Posted on 02/10/2017 8:36:45 PM PST by Texas Fossil
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview released on Friday that the United States is welcome to join the battle against "terrorists" in Syria — as long as it is in cooperation with his government and respects the country's sovereignty.
Speaking with Yahoo News, Assad said he has not had any communication — direct or indirect — with President Donald Trump or any official form the new U.S. administration.
But the Syrian leader appeared to make a gesture to the new U.S. president in the interview, saying he welcomes Trump's declaration that he will make it a priority to fight terrorism — a goal Assad said he also shares.
However, Assad's government has labelled all armed opposition to his rule — including the U.S.-backed rebels — as "terrorists."
"We agree about this priority," Assad said of Trump. "That's our position in Syria, the priority is to fight terrorism."
(Excerpt) Read more at mrt.com ...
Let them rot.
We already have Operators on the ground in Syria fighting ISIS.
They are all, when it comes down to it, MUSLUMS FIRST AND FOREMOST....JEW HATERS SECOND....AND OUR ALLIES ONLY WHEN THEIR FELLOW MOSLUMS ARE ABOUT TO KILL THEM.
NUKE IRAN....however you have to make it come to pass, NUKE IRAN. ...THEN SYRIA. ..OF course by the time you vaporize a million or so Iranians, the rest of the moslum world will see its better to cooperate ......they will start overthowing these mullahs and ayatollahs in no time.
LETS REMEMBER TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE....ONCE THESE MOSLUM TERRORIST GET NUKES OR OHER WMDs....it will be too late.
Hell, suitcase Davy Crockett nukes are 50 year old technology, its just a matter of time.
>>”Lets all pray this brings the civil war in Syria to an end.<<
Hope so too, and it’s very likely.
>>” And ISIS gone.”<<
ISIS may leave Syria, but ending it entirely is more challenging.
It’s worth repeating that ISIS is NOT organic to the ME, or that region. It never has been. Many ISIS fighters are not even Arabs, but an eclectic mix of people from various countries.
Their ideology is mostly Salafist (a purist form of Islam) combined with Wahhabism (similar to Al Qaeda and its offshoots). They are ALL Sunni muslims and are alt-extremists.
Their ideology is drawn from Sunni (purist) Islam & Saudi Wahhabism. Thus, their ‘spiritual’ leader is Not and cannot be a Shi’ite Ayatollah such as Khomenei in Iran.
In order to see the end of ISIS and AQ, the US & the West must ensure Saudis and Emiratis (Qatar specifically) stop ALL support to ISIS & AQ. Same goes for Turkey. The ‘support’ which must end includes:
- Funding
- Arming
- Ideological (education) indoctrination (in ME, the West, & around the world in fact)
- Radicalization camps and training
On occasions and out of necessity, the Iranian regime is known to make deals with AQ, but it’s rare and there is no tangible alliance. Russia very recently also specifically said that Iran has never cooperated with ISIS or Al Nusra (an offshoot of AQ).
Iranian regime’s support is localized to, e.g. Hezbollah (in Lebanon) and to a lesser extent Hamas and PLO. The comparison another poster here made to “IRA” and “Basque Separatists” is a fairly good one.
typo = Khomeini (is dead) or Khamenei (is current top ayatollah in Iran).
I am sure that Khomenei is only one of the spiritual leaders in the Middle East. The Iranian connection to the groups that caused the civil war in Lebanon are well known.
I just want the wars to be over, and our military to be brought home and out of harm’s way, and I’d prefer that the Religion of Peace sharia law worshipers stay the heck out of our country.
Agree. No more American blood on the ground. Only American pilots flying A10, F22s, B2s and Buffs.
>>”The Iranian connection to the groups that caused the civil war in Lebanon are well known.”<<
The Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, and has a history leading up to it. It’s important to learn why and how the Lebanese civil war started. Iranian government did not cause the civil war in Lebanon.
However, once Islamic regime in Iran came to power in 1980, then yes Khomeini supported Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Point is if we want to end ISIS and AQ, focus should be on Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states (Qatar especially) and Turkey. ISIS and AQ operate on a global level, whereas Hezbollah is localized and very much organic to the region.
>> How many Syrian civilians have died because of Obama and Hillary’s meddling? They are all war criminals.
Precisely. They destabilized the ME.
Air support means boots on the ground to act in target acquisition and identification with laser spotters. Forward observers are also required if any sort of artillery is needed. They must be on the ground and close enough to validate any target and most importantly, to validate any bomb damage assessments.
Even with the advances in digital photography, it can only capture an instant in time. Think of it this way; in the past, racers needed to watch the gauges to monitor the health of their cars. Most often though, a racer needs to be watching the road. If in the heat of a major position battle with another car, the idea of peeking at the gauges goes by the wayside and when something starts to go wrong, the driver may never see it until something goes wrong.
Today’s drivers have this wonderful thing called data acquisition. An array of sensors and computerized collection of all sorts of data is manipulated by the fancy computerized dashes one sees many times mounted directly to the steering wheel. The system can be programmed to have the dash monitor everything while recording it for later analysis and even in some advanced systems, use of live telemetry so the engineers in the pits can keep their eyes on the car’s health while the driver takes care of the driving. The program allows set point limits for every sensor and also what the dash will report to the driver when an even starts to occur.
Forward observers and laser target identifiers are the ground level data acquisition system for the drivers of the planes. In addition to “painting” the targets, they can also instantly call in additional assets to finish the job while they are still there and not have to wait until the next day or two. If in the immediate aftermath of a target hit, something else is exposed that was not visible before, like a concealed enemy bunker, it can be painted for a hit as well.
