LONDON: Britain will extend its military presence in Afghanistan by a year due to the ongoing security challenge faced by Afghan forces, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said on Tuesday.
The defense secretary said Britain will extend the stay of about 450 soldiers in Afghanistan throughout 2016, following a similar announcement by the United States to extend its military presence there.
British military personnel will continue to carry out noncombat roles, including the training of the Afghan army and supporting NATO operations in Kabul, Fallon said.
He said the decision follows a review of Britain’s commitment “in light of the performance” of Afghan security forces and the overall security situation in Afghanistan. The soldiers were due to leave the country by the end of this year.
The Taliban has launched sustained attacks since the withdrawal of most foreign troops late last year, straining the limited resources of Afghan forces. Many districts across the country are now fully or partially under Taliban control.
“The UK government recognized it would take time for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces to develop into a fully-fledged fighting force capable of providing complete security for the people of Afghanistan,” Fallon said in a statement.
President Barack Obama announced earlier this month that the US will keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, giving US forces more time to train the Afghan Army and keep up the hunt for remnants of the Al-Qaeda network.
Obama said security in Afghanistan remains fragile and could deteriorate in some places.
Britain, a partner in the US-led coalition that fought the Taliban in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, formally ended its 13-year campaign in October 2014 though it kept several hundred soldiers there in advisory roles.
Almost 150,000 Britons served in the conflict, and 456 died.
Fallon said the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) had been “tested” over the last year but were increasingly professional and competent.
“The UK Government recognised it would take time for the ANDSF to develop into a fully-fledged fighting force capable of providing complete security for the people of Afghanistan,” Fallon said in a written statement to Parliament.
“We have now concluded that we should maintain the scale of the UK’s current military mission in the country in 2016, to help build a secure and stable Afghanistan. The scope and role of the UK mission are unchanged.”
Britain had previously committed to keeping troops in Afghanistan until the end of this year. It has around 450 troops involved in training at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, working with the Afghan security ministries, and supporting NATO operations in Kabul.
The decision follows an announcement by President Barack Obama earlier this month that the US would slow the pace of troop withdrawal due to the “very fragile” security situation there.
British troops ended their combat operations in Afghanistan in October last year, 13 years after the US-led invasion which launched a long and costly war against the Taliban.
#1
Sure to make PUTIN + CHINA happy until the Gonads of the Bammer's post-November 2016/january 2017 POTUS Successor can be assessed nby International Analysts.
In the meantime ...
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > RUSSIAN FSB HEAD WARNS OF GROWING CIS SECURITY THREAT, from the ISIS/ISIL + similar Islamist-Jihadist Hard Boyz.
ARTIC = RUS FSB CHIEF ALEKSANDR BORTNIKOV ADMITS THAT RUSSIA'S AIRSTIKES IN SYRIA IS INTENDED, AMONG OTHER, TO PREVENT RECRUITS FOR THE ISIS/ISIL FROM RUSSIA + EX-SOVIET SSRS/STANS FROM RETURNING HOME.
GAROWE, Somalia -- Funding crises have pushed Somali terror group, Al Shabaab to shift balance towards the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Puntland Government in Northern Somalia said on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
The remarks come less than a week after key Al Shabaab ideologue Abdulkadir Mumin defected to Islamic State, whose leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is desperately seeking to extend influence into the East African country.
Puntland Security Minister, Abdi Hirsi Ali (Qarjab) said on VOA Somali Service that funding slash by Al Qaeda split Al Shabaab. He added that Puntland views all forms of terrorist organizations including Daesh, Al Qaeda and East African franchise, Al Shabaab as existential threat.
Thus showing more sense than Barack Obama...
“There have been speculations that Al Shabaab is facing severe funds shortage. We believe that Al Shabaab is being sponsored by clandestine terror networks,” Puntland Security Minister noted.
Puntland has beefed up security at entry points, such as coastal areas as Yemenis fleeing conflict continue to stream in.
Though radical cleric Mumin courted controversy with his IS-leaning interests among Al Shabaab ranks, Al Shabaab Northeast could be pondering imminent merger with the IS.
United Nations investigators unveiled in confidential report that they follow with concern; Al Shabaab’s destabilizing activities in stable Puntland.
