War Against ISIS

GermanHerman · Oct 8, 2015

The Guardian reports the start of the awaited Syrian ground offensive:

Syrian activists said Russian fighter jets bombed a series of towns held by the opposition in the countryside of Hama, in concert with a push by regime troops and armoured vehicles and the deployment of Russian helicopters, in what was described as the fiercest combat in months.

Syrian troops launch ground offensive backed by Russian airstrikes | World news | The Guardian

gazzzwp · Oct 8, 2015

wild_Willie2 said:
Syria conflict: Russian cruise missiles 'crash in Iran'

That is the risk of having cruise missiles fly over your territory...

U.S.: Russian missiles heading for Syria landed in Iran - CNNPolitics.com

Very interesting. Assuming this is the truth; it does shed a different light on the attack. How many crashed? Where did they crash?

Propaganda and confidence in one's military technology is everything particularly when we know it was done for the benefit of NATO.

Ranger25 · Oct 8, 2015

gazzzwp said:
Very interesting. Assuming this is the truth; it does shed a different light on the attack. How many crashed? Where did they crash?

Propaganda and confidence in one's military technology is everything particularly when we know it was done for the benefit of NATO.

Widely reported a total,of 4 failed and crashed over Iran. By the sounds of it in the. Idle so the desert.

Still a decently impressive show

Blackshoe · Oct 8, 2015

gazzzwp said:
Very interesting. Assuming this is the truth; it does shed a different light on the attack. How many crashed? Where did they crash?

Propaganda and confidence in one's military technology is everything particularly when we know it was done for the benefit of NATO.

Engine/nav computers fail. It happens. TLAMs fail, too.

However, it's a nice bit of advertising for Russian missile system as a counter to the TLAM.

To Feanor re: Russian funding. Does the Federal Assembly pass something like US OCO (nee GWOT) supplement-an extra chunk of money specifically for military operations?

Feanor · Oct 8, 2015

Blackshoe said:
Engine/nav computers fail. It happens. TLAMs fail, too.

However, it's a nice bit of advertising for Russian missile system as a counter to the TLAM.

To Feanor re: Russian funding. Does the Federal Assembly pass something like US OCO (nee GWOT) supplement-an extra chunk of money specifically for military operations?

I haven't heard anything about it. Then again, money for the war in Ukraine must have come from somewhere. It may be an undisclosed fund set up for war purposes, and given how they basically ended the fighting in Ukraine, right as they ramped up for Syria, they could simply be using the same fund. If I find something, I'll be sure to post it here.

ngatimozart · Oct 8, 2015

gazzzwp said:
Just as an aside; Israel has apparently discovered a major oil pocket in the Golan.

That could conceivably be a significant factor in a future flare up in that region.

Potentially game-changing oil reserves discovered in Israel | Fox News

and please could people refer to me as Sergeant from now on :rotfl

I have issues with the veracity of Fox News. They tend to be fairly biased hence giving a one sided slanted view, not letting facts get in the way of an opinion. I would suggest a wider selection of more reputable sources.

A.V. Berg · Oct 8, 2015

gazzzwp said:
The US generals have been commenting on the closure of the gap for some time and now I dare say that all commentators can see it for themselves.

I know that Tomahawks have a horrendous price tag of approx $1M each. Do the Klubs have a price tag anything like that?

I have not come across the cost of Klub missiles, or rather of those that are for Russian use. I would not be surprised if they cost as much as, or even more than Tomahawks. Reason being, the latter have been produced in their thousands which means that the R&D costs have been covered. Furthermore, Americans order their missiles in large batches no doubt, unlike the Russians who often buy things in droplets thus making the purchase more expensive.

I don't think there is a sane commentator who would argue that the Russian armed forces are, in toto, on a par with NATO. Neither the Russian airforce, nor the army nor the navy are nearly as modern as their Western counterparts. Just look at the equipment inventory and compare.

What the commentators might be saying is that in certain areas, Russians made huge advances and in a conflict restricted to certain geographic regions, such as the Baltic states, NATO would not enjoy an advantage.

Why would Russia bomb Israel? They are not enemies. In fact Russia bought Israeli drones not too long ago.

Twain · Oct 8, 2015

ngatimozart said:
I have issues with the veracity of Fox News. They tend to be fairly biased hence giving a one sided slanted view, not letting facts get in the way of an opinion. I would suggest a wider selection of more reputable sources.

The headline of the article:

Potentially game-changing oil reserves discovered in Israel

The actual contents of the article:

conceded that until the oil is actually extracted, they won’t be sure of the actual amounts and quality of the oil that has been discovered.

Much ado about nothing at this stage. Check back in a year or so and then we may know what's actually there.

Ranger25 · Oct 8, 2015

Twain said:
The headline of the article:

Potentially game-changing oil reserves discovered in Israel

The actual contents of the article:

conceded that until the oil is actually extracted, they won’t be sure of the actual amounts and quality of the oil that has been discovered.

