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Vladimir Putin posted:I remember reading that one tactic was that they would cart a huge rear end load of ammo in the troop compartment, and right before they would fly into a hostile area, they would dump the ammo on some uninhabited/deserted location. They would attack, and use up all their ammo and then fly a short hop back to their cache, reload and then jump back into the fight. Taliban are told not to touch them except in very selective circumstances. There's just no time to get away. Heli's are devastating in reaction to contact, and they are the last thing the FSA wants to see. If Russia is in fact supplying Assad with them, there's no denying that they are game changing weapons, and that Russia is putting its influence on the war to keep Assad in power. Pretty hosed from a humanitarian perspective. Guess that's Russia for you though.
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Jun 14, 2012 07:35
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SexyBlindfold posted:pfft afghanistan had some exciting parts but it was such a boring scenario, i'm glad they really went all out with this syria map, it's like 200% scarier I can't get past 2030 without a "terror cell" from some shithole in Syria claiming I'm the source of all their problems and blowing up Manhattan. Who are these assholes? I don't got time for this. Nuke em all and let God sort em out I say. A student posted:The Fox News analyses was probably like this. Actually I don't recall much of anything. Obama and Clinton were kind of wrapped up in that day or two revolut-protest in Iran, and supported Mubarak for too long. It was probably one of those "Obama is being way too conservative to rip on right now, so let's talk about gas prices!  " moments. Could be wrong though. I'm sure if there was an inkling of a pro-Arab Spring statement out of the oval office, they latched on to it like the soulless leeches they are.
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Jun 22, 2012 07:32
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What exactly is going on here? Nothing disturbing in this video, just never seen something like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj8yoDHpC2M VVVVV Thanks, that makes sense. Didn't understand what could produce those types of explosions so consistently. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Jun 22, 2012 |
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Jun 22, 2012 07:59
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Brown Moses posted:I've put together a list of my top 25 recommended Twitter accounts for people following the Arab Spring, good place to start if you create a Twitter account too. Thanks for this. I've been debating on taking the plunge for a while and now it's too convenient not to. Love the blog, especially about the unconventional weaponry being used in Syria. It's really been surprising to me the level of ingenuity that the FSA has in regards to the tactics of their insurgency. We saw a lot of new efficient ways of fighting introduced in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the Syrian resistance is practically rewriting the book. It's great for Syria, but I'm sure that future insurgencies with less than noble aims will benefit tremendously by studying the FSA's tactics.
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Jun 23, 2012 15:43
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karthun posted:Holy poo poo... Morsi won I can't wait to see that crazy pastor who puts up videos on YouTube about Syria's reaction. He wasn't a fan of MUUUUHSEEEEE.
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Jun 24, 2012 15:38
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Big step forward, but there's clearly more work to be done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zka-gk6vXo
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Jun 24, 2012 23:59
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I get how Egypt would fit more into a Middle East thread, but why is there no running discussion on continuing developments in Africa? Somalia, South Sudan, Liberia, etc. There's plenty to talk about there. Is it just missing an effort post?
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Jun 27, 2012 00:59
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Jarmak posted:That's a loving stupid thing to say, saying "there is religious influence in both America and Islamist states" does not mean you can just equivocate the two. Fighting over legalized homosexual marriage =/= fighting over homosexuality being a capital offense, arguing over abortion =/= banning women from being seen in public without a male relative, especially when the religious side of those arguments are consistently losing in the US despite how loud they get. So far the MB in Egypt seems to be on the more progressive side of Islamist government, that doesn't mean that its typical for Islamist Governments in the middle east. From a domestic standpoint, I agree with you, but the original post being refuted was this. quote:In seriousness I wish Islamist countries could just find a balance between respecting tradition, and not ramming it down the throats of people who don't participate. Maybe like America's relationship with Christianity for most of the last 230 odd years.(IE: it still shaped most of our morals/beliefs but we weren't out persecuting Jews) And as far as American Christianity not being rammed down the throat of people who don't participate, I don't see it. The Global War on Brown People Who Don't Think Like Us comes to mind. Just because conservatives receive stiff opposition in regards to pop politics issues like abortion and homosexuality doesn't mean the majority of the government isn't pandering towards Christians in other ways, namely by attacking the boogeyman of radical Islam which many would consider a holy war. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jun 27, 2012 |
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Jun 27, 2012 17:44
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HGH posted:I'm going to KSA for a while and I'm sure as heck that most of the links here are going to be censored (maybe even all of SA itself), what with all their internet monitoring. So I've been wondering if there's anyway around that while I'm there? Or maybe a list of what websites in particular are blocked so I could find replacements. Edit: beaten. You need a VPN. I don't know anything about Saudi Arabia's, but I know a lot of goons in the China thread use them. Might want to do some more searching to get some reviews about each provider if no one here has any information, but googling "Saudi Arabia VPN" should be a good starting ground. Looks like they're around 5 bucks a month.
