Posted: 11/25/2013 1:07:44 AM EDT
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http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/24/world/meast/syria-al-qaeda-advances/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Al Qaeda fighters in Syria have seized another town on the border with Turkey, consolidating their grip on a swath of northern Syria. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the town of Atimah at the end of last week, further tilting the balance away from more moderate factions of the Free Syrian Army. If ISIL's record elsewhere is any guide, the people of Atimah can expect the imposition of strict Islamic customs, with women and girls being coerced to dress more conservatively and Sharia, or religious, courts being established to dispense justice. Opposition activists say ISIL has cut down a famous landmark -- an ancient oak tree -- near Atimah. The militants claimed people had been worshipping the tree rather than God, an allegation rejected by locals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. |
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Now that they have been resupplied by the Americans, and most l,likely some strategic advisors.. there bound to win some. And the border area is trickier for the Syrian army to operate; they had a few incidents of stray shells and aircraft a while back, pissing off the Turks. |
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http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/24/world/meast/syria-al-qaeda-advances/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Al Qaeda fighters in Syria have seized another town on the border with Turkey, consolidating their grip on a swath of northern Syria.The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the town of Atimah at the end of last week, further tilting the balance away from more moderate factions of the Free Syrian Army.
If ISIL's record elsewhere is any guide, the people of Atimah can expect the imposition of strict Islamic customs, with women and girls being coerced to dress more conservatively and Sharia, or religious, courts being established to dispense justice. Opposition activists say ISIL has cut down a famous landmark -- an ancient oak tree -- near Atimah. The militants claimed people had been worshipping the tree rather than God, an allegation rejected by locals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. We need to start supporting Asad until it's even again |
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This is what happens with dithering.
The window to support moderates was small and both the US and Arabs blew it. Radicalization is what happens when situations become more desperate. The Germans didn't ram bombers at the beginning of WWII and the US very likely would have lost battles such as Midway had the Japanese resorted to kamikazes early in the war. Much more recently,the lessons of Aghanistan and Iraq were completely forgotten: the uglier it gets,the uglier it gets. The "let both sides just kill each other" isnt a sound strategy unless you want Iraq to fall back to 2006 levels of violence as the blowback is already happening. The US can't want to both stick its nose into things like invading Iraq and halfass supporting rebels and then claim the effects aren't its problem.. Like it or not the goal of regime change is something the US owns. |
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I’m sure they will get as much support as possible from this administration. No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. |
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No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. Quoted:
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I’m sure they will get as much support as possible from this administration. No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. Well at least we can ask Putin and Lavrov for advice then. Beats asking the State Department. |
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Well at least we can ask Putin and Lavrov for advice then. Beats asking the State Department. Quoted:
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I’m sure they will get as much support as possible from this administration. No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. Well at least we can ask Putin and Lavrov for advice then. Beats asking the State Department. John Kerry is on top of it! 
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No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. Quoted:
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I’m sure they will get as much support as possible from this administration. No, they won't. This administration is committed to supporting Iran. Our foreign policy is now directly tied to the successful reign of Assad and the nuclear ambitions of his sponsor, Iran. If I was Putin I would tie Obama to Iran and Syria and then just to go in dry,drop Assad and gain Egypt since their military rulers sure as hell don't trust the US anymore. It's not like they have a huge base at Tartus,it's just a couple piers;the Egyptians could do them much better. I'd butter up to the Arabs and stick the US with Iran. Obama/Hillary/Kerry are the Washington Generals of foreign policy...they do just enough to make it something of a show but the outcome is a foregone conculsion: winning isn't even part of the plan. |