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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Senate The Middle East Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Community' started by Ghost, Jun 11, 2014.

  1. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    If you want a brutal, ground level view of why the Middle East is the incredible mess it is, you could give this a go:


    Amazon.co.uk's reviews seem pretty level headed, I suspect the .com ones will be far less so as Fisk is far from complimentary to Israel. Fisk's track record is a journalist who has pretty much hacked off just about every government in the area with his articles over the last 40 years.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fisk
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2018
  2. WriterMan

    WriterMan Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2012
  3. Chewgumma

    Chewgumma Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 14, 2009
    While everyone has been focusing on the latest Trump scandals this week, the Syria crisis has been bubbling away rather viciously in the background. The situation around Idlib is coming to a head, with the last minute peace talks between Iran, Russia and Turkey failing today.

    With this in mind, it's also important to note that Russia, Syria and the United States have all come out and claimed to have evidence of an imminent chemical weapons attack in Idlib, with Syria and Russia claiming that any use of chemical weapons is a false flag effort to excuse America entering the war, something they pulled in the weeks leading up to the previous use of sarin gas, earlier this year. Russia also happen to be conducting large scale navy drills in the Mediterranean Sea at this moment in time, in a move many read to be an effort to deter retaliation to any chemical attack.

    It's also being reported that Russia have used the deconfliction line between their military and the US armed forces to report that they intend to carry out strikes close to US military personnel, with the US responding by holding military exercises to ward off Russian attack.

    The depressing fact is that, no matter what, there is going to be a lot of bloodshed in the imminent future. What's extremely worrisome is that, with diplomacy continuing to fail, there is a not insignificant chance of the proxy war being fought in Syria becoming a direct conflict between major powers in the days to come.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2018
  4. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    Well it used to be that Saudi Arabia was content with torturing its own people within its own borders. Now they think they can go after Canada.
     
  5. Lord Vivec

    Lord Vivec Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2006
    Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemeni civilians since 2015.
     
  6. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    The Saudis bombing Yemen is like a playground bully picking on a weaker classmate. The Saudis going after Canada is like the same bully trying to attack the playground supervisor. That's the difference.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2018
  7. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Saudis aren't bombing Canada, though.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2018
  8. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    Okay fine, the bully gets his rich dad (Trump, duh) to get the supervisor fired...because the supervisor had the temerity to try to stop the bully from picking on the other kid.

    You get my drift. They're a bunch of miscreants who've decided to challenge the rule enforcers.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2018
  9. Chewgumma

    Chewgumma Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 14, 2009


    It would appear that, whomever you believe to be responsible, chlorine attacks on Idlib have been carried out, or are imminent. Because otherwise that's just a bizarre statement to make.
     
  10. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    No. The Al Qaida rebels in Idlib are doomed without help from the west. They need something. In Douma the OPCW finally could not find anything and even some people on the video said afterwards that there was no attack - yet every western media still says there was a chemical attack in Douma. Why should Assad poison them when he is winning?
    The real reason why the west is so hysteric about Idlib is not because of the people (the west did not care about the people in Mossul or Raqqa at all). The reason that those "moderate rebels" need to be saved is that if they get finally defeated, a lot of them will feel betrayed by it's sponsors from the west and escape via Turkey to Europe. Having them saying "thank you for your support" in the middle of London, Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris is the least the western governments want. So the status quo in Idlib needs to be maintained so that they stay where they are.

    (btw. it's Assads birthday today...)
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2018
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  11. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    *sorry for the DP - moved it from the US thread

    It's their most important base in the region. I am pretty sure they have an eye on Libya now as well.
    If Assad would have lost I have doubts that they would have kept the base
     
  12. Lordban

    Lordban Isildur's Bane star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2000
    Yes and no. Assad's usefulness to Russia lies in the fact France abandoned him and he became their own pawn.

    As to having an eye on Libya, of course they do. Access to and the acquisition of influence around the Mediterranean sea has been a part of Russian foreign policy for more than three centuries. But where they are on the way to making a significant break is with Israel.
     
  13. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    I'd call him 90% pawn of Russia as there are some unpredictable fanatic idiots in his military I guess. However I think Russia will not give up this harbor and the other bases in Syria. (The same way the US will not give up the ones in the kurdish areas)

    That is an interesting question. I'd really like to know what they promised Israel so they did not interfere in Daraa. I doubt it was only the promise to have the Hezbollah staying away from that region. I am really curious how long Israel watches Russias actions. I guess it will depend on the benefits / promises they get.

    Btw. Interesting article in the WP 5 days ago. Amazing that such an article is issued in the WP
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1ca545cdb5e5
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
  14. Lordban

    Lordban Isildur's Bane star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2000
    Russia is in direct competition with Iran, both politically and as hydrocarbide-dependant economies; I very much doubt Russia is going to do anything for Hezbollah, who are essentially Iran's local arm.
     
  15. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    But are the Russians really that powerful to guarantee the Israelis that the Hezbollah will stay away from the border on the long term?
    I wonder if Israel is convinced about that
     
  16. Lordban

    Lordban Isildur's Bane star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2000
    The Russians aren't so much powerful as unashamedly willing to use force.
     
  17. Point Given

    Point Given Manager star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Dec 12, 2006
    A haunting look at the ongoing famine and economic collapse in Yemen and its effect on children and infants.

    Warning: photos of emaciated kids.

    The Tragedy of Saudi Arabia's War
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2018
  18. Violent Violet Menace

    Violent Violet Menace Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2004
    So there have been strikes by factory workers in the southwest of Iran for now close to a month and daily demonstrations there for over two weeks. The strikes began after four workers of a sugar cane processing factory set themselves on fire. Their salaries have been delayed for six months now. One particular union leader, whose video of leading his members in protest went viral, was arrested last week, and people who know him have reported that authorities took him to the hospital two days ago with internal bleeding and severe bruises, leaving little doubt that he has been tortured in custody. But the demonstrations have continued without him, and given rise to new slogans demanding the release of him and other jailed workers. Industrial towns in the north have also seen smaller crowds of workers demonstrating.

    Currently, the demonstrations are limited to striking workers, but most people attribute the root cause of all of these problems to the regime prioritising ideological adventurism in the region ahead of domestic development and management. So, more strata of society might soon join in. In this video from the north, workers are chanting "Our enemy is right here, they lie and tell us it's America".

     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2018
  19. Violent Violet Menace

    Violent Violet Menace Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2004
    After widespread protests by Algerian youth for the past weeks, Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has announced that he won't be running for a fifth term. Seeing as the president is an octogenarian with one foot in the grave already, protesters are not particularly impressed by his magnanimity and are calling for his resignation and for political reforms.

    BBC article from 2 hours ago.
     
    Ghost likes this.
  20. Violent Violet Menace

    Violent Violet Menace Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2004
    This happened today:

     
  21. Point Given

    Point Given Manager star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Dec 12, 2006
    So Mohamed Morsi just died. Collapsed during a trial hearing.
     
  22. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    Saw that on the BBC News site and added it to the deadpool thread. BBC said he fainted.
     
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  23. appleseed

    appleseed Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2002
    Seems legit
     
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  24. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    I don't know whether every single alleged chemical attack can be verified, but in general Assad is the one who uses chemical weapons to terrorize people. If the rebels have used chemical weapons, it's almost certainly on a very small scale. Assad is not the hero or the victim here...and he's not the lesser or a necessary evil either.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2019
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  25. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Right when he was talking about how he'll expose "secrets."

    Not suspicious at all.
     
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