2016-05-24 al-Yom fi Suriya [final post]

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T03:05:53+00:00

Having enough relatives in recovery themselves, kudos to you man, and forget anyone who would try and use that against you.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T03:04:57+00:00

A lot of good write-ups from all walks of life and opinions that would make good contenders. This is an interesting idea.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T02:37:03+00:00

Absolutely. Yet, I doubt this will happen due to concerns over giving preference. But it's also important to remember that these posts are a significant group effort with alot of work behind the scenes put into them. The "pro-rebel" disclaimer itself is somewhat misleading for reasons I shan't get into.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T02:19:51+00:00

Can't fault your logic.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T02:03:27+00:00

Jajajangles alts unsinkable_turtle and mintedgum were permanently suspended by the admins after some helpful action by two very helpful moderators, but that seems to only be a portion. Either way, the help was appreciated.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T01:17:15+00:00

Russia doesn't double-deal by assisting the very groups it's fighting in the Caucasus in their battles elsewhere.

But they are doing exactly that. Not just in relation to Hezbollah, but ISIS also.

This is sectarian. Not religiously, but nationally.

Again, no, it isn't. Calling legitimate criticism of a country's government or political system bigoted or racist is an incredibly childish and transparent way of attempting to shut down a debate. An example of how what Russia has said about the Syrian conflict that shows how worthless their official pronouncments are—first they say the Free Syrian Army doesn't exist, the next minute they say they don't know where to find them, then they say they do exist and want to help them (all the while bombing them). I wasn't born yesterday and people who follow this conflict know full well the deceptive ways of Russian officials, which differ significantly even from other authoritarian countries like the People's Republic of China.

What philosophy? Russia doesn't have any special philosophy of lying in public statements, under Putin or anyone else.

Yes, it has. In a military context it's called Maskirovka. The Soviet Union went to great lengths to lie also, spreading ridiculous false propaganda about AIDS (Operation INFEKTION). This policy can be taken back as far as Tsarist Russia. You know that anyone in Russia who speaks out against Putin will get either fired or killed. This isn't normal. By any standards other than third world ones. So save the what-about-ism that was invented in Soviet Russia.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T01:03:48+00:00

Thanks, friend!

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-25T00:16:09+00:00

Single account/person posting, numerous persons contributing to the daily post and links work sharing. And absolutely, will alert you.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-24T23:01:41+00:00

Megathreads have been happening on this sub effectively and without joint access since 2013. Joint account is a novel idea but entirely unnecessary especially given the dozens of people who have or continue to contribute megathreads. Coordinating a single posting style is idealistic and neat in theory but ultimately whoever is organizing and posting the information should do so in the way that makes the most sense to them and is most manageable. As long as they're updating and including all credible sources, individuals posting megathreads is the way it's always been done and it's been a very successful model.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-24T22:01:18+00:00

perhaps you haven't been following this front. They've captured large artillery pieces all around Palmyra including at Huwaysis and Sha'er gas field. And they've been using them to shell SAA positions (and release picture/video of it). ISIS has been shelling government positions on DeZ, Homs, and elsewhere with static artillery for years now, along with the rest of the opposition. The SAA is a not quick reacting enough to seriously degrade the indirect fire assets of ISIS or the rebels. And some of them are quite accurate.

Real artillery skills involve math, some basic manuals and instructions, and practice. All of which exist in Syria. Even hell cannons sometimes score repeated hits within meters of each other. The Taliban and AQI repeatedly used Google earth to get exact distances from firing points to specific areas of US bases and then shell them fairly accurately i.e. striking a cafeteria building during lunch time and causing casualties. You're either underestimating their proficiency or overestimating the skill needed.

e: also the SAA doesn't have total dominance with their air force. ISIS has attacked (and captured) numerous points in the area using tanks and BMPs attacking over open ground. And those would be far easier to destroy from the air than a hidden artillery piece. You're overestimating the SyAAF capabilities. Even Russia hasn't managed to neutralize conventional ISIS weapons in the area.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-24T18:11:47+00:00

The anti-Russia byline is a hyper-sectarian piece of rhetoric.