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Jun 27, 2012 19:00
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Sivias posted:The IED at 2:50 is so big. What kind of munitions could do that while still small enough to disguise? Might be an old 120mm artillery shell. You can bury those with a pressure plate as a detonator or just cover them up in a ditch. If you go on the same patrol every day, it'll look a bit out of place, but it's hard to spot things like that otherwise even if they are huge. Probably used one of those trees as the trigger point and disguised it next to the road. I'm not sure how big the shells are they tend to use in EFP's, but they will actually mold those in Styrofoam with a sensor from those garage security lights and it looks exactly like a rock. Again, if you drive the same road every day, that rock looks out of place, but if not, you won't even see it coming.
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Jun 27, 2012 22:02
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Xandu posted:I would liken it more to conservapedia. It depends on what they're reporting on. Anything that involves Russia is biased as all hell, but they've had some pretty interesting pieces about Occupy Wall Street when that first started, and they cover all the crazy poo poo that the mainstream media in the U.S. passes on. The other day they had this piece which has to be my favorite incompetent propaganda piece I've ever seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvYxDcu3XXw Here's how propaganda works and why it's important to not take one news source as the final word on everything. That's why you need to listen to us and no one else but us. ALSO, gently caress the FSA, <3 ASSAD. Brown Moses posted:That might support Austin Tice's theory that some pilots are avoiding hitting targets on purpose. That has to be a thing. I can't find it now, but there was a video filmed by a citizen of a city that had just been shelled and attacked by the Army. He was showing the damage and talking about it. One quote that stuck with me was how while the soldiers in the narrator's area where killing his family, there were others in those soldiers hometowns killing THEIR families, which is likely the case for soldiers who's families are in Homs, Idlib, or wherever. Between knowing this, disagreeing with what the Assad regime is doing, and in some cases being afraid of the consequences of conscientiously objecting and refusing to obey orders or defecting, there has to be some who defy their orders when they can. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Jun 28, 2012 |
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Jun 28, 2012 18:16
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Evil Fluffy posted:Military leaders are pretty much always more valuable alive than dead. Either as a source of intel or bargaining chip, let alone convincing one to switch sides which might be feasible in a situation like this where Assad might be/is losing. Your first two examples are good, but accepting a defector is one thing. It's quite another to tell a POW he can join your side and somehow trust him farther than you can throw him. At these guys rank, the kidnappings are more of a psychological victory and another jab at the heart of Assad's Army. They'll miss these guys. Plus it shows everyone of every rank that they aren't safe just because they aren't in Homs or Idlib. Might encourage more defections. It might have been Brown Moses who posted it, but supposedly 50% of the FSA's weaponry is bought from the regime. Assuming they'd be willing to bargain for the prisoners, it could be a big reward for the FSA.
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Jun 29, 2012 06:56
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Section 31 posted:It is said to be protest in the Palestinian Yarmouk camp in Damascus. I haven't seen any videos of it, and more importantly, Brown Moses hasn't mentioned anything supporting those rumors as far as I know. Were legitimate chemical weapons used in Homs or something, one would assume there would be plenty of evidence supporting it, considering there would be an immediate effort to document it due to the repercussions you touched on. I'm calling bullshit for the moment on those. I know you weren't insinuating that the rumors were true, but I've heard them as well.
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Jun 30, 2012 05:42
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Comstar posted:The Future of Journalism, today. Random citizen's upload Youtube video, someone else on the internet then provides analysis and coverage. You're going to end up getting paid for to do it. I agree that Brown Moses does a hell of a job and deserves a role somewhere, but regardless, this is a pretty exciting time for news media when careful analysis of data anyone can access is becoming a reliable way to provide coverage of current events. It may not mean much for more undeveloped places like Sudan where there aren't 5 YouTube videos of every event that happens in the country, but the fact that freelancers can actually provide coverage that is equally or more detailed than the big organizations with a much bigger wallet should be interesting to see become a bigger part of our culture.
