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What to know about sudden rebel gains in Syria’s 13-year war and why it matters
AP ^ | Updated 8:57 PM EST, November 29, 2024 | By ELLEN KNICKMEYER

Posted on 11/29/2024 9:43:56 PM PST by dennisw

The 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive on Aleppo, one of Syria’s largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the rebels’ strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the country’s borders.

It was the first opposition attack on Aleppo since 2016, when a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Syrian President Bashar Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups has allowed Assad to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control.

The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups.

Robert Ford, the last-serving U.S. ambassador to Syria, pointed to months of Israeli strikes on Syrian and Hezbollah targets in the area, and to Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon this week, as factors providing Syria’s rebels with the opportunity to advance.

Here’s a look at some of the key aspects of the new fighting:

Why does the fighting at Aleppo matter? Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that’s killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements.

The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the Islamic State.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: aleppo; syria; war
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1 posted on 11/29/2024 9:43:56 PM PST by dennisw
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To: dennisw

ISIS 2.0?


2 posted on 11/29/2024 9:47:07 PM PST by McGruff (Where's Biden?)
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To: dennisw

Sorry, but Russia has shown that they can CRUSH the Neocons and chew gum at the same time. Syria will be fine - sorry Zeepers.


3 posted on 11/29/2024 9:47:32 PM PST by BobL
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To: McGruff

Any word on the Neocons planning to also attack Serbia and Hungary, or should we wait another month for that?


4 posted on 11/29/2024 9:48:49 PM PST by BobL
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To: BobL

Bob you are a big fan of the Russia/Iran axis of evils? If you really are a neutral isolationist man. They why would you care what goes on in Syria?
What would you care if Sunni fanatics or Assad/Shiite Iran/Russia control Syria?


5 posted on 11/29/2024 9:56:25 PM PST by dennisw
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To: McGruff

“ISIS 2.0?”

These rebel forces are related to ISIS and a long ago version of Al Qaeda. They are Sunni fanatics vs Bashar Assad+Iran Shiite fanatics.


6 posted on 11/29/2024 9:59:57 PM PST by dennisw
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To: BobL

Yeah that something the brilliant minds supporting this have missed; The US has spent the last 70 years forcing any country weaker than them militarily into doing what the US wanted. That makes for a lot of people who hate America which has made a huge potential pool of disaffected people with an axe to grind against the US for any enemy of America to tap at will.


7 posted on 11/29/2024 10:02:00 PM PST by rottweiller_inc (inter canem et lupum)
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To: dennisw

If Amir Tsarfai Is happy about it, I’m happy about it.


8 posted on 11/29/2024 10:04:54 PM PST by roving (Deplorable MAGA Garbage )
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To: dennisw

“What would you care if Sunni fanatics or Assad/Shiite Iran/Russia control Syria?”

Sounds to me that you’re on the side of McCain/Graham, which is ISIS, as you are regarding Ukraine and likely other Neocon projects.

So, how about telling us why we should support ISIS and World War 3? And no, we don’t expect a rational answer, but rather just another personal attack.


9 posted on 11/29/2024 10:05:13 PM PST by BobL
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To: dennisw

Just USA trying to open a second front against Russia and Iran. It will not work—even with Turks helping. Why do we have US troops in Syria fter they told us to leave? I recall Trump ordered US Troops out but generals lied to him and left em in. Isis is dead—its not coming back. Its like having troops in Europe to keep Germans from Going Nazi again.


10 posted on 11/29/2024 10:05:53 PM PST by Forward the Light Brigade (. War is Hell, War IS a Crime.)
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To: rottweiller_inc

“Yeah that something the brilliant minds supporting this have missed; The US has spent the last 70 years forcing any country weaker than them militarily into doing what the US wanted. That makes for a lot of people who hate America which has made a huge potential pool of disaffected people with an axe to grind against the US for any enemy of America to tap at will.”

During the Cold War, it was Us or Them - so I was good with, literally, EVERYTHING we did in the Third World (other than the nutcase of Carter), because we had to defeat the Soviets.

