[Far-Right Sage]

This is great, and flea-bitten rat puppet henchmen can only respond with mortar fire as they trip over themselves in retreat. Mortar fire which is more likely to wound or kill UN personnel than Syrian soldiers.

Syrian army advances as rebels rain down Damascus

The Syrian army Saturday advanced against the rebels in the countryside of the capital Damascus and pushed its way to the northern city of Aleppo, as the rebels rained down Damascus with mortar shells, media reported.

In a bid to secure the heart of Al-Ghouta, the eastern countryside of Damascus, the Syrian army started an operation in the al-Baharieh town to close in on the rebels and push its way to the town of Nashabieh, Xinhua reported.

Both towns are part of Ghouta, which is overwhelmed by several rebel factions.

Reports said the progress in Aleppo came after the Syria troops secured an international road that connects the central province of Hama with Aleppo, thus allowing the country's trade to be revived between northern Syria and the southern part.

Around the highway, the Syrian army also dislodged the rebels from 40 villages, according to the report.

The army regained the town of Abu Jurain in the countryside of Aleppo Saturday and besieged the town of Sufaira, a key strategic rebel stronghold.

Reports said stripping the rebels of Sufaira would deal a strong blow to the armed opposition, whose several Islamic factions have been entrenched in Aleppo for over a year.

During the recent actions near Aleppo, the Syrian army had dismantled more than 600 anti-tanks mines and 1,500 explosive devices, according to the state media.

Reports said the Syrian troops' push toward Aleppo came apparently as part of a tactic to take advantage of the infighting that has flared between radical Islamist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 50 rebels had been killed over the past three days amid infighting between the two rebel factions.

The rebels in the hotspots surrounding Damascus fired multiple mortar shells against several districts, killing at least five people, including an eight-year-old girl.

The first three mortars landed respectively at the Shalaan district, Najmeh Square and Abu-Rummaneh areas in the heart of Damascus. Another two shells struck a residential area in the Damascus' suburb of Jaramana, killing at least four people and injuring many others.

The mortar attacks were part of the endless wave of attacks the rebels have been resorting to in a bid to wobble the government's grip on the heavily-fortified capital.

The escalating conflicts between the rebels and government troops continue amid international efforts to hold a conference addressing the Syria crisis in Geneva by mid-November.

The time may come to exterminate the human garbage occupying Aleppo's neighborhoods. Syrian forces recently liberated Khanasir as well, near Aleppo and are bearing down on rats who are now killing each other.

Hopefully no prisoners. It would be a grave sin to waste one morsel of food, one ounce of energy on one POW. They should be annihilated where they stand, excluding those who can be tortured for intel before being tossed down the sewer. Now is the time. So good to see the Syrian Arab Army taking the initiative.

Meanwhile:

Scores die as rebel factions fight in Aleppo

At least 44 fighters killed in three-day battle between rival factions despite al-Qaeda chief urging groups to unite.

Clashes between rival rebel factions left at least 44 fighters dead in battles to control neighbourhoods in the city of Aleppo, an activist group said.

The three days of fighting was between al-Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and a rival group formerly known as Ghurabaa al-Sham.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday 14 of the dead belonged to ISIS, which was able to control three neighbourhoods in Aleppo.

Rebel groups have become increasingly fractured, and enabling fighters linked to al-Qaeda to assume prominent roles in battle.

In an audio message on Friday, the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, urged fighters in Syria to "rise above organisational loyalties and party partisanship'' to unite and set up an Islamic state.

He suggested he would not impose unity, saying that "what you agree upon will also be our choice".

Two al-Qaeda-linked groups have emerged; Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS. The first is commanded by a Syrian, the second by an Iraqi, but both are believed to be loyal to Zawahri.

Mortar shells on Damascus

Meanwhile, a child was killed and several people injured after two mortar shells hit Syria's capital near a hotel where international chemical weapons inspectors and United Nations staff are staying, state media and a hotel guest said on Saturday.

