Haven't seen a Syrian jihadi we? would want to recruit yet, but they look a lot better than 5 or so years ago. Rebels approaching D2/low tier FCS level.
Turkey is the big winner and Iran the big loser in all of this. TBD on Russia. Maybe they still end up with their port after it all settles down in 20 years.
I haven’t read any of this thread, and I’m not going to. Hiatus.
But that said, this bullshit has been going on over a decade. Of course it’s about a natural gas pipeline. Did anyone actually believe it was about freedom?
RFKj first and right, again. From 2017.
.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/02/rfk-jr-why-arabs-dont-trust-america-213601/
I think it's more cultural with the nutty Islamist governments. If we had no interests in their oil they'd still want to blow us up.
Also Israel is the big winner in all of this.
Not listening to the Biden administration was the best thing Israel did
Bingo. Some people seem to confuse me for a leftist.
IF you believe Israel's interests align with the US and/or that Iran's do not then this is a "win" for the US.
I'm with Trump on this one. Stay out and LIPO. The IDF is gonna crush Oregon's chances at a natty anyways so all we have to do is sit back and watch with popcorn.
I expect Trump to reapply sanctions on Iran which is all that's really necessary to prevent ISIS part 2.
US has to stay out of these because if they backed a real democracy and freedom guy the people would hate him for being aligned with America
Iraq was the last straw on democracy at the barrel of a gun. I wish it did work
My larger point remains. An authoritarian sectarian is better than a true believer mullah
Once upon a time the CIA agreed
Destabilizing dictators to let jihadis win is stupid. And that has been the Obama Doctrine
Israel as we speak is blowing Syria the fuck up. Blowing up all the arms depots, etc. They will probably bomb any groups that even approach Lebanon or Golan heights too.
As they should.
We have sanctions. The root for the away team just waives them and lets Iran spread the money and arms around to the other Muslim nutcases. Iran totally respects the dementia patient and his administration.
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/days-after-trumps-victory-biden-harris-admin-granted-iran-10-billion-in-sanctions-relief-congressional-notice-shows/
Adam Kredo December 10, 2024
The Biden-Harris administration waived sanctions on Iran three days after the November election, providing Tehran access upward of $10 billion in once-frozen funds, according to a copy of the non-public order transmitted to Congress and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
Yes, we agree.
Biden basically took Iran and it's proxies off of life support.
Trump's going to luckily inherit the region post FAFO Israel. It's going to make peace deals even easier now that Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis are all either neutered or on their way there.
I'd expect an Abraham accords V2 from Trump with the Saudis and Israeli's completely isolating Iran and friends.
Turkey is really the only wild card per @Bob_C there's going to be a Kurdistan whether in name or de facto. Will Turkey block it or cut a deal? Erdogan likes Trump but this is also how UKR is to Russia. Who knows.
I expect the rest of the area to revert to tribal/militia control with no major power brokers interested. China would be the only other suitor but they have their own problems right now and more so with Trump coming in.
Now that Iran is basically dead, this becomes an Israel Turkey shadow war.
I'm sure the Germans and other European Nato members will back Turkey
Which side were the Ottomans on in WWI?
Hannity is a douche, but he's right when he says we don't fight wars to win them.
It’s already starting. Turkey is outraged at a small land grab by Israel while they have taken far larger swaths.
But the Kurds!
The Turks have good and bad history with basically everyone. They pivot to whatever makes sense for their own self interest. It makes them both respectable and dangerous.
The original title of the 2016* article was "why arabs hate us". I remember reading it in real time.
I'm not suggesting islamic radicals are not part of the equation.
I'm saying, if I'm a born-and-raised citizen of Iraq for example, and I watch another country waltz in and kill a million of my people; after watching that country routinely and hypocritically dethrone "democratically" elected premiers throughout my region; whilst robbing my country's natural resources; on top of other complimentary rank-hypocrisies; I wouldn't need too many other secular reasons to loathe said country for the duration of my life.
*fixed for accuracy
Aside from the invasion, the biggest Iraq mistake was firing all of the Baathists. They all became insurgents or supported them over night.
Not my problem.
Fight away, 2nd-worlders. We in the USA should be figuring out how the resources work for us best once the fighting subsides.
Just when I thought I had a bead on how far down the double digit side of the IQ bell curve you are, you go and prove me a charitable fool.
Another IQ challenge.
Four refugees are stranded on an island and must reach the safety of a distant shore. They have only one raft, and the waters are too dangerous to swim across the channel without it. The current flows strongly toward the island, so it requires two refugees paddling together to have enough strength to make it to the shore. The raft can carry at most two refugees at a time, and when they paddle together, they travel at the slower refugee's pace. The four refugees paddle at different speeds: one can reach the shore in 1 minute, another in 2 minutes, another in 5 minutes, and the slowest takes 10 minutes. What is the fastest time all the refugees can reach the shore?
None because they will never agree to work together
Does the muslim pop the raft shouting ALLAH
None. They're all demonrat lefties and none of them actually work. Ever.
The question can be why do they hate us if you are prepared to answer because we aren't (now debatable) a failing Islamic society. The Middle East and Iran don't produce anything except oil (extracted by western technology and western engineers). The American's killed a fraction of Iraqis compared to how many of themselves the Sunnis and Shias killed. The Kurds are Muslims. Syria is Muslim and again we have killed a very small fraction of Syrians versus Muslims killing each other. They hate us because we are relatively degenerate Westerners compared to how the view a properly run Islamic society (wherever you can find this theoretical construct). The neocons (fronting for the MIC) continue to peddle the lie that we can build a functioning Islamic democracy in - pick any random Muslim shithole. They do appreciate a strong man (or strong horse as OBL put it). That strong man isn't a dementia patient, barry, PIPS, Blinken, Lindsey Graham or McConnell.
https://x.com/i/status/1866549180212375609
The Tahrir Al-Sham faction is an Islamist terror group, just like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban. As Race accurately points out, the Taliban claimed for an nano to have become more moderate as they came back into power in Afghanistan, but then immediately reverted to their draconian enforcement of brutal fundamentalist Islamic laws. Tahrir Al-Sham will do that same. Cook it.
They're already starting to enforce hijab in areas under their control, and worse is on the way. Their location on Israel’s border is a nightmare. Al-Assad was only concerned with staying in power and had no interest in picking a fight after '73. The border with Syria has been quiet for years. Currently, Tahrir Al-Sham is focused on destroying the secular Kurds. If they succeed in that (and unless the US arms the Kurds they will), then next will be attempting to destroy Israel. But I look forward to them picking that fight.
If anyone has any remaining doubt that Israel is the real no-fucking-around-crew, I can't help. They don't fucking care about our fucking blessings anymore, they can fight without our money and they don't need our shitty friendship, which btw they have again for the next four years. I hope another hardliner follows Netanyahu and that he's (sorry @Doog_de_Jour) around long enough to be in power for said upcoming fight. Israeli hard liners are so fucking fed up with radical Islamic bullshit that they are no longer going to prosecute wars in line with public opinion. New Syria picks a fight, and it will, and it will end up like the West Bank. Just fucking take it over and breed them out. Fine by me. New Syrians should remember how Israel came to own the Golan.
Creep's esoteric view of the Middle East. More Israel = Good. Less Israel = Bad.
Did we pay for Tahrir Al-Sham just like the rest of them?
