Tehy are calling for bombing of Assad's government but not US troops on the ground
It calls for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.”
Such a step would represent a radical shift in the administration’s approach to the civil war in Syria, and there is little evidence that President Obama has plans to change course. Mr. Obama has emphasized the military campaign against the Islamic State over efforts to dislodge Mr. Assad. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, have all but collapsed.
meanwhile: [/I] according to a senior Pentagon official, Russia conducted airstrikes in southern Syria against American-backed forces fighting the Islamic State.[/I]
― curmudgeon, Friday, 17 June 2016 14:30 (eight years ago) link
what a shmuck:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/24/world/middleeast/mahmoud-abbas-claims-rabbis-urged-israel-to-poison-palestinians-water.html
― Mordy, Friday, 24 June 2016 20:39 (eight years ago) link
https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/747075591522893826
A joint statement by Turkish and Israeli negotiators announcing a reconciliation deal to be published within hours, Israeli official says
― Mordy, Sunday, 26 June 2016 15:33 (eight years ago) link
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36639834
The reconciliation deal between Israel and Turkey will see a return to normal diplomatic relations, but ties are unlikely to have the warmth that they did in the past.
It is Turkey's growing diplomatic problems - strategic tensions with Russia; difficulties with Europe due to the growing authoritarianism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; and above all the failure of Turkey's Syria policy (which has also soured ties with Washington) - that have prompted this move
― curmudgeon, Monday, 27 June 2016 15:09 (eight years ago) link
And in other news: Erdogan 'sorry' for downing of Russian jet
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 27 June 2016 15:15 (eight years ago) link
difficulties with Europe due to the growing authoritarianism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
is this really why Europe has "difficulties" with Turkey? They seem mostly okay with growing authorianism of various Euro gov'ts (Poland, Hungary, etc.)
― Οὖτις, Monday, 27 June 2016 20:38 (eight years ago) link
authoritarianism, I should say
― Οὖτις, Monday, 27 June 2016 20:39 (eight years ago) link
The President of the European Parliament said the recent Polish constitutional reforms "had the characteristics of a coup" and the European Commission is currently deciding whether it's such a breach of the rule of law Poland should lose all voting rights, so it's not as if they're clapping them on.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Monday, 27 June 2016 20:44 (eight years ago) link
I did not know that thx
― Οὖτις, Monday, 27 June 2016 20:44 (eight years ago) link
Opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday of groveling before Turkey, by agreeing to pay out compensation to families of 10 Turkish citizens killed in confrontations with IDF soldier aboard a Gaza-destined flotilla in 2010 as part of a reconciliation deal with Ankara."The agreement with Turkey is a part of the pattern of the prime minister's activities. He starts with big declarations, moves on to promises, and winds up groveling," Herzog wrote in a post on his Facebook page."Restoring relations with Turkey is an important diplomatic goal but compensating the attackers of IDF troops is inconceivable, especially when those signing onto the deal are the Netanyahu-Lieberman-Bennett trio."
gmafb w/ this guy is he for real? he's trying to outflank bibi on the right by deriding a diplomatic achievement? what a fuckin stooge
― Mordy, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 01:11 (eight years ago) link
Two explosions and gun fire at Istanbul Ataturk airport.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 19:30 (eight years ago) link
10 dead
― They could have been Stackridge. (Tom D.), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 20:14 (eight years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/world/middleeast/israel-hannibal-procedure.html
this is imo actually v good + unexpected news. have no idea if lieberman has anything to do w/ it but still a v promising shift in policy.
― Mordy, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 21:09 (eight years ago) link
At least 28 now. This is a concerted attempt to destroy the Turkish tourist industry and seems to be working. Much wider economic damage though, as companies refuse to let employees visit.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 21:31 (eight years ago) link
50+ fatalities being reported now
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 23:46 (eight years ago) link
It is most definitely working. See the numbers released earlier today by Turkey (screens in this tweet, last column indicates percentage change in tourists compared to last year). Russia obv down -90%, but nearly all over, people aren't coming any more.
