Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

U.S.-backed forces capture Tabqa airport


bmk1245

Recommended Posts

Quote

U.S.-backed forces capture Islamic State-held airport near Euphrates dam

A U.S.-backed Syrian alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias on Sunday took a military airport in northern Syria held by Islamic State, close to the country's largest dam that may be in danger of collapse.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias supported by a U.S.-led international coalition, said in a statement it had seized the air base.

Earlier, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said its fighters had seized "60 to 70 percent" of the airport but were still engaged in intense clashes with the ultra-hardline militants inside the air base and on its outskirts.

Read more...

:clap:

Closing on Raqqa. Good news.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kudos to the Kurds for having a foot in both the U.S. camp and Russian one. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When ISIS is gone in Syria...will it become the beginning of a new Cold War between the US and Moscow?

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, joc said:

When ISIS is gone in Syria...will it become the beginning of a new Cold War between the US and Moscow?

Perhaps not. We all know that team Trump was talking to the Russians...maybe they were talking about trying to mutually cooperate vs going back to cold war status?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Captain Risky said:

Kudos to the Kurds for having a foot in both the U.S. camp and Russian one. 

Treebeard said it best and it applies perfectly to the Kurds today:   I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side, 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Lilly said:

Perhaps not. We all know that team Trump was talking to the Russians...maybe they were talking about trying to mutually cooperate vs going back to cold war status?

I think that is very possible.  I also think they'd STILL Impeach him for it.  How's THAT for insanity?  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Russia was at it's most powerful during the cold war.  Those were the good old days for Putin and the like. 

As for Syria- ISIS being gone from Syria is just the beginning.  Soon it will be Russian backed Syrian government troops vs US backed rebels. Assuming we just don't pull out and leave after ISIS is gone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

USA is the original cause  of most of the disasters in the middle east, Iraq was stable before USA invaded it, and gave us isis, syria was the 4th safiest country in the world, USA supporting terrorst groups in syria is a total crime and the origin of all that miss

the syrian army was nearing raqqah and will take it any way, its the only way to bring back stability

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, and then said:

Treebeard said it best and it applies perfectly to the Kurds today:   I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side, 

Well said. Generally that would hold true for most alliances. But in this instance I think it's safe to say that with the exception of Turkey, all the other major protagonists are rallying to the Kurdish cause. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's hope nobody drops the ball before nearing the touch line ...

~

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Captain Risky said:

Well said. Generally that would hold true for most alliances. But in this instance I think it's safe to say that with the exception of Turkey, all the other major protagonists are rallying to the Kurdish cause. 

 

Maybe so, but I think it's not quite so simple as that.  The Kurds are fighting for their survival and for their land.  They will ally with anyone who will help them.  They really don't have a choice.  I remember saying back in 2003 that the U.S. should openly ally with them and build a massive air/land base in northwestern Iraq.  It was apparent to even little old me that Iraq was on its way to being partitioned into Sunni, Shia (Iranian) and Kurdish cantons at some point.  We had an amazing advantage at that juncture in that the Kurds appreciated the life-saving no-fly zones we enforced on Saddam.  The base could have been built quickly and made strong enough to deter open aggression by Turkey OR Iran.  Turkey would have had a hissy fit and threatened to leave NATO but as it turns out, they're probably leaving anyway.  I'd one HELL of a lot rather be fighting with a Kurd at my back than an Erdog styleTurk.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/28/2017 at 8:50 AM, Lilly said:

Perhaps not. We all know that team Trump was talking to the Russians...maybe they were talking about trying to mutually cooperate vs going back to cold war status?

Yeah, one would think that was a good thing.,

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/29/2017 at 4:36 AM, and then said:

Maybe so, but I think it's not quite so simple as that.  The Kurds are fighting for their survival and for their land.  They will ally with anyone who will help them.  They really don't have a choice.  I remember saying back in 2003 that the U.S. should openly ally with them and build a massive air/land base in northwestern Iraq.  It was apparent to even little old me that Iraq was on its way to being partitioned into Sunni, Shia (Iranian) and Kurdish cantons at some point.  We had an amazing advantage at that juncture in that the Kurds appreciated the life-saving no-fly zones we enforced on Saddam.  The base could have been built quickly and made strong enough to deter open aggression by Turkey OR Iran.  Turkey would have had a hissy fit and threatened to leave NATO but as it turns out, they're probably leaving anyway.  I'd one HELL of a lot rather be fighting with a Kurd at my back than an Erdog styleTurk.  

