Consolidated Syria Conflict Thread

[Centurion40]

If the Russkies want to try to straighten that shit out, more power to them.  They can bleed and try to bring stability.  Hell Russian "stability" in that part of the world is a step-up, IMHO.

[bayonetbrant]

Russian airstrikes have started

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/world/europe/russia-airstrikes-syria.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/30/did-russia-send-an-anti-u-s-force-to-syria.html

[LongBlade]

Wow. Good thing Obama met with Putin to get this all cleared up.

[mirth]

Russian airstrikes have started

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/world/europe/russia-airstrikes-syria.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/30/did-russia-send-an-anti-u-s-force-to-syria.html

I'd love to see the Russians try to tangle with Israel. The IAF would turn that airbase into a smoldering wreck in a few hours.

[Centurion40]

I can't imagine any upside for the Russians, to provoke Israel.

[LongBlade]

I can't imagine any upside for the Russians, to provoke Israel.

Israel may seem like an imaginary beachhead of the US in that area. *If* Russia could manage to get some Syrian and Iranian proxies to stir up trouble for Israel they might not be able to put their full attention on the antics in Syria and, subsequently, in Iran.

[bayonetbrant]

Good read here
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/magazine/meet-the-american-vigilantes-who-are-fighting-isis.html

[MIGMaster]

I see from some of the Russian Military social media stuff that SU-24's are conducting some of the strikes - sweet looking plane! Must be an interesting cross-section of aircraft in the skies over Syria !!

[LongBlade]

I can't imagine any upside for the Russians, to provoke Israel.

Israel may seem like an imaginary beachhead of the US in that area. *If* Russia could manage to get some Syrian and Iranian proxies to stir up trouble for Israel they might not be able to put their full attention on the antics in Syria and, subsequently, in Iran.

And proxy meddling could possibly look something like this:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared before world leaders Wednesday that he is no longer bound by agreements signed with Israel and called on the United Nations to provide international protection for Palestinians, in the most serious warning yet that he might walk away from engagement with the Jewish state.

source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_UNITED_NATIONS_SUMMIT_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-09-30-13-06-20

[Centurion40]

That would have happened one day, no matter what.  Still it doesn't mean that the Russian are not involved as provocateurs either.

[undercovergeek]

News in the car on the way home is that none of the targets were Isis - all were pro democracy anti Assad forces

Balls

[LongBlade]

News in the car on the way home is that none of the targets were Isis - all were pro democracy anti Assad forces

Balls

What does that mean? I wasn't aware there were any pro-democracy forces there.

Iraqi? Kurds?

[undercovergeek]

The Rebels fighting against Assad

[LongBlade]

The Rebels fighting against Assad

Who aren't Daesh? All four of them?

[bayonetbrant]

There's actually a lot of them in Syria. The ISIS weenies are using Syria as a staging area but fighting more in Iraq