Puntland forces waged fierce military offensive on militants in mid-2010. However, terror campaign resumed in early 2014, and Al Shabaab has ever since opted for unprecedented hit-and-run attacks, largely in Bossaso Port City.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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A Canadian software company is helping Yemen’s Houthi rebels expand the country’s Internet censorship regime in the midst of a bloody civil war, according to a new report from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.
The report says the Houthis have been using the Internet filtering software Netsweeper to impose new blocks on political content favorable to the deposed Saudi-backed government, as well as independent media outlets and any website bearing the Israeli “.isl” domain. When users in the country try to gain access to the newly blocked sites, they are redirected to fake “network error” pages, rather than pages that explicitly inform the user the page has been blocked.
Citizen Lab, which researches Internet censorship, said Netsweeper has provided filtering software to YemenNet, the country’s main Internet service provider, since approximately 2009. The new blocks took effect immediately after the takeover of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, by Houthi forces in September 2014.
The report, based on 10 months of technical and in-country research, says that Netsweeper appears to be actively involved in the filtering of content in Yemen because it has been providing services to YemenNet since the Houthi takeover, and therefore “knows or has reason to know of the recent expansion of the filtering regime to include political content linked to the conflict and the Houthi takeover.”
“They can’t absolve themselves of what’s going on,” said Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab. “By continuing to provide services to YemenNet in the middle of a civil war and humanitarian crisis, and while a rebel group targeted by U.N. sanctions is in control, Netsweeper is a party to the armed conflict acting on behalf of one of the belligerents.”
Al Jazeera was unable to reach Netsweeper despite repeated calls to its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario. The company has also declined to respond to a Citizen Lab letter sent by email and fax on Oct. 9, requesting answers to a series of questions about Netsweeper’s human rights policies and due diligence.
#1
"Netsweeper is a party to the armed conflict acting on behalf of one of the belligerents.”
I need a ruling from the DM - if being Canadian gives you a +3 die roll in Moral Superiority, what does a University of Toronto professional-fingerwagger get?
#2
I would need to know their religion and whether they're using any Prestige Classes... if there's a Jihadi equivalent to Divine Crusader, they could get a bonus to Moral Superiority just for being involved with an anti-western authoritarian group.
As many as 800 Colombian nationals could soon be fighting in Yemen, with dozens likely already in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.
Hundreds of former Colombian nationals are fighting alongside Saudi Arabian-led forces in Yemen, according to reports Sunday.
The troops include former Colombian soldiers fighting under contract with Saudi Arabia.
According to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the first group of just under 100 Colombian troops arrived in Yemen earlier this month. The newspaper has reported the troops were set to arrive in the southern port city of Aden, which is currently under the control of Saudi Arabia and forced allied with Yemen's ousted president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
As many as 800 Colombian fighters could take up front-line positions under Saudi command, according to the newspaper. In recent days unconfirmed reports have surfaced the number of Colombians in Yemen may have already reached that number.
The news comes as Colombia’s government advances in peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas to end the country five-decade old conflict.
The troops are expected to be involved in an ongoing offensive against the Houthi movement, which currently holds Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
Interesting hypothesis. Criminal trials for FARC gunnies has been a sticking point in the government negotiations. Perhaps trial by combat; if you fight well and live then it is Allah's will that you go free.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/28/2015 13:16 Comments ||
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JEDDAH: There has been a significant drop in cases of piracy and distress calls from ships along the Saudi and Yemeni coastlines, and the Horn of Africa this year.
There were 22 reports of attempted piracy at different locations in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa from January until mid-October this year, compared to 67 reports last year. This is according to the search and rescue centers in Jeddah, Gulf of Aqaba and Sanaa’s Regional Maritime Information Sharing Center, a local publication reported recently.
Col. Naji Al-Juhani, spokesman of the Coast Guard in Makkah, said there were no incidents of kidnapping, fires or damaged ships seeking assistance. “Piracy and armed robbery declined significantly because of international efforts to combat this phenomenon, and coordination and exchange of information with regional and global maritime centers.”
