancing slowly, tighting their grip on the city. The media continues to whine about them bombing civies.

i wonder how much of the city still even looks like a city, footage from battles shows nothing but dust and rubble mounds with random walls sticking out.

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>>31535982
No, as of right now the rebels hold a significant portion of the city. The only issue is that they used up a lot of their manpower and supplies trying to relieve the first siege. And now that the SAA managed to reinstate the siege things sre looking dim for the fighters residing in the rebel held districts. The western media just likes using the city as a poster child for Assad's crimes, so whenever the rebels there are loosing. The media makes a huge fuss about those poor civilians that happen to be armed to the teeth and only on occasion shoot at SAA forces while forgetting how those same "civilians" beheaded a boy and threatened US troop (not the same people obviously, but all the rebels are technically civilians).

Pic related is a crude map taken from livemapua. I'm out of the house so don't have access to more up to date or maps so this will have to do.

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>>31535954
Well the SAA took the quarry and re took the hospital in north Aleppo and still own the handarat camp

>>31536027
>>31536077
Ok, so it's fucking nothing for yet another year until the next time rebels temporarily break the siege again. Got it.

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>>31536077
I got you senpai

>>31536112
I would say that the FSA poured a lot into breaking the siege and it didn't work out and the SAA and friends are pouring a lot into squeezing the shit out of Aleppo. Barring the us doing something astronomically stupid Aleppo may have to end up surrendering when they run out of food and ammo

>>31536172
I wouldn't**** say that

Other news is the Russians are bombing the ever loving fuck out of Hama and the SAA is making gains in the ghoutas and Isis is fighting some FSA group in qualmon. I'm on my phone so I'm not gonna go look up specifics

>>31536077
That's going a bit too far with the propaganda.
There are a bunch of civilians in the city, yes real civilians.
The Russians and Assad do indeed hit civilians quite often. Probably on purpose, but at the very least they don't give a fuck if any civilians die due to their strikes.

Thing is, the US and the west are extremely hypocritical. You've got the same exact thing going on in Yemen, where the Saudis are likely targeting pro Houti civilians, in Sanaa for example, yet there is no outcry, no photos no articles.

This is simply how a war looks like when you fight it with the intention to win.
This is how Europe and the US fought when their own people were at stake. When the fight was taken to our lands (ww2).

The US and the UK can afford to lose a war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Assad cannot afford to lose in Aleppo.

>>31536809
Eh, it's part satire part true. The rebels are technically civilians either way. True there are people being held hostage. And others who can't leave for various reasons. But the western media attempts to paint the picture that rebel held areas only have babies and families while government held districts only have soldiers.

>>31536809
are you me?
i was just thinking about the fact that the saudis deliberately target civilians in yemen and have been for a while and no one says a word.

>>31535954
>international community attempts to pressure Assad and Russia

If the rebels were pounding demascus, would the international community tell them to 'tone it down?' Probably not. The I.C. would demand assad surrender.

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>>31536952

>>31536172
The SAA are on a strict timetable before the Turkish northern rebels clear out ISIS in the north and head STRAIGHT for Aleppo.

At which point shit will get real quick with russian and nato supported troops occupying a hostile battleground.

>>31536952
>The rebels are technically civilians either way.
False, they are either combatants or unlawful combatants.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule3

>True there are people being held hostage. And others who can't leave for various reasons.
True, there are also people who don't want to leave because it's their homes. You can see this effect in virtually every war throughout history.
There is a good chance they won't be allowed back, as happened in most of Al-Qusayr, various towns in Qalamun, some Sunni neighborhoods in Damascus and so on. That probably doesn't do much for encouraging people to leave.

>But the western media attempts to paint the picture that rebel held areas only have babies and families while government held districts only have soldiers.
I rarely watch any MSM, it's just a bunch of useless propaganda, so I wouldn't know.
I don't see why we should turn this thread into a mirror of the MSM, just with opposite bias.

>>31535954
Is that Detroit?

>>31536106
Why is North Aleppo city falling while South Aleppo city is holding?

I bet it's because Nusra is in the south.

>>31536809
The media shows the dead children, but doesn't show the moderates beheading children.

>>31536992
In your dreams.

The Turks FSA haven't moved/won anything in a week.

>>31537118
>I don't see why we should turn this thread into a mirror of the MSM, just with opposite bias.

So reality with a factual bias?

There were reports just last week of US troops embedded with the "moderate" rebels on the Western side of the city. Russians are embedded with the SAA on the Eastern side of the city too. It's one errant bomb away from a world war.

>>31537118
Fair enough, I'll try to town down the banter

>>31537963
that's a little alarmist, no? More like one bomb away from diplomatic incident.

>>31537963
reports from where? us special forces should only be in the north and not anywhere near the aleppo front line

>>31537963
i know there is a small contingent of russians in aleppo, from what was said it was to help coordinate air strikes. that was when the siege was broken and now that its closed and lord knows if theyre still there

I'm connected to many Syrian sources on G+. That's my source. There were multiple reports from different Syrian accounts stating that US troops were sighted with moderate rebels in Western Aleppo.

Sure, it could be misinformation, perhaps by the Russians or pro-Western intelligence. Still, them being there would not surprise me either.

Aleppo is a CIA propaganda mission.

>oh boohoo, look at these poor children.

>>31538116
They meant west Aleppo province. Not west Aleppo city.

Do they have internet there right now?

>>31536992
Do you have autism?

>>31537848
nusra is in the north too, they are pretty much in all of aleppo

>>31536809
>but at the very least they don't give a fuck if any civilians die due to their strikes

This is true yes, and I might add that the aim of the bombings isn't to "massacre" civilians per se, but to destroy anything and everything that helps the Islamist war effort, thus undermining their will to resist through brute force (see the Russian experience in Chechnya for an obvious example). Only problem is this isn't very ethical lol.

>>31537963
>It's one errant bomb away from a world war

Why do /pol/tards constantly say shit like this? You must be very simple people

Does anyone think they have they dug tunnels between the apartment complex and the garage district yet? It looks like it would need to be at least slightly over 1 km long. How long does it take to build a tunnel that long? I know they built a tunnel at least that long around Zabadani.

Lads, 8 min long GoPro from Jabal al Islam taking a hill in the Turkmen Mountains

>>31536980
>UN/MSF/Red Cross knowingly sets up camp in a jihadist area
>get fucking killed because jihadists are using them as human shields

Oh no, those innocent civilians!

>>31538515
Fuck forgot link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Mg7Yty6Gk

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>>31538458
how else you gonna get that finger lickin good chikin yo?

>>31538605
that is fucking incredible

>>31538518
i think you missed the joke friend

>>31538655
kek no i get the pic but those fuckers really do go out there with the jihadis and are surprised when government forces strike

>>31538527
I love how we live in this modern age and are able to stream pornography and firefights from Syria from the perspective of "some dude with a GoPro" at the same time.
What a time to be alive.

>>31538786
Just imagine if GoPros were a thing in WW2

>>31538870
I wish. I love livestreaming chimpouts from the US, I can't imagine how glorious it would be to live stream a civil war.

>>31535954
I just realized only the first two building in this pictures are hit... the city just looks likes shit. Obviously not much lost then

>>31538605
I literally almost posted that. It's still there on the map. Front line KFC's.

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Syria

>>31539296
goddamn that is gorgeous.

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Region fixed

>>31539278
>>31539296
SHOT Show Syria

>>31539493
>Let's have 10 completely unworkable nations instead of 4
Are you British? Do you masturbate daily to footage of the India-Pakistan partition of 1947?

