• Air strike in Syria kills 60 people - no mention yet of any chemical warfare
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[img]http://smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/the-sydney-morning-herald-logo.jpg[/img] [URL]http://www.smh.com.au/world/airstrike-in-syria-kills-60-20121224-2bunr.html#ixzz2FyDpwHFu[/URL] [IMG]http://images.smh.com.au/2012/12/24/3912190/dan-20121224192420926669-620x349.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE][I]A bakery damaged by what activists said were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet at Halfaya, near Hama. [I]Photo: Reuters[/I][/I][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]A GOVERNMENT airstrike on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria has killed more than 60 people, activists say, casting a pall over a visit by the international envoy charged with negotiating an end to the country's civil war. The strike on the town of Halfaya left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen dead and wounded were trapped in tangled heap of dirt and rubble. The attack appeared to be the government response to a newly announced rebel offensive seeking to drive the Syrian army from a constellation of towns and villages north of the central city of Hama. Halfaya was the first of the area's towns to be "liberated" by rebel fighters, and activists saw Sunday's attack as payback. "Halfaya was the first and biggest victory in the Hama countryside," said Hama activist Mousab Alhamadee via Skype. "That's why the regime is punishing them in this way." Advertisement The total death toll remained unclear, but the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 60 people were killed. That number is expected to rise, it said, because some 50 of those wounded in the strike are in critical condition. Amateur videos posted online on Sunday showed residents and armed rebels rushing to the scene. One stopped to cover a mound of human flesh lying in the street with his coat. More than a dozen dead or seriously wounded people lay in the street near a simple, concrete building, some in puddles of blood. Near its front wall, bodies jutted from a pile of dirt and rubble on the footpath. Rebels screamed in distress while trying to extract the bodies, while others carried away the wounded. It was unclear from the videos if the building was indeed a bakery. Nearly all the dead and wounded appeared to be men, some wore camouflage, raising the possibility that the jet had targeted a rebel gathering. For the past week, rebels have been launching attacks in the area, most notably in the nearby village of Morek, where they hope to seize control of the country's main north-south highway, preventing the regime from getting supplies to its forces further north in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo. On Saturday, one rebel group threatened to storm two predominantly Christian towns nearby if their residents did not "evict" government troops they said were using them as a base to attack nearby areas. The activist accounts could not be independently verified due to restrictions on reporting in Syria. The Syrian government does not respond to requests for comment on its military activities. The attack coincided with the start of a two-day visit by Lakhdar Brahimi, who represents the UN And the Arab League, to meet with top Syrian officials. Brahimi has made little apparent progress toward ending Syria's crisis since assuming his post in September, mostly because the sides appear more interested in fighting it out than in sitting down for talks. Brahimi did not speak publicly upon arriving in Damascus for a two-day mission, and it was unclear whether he would present new ideas to end the war. The trip is Brahimi's third since taking the job following the resignation of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan after both sides disregarded a ceasefire he brokered in April. While not advancing a comprehensive peace plan, Brahimi has called on the sides to negotiate a solution. The security situation has gotten notably worse for the regime since his last visit, with rebels storming a number of military bases and seizing valuable munitions. Russia, Assad's most powerful international backer, also appears to have changed his assessment of Assad's strength, as top officials say they do not seek to preserve his regime, while still calling for a negotiated solution. Still, neither side appears willing to talk. In a lengthy Sunday news conference, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi repeated the Syrian government's line that it is fighting terrorist groups backed by foreign powers who seek to destroy Syria. Al-Zoubi said the government was willing to engage in dialogue but said the other side wasn't. Violence raged elsewhere in the country on Sunday. Anti-regime activists reported government airstrikes on suburbs east of the capital and the northern province of Aleppo. Airstrikes on the town of al-Safira, south of Aleppo, killed 13 people, including a mother and five daughters from one family, a local activist named Hussein said via Skype. He gave only his first name for fear of retribution. The Observatory said at least 10 rebels and an unknown number of government troops were killed in clashes in Afreen, near Aleppo, Syria's largest city, as rebels sought to storm an army base there. Anti-regime activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since Syria's crisis began in March 2011. [/QUOTE] [editline]24th December 2012[/editline] Am i fucking late again? [editline]24th December 2012[/editline] because I swear I searched far and wide for any mention of this and found nothing
For fucks sake this needs to stop. [B]Now.[/B]
[QUOTE=orcywoo6;38955394]For fucks sake this needs to stop. [B]Now.[/B][/QUOTE] As horrible as this missile strike is, I am at least a little relieved it wasn't a chemical strike, it would of been far worse (not saying this is any worse as it is)
Sometimes I wonder what it's like to live in a place where you see and hear bombs obliterating structures and people pretty much every week.