He said the center assisted with three rescue and evacuation operations in cooperation with Makkah air security agencies and ports along the Red Sea. He said the center works around the clock to tackle incidents in Saudi Arabia’s territorial waters.
He said a special Border Guard unit was formed to combat piracy and armed robbery outside the country’s territorial waters, in coordination with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces and other international agencies.
Al-Juhani said the Border Guard’s two centers for search and rescue operations in Jeddah and Dammam are the first such facilities in the Kingdom dealing with disasters at sea. “The centers are equipped with the most advanced technology and operated with satellites,” he said.
He said that some of the Border Guard’s achievements last year include seizing 550 kg of hashish, arresting 42 infiltrators from various Arab countries, and rescuing a number of people in trouble at sea.
He said the Border Guard dealt with 15 people who had drowned in places where swimming was not allowed. In addition, it recorded 37 violations of fishing and picnicking rules, and found 258 people in violation of safety and security regulations.
The ongoing conflict and the widening humanitarian crisis in Yemen has not deterred nearly 70,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants to reach the country by sea causing the Yemini population to ‘bear the brunt,’ said the United Nations refugee agency today.
They don't plan to stay long. When's the next boattrain caravan to Greece?
These desperate people, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia, have continued to arrive at the Yemeni shores even after the conflict erupted in the Middle Eastern country in March, Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Day told reporters in Geneva.
The latest UNHCR estimates indicate that Yemen is currently hosting 264,615 refugees, of which 250,260 are Somali.
Mr. Edwards warned that travelling to Yemen, especially through sea routes, is extremely dangerous, as 88 deaths at sea have been recorded this year between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. He added that about three weeks ago, a boat with 68 migrants and refugees capsized in the Arabian Sea, killing 35.
Moreover, he continued, the reception facilities for those reaching Yemen via the Red Sea have been suspended after a fatal attack destroyed a village hosting new arrivals in Bab el Mandab, resulting in the death of two partner agency staffers.
However, Mr. Edwards said that UNHCR and its partners are providing shelter, food and medical care in the Mayfa’a reception centre for those arriving via the Arabian Sea coast.
According to UNHCR, movements to Yemen have shifted to the Arabian Sea coast where people believe the situation is calmer, which has resulted in over 10,000 new arrivals in September, a 50 per cent increase on August, and over 10,000 in October. UNHCR and its partners have been able to provide reception and medical services to those arriving to the Arabian Sea coast.
Alternatively, UNHCR reports that over 121,000 people have fled Yemen to neighbouring countries to the north since March.
Further, the UN agency is also alarmed at the numbers of displaced Yemenis are continuously rising and according to a displacement tracking mechanism developed by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) has reached a record-high of 2,305,048 people.
This figure, according to the UN agency, has gone up from 545,719 individuals in mid-May illustrating that currently, close to 1 out of 10 Yemenis seek refuge elsewhere in the country as a result of on-going conflict or lack of basic services and a minimum of livelihood opportunities.
“UNHCR calls on all parties to the conflict to protect the lives and rights of civilians, including refugees and the internally displaced,” said Mr. Edwards. “Refugees have lost their livelihoods and many are again uprooted as they move to other parts of the country,” he added.
Mr. Edwards said that so far UNHCR has provided emergency relief items to 22,883 IDP families (147,386 individuals) since the end of March, but noted that access to the affected populations still remains a key concern as many of those in dire need remain in areas cut-off due to conflict.
Lastly, he added that the UN refugee agency is monitoring the conditions of displaced people with specific needs such as women, children, older persons and those with medical conditions. Through regular assessments it is able to target the delivery of its protection services to those with critical needs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Yemen is better than where they came from? Navigation error?
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/28/2015 13:32 Comments ||
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#1
Four men have been charged with rape – Asif Ali, 30, of Clough Road, Rotherham, Waleed Ali, 33, of Canklow Road, Rotherham, Ishtiaq Khaliq, 32, of Cherry Brook, Rotherham, Masoued Malik, 31, of Bridgewater Way,
#2
Appears to be something of a common theme.
Let me see.. Clough Road, Canklow Road, Cherry Brook, Bridgewater Way hmmm nope,nope can't see a connection here. A little help, anybody?