>>31539539
Sykes Picot did nothing wrong. Oil for the British empire

>>31539493
well from what ive seen most of them can play nice enough together but when you get hardline sunnis in the room people tend to get their heads cut off

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>>31539296
>waffenamt stamp
>being used by sand people for sand people things

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>>31539500
that would be several orders of magnitude more interesting than the usual shotshow shit

>>31539493
why would the kurds agree to a land locked state where they would have to travel through arab lands (who all hate them) to move any goods

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>>31539922
Shit m8, just imagine it.
>live-firing KPVs, DShKs and 23mm cannons from technicals
>doing multi-track drifting with tanks and technicals
>live-firing 57mm cannons
>riding and live-firing T-55s, T-72s and T-90s
>fingerfucking and live-firing StG 44s, DIY anti-materiel rifles (and regular ones) and SVDs
>plus playing around with explosives, and I mean ALL the explosives

>>31540102
Don't think you're reading that map right

>>31540102
Almost.

Saudi's not only sought to establish an independent Kurdistan, but have opened diplomatic offices in Kirkuk. The relations between Kirkuk and Riyadh have slowly but steadily deepend since Iraq became an Iranian proxy

They'd be the only reliable neighbor for Kurdistan (if we're playing make believe using this map).

>>31536077
Here is why the SAA/Shia and Russians most importantly are winning the battle of east Aleppo. They are reducing every strongpoint piece by piece. The rebels wanted to hold Kindi hospital, fine the Ruaf will just flatten it. The industrial district below Handarat was taken in a focused attack as well. Rebel defenses here don't matter if they are disconnected from each other. At this rate the SAA should win the battle of Aleppo city in a matter of a month if the rebels don't counter, mind you that's a big if. I would say the same about the rebel offensive in Hama. Even as the rebels are paused if they are not countered they should be able to take large amounts of Hama province. Both sides are committed, only a wildcard move will change the outcomes. That said both battles are moving at different paces due to the nature of a conventional attack vs a rebel attack. The SAA can afford to take their time and pick them apart while the rebel's in Hama need speed more than anything.

I am with the SAA's tactics so far, I see Russian advisers planning written all over it.

>>31538448
They think the US and Russians are some sort of embittered enemies- whereas in reality, the Russian people and Americans hold no hostility for each other.

The US and Russia have some sort of center where they do de-conflicting, to make sure they don't hit each other. It is completely unaffected - heres a random source

https://sputniknews.com/world/20160929/1045814220/us-russia-deconfliction-in-Syria.html

I wouldnt be surprised if Russians and Americans know exactly where each others ground units were. We probably tell each other when our planes take off, when they land, and what theyre firing on. I know someone will bring up the USA/australians hitting the SAA in deir ezzor- why do you think that was news in the first place? It was a rare occurrence- and both parties apologized- and if anything it only increased deconflicting measures.

>>31540395
Agree with you in at least they are not harden enemies in Syria. I would also say the Russians and Iranians are not the big allies as they are made out to be. They are both looking out for their own interests. There have been many times the Russians let the Iranians hang out to dry if they didn't see the area they were fighting in as important. The Russians also don't give a fuck if Israel bombs Hezbollah when they see fit. This whole war is made up of shady friends and enemies.

>>31540487
Yeah, Iran has actually started to move towards the west. Tehran has even tried to push out the anti American enclaves while at the same time making sure that their security and interests (Assad and Iraq) are protected. Which is odd as this pushes the west, and more specifically the US away due to their actions, all whilst they try to improve relations with the west.

>>31540395
> It was a rare occurrence
No, it was less likely CENTCOM's flagrant incompetence and more likely direct american assistance to ISIS. There were zero reasons for coalition to show up in Deir-Ez-Zor in the first place if not to assist either the government or ISIS. And considering that americans done nothing to stop ISIS advance on Palmyra, I'm pretty sure who's side they're on.

>>31540696
US bombing raids didn't stop in Deir after hitting the SAA near the airport. In the last couple of days large US bombing raids have hit all the bridges in the area and some IS targets. People have to float shit across the river now The SAA bombing did almost nothing to the US sortie rate in the area. You have a good point in that the area where the SAA was bombed the US had no good reason to bomb.

>>31539493
>Shia Yemen
>Oman
>Some parts of Shia Iraq
>Under Saudi/Sunni Control
-5
>Kurdistan eating away at borders (Iranian) than have existed for hundreds of years
-1
>Jordan-Palestine with no amount of Palestine whatsoever
-2
>Dividing Lebanon based on Religion
-2
>Making the non-arab parts of Syria the "Syrian Arab Republic" while making the Arab part of Syria just plain old "Syrian Republic"
-1
>Merging Palestine and Israel together
-5

-16/10 OP see me after class

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>>31540773
https://twitter.com/JACM212/status/780713083647832064

This tweet shows the last bridge destroyed, roads have been hit as well

There will be a lot more photos to view in the coming months.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-23/caught-tape-did-us-target-syrian-aid-convoy-hellfire-missile

>>31540773
>US bombing raids have hit all the bridges in the area
Has it occured to you that neither SyAF nor RuAF bombed all those bridges through the entire course of the war? All americans did it is destroyed Syrian infrastructure and complicated liberation of the city later on. No one invited the US into DeZ, and no one invited them into Syria.

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>>31538605
the last bastion of freedom

>>31540851
Has it occurred to you I don't care. I am not on any side here. Just watching the show. I think it needs to be posted as a Deir Ezzor update due to the scale of the bombings and targets hit, not to defend any actions.

>>31540851
Pretty much what I was thinking, US fucking Assad any way they can whilst claiming it's fighting IS.
Ultimately just another bunch of reconstruction contracts to go to Russian companies at some point in the future, things a bit more awkward for SAA and a greater pita for the few actual civilians, so about par for the course overall,

>>31538448
little knowledge of actual history
little geo-political understanding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-to-air_combat_losses_between_the_Soviet_Union_and_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

>>31539362
Nice, they've finally put skirts on their tanks.

>>31540786
Sorry ahmed there's no such thing as """"Palestine""""

>>31538605
Smoking gun proof of America running supplies to rebels

>>31540797
i heard that did fuck all as isis was already floating pretty much all their shit across the river.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvNEhKNDCo

>>31541726
>bullet holes in the ambulances windshield
>dohohohoho

what dicks

>>31540851
Presumably the narrative is to impede ISIS from selling their stuff. US has been bombing commercial trucks/convoys of ISIS- and this seems to be in the same vein. Military vehicles do fine offroad- so this wouldnt effect the SAA or ISIS much in that respect.

18 wheeler commercial trucks tend to do much worse unless they have some turbocharged Baja rally trucks lying around (in my dreams). In any case it might make them easier to spot since they would have to use alternate, slower, and unusual routes.

Russians didn't destroy the bridges because they are allied with Assad and assad does value that infrastructure- and America does not give one shit about Assad- so they can.

>>31540325
>I am with the SAA's tactics so far, I see Russian advisers planning written all over it.
Box the enemy into a tiny area and bomb them to annihilation?

>>31539296

How the fuck do they have ammo for that?

>>31536135
What's the Kurds situation based on this map?

>>31540851
no shit, captain obvious

Has it occurred to you that John McCain and Obama don't speak for most of us here

>>31540325
>Here is why the SAA/Shia and Russians most importantly are winning the battle of east Aleppo

Despite massively superior firepower and support from a world power (Russia) and regional power (Iran) they've been unable to take Aleppo for years now.

Finally, after years of bloody grinding despite total command of the skies and massive amounts of armor and $$$, they're making some progress only because of Russian forces. And this is only the CONVENTIONAL phase of the battle, watching Assad's Shia miliias try to hold onto Aleppo once they've "captured" it will be fun to say the least.

If you think this is anything to be proud of get your head out of Assad's sand nigger ass

>>31542131
kek. I remember the Assad shills on /pol/ circa 2013 claiming Aleppo was a bastion of loyal Baathist support and surely victory against these isolated "foreigners" will come any day now

>>31542087
there in sheikh maqsoud where theyve always been..

