The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[garbon]

I was going to note that the only web source worth following is wikipedia.

[KRonn]

A few years ago I felt certain that Assad would fall and felt ok with that, but for or a while now I've been wanting the Syrian government to win the fight against the mad dogs opposing it. The groups fighting for control are mostly radical and those that may be more "moderate" (a relative term anyway IMO) are much diminished and will lose out to the more determined and well funded extremist groups in any post-Assad Syria. So no good choice but IMO it's better that Assad and his government continue rather than the extremists who would take over.

[grumbler]

I wonder who grumbler thinks is writing the web pages they browse, if it's not "a bunch of guys(or gals) on the internet". 

I don't know who "they" is in this context, but I think that there are authoritative sources on the internet, and non-authoritative sources.  Languish of one of the latter.

[DGuller]

A few years ago I felt certain that Assad would fall and felt ok with that, but for or a while now I've been wanting the Syrian government to win the fight against the mad dogs opposing it. The groups fighting for control are mostly radical and those that may be more "moderate" (a relative term anyway IMO) are much diminished and will lose out to the more determined and well funded extremist groups in any post-Assad Syria. So no good choice but IMO it's better that Assad and his government continue rather than the extremists who would take over.

We need dictators that breed extremism to keep extremists from power. 

[Grallon]

The problem with Muslims is that they do not have some far-off colony where they can ship off all the loons.

Of course they do, they're called Western Europe,  Scandinavia, Australia, North America...


G.

[KRonn]

A few years ago I felt certain that Assad would fall and felt ok with that, but for or a while now I've been wanting the Syrian government to win the fight against the mad dogs opposing it. The groups fighting for control are mostly radical and those that may be more "moderate" (a relative term anyway IMO) are much diminished and will lose out to the more determined and well funded extremist groups in any post-Assad Syria. So no good choice but IMO it's better that Assad and his government continue rather than the extremists who would take over.

We need dictators that breed extremism to keep extremists from power. 

Really, it's an odd situation. Extremist Muslims want to be rid of oppressive governments, and may use that as a crutch, but really they want impose their own version of authoritarianism in its place. 

[grumbler]

Really, it's an odd situation. Extremist Muslims want to be rid of oppressive governments, and may use that as a crutch, but really they want impose their own version of authoritarianism in its place.

Nothing odd about it.  Read about John Calvin or Oliver Cromwell some time.

[Berkut]

Really, it's an odd situation. Extremist Muslims want to be rid of oppressive governments, and may use that as a crutch, but really they want impose their own version of authoritarianism in its place.

Nothing odd about it.  Read about ... Oliver Cromwell some time.

No need, I am watching Wolf House, so I should be an expert in the next few weeks...

[Malthus]

Really, it's an odd situation. Extremist Muslims want to be rid of oppressive governments, and may use that as a crutch, but really they want impose their own version of authoritarianism in its place.

Nothing odd about it.  Read about ... Oliver Cromwell some time.

No need, I am watching Wolf House, so I should be an expert in the next few weeks...

Only if they go in for extreme flash-forwards. 

[Habbaku]

Is that some crappy, Bollywood knock-off of Wolf Hall?

[crazy canuck]

Really, it's an odd situation. Extremist Muslims want to be rid of oppressive governments, and may use that as a crutch, but really they want impose their own version of authoritarianism in its place.

Nothing odd about it.  Read about ... Oliver Cromwell some time.

No need, I am watching Wolf House, so I should be an expert in the next few weeks...

Only if they go in for extreme flash-forwards. 

What about Flashman

[jimmy olsen]

Do the Saudis have any air to ship missiles in their inventory? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/08/iran-navy-destroyer-yemen_n_7024094.html?cps=gravity_2444_7970247709905562889

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Iran dispatched a naval destroyer and another vessel Wednesday to waters near Yemen as the United States quickened weapons supply to the Saudi-led coalition striking rebels there, underlining how foreign powers are deepening their involvement in the conflict.

Iran's English-language state broadcaster Press TV quoted Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the ships would be part of an anti-piracy campaign "safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region."

The maneuver comes amid an intense Saudi-led Gulf Arab air campaign targeting the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, who come from a Shiite sect. Critics say Shiite power Iran backs the Houthis, though both the Islamic Republic and the rebels deny any direct military assistance.

