Middle East Thread of Despair: More Broken Than Syria

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Middle East Thread of Despair: More Broken Than Syria

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Doccers posted:

Theoretically by calling it an EU action and not a NATO action...

France isn't part of NATO IIRC, for example.

France are part of NATO.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2011 23:50

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 16:45

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

From the Guardian live blog

Mr Hague said that, as well as laying charter planes, he was not ruling out the possibility of using military flights "without permission".

# ¿ Feb 23, 2011 20:13

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

davebo posted:

Didn't someone say Obama was going to speak like an hour ago? Did that happen yet?

The latest The Guardian had was that he was going to be making it "at the soonest in 20 minutes", that was about 1hr 20 ago. They speculated he is likely waiting for a US ferry that left Tripoli to arrive in Malta.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2011 21:07

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

How do I use twitterfall.com? #Tripoli isn't listed under trends, and if I put it in "Lists" or "Searches" nothing happens.

I don't really use Twitter so forgive my ignorance.

Edit: OK- seems to be working now. Is there a way to have a timestamp on the tweets?

Ewan fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Feb 25, 2011

# ¿ Feb 25, 2011 18:35

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

SERPUS posted:

Not goons, but media outlets.

edit: that's all, PM me for phonetics debates.

From what I gather, it is not only the normal transliteration problems you get with other Arabic names. Gaddafi's name is apparently often pronounced in several different ways depending on the Arabic dialect, so you start to see an "exponential" increase in the Roman alphabet transliterations.

EDIT: Image that describes the combinations from Wikipedia (link to the discussion too)

Ewan fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Feb 25, 2011

# ¿ Feb 25, 2011 20:21

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Jut posted:

They won't act because it's not in the Security councils mandate to act unless a genocide is going on.

UNSCR 1674 commits the UN to act to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

I have used "crimes against humanity" thrown around a lot in reference to these current events in Libya, including I am sure by David Cameron and I seem to recall the Ban Ki-Moon

However, I am sure that imposing Sanctions counts as "acting".

Ewan fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Feb 25, 2011

# ¿ Feb 25, 2011 21:22

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

The RAF has evacuated ~150 Brits from the desert areas using 2 x C130 Hercules - this has been confirmed by our Defence Secretary.

The BBC News security correspondent has said the operation involved the use of SAS & SBS also involved dealing with "heavily armed people". The fact this is written as fact rather than "reports suggest" means to me he's got the info from somewhere credible.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12588947

# ¿ Feb 26, 2011 19:54

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

harskarenjag posted:

Ghadaffi, Gaddafi, Qaddafi...What the gently caress is his name? I've seen so many different spellings of it and no one article ever mentions why they chose a specific one.

There isn't a standard spelling. The sounds are transliterated from Arabic into the Roman alphabet, which usually gives some variation as it is not standardized. (e.g. Taliban/Taleban al-Qaeda/al-Qaida/al-Qa'ida). This is made worse in this instance by Gaddafi's name being pronounced several ways depending on the Arabic dialect, so you get many different transliterations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_al-Gaddafi#Name

^^ This has some good information on it (including which press outlets use which spellings) as well as a cool diagram showing the different alternatives (which I posted earlier in the thread).

EDIT: In fact, the diagram above is the one I am referring to.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 12:04

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

The Guardian blog has posted this funky piece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBY-0n4esNY

(Special thanks to anyone who can find me what the source of the girl dancing vid is

)

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 18:16

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Interesting article from the former British Ambassador to Libya.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8350014/We-must-stand-ready-to-intervene-in-Libya.html

He discusses why he thinks we should be looking at "armed humanitarian intervention" - he's talking the next step on from no-fly zones.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 19:06

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Patter Song posted:

Just a quick point about N. Korea, because I know it's a digression, but it's been talked about a lot here. Whatever respect Kim himself has will not necessarily transfer to his son (and, by all accounts, isn't transferring very well). There's a more than decent chance that the DPRK's military will decide after KJI's death that they don't want to be ruled by a roly-poly, imbecilic fellow in his mid-20s and organize a coup and a military regime. Whether that'd be an improvement is a tough question, but it'd be a hell of a change.

I've often heard the theory that Kim Jong Il understands this, and so is trying his best to manoeuvre his most trusted lieutenants in to the key positions to reduce the risk of a coup or similar when his Son transits in to power.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 19:39

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Not seen this mentioned in the thread, but one of the Hercules that was involved in the second (of two) RAF evacuations came under small arms fire and was damaged yesterday.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says on Twitter:

Im told the group who fired on the RAF rescue Hercules yesterday mistook it for a regime plane and have apologised

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 21:40

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

BBC News are reporting on the TV that the SAS guys have been released. The report suggests there were eight people, of which 6 were SF. They landed by helicopter at around 0200 near Benghazi and were arrested after they were found to be carrying weapons, explosives and documents (including passports of multiple nationalities).

Libyan State TV has played what it says is a recording of a telephone conversation between the British Ambassador to Libya and a Rebel Commander, where he is talking about what they can do to help "clear up this misunderstanding".

# ¿ Mar 6, 2011 18:42

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Love it

@dhdfisher Syria Traffic Update: seems to be some disruptions to public transport in #Damascus due to recent events

There are a few tweets coming in now that Iran's IRGC Qods Foorce commander Soleimani was also killed in yesterday's bombings.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/158048#utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=fanpage

Unverified of course, but I would expect significant if true.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2012 19:14

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Capt Murphy posted:

The Guardian Liveblog has the draft of the resolution as well as some more quotes.

