Real World Event Discussions

Russia's and Assad's War Crimes in Syria

POSTED BY: kpo
UPDATED: Monday, September 8, 2025 15:48
VIEWED: 105502
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KPO

Saturday, February 6, 2016 4:26 AM

On with the topic of the thread.

Aftermath of airstrikes on rebel-held Douma, children screaming. One of the *mildest* aftermath videos you will see:

KPO

Saturday, February 6, 2016 5:40 AM

Russia and Assad displace tens of thousands in just a few days of attacks on Aleppo - 15,000 arrive at Turkish border: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35503343

SIGNYM

Saturday, February 6, 2016 1:57 PM

Because, yanno, the many hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of refugees displaced by ISIL, al Nusar, al Qaida, and their allies of convenience the FSA are hardly worth mentioning?

The Syrian Xtian that I knew had family back in Aleppo. They managed to get one person to the States, a young woman whom my acquaintance promised to marry. But the rest of the family- the grandmother with diabetes, the mentally challenged uncle with seizures ... I've been wondering what happened to them when al Nusra took over. Healthy people can run faster. These were probably left behind. Since Aleppo was taken over by a combination of al Nusra, al Qaida, and ISIL and part of the population of Syria supports them and is pro-Sunni theocracy life for non-Sunnis must have been hell.

Anyway, I found this characterization of Aleppo refugees fleeing to Turkey in comments from Zerohedge.

Quote:
These are the civilian fuckers that stuck around because they are pro ISIS and they pointed out the houses of the Christian neighbors left behind. These fuckers were involved in the rape and pillaging. It shows since they didnt run when ISIS came to town but only when the good guys show up because they know there will be payback.

...

Quote:
Yep, Sunnistan collaborators. Now its payback for all that "Christians to Lebanon, Alawites to the grave" crap.

...

Quote:
These are obviously the ISIS losers that are getting pushed out of Aleppo. If this is war, round em up and send them to some fucking desert tent camp in far east syria where Russia can carpet bomb their asses.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-05/video-shows-tens-thousands-ma
ssing-turkey-border-russia-iran-bear-down-key-syrian-ci

And these were the nice comments! I'm not sensing much love for those "poor refugees" on ZH. God bless those ZHers, they're so cynical.

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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.

SIGNYM

Saturday, February 6, 2016 2:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by THGRRI:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

THR
Quote:
I think all this is great. Many here have been flat out stating that SIG and 1kiki were Russian propagandists.

SIG
I guess that makes you a pro-ISIL terrorist-lover, then. YOu never seem to notice when they do anything wrong, you always minimize their heious actions, and you're always defending them.Well, your (and your two terrorist-loving buddies') precious terrorists are going home- IN BODY BAGS. Like they should.

I would love for you to show me where I posted anything positive or showing support for DASH. You can't because I have not. I've never minimized anything they have done. You're just a liar SIG and always have been.

I would love for you to show me where I posted anything positive about Russia, except in their war against jihadists. And, you ARE against jihadists, are you not?

You dickless tool, you can't even keep your arguments straight!

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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.

SIGNYM

Sunday, February 7, 2016 5:34 PM

So, while THUGR is busy scouring FFF.net posts for anything positive I might have said about Russia ... more importantly, what is happening in Syria? (the topic of the thread)

The UN talks are set to resume Feb 25. The USA, Saudi Arabia and other GCC, and Turkey, are anxious (I would imagine) to create NEW "facts on the ground" before the talks resume.

The SAA, along with Hezbollah, the IRGC, the Kurds, and Russia, are busy re-taking Aleppo from al Nusra/ ISIL/ ash Sham and the dozens of jihadist offshoots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armed_groups_in_the_Syrian_Civil
_War and the so-called FSA.

Those fleeing Aleppo to Turkey, according to the cynical posters on Zerohedge, are probably native Sunni extremists who have betrayed their Xtian, Alawite, and Druze neighbors to the terrorists, so the terrorists could kill them and take over their houses. In post WWI Europe they were called "collaborators with the enemy". According to history, and to those ZH posters, they rightfully fear retribution.

Others are fleeing to Kurdish-controlled territory.

In the interests of creating "new facts on the ground", Saudi Arabia has offered to be part of any American coalition boots-on-the-ground invasion of Syria ... er, I mean, "effort to fight ISIL".

Turkey, meanwhile, has refused a routine and agreed-on Russian observational overflight of its Syrian border, and is massing troops and weapons on the Syrian border. Erdogan, I imagine, is hoping to parlay his NATO membership into support for an invasion of Turkey.