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Jun 30, 2012 15:37
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Jarmak posted:Yes All this, plus you guys are grossly underestimating the ingenuity of a force that I've seen turn full sized cars into remote control bombs, and slingshot pop bottle bombs. They have Motorola radios, they have mortars, they have mortar rounds, and they have internet access. They'll figure it out.
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Jun 30, 2012 23:56
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Xandu posted:I'd rather it be a separate thread. The Sahel is borderline and probably worth including, but below that's such a different topic. I have tomorrow off and was planning on digging into #SudanRevolts and also the uprisings in South Sudan, but I can use the time to structure up an organized OP that touches on the basics of all the hot spots in the continent and some sources of information for each. There's plenty of content that comes up regularly from what I've seen to keep some discussion going, it's just not usually thread-worthy and there's no general thread in D&D to post it.
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Jul 1, 2012 23:41
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etalian posted:As the example of Libya demonstrates, Assad living or dying depends on preventing a snowball effect on the opposition side. That would be devastating for Putin who is really playing the "tough on America" card, and Russia is prepared to dump a lot of assets into Syria to prevent Assad's regime from falling behind. Hence, Syria is hosed.
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Jul 3, 2012 23:53
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^^^^ While it's true any developed force could walk right into Aleppo, that uprising is no joke, and as soon as the invasion was over, it would be time to get out or you'll be fighting the remains of the Syrian Army, the FSA, and whoever jumps in to push out the invaders on their home front, and not many countries in this world, if any, could handle that for any extended amount of time. az jan jananam posted:It also would have jeopardized Russian/Chinese support for UNSMIS, as they were intended to be a neutral party. In addition to endangering the lives of the unarmed monitors. Well to be fair, they would've had that capability if Russia and the U.S. were on board. I'm not surprised to see the Syrian people throwing rocks at U.N. vehicles because it has to be frustrating, but I'm not really seeing the outcry against Putin I would expect from the international community, though I might just be missing it. If the roles were reversed, I could absolutely see the U.S. supporting Assad's regime if it benefited them and there was little public repercussion (Mubarak), so it's not about dem Russians, but it's pretty clear that Russia is the biggest wall between Syria and its independence. All that Kofi Annan hate needs to get redirected that way. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Jul 8, 2012 |
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Jul 8, 2012 03:40
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i poo poo trains posted:I doubt that the Spring will travel back to the peninsula again. You have to remember that the Syrian uprising (as well as the Egyptians and to a lesser extent the Libyans) has been co-opted by the Sauds, Americans and Qataris, and you'd be a fool to think any of them will tolerate further pro-democracy uprisings on the peninsula. Yemen might get some reform but will likely be tempered by Saudi interference. Bahrain is too small a country to resist Saudi occupation and will likely not go anywhere any time soon. The Berbers might try something, but that's in North Africa and will end badly in the long run anyway. Perhaps when they can no longer can produce significant amounts of oil the area will lose its strategic importance and the Peninsular kings will be unable to keep power, but that won't be for another few decades. I think the Sudan's are next. Khartoum is an extremely oppressive force in the area, and South Sudan's revolution to escape it has just seen Juba take its place. Something like 98% of South Sudan's assets are under Juba's control. However, the little spending power of the rural areas combined with the LRA's occupation of all the good farming land, plus the small scale civil wars all over, and it's tough to see how a strong movement could get on its feet. North Sudan may have a little more ground to stand on, and they're trying with the #SudanRevolts call to action, but time will tell.