#3
Do they have conspiracy charges in the UK, ie having knowledge of a crime and being in a position of trust and responsibility, fail to take action to end it?
Improved security in large parts of Somalia means that Finland is likely to grant asylum to fewer Somalis arriving in the Nordic state, its immigration service said on Tuesday.
First, you gotta like lutefisk...
Around 24,000 of the more than 680,000 refugees and migrants to have streamed into the European Union from war-torn and deprived areas of the Middle East, Africa and Asia have entered Finland and both it and the EU at large have struggled to cope.
Then you have to knock back a double-shot of vodka...
The Finnish Immigration Service said that given improved security in southern and central Somalia as well as the capital Mogadishu, not all Somalis coming from these areas could now be deemed “to run a personal risk of falling victim to violence”.
Then you fell a few trees...
Judging whether Somalis qualify for asylum will now hinge on individual circumstances, it said in a statement, while special attention would be paid to vulnerable groups including women and children.
After a few more vodkas, you have to do a 20 km cross-country ski jaunt...
Of the 24,000 asylum seekers that have arrived in Finland this year, about 1,900 come from Somalia and 17,000 from Iraq.
Then answer correctly who Martin Luther was...
Last week, the immigration service tightened criteria for Iraqi asylum seekers to focus on individual circumstances, citing a reduced risk of “falling victim to violence”
And state your opinion of the Rooshuns...
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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Have a fat bank account?
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/28/2015 13:32 Comments ||
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Yes. There are also unknown numbers of forged Syrian passports out there, ranging in quality from bad to perfect, and even more 'Syrians' who claim to have lost their papers along the way.
#6
yes i have been thinking of a change of country myself, i hear sweden is lovely and full of blondes. i might join the queue... after all there are no preconditions. just rock up and say i am a refugee
#10
"Refugee crisis" my ass, #9 newc - it's an INVASION.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/28/2015 20:51 Comments ||
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#11
"Refugee crisis" my ass, #9 newc - it's an INVASION.
"Camp of Saints", a novel written by a French guy in the '70s. Pretty much the exact same story as today. Weirdly prescient except for the source of the "refugees". tl;dr: it doesn't end well.
[AnNahar] The U.N. food agency said Tuesday it had resumed assistance to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan, a month after suspending aid over a lack of funds.
"We stopped assistance in September because we did not have the money," said Jonathan Campbell, the World Food Program's emergency coordinator for Syrian refugees in Jordan.
"The good news now is that we have been able to improve what we were doing," he told a news conference.
"We are currently feeding this month 212,000 people in the extremely vulnerable category, and 226,000 vulnerable people but not as vulnerable as the first group," he said.
Campbell said the program covers the needs of 85 percent of people registered as refugees in the country.
We need $15 million each month to continue what we are doing," said Campbell, adding that funds were available until January.
The kingdom says it has taken in 1.4 million Syrians fleeing the war but the UNHCR puts the figure at 600,000.
Around 80 percent of Syrians in Jordan live outside camps.
Campbell told the news conference that 2,000 refugees had stopped collecting food vouchers since September, presumably because they returned home or left Jordan for Europe.
In addition, he said, "95,000 people have been excluded either because they do not need assistance or because they left Jordan".
He said a survey was conducted among 89 Syrian families who stopped receiving assistance last month "to get an idea of the impact of these cuts in assistance."
Thirty-six percent of respondents said they would try to stay in Jordan while almost half said they would consider leaving the kingdom.
Of those considering leaving, 20 percent said they would try to travel to Europe while 26 percent said they would head back home to Syria.
The UNHCR said Tuesday that more than 700,000 refugees and migrants have reached Europe's Mediterranean shores so far this year, more than half of them from Syria.
#1
food should be infused with temporary birth control. This is not heartless but necessary. They shouldnt be creating more mouths to feed while in a camp. once they get out and get a job, then they can go back to procreating. i consider this fair i would accept such a deal myself
#3
They trekked to the camps rather than stay and defend their land. Sorry, but feeding them energizes procreation and exacerbates the process of natural selection.
Of course if the rule-of-law in the camps were eliminated, and camp inhabitants were armed and permitted to organize into gangs...