Turkey says it was an IS attack, though it's not been claimed yet. Xp
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 28 June 2016 23:47 (eight years ago) link
Oh man (xp)
― They could have been Stackridge. (Tom D.), Tuesday, 28 June 2016 23:49 (eight years ago) link
CNN rolling back that report of 50 now. Nevertheless a horrible scene with all the videos popping up
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 00:09 (eight years ago) link
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/islamic-state-prime-suspect-after-suicide-bombers-kill-41-at-istanbul-airport/ar-AAhJukV?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=ansmsnnews11
Now they're saying 41, and suggesting it was ISIS
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 15:18 (eight years ago) link
They've always said it was ISIS. The government suggestion seems to be that 35 people flew in to conduct attacks and there are 33 of them left.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 15:20 (eight years ago) link
32, rather.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Wednesday, 29 June 2016 15:23 (eight years ago) link
And they lost track of them?
― Mordy, Wednesday, 29 June 2016 15:25 (eight years ago) link
— The three suicide bombers who killed 44 people at Istanbul’s main international airport this week have been identified as citizens of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Turkish officials said Thursday.
Turkey, which has blamed the Islamic State for the attack, carried out raids across the country on Thursday, detaining 13 people, including three foreigners, in connection with the attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Tuesday night.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/europe/istanbul-airport-attack-turkey.html?ref=world
― curmudgeon, Friday, 1 July 2016 14:38 (eight years ago) link
Italy has suspended all arms sales, including important jet repair components, to Egypt following the murder of Giulio Regeni. Would be good to see other countries following that lead.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/italys-regeni-amendment-cancels-sales-military-goods-egypt-over-students-killing-1492370765
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Saturday, 2 July 2016 13:33 (eight years ago) link
Conflicting reports but it looks like there may have been a bombing in Medina, of all places, half an hour ago.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Monday, 4 July 2016 17:31 (eight years ago) link
The Saudis have plenty of enemies who'd like to embarrass them.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Monday, 4 July 2016 17:39 (eight years ago) link
Most of them would think twice about bombing the holiest or second holiest site in Islam though.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Monday, 4 July 2016 17:45 (eight years ago) link
Once you've talked yourself into bombing hundreds of places and killing a few thousand of your fellow religionists, it is not such a huge step to convince yourself that bombing pilgrims at Medina could be a good plan.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Monday, 4 July 2016 17:49 (eight years ago) link
getting a bit four lions
― ogmor, Monday, 4 July 2016 19:08 (eight years ago) link
Sad how inevitable this feels
― Οὖτις, Monday, 4 July 2016 19:50 (eight years ago) link
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/03/the-worst-alleged-isis-attack-in-days-is-the-one-the-world-probably-cares-least-about/?tid=pm_world_pop_b
Written before the Medina bombing I think. This is about the Baghdad ones.
Public anger in the Iraqi capital, as my colleague Loveday Morris reports, is not being directed at foreign conspirators or even — first and foremost — at the militants, but at a much-maligned government that is failing to keep the country safe.
"The street was full of life last night," one Karrada resident told The Washington Post, "and now the smell of death is all over the place."
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 5 July 2016 16:57 (eight years ago) link
been surprised/bummed that the Medina attack has been buried in the US press, I know it's not the first time terrorists have attacked one of the holy cities but still
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 5 July 2016 17:01 (eight years ago) link
Something I've been thinking about lately, how a lot of terrorism or suicide bombings and other mass violent acts are taking place or originate in places that had previously seen long stretches of relative stability at the expense of freedom or democracy. That is, lots of places where strong-arm dictators or clans with terrible rights records successfully (?) suppressed bloody factionalism. Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. Just locked up (or killed) whomever they deemed troublemakers. Is it the sloppy nature of their so-called liberation that has more recently opened/reopened the flood gates, or simply the loosening of the lid?