 Iran, N. Korea , China - all major problems, each  behave towards us as if they work with  the liberals .

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/28/2017 at 4:39 PM, and then said:

I think that is very possible.  I also think they'd STILL Impeach him for it.  How's THAT for insanity?  

Some people are saying it's far worst of what they want to do.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/28/2017 at 3:56 PM, Gromdor said:

Russia was at it's most powerful during the cold war.  Those were the good old days for Putin and the like. 

As for Syria- ISIS being gone from Syria is just the beginning.  Soon it will be Russian backed Syrian government troops vs US backed rebels. Assuming we just don't pull out and leave after ISIS is gone.

 

I hope you are incorrect in that assessment.  The U.S. does need to project power in that region but actively arming and training people to keep stirring a pot like THAT, is kind of insane.  It was foolish, nearly to the point of insanity or treason for Obama to just welcome Vlad into the region when U.S. policy had been to keep them out for decades.  Now that he has his growing presence, there isn't much to be done but work with Israel to limit his expansion.  He's building airbases in the north and a major seaport where a rusty resupply depot once stood on the Med.  Netanyahu has already had to pay Vlad several visits to have a chat about Hezbollah and "game-changing" weapons being allowed to move into Lebanon.  It all sounds pretty dire but the truth is that if the IDF/IAF had to neutralize the Russian presence in Syria, there'd be a lot of smoking holes on the landscape in a matter of a couple of days.  There is no doubt of that capability.  The real question would be, does Vlad gamble with global, nuclear war?  Since I don't think he's insane, I believe he'll work tirelessly to avoid being placed in such a position by the Islamists who want Israel destroyed.  At least, I hope that's how it plays out, short-term.  If one of his S-500 crews takes down an Israeli strike aircraft while it is destroying a Hezbollah arms convoy, I suspect a lot of those super-duper indestructible missile batteries to disappear in a humiliating flash and boom sequence, worthy of a Hollywood action film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, and then said:

I hope you are incorrect in that assessment.  The U.S. does need to project power in that region but actively arming and training people to keep stirring a pot like THAT, is kind of insane.  It was foolish, nearly to the point of insanity or treason for Obama to just welcome Vlad into the region when U.S. policy had been to keep them out for decades.  Now that he has his growing presence, there isn't much to be done but work with Israel to limit his expansion.  He's building airbases in the north and a major seaport where a rusty resupply depot once stood on the Med.  Netanyahu has already had to pay Vlad several visits to have a chat about Hezbollah and "game-changing" weapons being allowed to move into Lebanon.  It all sounds pretty dire but the truth is that if the IDF/IAF had to neutralize the Russian presence in Syria, there'd be a lot of smoking holes on the landscape in a matter of a couple of days.  There is no doubt of that capability.  The real question would be, does Vlad gamble with global, nuclear war?  Since I don't think he's insane, I believe he'll work tirelessly to avoid being placed in such a position by the Islamists who want Israel destroyed.  At least, I hope that's how it plays out, short-term.  If one of his S-500 crews takes down an Israeli strike aircraft while it is destroying a Hezbollah arms convoy, I suspect a lot of those super-duper indestructible missile batteries to disappear in a humiliating flash and boom sequence, worthy of a Hollywood action film.

If we leave, we leave our US backed anti-Assad rebels to die.  As for Obama, Syria wasn't his country to decide who to let in.  Iran, Syria and Russia have always been allies.  The US is the uninvited interloper to this party.  If we just kept our sights on ISIS and nothing else, it would have been fine.  But we opted to arm the anti-Assad rebels and give them support. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Gromdor said:

If we leave, we leave our US backed anti-Assad rebels to die.  As for Obama, Syria wasn't his country to decide who to let in.  Iran, Syria and Russia have always been allies.  The US is the uninvited interloper to this party.  If we just kept our sights on ISIS and nothing else, it would have been fine.  But we opted to arm the anti-Assad rebels and give them support. 

