PeterMP Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 http://www.newsweek.com/kurdish-foreign-minister-we-will-reward-sinjar-province-status-after-394708 Are we getting to the point where there is going to be a Kurdish state that just can't be pushed aside or ignored in the "reconstitution" of Iraq and Syria? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Are we getting to the point where there is going to be a Kurdish state that just can't be pushed aside or ignored in the "reconstitution" of Iraq and Syria? already past it, going to be interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 http://www.businessinsider.com/raqqa-activists-reveal-details-of-french-airstrikes-on-syria-2015-11 Raqqa activists reveal details of French airstrikes on Syria Residents said the targets bombed in the de facto capital of the militants’ self-proclaimed caliphate included the local Isis political office, the southern entrance to the city and a military camp. “The French airstrikes were precise and targeted Daesh positions,” said one activist, using an Arabic acronym for Isis. “They hit Isis headquarters and camps that have ammunition warehouses as well as vehicles and [isis] members.” Division 17, an army base to the north of the city, had been under Isis control since July 2014. The French defence ministry said in a statement that the sites targeted had previously been identified on reconnaissance flights. The French airstrikes were followed on Monday morning by US-led coalition raids that targeted positions around the city, including near Ain Issa, a town 30 miles (48km) from Raqqa that was seized by Kurdish fighters earlier this year. Russian planes also bombed what activists said was a residential neighbourhood, killing five people. They said no civilians were reported killed in the French strikes. The French raids were launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in coordination with US forces, the French defence ministry said. http://bigstory.ap.org/9420cf0967c24398acf4a86e09acef45 US says it destroyed 116 Islamic State fuel trucks The U.S. military says it destroyed 116 fuel trucks in Syria used by the Islamic State as part of a smuggling operation that brings the group at least $1 million a day. What happens to all that fuel, I wonder? Does it just disappear or are there possibilities of some sort of environmental issues. Not that I'm saying we shouldn't do it, I'm just curious what the consequences might be for this sort of plan. https://twitter.com/arabthomness Syria: Tajammu Alwiyat Furat Jarabulus (FSA battalion from Jarabulus) has officially joined the SDF coalition12:07 PM Expanding the Kurdish/Arab multi-ethnic/multi-religious fighting force. This helps outreach to Sunnis, although expanding the coalition of groups means it could make it harder for them to stay focused on one goal. Although I believe this particular FSA battalion was already focused on fighting ISIS earlier, so probably not an issue here. https://twitter.com/arabthomness Kurdistan: PAK Peshmerga soldiers wave the French flag besides the Kurdish flag in solidarity with Paris2:59 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Curious... what might Anonymous do to harm ISIS? Somehow, I would assume that if ISIL were using the Internet to communicate, they would have already been disappeared. Although maybe it might impact their PR or recruiting efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Somehow, I would assume that if ISIL were using the Internet to communicate, they would have already been disappeared. Although maybe it might impact their PR or recruiting efforts. They are using it, as one method. Also for propaganda. Plus it's always surprising seeing ISIS supporters pop up on twitter (along with other awful supporters of horrible things) and yet they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Somehow, I would assume that if ISIL were using the Internet to communicate, they would have already been disappeared. Although maybe it might impact their PR or recruiting efforts. Report over the weekend is they're actually using the PS4 for voip communication. They get in video game lobbies and just talk to each other there. It sounds ridiculous, but I wouldn't be surprised. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/16/terrorists-using-playstation-4-to-communicate.html Sony issued a generic response http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-11-16-sony-responds-to-claim-ps4-used-for-terrorist-communications I have zero doubt they're using the internet to do this... There are absolutely secure ways to communicate over the internet. Though using the PS4 adds another... interesting layer to it. Are we getting to the point where there is going to be a Kurdish state that just can't be pushed aside or ignored in the "reconstitution" of Iraq and Syria? already past it, going to be interesting Wouldn't that be the best way forward? Isn't the #1 issue referenced (once you get out of the political rhetoric of it all) the arbitrary boundaries The West drew post WW2 that never took into account the factions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Wouldn't that be the best way forward? Isn't the #1 issue referenced (once you get out of the political rhetoric of it all) the arbitrary boundaries The West drew post WW2 that never took into account the factions? The problem is that Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran