Consolidated Syria Conflict Thread

[Gusington]

In Soviet Russia boots clean you!

[Nefaro]

In Soviet Russia, tank drives Cubans!

[LongBlade]

In Soviet Cuba cigar roll you.

[Airborne Rifles]

In Soviet cigar you roll Cuba?

[Sir Slash]

In Russia there's 2 TV channels. Channel #1 has Putin riding a horse bare-back. Channel #2 has Putin riding a horse with no saddle. In case you don't like Channel #1.  ^-^

[Gusington]

The Soviet Russia quotes never get old :)

[LongBlade]

Found a few memes of dear old Vladie.

[mirth]

lmao!

[Nefaro]

ROFL.

[LongBlade]

In Soviet Russia vodka ban you.

Some Russian officials are daring to think the seemingly unthinkable in the land of vodka - banning the sale of alcohol once a week in the country's two main cities.

Although the initiative is only in its infancy, both the head of the national consumer protection agency and a top member of the Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body, on Wednesday latched onto the idea amid media reports that the Moscow and St. Petersburg city governments were taking the prospect seriously.

The heavy media attention underlined the paradox of alcohol for Russia - while it may be as much a part of the country's identity as snow and Pushkin poems, it is also a severe problem. Heavy drinking is cited as one of the main factors in Russia's high mortality rate: the life expectancy for Russian males born in 2006 is just 61 years, according to a U.N. Development Program report.

source: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/10/15/russian-cities-ponder-1-day-week-booze-ban/?intcmp=hpbt1

[mirth]

^If anything is going to spark a new revolution in Russia, that'll be it.

[LongBlade]

My thinking, too.

However this appears to be at the local level in two (large) cities.

[LongBlade]

Interesting analysis of Putin.

From the Russian point of view, America has a president who is not decisive and who is reluctant to commit forces. So when the Russians look at Washington, they feel that these people make verbal commitments to do things, like getting rid of [the Islamic State group], sending in air strikes, blah, blah, blah, but actually there aren't really results. Whereas Putin, what does he see? He doesn't see a best option here.

To him, the worst option is the collapse of Assad's regime and the dominance of Syria and the Near East by a fanatical, fundamental Islamic terrorist outfit. So he sees himself as having to get his hands dirty there, to do what he thought the Americans might possibly do for him. He's realized that no one else is going to this.

source: http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/10/14/russias-spies-are-critical-to-putins-operations-in-syria-ukraine

[Boggit]

In Russia there's 2 TV channels. Channel #1 has Putin riding a horse bare-back. Channel #2 has Putin riding a horse with no saddle. In case you don't like Channel #1.  ^-^

My favourite episodes are watching Putin riding a bear across Siberia, and the one where he single handedly takes down two great white sharks with his bare hands. No one in Russia can beat him at judo, nor any other sport he cares to try. The man is just awesome!  ;)

[Airborne Rifles]

Interesting analysis of Putin.

From the Russian point of view, America has a president who is not decisive and who is reluctant to commit forces. So when the Russians look at Washington, they feel that these people make verbal commitments to do things, like getting rid of [the Islamic State group], sending in air strikes, blah, blah, blah, but actually there aren't really results. Whereas Putin, what does he see? He doesn't see a best option here.

To him, the worst option is the collapse of Assad's regime and the dominance of Syria and the Near East by a fanatical, fundamental Islamic terrorist outfit. So he sees himself as having to get his hands dirty there, to do what he thought the Americans might possibly do for him. He's realized that no one else is going to this.

source: http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/10/14/russias-spies-are-critical-to-putins-operations-in-syria-ukraine

Don't think the Russians aren't concerned about Islamic radicals. They've been fighting a war against them in Chechnya for the past two decades, and they have suffered several major terrorist attacks from Islamic (Chechen) radicals during that time, many of them right in the capitol. Remember the theater attack in Moscow? The school in southern Russia? Those were only the two most spectacular attacks. There have been multiple apartment building and subway station bombings in Moscow and other attacks elsewhere. Don't assume just because Putin has other motives that he doesn't also want to see ISIS dead.