SDF seizes ISIS’ administration building in Raqqa (Syria)

Bring it to and end. Allow none to escape.

Re: Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)

LOL!

Almost all the USA backed “Democratic” forces in Syria have some kind of link to the Muslim Brotherhood, or to Al Qaeda, or to violent Palestinian groups.

Yes, Bashar Assad is a bad person, but replacing him with radical, anti-Israel, anti-Jew, Sunni Muslims is complete insanity.

Dam fool standing in the open like that.

This could take a big chunk out of ISIS’ ability to command and control their battle in Raqqa, speeding the collapse.

Hopefully they get on their radios to coordinate now, for easier targeting through signals intelligence.

“Almost all the USA backed “Democratic” forces in Syria have some kind of link to the Muslim Brotherhood, or to Al Qaeda, or to violent Palestinian groups.”

You are lumping the (Kurdish-led) SDF together with the whole witches brew of groups that we used to train and equip, calling them “Moderate rebels” and such (mostly Free Syrian Army, FSA).

SDF is not islamist. At all. They are often criticized as atheist and communist. More than just being secular, they are super effective at killing ISIS. Not just good, but great.

You said.

Almost all the USA backed “Democratic” forces in Syria have some kind of link to the Muslim Brotherhood, or to Al Qaeda, or to violent Palestinian groups.

Who told you that? The YPG/YPJ/MMC/Syriac/Ezidi elements of SDF never fought Assad. They all fought and killed ISIS. They had nothing to do with the CIA under Obama. Certainly nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood. Only since the very recent fighting in Deir Ezzor began a few of the FSA joined the SDF. There have been some issues with that.

I know these people. Have had very frequent contact with them since 2014. They are not what you said.

OK, I agree I do not have the depth of knowledge on this issue that both of you have.

However, almost on a monthly basis, for the last five years, some new militia group suddenly appears, or changes its name, or suddenly disappears.

I'm not inclined to apologize for losing track of the players.

I do know two things for certain...

First, the allegations that Assad has used chemical weapons are unproven.

All the allegations have been made by anti-Assad militants, or anti-Assad “monitor” groups, or unidentified USA intelligence or military sources.

From memory - the UN has investigated 11 claims, found traces of chemical weapons at 2 sites, but could not determine “which side” used them, probably because the UN, like me, has no idea which group is fighting which group.

Second, military progress against ISIS and Al Qaeda has been glacial, no matter who is doing the fighting, or what name they happen to call themselves this month.

For the record, I am no friend of Assad. Instead, I am a lifelong Friend of Israel and a lifelong admirer of the Jewish people.

To my eye, Bashar Assad rarely engaged in any provocative language or actions against Israel. His alliance with Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah can be completely explained by Assad's desire not to have his naked dead body dragged through the streets of Damascus behind a cheap motorcycle driven by some illiterate Sunni.

Thanks Texas Fossil.

1. I don’t pretend to be an “expert” on this. The “experts” are always wrong. The only people who know the reality of life in the region (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria) are those who live there. And few of them really grasp it all. I do have close friends who I trust and respect in Syria. That has come about over time and many conversations.

2. The Kurds defended Christians and other minorities in both Iraq and in Syria. They did so with great exposure of themselves and were punished for that numerous times. Iraq Kurds and Syrian Kurds are not the same. It is not a racial difference but on based on world view.

3. There are Christians (and minorities) in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. They are under real threat in all of those nations if they threaten the balance of power among the largely Tribal division of authority in each state. Some are more threatened than others.

4. US citizens often look at the countries in South America as being homogenous. They are not, nor is the Middle East.

5. Israel and Saudi Arabia have both recently supported recognition of a Kurdish state. Amazing to see those 2 nations agree on this. This is because they both fear the real threat of Iran. Iran is a truly evil state. It is said they have hanged 10,000 of their citizens.

6. You are right about Obama’s CIA Unicorn armies. It was a total disaster like everything that Obozo touched. He burned through Saudi money and fanned the flames of hatred in the entire ME. He was like the Sorcers Apprentice. Drunk with power and did not have a clue of where to begin or what to do. (Post Turtle)

7. Assad? He like Saddam did not target Christians unless they threatened his power or authority. He has been a threat to Israel. Those who support him in Syria generally like the quasi stability he supplies. He is viewed as a heritic by most Muslims, the Alawites are much more Western in appearance. But they are allied with Iran and the Mullahs. And supported by the Iranian Quds and Hezbollah. The percentage of largely Iranian foreign fighters in the SAA Army is large. Some say as much as 60%.