Much ado about nothing at this stage. Check back in a year or so and then we may know what's actually there.

Correct. And depending on the source there are suggestions that the new "find" is a rouse to drive the stock price up of AFEK

Like a lot of things. Will need to be verified, then, tips it's there, be commercially viable for extraction

ngatimozart · Oct 9, 2015

Al Jazeera is reporting that the Iranian Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guard have released a statement saying that Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani of the Iranian Army was killed by Daesh on the outskirts of Aleppo overnight, Thursday night. The statement went on to say that the BG was there advising Syrian troops.
ISIL kills top Iranian commander in Syria - Al Jazeera English

STURM · Oct 9, 2015

If I remember correctly, a senior Pasdaran officer was killed in Iraq a few months ago.

The Gulf countries have been noticeably quiet about Russian involvement in Syria. Off course new that their arch enemy, Iran, is stepping up its involvement there will annoy them. Iranian involvement in Syria is to be expected given that both countries are allies; at a time when the West and the Sunni Arab world was supporting Saddam during the Iran/Iraq war, Syria was the only country who supported Iran.

A.V. Berg · Oct 9, 2015

STURM said:
If I remember correctly, a senior Pasdaran officer was killed in Iraq a few months ago.

The Gulf countries have been noticeably quiet about Russian involvement in Syria. Off course new that their arch enemy, Iran, is stepping up its involvement there will annoy them. Iranian involvement in Syria is to be expected given that both countries are allies; at a time when the West and the Sunni Arab world was supporting Saddam during the Iran/Iraq war, Syria was the only country who supported Iran.

To the contrary, Gulf states have been very vocal. Saudi officials have condemned Russian involvement and accused the Russians of bombing holy sites. Moreover, there's word of radical Saudi clerics declaring jihad against Russia. Un-named officials from Qatar have done the same but in less stringent terms.

STURM · Oct 9, 2015

The Saudis were very annoyed when Obama decided not to hit Iran and decided to rely on diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. So annoyed that they reportedly agree to allow use of their airspace by Israel in the event that Israel decided to hit Iran's nuclear facilities.

Now the Saudis are annoyed that Russia is now an active participation in the Syrian conflict as they know that their quest, one they share with the West, to oust Assad has become much harder. Like the West, the Saudis want Assad gone (for slightly different reasons) but have no idea as to who will replace him. Despite being against IS, Saudi and GCC partners are doing next to nothing to help the Iraqis defeat IS but condemned help provided to Iraq by Iran. No doubt the Iraqi leadership is responsible for the mess their country is in but to be fair they repeatedly warned that the Syrian crisis would affect Iraq but nobody listened and when IS went on the offensive, the first to help was Iran.

Rather than contributing more to the effort to defeat IS in Syria, Saudi and it's GCC allies have chosen to get involved in Yemen where things are not looking too good for them, despite all the ordnance dropped on the Houthis. Efforts to get Egyptian, Pakistani and Malaysian "boots on the ground" in Yemen - so the GCC can say it has a "coalition of the willing" to defeat Iranian backed "terror" - have failed. There has been much condemnation of civilians killed by Assad (rightly so) but little mention of Yemeni civilians killed by GCC air strikes.

Can it get more confusing and hypocritical than this?

Toblerone · Oct 9, 2015

How about this?
Anger after Saudi Arabia 'chosen to head key UN human rights panel' | World | News | The Independent

Is that hypocritical enough?

John Fedup · Oct 9, 2015

Toblerone said:
How about this?
Anger after Saudi Arabia 'chosen to head key UN human rights panel' | World | News | The Independent

Is that hypocritical enough?

Typical UN BS. Just trying win the race to be as dysfunctional as the US Congress. They just took the lead after choosing a Saudi for a human rights panel....oxymoron alert!

Ranger25 · Oct 9, 2015

STURM said:
The Saudis were very annoyed when Obama decided not to hit Iran and decided to rely on diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. So annoyed that they reportedly agree to allow use of their airspace by Israel in the event that Israel decided to hit Iran's nuclear facilities.

Now the Saudis are annoyed that Russia is now an active participation in the Syrian conflict as they know that their quest, one they share with the West, to oust Assad has become much harder. Like the West, the Saudis want Assad gone (for slightly different reasons) but have no idea as to who will replace him. Despite being against IS, Saudi and GCC partners are doing next to nothing to help the Iraqis defeat IS but condemned help provided to Iraq by Iran. No doubt the Iraqi leadership is responsible for the mess their country is in but to be fair they repeatedly warned that the Syrian crisis would affect Iraq but nobody listened and when IS went on the offensive, the first to help was Iran.