Both sides are being fucktards. The rebels are mostly pro-Shariah.
[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;38955752]Both sides are being fucktards. The rebels are mostly pro-Shariah.[/QUOTE] Don't compare the two. Assad's atrocities aren't anywhere close to the ones committed by the resistance, and even then, one is a rebel group, the other is a highly brutal government. They aren't equal at all.
[QUOTE=Starpluck;38955844]Don't compare the two. Assad's atrocities aren't anywhere close to the ones committed by the resistance, and even then, one is a rebel group, the other is a highly brutal government. They aren't equal at all.[/QUOTE] If the sides were switched, I'm pretty sure it'd be the same shit. I'm afraid what's coming next for Syria is going to be exactly like Assad's regime, if not worse.
I haven't really been following this, but the abundance of the stories relating it caught my eye, can someone tell me a quick brief of what the hell is going on?
[QUOTE=Nibroc;38956042]I haven't really been following this, but the abundance of the stories relating it caught my eye, can someone tell me a quick brief of what the hell is going on?[/QUOTE] Civil war. Rebels are winning. Government is being an immature shit about losing.
60 people?! Holy shit.
[QUOTE=Riller;38956079]Civil war. Rebels are winning. Government is being an immature shit about losing.[/QUOTE] I wouldn't call them immature, if they surrender they'll be killed, the rebels have already been seen to execute pro-Assad forces. I'm not a massive fan of the rebels myself, but not really much of one for Assad either to be honest.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;38956363]I wouldn't call them immature, if they surrender they'll be killed, the rebels have already been seen to execute pro-Assad forces. I'm not a massive fan of the rebels myself, but not really much of one for Assad either to be honest.[/QUOTE] It's gotten to the part where both sides are wrong. However, the army obviously still has time to defect and be welcomed with open arms by the rebels who still need more skilled manpower and equipment to reduce losses, and the government, well, they dug a deep hole for themselves looong ago. They can flee to Iran if they want. This killing of civilians, rebels and soldiers is utterly senseless, since the rebels [I]have won[/I] already, and are just cleaning up to call it a total victory. By the way, pro-Assad forces has been just as known to execute rebels, so they're both in the wrong. However, rebels is the part of the wrong side that is winning, and pro-Assad forces is the part of the wrong side that is doing utterly senseless killing.
As sad as I am to say it, I do not believe that the United States is really going to get involved with this one, for better or for worse. We don't want another war to get into, especially one such as this which cannot simply be solved with air support as Libya was.
[QUOTE=SKEEA;38956397]As sad as I am to say it, I do not believe that the United States is really going to get involved with this one, for better or for worse. We don't want another war to get into, especially one such as this which cannot simply be solved with air support as Libya was.[/QUOTE] You guys will eventually step in when Assad launches the chemical attacks
AGAIN?!
[QUOTE=Riller;38956393]It's gotten to the part where both sides are wrong. However, the army obviously still has time to defect and be welcomed with open arms by the rebels who still need more skilled manpower and equipment to reduce losses, and the government, well, they dug a deep hole for themselves looong ago. They can flee to Iran if they want. This killing of civilians, rebels and soldiers is utterly senseless, since the rebels [I]have won[/I] already, and are just cleaning up to call it a total victory. By the way, pro-Assad forces has been just as known to execute rebels, so they're both in the wrong. However, rebels is the part of the wrong side that is winning, and pro-Assad forces is the part of the wrong side that is doing utterly senseless killing.[/QUOTE] The problem is, that while this might work fairly decently for mid level commanders, anyone higher up is in quite a lot of trouble. On top of that keep in mind that those soldiers are essentially fighting for what they've signed up for in a lot of ways . The issue with civil war is, that generally speaking no side is exactly right and there's decent people on both, as well as monsters on both. People that believe in the idealogy as well as people that don't. This is even more pronounced in the Middle east, where uprisings have multiple currents in a sense, often an ethnical and religious one as well to boot.