>>31542180
I take it they'll continue to be there for the foreseeable future then

>>31542153
Half of Aleppo is under the government control and they have swimming pools open.
The other half is rubble.
Nothing is black and white, but is

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>>31542131
the ass mad is real

>>31542201
barring anything insane happening i dont see the kurds going anywhere anytime soon

>>31542131
>watching Assad's Shia miliias try to hold onto Aleppo once they've "captured" it will be fun to say the least.
>implying they're going to obey any "rules" once they capture the place like we did in Iraq and Afghanistan
Shouldn't they just follow the Putin example from Grozny? They literally destroyed everyone who lived in opposition areas and then are funding really hardcore killers to keep the peace in Chechnya?
Because Assad's dad already did that before like in the 1970s if I remember it correctly.
These people have more leeway than we do in controlling entire populations.

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>>31542131

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oe_tstyoJM

>>31542131
Do the Saudis pay you in 8 year old yazidi girls or 9 year old Shia boys?

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>>31540325
It is still too soon to say that Rebel held Aleppo is good as fallen. Even with Ruaf help, the more they get inside the city proper, with the area becoming more urban, if the Rebels decide to stand I can forseen a very bloody waste of SAA manpower in
urban combat. I would still give one year or little less for Aleppo.

That said, I'm positively impressed that Liwa al Quds are still holding the Handarat camps, so their victory there is now for good, and already took the Kindi Hospital.

>>31542180
>>31542201
>>31542222
There are some recent reports that the Sheikh Maqsood kurds have been helping the SAA and allies to deal with the Rebels near their district. With the Rebels, who viciously bombed the place, being slowly pushed back and the SAA, who does not seem in the mood to start problems with their Aleppo kurdish neighboors, gaining ground, Sheick Maqsood near future seems to be a more calm one.

The video that Julian is complaining is this one, by the way (it is absolutly nothing of note):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jzmU79QUfY

>>31541064
SAA 4th AD have been up armoring their tanks this way for already some time. It is probably one the most interesting tank upgrades that I have seen in this war. Here is the original video from where the image came from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLAQDwGcPks

>>31542023
There is new about this. Just that Iran/Russia has given them enough manpower and resources to follow it trough.

>>31542467
>Saudi Arabia
>87.1 billion dollars spent on it's military
>more than Russia
>gets BTFO by Yemen
o, i am laffin

Well the republican guards and hezzbollah attacked the 1070 last night for some reason I doubt they got very far though and the afrin Kurds are still trying to take ground

>>31542452
>Even with Ruaf help, the more they get inside the city proper, with the area becoming more urban, if the Rebels decide to stand I can forseen a very bloody waste of SAA manpower in
>urban combat. I would still give one year or little less for Aleppo.
Isn't Aleppo 2x smaller than Grozny? And isn't the area under rebel control only like a third of the city?
I think the Russians completed their destruction of Grozny in a month or so, right?

>>31542510
As much that is true, I'm more concerned with the ground combat aspects. Is already common knowledge between us that air support alone will not do, even if it helps alot. It is also common knowledge how a urban environment battle can drag on, wasting many resources and soldiers before it could be claimed a victory. Even with all the air support, Rebels will probably just crawl out from under the ruins and wreckage to continue fighting.

It is the ground forces that need to decide this battle for good.

Also, there is a difference, be it in material, efficiency, quality of training or whatsoever, between the fighters involved in Grozny and in Aleppo. I think Zabadanni could be a better example of what we could expect.

>>31542510
iț's the other way round
Grozny had a population of 399,688 in 1989
Aleppo had a population of 2,301,570 in 2004

>>31542569
What's funny is in the first Chechen war the Russians got their ass handed to them in Grozny

>>31542561
Grozny is around 125 square miles. Aleppo is 73 square miles. Only 30% of Aleppo is outside government control, so 22 square miles just about of Russian targeting zone compared to Grozny.
>>31542575
Which is why the Russians fixed everything up in their military, just surrounded the city and killed everything that moved in it.
Not sure why this time would take longer if the Russians just mercilessly destroy the district like they did 15 years ago or something.

>>31542561
How many of those 2.3 million are still in Aleppo? Weren't most of the migrations to Europe from there?

>>31537963

Russia is not Soviet Union anymore. Chances are, if we intervene now, they will back down rather than risk open confrontation with the US.

For months now the United States has hoped to achieve a negotiated peace that saw at the very least Assad out, ISIS destroyed, and separate states established. One in Latakia for the Allawaites, and one in in Aleppo for the Sunni's. This solution is being destroyed in Russian carpet bombing. They have basically torpedoed the US State Department, and any peaceful settlement. Aleppo's suffering at the Russian bombing is now being played every hour on American news, and headlines the nightly summaries.

US intervention has now become incredibly likely. Not because of we like the Syrian Rebels per se, but because the higher ups are deeply concerned about Russia constantly poking US interests military. They are terrified that if we don't draw a line in a place that does not matter, Putin will make a play for the Baltic States soon.

>>31542724
Are you a moron? A dictator with 80% approval rating will have more leeway than a lame duck president hampered by Congress and half the country that thinks he's chickenshit.

There's a reason we didn't cross the red line in Syria, and that's because we have more to lose than they do in that country.

And Putin will never attack the Baltic states. That's utter suicide since they're in NATO. Don't give Ukraine, Georgia, and even Syria as examples. Not one of those countries are NATO members and most of us in the US will never lift a finger to save them, because of the Iraq War fatigue we got going on right now.

>>31542561
>almost 400k in Grozny in 1989
>now there's 270k left

>>31542738
Had Assad actually the capability to win this war without Russian carpet bombing we would be all for it. Putin has betrayed peaceful diplomacy without threat of force. Secretary Kerry has said for the last 2 years now that negotiations without the threat of force are meaningless.

Now the consensus has nothing to do with Syria. Its all about Russia, and the fact that Putin seems to believe the USA will never actually put its money where the mouth is. Alot of people are now demanding we take a stand in Syria, not because we give one shit about Syria, Aleppo or Assad, but because we need to show Russia that they cannot simply dictate the terms of their relationship with us.

>>31542782
>Putin has betrayed peaceful diplomacy without threat of force

lol

>>31542782
You don't even type shit like an American would. I don't give a fuck about what you're saying. We don't want war, I don't want more Americans to die because of some little shits fighting their wars in that fucking place.

>calling that anti-gun fuck Kerry "Secretary"
git

And of course diplomacy without threat of force is meaningless. What the living fuck do you think we've done for the past 70 some odd years after WW2? The reason we ain't going to Syria is the same reason we didn't cross the red line years ago. There is no way we're going to get into a shitfight with Iran and Russia for "lel regime change" that does us no fucking good at all. It's the Iraq War all over again!

>>31542561
Question: There's more people in Aleppo but in a smaller size than Grozny, right? Just how much of that population is currently under rebel control?

>>31540395
Not sure. I think we do have an innate rivalry with the Russians.

>>31537848
Because in the south there would be combat solely in urban areas with most of the civvies that are left in rebel held Aleppo. In the north there is a lot more open land.

>>31542841
The reason we didn't go into Syria until recently was ISIS invasion of Kurdish territory. This was something the DoD would not stand for at all. ISIS decision to invade Kurdistan brought the US into the war. But just against ISIS. Not against Syria.

Russia's decision to enter the war threw the entire negotiation strategy into the grinder. It brought Syria into the larger US problem with Russia. Like the invasion of Ukraine. It also brought in all the other people working on the crisis in Ukraine, and Estonia into the Syrian group's mess.

Here is how it's going to be. The USA is going to call Russia's bluff in Aleppo and attack the Syrian Arab Army. They will ignore Russian aircraft and bases in the region, and wait to see if Russia will shoot first. If Russia DOES shoot first, the DoD will be authorized to destroy Russian aircraft and air defense assets in Syria. But only Syria. If the Russian Navy attempts to protect them, the Navy will be authorized to sink the Russian ships. And then we will see how far Russia wants to take this. Policymakers believe Putin won't do shit, in that he won't risk nuclear war for Assad, and this will make a suitable example of the limits of American patience with Russia's adventurism.

>Turkish backed FSA plan to capture Dabiq in the next 48 hours
Hold on to your butts

>>31542854
Estimates go from 100 to 300 thousand people left in the revel controlled parts of Aleppo. There are about a million civilians in the government held part.

