IMO the Battle of East Aleppo will be over soon. R+6 is carving up what is left of the pocket like a Christmas "Turkey" (Heh! Heh!). The Sheikh Sa'eed neighborhood at the south end of the kessel fell today, and a massive drive westward is underway from the area of Aleppo International Airport toward the citadel of Aleppo. At the same time the Tiger Forces and Palestinian militia are pressing south from the lines they held yesterday along the east-west highway at the "waist" of the former East Aleppo pocket. IMO the pocket will be gone in a few days.
At the same time civilians are fleeing to government lines en masse where they are transported to reception camps and provided food, water, shelter and medical care. The Russians have been moving mobile field hospitals into the Aleppo area to provide more capacity.
The lying US and European media are, of course, portraying the situation as something very different. In Mediaworld, the people of east Aleppo are fleeing from the government. I ask you, pilgrims, to what place would civilians be fleeing in trying to escape the government? The east Aleppo pocket is entirely surrounded by government allied force. Evidently a lot of media halfwits cannot read a map. The statement is also made in Mediaworld that there is a shortage of drinking water in east Aleppo. There is no mention in Mediaworld of the rebels' use of drinking water as an instrument for reward and punishment of civilians. There is also no mention of the SAA's capture of the city water works a couple of days ago and their ongoing efforts to turn the water back on.
Someone should explain to Madeleine Albright what the actual situation is in Syria. pl
Oh my god... I just read this a minute ago: "Syria's Aleppo loses clown who warmed war-torn hearts". You can guess who did it. Lest you think I'm making this up, here's a link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrias-aleppo-loses-clown-warmed-war-torn-hearts-184922980.html
This is either desperation, or trolling, or they're conducting an experiment with how ridiculous they can get before people completely stop believing them...
Posted by: Timothy Hagios | 30 November 2016 at 09:37 PM
Oops - the link to the very bad -naughty russian -deviant propagandermeisters actually works if you remove the last period from the link. :-)
Posted by: DavidKNZ | 30 November 2016 at 09:49 PM
11 years ago. I was not aware of SST, so its been a learning curve, hopefully in the right direction. Even if I have been lurking awhile.
However, it does seem to me that Propornot is a new (cyberwar) development, and if you look at the site, one that has LARGE amounts of time, money and effort channelled in its direction.
"Follow the money" is not new advice, but I would be interested in the identity of the paymaster
Posted by: DavidKNZ | 30 November 2016 at 10:01 PM
Some of the slandered sites are preparing a legal counter. You could go to NakedCapitalism for some details on legal preparations. Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone has an excellent, contemptuous dismissal of this MSM charade.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/washington-post-blacklist-story-is-shameful-disgusting-w452543
In my view the Post story was so hamhanded that it will deservedly blow up in their faces.
Posted by: hemeantwell | 30 November 2016 at 10:36 PM
You have to admire the efficiency of pro-Assad forces, especially the Russians.
Posted by: F-35 | 01 December 2016 at 12:57 AM
All, The Beaver,
I am puzzled about how the Israeli airforce managed to fly airplanes to bomb near Damascus through the Russian umbrella. There are three possible explanations.
1. The news is false and SAA is covering for a more embarrassing explanation
2. Russia allowed Israel to fly a mission and bomb near Damascus
3. The Russian defense system is not as good as advertised.
I judge 1 most likely, though it raises the question what happened. Friendly Fire? If 3, then there are serious implications. if 2, it is very curious from a political point of view.
Posted by: ISL | 01 December 2016 at 02:01 AM
Calling them "Rebels" merely reinforces the borg narrative. Really they are not even terrorists, although they should be treated even worse than one. The majority are merely blood thirsty mercenaries, Hillary's army.
Posted by: Kenny | 01 December 2016 at 04:33 AM
All,
http://www.jta.org/2016/11/30/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/israeli-airstrikes-reportedly-hit-syrian-army-position-hezbollah-arms-convoy
Posted by: Cee | 01 December 2016 at 05:20 AM
Kenny
What would you like me to call them? what would the rest of you want me to call them? pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 01 December 2016 at 08:19 AM
DavidKNZ
I recommend the search function on SST to you. BTW I started SST 11 years ago in response to internet carriers' objections to the number of addees to whom I was sending a newsletter. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 01 December 2016 at 08:40 AM
From what I read (somewhere I cannot recall) they stayed in Lebanon air space and shot from there, that may explain why the Russians didn't want to put them down.
Posted by: jld | 01 December 2016 at 09:09 AM
Jihadists
Posted by: LG | 01 December 2016 at 09:18 AM
@ ISL
From what I have read so far , it could be #2.
