Syrian Civil War Developments

[Versus]

Well, I got my lawn chair, and there will be free cigarettes and booze at the liquor store a couple blocks down the street if worst comes to worst. I'm only a 10 or 15 minute walk from that nice northward facing view.

The last thing one would ever see: https://i.imgur.com/cb3aHFx.jpg


More here: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/trum...k-experts.html

Well lets hope that it doesn't come to that. I miss Minneapolis a lot sometimes, perfect city for drawing comics and doing 3d animations, especially in the winter.

[Versus]

Its the training and will that counts as much as technical-tactical stuff. Cruise missiles are tricky target to find but easy to shoot down once they are found.

[MIKEMUN]

Net Afrikaans.

[Ironduke]

I'm stating the obvious here, but Russian weapon systems get pretty good bang for the buck as long as you're not facing leading edge American stuff. The Russians build rugged, their stuff is fairly reliable, well constructed, and can be bought with no strings for a fair price. At the same time, export model stripped down American weaponry like that which the Iraqis currently have can be trounced by top tier Russian weapons systems. I also wouldn't put too much faith in American weapons systems being used by foreign militaries if they're up against professional Russians, e.g. a Saudi F-15 pilot up against a Russian Flanker pilot.

I'm not a weapons expert so I'd defer to the judgment of those who are.

Mike, I might have asked you before, but forgot. Spraak jou Afrikaans, oder sprechen sie Deutsch?

[MIKEMUN]

Russia's defence ministry says preliminary information suggests that there were no civilian or military casualties in the air strikes.

It says 71 of a total of 103 cruise missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defences. All the cruise missiles fired at four airfields were shot down while more than half of the missiles shot at two further airfields were also shot down.


from the BBC.

Russian weapons are the shit, aren't they?/sarc

[Ironduke]

So, it begins...

Well, I got my lawn chair, and there will be free cigarettes and booze at the liquor store a couple blocks down the street if worst comes to worst. I'm only a 10 or 15 minute walk from that nice northward facing view.

The last thing one would ever see: https://i.imgur.com/cb3aHFx.jpg

Trump might have given Syrian and Russian forces too much time to prepare for a strike, experts say

President Donald Trump might have given Syrian and Russian forces too much time to prepare for potential air strikes, defense experts say.

The world is bracing for the U.S. response to the Syrian government's alleged chemical attack last weekend on a rebel-held town. Since the attack, Trump tweeted about potential missile strikes multiple times.

"If Russia and Syria were smart, as soon as President Trump indicated early this week that an attack was possible, [Syrian President Bashar] Assad would have begun moving any and all military assets close to or on Moscow's military bases in-country," Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, told CNBC. "This would include aircraft, helicopters, artillery and even ammunition or high-value weapons—anything you might think the U.S. and its allies might consider a target."

A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNBC on Thursday that the U.S. was considering striking eight potential targets in Syria. Those targets include two Syrian airfields, a research center and a chemical weapons facility.

The source also noted that Syria's military has repositioned a significant amount of air assets to Russian-controlled airfields in hopes that Washington would be reluctant to strike there.

Meanwhile, Trump is seeking a large-scale attack in Syria that would also punish Iran and Russia, but Defense Secretary James Mattis has been pushing back, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing administration officials.

More here: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/trum...k-experts.html

[Versus]

So, it begins...

[Ironduke]

Maybe someone can explain something to me here. Seeing the images of this alleged attack it doesn’t look anything like a chemical weapons attack.

Which pictures are you looking at, and what are you using as a base for comparison?

[Officer of Engineers]

Maybe someone can explain something to me here. Seeing the images of this alleged attack it doesn’t look anything like a chemical weapons attack.

It's a chlorine gas attack. Imagine your head in a plastic bag over a gallon of bleach. Now imagine 100 times worst.

[chakos]

Maybe someone can explain something to me here. Seeing the images of this alleged attack it doesn’t look anything like a chemical weapons attack. It actually looks to me that the US is looking for an excuse to smack down Assad and humiliate the Russians. My question is this... so what if Assad wins and Russia gains an alliance with a newly resurgent secure Shi’a crescent.

