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Thomas Wictor-

(1) Now: the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

A report.

(1) Now: the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

A report.https://t.co/XkcZUEjI6O— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) March 15, 2018

(2) RT tells us that the Russians and Syrians came an agreement with jihadist rebels to let civilians leave.

(3) But.

"There are reports of militants taking hostages and opening fire on those attempting to flee."

(4) This leaves us with only two possibilities:

One, the Russians and Syrians have agreed to let the JIHADISTS leave, in exchange for the jihadists releasing their human shields.

(5) Or two, are NO JIHADISTS in Eastern Ghouta, and all of this is elaborate kabuki to allow Russia and Assad to play the heroes.

(6) I can't tell you what's really happening.

My gut tells me that in reality, there are no jihadists in Eastern Ghouta, and we're watching a melodrama with life-and-death stakes.

(7) If this is all a charade, Russia and Assad would have been FORCED into it.

All you'd need to do to control Russia and Assad is occasionally blow the hell out of their troops and weapons systems.

(8) Why the charade?

Because POSTWAR Syria is more important than the war itself.

The Americans report that refugees are coming back in massive numbers in the areas where we patrol.

(9) They're already rebuilding.

We have no evidence of a postwar insurgency.

(10) The Gulf Cooperation Council studied post-Saddam Iraq.

They saw that the mistake WE made was to become the public face of the postwar period.

(11) You won't see Saudis publicly setting up anything in Syria UNLESS they are asked.

After Saddam was hanged, his grave became a shrine.

Do you know the old Arab proverb?

(12) "I against my brother, my brother and I against our cousin, my brother and cousin and I against the world."

Toppling Saddam made him a sympathetic figure.

So the GCC is undertaking unprecedented strategic deception operations in Syria.

(13) Westerners want everything over as quickly as possible.

Here's what a Yemeni official said about the war in Yemen:

(14) "Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Misri said on Monday that the 'delay in finalizing the war' against Houthi militias has been due to the legitimate government forces ensuring that they 'respect human rights during the ongoing battles.'"

(15) https://t.co/KBh1aHWhVQ— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) March 15, 2018

(16) He means avoiding civilian casualties that will create another cycle of revenge.

Has it worked?

(17) Yes.

"A senior official of the Yemeni armed Houthi movement on Thursday confirmed that his group has been undergoing secret talks with the Saudi side since two months to end three years of war."

(18) A combination of force AND restraint is allowing the two sides to have direct talks.

The Houthis also see that their patrons--the Iranian mullahs--are on the way out.

(19) The Houthis are being driven back on all fronts without suffering massive casualties.

This is because the GCC wages war on MILITARY OBJECTS, not people.

It's a new form of warfare.

(20) "Experts" tell me that this new form of warfare won't work.

Really?

(21) If you're fighting, and every time you go out, all your weapons get destroyed, are you going to keep going out again, forever?

Or are you going to say, "To hell with this. We can't win."

(22) I'm very optimistic about the Middle East.

That optimism dates from August 4, 2015.

Nobody knows how these tanks got there...

(22) I'm very optimistic about the Middle East.

That optimism dates from August 4, 2015.

Nobody knows how these tanks got there...https://t.co/OT3LO6H430— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) March 15, 2018

Thanks, I forgot my manners. Please do visit and hopefully share information.

(1) Now: the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

A report.

(2) RT tells us that the Russians and Syrians came an agreement with jihadist rebels to let civilians leave.

(3) But.

"There are reports of militants taking hostages and opening fire on those attempting to flee."

(4) This leaves us with only two possibilities:

One, the Russians and Syrians have agreed to let the JIHADISTS leave, in exchange for the jihadists releasing their human shields.

(5) Or two, are NO JIHADISTS in Eastern Ghouta, and all of this is elaborate kabuki to allow Russia and Assad to play the heroes.

(6) I can't tell you what's really happening.

My gut tells me that in reality, there are no jihadists in Eastern Ghouta, and we're watching a melodrama with life-and-death stakes.

(7) If this is all a charade, Russia and Assad would have been FORCED into it.

All you'd need to do to control Russia and Assad is occasionally blow the hell out of their troops and weapons systems.

(8) Why the charade?

Because POSTWAR Syria is more important than the war itself.

The Americans report that refugees are coming back in massive numbers in the areas where we patrol.

(9) They're already rebuilding.

We have no evidence of a postwar insurgency.

(10) The Gulf Cooperation Council studied post-Saddam Iraq.

They saw that the mistake WE made was to become the public face of the postwar period.

(11) You won't see Saudis publicly setting up anything in Syria UNLESS they are asked.

After Saddam was hanged, his grave became a shrine.

Do you know the old Arab proverb?

(12) "I against my brother, my brother and I against our cousin, my brother and cousin and I against the world."

Toppling Saddam made him a sympathetic figure.

So the GCC is undertaking unprecedented strategic deception operations in Syria.

(13) Westerners want everything over as quickly as possible.

Here's what a Yemeni official said about the war in Yemen:

(14) "Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Misri said on Monday that the 'delay in finalizing the war' against Houthi militias has been due to the legitimate government forces ensuring that they 'respect human rights during the ongoing battles.'"

(16) He means avoiding civilian casualties that will create another cycle of revenge.

Has it worked?

(17) Yes.

"A senior official of the Yemeni armed Houthi movement on Thursday confirmed that his group has been undergoing secret talks with the Saudi side since two months to end three years of war."

(18) A combination of force AND restraint is allowing the two sides to have direct talks.

The Houthis also see that their patrons--the Iranian mullahs--are on the way out.

(19) The Houthis are being driven back on all fronts without suffering massive casualties.

This is because the GCC wages war on MILITARY OBJECTS, not people.

It's a new form of warfare.

(20) "Experts" tell me that this new form of warfare won't work.

Really?

(21) If you're fighting, and every time you go out, all your weapons get destroyed, are you going to keep going out again, forever?

Or are you going to say, "To hell with this. We can't win."

(22) I'm very optimistic about the Middle East.

That optimism dates from August 4, 2015.

Nobody knows how these tanks got there...