The Syria Thread 2011 - Present

[82_28]

No. In fact, I am not trying disrupt anything. I was just thinking in logistical terms. Believe it or not, even in America it is very easy to not find your to-go containers when you need them. US Foods etc is out so you go to a fellow restaurant to see if they have a few to spare and then you'll get them back. Same thing with ice and stuff like that. Competing restaurants generally share when the need arises. You said great Syrian pastries in a styrofoam box and that is what I immediately flashed to. Shit has to be sourced somehow and some way.

EDIT: What Searcher08 said missed it. That is precisely correct. Just basically pointing that aspect out that you got it in a to-go/take away box that had to have been sent from the most local source.

[AlicetheKurious]

It wasn't boxes, but small trays, like this, with plastic wrap (like Saran wrap):



Enough inanity. Stop messing up this thread.

[82_28]

Alice, I love you, but I won't stop shit for anyone when things come to mind. It was a mere mention of something that popped into my thoughts. You are actually to blame because you brought up styrofoam. That's it. That's all. I simply looked up a likely source for a down on her/his luck source for the containers you described because I found it interesting. You wouldn't have even heard from me were it not for the above. I thought it to be an interesting angle. But no, I won't stop shit when it comes to very small details that could be overlooked. I also would never sully a thread with bullshit here.

[82_28]

Also, what was inane other than the obvious speculation that bore no weight on basically anything? Food containers have to be sourced. Bombing Syria and making the citizens flee, has to be sourced. Shit don't happen in no vacuum. Thus I looked at it as a small way to get at the "meat of the matter" in the self same way US military got their subways and pizza huts. Very stupid additions to something so serious, but contracts nonetheless. . .

FUNDED!

[AlicetheKurious]

Sorry I was rude, but I honestly lost track of what this thread was about, and became irritated because of that.

Back on topic: the Pentagon claimed that it would take hundreds of raids by the "coalition" to destroy the Daesh/"ISIS" stronghold at Raqqa. Russia has a military base in Tartus, Syria, from which it could have launched the strike against the Raqqa camp. Instead, Russia launched long-range missiles from its naval base in the Caspian Sea thousands of kilometers away, which flew over Iranian and Iraqi airspace and totally demolished the Daesh camp in Raqqa, thus sending at least three strong messages to observers:

1) We mean business, and OUR "coalition" will indeed liberate Syria from the terrorists;
2) Anybody's thinking of messing with us, think again;
3) To our allies...what do you think of our missiles? We have plenty more, if you're interested.

[AlicetheKurious]

Syrians celebrating in Damascus.

[backtoiam]

Now that I understand what this is all about I bought 33 Chinese container loads of this. Soros is gonna be pissed that I cornered the market.

[jingofever]

Russia fired some cruise missiles at Syria and the United States says four of them hit Iran. Russia and Iran deny this. The BBC reports:

Iran's Irna news agency reported on Wednesday that an unknown flying object had crashed in the village of Ghozghapan in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan, said to be under the missiles' flight path.

Some guy on Twitter reports:

Governor of Takab, a city in W Azerbaijan prvnc has said that an "unidentified flying object" crash led to explosion

Did the Russians shoot down a UFO?

[82_28]

Oh, Alice I knew you weren't being rude. You're concise where I tend to ramble and free associate. You have information to my speculation. No harm, no foul.

All is well.

[AlicetheKurious]

The US and its propaganda outlets, in their hysteria, are practically coming right out and admitting that the terrorists in Syria belong to them.

Proof please? CNN claims Russian missiles crashed in Iran, Moscow refutes, US can’t confirm
Published time: 8 Oct, 2015 22:16
Edited time: 9 Oct, 2015 01:15

A CNN report, claiming that several Russian cruise missiles targeting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) positions in Syria actually landed in Iran, has been refuted by the Russian Defense Ministry, while the US State Department say they can’t confirm.

The American broadcaster cited two unnamed US officials, who said that four Russian missiles had crashed somewhere in Iran after being launched from vessels in the Caspian Sea. The report suggested that “some buildings were damaged and civilians may have been hurt.”

This triggered a quick reaction from the Russian Defense Ministry, with spokesman Igor Konashenkov saying that all the missiles had hit their targets on Wednesday. “Unlike CNN, we don’t distribute information citing anonymous sources, but show the very missile launches and the way they hit their targets almost in real time,” Konashenkov said. The spokesman pointed out that the strike targets are being photographed before and after being hit, while Russian drones are monitoring the situation from Syrian skies 24/7.

The high precision strikes might have been “unpleasant and surprising for our colleagues in the Pentagon,” but the fact is that “the missiles launched from the ships hit their targets,” he said.