Anyway,I doubt I expressed it well - rushing our the door - but can there be any solution to this kind of sort of pure, apolitical terrorism - that is, no clear, achievable goal - beside violent suppression, the way it used to be? How come a democracy like India, with a huge poverty problem and plenty of religious conflicts, generally avoids this kind of stuff? How about Iran, which fuels and embraces extremism but has somehow kept things (relatively) stable, and huge mass violent events minimal?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 5 July 2016 17:49 (eight years ago) link
iirc from the Lawrence Wright book, an attack on Mecca was sort of a foundational moment for what became Al Qaeda
― socka flocka-jones (man alive), Tuesday, 5 July 2016 17:51 (eight years ago) link
1000 Saddams
― They could have been Stackridge. (Tom D.), Tuesday, 5 July 2016 18:22 (eight years ago) link
imperfect (as bissell stuff often is) but some interesting stuff and v. readable:http://harpers.org/archive/2016/07/my-holy-land-vacation/?single=1`
― Mordy, Sunday, 10 July 2016 17:32 (eight years ago) link
xp Josh: Westerners often forget that our own transition from repressive states/lords and tribal/sectarian animosities to tolerant democracies took centuries of bloodshed, (hopefully) exhausting itself only in the 20th century. We still have pogroms at the fringes. That others would embrace our own End of History in scant generations, especially where it conflicts with tribal/pastoral traditions, was wildly ambitious.
― Abandon hype all ye who enter here (Sanpaku), Sunday, 10 July 2016 22:22 (eight years ago) link
President Obama will deploy 560 troops to Iraq to help retake Mosul, the largest city controlled by the Islamic State, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced on Monday. It is the latest escalation of the United States’ role in the war here by Mr. Obama, who ran for office on a pledge to end America’s involvement in the conflict.
The additional troops will bring the official number of American service members deployed in Iraq to 4,647. Many will be based at an airfield about 40 miles south of Mosul that was seized by the Iraqis on Saturday.
...American commanders plan to use the base, Qayyarah West Airfield, as a staging area to provide logistical support to Iraqi forces as they move toward Mosul. Some of the troops specialize in infrastructure support like building bridges, which the Iraqis will need for the assault on Mosul because the Islamic State has destroyed many around the city. The Islamic State seized Mosul in June 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/world/middleeast/us-iraq-mosul.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-1&action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article
― curmudgeon, Monday, 11 July 2016 16:55 (eight years ago) link
Rumblings from analysts on Twitter that there might be a coup taking place in Istanbul. The army has closed the Bosphorus bridge in both directions and there are fighter jets flying over the city. Something's going on but nobody really knows what.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:41 (eight years ago) link
whoah
― Οὖτις, Friday, 15 July 2016 19:42 (eight years ago) link
Tanks on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara according to some people watching Turkish TV. Still speculation at this point but pretty odd even under the current circumstances.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:43 (eight years ago) link
This is another case in which Twitter is actively unhelpful in working out what's going on. There are reports that journalists have been told they're locking down both cities in response to a potential terrorist attack and that the military police is disarming the civilian police. It's either a huge anti-terrorist mobilisation or a coup.
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:50 (eight years ago) link
A coup is surely not very likely?
― 24 Hour Sex Ban Man (Tom D.), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:51 (eight years ago) link
Not being reported on BBC or Sky yet.
lol, it's Turkey. How many do they need to have before it becomes likely?
― On a Raqqa tip (ShariVari), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:52 (eight years ago) link
i'm reading that it's a terrorist attack not a coup
― Mordy, Friday, 15 July 2016 19:52 (eight years ago) link
https://twitter.com/AkyolinEnglish/status/754040782819061760
― Mordy, Friday, 15 July 2016 19:53 (eight years ago) link
They haven't had one in a while!
― 24 Hour Sex Ban Man (Tom D.), Friday, 15 July 2016 19:54 (eight years ago) link
i'm seeing on twitter reports of gunfire? who knows..
― nomar, Friday, 15 July 2016 19:55 (eight years ago) link
Cmon people, coup is highly unlikely. Surprised ppl are so willing to spread rumors like that.
Reading reports on Turkey going into lockdown due to terror threat.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Friday, 15 July 2016 19:56 (eight years ago) link