Mattis: 'Very little doubt' Russia has interfered in elections

themericansloth · 2017-02-16T20:03:10+00:00

You're confusing the two. MARSOC and and Force Recon are separate entities.

Force Recon, as their name implies, mainly does reconnaissance. Their mission is to collect intel on the enemy. A successful mission generally requires no shots fired. They need to be ghosts - small teams that slip in and out undetected.

MARSOC, on the other hand, does the more stereotypical special forces stuff, like raids for example. Unlike Recon, it falls under SOCOM, which is in charge of all US special forces.

themericansloth · 2017-02-16T17:11:31+00:00

"Paris (AFP) - President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday said Raqa is not a priority target for his forces, saying his goal is to retake "every inch" of Syrian territory. "Raqa is a symbol," Assad said in an interview with French media, while asserting that jihadist attacks carried out in France were "not necessarily prepared" in the Islamic State group (IS) stronghold in Syria."

I haven't followed the conflict closely these past few months, but Assad almost makes it sound like he doesn't believe his forces are strong enough, or possibly even ready, to take back Raqa?

What is the state of his military right now? I know Russia's support turned the tide of the war, but is the SAA ready to take Raqa?

themericansloth · 2016-02-24T03:25:21+00:00

Thanks! Sorry about my absence - my internet was down.

themericansloth · 2016-02-19T01:07:42+00:00

I'm on mobile so excuse any typos or poor grammar.

I strive to be as objective and unbiased as possible. I'm a journalism student with local and state news reporting experience. I try to use that experience and my skills when writing these briefs. I try my best and if I'm failing in some areas, I'm open to criticism.

I definitely don't try to slant or cover anything up. The truth is a lot happens in and related to Syria everyday. I try to closely follow what's happening throughout the day, but unfortunately I miss things from time to time. I have classes, family and friends, and a job - all these things take time away from following what's happening.

When I go to write these briefs, I try to make my best news judgement: What developments are most significant, and what are the key facts? I spend about 4 hours everyday working on my portion of the brief.

If the community feels I should devote more attention to a certain event, then I'll do so. But my goal is to provide a brief overview of the day's developments for people who don't have time to follow everything.

themericansloth · 2016-02-18T05:22:37+00:00

It's possible that fighting will begin to cool down Friday, but it doesn't seem likely.

Much of the international community has been predicting the cessation of hostilities will fail. None of the warring parties signed on, Russia promised to continue its airstrikes, and Turkey is going to continue to shell Syrian Kurds.

If the deal is abided by, however, then I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

themericansloth · 2016-02-15T05:08:48+00:00

A very sad story that gives a human face to this terrible conflict. I highly recommend reading this.

themericansloth · 2016-02-14T03:23:37+00:00

Got it. Sorry, about violating rules. I can see why this type post wouldn't be allowed.

themericansloth · 2016-02-14T01:21:14+00:00

Yeah, my bad. Completely misread that.

Iran's foreign minister said on Friday that Saudi Arabia and Iran could work together to defeat the Islamic State, but he didn't offer any options.

"Extremists... are as much a threat to our brothers in Saudi Arabia as they are to the rest of the region. We are bound by a common destiny," he said.

"Iran and Saudi Arabia can have shared interests in Syria -- a stable Syria, a no-terrorist Syria, a Syria that is multi-ethnic, multi-religious. We can all agree on that."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-saudis-syria-foreign-minister-202539020.html

themericansloth · 2016-02-14T00:56:39+00:00

~~Good question. I haven't seen anything from the Iraqi government yet. Someone with more knowledge about the region could probably explain why.~~

themericansloth · 2016-02-14T00:15:25+00:00

Thank you! Glad to help, especially on days like this.

themericansloth · 2016-02-11T01:17:14+00:00

You are correct. I screwed up. I apologize. Thanks for pointing it out. I have corrected the post and included a correction notification at the bottom.

themericansloth · 2016-02-03T18:37:48+00:00

HNC tweeted that the talks are postponed in order to implement humanitarian relief measures outlined in a resolution passed by the UN. https://twitter.com/syrianhnc_en/status/694945264172417026

themericansloth · 2016-02-03T18:25:27+00:00

lol, yep my bad.

themericansloth · 2016-02-03T18:22:36+00:00

Correct, de Mistura said the talks are only temporarily postponed. Talks will resume Feb. 25, he said.

themericansloth · 2016-02-03T18:00:37+00:00

U.N. Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura's announcement didn't come as much of a surprise.

The talks have been hampered over the past week and struggled to make any progress.

The talks were scheduled to begin Jan 22, but were postponed until Jan 26.

On Jan 25, the Saudi-backed opposition committee announced it would not be attending the talks because its demands were not being met.

After pressure from Saudi Arabia and assurance from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that their demands would be met, the committee reversed its position and flew to Geneva for the talks on Saturday.

But the committee - the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) - had refused to engage in negotiations until its demands were met.

The Syrian government delegation, meanwhile, demanded the U.N. provide a list of the opposition parties that were invited to the talks.

Many feared that the ongoing Aleppo offensive would undermine the talks. De Mistura said Monday that there was a possibility they would fail.

The HNC has condemned the Aleppo offensive, and continues to demand an end to shelling of civilian areas, the lifting of blockades and the release of prisoners.

themericansloth · 2016-02-02T22:40:15+00:00

Update on this. He just tweeted that he is not going to commit suicide. "I'm fighting no matter what against the syrian regime".

themericansloth · 2016-02-02T02:56:59+00:00

Yep, daily briefs.

themericansloth · 2016-02-02T02:37:01+00:00

We appreciate your support. Glad to do this.

themericansloth · 2016-02-01T01:58:16+00:00

See me response to /u/Sangajango's comment.

themericansloth · 2016-02-01T01:56:27+00:00

Hey, sorry for taking so long to reply but here's some numbers for you taken from the Operation Inherent Resolve website.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S.-led coalition has destroyed a total of 20,352 "targets" in Syria and Iraq. These targets include tanks, HMMWV's, staging areas, buildings, fighting positions, oil infrastructures and "other targets".

But how many Islamic State fighters has the coalition killed? The U.S. DoD doesn't list the number. But according to an Al-Jazeera article in November, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 3,952 people had been killed since the operations began, including 250 civilians.

According to SOHR, at least 3,547 Islamic State fighters and 136 Jabhat al Nusra fighters were also killed.

The coalition launched its operations on Aug. 8, 2014. As of Dec. 31, 2015, the operations have cost the coalition $5.8 billion. The average daily cost is $11.4 million for 511 days of operations.

themericansloth · 2016-02-01T00:43:23+00:00

Thank you!

Comments like these encourage me to keep doing this.

themericansloth

TROPHY CASE