[QUOTE=Riller;38956393]It's gotten to the part where both sides are wrong. However, the army obviously still has time to defect and be welcomed with open arms by the rebels who still need more skilled manpower and equipment to reduce losses, and the government, well, they dug a deep hole for themselves looong ago. They can flee to Iran if they want. This killing of civilians, rebels and soldiers is utterly senseless, [B]since the rebels [I]have won[/I] already, and are just cleaning up to call it a total victory. [/B] By the way, pro-Assad forces has been just as known to execute rebels, so they're both in the wrong. However, rebels is the part of the wrong side that is winning, and pro-Assad forces is the part of the wrong side that is doing utterly senseless killing.[/QUOTE] Source? Because as far as I know Assad still has an air force, army and WMD's.
[QUOTE=laserguided;38956588]Source? Because as far as I know Assad still has an air force, army and WMD's.[/QUOTE] No specific source. It's the current direction of the conflict, and doesn't seem to change any time soon.
[QUOTE=Riller;38956605]No specific source. It's the current direction of the conflict, and doesn't seem to change any time soon.[/QUOTE] Well others are saying its a stalemate. Provide a source that isn't dickwaving/rhetoric? What makes your logic superior and how is it reliable?
[QUOTE=laserguided;38956630]Well others are saying its a stalemate. Provide a source that isn't dickwaving/rhetoric? What makes your logic superior and how is it reliable?[/QUOTE] Technically nothing except for my reasoning from what previously read articles have given me of information. What makes yours superior and what makes yours reliable?
I think what's going on is [QUOTE=Riller;38956393]This killing of civilians, rebels and soldiers is utterly senseless, since the rebels [I]have won[/I] already, and are just cleaning up to call it a total victory. [/QUOTE] This sentence seems to suggest that the rebels should just lay down their arms right now because they've already won and they already control Syria. But afaik they are still a few battles away from that point yet
World War III doesn't seem too far off at this point in time with all this going on in the middle east/North Korea's possible nuclear weapons.
[QUOTE=Riller;38957082]Technically nothing except for my reasoning from what previously read articles have given me of information. What makes yours superior and what makes yours reliable?[/QUOTE] What makes what superior and reliable? I haven't claimed anything that can't be sourced, I've only said he has WMD's(Every major country involved acknowledges them), an air force[URL="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/syria/airforce.htm"][globalsecurity][/URL][URL="http://www.smh.com.au/world/airstrike-in-syria-kills-60-20121224-2bunr.html#ixzz2FyDpwHFu"][News in OP][/URL] and [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/syria-conflict_n_2223882.html"]army[/URL].
[QUOTE=laserguided;38957527]What makes what superior and reliable? I haven't claimed anything that can't be sourced, I've only said he has WMD's(Every major country involved acknowledges them), an air force[URL="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/syria/airforce.htm"][globalsecurity][/URL][URL="http://www.smh.com.au/world/airstrike-in-syria-kills-60-20121224-2bunr.html#ixzz2FyDpwHFu"][News in OP][/URL] and [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/syria-conflict_n_2223882.html"]army[/URL].[/QUOTE] Mine probably can be sourced with various news articles and battle-maps and what-not if I could be arsed to do so, but alas, I am too lazy. [QUOTE=smurfy;38957438]I think what's going on is This sentence seems to suggest that the rebels should just lay down their arms right now because they've already won and they already control Syria. But afaik they are still a few battles away from that point yet[/QUOTE] Ah, true. I meant that in the same sense as I would if I said that World War II in Europe was won the 6th of June 1944.
[QUOTE=Blazyd;38957480]World War III doesn't seem too far off at this point in time with all this going on in the middle east/North Korea's possible nuclear weapons.[/QUOTE] Except neither of those places would stand a chance against NATO
[QUOTE=Blazyd;38957480]World War III doesn't seem too far off at this point in time with all this going on in the middle east/North Korea's possible nuclear weapons.[/QUOTE]I would be especially surprised if the USA, Europe, Russia and China start a no-holds-barred war of nuclear extinction over some now-worthless desert dictator and a fat hereditary dictator nutjob. China and Russia aren't that keen on spreading US influence, but they're not going to stick out their necks for such liabilities any more than they already have. China's interest in NK is only in keeping it stable so they don't have a bumrush of refugees across the border; I doubt they'd object to a peaceful transition of power because they and Kimmy are BFFs or some shit.
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