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Jul 10, 2012 23:55
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i poo poo trains posted:Took me a couple minutes but I finally found it. It appears that those are AO-1 SCH bomblets (image), perhaps dropped in an RBK 250-275 (image). It seems that they have something of a reputation of ending up as UXO. My internet is being terrible or I'd track down the segment, but Al Jazeera did a documentary a while back about the problems South Sudan is facing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-h2RQ-tPdU&feature=youtube_gdata_player South Sudan is lacking manpower, and is trying to deal with rebel factions, mine removal, famine, and refugees who fled to Uganda and Kenya returning home all at once. It's a ripe environment for a force like the LRA to make its presence felt. The vast majority of food in South Sudan is imported from Kenya and Uganda which shouldn't be the case because South Sudan has the resources to provide, but it's crippled by lack of infrastructure and rebel groups it doesn't have the means to deal with. I'm hitting Kenya and Uganda next for the OP of the Africa thread, so I'll be able to clarify it more after the research for that, but right now, I'd assume the LRA is putting more emphasis on controlling the resources in South Sudan than any other activity they are currently involved in. Speaking of which, I'd say Western Sahara probably fits in with this thread better than the Africa thread due to the Arab presence in the whole ordeal, but it's one of the more compelling histories I've seen yet. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1975 that the indigenous sahrawi people should be allowed to self-determine their form of government as neither Morocco nor Mauritania had enough ties within the country to justify an annexation. Morocco responded by sending 300,000 civilians escorted by 20,000 troops to basically colonize the area. The sahrawi Polisario Front created their own government which they currently run in exile in Algeria while Morocco built a gigantic berm called the Moroccan Wall to keep them out.  Most of the remaining sahrawi people live in awful refugee camps in Algeria and Mauritania, and over the past couple years have become increasingly frustrated over the lack of progress in the 20 year U.N. mission and the increasingly heavy handed policy of Morocco towards them. Cease fire has been in effect since 1991, but I'm not sure if it will hold much longer. News ought to be interesting out of there for the next several months as well.
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Jul 11, 2012 05:38
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az jan jananam posted:If even self-serving people in Assad's circle are weighing the opportunity cost in their heads and come out deciding for the revolution that is a positive sign. One of the most positive signs there is. It's the equivalent hypothetically of big-time bankers joining OWS. If the opportunistic are jumping ship, then it's pretty obvious that it's sinking.
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Jul 12, 2012 00:57
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Brown Moses posted:Up to 227, but that could just be activists being activists. No images yet. I've seen 120, 150, 220, and reports that families were slaughtered "with knives." Guessing this isn't a single bomb blast like the activist funeral massacre.
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Jul 12, 2012 22:17
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MothraAttack posted:BBC and Global Post are now reporting the Tremseh massacre. It sounds like the confirmed number of the bodies collected in the mosque is in the 120-160 range, but there are rural homes where the families were killed and they haven't all been discovered and counted yet. Tanks, helicopters and shelling, plus ground troops coming in behind and killing the stragglers with small arms and knives. I'm confused because it sounded like the intent was for Assad forces to retake the city, but activists have set up shelter in the mosque. I can't see how a rebel force would have been able to drive the Army back and maintain control of the city, but it sounds like either that happened, or the Army left after the attack. Edit: Jesus. Ugarit is reporting up to 243 dead now. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Jul 13, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 23:07
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McDowell posted:Yeah I'm not as certain as Golbez that Russia will leave with its tail between its legs. They haven't asserted themselves in awhile, and states are not rational actors. "Terrorists use chemical weapons smuggled into Syria in Homs. Soft U.S. stance on illegal weapons entering the country to blame. Assad devastated."
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Jul 13, 2012 21:09
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Sounds like Russia is letting off the gas a little bit. Wonder how much the chemical weapons moving to Homs played into this. They could be switching from denial to damage control. quote:"Russia, as well as other countries, is concerned by the situation in Syria," said Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, RIA Novosti reported. "We are not talking about new arms supplies to that country." http://us.cnn.com/2012/07/09/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?iref=obinsite Finally some positive news.
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Jul 14, 2012 00:05
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something original posted:I wonder if coordinated protests in front of Russian embassies in several countries would help. Surprising that it's not being done. I don't think that would make much of a difference. So long as Russian citizens aren't making a scene about it, protests at embassies fits right into their narrative about "THE WEST  “http://www.forbes.com/sites/markadomanis/2012/07/07/russians-strongly-oppose-military-intervention-in-syria/ quote:Answering the question “with which of the following statements would you describe the situation in Syria” the poll’s respondents answered as follows:
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Jul 15, 2012 00:37
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Shageletic posted:What it does is make it easier to prosecute. The Geneva Conventions (can't remember which one off the top of my head) explicitly details the responsibilites and liability for war crimes done in intra-national civil wars. Them labeling it (and it's just the one organization saying it) makes it easier for the people in the Hague to go after these guys. But it is not a prerequisite. Like that time they made Omar al-Bashir go to trial. It's nice to see the Red Cross change their stance on Syria away from "Boys will be boys, am I right?" All the same, this effectively changes nothing.