2

It wasn't Ike's, JFK's, LBJs, Nixon's.... but they all held the line to one extent or another.  It's called Realpolitik, everything else is Liberal bull shirt.  You can speak of whose business it is or isn't, but the fact is that stability is based on strength and a willingness to use it.  It doesn't necessarily make the strong party correct, but it does restrain adventurer's in the nuclear age.  Now that Assad's and Syria's dignity and rights are all in tidy, neat and warm order, let's see how long we have before Russia or the Islamists decide to raise hell, hmmm?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/29/2017 at 1:03 AM, the-Unexpected-Soul said:

USA is the original cause  of most of the disasters in the middle east, Iraq was stable before USA invaded it, and gave us isis, syria was the 4th safiest country in the world, USA supporting terrorst groups in syria is a total crime and the origin of all that miss

the syrian army was nearing raqqah and will take it any way, its the only way to bring back stability

Syrian army ain't worth a penny. That was admitted even by Russians. Major fighting forces on Assad side are various militant groups (Shia), while Syrian 'army' only good for taking bribes on roadblocks, and one bearded thug can scatter whole platoon of Syrian armymen without resistance (Palmyra events, for example).

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, bmk1245 said:

Syrian army ain't worth a penny. That was admitted even by Russians. Major fighting forces on Assad side are various militant groups (Shia), while Syrian 'army' only good for taking bribes on roadblocks, and one bearded thug can scatter whole platoon of Syrian armymen without resistance (Palmyra events, for example).

Yet its still fighting for 6 years NoN Stop an extream guerilla war of over 500,000 internal and foreign fighters

And liberate and hold most if not all the major citys in syria, i dont think many armys will stand in face of such circumstances, iraqi army for example, trained by USA collapsed in no time infront of Isis

Guerilla war is known to be the hardest form of wars, one suicide bomber in a hospital can cripple a 100 soldiers for days, and then destroy the hospital and the soldiers, or one fighter with a missile launcher can wipe out a whole squad

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, the-Unexpected-Soul said:

And liberate and hold most if not all the major citys in syria,

I have no doubt that the soldiers are committed, for one reason or another but if Russia and Iran had not jumped in when they did, ISIS would own that land now.  Frankly, I really no longer care what the Syrians choose.  It's their country, I wish them the best.  I pray earnestly that we don't send any large formations into that hell-hole.  That is not an insult against Syria, btw, just an observation of what it has become.  Once major conflict has been ended, I wonder how long it will be before Assad begins to argue with his benefactors?  Maybe he's too smart for that.  I think that the future is going to show that whatever gave rise to Russian forces being expanded and firmly entrenched there, is going to be the cause of a LOT of death for the region and the world.  Who is blamed doesn't really matter.  In fact, whoever is genuinely responsible for it all doesn't really matter anymore.  Hopefully for the Syrian people, there will soon be an end to major fighting and Putin and Khamanei will choose to strengthen and reinforce their positions, rather than looking for more "rebels" to kill.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/1/2017 at 9:49 PM, the-Unexpected-Soul said:

Yet its still fighting for 6 years NoN Stop an extream guerilla war of over 500,000 internal and foreign fighters

And liberate and hold most if not all the major citys in syria, i dont think many armys will stand in face of such circumstances, iraqi army for example, trained by USA collapsed in no time infront of Isis

Guerilla war is known to be the hardest form of wars, one suicide bomber in a hospital can cripple a 100 soldiers for days, and then destroy the hospital and the soldiers, or one fighter with a missile launcher can wipe out a whole squad

Don't shoot the messenger, I only repeated what Russian military analyst (and e-military) Khodarenok was saying, and as far as I know, he's quite knowledgeable.

 

BTW, where did you get half million number?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2017-04-01 at 2:49 PM, the-Unexpected-Soul said:

Yet its still fighting for 6 years NoN Stop an extream guerilla war of over 500,000 internal and foreign fighters

Let alone, the rebels/terrorists got plenty of material support from the West, Turkey and Gulf states. They were propped up to be an army of insurgents and merceneries instructed to degrade Assad's forces. The ISIS weapons windfall from Iraq certainly didn't help Syria either.

Edited by TruthSeeker_
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/30/2017 at 7:27 AM, Ellapennella said:

 Iran, N. Korea , China - all major problems, each  behave towards us as if they work with  the liberals .

All of those countries hate liberals Ella.  They are all ultra conservative alt=right regimes.  You have divided the world into two pieces; good and evil.  Then you confound it with conservative and liberal.  Everything good that happens is conservative, all the evil people line up with liberals.  Most of the famous dictators like Hitler for example had conservative leanings, not liberal.

Still, its a small matter, have a good day. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

I guess the world nations have to figure out how to get rid of Assad and ISIS  in order to have peace in Syria.  The Russians are so stupid  to back Assad :(

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.