>>31542914
>Here is how it's going to be. The USA is going to call Russia's bluff in Aleppo and attack the Syrian Arab Army.
For what reason?

>>31542914
>delusion, the post
While most nations don't really care about international law nobody straight out ignores it. Attacking the still legitimate government of Syria is giving them and their allies a casus belli. Not happening.


If the US wants to stay with their strategy of regime change they'll choose a more subtle way. Any attempts to legally de legitimize Assad's government via the UN will be blocked by the Russians and chinks.

>>31540325
The Kindi hospital was flattened by the rebels some two or three years ago.

>>31543017
Take a look at sattelite images, there is only open land around it. Whatever rubble remains is still better than nothing.

>>31542987
Because we feel its necessary to challenge Russia over something that does not really matter to either of us. People in State Department are absolutely freaked that if we don't challenge Putin at some point Putin will do something we can't negotiate out of. Like invade Estonia. Blowing the ever living shit out of the Syrian Arab Army in Aleppo, ostensibly under the Protection of Russia would serve as a very pointed demonstration of American resolve. And military power.

>>31542997
Its a mistake to call Syria a Russian ally. Syria is a very useful political tool to Russia, and Russia's military intervention in Syria serves domestic policy concerns of showing Russian strength, and putting Russia at the center of the major international crisis of the day.

Russia would have decide whether or not those dune coons are worth risking the war over. Which its believed they won't risk.

>>31543042
Nigger, I used to think like you, but now I realize you are just a war fucking monger.

>>31542131
Just to inform you:

Aleppo was cut from the rest of the government controlled territory very early on (2012), and had to subsist with aitdrops and shit like that, while the rebels happily created pockets like AlKindi hospital, the Aleppo central prison, etc etc.

The first stage of retaking Aleppo was Operation Canopus Star. This was when the SAA still had some real manpower. They quickly cut through rebel territory, reached Al-Safira and took the city (there was an SAA pocket there in the factories that helped) and reached the Aleppo airport, where some soldiers were holed up. They wrapped the operation by breaking the siege on government controlled Aleppo (the west side of the city).

Stage two, they retook the entire Sheik Najjar Industrial City, approaching both Al Kweiris, the pocket that existed in the electric plant east of Aleppo and the central prison. Unfortunately for them, they lost both Al-Kindi and the thermal power plant before reaching them.

After that, break the siege of the central prison, work their way west to try and connect the shia towns that lay there. They were unable to complete this operation. Partial success.

Next, break Kweires siege and expand south of Aleppo.

Even next, finally connect their territories north of Aleppo, and work toward the siege, finally sieging the city.
Then you had the second setback in the form of the big rebel attack to break the siege in south Aleppo, which succeeded for a while.

After that, they again fully sieged the city and are advancing as we speak.

Discarding two setbacks, the whole Aleppo operation has been a big success for the government, although being stupidly slow because of a crippling lack of manpower.

>>31543042
You fail to understand the harm that would do. Despite the narrative in western news it wouldn't be a good idea to start a war with Syria and possibly Russia as clear aggressor, and that's what the US would be in that case. And in addition to the international backlash the US would have the next failed state in their books, as if there weren't enough foreign policy disasters in the last decade.

>>31543075
Not surprise, considering millions have fled for fucking Europe.

Syrians do not deserve Syria.

>>31543080
What does that have to do with what I've said? The lack of manpower?
People fleeing has surely taken a huge toll on the manpower pool of the country, I agree.

>>31543066
We are being forced into this situation. At this point, all anyone wants is the war to be over, but Russia intervening has so massively complicated things. Having Iran and Hezbollah mired in Syria was great from a strategic standpoint. Having Iran and Hezbollah allied with Russia in Syria on the other hand is a fiasco.

As I said, the forces pushing for US Intervention in Syria in the State Department are not even arguing privately in terms of protecting civilians. Its all about sticking it to Russia, and putting Russia in a situation where its militarily checked by the United States in a way that it has no real cause to escalate or retaliate against Europe.

Unless Putin is a mad man. In which case its a win either way, because we can kick off the Russo-American War with Russia as the aggressive power. But nobody believes Putin is insane. Just arrogant.

>>31543095
Fuck you bitch, just quietly move away from Syria and it will be over.

The war is over, not even americans support it.

>>31543095
Secretary Clinton, please leave

>>31543075
And to compare manpower.
The government operations to break the Aleppo siege and form a lasting supply route towards it had upwards of 7000 men commited to them (with maybe 5% being Hezbollah, the rest being SAA).

Nowadays, the syrian government is lucky if they manage to amass a force of 2000 where 40% of the troops are SAA/NDF.

>>31543125
>>31543075
And I made a mistake, Operation Canopus Star was the one where they took Sheik Najjar, the Operation to break the siege was Northern Storm.

Regarding Aleppo, the inhabitants have been having problems with the rebels since the beginning. Like this old guy.

https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Sep-27/189319-aleppo-residents-caught-in-crossfire-losing-faith-in-rebels.ashx#ixzz27cMjLaFd

>>31536977
Dubs of truth.

The international community means fucking nothing. Most people in the west don't give a shit about politics and are hardly invested in this particular battle; aside from the occasional tear jerkers on the 8 o'clock news.

If anything hose that do follow these conflicts hope that the rebels are broken so a measure of peace can be brought back to Syria. These last couple of years showed us that western democracy is not for the Middle East and that Assad did a pretty good job keeping things running.

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>>31543095
>If they retaliate to our attacks it means they are the aggressors

>>31543125
Its still strange, how 7k count as massive amount of manpower.
Not even comparing that war with stuff like the world wars which would be stupid; but even multiple centuries ago nations with far far smaller population then syria today could effortlessly bring 7k to a single field of battle. In fact it would even count just as small battle.

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>>31543234

>>31543250
It's a small number indeed, although the number refers to units commited to an operation.
Government troops in Aleppo and surrounding areas in 2012 and 2013 were numbering 20 to 30 thousand men. Which is also a rather low number of troops.

Multiple centuries ago you had the entire tribe (men) fighting, then returning to till the fields. In Syria, you have 200 thousand men running around a population of 12 million or so (the rest fled) civillians doing nothing/going on with their lives in the middle of the chaos.

>>31543075
Pretty good summary, anon. And you are right, always since the spring 2013 where there was real pressure on Western Aleppo and the southern supply routes cut; it is the regime who is strategically advancing and going into better and better positions.

Thats why the Arty College/Ramousah Offensive was so important. Besides breaking the siege it was the first time that the rebels improved the larger strategic picture by cutting the main supply lines to Western Aleppo. Its such a shame -if you are prorebel of course- that Fatah Haleb did so little to use the new situation and Nusra,Ahrar&friends alone were not enough to keep the situation stabil.

>>31543250
And an addendum.
The biggest battle of the war (yet) was th huge government counter offensive in Damascus that broke the rebels' back in and around the city, effectively surrounding them in East Ghouta.

This counter attack repelled the rebels from the highway connectin the Damascus airport to the city itself, repelled the rebels from the city center (that they were approaching), surrounded Darayya and Moahdamyeh (or whatever it's called), surrounded Yarmouk, advanced thourgh Adra attacking one of the rebel flanks, advanced on the opposite side from the airport towards the north cutting East Ghouta from the rest of rebel controlled countryside and them compressing that area a bit more to create a pocket of rebel forces.

Circa 70 thousand government troops (with 500 tanks) versus circa 20 thousand rebels troops.
2000+ rebels killed, 1000+ government troops killed.

>>31543339
That was an offensive with multiple single battles.
And it didnt broke their back (or just as an offensive actor), because Jaish al-Islam still remained then and now the largest or second largest single rebel group and for a long time hold their ground in the encircled pockets. Its only recently that they began to bleed, and even then its very much contributed due to their stupid mini civil war.

Also regarding the manpower, much of that were iraqi militias who flooded into the country at that point and were overwhelmingly deployed in the Damascus suburbs.

