The Syrian Conflict Thread

Source: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/opposition-blame-syrian-bombing-kerry-tells-aid-workers-1808021537

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Syrian aid workers, hours after the Geneva peace talks fell apart, that the country should expect another three months of bombing that would “decimate” the opposition.

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Kerry left the aid workers with the distinct impression that the US is abandoning efforts to support rebel fighters.

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"He said that basically, it was the opposition that didn’t want to negotiate and didn’t want a ceasefire, and they walked away,” the second of the aid workers told MEE in a separate conversation and also on the basis of anonymity.

“‘What do you want me to do? Go to war with Russia? Is that what you want?’” the aid worker said Kerry told her.

Both aid workers said Kerry told them that he anticipated three months of bombing during which time “the opposition will be decimated”.
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Unhappy438 said:
Russia says 'serious grounds' to suspect Turkey preparing to invade Syria
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If reports are true that Turkish troops are massing on the Syrian border preparing for a possible incursion, then this is a very grave turn indeed. If one Russian inside Syria dies at Turkish hands, the situation could quickly escalate to the worst nightmare - just as it did a century ago. Russia will without doubt act strongly to retaliate against the Turks, a NATO member. And if that happens, the alliances kick in and another world war looms...

... which is probably why Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill are meeting in Cuba on Friday. This is the first ever meeting between the two patriarchs since the Great Schism of 1054. This unprecedented meeting is profoundly significant.
 
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Arthur said:
If reports are true that Turkish troops are massing on the Syrian border preparing for a possible incursion, then this is a very grave turn indeed. If one Russian inside Syria dies at Turkish hands, the situation could quickly escalate to the worst nightmare - just as it did a century ago. Russia will without doubt act strongly to retaliate against the Turks, a NATO member. And if that happens, the alliances kick in and another world war looms...

... which is probably why Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill are meeting in Cuba on Friday. This is the first ever meeting between the two patriarchs since the Great Schism of 1054. This unprecedented meeting is profoundly significant.
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Article 5 is supposed to protect members against aggression, not help them in their aggression, so hopefully a word will be had in Turkeys ear by other NATO members that they might be fighting the Bear by themselves if they start it.
 
Dave123 said:
Article 5 is supposed to protect members against aggression, not help them in their aggression, so hopefully a word will be had in Turkeys ear by other NATO members that they might be fighting the Bear by themselves if they start it.
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A word in Turkey's ear might not be enough, they could still be tempted to roll the dice and have NATO stuck with the choice of publicly abandoning their alliance or at least tacitly supporting Turkey. The time has come for NATO to say something in public before any escalation, but it probably won't happen.
 
Arthur said:
... which is probably why Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill are meeting in Cuba on Friday. This is the first ever meeting between the two patriarchs since the Great Schism of 1054. This unprecedented meeting is profoundly significant.
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I doubt that.

NarrowBandFtw said:
A word in Turkey's ear might not be enough, they could still be tempted to roll the dice and have NATO stuck with the choice of publicly abandoning their alliance or at least tacitly supporting Turkey. The time has come for NATO to say something in public before any escalation, but it probably won't happen.
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Turkey is already giving the US ultimatums

http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomac...turkey-or-the-pyd-as-your-partner_411628.html
 
UN report: Syrian government actions amount to 'extermination'

Detainees held by the Syrian government are dying on a massive scale amounting to a state policy of extermination of the civilian population, a crime against humanity, United Nations investigators has said.

The UN commission of inquiry called on the security council to impose sanctions against Syrian officials in the civilian and military hierarchy responsible for or complicit in deaths, torture and disappearances in custody, but stopped short of naming individuals.

In their report released on Monday, the independent experts said they had also documented mass killings and torture of prisoners by two jihadi groups, al-Nusra Front and Islamic State, constituting war crimes.

