Politics & War Make Strange Bedfellows

[SAYIT]

So Syria's border with Turkey is heating up.
Iran, seeing her Syrian ally threatened, could order Hezbollah to start trouble with Israel (drone?) at minimal cost to Iran to keep Israel too busy to attack either Syria (as was being reported to be imminent just a few months ago) or Iran directly.
Perhaps Israel would respond by attacking both Southern Lebanon again and Iran.
After all, Israel must know any attack against Iran will garner a response from Hezbollah, perhaps Syria and, of course, Iran.
That could make Syria very vunerable to attack from Turkey (a Nato member) which could end up indirectly (or even directly) allied with Israel.
Stay tuned.

 

[Urbanguerrilla]

So Syria's border with Turkey is heating up.
Iran, seeing her Syrian ally threatened, could order Hezbollah to start trouble with Israel (drone?) at minimal cost to Iran to keep Israel too busy to attack either Syria (as was being reported to be imminent just a few months ago) or Iran directly.
Perhaps Israel would respond by attacking both Southern Lebanon again and Iran.
After all, Israel must know any attack against Iran will garner a response from Hezbollah, perhaps Syria and, of course, Iran.
That could make Syria very vunerable to attack from Turkey (a Nato member) which could end up indirectly (or even directly) allied with Israel.
Stay tuned.

"war is the continuation of politics by other means..."

 

[waltky]

Rebels, Jihadists Capture Syrian Air Base...

Syrian rebels, jihadists seize regime missile base
Oct.12, 2012 | Opposition forces, fighting alongside Islamic radicals linked to al-Qaida, capture Syrian army air defense base near Aleppo, say activists; Turkey scrambles fighter jets to Syrian border area, after regime helicopters bomb Syrian border town.

Anti-regime activists say jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaida fought with rebels to capture a Syrian military air defense base near Aleppo. Videos posted online Friday, apparently shot inside the base, indicate that a group called Jabhat al-Nusra participated in the overnight battle for the base. The videos show fighters inspecting lines of large missiles. Jabhat al-Nusra, or the "front for the protection of the people of the Levant," is a jihadist group with links to al-Qaida. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings since the start of the Syrian uprising. Two Aleppo-based activists and Rami Abdul-Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said Jabhat al-Nusra fought in the battle. According to One of the activists, Mohammed Abu Omar, four rebels were killed in the overnight battle.

Turkey scrambles fighter jets to Syrian border

Meanwhile, Turkey scrambled two fighter planes to the border with Syria on Friday after a Syrian military helicopter bombed the Syrian border town of Azmarin, a Reuters witness said. There has been intense fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces this week in Azmarin and neighboring towns, an area strongly opposed to President Bashar Assad's rule. Shells fired onto the town from surrounding hills sent thick plumes of smoke and dust rising into the air during fighting on Thursday and a voice amplified through loudspeakers, audible from the village of Hacipasa in Turkey's Hatay province, called on rebel fighters to surrender, warning of an air assault. Fighting along Turkey's 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria has repeatedly spilled over into Turkish territory in the past week, with the Turkish army responding in kind to gunfire and mortar shells fired from Syria.

Turkish Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel said on Wednesday his troops would respond "with greater force" if the shells continued to land on Turkish soil, and parliament last week authorized the deployment of troops beyond Turkey, heightening fears that Syria's civil war would drag in regional powers. Meanwhile, Turkey scrambled two fighter planes to the border with Syria on Friday after a Syrian military helicopter bombed the Syrian border town of Azmarin, a Reuters witness said. There has been intense fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces this week in Azmarin and neighboring towns, an area strongly opposed to President Bashar Assad's rule.