But otherwise I agree, the 2013 regime Rif Dimashq Offensive was probably one of the most important regime victories besides Canopus Star and Qusayr.

>>31542049
ex-yu ammo maybe

>>31543374
>That was an offensive with multiple single battles.
Hmm, okay.

>Also regarding the manpower, much of that were iraqi militias who flooded into the country at that point and were overwhelmingly deployed in the Damascus suburbs.
Wrong. At that time the government forces in Damascus were Republican Guards and "normal" army only. Not even Hezbollah was present (they were around Homs and Zabadani).

>>31543394
There was no question that a large number of iraqi militias (most importantly LAFA) were present.
Its legitime to question how effective they were and they were used mostly to hold pro-regime ground (and thus free up SAA troops) and garrison newly captured villages and towns, but still contributed a lot to that general manpower you quoted.
I agree with you that most of the offensive capabilities and actual assaults came from the Republican Guards, SAA and NDF.

And to add: Its also very obvious that the moment these militias were switched to Aleppo and went back to Iraq with the ISIS happening there, almost all SAA offensives and successes in the Rif Dimashq area came to an halt.

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>>31536106

old map is old

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Can someone just tell me who the good guys are???

>>31535954
>middle easterners/Muslims acting like crazed monkeys

These people are a disgrace

>>31543553
Jesus.

>>31543553
I am a good guy

It's interesting to see that the moment the west took notice of the white helmets, new videos from the rebels showing airstrikes all have the white helmet's symbol on them.
Even if the video comes from somewhere where they are not present.

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incendiary cluster bombs, also useful as a hot plate

>>31543553
>can someone just tell me who to cheer on, its too confusing to build an own opinion

t. typical drone

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good ol' Osa

>>31543709
A mans gotta eat

Rebels supported by Turkey are currently on the move, targetting Dabiq.
According to turkish army officers, the rebels will hit the town in less than 48h if everything goes according to plan.

Should be interesting to see this battle and its outcome for ISIS.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XtdsYtgtC8

>>31543553
Commander Shepard

>>31543700
Half of western media gets orders from above what to report about Syria, the other half is retarded enough to fall for this

>>31543095
Holy shit, kill yourself you neo-con fuck

>>31543250
The internet and identity politics have overpowered nationalism and led to fracture. It's harder to control groups of people now.

Realpolitik, as implemented by groups like the neoconservatives, has led to nothing but suffering and sorrow in the Middle East and elsewhere.

>>31542220

>Assad more like Assmad lmao

>>31541086
Even withholding Palestine, the guy is still at a -9/10

What's keeping the gulf states from flooding the rebels with anti air weaponry? It seems like the next step if they want the rebels to succeed, and with the Iran deal I'm sure they're less receptive to U.S.concerns over AA proliferation

>>31543709
what exactly is in those?

magnesium?
aluminium?
gelled fuels?

>>31543818

> realpolitik
> neoconservatives

Pick one. I don't think that a bunch of wannabe Israeli nationalists that think "spreading democracy" and empire-building in the Middle East are good ideas can be classified as "realists".

Actual people that believe in realpolitik would be guys like Mearsheimer or Kissinger.


Anyway could anybody explain why there's so many Iraqi Shia fighting for Assad in Syria and not against ISIS back home?

>>31542131
>Despite massively superior firepower and support from a world power (Russia) and regional power (Iran) they've been unable to take Aleppo for years now.

Did you forget the Russians arrived literally 1 year ago?

>>31540517
[Citation needed]

The Ayatollah just cockblocked the president and is screaming fuck America daily.

>>31544253
Not wanting to cut ties with the US. They are extremely opposed to it after the negative experiences they had in afghanistan. All propaganda aside they know how close most of the rebel groups are to the ideology of al queda and friends. Also even if that weren't a problem, we already saw how TOWs got into the hands of other groups after they overrun the rebel groups they were supplied to or simply bought them.

The risk of a single stinger falling into wrong hands and shooting down a starting/landing passenger jet doesn't seem to be worth it for them now.

>>31542452
I give Aleppo half a month, unless the Rebels make a big move somewhere else.

>>31542967
>plan

They are still losing villages to ISIS 50 miles away.

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>>31543095
>We are being forced into this situation

>>31537820
Haven't heard? Detroit got cleaned up really damn well, all those abandoned buildings are empty lots now with dirt cheap price tags on them.

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>>31539401
>using the mag as a grip

>>31543553
Everyone involved is just awful, pick the one that is closest to your own opinions, then constantly evaluate your opinion because it will be shit just like the side you support

>>31545030
Root for Israel.

Guaranteed to win.

>>31545081
I hate Rebels more than Assad, but I hate Assad more than US
I don't know what to think
I'm rooting for the poor green berets that have to train stupid fucktards in some war torn shithole

>>31542738
>lame duck president hampered by Congress
Point of order, he's a lame duck because he's been hampered by congress, mostly for bullshit reasons.

>>31544289

this submunition is explosive, its two cups fit together. They just disassembled it and set a fire to whatever material is in there.

>>31542609
About half a million have fled aleppo, mostly from the rebel controlled areas

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>BREAKING NEWS US suspends bilateral contact with Russia over Syria

WW3 when

Nothing from Kunduz in the whole thread? Granted, it got very little media attention and the situation is confused as hell, but still, thats why we have this thread.

Well, what I got is that: Yesterday night and this morning Taleban infiltrated into the provincial capital of Kunduz again (exactly one year after the MSF hospital strike) and this morning it was reported that a major Taleban attack was ongoing. Thats where most of the major newspaper reports were coming from, but complete silence since.

During the day the US said, that aircraft were in the air and SOF in the city, but that the situation was mostly calm and everything looked fine. But during the afternoon we got the confirmed news, that the Taleban in fact hold the central square and fighting was going on in the center.
Since then news sniplets indicate that either the Taleban have been pushed back completely or that most of the city has fallen to them, while mainstream media ignored the situation.
I guess we have to wait for tomorrow for a clearer picture.

>>31545850
For other Afghanistan news:
One of the last remaining Helmand districts has fallen two days ago. US airstrikes and their forces are the only thing that keeps the capital of the province from being overrun and it had been so for months.

So if things in the north escalate further, it could have pretty serious consequences for the fight down in the south as well

And the last news from the region.

Kashmir has been pretty violent and unstable for some time now. This morning yet another islamist attack came from across the pakistani border and the local indian border troops had enough of this bullshit and fired artillery at them, which was responded by pakistani artillery strikes. Noone killed afaik, but its still a worrying escalation. I dont know when the last time was that both sides fired arty at each other (happened a lot in the past, but I dont think it did in the last years)

>>31535954
But what is Aleppo?

>>31545997
it's a "leppo"

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>>31545997
Ask the New York Times

>>31545850
What's happening with Afghanistan
I've been following Syria for over a year now and never focused on the afghanis. All I've heard is that in Afghanistan the taliban is aiming for a big comeback as more US and international forces are pulled out.

>>31544743
of course he blocked the president. The Ayatollah and Rouhani have been at odds for a while.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-europe-rouhani-usa-idUSKCN0V50WX

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/06/guardian-view-iran-america-uncomfortable-ally

these are old posts, but they highlight the shift that has happened since Rouhani has been elected.

Rouhani is attempting to increase relations but as you said the Ayatollah is part of the cadre of politicians and religious leaders that do not want to improve relations. The current conflict in Syria and Iraq have strained relations, but you have to realize that at this point the US has resigned itself to not deposing assad. Rouhani is more pissed about the Iran nuclear deal more than the current conflict though, so it goes to show you that even the conflicts current wars aren't the biggest stumbling blocks for improved relations in Rouhani's eyes.

But the biggest sign of a shift is in the cleric council (which elects the next supreme leader). It has become increasingly moderate as more from Rouhani's side have been elected.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/moderates-dominate-council-clerics-iran-elections-160229091044340.html

To keep the post on track: heavy fighting has broken out in southern Aleppo near the cement factory. Unknown who initiated contact and if it is the SAA or the rebels that started the offensive. Will try to find out more about the incident

This comes as Turkish backed rebels in Northern Aleppo province took heavy casualties while attempting to capture the town of Bareh. It is stated that upon entering the town, the rebels found themselves in a large minefield that was responsible for all the casualties involved in the incident.