[Rudaw] ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Visiting German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen praised the growing "trust" between Germany and Kurdistan, following a meeting with Kurdish President Masoud Barzani.
"In one year, the trust between two sides has grown dramatically. We have reached a point where we can depend on each other," said Von der Leyen, whose country has been the staunchest Western backer of the Peshmerga, providing both arms and training to Kurdish fighters.
"Any military aid to Peshmerga is a support to Iraq as well," Von der Leyen added, indirectly noting a standing objection from Baghdad for direct military dealings with Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The minister said that 4,700 Peshmerga have been trained by German trainers, and promised to send 2,000 masks and 3,000 articles of military clothing for the Peshmerga.
The world needs to stand with the Peshmerga in the war against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group (ISIS), the minister said in comments earlier Tuesday.
"The whole world should support the Peshmerga in their fight against ISIS," Von der Leyen said on a visit to a training camp of the Kurdish elite Zerevani forces, which are under the supervision of the German military.
She was greeted by Peshmerga and German trainers.
The German minister said she was impressed with the level of progress achieved since her visit to the camp eight months ago. This is her third visit to Kurdistan since becoming the first female defense minister in German history.
"I want to thank the soldiers and especially the females who are training the Peshmerga fighters. I believe it is a very important duty," der Leyen said in a brief speech.
"I have respect for the Peshmerga fighters who are here. They are receiving military training for five weeks and after they finish they go to the battlefield. This matter is related to the life of people. They try to protect their own lives and the lives of other people," she added.
"You are not only fighting for yourself, you are fighting instead for all of us," the minister declared.
Kurdish interior minister Karim Sinjari welcomed Von der Leyen to the camp.
"Germany and Germans have supported the Kurdistan region government and Kurdish people," Sinjari said.
"I would like to thank all German soldiers who are training the Peshmerga fighters. The training will help to launch massive operations and protect your own lives," he said.
Germany has been one of the main providers of anti-tank missiles to the Peshmerga.
Rudaw has learned that Germany has handed over military aid worth $77 million to the Kurdistan region, including 30 MILAN missile launchers with 500 missiles.
The first plane carrying high-tech German weapons arrived in Erbil on September 25, 2014, following Von der Leyen's first visit.
[IsraelTimes] Head of Northern Branch of Islamic Movement to start 11-month stint next month; vows to continue campaign for Al-Aqsa
The head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, must serve 11 months of jail time for incitement to violence and racism, the Jerusalem District Court ruled Tuesday after rejecting an appeal by the high-profile Islamist holy man for the second time.
Salah, who was convicted in connection with a sermon he delivered in 2007 in Jerusalem, will begin serving his sentence in November, the Ynet news site reported.
The sentencing comes as Israel's government has said it is seeking to outlaw Salah's group, blaming it for helping to goad attackers during a wave of violence that has seen near daily stabbings and other attacks.
The holy man originally lost an appeal over an eight-month sentence he received last year, and was sentenced in March to 11 months in prison when racism charges were added to the case. He appealed again, but the court ruled against him Tuesday.
During the 2007 sermon, Salah expressed hope that "the streets of Jerusalem be purified with the blood of the innocent, who shed it in order to separate from their souls the soldiers of the Israel occupation, also in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque." He further said that "our finest moment will be when we meet Allah as deaders in Al-Aqsa."
A crowd of Paleostinian men confronted Border Police troops at the end of that sermon, wounding three of them.
Salah responded to the court decision by vowing to continue agitating over the Temple Mount.
"Jerusalem is under occupation and we won't give up on the value of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. With spirit and blood we will redeem Al-Aqsa," he said, according to the Walla news website.
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee also slammed the decision as a move "against the entire Arab population."
"Salah was sentenced over a legitimate political statement in defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque," said Mohammed Barakeh, the head of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee and a former Hadash MK.
Salah, 57, has been banned from the Temple Mount by court order, and has spent the past decade in and out of Israeli jails for incitement, assaulting a police officer, and contact with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,. In 2012, he was held in detention in the UK for 21 days as he appealed a deportation order issued by the Home Office, an appeal he eventually won.
