Syrian Civil War (Graphic Photos/Vid Not Allowed)

ultron · Feb 5, 2016

Putin side Shia guys shoot Toophan ATGMs

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CacB9dmXIAQ5xU7.jpg

500 · Feb 5, 2016

notorious_eagle said:
It appears that Russian Airstrikes are the straw that broke the camel's back for the Rebels in Syria. I said it from Day 1 when the Russians intervened, that the balance has shifted in favor of Assad and with time you will see tangible differences on the ground in favor of SAA. I remember being mocked by many of our esteemed colleagues on this forum, but i guess time is a great equalizer for all.

Russian Strikes have nullified the Rebels capability of launching massed attacks against the SAA. As we speak, the SAA is encircling the rebels in Aleppo and they appear helpless because they cannot launch a massive counterattack against the SAA because that would be easy pickings for the Russians. Last report i read, the rebels simply just gave up and retreated instead of standing their ground and fight. They know that if they stand their ground, Russians will bomb their bases from the sky. But that being said, SAA has a long way to go before victory can be declared.

This is advancing "SAA":

Yesterday Iranian general was killed, today - Iranian colonel. Swarms of Afghans and Iraqis which are dying no one is counting.

Until now there was a balance in Syria: Assad had few loyal troops but lots of firepower. Rebels had advantage in people but very little firepower.

Now Assad got swarms of Shia mercenaries from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon... and now he has both manpower and firepower. But in long term relying on foreign invaders wont help Assad.

notorious_eagle · Feb 5, 2016

500 said:
This is advancing "SAA":

Sir

Are they not fighting for SAA? It appears that both of their goals are very much aligned, and i believe that's all that matters to the supporters of Assad.

500 said:
Yesterday Iranian general was killed, today - Iranian colonel. Swarms of Afghans and Iraqis which are dying no one is counting.

And who cares? Does not matter who the nationality as, as long as the end objective for all of them is the same.

500 said:
Until now there was a balance in Syria: Assad had few loyal troops but lots of firepower. Rebels had advantage in people but very little firepower.

If my memory serves me right, despite overwhelming firepower SAA was on the defensive and was loosing ground before the Russians came to the scene. The rebels were winning, and the SAA was retreating.

And no one cares about the balance, because both sides were trying to wrest the balance in their favor and in the end Assad with the help of his foreign buddies managed to tilt the balance in his favor. As far as i am concerned, i hope Assad wins and puts an end to the likes of Al Nusra and ISIS in Syria. The status quo is simply not acceptable, its a complete meat grinder with hundreds and thousands of dead civilians. One side has to win, and i hope its sooner rather than later.

500 said:
Now Assad got swarms of Shia mercenaries from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon... and now he has both manpower and firepower.

Again, who cares? As far as Assad is concerned and those mercenaries are concerned, they are winning and that's all that matters to them. Second, its only fair that Assad also gets some foreigners as the Rebels in Syria are swamped with foreign recruits from all over the World.

500 said:
But in long term relying on foreign invaders wont help Assad.

That's for us to see in the future, but an evil dictator like Assad would be very happy to save his empire.

Ceylal · Feb 5, 2016

500 said:
If they'll try a symmetric war with Israel they will be wiped in 1 hour.

It is more like, if Israel uses a symmetric war, ie without the help of the 6th fleet, Israel will be wiped in a couple hours...
to be honest, Israel met her match...

Hasbara Buster · Feb 5, 2016

Why Are Turkey and Saudi Arabia Intent on Derailing Syria Peace Process?

Qadri Jamil, one of the leaders of Syrian moderate opposition, said that interference of Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the intra-Syrian talks complicates the negotiations and Syrians must be independent.

GENEVA (Sputnik) – Interference on the part of Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the intra-Syrian talks complicates the process, one of the leaders of the moderate Syrian opposition told reporters.

"It complicates the talks. These are the intra-Syrian talks. Why do Riyad and Turkey [interfere]? Syrians must be independent," one of the leaders of Syria’s Popular Front for Change and Liberation, Qadri Jamil, told reporters.

Earlier Friday, The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabia could send thousands of ground forces to Syria, most likely in coordination with Turkey, to take part in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIL), also known as Daesh, jihadist group.

On Thursday, the Saudi embassy in Washington, DC said via Twitter that the Saudi Ministry of Defense stands ready to deploy ground troops to Syria to aid in the international anti-Daesh coalition efforts.

The Russian Defense Ministry said previously it had "serious grounds" to suspect Turkey of preparing for a military incursion in Syria.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura put the intra-Syrian talks on hold until February 25, claiming that there was more work to be done, especially regarding the humanitarian situation in the country.

Qadri represents an Syrian opposition group formed after talks in Moscow and Cairo. The Saudi-backed opposition group signaled its willingness, then withdrew from the negotiating table.

The Saudi-backed group was criticized for setting preconditions before joining the talks, despite de Mistura launching the dialogue on January 29 without preconditions.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160205/1034289735/syria-talks.html#ixzz3zJCW1Y4E

500 · Feb 5, 2016

notorious_eagle said:
Sir

Are they not fighting for SAA? It appears that both of their goals are very much aligned, and i believe that's all that matters to the supporters of Assad.

And who cares? Does not matter who the nationality as, as long as the end objective for all of them is the same.

They fight for SAA but they are not SAA. I was saying here for years that major problem of Assad is lack of loyal troops. So when Iran brought them this changed the pic.

If my memory serves me right, despite overwhelming firepower SAA was on the defensive and was loosing ground before the Russians came to the scene. The rebels were winning, and the SAA was retreating.

Not really. Lets check Aleppo, which is main scene of battles now:

Area marked in purple was captured by Assad from October 2013 when they took Khanasser to October 2014 when they took Saifat and Handarat. These advances include large town of Safira, Tal Hassel, Tal Aran towns, huge Sheikh Najar industrial zone, dozens of villages.

Again, who cares? As far as Assad is concerned and those mercenaries are concerned, they are winning and that's all that matters to them. Second, its only fair that Assad also gets some foreigners as the Rebels in Syria are swamped with foreign recruits from all over the World.

You cant rely on foreign force forever. This strategy dooms to fail. Check what happened to Najibullah. In 1980-es he controlled 90% of Afghanistan. Where is he now?