>>31546365
Oh, forgot to mention, the ceasefire talks have been suspended indefinitely.

So all bets as to whether the ceasefire will restart or not are off. This falls on deaf ears considering all the fighting that has happened during the "ceasefire," but it does mark the formal end to the attempted ceasefire.

>>31542914
You use the Kurds as an example to ratchet up the use of force by the us and then forget we completely sold them up the river when turkey came bitching after they took manbij. I don't see Assad or Iran or Russia backing down from their stance nor do I see us strait up going to war.

>>31546456
last post before my class starts.

Houthi officials revealed that they developed a new ballistic missile. The Somoud appears to be crudely designed, but is said to have a range of 38km's. Its unsurprising that the Houthi's developed this given both their knowledge on ballistic missiles and their prolific use of them as force projection or retaliatory weapon systems given their lack of an air force or other units that allow them to strike targets beyond their ground forces reach.

video is of the missile reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xthkHSuHWJ0

An update on the fighting that happened near the cement factory in Aleppo. Saw an unverified report that it is the SAA that is attempting to advance towards the Sheik Saeed district. Source is pro FSA, but it is the only account that has given an indication of what side is attacking and which side is defending.

Lastly; here's some footage of fighting in Aleppo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvNEhKNDCo

>>31546738
The Kurds/SDF still hold exactly the same ground the did when Turkey intervened; they have not lost a single square meter to the turkish-back rebels.

Turkey was also screaming at the top of their lungs how they will go to Manbij and suddenly lost interest and now focuses on Al Bab.
Its pretty likely that a certain someone did a lot of pressure behind the scenes to get them off the kurds.

>>31545840
State Department really wants a war with Syrian government before the elections.

>>31546963
the houthis didn't rally use many ballistic missiles, the remains of salehs republican guard did and do. They launched all the tochkas and scuds and the nigger rigged stuff like the quaher 1 which appear to have been modified SA-2 Guidelines.

>>31547451
didn't the kurds largely retreat from manbiji?

>>31546963
Correct , Sheik Saeed district next to the cement plant is a target area for the SAA/Shia along with the water plant in old Aleppo.

IS sleeper cells active in Hama city today attacking with 3 suicide bombers who did little damage however stuck deep in the city. Also a SAA counter attack failed there. Both sides are heavily shelling each other with the Ruaf trying to hold back the rebels amide a SAA counter attack that went nowhere.

IS has a large secret network of bases on the Hama Homs border region(a long time theory of mine).. IS will be a factor in rural Hama as this plays out.

Another IS suicide bomber attack today in Hasakah at a YPG members wedding caused a high death toll of about 30 killed. Honeymoon canceled, stay classy IS.

>>31547555
>appear
They are SA-2's

I believe they got Iranian help in modifying the missiles. They got about a 300km range and appear to have decent targeting systems given that they managed to hit a Saudi airport that was around 2-300 km's away from the launch site a few weeks back.

But you are correct. It isn't the houthi's but Republican Guard artillery units. I should have clarified that

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Chechen update. New picture of a Abdul Hakim Shishani of Ajnad al Kavkaz in Hama . He is a well known veteran of fighting in Chechnya.

>>31546160
Holy shit, you americans are a riot.

>>31547570
No, exactly the same frontline, only that instead of ISIS they are now facing turkey backed rebels south of Jarabulus

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/10/03/russia-deploys-advanced-anti-missile-system-to-syria-for-first-time-us-officials-say.html

Is this pretty much a "lol, try it" to the USA trying to blow up Syrian air bases? Would Russia also use this against IDF trying to hit Hez/Iranian assets?

>>31547895
i wonder how hard it is to modify something like the SA-2 so you can use it with decent accuracy against ground targets. I mean you could just use it unguided but that seems unreliable considering the range you can squeeze out of it if you dont change the warhead (which they apparently didn't).

>>31538279
Everyone in this thread has autism.

Normies don't give a shit about the middle east except when some mudslime chimps out and kills some white people.

Anyways I don't understand why you seem upset that the Turkish rebels are heading in a straight shot south toward Al Bab and in the direction of the SAA. Its foolish to suggest they haven't at least considered reengaging the SAA once ISIS is clearned from the north.

>>31536961
shhhhhhhh our 'friends' wouldn't do something inhumane!

>>31543509
It's 10/01/16 bro they do dates differently

>>31543553
The Kurds.

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>>31543553

Why don't you do some reading and formulate your own opinion you blue-pilled fucking Hillary-supporting insect.

>>31545840

The Neo-Cons in the basement of the Pentagon must be assuming that Hillary Clinton - the Borg queen is going to get into the White House and they can continue their broad policy of regime change and fucking with Russia.

>>31545131
He had congress in his hands for two years and would have still kept it if he wasn't absolute shit at his job.

>>31543042
So why don't we pull out or work together on this instead of risk WW3 over nothing? The US would still be showing its ass as the biggest retards in the world for this and to top it all off this shit is absolutely pointless in terms of anyone giving a shit.

>>31543095
Grow a fucking brain before you start talking policy downie.

Any info on the HSV-2 sinking?

http://www.alternet.org/world/inside-shadowy-pr-firm-thats-driving-western-opinion-towards-regime-change-syria

the fact that these (((assholes))) are trying to drag us into another war is mind boggling. general public may be pants on head about syria but this is going to have to be a way bigger sell than the iraq war.

>>31548378
>>31547630

>>31551827
No. If Syria wasn't the main topic the sinking of a navel ship by a anti ship missile, even if it was just a transport, should have caused a shitfest but instead UAE is covering the whole thing up. This makes me suspicious.

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>>31548225
Against Hez/Iranian assets? Doubtful.
Against US cruise missiles? Most likely

>>31549641
neat

>>31549641

Back in the 90's you would have called bullshit if you saw US soldiers covered in boxy tech and cables doing things like this, let alone a group of rag tag chanting religious fanatics in the middle east.

War has changed.

>>31551827
>>31552645
Has there been anything at all on it anywhere? Seems to have been very well hushed up, if it wasn't for that one video nobody would have any idea.

>>31553226
I saw it on [spoiler]reddit[/nospoilerson/k/], right on the front page

>>31543553
Probably the least immoral groups there would be the Assyrians or Druze. Then the Kurds, kinda.

>>31543872
Realpolitik has nothing to do with neoconservatism, at least not from the point of view of people who actually care about foreign policy for a living. Neoconservatism intervenes in a kind of liberal interventionism, which is anathema to the recognition of the restrictions of power to be projected overseas and to enact political goals on foreign lands that realpolitik obsesses over. There is a reason even offensive neorealists like Mearsheimer were some of the few voices against starting the Iraq war. "I'm just being a realist" is an excuse by officials too cowardly to admit why they are actually doing what they do in the middle east.

So if what people are saying, that Aleppo will be secured in a month or a few months, does that mean that the civil war is basically over? I mean where else are the Islamists going to fight at?

They can't launch offensives at Latakia, they can't launch anymore offensives around Aleppo, Hama will probably stall as more manpower and airstrikes become available. All they will be able to do is fight either a defensive war (I still believe they will be able to defend Idlib prov. effectively), or a simmering low-intensity insurgency consisting of ping pong matches for pissant villages. That or they go over and join the Turks in the North Aleppo countryside.

I'm also willing to bet that Russia/Iran want Aleppo secured before the next US President (because of worst case scenario: i.e. Hill).

Is this generally where we're headed?

There is some morning action in Syria. Last night rebels claim to have repelled the nightly IS attack in south west Damascus/Qalamoun. Something about a destroyed BMP and many killed IS.

-Multiple rebel factions have announced a battle in western Ghouta in one of the last pockets

-Hama , more SAA counter attacks ongoing along with heavy Ruaf/Saaf bombing.