don't want that. Plus the majority of the folks in all those countries. Also there's a lot of ethnically mixed towns and cities. Not saying it couldn't or shouldn't happen, but there are some pretty big obstacles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The problem is that Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran don't want that. Plus the majority of the folks in all those countries. Also there's a lot of ethnically mixed towns and cities. Not saying it couldn't or shouldn't happen, but there are some pretty big obstacles. I'm assuming they don't want that because: - The ones in control happen to represent the majority faction in their boundary - They have oil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Somehow, I would assume that if ISIL were using the Internet to communicate, they would have already been disappeared. Although maybe it might impact their PR or recruiting efforts. I think they are going to hack in hopes of exposing supposed allies of the war against ISiS/ISIL who are actually supporting them. Of course other communications would be a goal. But to think they aren't high ranking officials in allied nations helping them out is foolish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I'm assuming they don't want that because: - The ones in control happen to represent the majority faction in their boundary - They have oil ? That is true at the moment, well except in Syria. Also in general people don't like to see major chunks of land taken away from their country and no leader wants to be the one who lost it or gave it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 That is true at the moment, well except in Syria. Also in general people don't like to see major chunks of land taken away from their country and no leader wants to be the one who lost it or gave it away. Yeah, I was looking at it from more of what the people would want. I thought they'd value having 'their own' land, split among boundaries based on factions/history, than what they have now. I'm sure that would lead to its own fighting though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 This is interesting...but dangerous. ISIS has slaughtered tribes and communities under their rule for trying to stand up to them in the past. https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/566230-isis-held-town-rocked-by-popular-unrest-activists ISIS-held town rocked by popular unrest: activists Residents of Syria’s northern Manbij have held an unprecedented set of protests against ISIS’ draconian policies in the Aleppo town, according to activists. A popular pro-rebel Facebook page reporting on events in Manbij and Syria in general said that several small protest gatherings had taken place in the town on Thursday and posted what it said were pictures of the unusual event.“In response to the oppressive practices of ISIS against residents of the city of Manbij… tens of citizens came out to criticize the group last Thursday afternoon and called on it to leave the city,” Manbij Mubasher reported on Sunday.“Demonstrations took place on the Jarablus road and several streets [in the city] in the form of small gatherings, which the group met with gunfire and arrests.”The post also went into detail on the alleged situation in the town—which was first seized by ISIS in January 2014—outlining some of the factors that have raised the ire of locals.“The group has prevented residents from traveling and killed a number of citizens on various charges.”“It has also taken away a number of the city’s sons on the pretext of [enrolling them in] sharia courses only for their families to discover later that they were killed in Kweiris and northern rural Aleppo after being forced to fight by the group.”“The city is seeing an unprecedented state of popular unrest.” Activist Abu Yaman al-Halabi, who told the outlet he had taken part in the demonstration, said that it had been “the second of its kind this week.”“[The demonstration’s] main goal was to make [iSIS] leave the city using peaceful means. It was organized by civilians after the huge repression they have been subjected to by the group.”“Two of the demonstrators were arrested while the rest took flight yesterday after the protest was fired upon by the group in the city’s northern streets.”“There is great unrest among civilians in the city; this is the result of major harassment and arbitrary detentions, of women in particular and men in general, and the many cases where innocent civilians have been executed.”In turn, the Syrian Kurdish ANHA News Agency cited a source from inside Manbij as saying that arbitrary detention of women had sparked the protest on Saturday.“In recent days, ISIS mercenaries have begun kidnapping Kurdish and Arab women in the city on the pretext that their husbands support the Free Syrian Army,” the agency, which is affiliated to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units forces (YPG) fighting ISIS, reported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/16/how-isis-picks-its-suicide-bombers.html?via=mobile&source=twitter How ISIS Picks Its Suicide Bombers “Suicide bomber is a choice,” said the man we’ll call Abu Khaled, stubbing out a Marlboro Red and lighting a new one. “When you join ISIS, during the clerical classes, they ask: ‘Who will be a martyr?’ People raise their hands, and they go off to a separate group.” The number of recruits is declining, the former ISIS intelligence officer and trainer had told me here, on the shores of the Bosporus. But, at least in those indoctrination classes, there’s no want of young men looking for a quick trip to Paradise. “They keep volunteering,” said Abu Khaled. In the wide world outside al-Dawla al-Islamiya, the Islamic State, we have caught occasional glimpses of these incendiary young zealots. There was, for instance, Jake Bilardi, a disaffected Australian 18-year-old, who, judging by the blog he left while still in Melbourne, made a rather seamless transition from Chomskyism to takfirism, before detonating himself at a checkpoint in Iraq. Abu Abdullah al-Australi, as he went to his death in Ramadi, was convinced that he was carrying out a noble act of self-sacrifice, turning kamikaze for the caliphate. For him, jihad began at home. “The turning point in my ideological development,” he’d written, coincided with the “beginning of my complete hatred and opposition to the entire system Australia and the majority of the world was based upon. It was also the moment I realised that violent global revolution was necessary to eliminate this system of governance and that I would likely be killed in this struggle.” He was right about that last part, if not quite about how his fellow revolutionaries determined his use-value. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/isis-bombs-hostage-syria-islamic-state-paris-attacks?CMP=share_btn_tw I was held hostage by Isis. They fear our unity more than our airstrikes Interesting point of view, though I tend think bombing ISIS has to be a part of any solution. There were reports of more air strikes in Raqqa earlier (no idea by whom yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 https://twitter.com/AFP/status/666481771383386112 BREAKING France in new Syria air raid against IS stronghold Raqa: military12:03 AM https://twitter.com/Raqqa_SL BREAKING Another new Airstrike on Raqqa so its 7 Airstrikes until now8:23 PM Raqqa Most of the Airstrikes on the south side of the city 8:25 PM Some people say there is a lot of civilians got killed by France Airstrikes we want to confirm until now NO civilians got killed. 12:28 AM of course we don't like to see people afraid from the Airstrikes and Explosion but we support any action will take ISIS out from Raqqa12:36 AM https://twitter.com/ver_scholl_en New Aleppo(/Idlib) branch of SDF founded by 13 FSA groups & YPG/J to fight against Da'esh & Ba'ath terror12:12 AM Interesting. There is no ISIS presence in Idlib anymore, but there is in Aleppo, also regime and Iranian forces in Aleppo and between the two areas. I assume they won't be getting air support against the later two. https://twitter.com/deSyracuse Syria SDF : the 15 brigades from Idlib and Aleppo include Arabian and Kurdish factions4:55 AM SDF / new 15 factions include (1) : Jaysh al-Thuwar, Quwat al-Furqat 30, Brigade Shuhada Rif Idlib, Brigade Ayan Jalut, Infantry Brigade 995:01 AM SDF / new 15 factions include (2) : Brigade al-Hamza, Brigade al-Qaeqae, Brigade al-Maham al-Khassat, Brigade al-Salajiqah (Seldjusks)5:05 AM SDF / new 15 factions include (3) : Regiment 102, Harar al-Shamali, Aleppo tribal forces, Jabhat al-Akrad (Kurdish), YPG/YPJ (Kurdish)5:11 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/nov/16/paris-attacks-france-terrorism-isis-obama-hollande-war We have more details of the French military airstrikes against Isis. The French defence ministry has confirmed the raid, which occurred shortly after midnight GMT, according to AFP. A total of 16 bombs were dropped from 10 Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters, destroying a command centre and a training centre in Raqqa. “Conducted in coordination with US forces, the raid was aimed at sites identified during reconnaissance missions previously carried out by France,” a statement from the ministry said. And a bit more info from last night's strikes https://news.vice.com/article/we-spoke-to-the-activists-live-tweeting-airstrikes-on-islamic-states-raqqa-stronghold?utm_source=vicenewstwitter We Spoke to the Activists Live-Tweeting Airstrikes on Islamic State's Raqqa Stronghold Late Sunday night and into Monday, the French military bombarded the Islamic State (IS) terror insurgency's self-declared capital of Raqqa in retaliation for last Friday's attacks in Paris. VICE News spoke with members of the underground activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, who manage a network of informants inside the IS capital, and they confirmed that the attacks so far seem to be hitting non-civilian targets. The group is the premier source of information for journalists and human rights group trying to monitor life in the IS stronghold. A member of the group who goes by the alias Abd al-Aziz Al-Hamza said that IS evacuated major parts of the city in anticipation of the attacks, while civilians living under the group's control were bracing themselves for retributive bombings. "After the Paris attacks, most of the civilians were waiting for a military action – they knew something was happen," he said. "They were afraid that someone would be killed." Tim Ramadan, another group member based in Deir Ezzor just 90 miles from the IS capital, said that the mood on the ground is now cautiously optimistic. "Families are talking about the French raids and are certain until this moment that their response will be against ISIS and not against the people of Raqqa," he said, using an alternative name to refer to IS, which is also known as ISIL and by its Arabic acronym Daesh. "It is true that there was great fear among the residents of the city of Raqqa about a retaliatory operation similar to the revenge for the burning of the Jordanian pilot, but the response was appropriate to target ISIS positions only." Last February, after IS burned a Jordanian pilot alive, the Jordanian military responded with a series of bombing runs that resulted in a serious civilian toll, according to activists with Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/world/europe/russia-plane-crash-bomb.html?