Shells fired onto the town from surrounding hills sent thick plumes of smoke and dust rising into the air during fighting on Thursday and a voice amplified through loudspeakers, audible from the village of Hacipasa in Turkey's Hatay province, called on rebel fighters to surrender, warning of an air assault. Syrian opposition activists estimate more than 32,000 people have been killed since March 2011, when the uprising against Assad's regime began.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syrian-rebels-jihadists-seize-regime-missile-base-1.469701

See also:

Islamic militants join rebels to seize missile base near Syria's largest city
October 12, 2012 - Fighters from a shadowy militant group with suspected links to al-Qaida joined Syrian rebels in seizing a government missile defense base in northern Syria on Friday, according to activists and amateur video.

It was unclear if the rebels were able to hold the base after the attack, and analysts questioned whether they would be able to make use of any of the missiles they may have spirited away. Nevertheless, the assault underscored fears of advanced weaponry falling into the hands of extremists playing an increasingly large role in Syria's civil war. Videos purportedly shot inside the air defense base and posted online stated that the extremist group, Jabhat al-Nusra, participated in the overnight battle near the village of al-Taaneh, five kilometers (three miles) east of the country's largest city, Aleppo. The videos show dozens of fighters inside the base near a radar tower, along with rows of large missiles, some on the backs of trucks.

A report by a correspondent with the Arabic satellite network Al-Jazeera who visited the base Friday said Jabhat al-Nusra took the lead in the attack, killing three guards and taking others prisoner before seizing the base. The report showed a number of missiles and charred buildings, as well as fighters wearing black masks. Two Aleppo-based activists and Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said Jabhat al-Nusra fought in the battle with other rebel groups. They disputed the notion that the extremist group had the lead role in the attack, however. It was impossible to independently verify the videos and conflicting reports because of restrictions on reporting in Syria.

Despite Western opposition to President Bashar Assad's regime, the U.S. and other countries have cited the presence of extremists among the rebels as a reason not to supply the Syrian insurgents with weapons. They have repeatedly cited concerns of heavy weaponry falling into wrong hands. Rebel leaders argue that arms shortages mean they'll take aid from whoever offers it, regardless of their ideology. The capture of the base also plays into fears about extremists acquiring Syria's chemical and biological weapons — particularly if the Assad regime collapses and loses control of them.

Neighboring Jordan's King Abdullah II fears such weapons could go to al-Qaida or other militants, primarily the Iranian-allied Lebanese Hezbollah. The U.S. has sent about 150 troops to Jordan, largely Army special operations forces, to bolster the kingdom's military capabilities in the event Syria's civil war escalates. Syria is believed to have one of the world's largest chemical weapons programs, and the regime has said it might use the weapons against external threats, though not against Syrians. Western powers — and many Syrians — worry that Islamist extremists are playing an increasing role in Syria's civil war, which started in March 2011 as a mostly peaceful uprising against Assad.

Read more: Islamic militants join rebels to seize missile base near Syria's largest city, activists say | Fox News

 

[irosie91]

Oh gee-----more of the usual---the beauty of -islamization produces a sea of blood

 

[waltky]

Assad's soldiers sellin' arms and ammo to the rebels...

Syrian rebels buy guns from enemy
Wed, Oct 31, 2012 - THE LESSER EVIL?: Rebel fighters say since the West will not arm them, they have no choice but to acquire weapons from the very regime they are trying to topple

The Syrian regime may be their sworn enemy, but rebels fighting to bring down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad say they pay hard cash to government agents for guns and bullets. For Syria’s plethora of armed opposition groups, obtaining weapons is a constant struggle. Furious with the West for failing to provide heavy weaponry, they say they have little choice but to line al-Assad’s coffers.

In a country where national service is compulsory, and a conflict where brothers fight on opposing sides and rebels defect from the armed forces, they say it is not difficult to find a “middleman” or an “old friend” to help. “We buy from al-Assad spies and on the market,” Major Abu Mahar said. He claims to lead 200 men who conduct “special missions” against al-Assad’s forces. Yet like other units, they are poorly armed with machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades, sniper rifles and homemade rockets and bombs.