Meanwhile, any USA general worth his (or her) salt is busy considering those Russian Kaliber missiles, and wondering just how many are left.

Whatever happens, has to happen before Feb 25.

Stay tuned.

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You can't build a nation with bombs. You can't create a society with guns.

SIGNYM

Sunday, February 7, 2016 5:48 PM

The ZEROHEDGE outlook

"They'll Return To Their Countries In A Wooden Coffin": Iran, Syria Warn Saudis, Turks Against Ground Troops

Quote:
Two days ago, a Saudi military spokesperson told AP that the kingdom is ready to send ground troops to Syria “to fight ISIS.”

That served as confirmation of what we’ve been saying for months and represented an affirmative answer to the following question that we posed in December: "Did Saudi Arabia just clear the way for an invasion of Syria?"

Four months ago, we previewed the “promised” battle for Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, which is controlled by a mishmash of rebels [al- Qaida affiliates- SIGNY] and is one of the hardest hit urban centers in Syria. In October, Iran called up Shiite militias from Iraq, rallied thousands of Hezbollah troops, and coordinated with the Russian air force on the way to planning an assault on the city. Victory would mean effectively restoring Assad’s grip on power. So important was the battle, that Iran sent Quds commander Qassem Soleimani to the frontlines to spearhead a kind of pep rally prior to the assault. [He was injured at the time- SIGNY]

Fast forward four months and Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah are on the verge of routing the Syrian opposition [al Qaida affiliates - SIGNY]. After an arduous push north from Russia’s air field in Latakia, Aleppo is now encircled. Rebels and terrorists alike (assuming there’s a difference) are cut off from their supply lines in Turkey and Moscow’s warplanes are bearing down. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the city ahead of what promises to be a truly epic battle.

Put simply: this is it. It’s almost over for the opposition.

That’s not to say ISIS isn’t still operating in the east. That, as we’ve said on a number of occasions, is another fight.

But the “moderate” opposition backed by the West and its regional allies is on the ropes. That’s why Saudi Arabia is floating the ground troop trial balloon. It has nothing to do with Islamic State and everything to do with making a last ditch effort to keep arch rival Iran from restoring the Alawite government in Damascus on the way to preserving the Shiite crescent and the supply line to Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon.

Now, it’s do or die time. Either the Saudis and the Turks invade or it’s all over for the rebels.

And Iran knows it.

"I think Saudi Arabia is desperate to do something in Syria," Andreas Krieg of the Department of Defence Studies at King's College London, told AFP. He also notes that “the ‘moderate’ opposition is in danger of being routed if Aleppo falls to the regime.”

"Turkey is enthusiastic about the ground troop option since the Russians started their air operation and tried to push Turkey outside the equation," Mustafa Alani of the independent Gulf Research Centre added, underscoring Russia’s warning that Turkey may be preparing a ground assault.

If Turkey invades Syria, look for how the western press handles it. That will tell you how committed NATO is in supporting it.

Quote:
On Saturday, Tehran openly mocked the Saudis. "They claim they will send troops (to Syria), but I don't think they will dare do so," Maj. Gen. Ali Jafari told reporters. "They have a classic army and history tells us such armies stand no chance in fighting irregular resistance forces."

In other words, Iran just said the Saudis are useless when it comes to asymmetric warfare.

Readers will recall what we said back in October: “... it’s worth noting that using Hezbollah and Shiite militias to fight the ground war decreases the odds of Moscow getting mired in asymmetric warfare with an enemy they don’t fully understand.”

In other words, Hezbollah has no problem engaging in urban warfare - they practically invented it. The Saudis - not so much. "This will be like a coup de grace for them,” Jafari continued. “Apparently, they see no other way but this, and if this is the case, then their fate is sealed.”

Yes, “their fate w

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SIGNYM

Monday, February 8, 2016 7:23 AM

Aaaaaaand finally (for today) ... also from Zerohedge:

An Exasperated John Kerry Throws In Towel On Syria: "What Do You Want Me To Do, Go To War With The Russians?!"

Quote:
“Russian and Syrian forces intensified their campaign on rebel-held areas around Aleppo that are still home to around 350,000 people and aid workers have said the city - Syria's largest before the war - could soon fall.”

Can you spot what’s wrong with that quote, from a Reuters piece out today? Here’s the problem: “could soon fall” implies that Aleppo is on the verge of succumbing to enemy forces. It’s not. It’s already in enemy hands and has been for quite some time. What Reuters should have said is this: “...could soon be liberated.”

