RIchard Britten Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Hang which rebels are we talking about? The rebels we trained, funded and equipped that are fighting Assad? The rebels we trained, funded and equipped that are actually IS, who are fighting Assad and disappearing into neighbouring conflicts? Rebels shipped in from other countries? Etc, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Well, I suppose the rebels that control the area in question, who I don't think are IS. So quite possibly the ones we trained, funded & equipped. If so, it's no wonder that there is a rush to blame the government side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Assad has very deliberately pursued a strategy which makes it difficult to distinguish between the myriad rebel groups in Syria. As government forces have advanced and put rebel areas under siege they've given fighters the option to retreat, and even offered transport to take them to Idlib province. Basically fighters from all factions are being concentrated into Idlib as they loose ground elsewhere. It's a deliberate policy to tar them all with one brush as the reality of war makes moderates and extremists join forces to fight the common government enemy. By concentrating rebels into a single region they've made their air campaign easier and made it increasingly hard to distinguish between moderate and extremist factions - they are all mixed together. Villages will have multiple groups based in them from Al Qaeda affiliates to so-called moderates in the Free Syrian Army, their separate command structures fray as the reality of warfare pushes them together. The result is Assad being able to claim they are all just zealots and terrorists and happily bomb them to bits from the air or besiege them with heavy weaponry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTeapot Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Again I feel i should recommend people watch 'hypernormalisation' by Adam Curtis. It is on the iPlayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 I watched the first hour then it froze el teapot. Was pretty good though. Interesting. Going to try again later. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTeapot Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Probably a good thing it froze, it is a lot to take in in one sitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Following the antics of the coalitions in both Gulf wars, I wouldn't trust any faction or government not to be involved in false flag operations or misinformation. I think that Assad is a passenger in all of this, he's allowed himself to be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Looks pretty serious according to the FT: Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, said the Trump administration had begun efforts towards removing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from power after the suspected gas attack in the war-torn country that killed more than 70 people earlier this week.Mr Tillerson said there was “no doubt” that the Assad regime was responsible for the attack, which he described as a “serious matter” that required a “serious response”. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was considering options for a possible military strike on Syria in response to the attack.“With the acts that he [Mr Assad] has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people,” Mr Tillerson said. “The process by which Assad would leave is something that I think requires an international community effort.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stinking enigma Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Trump is going to make things better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 A cruise missile strike makes things better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 If it wasn't the Syrian government that used chemical weapons, I would now expect a prompt repeat performance in order to secure another, escalated, strike by the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Fifty-nine ctuise missiles is a lot. They could have been near the end of their "use by" date I suppose. El Trumpo probably feels all pumped up and gladatorial right now. I can't help thinking he would have cheered off every launch. Scary stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIchard Britten Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Hmmmm didn't we invade Iraq over some iffy WMDs? Then execute the leader of that country and replace him with a more "friendly" leader? Seeing as no-one has definitively proven one way or another who the weapons a) belong to and b) were used by, I reckon there is a familiar beat to this song... Called it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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