The Temple Mount compound, which has been at the center of the recent spike in unrest, houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and was the site of two ancient Jewish temples. The site is sacred to both Jews and Muslims. Israel has repeatedly denied persistent Paleostinian allegations to the effect that it seeks to change the arrangements at the site in order to allow Jews to pray there.
Last week, in a Facebook post, Salah once again accused Israel of scheming to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to "build an imaginary temple on its ruins." He urged the Jordanian government to revoke articles in the 1994 peace treaty with Israel that allow Jews to visit Temple Mount, "even if this brings about the annulment of the peace treaty."
"The first article of section nine of this agreement states that each side grants the other freedom to enter places of religious and historic importance. Based on that text, the Israeli occupation claims that it has tacit agreement to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming that Al-Aqsa Mosque is the so-called Temple, which bears religious and historic significance," wrote Salah.
Israel's General Security Service has repeatedly accused Salah's movement of collaborating with Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Justice Ministry to find evidence proving that Salah's Islamic Movement is inciting Muslims to commit violent attacks against Israelis as part of his longstanding media campaign "Al-Aqsa is in danger."
At a presser on October 8, Netanyahu singled out the Islamic Movement as the main instigator of violence in Israel and the West Bank, as a wave of stabbings and stone throwing swept the country.
[Rudaw] The United States military believes that Iran has fewer than 2,000 troops in Syria fighting alongside government forces, said a top US general Tuesday.
Rooters news agency quoted Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that in addition to its troops in Syria Iran also has more than 1,000 soldiers in Iraq.
"I think there's more than 1,000 that are on the ground in Iraq," Dunford said. "In Syria, we think the numbers are probably something less than 2,000."
Gen. Dunford said that the number of Iranian troops in Iraq has changed over time.
Hussein Salami, deputy commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards told the media on Monday that his country has four levels of military presence in Syria: leadership, tactical, technical and operational.
According to Persian news reports, around 20 Iranian soldiers have been killed in Syria in less than a week, mainly near the city of Aleppo.
Deputy commander in chief Salami said that the cause of the rising corpse count among his troops is their active participation in recent offensives.
Hundreds of Iranian soldiers and voluntary fighters have traveled to Syria in the last four years, calling themselves Defenders of the Zainab Shrine, an important Shiite religious site in Damascus.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
A general officer reduced to reporting numerical data on 'order of battle.'
As General Tommy Franks used to say, "Ok, great info. Where is the so what?"
Posted by: chris ||
10/28/2015 10:36 Comments ||
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#3
both sides have a polyglot of forces
on assad's side there are Iranian special forces, iranian militia, Iraqi militia, Russians, some volunteers from various other shiite enclaves and some paleos all assisting the Syrian army
on the other side is ISIS, several other Islamist groups, Kurds and, just maybe a secular nationalist or two
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/28/2015 11:33 Comments ||
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#4
forgot hezboallah in above
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/28/2015 11:35 Comments ||
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#6
IRAN is repor going to be increasing its regular military presence in Syria at the request of Baby Assad.
* FYI WORLD NEWS > [Inquisitr] US PENTAGON ALTERS GROUND STRATEGY AGZ ISIS - MILITARILY AGGRESSIVE POLICY WILL INCLUDE ASSISTING LOCAL FORCES [training circa 15,000 Locals] TO RECLAIM THEIR LAND.
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > WHITE HOUSE: NO [Long-Term or] "LARGE=SCALE" GROUND OPERATIONS IN STEPPED UP [Anti-]ISIS FIGHT, in Syria + Iraq.
* FRASNEWS > US WILL REVISE ITS IRAQ PRESENCE IFF RUSSIA HELPS BAGHDAD TO FIGHT ISIL.
New USJCS Chair Gen. Joseph Dunforth, USMC. TO US Senate Armed Services Cmte.
VERSUS
* FARSNEWS > MCCAIN: AFGHANISTAN ASKING RUSSIA FOR HELP DUE TO FAILED US [POTUS Obama] LEADERSHIP.
Thats ridiculous, McCain, POTUS Obama is an Anti-US US OWG Globalist - HE'S FAILING INTENTIONALLY!