Seven Kalashnikovs hang upside down from hooks and a bucket of bullets sits in the corner of Abu Mahar’s office in a converted gym, which overlooks the mirror-lined workout room where bodybuilders used to flex their pecs. Abu Mahar defected this summer from the air force. Like other rebels, he still has associates in various branches of the Syrian government military and security. Abu Mahar says a bullet costs 110 Syrian pounds (US$1.60) to buy from the regime, compared with US$2 on the market.

He claims that most of his group’s ammunition supplies come from the shabiha, the term used to refer to state-sponsored militia. “We buy them from double agents, they need the money. The shabiha’s God is money. They don’t care about anything else. If you give them money they’ll even sell you their own mother,” he said. “They have open access to army, police and intelligence bullet stores. They’re saving up for when the regime falls.”

More http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2012/10/31/2003546550

See also:

General killed; jet fighters bomb Damascus
Oct. 31,`12 (UPI) -- Syrian TV said rebels killed an air force leader in Damascus, as activists said Assad regime jet fighters bombed targets in the capital for the first time.

State television said Gen. Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi, one of the military's top aviation experts, was shot dead by "armed terrorists" in Damascus's Rukn al-Din neighborhood late Monday. The regime calls rebels terrorists and often characterizes the uprising as part of an Israeli plot. The Free Syrian Army, Syria's main the main armed opposition group, had no immediate comment on the state TV report. Al-Jazeera said it was possible regime agents assassinated Khalidi to keep him from defecting. The Qatari network quoted unidentified activists as saying "the regime got rid of him before he does that."

In July rebel bombers killed Syria's defense minister, deputy defense minister and assistant vice president as the officials met in a Damascus safe house. The bombing was widely viewed as the biggest single blow to President Bashar Assad's inner circle since the uprising against him began in March 2011. Syrian state TV said Khalidi's killing was "part of [the opposition's] campaign to target national personalities and scientists."

The day after the Damascus assassination, Syrian jet fighters bombed targets in Damascus for the first time, activists said. The Syrian military previously used helicopter gunships. The expansion of aerial bombardments also came a day after the official end of a four-day cease-fire that was continually violated by both sides, with each side accusing the other of undermining it.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-N...mb-Damascus/UPI-48461351665000/#ixzz2Arh0wjFC

 

[editec]

So Syria's border with Turkey is heating up.
Iran, seeing her Syrian ally threatened, could order Hezbollah to start trouble with Israel (drone?) at minimal cost to Iran to keep Israel too busy to attack either Syria (as was being reported to be imminent just a few months ago) or Iran directly.
Perhaps Israel would respond by attacking both Southern Lebanon again and Iran.
After all, Israel must know any attack against Iran will garner a response from Hezbollah, perhaps Syria and, of course, Iran.
That could make Syria very vunerable to attack from Turkey (a Nato member) which could end up indirectly (or even directly) allied with Israel.
Stay tuned.

Could?

Perhaps... would?

Could?

All the crap that truly IS going on, and you want to speculate about something that has not happened?

 

[waltky]

Granny says dem Jews oughta bomb Ammerjabberjob to smithereens...

Will this be the year that Israel goes to war with Iran?
January 3, 2013 - Israel did not bomb Iran last year. Why should it happen this year?

Because it did not happen last year. The Iranians are proceeding apace with their nuclear program. The Americans are determined to stop them. Sanctions are biting, but the diplomatic process produced nothing visible in 2012. Knowledgeable observers believe there is no “zone of possible agreement.” Both the United States and Iran may believe that they have viable alternatives to a negotiated agreement.

While Israel has signaled that its “red line” (no nuclear weapons capability) won’t be reached before mid-2013, it seems likely it will be reached before the end of the year. President Barack Obama has refused to specify his red line, but he has made it amply clear that he prefers intensified sanctions and eventual military action to a nuclear Iran that needs to be contained and provides incentives for other countries to go nuclear. If and when he takes the decision for war, there is little doubt about a bipartisan majority in Congress supporting the effort.

