Every power is testing their weapons practically in Syria. Good advert.
Those ballistic missiles looks cool.
We shouldnt provide air support to the Kurds n taking Raqq , looking at what some actors and even sunni inhabitants of the city are saying, we should let them live under ter an ISIS brethren instead of the town being retaken by the Kurds. Let another actor track Raqqa.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1007786/middle-east
The Kurdish-led Syrian fighters clashed on Monday with Daesh militants north of Raqqa as they pushed ahead in their offensive aiming to retake the city that has been the de facto capital of the extremist group since 2014.
Members of a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) have been on the offensive in the area since late Saturday, aiming to initially isolate and encircle Raqqa. The US, France and Britain said they would provide air support for the offensive, which was announced at a news conference on Sunday in Ein Issa, north of Raqqa.
But the announcement lacked details on how the SDF, dominated by Kurds, plans to oust the militants from the city.
The battle of Raqqa could be long and costly; Daesh fighters are expected to fight until the end since its loss could be an existential threat. It would mean the extremist group would have no full control of any large cities in Syria, just as Iraqi forces are pushing forward against Daesh-held Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
Earlier this year, it took SDF fighters more than two months to capture the Syrian town of Manbij, which is far smaller than Raqqa.
Raqqa has been under Daesh control since early 2014; it is home to some of the group’s top leaders and is seen as the key to defeating the group militarily.
It has been the extremists’ de facto capital since they declared a caliphate in areas they control in Iraq and Syria in June 2014.
The US commander of coalition forces fighting the Daesh group said the operation to take Raqqa aims at eventually cutting off the extremists from Mosul, where US-backed Iraqi forces have entered the city’s eastern outskirts amid fierce resistance.
The US-backed Syria Democratic Forces, which include Arab and Turkmen fighters, have driven Daesh from large swaths of territory, but Turkey views the Syrian Kurds who dominate the group as an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast.
“The campaign will continue to be in that form until it enters the city,” Ahmed told The Associated Press. She said the Kurdish-led SDF, as the main force on the ground, is best placed to decide what forces are needed to liberate the city.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he hoped the US would keep its promise to rein in the Kurdish forces, but noted that Washington had also pledged earlier that the Syrian Kurds would withdraw from the town of Manbij, which has not yet happened.
Cavusoglu said the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, told Turkish officials during a recent visit that the Syrian Kurdish fighters would only have a role in encircling Raqqa and would not enter the city.
“We hope that this will be the case and we expect that our partners keep their promises,” Cavusoglu said.
“We still have weeks to the Raqqa operation,” Cavusoglu said.
“Our advice is for the local forces to be supported by our special forces.”
He suggested that residents of Raqqa, a mainly Sunni Arab city, would not welcome Kurdish forces, saying: “We should not force the people to choose between two evils.”
. 
Obviously, every power is protecting their interests in the country. Nothing wrong about Russia's actions to be honest.
This was a donation to the CLINTON FOUNDATION aimed at the poor. Nothing to do with her election campaign. Was given LONG before the election. Of course certain sensationalist media saw it as direct support for her election which makes no sense at all. The Arab lobby in the US is one of the strongest lobbies and has influence in almost every corner of political decision making. Whether republican or democrat. King Salman and the entire establishment already congratulated Trump and were one of the first to call him.
"The latest filing from Trump Victory, his presidential campaign committee, reveal that Trump now receives donations from lobbyists associated with the very regimes Trump denounced on stage.
Marc Lampkin, a lobbyist for Saudi Arabia, gave recently to the Trump campaign. Lobbyists for BGR Group, another firm representing the Saudi government, have given to the Trump campaign."
https://theintercept.com/liveblogs/thirddebate/donald-trump-now-accepts-saudi-arabias-lobby-cash/
Also look up who owns a lot of the conservative media in the US and SUPPORTS it, including Fox News while you are at it genius.
Also Trump HAS and has had LONG business ties with KSA and businessmen and families in KSA.
Trump's election is good news for traditional US allies in the region (Israel, KSA/GCC and Turkey). Much better than the incompetent Obama that you were in love with along with the Mullah's.
He lives in his own fantasy.
Trump is going to be a nightmare for the Mullah's that he follows as holy cows.
He is going to be more-pro Israel than any president in living memory. I think this alone should tell everything about what is likely going to happen.
In the real world - two days ago:
Chief of US Joint Chiefs of Staff visiting this Tuesday:
A few days earlier it was the director of Raytheon and yesterday 19 representatives of major US companies arrived to KSA.
So prepare yourself for constant crying as usual. You Wilayat al-Faqih Shia Islamists can only dream about controlling Mullah land and tiny Southern Lebanon and impoverished Southern Iraq. More than that is difficult to dream about.
Also you constantly talk about KSA and Syria as if Syria was even a top priority in KSA. It is far from being the case. If KSA REALLY wanted to topple Al-Assad and install mostly MB Islamists it would have done so early on back in 2011, 2012 or 2013. However this was not done. Let the Iranians and Russians waste money, time and men in a polluted swamp that cannot be saved until the waste has been drained (as the good Trump also tells). What is going on in Syria is very sad in terms of civilian lives lost, infrastructure destroyed etc. however there are many other areas to look after first, starting at home. Not to say that Al-Assad WILL be toppled sooner rather than later.
Also had Al-Assad (the family regime) not been a long-time Iranian ally and this incompetent and oppressed the majority (Sunni Arabs) politically, I don't know if I would not have been supporting him given his emphasis on Arab unity. Or at least the ideology he pretends to follow.
Which is also supported by vast majority of all Arabs in every single Arab state as per numerous polls from 2015 and 2016.
- Recent polls have shown not only a rise in secularism, but also that Arabs have always remained pan-Arabist:
Since you yourself are a hidden Arabist like many others here (as I can conclude based on your strong interests in the Arab world and the sources you use to follow the conflicts) this must make you happy, lol.
- On the matter of seperation between politics and religion See p. 250
- On the matter of the Arab nation See p. 271
We shouldnt provide air support to the Kurds n taking Raqq , looking at what some actors and even sunni inhabitants of the city are saying, we should let them live under ter an ISIS brethren instead of the town being retaken by the Kurds. Let another actor track Raqqa.
This region is really a complex mess.
Obviously, every power is protecting their interests in the country. Nothing wrong about Russia's actions to be honest.
They are worried that Trump, who has words of praise for Putin, will tilt towards Assad: linkReuters / Wednesday, November 09, 2016
A Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki fighter watches news about Donald Trump's election as president on his smart phone in the rebel held beseiged area in Aleppo, Syria. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail
I don't think the Syrian rebels are as worried about defeating ISIS as they are about defeating Assad.
Lol U.S has just special forces and military advisers on the ground in Syria and Iraq. Same with Britain and to a lesser extent France. All of these countries don't want to fully deploy troops for obvious reasons, especially after Iraq debacle and western public opposition to any more ground troops fighting wars in the region.