8. Iran and Turkey see grabbing the oil in Syria and will give them a path to the coast for oil and a way to make the EU subject to them through draining them financially by oil dependency. It is about Conquest.

9. Assad may or many not have intended to use chemical weapons. It has long been said that Saddams chemical weapons (real) were passed to Syria and to the Bekaa Valley and Hezbollah. Saddam tried to hide chemical weapons from the inspectors. He may have intentionally mislabled them to hide them. It is possible that Assad used some of those bombs without knowing they were chemical weapons. (I’m not defending him) I do believe that when Trump bombed the munitions facility in Syria, he had intelligence that something there directly threatened Israel was stored there. Assad’s ally, Iran, would use such a weapon on Israel in a heartbeat.

In Depth: How Iranian weapons reach Hezbollah

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/In-Depth-How-Iranian-weapons-go-through-Syria-to-Hezbollah-314313

10. I did not respond to all of your statements, but this is a start toward closing the gap between you and I. My Syrian Kurd friends know fully what Assad is. Pro and Con.

I too have long supported Israel and those who will act to reduce the threat for them in the ME.

Thank God that the MSM did not try to write about the Iraq and Syrian wars. The few attempts I’ve seen at that have been total nonsense. They are all about agenda, the agenda of those who pay them. (Propaganda)

~Dave

Losing track of the players is not really a fault, when so many are really just shifting front groups, or the same basic thing with different names, as you rightly point out.

But SDF is significantly different. They are not islamist, they are anti-islamist. They liberate and protect minorities like Christians. They have been highly effective against ISIS - bar far the most effective. They have liberated NorthEast Syria from ISIS, and are in the last stages of eliminating ISIS from their declared Capital of Raqqa (they started assaulting on 6 June, have 80%, on track for 100% in October).

The so-called “moderate rebels” that we trained and equiped for the first few years (most of the “Free Syrian Army”), were ridiculously ineffective against ISIS, and in many cases simply funneled our weapon support to ISIS and al Queda. They were a witches brew of Wahabbi islamists themselves. Since we have switched to the Kurdish-led SDF in 2015, it has been a steady march across NorthEastern Syria. See the yellow areas on the current map, to see what they have liberated, while stacking ISIS bodies by the thousands (and sadly, sacrificing so many of their own).

The SDF has basically won the war against ISIS in Syria, dying in place of US soldiers. We have provided them training, supply, intelligence, air and artillery support, but they kicked in all the doors, took all the casualties, and defused all the IEDs. They have never significantly surrendered any of those assets to the enemy, and have protected our approximately 1,000 personnel in country like they were gold.

Assad is fundamentally anti-Israeli, and his Nazi-inspired (literally) Ba’ath Party has been since they took power after WWII. They have hosted a whole witches brew of terrorists in Syria, and have repeatedly gone to war with Israel. They publicly preach the same kind of rabidly anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel propaganda that is rife in the region. He has long been held in check by Israeli capability to defeat his military, or strike his person.

After this war however, he is dependent on Iran as never before, and giving Iran unprecedented free rein to build up their forces (including rocket/missile stockpiles) near the Israeli border). One of Iran’s major objectives is to obtain an open land corridor from Iran to Israeli border, to support the deployment of heavy military forces for both buildup and reinforcements during war with Israel.

Whether you believe Assad used chemical weapons or not (I think it likely that there was a mix of Regime use, Rebel use, and staged releases attempting to draw the Americans in against Assad), it is undeniable that Assad maintains one of the most robust chemical weapons programs on Earth, and is one of the few nations who have not signed the treaties prohibiting their use. They still maintain the old Soviet military doctrines on the incorporation of chemical weaponry into conventional military operations. Their military (what remains) is trained and equipped for full scale chemical warfare. That is why Israelis are issued gas masks.

Assad could retire to a Dacha on the Black Sea. I believe that is likely a preferred option for the US in a settlement, but everything depends on how things settle out militarily on the ground. No one trusts the others enough to make a deal, until they have to. Even if Assad wanted to make a deal, he would have to get Russia and Iran to go along, and they have their own interests. Assad’s loyalists and ruling elite risk being dragged through the streets as well, so they are also stakeholders.

In the end, Assad is fundamentally Anti-American and Anti-Israeli - a brutal dictator (albeit with a reasonable demeanor on TV) who leads the last Nazi-inspired ruling Party on Earth. He only looks good because ISIS is so over the top, in your face, ridiculously evil in comparison.

Oops, here is the map link (Yellow is the area freed from ISIS by the SDF):
http://syriancivilwarmap.com/