Speaking a day earlier in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed the violence in Yemen on the Houthis, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, saying that the U.S. is committed to defending Saudi Arabia.

"We have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint coordination and planning cell in the Saudi operations center," he said in a statement to reporters after meeting with Saudi royals and Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled his country amid rebel advances.

Intelligence sharing includes making available raw aerial imagery the coalition could use to better strike anti-Hadi forces, said a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to comment publicly. Blinken said the U.S. and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council must coordinate closely and press all parties to seek a political solution.

The Gulf Arab-backed air campaign supporting Hadi, which began on March 26, has so far failed to stop the Houthis' advance on Aden, Yemen's second-largest city, which was declared the provisional capital by Hadi before he fled.

The U.S. says that the chaos has allowed the local al-Qaida branch, which it considers the world's most dangerous wing of the group, to make "great gains" on the ground, causing Washington to rethink how it prevents it from launching attacks in the West.

Speaking from Tokyo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the collapse of the central government in Yemen makes it harder to conduct counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida, which has ambitions to strike Western targets, including the United States. Regarding the weapons deliveries, he said it involved "some resupply of equipment and munitions" to Saudi Arabia.

The World Health Organization warned Tuesday of an unfolding humanitarian crisis, saying at least 560 people, including dozens of children, have been killed, mostly in the air campaign and ground battles. The aid group said that over 1,700 people have been wounded and another 100,000 have fled their homes as fighting has intensified over the past three weeks.

The first boat carrying medical aid to Yemen since the coalition began bombing arrived in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday, international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said.

The group's head of mission in Yemen, Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, said the ship carried some 2.5 tons of supplies from Djibouti for its hospital in Aden.

The group is concerned about how it will transport the supplies and wounded people given the chaos in Aden's streets, where the situation continues to deteriorate and combat intensified overnight.

"We have street fighting, snipers, tanks in the street, roads cut and areas not accessible, and electricity, water and fuel cuts," she said. "Last night the different groups were fighting around the hospital. It lasted all night into the morning and continues now, so all our employees were forced to sleep at the hospital."

Tons of desperately needed aid awaits clearance to be flown into Yemen, including a Red Cross shipment with 17 tons of medical supplies from Jordan which emergency workers hope can be flown into the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday. Another 35 tons of supplies were also ready for shipment.

Also Wednesday, Human Rights Watch cited witnesses as saying that Houthi forces fired into crowds of demonstrators in the cities of Taiz and Torba the day before the bombing campaign began, killing at least 7 people and wounding over 80 others. The New York-based group called on Houthi authorities to investigate the incidents.

"Yemen's spiraling conflict is causing a calamitous breakdown in law and order," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Security forces in control, whatever side they are on, have responsibilities to uphold and protect people's rights and to take action against their members who commit abuses."

___

[jimmy olsen]

ISIS has captured parts of Ramadi.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/10/middleeast/iraq-isis/index.html

[Sheilbh]

Saudis bombed a Houthi school by accident.

Saudi collateral damage has been outrageous. Of course because it's not American, Israeli or drone based no-one seems to give a fuck.

I've read that there are previous anti-Houthi fighters joining up because of Saudi bombings.

Houthis, I know what Wahabbis believe.

My understanding is that Houthi is a name for an insurgent group, from their leader. But they're Yemeni Shia which is a sect that's very close to Sunni Islam in most of its practices.

Nothing odd about it.  Read about John Calvin or Oliver Cromwell some time.

Cromwell doesn't deserve to be on that list. Religious freedom under his rule was greater than under Parliamentarian Presbyterians, or any English regime until the 18th century. Liberty of conscience was part of what distinguished him from his opponents, especially among the Parliamentarians.

Egypt is apparently willing to commit ground troops to Yemen. I know really very little here, but isn't that like the US deciding to get militarily involved in South-East Asia

[KRonn]

Egypt is apparently willing to commit ground troops to Yemen. I know really very little here, but isn't that like the US deciding to get militarily involved in South-East Asia 

Egypt was in Yemen years ago when Nasser was the leader of Egypt. He called it Egypt's Viet Nam.