Syria reported to have use Chemical Warfare

[Raz Tech]

The framework is already set:

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem had last month warned the U.S. against carrying out airstrikes on Syrian territory without Damascus' consent, saying any such attack would be considered an aggression.

Hadi Bahra, chief of the Syrian National Coalition opposition group, said mainstream Syrian rebels desperately need the kind of support that would enable them to form a reliable and well-equipped force to fight the extremists.

"Today, we are one step closer to achieving that goal," he said.

He said the Syrian Coalition "stands ready and willing to partner with the international community," not only to defeat the extremists, but also "to rid the Syrian people of the tyranny of the Assad regime."

[tyrannosaurus vex]

I do not expect GOOD policy from the US government, but, being that I really wish the Illuminati were real, it would be nice to see the government do something complex enough so as not to be completely understood in the 30 seconds it takes to make tea.

[Cain]

Yes, it would be.  But then, how would government understand its own policy?

[Cain]

 

Turkey got their hostages freed by IS.



Turkey got their hostages freed.  And everyone is acting like this isn't the most suspicious thing since Turkish generals were recorded planning to use false flag ISIS attacks to justify intervention in the Syrian civil war 9 months back .  Because it's not like Turkey is the chief logistical base for IS outside of Raqqa and Mosul, nor a place where a lot of their money, after it leaves Qatari and Kuwaiti bank accounts, ends up flowing through.  And it's not like Turkey have been rabidly searching for a way to bring Assad down for nearly 3 years now.

Oh no.  It's because IS is really afraid of the Turkish military.  Or something.

[Junkenstein]

And it's not like Turkey have been rabidly searching for a way to bring Assad down for nearly 3 years now.

And they've been really subtle about it during that time too. 

Increasingly convinced that the hardest part of geopolitics is keeping a straight face. I'm starting to suspect ambassadors spend quite a lot of time laughing.

[Junkenstein]

Daily Quiz -

Was this:

"The problem is not that we're facing a fringe of crazy people, a sort of weird cult confined to a few fanatics.

"If it was, we could probably root it out, kill or imprison its leaders, deter its followers and close the doors to new recruits."

Said by Blair, or by the IS leadership?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29305840

It's Blair of course, arguing for invasion in full.

Mid 2015 I'm guessing. Give whoever wins the election an easy and obvious military target, lets them flog Arms to the usual suspects all while offering "logistical support". Business as normal, to resume after Cameron and Co have packed their bags.

I would have guessed sooner, but that's not the best way to extract donations from BAE and such. Drag it out and build it up for another year to get a nice spike in sales.

[Cain]

It is a crazy cult of fringe people though.  10,000 members is not huge.  It's big, for a terrorist/insurgent organisation, but in the vast scheme of things....well, the US military has 3.2 million members, for example.  Blair has been one step shy of outright calling all Muslims tacit supporters of fundamentalism for years now.

That said, an invasion is more likely to succeed than the current plan, which involves dropping bombs from very great heights, and expecting the Peshmerga, Iraqi Army and Syrian rebels to do the heavy lifting on the ground.  The Peshmerga now has the arms it needs, but training in their use will take a while.  The Iraqi Army are utterly hopeless, and the Syrian rebels are making truces with ISIS to fight Assad.  Under the current plan, the civil war in Syria gets bloodier, ISIS retreat and retrench in major Iraqi and Syrian population centres and we either call off the bombing campaign or else slaughter thousands of civilians...thus confirming the arguments of ISIS.

[Suu]

Afghani army soldiers have disappeared from a base on Cape Cod.

Everyone is now screaming ISIS and that we're all going to die, which means it's apparent that they can't read acronyms. My guess is that good patriotic Americans took these boys for a ride. They're going to show up headless, and people are going to cheer. Just what we always wanted, especially in New England. Americans acting like becoming terrorists.

[Cain]

I'm hopeful they just wandered off to do some sightseeing and got lost...but given they're all officers, I have to say it does not look good.  Then again, if I was an officer in the Afghan Army, I'd probably consider a career as an illegal immigrant in the USA if I had the chance.

[Junkenstein]

This is bizzare. I've played around with a couple of possible motives but nothing's jumping out at me as making any kind of sense.

At this point, I'm assuming they've been "requested" somewhere for an "Intelligence briefing" or somesuch. Or as the kids say, "dragged to Gitmo for a beat and board".

The only others I can think of that sound plausible-ish are screaming lunatic paranoia. Probably.

[Suu]

I wouldn't want to go back home, either.

But having the public going "OMG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIEEEEEE" isn't helping.

[Suu]

Also, they went missing from the mall. THE MALL. 2 days ago. Like they haven't been able to pull up surveillance footage yet?

[Junkenstein]

Where do you think you live, some kind of surveillance state?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Also, they went missing from the mall. THE MALL. 2 days ago. Like they haven't been able to pull up surveillance footage yet?

This post makes me giggle.  Not in a healthy way, but it's still a laugh.

[Suu]

Where do you think you live, some kind of surveillance state?

Sorry, we're aren't the UK.