-Aleppo, rebels claim have repelled another SAA attempt into Sheik Saeed district.

Places to watch today are Hama, Aleppo, northern Aleppo, eastern Ghouta and the last pocket in western Ghouta. This is a hot pocket. Overall shaping up to be a violent day.

>>31542220
>>31542258
>>31543075
>>31544721
wewlad, these sand nigger MIDFs are triggered as fuck. It's like another nakba!

Anyway as to the last guy, no, you can't call the Aleppo situation a "big success". The regime has been unable to control one of the largest cities in the country for 3 years and only is making progress because they got bailed out by Russia.

>>31553113
For the best. I can't wait to watch footage of the next American civil war. Shit is going to be so cash.

>>31553641
>So if what people are saying, that Aleppo will be secured in a month or a few months, does that mean that the civil war is basically over?

No.

There's still large amounts of the country the Russian proxys don't control. It will be many more months to secure these even if they never suffer a defeat, which obviously won't be the case.

Then comes the fun part. Once the Russian proxys occupy the entire country, the conventional phase of the war ends. Then the unconventional phase begins. Guerrilla warfare, sectarian violence, and all around a situation like Iraq 2004-2008. It is going to be a big huge bloody mess, but I'm sure /k/ will downplay it as always. After this, the Russians may try to curb Kurdish autonomy and then we have another round of violence.


"Syria" is done, the nation has failed. the world should just give up and go home. Or Russia can continue to pour resources into this failed state for no real reason. There's lots more hospitals that need bombing I'm sure.

>>31553700
Syria must have the largest concentration of hospitals in the world lol

>>31553700
It's a fucking proxy war. All sides will continue to pour resources in. It's not costly enough for any interested party to stop.

If Aleppo falls or doesn't. If rebels are knocked out of conventional ground control or not. It doesn't freaking matter. Enough money and weapons will flow into the country to maintain conflict for decades. Neither Russia/Iran, nor the US/Sunni coalition will back down. It's fucking disgusting.

>>31553768
The conflict isn't pure proxy, it's proxy in the context of a sectarian/ethnic conflict. Assad now requires Russians and Iranian aid on a massive level or he will fall, while the Sunni majority insurgents will continue to wreak havoc with or without outside aid.

>>31553768
>All sides will continue to pour resources in. It's not costly enough for any interested party to stop.
I'm still not an anarchist/AnCap/etc., but shit like this sure fucking pushes me to think an abolition of govt. would really be beneficial.

>>31553700
Hol up

>There's still large amounts of the country the Russian proxys don't control.

So, excluding the Kurds and Islamic State, which aren't huge military threats to Assad, by that you mean largely pacified pockets like the Homs pocket, Eastern Ghouta and the pathetic Southern Front that all don't do very much apart from sniper and mortar attacks every now and again? If the Syrian Army and friends had the resources, they would be able to eliminate them fairly swiftly (e.g. see the progress in East Ghouta, just think of what they could do had they more men and weren't fighting a multi-front war)

>Once the Russian proxys occupy the entire country, the conventional phase of the war ends

They will never be able to reconquer Idlib gov., not unless the Iranians pour tens of thousands of proxies into the fight, and even then, I doubt they would advance for shit. Plus, why on earth would Assad even want to reconquer them? Then you have a huge area that hates you and that would be a burden. I think the Russians will convince him to let most of it go imo.

>Guerrilla warfare, sectarian violence, and all around a situation like Iraq 2004-2008

How if the Islamists/jihadists in Idlib won't be able to advance anywhere significant against Assad? They will be completely directionless once Aleppo is gone.

>inb4 muh infighting

imo, Nusra and friends will crack skulls brutally and solidify their de facto Islamic statelet in Idlib with other allied jihadi factions before letting it get torn apart (that or they will agree among themselves to carve up who controls what villages, with Nusra being the main force), I'm not sure about Assad's side tho...

>>31553700
Delusion. It'll take time, but Syria will be back.

>>31538641
NO, that is fucking delicious!

>>31553781
Without outside aid the rebels won't last 6 months.
Especially if Assad stops the UN aid into rebel areas.

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>>31554236
>the rebels won't last 6 months.
>>31553641
>Aleppo will be secured in a month or a few months
>does that mean that the civil war is basically over?
That delusion
Why do Assadfags never learn? They are spouting the same shit that Assad has won everything is as good as over, for years now. Well, the tears will be the more delicious

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>>31551827
>>31552645
>>31553226
We know that the Emiratis had this ship, that it was very likely on the yemeni coast, that noone ever has seen it again since then and that none of the saudi sailors on board have been heard of since then. And that the UAE are completely 1000% sure that everything is okay and nothing has happened to it.

Its amazing how easily it is to silence media coverage with a little bit of oilmonies.

>>31542863
>i think therefurr durr it is
turn off the magic box, friendo.
>innate
howso? we inhabit opposite sides of the rock. ya gonna need proofs or it didn't happen

So, if the SAA takes Aleppo and manages to hold it for a month or so, when could we expect the war to be over?

>>31553653
>in one of the last pockets
That's where the SAA moved once they were finished with Darayya, FYI.

>>31554615
It won't be "over", but there will be no point in the Idlib islamists continuing to fight as they will have nowhere to advance to aside from the Hama countryside, but even that will *probably* stall.

After Aleppo they will be forced to fight either a defensive war (Assad may try to recapture lost territories, particularly in the countryside), or a low-intensity conflict until a political deal is struck, ending the civil war between Assad and the Rebels in Idlib and in the various pockets.

I doubt Assad + Iran have the military capability (at this moment) to reconquer all of Idlib gov. nor would it be a very good idea in any case (hated by the population there).

>>31554978
>ending the civil war between Assad and the Rebels in Idlib and in the various pockets.

This prolly will never happen though because it would mean that all the "refugees" in europe would have to go back to help rebuild their now-pacified home country. And we all know that TPTB would rather start a world war rather than abandoning their kalergian plans for europe in that regard

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>>31541039
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident
>The U.S. released video footage from previous missions which revealed that American reconnaissance crews had previously been intercepted by Lt. Cdr. Wang. During one such incident, he was shown approaching so close that his e-mail address could be read from a sign that he was holding up.

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>>31553653
It seems, based in pro Rebel report, that Rebels overrunned some SAA/NDF positions west of Salamiyah, near the right "horn" of the Homs pocket, and grabbed weapons, ammo and vehicles. Aside from that, nothing much until now.

There this video of Rebels fighting in Northern Hama:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reKg5cYJQPk

Something that was mentioned yesterday in the thread it was reports of fighting between the SDF/YPG and Rebels in the outskirts of Kaljibrin, south of Azaz. It was probably nothing much, too.

In something more unrelated, ISIS showed the project for their own money. When ISIS got finally finished off, and all this matter become part of past, imagine how much coin collectors would pay for those.

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>>31555237
>Something that was NOT mentioned yesterday in the thread

Anyway, other thing that I dont remember if it was reported is that Abu Faraj Al Misri, shura member and senior AQ/JAN/JFS veteran was reported killed by US airstrike west of Jisr al-Shughur, Idlib. US claim it and JFS confirmed it.

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>40 Million Russians To Take Part In "Nuclear Disaster" Drill, Days After US General Warns Of War With Moscow

An unprecedented 40 million Russian citizens, as well as 200,000 specialists from "emergency rescue divisions" and 50,000 units of equipment are set to take part in a four day-long civil defense, emergency evacuation and disaster preparedness drill starting tomorrow, one which will test Russian preparedness in response to "disasters and fires" as well as the rehearsal of "radiation, chemical and biological protection."

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>>31555299
>"Right now, Senator, for us to control all of the airspace in Syria would require us to go to war against Syria and Russia. That is a pretty fundamental decision that certainly I’m not going to make," said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff suggesting the policy was too hawkish even for military leaders.

What did the testifying high-ranking general mean by this?

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Some photos of the RSNF in the Gulf Shield-1 military exercise.