UN Security Council posted:

1. Decides to renew the mandate of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) for a final period of 30 days, taking into consideration the Secretary-General's recommendations to reconfigure the Mission, and taking into consideration the operational implications of the increasingly dangerous security situation in Syria;

2. Expresses its willingness to renew the mandate of UNSMIS thereafter only in the event that the Secretary-General reports and the Security Council confirms the full implementation of paragraph 2 of resolution 2043 and a reduction in the level of violence sufficient to allow UNSMIS to implement its mandate;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the implementation of this resolution within 15 days;

4. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

I'm more or less out of words for the Russians and the Chinese at this point. Pack of assholes.

This isn't the resolution that was vetoed by the Russians and Chinese. The one that was vetoed mentioned Chapter 7 and was far far longer.

The one that was vetoed:
http://un-report.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/uk-draft-resolution-on-syria-unsmis.html
The proposed UK draft:
http://un-report.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/uk-draft-resolution-to-renew-unsmis.html
The one that has just been agreed by the UNSC (Which was another UK draft)
http://un-report.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/security-council-resolution-2059-on.html

# ¿ Jul 20, 2012 17:36

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

my dad posted:

Can Turkey invoke Article 5 because of this? Is Ankara not being in Europe an issue, and does this terrorist attack qualify as an attack on Turkey if it turns out it was caused by ISIS? (edit: Or "caused by ISIS")

Article V is invoked by the North Atlantic Council by unanimous decision, not by a single state. The decision to invoke it is taken if all Allies agree that an 'armed attack' has occurred. There is no black and white definition of what an 'armed attack' is, and ultimately it comes down to the decision taken by the NAC based on the information it has (NATO statements at various times have clarified some elements over the years, e.g. that a cyber attack could be considered an 'armed attack' if the NAC decides it to be). Once invoked, its effect is to provide a legal basis (collective self defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter) for subsequent military action designed to 'restore and maintain security of the North Atlantic Area' . The only time Article V has been invoked was after 9/11. This is a really interesting article from the NATO Assistant Sec Gen (Defence Ops & Planning) at the time (Edgar Buckley - a Brit!) on how the decision was reached, with it highlighting that the decision was taken that it met the criteria due to its scale and 'external direction'.: http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2006/issue2/english/art2.html

Article IV, however, allows any NATO country to request consultations should they consider their security to be threatened. It was under this that Turkey requested consultations twice in 2012 after their jet was shot down and some cross-border shelling, leading to the deployment of US and German Patriots. Turkey also requested consultations under Article IV after the bombings in July this year. It may well request them after this, too. Aside from an earlier Turkish request (2003), the only other time Article IV consultations has occurred was at the request of Poland after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2015 23:34

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

I'll take with a pinch of salt for now the conspiracy theories about the Turkish gov or "deep state" being behind the Ankara bombing. Not ruling it out, but it seems there'd be far too much to lose in such an act than to gain.

Nevertheless, it clearly isn't going to help tensions, not least with Turkey conducting air strikes against the PKK the day after... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34501617

The Turkish government turned down a ceasefire from the PKK on Saturday - does anyone have any more on that..? http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/11/us-turkey-kurds-airstrikes-idUSKCN0S50B620151011

# ¿ Oct 11, 2015 23:59

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

MothraAttack posted:

Going to post this before one of our more knowledge Kurdish affairs posters weighs in, but apparently Turkey attacked the YPG today and said that any attempt to cross the Euphrates' western bank (I.e. toward Jarablus) would be met with firepower.

http://aljazeera.com.tr/haber/pydyi-iki-kere-vurduk

BBC Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34645462

# ¿ Oct 27, 2015 16:12

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

Dusty Baker 2 posted:

I made a map of the global war against ISIS, are there any fixes/anything I missed/labelled improperly? It's rather simplified and doesn't go into the difference between supporting governments and local factions but still.

Not sure what you mean by "EU Support against ISIS in Iraq/Syria"? There isn't any EU mission - some EU countries are doing stuff sure, but that's a national decision, not anything through the EU.

Also you have UK as 'fighting ISIS in multiple locations'. It's only Iraq for the UK, unless you're counting the single drone strike in Syria (which, whether you agree with/believe it or not, was due to the British government assessing an imminent threat from the individual against the UK).

And NATO isn't really relevant either. Its mission (Resolute Support) in Afghanistan is about building the Afghan Security Forces, helping them in the fight against primarily the Taleban. I'm sure US forces will his IS targets there, but that will probably be a unilateral US decision under Op Freedom Sentinel (which is US not NATO).

# ¿ Nov 7, 2015 18:30

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

http://aa.com.tr/en

97.9 counted, 51.57% yes, 48.43% no

By my maths, it's a 470k gap, with a similar number left to count so it's gonna end up a very narrow "Yes"

# ¿ Apr 16, 2017 17:41

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# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 16:45

Ewan: Sep 29, 2008; Ewan is tired of his reputation as a serious Simon. I'm more of a jokester than you people think. My real name isn't even Ewan, that was a joke it's actually MARTIN! LOL fooled you again, it really is Ewan! Look at that monkey with a big nose, Ewan is so random! XD

# ¿ Apr 16, 2017 18:05

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