The Kurgan Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Russian jets hit 12 ISIS targets in Syria. Russian jets hit 12 Islamic State targets in the course of nearly 20 combat flights carried out in Syria on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said. Command centers and training camps were destroyed in the attacks which threw the extremists into panic ... The Russian jets destroyed an Islamic State army munitions plant outside Damascus as well as two command centers in Deir ez-Zor, according to the ministrys statement. In the Idlib Governorate, a training camp for IS militants was eliminated, while several IS strongholds came under attack where ammunition depots were blown up. Super duper! Mum's the word in the U.S media, I've noticed. For the most part. This CNN report has expressed criticism of Russian violation of Turkish airspace, and concerned that CIA backed Syrian rebel groups have been hit by the airstrikes. It could also be that Putin's actions are making the US look weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odine Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Good job, Vlad. Yeah this isn't in the UK news either really. More concern about Russia targeting Syrian US-backed rebels mainly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest El Chalupacabra Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Good job, Vlad. Yeah this isn't in the UK news either really. More concern about Russia targeting Syrian US-backed rebels mainly.Yeah, but the thing is there is no side in Syria that is friendly to the US or the UK for that matter, so I am having a hard time giving a rat's ass. You have the al-Assad regime, whom Obama wants gone, and is basically the guy the Russians want in charge. The Russians see this as a chance to fill a vacuum since Obama hasn't really chosen a side to back in a meaningful way. The rebels are basically fighting both al-Assad and ISIS, but are so fractured and many are even just as bad as ISIS but with their own agenda, that is the reason the US has largely not backed them more than they have with the token airstrikes. ISIS is no one's friend. The Russians see them as an outgrowth of the inaction of Obama. Obama sees them as the fault of the Bush admin for having gone into Iraq in the first place. I think many Americans see ISIS as a threat, but probably not enough of one to want to send troops back over, and possibly reignite insurgency in Iraq, and make things worse. I really don't like the fact that Putin is acting so aggressively, especially after aggression with Georgia and the intervention in Ukraine to annex Crimea, but it is clear he has no fear of Obama, or of any consequences from the West. And when it comes to Obama's foreign policy, and how he has handled it, I have to say he is a failure in many respects. That said, and not that I am defending Obama on Syria, but I think Syria is really a no win scenario for the US and I am not sure that there is a solution. I feel like when it comes to the Middle East, the US is pretty much check-mated, and has been for a while. Maybe letting the Russians do their thing does make the US weak, but considering the US has basically been at war in Afghanistan since 2001, and are still involved to a limited degree in Iraq, and basically right now most, if not all Middle Eastern countries are in some way at odds with the US (including Israel), IS the only thing the US can do right now. Maybe with the Russians intervening there is a chance that it will give the Middle East someone else to hate for a while, and take the heat off the US. But then again, if the Russians are successful in driving ISIS out of Syria, and stabilizing al-Assad's power and destroying the rebels, I see two issues. First, al-Assad will essentially be indebted to the Russians, and will be none to friendly to the US and its allies. Second, if ISIS is driven back into Iraq, that will certainly be problematic for the US, and things will certainly heat up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms. Spam Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Have you guys read about the Doctors without Borders facility that we blew up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 It's a no win, but I think in large part because we helped it happen. Not Bush, not Obama, America has been working to "stabilize" the Middle East for decades, and it hasn't really gone well. You prop up dictators, then you help bring them down. You're inconsistent and any way you go, everyone has a right to hate you. Combine that with the fact that we don't have any shame about teaming up with horrible people, and you have a recipe for disaster that allows groups like ISIS to gain support. The West truly has been evil in the region, which allows extremists to flourish just by playing on that. At this point I think that Russia is probably right that al-Assad is the best thing for Syria, and the region. Or we can continue our policy of trying to fuck things up because we worship at the altar of democracy, whether it makes sense or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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