What does America lose in real terms? How does this effect US foreign policy and economy if the Middle East ends up dominated by a Russian/Shi’a alliance backed by Chinese money?

[Ironduke]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/13/polit...ria/index.html

Trump: US, France and UK launch strikes on Syria

President Donald Trump announced on Friday he ordered strikes on the Syrian regime in response to a chemical weapons attack last weekend.

Trump said the strikes were in coordination with France and the United Kingdom, adding that the purpose of the campaign is to "establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons."

"The combined American, British and French response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power: military, economic and diplomatic," Trump said.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement that she "authorized British armed forces to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian Regime's chemical weapons capability and deter their use."

Trump indicated the strikes would continue until the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons ends.

"We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents," Trump said.

Two US officials said attacks could continue beyond tonight, with a senior administration official saying "this isn't over."

The senior administration official said, "What you've seen tonight is not the end of the US response. They have built a lot of flexibility into the plan to allow for further strikes based on what they've hit tonight."

A US official says a big concern is how much more sophisticated Russia's capabilities are now compared to last year. The source says they are 'significantly enhanced' in terms of anti-strike and anti-aircraft capabilities.

Part of the calculation this week has also been gaming out how Russia will respond. "We are watching what Russians do in the next 24 hours," the official said, adding that there will be intelligence collection to see what Russians are up to in the wake of the strikes, such as turning on their systems or talking about retaliating.

The President also insisted that the US would not remain engaged in Syria forever under any circumstances. He has previously told his national security team he wants US troops to exit Syria within six months.

"America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria," Trump said from the White House. "As other nations step up their contributions we look forward to the day we can bring our warriors home."

Trump told the nation in his address the US "cannot purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tyranny."

And he described the Middle East as a "troubled place."

"We will try to make it better but it is a troubled place," Trump said. "The US will be a partner and a friend. But the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people."
He criticized Russia's support of the Syrian regime saying "Russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path."

Trump also called out Russia's promise in 2013 that they would guarantee the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons.

"I ordered the United States armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapon capabilities of Syrian dictator of Bashar al-Assad," Trump said from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.

Witnesses told CNN that they heard explosions in the capital city of Damascus and that they began while Trump was making his address.

US aircraft including B-1 bombers and ships were used in the attack, according to multiple US defense officials.

Trump said that he decided to take action because last weekend's action by Bashar Al-Assad "was a significant attack against his own people," and "not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster instead."

[tbm3fan]

Sure hope no one loses a plane over Damascus.

At the same time I'm pretty sure Kim Jong-un is thinking I will never ever give up my weapons.

[citanon]

It's on. Sounds like Trump decided to go the easy low risk route with a limited strike.

[citanon]

Most definitely. The Culture is a post-scarcity civilization full of all kinds of people of all types, as well as other intelligences, a society that has borders but doesn't, kind of amorphous and everywhere, hard to define, with ambiguous and contradictory motivations regarding war and foreign policy.

That's why it came to mind when I read your post. Just so I'm not leaving you thinking it's something out of left field.

I'd also recommend watching The Expanse. The most groundbreaking, epic sci-fi series in a long time. I'm eventually going to read the books the series is based on.

I've been reading through the expanse series. It's a good one.

[Ironduke]

Hmm, I've been looking for a good scifi series lately. Would you recommend it?

Most definitely. The Culture, in the books, is a post-scarcity civilization full of all kinds of people of all types/persuasions, as well as other intelligences, a society that kind of has borders, but at the same time really doesn't, is amorphous and everywhere, is easy but also hard to define, with ambiguous and contradictory motivations regarding war and foreign policy.

That's why it came to mind when I read your post. Just so I'm not leaving you thinking it's something out of left field.

I'd also recommend watching The Expanse. The most groundbreaking, epic sci-fi series in a long time. I'm eventually going to read the books the series is based on.