Posted on 12/15/2014 9:58:27 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria and allied rebel groups have taken control of two key army bases in the northern province of Idlib, activists say.
Members of al-Nusra Front, supported by those from Jund al-Aqsa, captured Wadi al-Deif base on Monday after launching a fierce offensive on Sunday morning.
Ahrar al-Sham later joined their assault on the nearby Hamidiya base.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had until now managed to repel a number of assaults on the facilities.
Situated outside the town of Maarat al-Numan and next to the country's main north-south motorway, they have been surrounded since 2012.
A Twitter account run by al-Nusra declared on Monday morning that "Wadi al-Deif was completely liberated" and said the group was now removing mines.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said at least 31 government soldiers and 12 members of al-Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa had been killed in the fighting.
A local activist, Asad Kanjo, told the Associated Press that most of the troops at Wadi al-Deif had withdrawn before the base was overrun and headed to Hamidiya.
But within hours, the Syrian Observatory reported that Hamidiya had itself been captured by al-Nusra, Jund al-Aqsa and Ahrar al-Sham...
The Syrian Observatory said al-Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa had used tanks and other heavy weapons which they captured from the Western-backed Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF) last month.
The defeat of the SRF was seen as a blow to US efforts to build a moderate rebel force to counter jihadist groups like al-Nusra and the rival Islamic State (IS)...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Assad’s regime in bleeding out.
Syrian wins song contest based on ‘American Idol,’ declines to wear flag
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/14/world/meast/syria-arab-idol/
No problem. I’m sure the 1500 dentists and lawyers Obama is having trained in Saudi will soon be ready to go in and settle things.
If there are any decent people in Assad’s inner circle, they should remove him with extreme prejudice. Make common cause with any elements in rebellion who will oppose al Qaeda and ISIS/ISIL. Otherwise, they deserve the same fate as Assad, this second generation dilettante despot.
I don’t know if this was posted on this forum:
This seems so bad per the Assad regime as well, what kind of living conditions??
And if Syria is a true ally of Iran and Iran has some evil plans, I guess Assad is better than the rebels but all of those sides are pitiful. Of course, ISIS should be vaporized they are so evil.
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/09/muhammad-isis-iraqs-full-story.html
Another informative website, I’d never known of before. I think they are okay but (disclaimer), I don’t know for sure.
Actually, a smaller logistical platform means he can last longer. Particularly if he’s getting air support.
“The Syrian Observatory said al-Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa had used tanks and other heavy weapons which they captured from the Western-backed Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF) last month.”
I see 0bama’s weapons went nearly straight to Al Qaeda as planned.
Yawn, they’ve been capturing “key” whatevers for over three years now. Wake me up when they can do anything of significance against Latakia.
Well said.
Yeah, that doesn’t look encouraging for Assad and all his thugs and shills.
His problem becomes finding manpower; his Alawite core isn’t all working directly for him. The approach the regime took early on was to turn weapons and responsibilities to the local henchmen, and he’s entirely reliant on outside aid to keep food on the tables and bullets in the guns. The civil war has been one of attrition, and in the nationwide turmoil there’s simply no way to skin off any more conscripts.
So, as they die, there is no fill behind.
FTM, as they flee, there is no fill behind.
He’ll have to make a decision, soon, whether he’ll continue to watch his remaining dictatorship get whittled away, while 19000 Iranian thugs and thousands more Hizzie proxy thugs continue to rule their own enclaves as the Iranian mullahcracy continues to foster dependence.
His options don’t include finding rebels to treat with — even if they trusted him, he isn’t really interested in anything but a return to the way things were. Those days are gone.
If he wants out, he can make sure his own are quietly moved over to the edge of the board, then join them, and they make a run for it. Most likely the Iranians don’t want him to leave, so his ride will have to be with the Russians. The Russians conducted evacuations such as they could, in 2012, and again in 2013.
The only other possible option would be to make peace with the Israelis and make alliance with them to defeat the rebels, the Hizzies, and the Iranians. That’s about as likely as a two foot snowfall in Damascus.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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You apparently haven’t been following the war closely on the map.
They now control the river from Aleppo to very near Baghdad. That is, they have pretty much taken control of the Sunni areas they want.
I posted months ago that once the desired areas in Iraq were taken, the direction would change toward Aleppo. That is precisely what has happened. Aleppo will be the capital.
the coalition actions, including that of the USA, are all about insuring the borders don’t encroach in Kurdish claimed territory or major important territory supporting Shia Iraq to the south.
At some point, Assad is going to be contained and perhaps ousted.
Iraq and Syria will never return to the status quo ante
After he is gone, the Gulf Arabs and Jordan and Egypt will negotiate with Turkey to resolve the kurd problem and then exterminate the radicals from ISIS. They will develop a new government in the ISIS territory.
It will take some time, but that is what is going to happen. For the most part, Obama is irrelevant and mistrusted as a naive pretender
Wow, nice analysis! The Saudis got tired of Zero’s games and his desired outcome, and are putting their various enemies out of business. I don’t think that was NOT intended by Zero, it fits his strategy of destroying the US economy. But he’s not naive, just a mean spirited enemy of the US. His middle east foreign policy has been poisonous, but has managed to be intricate (not ‘nuanced’) and not cost a lot of money.
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