ASSAD HAS DECISIVELY WON HIS BRUTAL BATTLE

[war&peace]

While the reality remains many thousands of buckets of blood consumed in these fires ....

You try and put one out

And ten more spring forth.

The more blood the vengeful fire consumes

The bigger it grows.

lolzzz fires started daily and put out daily

It's been burning in the bowels of Mount Damavand for 8000 years.

It last erupted some 5300 BC and since then it is inactive

Have a blessed New Year.

You too.. have a happy year

 

[Tokhme khar]

Our alliance is with both Russia and China. All three have decided to clear up the riff raff for the Silk Road. That's right, Iran wouldn't do it without a reward. We know exactly what we are doing. No country in the region can threaten Iran.

If you guys play your cards right, you will rule our vassal tribes and nations again.

I'm not talking the romance of a greater Persia, but a much more hard-nosed achievable reality of pushing the Turks to peripheral anonymity a fringe Eurasian dhobhi ka kutta, and then push the Arabs back into peninsular Arabia.

Biffir tgat, tge way I see it, you will have to forge allisnces. The big game will require you to give up your animosity towards big powers, and use them.

Cause you can do a lot more with them pushing with you than against you.

Cheers, Doc

The blame game starts in Washington over the US defeat in Syria.....aaaahahahahaaaaa....

Trump's Chief of Staff John Kelly (R) and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (L), seen with Senator John McCain's wife, Cindy, at his funeral. Photo: CNP
Asia UnhedgedReal-time intel on what moves markets
Trump rebukes ‘failed generals’ as they issue veiled swipes
‘Just doing what I said I was going to do!’
By Asia Times staff January 1, 2019 2:33 AM (UTC+8)
Until recently, the generals largely seen by the US political establishment and mainstream media as “the adults in the room” at the Trump White House have managed to avoid drawing attacks from the president. That is despite reports, now confirmed by Trump’s chief of staff General John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, of frequent disagreements on policy.

The two most recent generals to leave his administration have in recent days issued a stream of biting, though not overtly direct, public criticisms of the president. For Trump, that deed is always met with a response.

“Now when I start getting out [of Syria/Afghanistan] the Fake News Media, or some failed Generals who were unable to do the job before I arrived, like to complain about me & my tactics, which are working. Just doing what I said I was going to do!,” Trump said via Twitter on Monday.

The comments came after Mattis sent a brief farewell message to the Department of Defense, echoing the sentiments expressed in his resignation letter several weeks ago.

“Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes,” Mattis said, after he suggested that Trump was disloyal to US allies and lacked a “clear-eyed” understanding of threats.

Trump had earlier slammed Mattis following his resignation for his view of alliances, not for advocating a strong US presence abroad, but for not demanding more money in exchange.

Former White House Chief of Staff Kelly, meanwhile, suggested in an interview with the LA Times published on Sunday that his time working for Trump would be measured by what he prevented the president from doing. Some of those actions it appears the president is now forging ahead with now that the generals are out of his way.

“When I first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Kelly said during the two-hour long interview. “He was frustrated. It was a huge decision to make … and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons — palace intrigue and the rest of it — when I got there.”

“It’s never been: The president just wants to make a decision based on no knowledge and ignorance,” Kelly said. “You may not like his decision, but at least he was fully informed on the impact.”

Supporters of Kelly, the newspaper said, credit Kelly with persuading Trump not to withdraw from NATO, a move Trump had previously threatened.

Republican allies of Trump in Congress have continued to push back on recent policy decisions, which appear to be at odds with every member of his cabinet who remains and the majority lawmakers in his party. Senator Lindsay Graham claimed some level of success Sunday on the issue of withdrawing troops from Syria.

Graham said after a lunch with the president: “I think we’re in a pause situation where we are reevaluating what’s the best way to achieve the president’s objective,” suggesting that the Syria withdraw would be delayed.

 

[Cybernetics]

Qatar pay for American troops?

As Saddam Hussain joked, 'the Arabs are paying for their own occupation'.

It was a valid statement considering the Gulf states paid for the majority of the Gulf War costs, including logistics and military infrastructure buildup that supports American operations in the region to the present day.

"The report, released at a central bankers' meeting in the United Arab Emirates, said that in addition, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the gulf emirates made $84 billion in direct payments to the United States, Britain and France for military expenses."

"Direct logistical support for the 600,000 American and allied troops in Saudi Arabia between August 1990 and March 1991, plus the rush to build military airstrips and camps, cost another $51 billion, which was paid largely by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/08/world/gulf-war-s-cost-to-arabs-estimated-at-620-billion.html

"The US Department of Defense has estimated the incremental costs of the Gulf War at $61 billion, with US allies providing about $54 billion of that -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states covered $36 billion. Germany and Japan covered $16 billion."
https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/gulf-war-fast-facts/index.html

 

[Tokhme khar]

It's been a 100 years since WWI. All these countries are still colonized by the West. Iran has a good laugh at them all.

