Iraq & Syrian Civil Wars - Page 53

On May 29 2013 00:37 sgtnoobkilla wrote:



Looks like Israel's getting put between a rock and a hard place (not that they weren't in one to begin with). Now it remains to be seen if they'll strike Syria again or not before those missiles get assembled.

DeepElemBlues, you seem to believe there's a war between USA and the arabs which is nonsense. There's absolutely no such thing as not all arabs are even united in any way. I still don't understand what Iran has to lose in this, unless they lose Syria as an ally, they continue to be a pretty big power in the area, and they seem to be projecting their power well in this proxy war.

S-300 defense systems : D well played Russia.

So your argument is, if a country is a little bit closer to Moscow than to Washington, we should fuck them up hard? I'm just glad the Soviets were nowhere near as aggressive as we've been since '45, or else we both probably would not have been born.

The Cold War logic is sensationalist.

Speaking about the 60s, we didn't mess with Nasser, the guy had free reign in who he chose to deal with, and he made "close" ties with the USSR, and yet, Egypt didn't become communist, didn't become under Soviet sovereignty, wasn't even a Soviet ally, like Cold War conspiracy theories like the domino effect would claim about countries who had any positive relations with the USSR.

On May 30 2013 07:52 ImFromPortugal wrote:
Al-Qaida-affiliated group of Syrian rebels says they will start launching attacks on Hezbollah strongholds inside Lebanon in 3 days - @NBCNews

Syrian opposition members face their final day of talks in Istanbul having set out 'preconditions' on entering international peace talks scheduled for next month in Geneva.

The Syrian National Coalition, so far deeply divided on how to take the movement forward, will meet for a final day in Istanbul on Thursday.

On Wednesday, they laid out what are being called preconditions for attending a proposed international meeting on Syria, spearheaded by the US and Russia, and which aims to bring the Syrian government and opposition together for the first time.

They want, among other requirements, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit before they enter international peace talks.

"The participation of the Syrians in any conference is tied to the presentation of a deadline for a solution and giving the necessary binding international guarantees," said a statement released by the coalition.

"The Syrian Coalition welcomes the international efforts to find a political solution to what Syria has been suffering for two years while being committed to the principles of the revolution."

"The opposition wants to see guarantees by the international community - binding measures as they say in their own words - that Assad will not be part of any settlement agreement," said Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Istanbul.

On May 30 2013 07:55 xDaunt wrote:

FFS. Poor Lebanon just can't catch a break.

On May 30 2013 08:28 Thor.Rush wrote:

I feel sorry for Lebanon (not Hezbollah)

Sen. McCain said he is confident the US can send weapons to Syria without the risk they will fall in the wrong hands - @Reuters

Syria's President Assad tells Hezbollah TV that Syria has received its 1st S-300 surface-to-air missile shipment - @Haaretzcom, @AP

Russia's foreign minister says Syrian opposition coalition seeking to thwart peace efforts and provoke military intervention - Interfax via @Reuters

Israel is looking into reports that Syria has received the 1st shipment of the advanced Russian S-300 air defense system - @Reuters

Syrian forces loyal to President Assad reclaim airbase near Qusair after 10 days of fierce fighting - @AFP

Syrian rebels plead for military and medical aid as regime forces pound strategic area of Qusair - @Reuters

On May 30 2013 18:54 Pika Chu wrote:
After EU lifted bans on arms sale to rebels, Russia may lift its ban on selling weapons to Syria.
Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130529/181410473/Russia-May-Revise-Ban-on-Syrian-Arms-Exports---Minister.html

Looks like the conflict may be taken to a higher level... better/heavier weapons may now flow into Syria.

On May 30 2013 19:05 HeartOfTheSwarm wrote:What does it mean that Russia ''may lift'' the ban on selling weapon, when they have been providing Bashar weapons since the beginning

Netanyahu tells European foreign ministers that if the Russian missile systems get into Syria, Israel's 'entire airspace will become a no-fly zone' and therefore it 'cannot stand idly by.'