The blasts in the upscale Abu Roumaneh area of Damascus killed an eight-year-old girl and wounded 11 other people, the SANA news agency said.

The girl was in her family car near the school when she was killed, said the Observatory.

The blasts struck some 300 meters away from the Four Seasons Hotel where the chemical weapons inspectors and UN staff are staying.

A UN employee staying there said it did not appear that the hotel was affected by the explosions.

Syrian rebels routinely fire mortar shells from the outskirts of Damascus at city neighbourhoods controlled by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

Inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and UN staff have been in Syria for the past two weeks to destroy the country's chemical weapons stockpile.

The OPCW inspectors have so far visited three sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons program, though the agency has not provided details.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/10/scores-die-as-rebel-factions-fight-aleppo-2013101321712283178.html

They say with rats, put enough of them in a hole or tank when they are hungry and desperate, and they will begin eating their own kind alive. It seems these bastards are living up to the code of their species.

Good. Fewer bullets to waste later.

[Rei Murasame]

It would truly be ironic, if despite everything, the Sunni rebels would now turn on each other and wipe out all the gains that they've made, over some petty doctrinal disagreement that has no effect on the day to day operations of the Islamic state they are trying to set up.

I actually did not expect that they'd be this stupid.

[pikachu]

Yeah the last couple of weeks have been fairly eventful for the SAA, perhaps I should revise my recent assessment that the government troops are very slowly losing territory. I guess it's still a stalemate after all.

Hopefully no prisoners.

Don't worry, both sides stopped taking prisoners looong time ago.

[Igor Antunov]

Prior to this the SAA advanced significantly. After a breather they are now doing it again. I like their gradual strategy.

[Maas]

Don't worry, both sides stopped taking prisoners looong time ago.

It's even a kind of a flip of the coin who executes the most civilians.

[AVT]

It appears that the momentum has indeed shifted but it will be a long hard fought slog for the SAA to regain Aleppo, I would expect the opposition to reunify once they are faced with the reality of the threat. I think the US has come to the decision that they cannot support the rebels as they are increasingly dominated by jihadists, so they are going for the slow burn. Assad may very well win this war, but the casualties and damage they experience doing it will mean that Syria will be weakened for decades to come.

[Tschaggatta]

Yeah the last couple of weeks have been fairly eventful for the SAA, perhaps I should revise my recent assessment that the government troops are very slowly losing territory. I guess it's still a stalemate after all.

South Syria is a nightmare for Assad forces. All the reinforcements from Jordan are there and are pressing.

[Rainbow Crow]

It's ridiculous that years into the war, Assad still can't secure the capital.

[Far-Right Sage]

It appears that the momentum has indeed shifted but it will be a long hard fought slog for the SAA to regain Aleppo, I would expect the opposition to reunify once they are faced with the reality of the threat. I think the US has come to the decision that they cannot support the rebels as they are increasingly dominated by jihadists, so they are going for the slow burn. Assad may very well win this war, but the casualties and damage they experience doing it will mean that Syria will be weakened for decades to come.

Yes, unfortunately (in reference to the extensive beating Syria is taking in the grinding process of liberating all of its land) I believe that's a distinct possibility.

The liberation of the whole of the country and rescue of the state from the jaws of the abyss shared by so many Arab nationalist leaderships before it will be a monumental victory, but there's no doubt the war has set Syria back for a generation or more.

South Syria is a nightmare for Assad forces. All the reinforcements from Jordan are there and are pressing.

I wouldn't say that at all. The problem near the Jordanian border is that the CIA and MI6 are presently training Syrian insurgents, a mix of Islamists and others, on Jordanian soil with Amman's permission (or simple lack of will to oppose, as the Saudis are also pushing hard). This area was originally targeted by analysts who believed it would be ideal to springboard an offensive and at least create a buffer zone - A zone carved out by insurgents backed by the Jordan-based intelligence units directing an offensive fr0m over the border with the southern city of Daraa sought out as the prize; the new Benghazi. So far they haven't captured Daraa and are no closer to doing so, and what's more, major assaults spearheaded by them have been thrown back over the Jordanian border and successfully contained by Syrian forces.