Still, attitudes on the subject have shifted in the past year. Some have concluded that the consequences of war with Iran are so bad and uncertain that every attempt should be made to avoid it. Most have also concluded that Israel could do relatively little damage to the Iranian nuclear program. It might even be counter-productive, as the Iranians would redouble their efforts. The military responsibility lies with President Obama.

There has been a recent flurry of hope that the Iranians are preparing to come clean on their past nuclear weapons activities, which could be a prelude to progress on the diplomatic track. The issue is allegedly one of timing and sequencing: the Iranians want sanctions relief up front. The Americans want to see enrichment to 20 percent stopped and the enriched material shipped out of the country, as well as a full accounting for past activities, before considering any but minor sanctions relief. Some would also like to see dismantling of the hardened enrichment plant at Fordow.

MORE

See also:

Next 9/11: Iran's death squad is here
12/11/2012 - Team infiltrated, assigned to attack from within next year

Iran has infiltrated a team of Quds Force terrorist leaders into the United States to attack from within in 2013, according to a source. The source within the office of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic regime, said the team is to create instability in America through terrorism should the U.S. fail to accept the regime’s illicit nuclear program, increase sanctions, confront Iran militarily or intervene in the Syrian civil war. Members of the team, no more than 10 Quds Force officers, each lead cells totaling about 50 terrorists already in the U.S.

The source is risking his life not only to reveal the terror operation but to warn that Iran is pursuing its nuclear bomb program around the clock from several secret sites. Details of the terror plot, meant to disrupt the West, have been passed on to U.S. officials, who are taking countermeasures. The source said the team members, unlike the alleged Iranian operative Manssor Arbabsiar, who was arrested in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C. in 2011, are highly trained and sophisticated.

The team leaders are all senior Revolutionary Guard officers who were recruited for this specific mission nine years ago on the recommendation of the Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, and with the approval of security advisers to Khamenei. Some of these individuals held high-level posts before joining the mission. One served as the security officer in the supreme leader’s office, another was a member of the special forces for intelligence and security in charge of protecting regime officials, two were in charge of security of ground and air transportation, another was a commander of recruiting assets, and others had experience in security and intelligence.

Most of the team members have been in America for a year; a few were successfully placed here about five years ago. The families of the team members are financially supported by the regime, but team members are financially supported through various means as they do not maintain any contact with Iran. Two wealthy Iranian businessmen in Iran with ties in Europe are used to finance the team; one routinely travels to the U.S. One well-established Iranian businessman in America who often travels to Iran was approached by the Quds Force for his collaboration in return for incentives in Iran. He acts as the sponsor of the team, transfers cash to team members, hosts meetings at his residence and passes on information from the regime to the team. He also takes care of any legal issues, leases, contracts and such.

More Next 9/11: Iran’s death squad is here

 

[pbel]

So Syria's border with Turkey is heating up.
Iran, seeing her Syrian ally threatened, could order Hezbollah to start trouble with Israel (drone?) at minimal cost to Iran to keep Israel too busy to attack either Syria (as was being reported to be imminent just a few months ago) or Iran directly.
Perhaps Israel would respond by attacking both Southern Lebanon again and Iran.
After all, Israel must know any attack against Iran will garner a response from Hezbollah, perhaps Syria and, of course, Iran.
That could make Syria very vunerable to attack from Turkey (a Nato member) which could end up indirectly (or even directly) allied with Israel.
Stay tuned.

It's a very scarry scenario...especially with Iran and Syria involved...they both have Weapons of Mass Destruction, this could end up a nightmare...as you well know Turkey and Israel were allies until the Gaza Flotilla fiasco...

But in war, everthing goes!

 

[SAYIT]

So Syria's border with Turkey is heating up.
Iran, seeing her Syrian ally threatened, could order Hezbollah to start trouble with Israel (drone?) at minimal cost to Iran to keep Israel too busy to attack either Syria (as was being reported to be imminent just a few months ago) or Iran directly.
Perhaps Israel would respond by attacking both Southern Lebanon again and Iran.
After all, Israel must know any attack against Iran will garner a response from Hezbollah, perhaps Syria and, of course, Iran.
That could make Syria very vunerable to attack from Turkey (a Nato member) which could end up indirectly (or even directly) allied with Israel.
Stay tuned.