Rather than contributing more to the effort to defeat IS in Syria, Saudi and it's GCC allies have chosen to get involved in Yemen where things are not looking too good for them, despite all the ordnance dropped on the Houthis. Efforts to get Egyptian, Pakistani and Malaysian "boots on the ground" in Yemen - so the GCC can say it has a "coalition of the willing" to defeat Iranian backed "terror" - have failed. There has been much condemnation of civilians killed by Assad (rightly so) but little mention of Yemeni civilians killed by GCC air strikes.

Can it get more confusing and hypocritical than this?

Speaking of the Saudis

The head of the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is coming to Moscow for an official visit on Sunday, October 11, the Kommersant newspaper reports citing a source at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. According to the newspaper, the prince is scheduled to meet Russian President Putin in Sochi, where he will also attend Russia's Formula 1 Grand Prix race. This will be Mohammed Bin Salman's second visit to Russia this year, Pravda.Ru reports.
Also read: Obama wants Saudi Arabia to destroy Russian economy
The visit of the Saudi official to Moscow against the backdrop of Russia's anti-terrorist operation in Syria, which Saudi Arabia remains vehemently opposed to, may indicate Riyadh's willingness to compromise with Moscow. Saudi Arabia hopes to change Moscow's attitude towards the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, promising strategic partnership and multi-billion-dollar projects.
Noteworthy, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most ardent opponents to Bashar al-Assad.
Also read: Saudi Arabia promised expensive oil to Russia to topple Assad
Earlier, Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir announced the existence of only two solutions to the Syrian conflict. It is not ruled out, though, that Saudi Arabia may mitigate its stance on Syria and improve ties with the Russian Federation, experts believe.
Pravda.Ru

- See more at: Saudi defense minister to come to Moscow to compromise on Syria - English pravda.ru

A.V. Berg · Oct 9, 2015

STURM said:
The Saudis were very annoyed when Obama decided not to hit Iran and decided to rely on diplomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue. So annoyed that they reportedly agree to allow use of their airspace by Israel in the event that Israel decided to hit Iran's nuclear facilities.

Now the Saudis are annoyed that Russia is now an active participation in the Syrian conflict as they know that their quest, one they share with the West, to oust Assad has become much harder. Like the West, the Saudis want Assad gone (for slightly different reasons) but have no idea as to who will replace him. Despite being against IS, Saudi and GCC partners are doing next to nothing to help the Iraqis defeat IS but condemned help provided to Iraq by Iran. No doubt the Iraqi leadership is responsible for the mess their country is in but to be fair they repeatedly warned that the Syrian crisis would affect Iraq but nobody listened and when IS went on the offensive, the first to help was Iran.

Rather than contributing more to the effort to defeat IS in Syria, Saudi and it's GCC allies have chosen to get involved in Yemen where things are not looking too good for them, despite all the ordnance dropped on the Houthis. Efforts to get Egyptian, Pakistani and Malaysian "boots on the ground" in Yemen - so the GCC can say it has a "coalition of the willing" to defeat Iranian backed "terror" - have failed. There has been much condemnation of civilians killed by Assad (rightly so) but little mention of Yemeni civilians killed by GCC air strikes.

Can it get more confusing and hypocritical than this?

Agree with all of the above. Saudi Arabia is one of the reasons for Middle East instability. The Kingdom's horrible human rights record
at home is matched by its incompetent and often callous way of conducting military operations abroad. Only days ago, a wedding party was bombed in Yemen and there's hardly even a whimper of moral outrage in Western media.

On a separate note, has anyone noticed a sharp rise in the number of sorties flown by Russian aircraft in Syria? The number went from 20-25 per day to 67 as of yesterday. Plus the use of Hinds. The Syrian army offensive must be really underway.

Feanor · Oct 10, 2015

STURM · Oct 10, 2015

The Turks have good reason to be worried. The priority for Syria and Russia will not only be to push back IS from areas they occupy but also to cut the land routes from Turkey.

It will safe the assume that the Iraqis are under pressure not to accept any large scale help from Russia, for which the right thing would be for the Sunni Arab Gulf states to provide more assistance to Iraq; unlikely to happen.

Feanor · Oct 10, 2015

STURM said:
The Turks have good reason to be worried. The priority for Syria and Russia will not only be to push back IS from areas they occupy but also to cut the land routes from Turkey.

It will safe the assume that the Iraqis are under pressure not to accept any large scale help from Russia, for which the right thing would be for the Sunni Arab Gulf states to provide more assistance to Iraq; unlikely to happen.

Iraq is buying Russian weapons in large bundles. So while that may be less assistance, and more business, they're certainly involved with Russia. Involved enough to host a coordination center in Baghdad, to allow overflight not only of Russian planes but also cruise missiles, and involved enough to send Iraqi militias to fight in the defense of Damascus. Granted Iraq is far more involved with Iran then with Russia, but the basic point remains the same. For them, survival is on the line. They will take what they can where they can get it.

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