It's ridiculous that years into the war, Assad still can't secure the capital.

It's not ridiculous at all if one understands the nature of this war and all like it, and what that entails for any entity waging a protracted struggle against an insurgency with powerful regional and international backing.

The capital is secured in the sense that Damascus city, not the suburbs, is fully under control and life in the city centre is functioning with people working and enjoying recreation and leisure as well as can be expected.

[AVT]

It's not ridiculous at all if one understands the nature of this war and all like it, and what that entails for any entity waging a protracted struggle against an insurgency with powerful regional and international backing.

The capital is secured in the sense that Damascus city, not the suburbs, is fully under control and life in the city centre is functioning with people working and enjoying recreation and leisure as well as can be expected.

Yes that was my take as well, no government can safeguard against terrorist bombings like the one against the Damascus TV, but that doesn't mean they are not in control strategically of the city. The regime still has all the resources being produced by the city and freedom to move assets around the core areas with ease. If anything they have just bypassed certain rebel held areas to not waste resources on outer suburbs that are of no strategic value and are isolated pockets.

The real game changer will be if Assad chooses not to run again for President. If he doesn't and allows at least semi free elections in government held areas it will completely destroy the wests hand against the regime. What ever happens Assad has done remarkably well to turn the tide, put up far more of a fight than Gaddaffi with Russian and Iranian help.

[pikachu]

It's ridiculous that years into the war, Assad still can't secure the capital.

Well it seems to me that the full scale rebellion in the Damascus suburbs only started in late 2012-early 2013, before that there were constant skirmishes but the rebels were mostly suppressed by superior firepower, not eliminated. In Douma the government patrols and administration continued as if the city was under control, but in reality everyone knew that this was a rebel stronghold waiting to explode given the opportunity. Since the explosion, it has not even been a year really.

And yes, given that the area is one of the most highly populated in all of Syria and has one of the highest concentration of the impoverished Sunni suburbs, it makes sense that it would be the scene of a major battle and it would take a very long time to clear it. If the rebels lost Damascus suburbs, they will have lost the war entirely.

[Bulaba Khan Jones]

Well it seems to me that the full scale rebellion in the Damascus suburbs only started in late 2012-early 2013, before that there were constant skirmishes but the rebels were mostly suppressed by superior firepower, not eliminated. In Douma the government patrols and administration continued as if the city was under control, but in reality everyone knew that this was a rebel stronghold waiting to explode given the opportunity. Since the explosion, it has not even been a year really.

And yes, given that the area is one of the most highly populated in all of Syria and has one of the highest concentration of the impoverished Sunni suburbs, it makes sense that it would be the scene of a major battle and it would take a very long time to clear it. If the rebels lost Damascus suburbs, they will have lost the war entirely.

Things certainly appear to be looking up for Syria, but I'm skeptical about the outcome of this war. Not that the Syrian government and the Army are incompetent or incapable of regaining ground, which they are consistently doing now that they have finally absorbed the shock of the rebellion and consolidated their positions, but rather whether or not Western/Saudi powers can keep terrorist groups rampaging through villages and cities along Syria's borders. The north of the country is still largely in rebel/Kurd hands, and there are pockets of the same groups elsewhere. Although I would imagine that the Syrian Army is well on the road to victory at this point, and will continue to consolidate territory and push forward, I wonder if "clandestine" Western/Saudi backing will intensify and make it difficult for the SAA to fully regain the south/northeast.

[GandalfTheGrey]

So what about those extra fighters Saudi Arabia is supposed to be pumping in to Syria? Appears they are not having much of an effect - at least not yet.

