US pledges nearly $100 million to support Syrian opposition

**hater** · 11-03-2015

Just in: Obama's new rebel coalition doesn't exist yet. It exists in name only so far

Reporters have been scouring northern Syria looking for these guys. None have been found yet.

**cheguevara** · 11-03-2015

Russia is forging ahead in trying to broker a deal in Syria, as Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said that his government has invited members of the regime and of the Syrian opposition to meet in Moscow next week. Moreover, this Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with UN Syria Representative Staffan de Mistura in Moscow, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

Russia has also reportedly shipped 100,000 tons of wheat to the Syrian regime, and perhaps as much as 120,000.

Meanwhile, the coalition of U.S.-backed ground forces in Syria is not much an alliance—and not much of a force either, as front-line interviews by the New York Times make clear.

idealism is one thing; getting results is another. And right now, the contrast between the high words of Americans and their allies, and the effective actions of the Russians and theirs, is on stark display.

http://www.the-american-interest.com...s-u-s-falters/

**cheguevara** · 11-03-2015

Russia for the first time received coordinates from the Syrian opposition, and a Russian official said Moscow held joint training exercises in Syria with the U.S. air force.

“The coordinates of all of these targets were given to us by opposition representatives,” senior military official Andrei Kartapolov said, without specifying which groups Moscow had cooperated with.

Moscow said it had set up “working coordination groups” aimed at bolstering the fight against ISIS, but said the iden ies of those involved were being kept secret.

Russia and Israel were informing each other continually on the situation in Syrian airspace.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News...ordinates.html

if Russia takes even the "moderate" rebels away from the US. what will the US be left with??

**cheguevara** · 11-03-2015

US scrambling to save face in Syria

The U.S. political, military and intelligence leadership have been scrambling to save face in Syria since Putin threw a geopolitical curve-ball at the empire-builders one month ago. Russia has now been pounding them with it repeatedly for 30 glorious days, taking out 1,600 terrorist targets and sending many of the critters fleeing. Put simply, the Americans created a wasteland, dug a giant hole in that wasteland, filled it with cannibalistic, head-chopping psychopaths, and bet the farm on burying their enemies in it, only to find themselves neck-deep in their own duplicity and hubris, scrambling to escape a problem of their own creation. American pe , meet Russian hoist.

Here's how it happened. After decades of using every dirty trick in the book to expand and maintain their hegemony -- bribery, blackmail, torture, coups, assassinations, death squads -- the Americans got complacent. To this end, the 'Al-Qaeda' bogeyman served them well. It is at once both a media creation to terrify the plebs and justify domestic and foreign power-grabs and a cover for mercenary warfare against foreign resistance to American occupation (e.g., Iraq), and against governments who refused to toe the American line (e.g., Libya).

Al-Qaeda 2.0 (ISIS/ISIL/IS) is no different. From 9/11 and the launch of the 'war on terror', the empire-builders enforced the PATRIOT Act and corresponding police state legislation right across the Western world, launched wars of occupation and proxy wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Mali and elsewhere and increased their economic, political and military dominance around the globe.

Naturally, they didn't think anyone would seriously challenge or call them on their bluff and bluster. Enter Vladimir Putin. Judging by American words and actions over the last month, and despite crying wolf about 'Russian invasions' in Ukraine since the coup d'état in Kiev in February 2014, the Americans didn't see the Russians coming in Syria.

**cheguevara** · 11-03-2015

By joining the war on ISIS, but NOT joining the U.S.-led coalition, Russia put the Americans in an awkward position, to say the least. The U.S. government can't condone Russia's coalition, because that would mean condoning a war against itself. And it can't completely reject Russia's coalition, because that would expose the reality that the 'war on terror' has been a complete farce: that the U.S. has not been 'fighting' terror, but has in fact been creating and spreading it. At the same time, the U.S. can't just sit back while Putin rides on their own propaganda vehicle to fight a war against the Americans' own creation. This is why all they can do at this point is to deny that Russia is attacking ISIS, which has its own problems (more on that below).

And now that the game itself has changed; now that the U.S. Establishment has been exposed for the mentally-deficient, criminal, arrogant has-been that it truly is, these idiots don't even realize how bad they look. It's sad -- pathetic, really. They don't even realize how laughable their antics have become, how hollow their words, how transparent their propaganda. American leaders come across as dim-witted schoolyard bullies who don't realize the principal is standing right behind them -- do enting every threat, provocation and lie -- while they just keep digging that hole for themselves. In contrast, for the last 15 years, Russia has been that skinny, quiet kid, secretly taking martial arts classes -- no one expects it when he finally shows the bully that the playground is gonna be a lot different from now on.

http://www.sott.net/article/305256-U...-face-in-Syria

**pgardn** · 11-03-2015

Jesus...

**pgardn** · 11-03-2015

Originally Posted by pgardn

The Russians don't give Fck who rules Syria as long as they have a say and their man tows the line. If this does not sound familiar, you have missed the war. Neither does Iran as long as the Ruler is Shiite and follows their brand of Islam.

Get real...

ALL involved want to see the war stop as long as they dominate when it does stop. They want a situation favorable to their own interests. What you and others miss is thinking this equates to some sort of compassion for the civilians in this entire area. Just like your OPost in the other thread crowing about the Chinese, who have stayed out as they really don't have a whole lot of interest at this point.

The Russians will save the day... Sure thing. If they can get people to the table and satisfied with their position something might be done about ISIS which the Russians have basically ignored.