“Otherwise one would have to acknowledge that IS facilities – located at a considerable distance from each other – exploded all by themselves,” Konashenkov said.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that he couldn’t confirm CNN’s report, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, a source in Iran’s Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti that Tehran has “no information of Russian missiles crashing on Iranian territory.”

On Wednesday, four Russian naval warships in the Caspian Sea fired a total of 26 missiles at positions of Islamic State in Syria, hitting all the targets, according to Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

Moscow slams Carter’s warning about cost of Syria strikes

Konashenkov also lashed out at a fresh statement from Pentagon head Ashton Carter, who predicted Russian losses in its Syrian operation.

“In their assessments of the US military’s actions in various operations conducted by them all over the world, the Russian Defense Ministry has never stooped to publicly speaking of expectations of the deaths of American soldiers” Konashenkov stressed.

According to the spokesman, Carters’ words demonstrate the degree of cynicism among “some of the representatives” of the current US government.

Moscow’s air operation in Syria “will have consequences primarily for Russia itself,” Carter said at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“I expect that in the next few days the Russians will begin to lose in Syria,” the US Defense Secretary added, also mentioning the possibility of retaliatory attacks by extremists in Russia.

Russia launched its anti-terror air campaign in Syria at the request of the Syrian government on September 30.The Russian military has destroyed over a hundred terrorist targets, including command posts, ammunition depots, training camps and armored vehicles, since the start of the operation. Link

[kool maudit]

Today's Nobel Peace Prize was arguably a NATO signal (pro-regime change).

[AlicetheKurious]

Today's Nobel Peace Prize was arguably a NATO signal (pro-regime change).

That's how a lot of people in Egypt interpreted it.

[AlicetheKurious]

Check.

As Russia Bombs Syria, U.S. Pulls Aircraft Carrier Out of Persian Gulf
by COURTNEY KUBE and ERIK ORTIZ

As Russian warships rain down cruise missiles as part of its military strike in Syria, there's now a glaring absence in the region: For the first time since 2007, the U.S. Navy has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Military officials said Thursday that they've pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is home to about 5,000 service members and 65 combat planes, so that it can undergo maintenance. The ship officially exited the gulf around 11 p.m. ET. The temporary measure is also the result of mandatory budget cuts.

The lack of a U.S. presence in the gulf comes as Russia is escalating its actions in the region and began pounding targets in Syria last week with airstrikes. Russian officials say they're trying to obliterate ISIS, although the U.S. and its allies say they're instead hitting rebel fighters who oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Russian ally.

Russia remains a wild card in the region — and the absence of an American aircraft carrier is being noticed, said Peter Daly, a retired Navy vice admiral and CEO of the U.S. Naval Institute.

"The most important thing you need a carrier for is for what you don't know is going to happen next," Daly told NBC News.

That was especially important during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when the Navy often had two carriers operating in the region. The combat planes can fly into war zones and generally act as a show of force to Iran and other nations during tense standoffs.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt — a massive, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier — has had a central role in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, when the U.S.-led coalition started bombing the Islamist extremists.

A Navy official told Washington lawmakers in July that the lack of a carrier was imminent — and could potentially hamstring operations.

"Without that carrier, there will be a detriment to our capability there," Adm. John Richardson said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, prior to his confirmation in the Navy's top post.

The USS Harry S. Truman, which is based out of Norfolk, Virginia, is expected to take over in the region, the Navy Times first reported in June.

Sidelining the USS Theodore Roosevelt also shows how Navy leaders are trying to shave off lengthy deployment times, which have not only worn down the ships, but taken a toll on sailors' morale, the newspaper said.

The Navy has reportedly blamed the lengthy deployments — some more than 10 months — because of past requirements to have two carriers in the Persian Gulf between 2011 and 2013.

Daly said the U.S. still has options for launching its planes thanks to Turkey, Qatar and other coalition nations that have entered the fight to root out ISIS.

"The biggest value to those carriers is that they are huge, and you have the capability to go from one stop to another, and we don't need a permission slip from another nation when we want to fly planes," he added.

Just as essentially, the Navy's fleet needs to be maintained, and the military can only put it off for so long, Daly said.

"You can make exceptions anytime, but if you make it every time, it catches up with you," Daly added. Link

[IanEye]

How many U.S. nuclear submarines are currently in the Persian Gulf?

[AlicetheKurious]

How many U.S. nuclear submarines are currently in the Persian Gulf?

I'm not sure, but there were reportedly five back in 2014. Some of them were intercepted by Iranian ships. In any case, they're not alone: the Persian Gulf waters are infested with nuclear submarines from many countries, including Israel and China and Russia among others (if all the various news stories are to be believed).