This helps explain why THUGR and KPO are such nut-bags about who the real enemy is in Syria: they share the western press bias.

Quote:
While we’ll be the first to admit that Bashar al-Assad isn’t exactly the most benevolent leader in the history of statecraft, you can bet most Syrians wish this war had never started and if you were to ask those stranded in Aleppo what their quality of life is like now, versus what it was like in 2009, we’re fairly certain you’ll discover that residents aren’t particularly enamored with life under the mishmash of rebels that now control the city.

In any event, Russia and Iran have encircled Aleppo and once it “falls” (to quote Reuters) that’s pretty much it for the opposition. Or at least for the “moderate” opposition. And the Saudis and Turks know it.

So does John Kerry, who is desperate to restart stalled peace negotiations in Geneva. The problem for the US and its regional allies is simple: if Russia and Iran wipe out the opposition on the battlefield, there’s no need for peace talks. The Assad government will have been restored and that will be that. ISIS will still be operating in the east, but that’s a problem Moscow and Tehran will solve in short order once the country’s major urban centers are secured.

But another article mentions that Turkey and/or Saudi Arabia might want to implant special forces somewhere in Syraq, perhaps commingled with USA Special Forces.

Quote:
As we noted on Saturday, Riyadh and Ankara are extremely concerned that the five-year-old effort to oust Assad is about to collapse and indeed, the ground troop trial balloons have already been floated both in Saudi Arabia and in Turkey. For their part, the Russians and the Iranians have indicated their willingness to discuss a ceasefire but according to John Kerry himself, the opposition is now unwilling to come to the table.

“Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition,’” an exasperated Kerry told aid workers on the sidelines of the Syria donor conference in London this week.

Wait- those aid organizations who helpfully provide info to the west about Russia's and Assad's "war crimes" are allied with ISIL, al Qaida, and the FSA???

Quote:
America’s top diplomat also said that the country should expect another three months of bombing

When Russia entered the fray Sept 30, their original estimate was 4-6 months. In three months, that will be 8 months.

Quote:
that would “decimate” the opposition, according to Middle East Eye who also says that Kerry left the aid workers with "the distinct impression" that the US is abandoning efforts to support rebel fighters.

In other words, Washington has come to terms with the fact that there's only one way out of this now. It's either go to war with Russia and Iran or admit that this particular effort to bring about regime change in the Mid-East simply isn't salvageable.

"He said that basically, it was the opposition that didn’t want to negotiate and didn’t want a ceasefire, and they walked away,” a second aid worker told MEE.

“‘What do you want me to do? Go to war with Russia? Is that what you want?’” the aid worker said Kerry told her.

MEE also says the US has completely abandoned the idea that Assad

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THGRRI

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 3:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by THGRRI: Posted Dec. 23, 2015

Russia can not afford a protracted campaign in Syria. Especially since they are expending resources in the Ukraine as well. Their strategy is to inflict as much pain as quickly as they can, to influence their position in negotiations.

Is Putin's system finally starting to decay?

"It’s a fool’s errand to try to predict what might touch off political upheaval. A growing economy could forestall it. But a system built on corruption and intimidation will develop in that direction until it can’t anymore. When it’s time to apportion the blame, Russians are likely to recall one of their popular sayings: “A fish rots from the head.”

https://www.minnpost.com/foreign-concept/2016/02/putins-system-finally
-starting-decay

1KIKI

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 7:08 AM

Before unpacking the question, let’s stipulate that:

1. Putin’s interventions in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria are less than an unqualified successes. Ukraine is a stalemate. Crimea is a drag on the economy. The Syrian government is nowhere near able to stand on its own.

2. Russia’s economy has been, and will continue to be, hurt by low oil prices.

3. But Putin remains very popular at home.

Yanno, the entire article makes one assertion after another, all without any ... evidence.

Oh that nasty word again.

SAGAN: We are releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide, increasing the greenhouse effect. It may not take much to destabilize the Earth's climate, to convert this heaven, our only home in the cosmos, into a kind of hell.

THGRRI

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 6:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
Before unpacking the question, let’s stipulate that:

1. Putin’s interventions in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria are less than an unqualified successes. Ukraine is a stalemate. Crimea is a drag on the economy. The Syrian government is nowhere near able to stand on its own.

2. Russia’s economy has been, and will continue to be, hurt by low oil prices.

3. But Putin remains very popular at home.

Quote:

Yanno, the entire article makes one assertion after another, all without any ... evidence.

Oh that nasty word again.

As you and SIG continue to spin the facts reality marches forward.