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>>31555334

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>>31555309

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>>31555345

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>>31555360

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>>31555367

>>31535954
What's Aleppo?

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>>31555376

>>31555309
he meant he cant do shit

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>>31555386

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>Kerry : A cease-fire must include overflights of Syrian and Russian flights.

amerJew modesty

>>31545850
>Everyone completely forgot we are still in Afghanistan with 10,000 troops
>Afghanistan literally falling to the Taliban again

Oh isn't that convenient right before the election.

>>31546160
Hmmmmmmmmm might explain why we blew up 105 Syrian troops in Dier.

>>31546365
You do know that the Ayatollah nominates all the Cleric Council candidates and chooses half of them?

Iran is moderating some from the days of Ahmenijad, but it's just to keep the liberal people happy. Like chasing a pie in the sky.
The real power remains in the hands of the Ayatollah.

If he dies soon, that may change everything though.

>>31547570
Parts of the SDF (Arab groups) did.

But, as we all know, 90% of the SDF = Kurds.

>>31553641
The rebels lost in 2013.

That doesn't mean the SAA has won. The civil war will continue for a few more years.

But barring a Hillary intervention, the SAA will win.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiPa5uVbwmc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVifEFS0DOA

>>31553785
Humans need government, and the ones we have are pretty well designed, legally speaking. The problem is humans are inherently power seeking, breaking the well designed legal framework.
The ideal government is dictatorship via a well written AI that will never act against the interests of the people.

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UHMMM

GUYS

>51seconds ago
Russia's Defense Ministry says they have delivered a S-300 air defense system to its naval base in Tartus, Syria - TASS
read more on tass.com

>>31556142
Didn't they already have an S-400 there?

The War in Syria Is Headed for Catastrophe, But US Politicians Are Blind
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/never-back-down-never-surrender-except-very-one-time/ri16807

>>31556172
>>31556172
I'm not sure but even if that's the case it means they're officially preparing for war with the US now by sending even more there

Fuck me those russians really mean business

This could spiral out of control any moment now that all diplomatic channels have been closed by the (((US)))

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>>31556172
S-300V4.
They are against ballistic missiles

>>31556250
I don't think that's news. I'm pretty sure the S-400 system was already deployed at this russian airbase in latakia province, and I think there was a russian ship sporting S-300s by the coast too

>>31556412
primarily, but not necessarily

http://www.military-today.com/missiles/antey_2500.htm

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>>31549418

https://syria.liveuamap.com/
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1OSttyvbGKqntDjF8Q0vfHCHUZo4

But the northern part, directly "over" the kurd district have already been liberated by the SAA, in a joint operation with the local kurds, days ago

whoever did this map, just isnt from /sg/

>>31556172
The S400 is at Khmeimim air base afaik

>>31556412
S-400 is against ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, since its object AA. S-300V is primarily against army level threats, since it is army AA.

>>31556412
Basically, who cares, because the USA won't attack Russian assets directly and Russia won't attack US assets directly.

Step reporting a rebel counter attack ongoing in Aleppo. I am not sure yet which location they are referring too or if it's in the sieged part or in southern Aleppo.
>>31555237
Yes I saw that earlier as conflicting reports. I want to mention the NDF said the attack west of Salamiyah was repelled. They posted this at the same time pro rebel accounts claim they took the checkpoints. It has gotten to the point where pro rebel sources claim something and pro SAA sources claim the opposite within mintues of each other. I am left trying to sort it out everytime.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/04/world/aleppo-then-now/index.html?sr=twCNN100416aleppo-then-now0630PMStoryLink&linkId=29526670

This CNN story has good satellite images of Aleppo before and after 2013 to 2016. Cool damage assessment.

>>31539493
>Shia Iraq
>Shia Lebanon
What about Shia LaBeouf?

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>>31558968

What about sunni lebeuf?

>>31558968

that's Iran, located in the Shia LaGulf

>>31556447
S-300FM "Fort" SAM's, yup.

Can't remember the exact missile model though, seeing as these things aren't S-125N's and just sport one model.

Need Help

I am looking for a twitter page where u could find only syrian war related tweets.Its twitter page that compilemany syrian war related tweets on one place .

name was something like /JeremiyaSyriaList

https://twitter.com/Jeremiija/lists/syria

>>31555595
>If he dies soon
late reply, but that's the point. The Cleric Council nominates the next Ayatollah is 77 years old. At that age who knows what might happen, maybe he dies tomorrow, maybe in ten years. The point is that he is going to pass away in the next two decades and whomever has more of their own people in the Cleric Council will decide who is the next Ayatollah

>>31560808
The current Ayatollah is 77 years old***

>>31555309
If you try to stop your enemies, they win.

>>31555390
>he meant he cant do shit

I beg to differ. If (and a big if) there was some sort of huge multi-Western nation "coalition of the willing" prepared to deploy their aircraft alongside US ones for a no-fly-zone over Aleppo and elsewhere, and if it this done quickly enough, there isn't a lot Russia or anyone else could really do about it.

ofc I doubt this will EVER happen, and even if it did, you can bet the Ruskies probably won't hesitate to use SAMs, or at least get the SAA to use them on their behalf, although they would be stumped if the aircraft were mostly F-22s and F-35s ;)

>>31556250
>This could spiral out of control any moment

Why do you retards actually believe shit like this? Do you have any idea of the huge gap between Russian and US hard and soft power and global allies????

Thread almost dead but finally some freshness.
It seems lately all the important ground combat starts and ends in the morning and by evening it's nothing but shelling/airstrikes and counter shelling. Actulee this is the typical pace of fighting in Syria unless it's a major battle. All that aside a rebel faction has announced a battle in Hama. They are coming from a different flank than the one they broke through last week. This is in western Hama. Should be a good one. I suspect the SAA is getting ready for their first ground intrusion into sieged Aleppo this morning as well.

tl;dr shit is kicking off in Hama for the first action of the morning.

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Obama Warned To Defuse Tensions With Russia, "Unintended Consequences Likely To Be Catastrophic"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-04/obama-warned-defuse-tensions-russia-unintended-consequences-likely-be-catastrophic

US Considering Air Strikes On Assad Regime After Top General Warns It Could Lead To War With Russia
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-04/us-considering-air-strikes-assad-regime-after-top-general-warns-it-could-lead-war-ru

>>31564751
You realise that US threats of "military force" are mainly for political pressure right? You do realise this right??

They've been saying this shit for years, plus US Syria policy is extremely schizophrenic to say the least (e.g. against Assad in some areas, not against him in others).

>war with Russia

How is this even possible if Russia is outclassed by the West/the US in air, land and sea power and soft power in every single way??

>but there be nuclear war comrade

What is US/European nuclear deterrent?????

>>31546160
BWAHAHAHAH

And these fuclking CLOWNS of so called (((journalists))) think they can talk about politics. Unbelievable.

The leftist press is made of litteral FANZINES at this point.

I bet there is more professionalism in a weeaboo-owned publication about cute anime girls doing cute things.

God fucking dammit

>>31564944
>>31564944
IIRC the russians have more tanks than all of NATO combined plus all the soviet shit they could refurbish again

>>31556692
S-300V is anti ballistic
S-300P is anti air (S-400 is S-300PMU3)
S-300F is naval anti air

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>>31538605
Gotta love the spirit of capitalism!

>>31563588
Anything happen with the Hama Assault? Any gain in Aleppo?

>>31565301
can they withstand a nuke? What point of mutually assured destruction can you not get through your numbskull? Jesus this conversation is beyond retarded for a thread about some shithole called syria. Fuck, this isnt even close to Korean war level of proxy-war- at least then we were at least actively fighting russian jetfighters. And we knew it, we heard maydays in Russian- and America ignored it. They ignored it, we can fight each other for FUN like idiots, but no one can ever try to win. The game of war is OVER. It's not an option anymore.

>>31565301
all those old Soviet tanks have done so well in this conflict, too

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>>31561973
stop pretending to be retarded anytime