Israel's National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror sketched out what Jerusalem's "red line" is vis-à-vis the S-300 missile systems Russia intends to send to Syria before the 27 European Union ambassadors in Israel.

Two diplomats who were in the room during the briefing last Thursday, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was a closed event, said that Amidror stressed Israel will act "to prevent the S-300 missiles from becoming operational" on Syrian soil. This message was also conveyed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon when he said on Tuesday that if the missiles reach Syria "Israel will know what to do."

Amidror's briefing, the diplomats said, made it clear that Israel estimates that sooner or later Russia will provide Syria with the missile systems and for reasons unrelated to Israel - namely Russian rivalry with the U.S., Britain and France on the Syrian issue. "We understood from Amidror that the Israeli government thinks the missile transfer cannot be prevented, therefore it will act against them after the transfer but before they become operational," one of the diplomats said.

On May 31 2013 17:54 ImFromPortugal wrote:
Russia to deliver military aircraft to Syria in accordance with contract; unlikely to deliver S-300 air defenses before autumn - @Reuters

Russian S-300 missiles unlikely to reach Syria for months

Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles will probably arrive in Syria only after several months, but more Israeli air strikes or the creation of a no-fly zone would speed up delivery, a Russian arms industry source said.

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Source

Syria conflict: Assad interview fuels missile confusion

An interview given by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to a Lebanese TV channel has resulted in confusion over the supply of a Russian missile defence system.

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Press in the Middle East and neighbouring countries reacted with confusion over al-Akhbar's erroneous trail of the interview, while one Russian newspaper quoted military sources as saying that deliveries of the missile system would not start until next year at the earliest.

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Russia's Vedomosti newspaper thought a delivery of S-300s would not be likely until at least 2014. "The truth is, those air defence missile weapon systems have not been sent to Syria," the paper said, citing a source in the defence industry who also thought that the missiles would be of little tactical use: "Those systems won't help the Syrian government to prevent air strikes on the country in case Nato and Israel decide to act, and everyone realises that."

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Source

Syria President Bashar al-Assad says Golan will be new war front

SYRIA'S President Bashar al-Assad has threatened to open "a new front" against Israel in the Golan Heights, as his country's civil war worsens.

He also blamed "Israeli escalation" for the growing role of the militant Shia group Hezbollah in trying to shore up his regime.

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Two Russian newspapers reported yesterday that the S-300s may not be sent to Syria until next year. Vedomosti and Kommersant said the $US1 billion contract had been signed in 2010 and that even if they were delivered now it may take six months for them to be assembled and ready for use.

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Source

On May 31 2013 19:47 Pika Chu wrote:


Can you provide more details of the military aircraft? What are they selling?

On June 01 2013 00:02 sgtnoobkilla wrote:







The whole "missiles have already arrived" is one giant media fiasco basically. Don't think it's such a good idea on Assad's account to play mind games with Israel considering he isn't even able to handle an insurgency, let alone a conventional war at this point.

Rebel fighters have broken through army lines to enter Qusayr in Western Syria as the battle for the beset city near the Lebanese border intensifies, opposition activists have said.

Leader of the opposition, George Sabra, said about 1,000 extra fighters from across Syria had penetrated the city near the Lebanese border.

Syrian state media said on Friday that government forces had surrounded the city, and activists reported that regime troops had carried out a deadly attack on a convoy trying to evacuate wounded people from Qusayr.

The upsurge in fighting came as Lebanese politicians postponed a June parliamentary election until late next year owing to instability in neighbouring Syria and political deadlock at home.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that hundreds of rebels had broken through army lines near the village of Shamsinn, northeast of Qusayr, after losing 11 fighters.

The opposition coalition has appealed for the rescue of 1,000 civilians wounded in Qusayr, which Assad's forces have been trying to seize back in an all-out offensive since May 19.

Qusayr-based activist Hadi Abdullah said the shelling of the convoy had killed nine people and wounded many others.