“Over the past four and a half years, thousands of detainees have been killed while in the custody of warring parties,” the commission of inquiry on Syria said. “The killings and deaths described in this report occurred with high frequency, over a long period of time and in multiple locations, with significant logistical support involving vast state resources. There are reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct described amounts to extermination as a crime against humanity.”
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Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ion-crime-humanity?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet
 
Dave123 said:
Shouldn't have taken them a lot of work to document the mass killings by IS, most of them were released on the Internet as videos...
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That's cuz they were an afterthought. Look at the way the directive by the security council was phrased; it's obvious who it was aimed at.
 
Arthur said:
... which is probably why Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill are meeting in Cuba on Friday. This is the first ever meeting between the two patriarchs since the Great Schism of 1054. This unprecedented meeting is profoundly significant.
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And at least one of them is a former KGB agent, and fsb beneficiary at present. Oh, and another one is a head of organization known for harbouring of paedofiles
 
14 hard truths on Syria no one wants to admit

Eventually, America's long-slog presidential primaries will end, and the world's most powerful country will turn to the general election. And when it does, polling suggests that foreign policy and terrorism will be major issues for voters. This will naturally focus much of our national discourse, over the following several months, on Syria.

That's largely a good thing. Syria's civil war, which since its 2011 inception has become a proxy war involving much of the Middle East as well as the US and Russia, could use some attention. It is a disaster primarily for Syrians but also for the world, fueling ISIS and other terror groups, as well as the refugee crisis that is straining European unity.

But it's no secret that political discourse tends to oversimplify and distort complex foreign policy issues. That's especially a problem during campaigns, when candidates are more focused on attracting voters with appealing rhetoric than on articulating sober-minded policy proposals. That means proposing too-easy-to-be-real solutions, downplaying trade-offs, caricaturing disagreements, and, especially, ignoring hard truths.

So with that in mind, here are a few of those hard truths that are about to be obscured — and that are crucial for understanding Syria's war and the world's struggle to end it.
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More at:http://www.vox.com/2016/2/10/10958878/syria-truths
 
Vox is talking crud. The rebels are on the verge of collapsing, and that's why Saudi Arabia and Turkey are browning their pants and making big claims about sending in the ground troops.
 
Xarog said:
Vox is talking crud. The rebels are on the verge of collapsing, and that's why Saudi Arabia and Turkey are browning their pants and making big claims about sending in the ground troops.
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Yep, the end is nigh and the anti-Assad paymasters are not happy. Aleppo will probably fall to the government forces soon, and that is something the Turks really aren't happy about.
 
Dave123 said:
Yep, the end is nigh and the anti-Assad paymasters are not happy. Aleppo will probably fall to the government forces soon, and that is something the Turks really aren't happy about.
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I don't think many in Europe privately care if Assad's crowd takes Aleppo or not. The general public in Europe mostly never did buy that crap from politicians like David Cameron said when they insisted there is a "moderate" Syrian opposition. They are equally psychotic. It's an added bonus if Turkey is pooping it's pants :)
 
zippy said:
I don't think many in Europe privately care if Assad's crowd takes Aleppo or not. The general public in Europe mostly never did buy that crap from politicians like David Cameron said when they insisted there is a "moderate" Syrian opposition. They are equally psychotic. It's an added bonus if Turkey is pooping it's pants :)
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Most definitely, I think most Europeans would just like to see peace back in Syria, Turkey can take a running jump...
 
zippy said:
I don't think many in Europe privately care if Assad's crowd takes Aleppo or not. The general public in Europe mostly never did buy that crap from politicians like David Cameron said when they insisted there is a "moderate" Syrian opposition. They are equally psychotic. It's an added bonus if Turkey is pooping it's pants :)
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The last of the true moderates left the battlefield somewhere around 2011. They're probably a large portion of the refugees in Europe right now.
 
Xarog said:
The last of the true moderates left the battlefield somewhere around 2011. They're probably a large portion of the refugees in Europe right now.
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No. They are long buried under the rubble throughout Syria. There wherent that many to begin with.
 
zippy said:
No. They are long buried under the rubble throughout Syria. There wherent that many to begin with.
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They weren't all killed. It's just that when the mercenaries (read: ISIS, Al-Nusra etc.) arrived the conflict snowballed into a fight they wanted no part of.
 
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