Syria Disintegrating: Part 2

[KRonn]

I'd like to congratulate Syria and their Russian allies for losing Palmyra to ISIS. Again.

Good job!

Wow, that's a surprise. I figured ISIS in Syria/Iraq was weakening, but they had the strength to retake this city against Russian and Syrian forces.

[Zanza]

From what I read, the Syrians and Russians are mostly concentrating on fighting the various rebels in the North-West of Syria, not the Islamic State. Perhaps they just don't care too much about Palmyra at the moment and withdrew to fight the rebels elsewhere.

[11B4V]

From what I read, the Syrians and Russians are mostly concentrating on fighting the various rebels in the North-West of Syria, not the Islamic State. Perhaps they just don't care too much about Palmyra at the moment and withdrew to fight the rebels elsewhere.

Didn't France do that in europe to fight the Germans in Africa?

[CountDeMoney]

Palmyra: 'Chemical gas attack' hits IS-held Syrian area

Dozens of people have been killed in air strikes and a suspected gas attack near the Syrian city of Palmyra, monitoring groups say.

The targeted area is controlled by the so-called Islamic State group and has been under heavy bombardment from government-aligned forces.

Dozens of people are said to have been killed during the combined assaults.

IS members recaptured the city on Sunday, hours after Russian air strikes appeared to have driven them back.

Sources in Hama province reported seeing dead bodies with no visible injuries, according to the UK-based group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The death toll was put at at least 40 by one citizens' group in Hama province.

The Syrian government and its Russian backers have previously denied using chemical weapons.

IS was previously driven out of the ancient desert city of Palmyra in March with the support of Russian air strikes, but the jihadist group seized it again in a sudden assault that started last week.

The surprise setback for Syrian government forces came as they and their allies turned their attention to fighting local opposition forces in Aleppo and Damascus.

IS destroyed a number of monuments and beheaded the archaeological director during its 10-month occupation of the Unesco World Heritage site and the adjacent city of Tadmur.

Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins.

The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous.

[Valmy]

I don't get the hand wringing over Aleppo. This war has lasted over five years and something like a half million people have been killed. The only way to stop the killing is to engage in it ourselves in a big way and take responsibility for the outcome, something none of us have the will or desire to do.

'If we had just sent in our militaries and bombed the shit out of Syria and killed thousands of people we could have STOPPED THIS TRAGEDY'

Um yeah.

I get the angst over Aleppo. I get the horror over Aleppo. I just don't get acting like somehow we failed to take compassionate action, that we just stood by and let it happen. Things are not quite so simple.

[derspiess]

Agree.  I've kind of become numb to it.

[Admiral Yi]

I'm curious how a they manage to keep feeding themselves.

[Tamas]

Agree.  I've kind of become numb to it.

Yeah. I think the whole Aleppo shrill-fest is a propaganda tool to remind the world that when peace finally happens thanks to the Russians, it was because of all the suffering and killing they enacted, not because they are more competent than the US.

[FunkMonk]

Watching a major power fail in the middle east is kinda entertaining. Now I sort of know how the eurosnobs felt like years ago.

LOL IRAQI FREEDOM LMAOOO

[Barrister]

Watching a major power fail in the middle east is kinda entertaining. Now I sort of know how the eurosnobs felt like years ago.

LOL IRAQI FREEDOM LMAOOO

I don't much care for the suffering of the citizens of Aleppo, but the ongoing struggles of the Admiral Kuznetsov brought a smile to me face.

[Oexmelin]

Really?

[Barrister]

Really?

Perhaps I misphrased myself.  I don't enjoy in the least the tragedy of Aleppo.  But seeing the sole Russian aircraft carrier belching smoke, having to be towed into harbour, and ultimately having to station all of it's planes on-shore amused me greatly.

[Oexmelin]

Ok.

Really, some days, this forum's morbid fascination with military hardware is fucking disturbing.

[Valmy]

Ok.

Really, some days, this forum's morbid fascination with military hardware is fucking disturbing.

I thought he was enjoying Russian failure and incompetence rather than being fascinated with military hardware.

[Barrister]

Ok.

Really, some days, this forum's morbid fascination with military hardware is fucking disturbing.

I thought he was enjoying Russian failure and incompetence rather than being fascinated with military hardware.

Well I do get fascinated by military hardware too.     But I don't think anyone, anywhere, is fascinated with the Admiral Kuznetsov.

So yeah - that was more a celebration of Russian incompetence.