I don’t feel we should be dictating the terms of engagement to our commanders but should instead be confident they want nothing to do with having to be writing the condolence letters to fallen families. The trouble we have had in the past is in confidence the anointed commanders would act as such. Which goes all the way to the top. As Trueman was fully aware, the buck stopped with him.
I am very confident that Mattis is very well aware and guided to do what is right and not just expedient. It is very obvious we have a cadre of nefarious characters in all halls of our government which are being weeded out as we speak and sleep. The Yemen raid is a very clear indicator in that they knew we were coming. We paid for that treachery with the life of a very special hero, and I can guarantee Mattis started the investigation the instant it was seen. I am confident that he and our President will clean the swamp before draining it and those nefarious bad players will be dealt with accordingly.
In the mean time, just be confident that if any boot is to hit the ground, it will only be because it is needed. Those of us who have been there are confident that the need is now well placed and go into it with eyes wide open.
I am not saying that Iran caused that civil war. Kohmeni was a religious leader who had been exiled from Iran. He had his believers even though he wasn’t in power.
According to General Mattis, the current Iranian Government is one of the biggest problems with respect to state sponsored terrorism.
I agree that Saudis need to be dealt with too. You might be interested in the following from a survivor of the Lebanon Civil War:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTt8E8uUgpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFO1AtjoUoo
Firstly, thanks for the youtube links.
I’m totally aware of Khomeini’s history in Iran as well as his exile in Iraq and later France. The history of that region is & has been an area of interest. Also, know and have known several Lebanese-Christians over the last 30 years, which has been helpful to understand their views regarding matters in Lebanon.
In relation to Lebanon’s history, it’s been a dog’s breakfast, even prior to 1975 start of civil war. Wars between various groups (Secular, Druze, different Christians denominations, Muslims sects, and various foreign groups), and shifting alliances, dating back to 1950s and 1960s.
Not to oversimplify, the influx of Palestinians from various nearby lands including Israel, and later Jordan into Lebanon did contribute significantly to 1975 civil war. Hence, the ground was prepared for further turmoil. Khomeini only added to it, from a shia angle, after 1980. Actually, Khomeini’s best buddy was PLO’s Yasser Arafat and his thugs.
What Mattis has to say is not new. Iran was singled out as “the biggest sponsor of state terrorism” a long time ago.
George W Bush named Iran, Iraq and Syria as “the axis of evil”, remember? Yet, GWB did his best to protect his Saudi friends post-9/11. Actually, it wasn’t only GWB, but also Obama - both bowing to the Saudi king. So, now, we’ve a continuation of the same foreign policy. Saddam is gone, Obama tried to get rid of Assad, and we hear the same beating of drums for Iran now.
IOW, I am not confident that we’ll get rid of global ‘Extreme Islamic Terrorism’ (aka ISIS & AQ), because the real & main culprits behind them are ‘allies’ of the US.
It’s not because the regime in Iran is ideal from my perspective, but because the alternative through an invasion by ‘foreign elements’ will be both catastrophic for Iranians in general as well as the region.
The Cinese already control much of Africa, now you’d give them the ME?
So those Israeli incursions into Lebanon to stop Hezbollah fighters crossing into Israel and all the Hezbollah rockets launched on northern Israel are just made up bu Fox news?
All those Al-Quds and IRG units moving toward the Golan are just figments of deranged Israelis planted by Fox News?
You do not seems to me understand the chess mentality of the Mad Persian Mullahs - they will make real terror, more than all the Sunni efforts combined, when the time and place is right - just after they make operational their ICBMs and fit them with nuclear warheads.
“Air support for troops fighting ISIS is great.
No men.”
Especially considering our troops would be fighting an enemy that THE USA (Obama) ARMED!
Bomb’em back to the Stone Age.
“largest state sponsor of terrorism”
Please read every word including State & Sponsor. That description is designated by our U.S. gov’t. It’s not something that Fox or Huffpost made up.
It doesn’t matter which sect or country a terrorist comes from, if their money, training, support, sponsorship is from the very leadership (state) of Iran. The IRI isn’t very discriminating when it comes to terrorism, it has its tentacles all over the globe.
Yes, a lot of terrorists have been Saudi & Jordanian (aided by Iran, btw), but the essential leadership of the country’s gov’t (the state) of Saudi Arabia & Jordan doesn’t train, support, sponsor terrorism worldwide. Yes, some extended members of the royal family have had their fingers in that pie, but that doesn’t make it state sponsored.
You probably aren’t aware, that the gov’t of Iran sponsors/hosts a terrorism conference/festival/seminar where terrorist leadership from all over the world are invited to meet, plan, train, etc. The name of the conference is translated as, “Ten days of dawn”.
This is what is meant by “biggest state sponsor of terrorism”
Makes sense :)
Of course you’re going up against my vast knowledge of military strategy.
I don’t know a ####ing thing lol
Our military doesn’t fly bombing missions without guys on the ground putting laser dots on targets. The special ops find targets. They find a vantage point and put a laser dot on the door or window that the bomb to go through. The guy flying the aircraft locks on to that laser dot and uses it to launch the rocket or guided bomb on the target chosen. It is very accurate and precise as long as a cloud doesn’t obscure the laser. There simply must be troops on the ground moving around in the night.
Hezbollah and Quds are in Syria. Fact.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.