It's a very scarry scenario...especially with Iran and Syria involved...they both have Weapons of Mass Destruction, this could end up a nightmare...as you well know Turkey and Israel were allies until the Gaza Flotilla fiasco...

But in war, everthing goes!

I believe that was my point when I posted this thread 3 months ago ... that Israel and Turkey (along with Jordan and Arabia) could end up allies, at least in the short term.

 

[waltky]

Assad bombin' Damascus suburbs...

Explosions Rock Damascus Neighborhoods
January 04, 2013 - Opposition activists say Syrian warplanes bombed targets near Damascus on Friday, a day after an explosion in the capital left at least nine people dead.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government shelling is underway in areas including Douma, a rebel stronghold.

The state-run SANA news news agency says "terrorists" detonated explosives at a gas station in a Damascus neighborhood, on Thursday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Civil war between rebels and the Assad government has gripped Syria since evolving from peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011.

The United Nations estimates 60,000 people have died in Syrian fighting, a figure that surpasses opposition estimates by about one-third.

Source

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Syrian warplanes bomb suburbs of the capital
Jan 4,`13 - Syrian ground and air forces bombarded rebel strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus and other areas around the country Friday while anti-government forces targeted a military post near the capital with a car bomb, activists said.

Fighting in Syria's civil war has flared in areas around Damascus as rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad try to push into the city itself. The rebel advances in the suburbs threaten the government's grip on its seat of power, prompting a punishing response from the military on rebel areas skirting the capital. Anti-regime activists circulated a video they said showed an explosion near a military intelligence office in the town of Nabk, north of the capital. They had no information on casualties and the government did not comment on the bombing.

The blast came one day after a car bomb hit a gas station in the capital itself, killing eleven people, activists said. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, they could be guerrilla strikes by rebels groups who lack the force to battle Assad's troops in the capital. Syria's 21-month conflict has turned into a bloody stalemate that the United Nations says has killed more than 60,000 people, and it warns the civil war could claim the lives of many more this year. International efforts to stop the fighting have failed so far, and although rebels have made gains in recent months, they still can't challenge Assad's hold on much of the country.

On Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government warplanes bombed suburbs of the capital, including Douma, where twin airstrikes killed more than a dozen people a day earlier. The Observatory also reported the explosion near the military intelligence building in Nabk, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Damascus. A amateur video posted online showed a large explosion and a large gray cloud of smoke billowing from the area. An off-camera narrator said the blast struck the intelligence building. The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting.

Fighting also raged south of the capital, where rebels have been trying to push into the city for weeks. Damascus activist Maath al-Shami said the government fired rockets and mortars from Qasioun mountain overlooking the capital at orchards near the southern suburbs of Daraya and Kfar Sousseh.

MORE

Related:

NATO Deploys Missiles to Turkey-Syria Border
January 04, 2013 - NATO personnel have begun arriving at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to operate Patriot missiles intended to repel possible airborne attacks related to Syria's nearly two-year old civil war.

Patriot surface-to-air missile battery on a training ground in Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas, Feb. 15, 2012 (file photo).
​​A statement from the U.S. European Command Friday says that more troops and equipment are scheduled to arrive in southern Turkey over the next few days. These are the first batteries of Patriot missiles deployed, to be followed by two more from Germany and the Netherlands, in response to a Turkish request.

Navy Vice Admiral Charles Martoglio, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, says the Patriot-missile batteries will fall under NATO command when set up along the Turkish-Syrian border, and the systems should be operational by the end of January.

NATO approved the deployment of the surface-to-air missiles early last month after Turkey expressed concerns that Syria could use chemical weapons against its own people. NATO has stressed that the deployment is for "defensive purposes" only.

Source