* SPUTNIK NEWS > "FEAR", DESPERATION DRIVES OBAMA'S SCRAMBLE TO SAVE US CREDIBILITY IN SYRIA.
As a Guamanian + Pacific Islander + Loyal Madonna fan, I'm more concerned about the Bammer saving US credibility in East Asia-Pacific agz Rising China, such that USN Pearl Harbor BB USS "Oklahoma" = Guam = Camel Rock + CNMI, Pacific Islands don't "capsize" as the Pert, MSM-Net verified "weak/declining" US [self?] retreats or falls back across the Pacific + World.
[AnNahar] An Iranian official says the Revolutionary Guard has sent more military advisers to Syria to help Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... in the fight against Death Eaters.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the Guard's deputy leader, says this has led to more Iranian deaths in the conflict. Salami didn't give any specifics for the Iranian corpse count or for the number of troops dispatched.
Salami spoke to state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
on Tuesday. He says Iranian forces are also trying to mobilize volunteers in Syria to help Assad push back rebels, though he did not say if those included Western-backed rebel groups fighting in Syria.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
We need a rhyme about "pushing on a rope".
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/28/2015 18:13 Comments ||
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Beirut [Asharq Al-Awsat]—A surge in casualties and a lack of a clear regional policy are driving Hezbollah supporters and senior members to raise questions about the Shi’ite Lebanese group’s role in Syria where it is fighting rebels trying to topple the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, according to analysts and experts familiar with the inner circle of the militia.
Ali Al-Amin, a Lebanese political analyst and researcher, spoke of “major objections within the group over its performance in Syria” after it recently suffered great losses in lives at the hands of Syrian rebel groups.
The latest such episode came Monday when the Iran-affiliated group announced the deaths of eight fighters who fell during battles in Syria.
The growing state of restlessness with the “absence of prospects for victory [in Syria]” has exceeded the Lebanese group’s support base to its leadership, according to Amin.
“The debate has moved to the inner circle of the group represented by its jihad council, with voices starting to question how after all the sacrifices they made in Syria, the Russians came and took all of their achievements,” Amin said.
A key ally of Assad, Russia increased its military presence in Syria last month and launched a series of airstrikes which it said targeted the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group. However, analysts argue that the Russian buildup is meant to shore up Assad’s forces and their Hezbollah backers weakened by a series of gains by rebels.
Hezbollah’s dead in Syria were not limited to highly trained fighters but also included dozens of high-ranking commanders, the latest of whom was Hassan Hussein Al-Hajj, aka Hajj Maher, a founder of the pro-Assad militia.
Hajj was killed by Syrian rebels in the El-Ghab valley north of Hamah province earlier this month and was described by Hezbollah as “a senior commander” who was close to the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Amin said: “Hezbollah’s losses in Syria exceeded expectations … and its elite Al-Radwan battalion has been greatly exhausted to the extent of disintegration after the loss of its commanders and professional fighters in the Zabadani battle.”
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) source said: “The FSA’s information confirms that Hezbollah’s dead reached 1,263 until the end of last week, most of them from the elite forces, something which has greatly hit the group’s morale.”
US officials say Iran is being invited to participate for the first time in international talks aimed at peacefully ending Syria's four-year civil war.
Sure, why not, we've given away the store already...
The next diplomatic round starts Thursday in Vienna. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and several top European and Arab diplomats will attend.
The officials said Russia delivered the invitation; Iran has yet to respond.
Washington had held out the possibility of Iran joining the discussions. But Syria's Western-backed opposition and U.S. allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, opposed such a move.
Which is why Champ is for it...
Iran has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad's government throughout the conflict, fighting alongside Syria's military. The US and its allies sorta support the opposition.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2015 00:00 ||
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As per NET, RUSSIA + IRAN - NOT the US - now call the shots as per any removal of Baby Assad from power in Syria.
Or, perhaps more accurately, US = POTUS Obama's failure to remove Baby Assad from power despite the rhetoric.
* FYI CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER [WaPo] > IRAN MARCHES, RUSSIA RULES, OBAMA WATCHES.
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Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
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JEDDAH: There has been a significant drop in cases of piracy and distress calls from ships along the Saudi and Yemeni coastlines, and the Horn of Africa this year.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