_r=0 Russia Confirms Bomb Brought Down Plane in Egypt Russia confirmed on Tuesday that a bomb brought down a Russian charter jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt more than two weeks ago, killing all 224 people on board. The head of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, said “an improvised explosive device” had detonated soon after the plane took off from the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. “The plane disintegrated in midair, which explains the widely scattered fuselage pieces,” Mr. Bortnikov said, according to the Interfax news agency. Experts have focused on the idea that a bomb brought down the plane ever since it went down on Oct. 31. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack within hours, although it did not provide any proof. The announcement from the Kremlin was the first, clearly definitive statement from Russia that the plane was brought down by a terrorist act, although leaders had been moving in that direction after initially criticizing other governments that suggested a bomb was responsible. Most tourist flights to the Red Sea resort have been suspended since the crash because of security concerns that a member of airport staff was able to slip the bomb on board The bomb contained 1.5 to two kilograms, or 3.3 to 4.4. pounds, of TNT, Mr. Bortnikov said. Russia has offered $50 million for any information leading to the capture of those who carried out the attack, and President Vladimir V. Putin vowed to track them down. “We will search for them everywhere, no matter where they are hiding,” Mr. Putin said at a meeting with his security council that was broadcast on national television. “We will find them in any place on the planet and will punish them.” https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak Reuters: Egyptian authorities are holding two Sharm el Sheikh airport employees suspected of aiding those who planted bomb on Russian plane4:23 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 https://twitter.com/Raqqa_SL Raqqa one of the French Airstrikes today targeted Parking Garage for one of ISIs HQ north of the city5:22 AM ISIS fighters scare the people of Raqqa all the time but when the Warplanes come and they start to Run like Rats and hiding between civilians and civilians building and when they ask u if the warplanes get out or not u feel very good. Some women go to balcony to smell fresh Air without veil cuz IS fighters is very scary from warplanes and they will not scream on them to go inside and put veil. 5:55 AM Yes bombing is scary make panic but this 30 min when the fighters don't care about any IS rules and care about just to Escape. 5:57 AM It will give u at less 30 min of freedom from their brutal Regime 6:01 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Anonymous Declares War On ISIS After Paris Attacks After the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for Friday’s wave of attacks that killed more than 130 people in Paris, the hactivist collective Anonymous declared war on the terrorist faction and its supporters. "Make no mistake: Anonymous is at war with Daesh," the enigmatic hacker group wrote on Twitter over the weekend, using an alternative name for ISIS. www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anonymous-isis_5649610ae4b045bf3defc173 Best comment on this story: "Not the 72 virgins they were expecting." --- I find myself feeling somewhat sheepish as I alternate between condemning Anonymous and cheering them on, depending on who their target is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Wouldn't that be the best way forward? Isn't the #1 issue referenced (once you get out of the political rhetoric of it all) the arbitrary boundaries The West drew post WW2 that never took into account the factions? I don't think it is any more. Simple ethnic issues don't historically spread like this. Europeans of Algerian decent (which describes one of the Paris attackers that had left to go fight with ISIS and then came back to Europe for the attack) aren't leaving to go fight in Syria because of a Kurdish/Sunni Arab fight of land, borders, and control of the relevant countries. There might be some of that and once upon a time that may have been a driving force. But disputes between ethnic groups tend to be local in nature and a dispute amongst ethnic groups (as long as others in the world don't decide that one ethnic group is winning so badly that it counts as genocide). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Anonymous begins 'war' on ISIS by leaking alleged members' personal information The international hacking collective Anonymous has begun posting alleged personal information of suspected ISIS extremists. This comes just a few days after Anonymous declared “war” on ISIS, after the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks in Paris last weekend. Anonymous has already collected lists of Twitter accounts and websites belonging to ISIS in order to take them down, and the group claims to have already successfully taken some of those sites and accounts down. The group also leaked alleged personal information about suspected ISIS members. In one instance, an Anonymous Twitter account on Monday evening shared a bunch of names found from an alleged “jihadist site,” preceding that list with a message: “ISIS we are coming for you.” Anonymous has been busy shutting down social media accounts and websites linked to ISIS since January, when the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked by terrorists. Shortly after that event, Anonymous claimed to have taken down nearly 800 Twitter accounts and 50 email addresses associated with ISIS. However, Anonymous has wrongly identified people, including alleged extremists from ISIS and Al Qaeda, in the past. So, it’s important to not begin a witch hunt for these people based on this information alone. Anonymous operates almost exclusively online and does most of its “activist” work through hacking and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which basically overload servers with tons of bogus requests. Anonymous has also been known to inundate phone networks with spammy phone calls, among other things, in order to disrupt communications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 This stems from a discussion in the Paris attack thread, but I'd rather post it here https://theintercept.com/2015/11/17/u-s-mass-surveillance-has-no-record-of-thwarting-large-terror-attacks-regardless-of-snowden-leaks/ Despite the intelligence community’s attempts to blame NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for the tragic attacks in Paris on Friday, the NSA’s mass surveillance programs do not have a track record—before or after Snowden—of identifying or thwarting actual, large-scale terrorist plots. CIA Director John Brennan asserted on Monday that “many of these terrorist operations are uncovered and thwarted before they’re able to be carried out,” and lamented the post-Snowden “handwringing” that has made that job more difficult. But the reason there haven’t been any large-scale terror attacks by ISIS in the U.S. is not because they were averted by the intelligence community, but because — with the possible exception of one that was foiled by local police — none were actually planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/01/raqqa-sad-life-isil-201511110501184890.html Raqqa: 'It is a very sad life under ISIL' A year since the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of its de facto capital, Raqqa, located east of Aleppo, locals say the group is taking on the trappings of a government. But many of those who fled the city, told Al Jazeera that locals resent the group's meticulous control over public life, and live in a state of constant fear. "We hate them. Except for a few people who benefit from them personally, we do not want them around," said a shop owner who moved to Turkey six months ago from Raqqa, asking for his name not be used. ISIL is headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-titled caliph, to whom all subjects, even school children, must pledge absolute allegiance. Daily affairs are run by at least nine ministries and governors in each of the 18 provinces under its control. "People are afraid of them," said Zubair, 27, a college student and photographer who left the city four months ago, but still keeps in touch with his parents and siblings living in Raqqa. "It's a very sad life, there are almost no services at all. If you are walking in the street you can be forced to go pray at the mosque." ISIL, believed to run on a budget of around a million dollars a day most of which comes from smuggling oil, also collects taxes and utility payments in Raqqa. Zubair's father, who owns a corner grocery store, pays ISIL about $200 a month as tax. Other businesses, located in more lucrative parts of the city, pay twice the amount. Services like electricity, phone, and street cleaning, cost each household about 500 Syrian pounds a month ($2.73). Municipal workers are paid to maintain three major hydroelectric dams supplying power to Raqqa, but activists say much of the electricity is sold to the regime, leaving locals to cope with, on good days, four hours of blackouts every two days. ISIL, believed to run on a budget of around a million dollars a day most of which comes from smuggling oil, also collects taxes and utility payments in Raqqa. Zubair's father, who owns a corner grocery store, pays ISIL about $200 a month as tax. Other businesses, located in more lucrative parts of the city, pay twice the amount. Services like electricity, phone, and street cleaning, cost each household about 500 Syrian pounds a month ($2.73). Municipal workers are paid to maintain three major hydroelectric dams supplying power to Raqqa, but activists say much of the electricity is sold to the regime, leaving locals to cope with, on good days, four hours of blackouts every two days. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/11/17/why-russia-is-sending-airstrike-information-to-this-military-nerve-center-in-qatar/ Why Russia is sending airstrike information to this military nerve center in Qatar As Moscow’s air war in Syria continues, Russia launched a series of attacks on Tuesday near Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State militant group. Unlike early strikes launched by Russia, however, it appears the U.S. military had more advance warning they were coming: prior notice was sent to the Coalition Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar, according to a U.S. defense official. The official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the Russian strikes included both cruise missile attacks launched at sea and long-range bombers. The strikes did not affect coalition operations, and notification was “intended to help prevent accidents and ensure safe separation during operations in Syria,” the official added. It was part of an agreement reached by U.S. and Russian officials last month to deconflict air operations against the Islamic State, even though the countries remain at odds on myriad other issues. The Russian notification draws attention to a little-known part of the war against the Islamic State: the U.S. military nerve center in Qatar used to manage air operations. Construction on it began in July 2002 and it was fully operational by February 2003, according to Air Force officials. That’s just weeks before the U.S. military rolled into Iraq to topple the government of Saddam Hussein. The air operations center, run from Al Udeid Air Base, is a logical place for the Russians to reach out. As detailed in a piece by CBS News last month from Qatar, the center allows the U.S.-led coalition to track air operations by the Russians, who are not a part of the coalition, and any country that is. It uses a combination of satellite imagery, radio communications and other transmissions to determine where aircraft are. The air war is growing more complicated by the day. France has launched a series of airstrikes in and around Raqqa since terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday that killed 129 people and wounded hundreds more. The French selected the targets, but coordinated with the United States, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. When the Russians first began launching airstrikes, they were criticized by the United States for targeting rebels who are fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad remains a close ally of Russian President Vladamir Putin, even as the United States pushes for his removal as part of any political settlement to the Syrian conflict. In these most recent strikes, however, Russia struck a known hub of Islamic State activity. A senior defense official told the Wall Street Journal the strikes Tuesday hit militants. The strikes were launched after Moscow confirmed that a Russian airliner was downed last month by a bomb claimed by the Islamic State. I have to say that it's unclear to me how much Russia actually did against ISIS in the latest attacks. I've seen lots of pictures and reports of attacks in areas far from ISIS control, but maybe one report about a strike on an ISIS area. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/01/raqqa-sad-life-isil-201511110501184890.html Hollande will visit Putin in Moscow on Nov. 26, two days after the French leader is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington to push for a concerted drive against Islamic State, which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq. A French presidential source said Hollande also spoke by phone to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who backed calls for a united front against the militants. Iran is Assad's closest ally. While it is tempting to work with Iran and Russia to fight ISIS, it's a very dangerous idea. It plays right into ISIS propaganda of a conspiracy by the West and Iran against Sunnis. (Besides the obvious moral issues) Allying ourselves with Iran and Russia in Syria, as long as they continue to wage war on civilians and non-extremists in Syria will inflame anger against us everywhere and make us much more in danger of being attacked at home and abroad. Not that we shouldn't talk to them. but we need to be very skeptical and careful, because they have very different goals and methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 France pounding Raqqa right now. https://twitter.com/Raqqa_SL BREAKING 15 Airstrikes targeted Raqqa city And Major Explosion in the city 2:51 PM Raqqa it seems that this Strike was by Rockets not Warplanes it targeted "Amn AlDawla" area https://twitter.com/raqqa_sl/status/6666910642548326413:11 PM some of the places the Airstrikes targeted "Edkhar area - Haoud Area - A building near National Hospital 3:38 PM If the second tweet is correct, that would seem to indicate that Russia may indeed have hit Raqqa multiple times. Although the timing is a bit odd, since the original tweet was hours later than the Russian attacks reported by the US overnight. Could France be using Rrockets too? https://twitter.com/AP BREAKING: French defense minister: 10 French fighter jets carrying out strikes on IS targets in Syria.2:54 PM https://twitter.com/hxhassan The US-backed New Syria Army carried out an attack against ISIS in DeirEzzor, a day after reports said the FSA flag was raised in Albu Kamal 3:36 PM I assume he means the 'SDF'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 User Actions Follow DW SportsVerified account@dw_sports BREAKING: Hanover chief of police: "There was a device intended to be detonated inside the stadium." #GERNED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.