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Jul 15, 2012 21:10
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Brown Moses posted:Before I go to bed here's some of the madness I find follows me about now I'm getting a bit more well known, Insulted On Twitter and Threaten By The Syrian Rebels, Threats By Rebel supporters? Spooks? or Trolls. It's a simple question. Are you been paid for this?
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Jul 16, 2012 04:16
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Sivias posted:Is it just me or is reading posts like this more difficult than Bruno's? Let's try to keep things civil in here guys. Exasperating the argument with flagrant insults is only going to make things worse. Not just you. This thread is usually better then D&D as a whole about it, but seriously. You can make points without being condescending as all hell. I've seen it done.
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Jul 17, 2012 16:53
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Young Freud posted:The rebels haven't taken the state media apparatus yet? Anyone seeing anything more about this? It sounded like they were set to take it over, but now I can't find anything about it.
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Jul 18, 2012 21:59
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Nenonen posted:Even though it was an amazing day for the rebs the military hasn't actually disbanded itself yet. Yeah but I'm not even seeing anything about a fight there, and I thought somebody said the place was surrounded with tanks. Surely something newsworthy happened if that was actually the case. truth masseuse posted:Reportedly, Mustard Gas, Sarin, and possibly VX. Let's hope not. That stuff is nasty as all hell.
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Jul 18, 2012 23:59
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Does anyone have any idea about how Iranian civilians feel about the FSA/Assad conflict? I know the Lebanese generally support it, and Nasrallah continuing to support Assad makes Hezbollah look bad, but is the situation in Iran different? I ask because I'm wondering if they wouldn't be as eager to throw more support behind Assad in light of these new developments if it meant rocking the boat domestically. Gonna be an interesting day. VVVV Yeah, we're definitely not in Egypt anymore. There's far less of a consensus about what post-assad Syria should look like than there was with other Arab Spring countries. It's going to be a tough situation for the Syrians to figure out. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 05:29
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Augure posted:This is a grotesque apologia for barbarism. You should be ashamed of yourself. "Legally speaking this is probably a major war crime, but I don't blame him for doing it?" loving Christ, man. "These people" don't want to die, they want the U.S. occupying forces out of their country. Just a reminder that the Taliban are complete pieces of poo poo who will continue to murder their own people with or without a U.S. presence there. There's room for debate about how that situation should be handled (although not in this thread), but I don't have any more sympathy for these people than I do for Assad's soldiers getting executed. Vincent Van Goatse posted:You might have a problem with that since HSBC is a British bank. It still was a top ten bank in the United States. Swiss and French banks also have huge influence here in the States. Edit: Truthers in Syria http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/18/in-wake-of-damascus-killings-a-bizarre-scene/ quote:The attack took place in the heart of Damascus. And Van Hoorn reports, “Nobody has given me a good explanation for how it could be that only one hundred meters from the site of the supposed blast, people were just acting as if nothing had happened. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 06:36
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Thanks for the new thread title, rear end in a top hat! I jumped up and down when I saw it and Assad's wife is totally fine. Did some searching around and it appears she fled to Russia after the attacks in Damascus. That's going to be huge for the rebels morale, and make the regime look extremely weak. I can't see this thing lasting more than a few weeks. Assad could just leave the country, but that opens the door for a government takeover. Edit: My memory failed me. Duck was Assad's nickname from his wife, not for his wife. Whoops. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 16:42
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Golbez posted:They support Assad primarily because NATO doesn't like him. It's a little more complicated than that. It's less about pissing off the West, and more about preventing their regional influence from dissipating. Also, Putin has some domestic issues that would become more complicated if it starts to become apparent that under his lead, Russia is losing its position as a world power.