[Canis_Lupus]

This article by Edward N. Luttwak probably sums it up. He was surprisingly honest. In Syria, America loses if either side wins. Therefore the U.S foreign policy makers will prolong this war as long as possible. In my opinion, neither Israel nor the USA are interested in preserving the Syrian state. Their end goal is the total destruction of Syria as a nation state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/opini ... .html?_r=0

Title: In Syria, America Loses if Either Side Wins - NYTimes.com
Author: By EDWARD N. LUTTWAK
Publication: The New York Times
Publisher: The New York Times
Date: Aug 24, 2013
Copyright © 2013, The New York Times Company

Edward N. Luttwak is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the author of “Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace.”

There is only one outcome that the United States can possibly favour: an indefinite draw.

Fully in agreement.

[pikachu]

The most gains that rebels made since summer have been in Daraa province on Jordanian border, in fact I think that's about the only place where they made net gains thus far, so maybe that's the effect you're looking for.

Aside from that the Saudis are busy organizing alternatives to the SNC, ever since it became clear that it had no future. Its main project in this regard is reported to be tied to the name Zahran Alloush, the head of Liwa al Islam who had recently declared the formation of a new "Army of Islam" consisting of about 50 brigades. While it explicitly rejects democracy as incompatible with sharia, it is also considered to be the "mainline salafist" alliance promoted by the Saudis as a counterweight to the Qatari-sponsored jihadists, and intended to be more explicitly under Saudi control. Speaking of Damascus suburbs, this force is known to be by far the most prominent in the area. Should Damascus ever fall, this is the group that is most likely to run the show in the capital afterwards.

[Rich]

it is also considered to be the "mainline salafist" alliance promoted by the Saudis as a counterweight to the Qatari-sponsored jihadists, and intended to be more explicitly under Saudi control.

I've never quite understood the differences between the Saudis and the Qatatris. Am I right in saying the Saudis never liked the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt either?

[pikachu]

Apparently not. So the media is telling us anyway, and it does seem to be true judging by the KSA's behavior, their statements and their actions would indicate as much. I have no idea why it is that the Qataris managed to align themselves so well with the Brotherhood, but the Saudis and Emirates couldn't or didn't want to replicate this - I mean they're all absolute monarchies run by Wahhabi royal families, so it doesn't seem to be that much of an ideological issue. But the Saudi-MB relationship seems to vary somewhat from country to country. For example, the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood branch is a mindfuck in its own right. It is a part of the same party which also includes Salafists supported by Saudi Arabia, internationally-known jihadists wanted by the US, AND pro-west "liberals" who receive nobel peace prizes. I'm not even kidding, they're all card-carrying members of the same political party, known as al-Islah. This party's relationship with KSA is said to be fairly good.

I was never even aware of the seemingly intense Qatari-Saudi rivalry until the Arab Spring, but now it turns out that they've been quarreling for a while. Qatar to Saudi Arabia is in many ways like Ukraine is to Russia, a small but wayward relative who tries to play his own game against his big brother's wishes, and successfully resists the latter's integration efforts.

[Oxymoron]

There is only one outcome that the United States can possibly favour: an indefinite draw.

That would be a win win

[Igor Antunov]

I've always wondered how subjecting a people to perpetual slaughter is a win-win policy for anyone other than the resident psychotics among us

IF you want an idea of what the mythical hell would be like, go participate in war as a civilian. Your mind on this issue will change promptly. Pumping arms to so many disperate, leaderless groups is beyond reckless.

[Far-Right Sage]

It's a win-win for those who wish to reduce a hostile or independent state's population, finances, infrastructure, military capacity, freedom of action, etc. This is essentially what the war on Syria is about - Trying to cripple the last secular Arab nationalist government in the region and a partner of Iran. The Israeli ambassador to the UN openly said as much (the quote about letting both sides "bleed each other"). That such people and those who are in league with such people can even organize a puppet "Friends of Syria" meeting in a third party country is just testament to the success of the Orwellian political language today, and the ruthlessness of the class which employs it.