It was a valid statement considering the Gulf states paid for the majority of the Gulf War costs, including logistics and military infrastructure buildup that supports American operations in the region to the present day.

"The report, released at a central bankers' meeting in the United Arab Emirates, said that in addition, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the gulf emirates made $84 billion in direct payments to the United States, Britain and France for military expenses."

"Direct logistical support for the 600,000 American and allied troops in Saudi Arabia between August 1990 and March 1991, plus the rush to build military airstrips and camps, cost another $51 billion, which was paid largely by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait."
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/08/world/gulf-war-s-cost-to-arabs-estimated-at-620-billion.html

"The US Department of Defense has estimated the incremental costs of the Gulf War at $61 billion, with US allies providing about $54 billion of that -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states covered $36 billion. Germany and Japan covered $16 billion."
https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/gulf-war-fast-facts/index.html

 

[lonelyman]

Syria: Assad has decisively won his brutal battle




Trump’s decision to pull US troops out leaves the opposition stranded

Hassan Hassan


Sun 30 Dec 2018 04.00 EST



Now the clear winner: A Syrian flag bearing Bashar al-Assad’s image in Douma, near Damascus. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP
This year is ending on a note of triumph for the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Donald Trump has announced a rapid troop withdrawal from Syria, shocking everyone including his own generals and diplomats. Last week, the United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus, which it had closed as part of a campaign of multinational pressure against the regime in 2011. Bahrain followed suit and other countries, including Kuwait, are expected to re-establish ties in the coming year. The Arab League is reportedly poised to re-admit Syria, seven years after expelling it.

These developments come five months after the regime made arguably its most consequential gain against the opposition since Syria’s insurgency erupted, when it took control of Deraa in the south-west. Deraa, the cradle of the rebellion against Assad, had been the last stronghold of non-jihadist opposition; its surrender removed any viable threat against the regime, either politically or militarily, near the capital.


Taken together, the military and diplomatic developments over the past six months leave no room for doubt: Assad has decisively won the conflict. The rebels’ former backers have not only given up on challenging his regime, they now actively want to embrace it – whether in public or in private. Internally, the regime has crushed any potent or legitimate opposition. Jihadists operating in north-western pockets of land under Turkish influence will be unlikely to find a foreign backer. Unlike the geopolitical winds that buffeted Saddam Hussein in the 1990s after the first Gulf war, everything is blowing strongly in Assad’s favour.

Trump’s decision to pull out is a game-changer. After the rebel surrender in the south, two regions had remained outside the regime’s control and both were under the protection of foreign powers, namely Turkey in the north and the US in the east. The two Nato countries had arrangements with Russia about operating in those zones to avoid confrontation, which meant that any further military advances had to be approved by Moscow, not by Assad.

For example, Russia and Turkey, whose foreign and defence ministers met on Saturday in Moscow to discuss Syria, negotiated a deal to avoid a regime assault on Idlib in September, and then maintained the agreement despite Ankara’s failure to meet its commitment of driving extremists out of the only provincial capital under rebel control.



Soon-to-depart US Marine Corps vehicles in Hasakah, north-eastern Syria. Photograph: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images

Since September, the US has also redoubled its efforts to prevent the regime from expanding into eastern Syria. Damascus and its backers in Iran saw these areas as sanctuaries for hostile forces that could become entrenched, and whose mandate could change to fighting the regime or Iranian-backed groups. But given the existing arrangements between Russia, the US and Turkey, Damascus and Tehran had little choice but to follow Moscow’s lead.

Trump’s sudden decision has ended that problem: Assad and Iran no longer face the threat of an indefinite American presence in eastern Syria. What happens next in the areas the US has left behind will depend largely on negotiations between Russia and forces that perceive Moscow as a potential ally, not an adversary – namely Turkey and the Kurdish YPG militia.

Turkey is concerned about continued YPG dominance near its borders, while the YPG is worried about a repeat of the Russian-approved Turkish occupation of the Kurdish region of Afrin in March. Last week, Kurdish fighters appealed to the Assad regime for help against the threat of attack by Turkey in the face of the US withdrawal, and by Friday Syria’s military had arrived at the frontline in Manbij, a predominantly Arab town west of the Euphrates river.

Russia’s arrangements with Turkey and the US were part of Moscow’s long game, which is different from that of Assad’s other main ally, Iran.