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Jul 19, 2012 17:03
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Zeroisanumber posted:Whoever made that shot was either tremendously lucky or Vasily Zaytsev with a mortar. Ha. Where's the guy who was claiming there was no way the FSA would be able to use mortars effectively? Golbez posted:Russia is its own region. They have a 140 million people. They can live without influencing even MORE people and area. They only care about their "influence" due to Soviet nostalgia and having NATO to focus against. While true, what country does this not apply to? VVV definitely not .50. Could be some other explosive projectile, but that's way too much effect from 1 bullet. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 17:26
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Zeno-25 posted:It seems like a mortar from the way he was flung upwards. Also, assuming the bang at the beginning of the video is from the weapon that got him, it seems like the projectile was in the air far too long for a recoilless rifle. My only thing is typically mortar rounds are loud as hell in the air. I couldn't hear any kind of whistling like you'd hear before "Incoming." Could have just been drown out by the people talking. I didn't see the person who appeared to be throwing something that the above poster mentioned, but a grenade seems very plausible.
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Jul 19, 2012 17:54
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The Entire Universe posted:It looks like something impacts the sandbags before whatever it is launches the sniper into the air. There may have been a guy back there but on a closer viewing I don't think he tossed a grenade. Maybe spotting for someone who planted some explosives on the inside of the building. It looks to me like he comes up the stairs, peeks out to identify the sniper, then eventually he really exposes himself, ducks back behind cover, and instantly after that, there's the explosion. We wouldn't be able to see a defined throwing action on that quality of video, but based on how he is using his cover, it looks like he's tossing a hand grenade. Also, like I said. It's completely missing the sound. You can't hear it from the launching point, but seeing as it would've been launched from so far away you can't even hear the round initially being fired (the first bang can't have been a mortar being fired nearby, as the hangtime wouldn't have been nearly that long) the sound should've been distinct. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGdELUQMMdM&feature=youtube_gdata_player#t=1m17s Volkerball fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 18:23
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Xandu posted:There was a video a few days ago where they captured a shabiha, had him call his father and tell his father that he captured a few FSA soldiers and asked him what to do with them, when his father said he should kill them, they took the phone back and said that because of that, they're going to execute his son. loving hell, that one got by me. That's the biggest obstacle that Syria is gonna face coming up. In Egypt especially, it was a very unanimous decision about what Mubarak should be replaced with. All these different group's with different cultures, agendas, and political views have the potential to collide in some mighty lovely ways after the fall of Assad. All the same, I think a decade from now, Syria is going to be in a much better position moving forward than it would had Assad continued to keep control unopposed. I just hope the time until stability isn't bloodshed on the level that Assad was already creating. VVVV Brown Moses would have a far better grasp on this than me, but I'm betting the FSA lacks that kind of firepower in the sniper department. As a former .50 M2 gunner, I don't think that the similar dushka would be capable of that with one shot by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not sure how AA weaponry works, but I assume a round from one of those would produce a similar effect to the explosion in that Syrian video. That one you linked is from at least a $20k sniper rifle. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 19:56
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Zudgemud posted:Maybe the US, Europe, China and the gulf states should do the same then... but sadly, having the ambition of a slug makes other states punt you around and make conditions worse for your country/government. If you have the power to influence politics in your favor you will do that, and Russia still has that power. Something like 30% of Russian civilians believe that the revolution is a terrorist movement against a legitimate government, and another 40% are undecided. Doing what amounts to backing off on supporting Assad's regime because of pressure from the West, despite substantial approval among the Russian people, is far more damning to Putin's government than allowing a revolution to take over an ally. Russians can still expect a very heavy-handed response to any attempts at a revolution, and what happens in Syria won't change that. The issue is Putin becoming so despised that the people revolt anyways. He's already got a couple strikes as it is. Brown Moses posted:I think one problem post Assad Syria will face is a lack of strong political leadership, and you'll see the 5 or 6 main FSA battalions taking control of different regions, with their own style of doing things. It'll be like what the most paranoid anti-imperialists predicted for Libya. This is very similar to the situation in South Sudan. With these different factions controlling different sections, and many minor civil wars off and on, it creates huge problems for a fledgling government to assert itself. The biggest problems are the battles for the resource rich areas between the warring clans, which often has resulted in the winners reaping the benefits while the locals starve, the government not having the resources to oppose warlords and gangs of thugs from rising up, and what would be unique to Syria, foreign countries attempting to sway the development of the nation in a way that benefits them. It's a scenario where the people of the country really dictate whether a common government that the majority of the people support gains control. It's also a potential breeding ground for genocide. Edit: Also, loving landmines EVERYWHERE. Volkerball fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jul 19, 2012 |
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Jul 19, 2012 20:34
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