But since then, I have yet to hear ANY coherent reason who we bombed the shit out of Belgrade and likewise, virtually all of the Neocon projects since then.


11 posted on 11/29/2024 10:08:20 PM PST by BobL
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To: roving

Amir Tsarfati
By the way, there are no good guys in the Syrian story:
- The rebels are al-Qaeda and ISIS, assisted by Turkey and Ukraine.
- The other side consists of Syria, Iran, and Russia.

Almost all the above hate Israel, but the rebels have learned to detest the Palestinian cause as it is funded and enabled by Iran and supported by Russia. So, in a very strange way, the rebels are inadvertently supporting Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Personally, I don’t trust any jihadist Muslim, even if it seems for a moment that he likes me, because I serve his interests. Israel must use the situation to advance its interests only! Our goal at the moment should be to continue dismantling the Shiite axis that has formed around us, which ultimately aims for our demise.
87.7Kviewsedited
18:46
https://t.me/s/beholdisraelchannel


12 posted on 11/29/2024 10:09:51 PM PST by dennisw
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To: BobL

we were *told* it’s “us or them” but how much of that was manufactured? The who premise for the cold war was manufactured.
Was that Russia’s actual view behind the “Iron Curtain” which hid the truth.


13 posted on 11/29/2024 10:13:31 PM PST by rottweiller_inc (inter canem et lupum)
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To: Forward the Light Brigade

This rebel uprising is the Turk’s doing. The USA is minimally involved. Hopefully, they get rid of Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.


14 posted on 11/29/2024 10:18:56 PM PST by dennisw
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To: BobL

Like I said.... Why do you care what goes on in Syria? You are supposed to be an isolationist who does not even care about Russia beating Ukraine. That you just don’t want our money being squandered there?
You lied?


15 posted on 11/29/2024 10:22:08 PM PST by dennisw
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To: Forward the Light Brigade
Why do we have US troops in Syria fter they told us to leave?

No, no, NO! In the debate, Kam-kam TOLD us in no uncertain terms that we have no troops deployed in war zones -- and the MSM and fact checkers backed her up!
16 posted on 11/29/2024 10:24:31 PM PST by Nervous Tick ("First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people...": ISLAM is the problem!)
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To: rottweiller_inc

“Was that Russia’s actual view behind the “Iron Curtain” which hid the truth.”

We’ll likely never know. But what I do know was that the Soviet Union intended to have the ENTIRE WORLD become Communist. So, to me at least, they were a LEGITIMATE THREAT to the US and the rest of the Free World, and they needed to be crushed.

But times have changed. Russia has NO IDEOLOGY that I’m aware of (other than free markets, free religion, and protecting kids from Groomers [likely the biggest gripe of the Neocons]), and so I have yet to see the threat they pose to the rest of the world. Sure, they have nuclear weapons, but Russia has had OVER 30 YEARS to use them to subdue others. Have they? Not that I know of. So, given Russia isn’t trying to take over the world, then why are we trying to do that? Because China might be - arguably that is the case (and I agree with that, by the way). But, then, why are we at war with Russia when they would be, by far, our BEST ALLY to take on China?

Answer: A bunch of Ukrainian women have taken control of our countries, including Nuland, Vindman, Freeman, and others, while there has been no attempt (that I know of) regarding China-hatgers doing the same.


17 posted on 11/29/2024 10:27:58 PM PST by BobL
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To: dennisw

“You are supposed to be an isolationist...”

Says who? You? Try again.


18 posted on 11/29/2024 10:29:31 PM PST by BobL
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To: BobL

Once I realized how much the government has been lying I’ve been asking myself what else wasn’t true.


19 posted on 11/29/2024 10:30:12 PM PST by rottweiller_inc (inter canem et lupum)
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To: rottweiller_inc; BobL
Once I realized how much the government has been lying I’ve been asking myself what else wasn’t true.

The government, AND its Gaslight Media...

20 posted on 11/29/2024 10:38:30 PM PST by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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