A contingent of pro-government fighters arriving in the Kurdish-held region of Afrin. Photograph: Ahmad Shafie Bilal/AFP/Getty Images
Turkish officials have also frequently stated that they would welcome a regime takeover of YPG-controlled areas if that involved removing the militia from those areas. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said on Friday that Turkey would have “no business in Manbij if the YPG terrorists leave”.

Aside from fears related to Iran and Turkey, the recent tumultuous geopolitical changes in the region also favour a lasting consolidation for Assad. A counter-revolutionary axis, led by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, sees his victory as part of their effort to reverse the legacy of the popular uprisings of 2011 and restore autocratic rule throughout the greater Middle East. Even though the UAE frames its diplomatic move as a way to counter Iran, the real driver in Syria – as it was in Egypt and Libya– is about restoring the status quo ante.


This suggests that Assad is unlikely to face the isolation that Saddam faced in the 1990s. Jordan has already reopened its borders with Syria, meaning that Damascus now has trade ties with all its neighbours except Turkey.

Assad and his backers have one major immediate challenge: how to manage the relationship with Turkey. Ankara wants to see an end to the YPG holding territory near its borders. But supporting Turkey against the YPG – a powerful force with influence throughout northern Syria – could also lead to renewed fighting between the YPG and the regime.

Russia’s failure to manage the relationship with Turkey could destroy its understanding with Ankara over Syria and lead to resumed violence, especially since the Turks have strong influence over a consortium of local and jihadist militias in northern Syria. The Russian-Turkish relationship was initially developed in opposition to the US policy in Syria. As that policy crumbles, Russia and Turkey could find themselves at loggerheads as Moscow and Damascus seek to expand influence in areas previously protected by Washington.

Regardless of what happens next, recent developments tick several key boxes for Assad and the security of his regime. Trump’s withdrawal has ended any potential threat originating from an indefinite American presence inside Syria’s borders. It has also effectively killed off any political challenge to Assad through the political process in Geneva – once an objective of the US presence in the country. Restoration of ties with Arab neighbours will consolidate the military gains made over the past six months.

Since the regime took over Aleppo in late 2016, few have questioned Assad’s recovery, but until recently many still doubted his ability to re-emerge as a regional player with normalised relations with other countries. The past year now suggests that he has a real chance of doing just that. There will be many people in the region – and beyond – willing to help.

Hassan Hassan is the co-author of Isis: Inside the Army of Terror, and is a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington DC

Great, time to exercise sovereignty and kick northern neighbor terrorists invaders out

 

[Mage]

Now, we must put a lot people to death, who took up arms against us. The more the merrier. They should all be rounded up and quickly executed.

The gulfy neanderthals spent $250 billion to destabilize Syria, in the hopes of putting in a Zio compliant wahabbi regime there like Sawdi or Jordan.

The gulfy neanderthals regularly accuse each other of not sucking enough Zio dick. Sounds like a contest don't it?

The Algerian foreign secretary is on the record for mentioning this fact. How these Arabs quarrel with each other constantly, fukk each other up, and they have been doing this for donkey years. For yonks!

Every man and his dog is involved in the ME......helping them kill each other. Just history repeating itself.

Just imagine the foreign minister of sawdi angry at the qatari minister for not doing enough to support the illegal occupation of Syria by US troops........

I'm telling you guys, all these gulfy's are on borrowed time. Their own will hang them! Just like Saddam was hanged.

It's been a 100 years since WWI. All these countries are still colonized by the West. Iran has a good laugh at them all.

You are the best poster in PDF, dude. @Nilgiri
Keep posting this way. Don't get scared by the mod warnings

 

[maithil]

They played dumb no doubt. And moved out, exemplifying the same - leaving the 'victors' to further 'fight it' out, while they watch like me

Ah, sometimes it is enlightening to be dumb, and quite entertaining and satisfying. The "dumb" Americans!

And they are equally "dumb" with their statements on Afghanistan. Watch the PDF reaction, beautiful

Now sit and ... as always.

This was a very shrewd move by US. Victors will find now, how tough managing a victory is.

 

[Nilgiri]

You are the best poster in PDF, dude. @Nilgiri
Keep posting this way. Don't get scared by the mod warnings

Its why I hit an instant follow on tokhme, even though he was hating on Indians (hendis) badly in lot of threads (though he was provoked by others in lot of them it must be said...so I dunno how long thats been going on for).

He is essentially an equal opportunity hater lol..and doesn't hold back ....and has a free reign here it seems that a lot of us can only dream of....I love it....this combination must indeed be encouraged wherever it is allowed to form and blossom

 

[Hellfire]

Retired troll according to the @lastofthepatriots

Unlikely. Have known Azlan Haider for the posting style for quite some time. But one never knows

Both are equally sharp