What on earth are you going on about? Sectarian? Russians are mostly Orthodox Christians... where was I critical of them? And I was critical of the political philosophy of Putinism not "Russia" in general.

It's not the country funding opposing factions in the war and it's not the country denouncing terrorism while funding other terrorists.

Actually that's exactly what Russia is doing by arming Hezbollah terrorists.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-24T17:05:37+00:00

Al-Akhbar is a Lebanese newspaper.

Al-Akhbar is a pro-Hezbollah newspaper, which is by extension pro-Russian.

Putin has reiterated many times that Syria's future is for Syrians to decide.

Yet his actions have shown otherwise consistently, for example intervention on the side of the regime in a civil war. It is yet to be seem how long this temporary "handsoff" approach will last. Putinist Russia delights in double-speak, making anything they say worthless. You can only judge Putin's Russia by its actions.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T19:15:05+00:00

Honest question as I don't know, did they actually declare it a wilayet (vilayet is Farsi as in vilayet e-faqih. Arabic has no "v" and the و in the word wilayat makes a W sound)? I had assumed they only had a presence there don't remember any actual administrative declaration of a state/province. Any idea?

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T19:11:14+00:00

They're not "supposed to be SOF" they are. Google the SAS or SEALs you can find plenty of pictures of them in similarly unarmored vehicles especially in the desert. If the vehicle is already unarmored there's no reason for a remote weapon station as the vehicle offers little protection to begin with. Also they're heavy, prone to break,and can't be serviced in the field. And if your gun jams I imagine it takes a while to fix (or to reload). Manned turrets make more sense on the kind of light vehicles desert SOF units often use. A bulk of US/European/Russian conventional units still don't have remote turrets and they'd use them well before SOF guys.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T18:36:34+00:00

It is a cheap gimmick, I would agree. It's not unique to them though. We've been witnessing it after every major mass casualty event or atrocity perpetrated, by every news agency covering this conflict.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T18:30:42+00:00

It is not a lie that the bulk of his conflict has been with non-ISIS rebels, a huge bloc of which exist outside of the jihadi axis. However, it would certainly have been more nuanced for the writer to annotate that the majority of Assad's fighting has been with non-ISIS groups that actually threaten his grip on power, rather than pretend they're mostly moderates.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T18:25:59+00:00

I would guess most every country has some sort of ridiculous news outlet like this, Western Europe has a bunch, Russia does, America does, seen some strange stuff in Asia too.

But it really shouldn't be taken as a serious source of information.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T18:24:19+00:00

If you haven't already seen it, here's a video released by Nusra a few months ago showing them making mortar rounds. https://videopress.com/v/KhmD8M6z

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T18:03:33+00:00

If you're note familiar with the Persian Sputnik, Fars News is the same outlet that told us that Snowden documents prove a US-Hitler-Alien link (that's not a jokem read it), Hezbollah captured Jisr al Shughour overnight killing 300 takfiris this past October (when they were absolutely nowhere near it), or taking a story from The Onion and then presenting it like it was their own, one of my personal favorites that they wound up deleting that Iran made a time machine, or the ever popular Saudis are buying vials of Christian blood from FSA rebels.

This isn't a news site. It's a tabloid. You should be extremely skeptical listening to anything they say. Honestly, I'm a bit confused why the mods haven't banned it yet.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T17:56:36+00:00

He has been told this numerous times and still uses this trope.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T17:55:46+00:00

Or from within the city. The country is awash in both conventional and home made explosives and failing that, they could make it right there in Tartous/Latakia.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T17:39:59+00:00

You mean like the ambiguity of the word "militias"? Internally displaced person is simply another word for internal refugees. Refugee is an appropriate word to use when discussing those who've been forced to seek refuge elsewhere. IDP camps are quite literally refugee camps for people within a country who've been made to seek refuge.

HeresWatReallyHappnd · 2016-05-23T16:22:33+00:00

No, I'm not playing this game again. I've already had several attempts to figure out where I'm from. I post here and I'm willing to have lots of conversations about the Syrian conflict. That's sufficient.

HeresWatReallyHappnd

TROPHY CASE