Looks like those living in Southern Lebanon saw the IAF planes.
The Israelis, though not commenting on that strike, thought that they were bombarding Hizb'Allah building but it seemed that there were no casulaties
Posted by: The Beaver | 01 December 2016 at 09:42 AM
Sunni Muslim Illegal Fighters - Sunni Muslim Jihadists
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 01 December 2016 at 10:01 AM
My source for the statement is lost in a pile of reports but I think it's within the last 24 hours I saw it, possibly in a Sputnik report on Aleppo. Anyhow, it said that terrorists were dug in among buildings/monuments of historical importance that are situated very close together. And that there are a lot of civilians packed into the area.
So I'd assume this is in the old city.
Can't recall whether the report noted this point or I inferred it, but clearly fighting under those conditions could be slow work. In particular if SAA is concerned that the bad guys have set mines among the monuments.
As to whether these holdouts are the last significant number of terrorists in E. Aleppo, that wasn't mentioned. As to a reliable estimate of how many holdouts are left in total, I haven't seen one.
Posted by: Pundita | 01 December 2016 at 11:22 AM
In reply to Kenny 01 December 2016 at 04:33 AM
Since March 6th 2011 and Daraa protests the slogan of the rebels has been "الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام" look it up.
The overwhelming majority of those in arms against the Syrian government are Syrian citizens. Yes they're getting support from abroad yes that support includes foreign fighters neither of those two facts alters the fundamental reality that you cannot run either an insurrection or a civil war with anything other than an overwhelming majority of locals in your armed forces.
I repeat the overwhelming majority of those who have taken up arms against the Syrian government are Syrian citizens in armed rebellion against that government. It's not all about you and the actions and factions of the American political class. Get used to it.
Posted by: Dubhaltach | 01 December 2016 at 11:22 AM
I don't pretend to know what is true about the White Helmets, but assuming the worst suspicions of them is correct, I wouldn't expect to find that out from the MSM. They have their story about Syria and they aren't going to change it no matter what turns out to be true. The average person isn't going to learn any different if they rely on the press. The fallback position will be that the heroic Syrian rebels were crushed because the US didn't provide assistance. The NYT was basically pushing that narrative in a story a few days ago.
Posted by: Donald | 01 December 2016 at 12:12 PM
Col. Lang, their primary objective is the establishment of Sharia Law, which comes after wresting control from the regime who they refer to as unbelievers.
They are Jihadists.
Posted by: Peter in Toronto | 01 December 2016 at 12:59 PM
I suppose #2 would be consistent with no reports of antimissiles being fired. Although I have ready impressive things about the S-400, they mostly were aimed at intercepting firing platforms and large missiles at distance, and I don't recall if it also addresses near field airborne missiles, too. Certainly the response time from radar lock to firing on an incoming missile (but not the airplane) is going to be real quick.
Posted by: ISL | 01 December 2016 at 01:34 PM
The legal codes in many Muslim states are either based on Sharia or are partially incorporating them. That is not the issue with Jihadists.
Jihadists are motivated, as far as I can tell, in propagating their own specific ideas of what a Muslim dispensation should look like. Anyone opposed to them - be they Muslim or not - is considered to be an enemy.
They are not Traditionalists but Revolutionaries, in my opinion.
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 01 December 2016 at 02:10 PM
The jihadists remind me a lot of our Communists in the Twenties and Thirties. As much as I don´t like their aims and their ideology I have to admit that I admire their guts and fighting spirit. I also understand how their propaganda could be appealing to young people. Nobody ever died to hack off somebodies head. Those young Nazi soldiers fought for "Europe" for a classless society, for the betterment of mankind.Not to create Auschwitz. It were always lofty goals, peace and equality (and Islam is a very "political" religion) that people died for.
Looking at todays recipes for a good life to be lived that society offers young people in Europe - no sacrifice, no goals, just material gain and endless instant gratification - I very well understand how some of the very best headed to Syria. Revolutionary young people indeed being exploited by cynical older people.
Posted by: Tom | 01 December 2016 at 02:49 PM
Liver-eaters or head-choppers sounds about right.
Posted by: Frank | 01 December 2016 at 03:47 PM
Sorry Dub, but citizen rebels don't have TOW's, sidewinders and hellfires and don't use residents as human shields. They also cannot withstand a seige for weeks on end. Most of all rebels don't continually and randomly mortar their neighbors just out of spite. Why were people continually dying in west aleppo from mortars?
Posted by: Kenny | 01 December 2016 at 03:59 PM
No way just Sharia. There was recently the case of the jihadist who had been making gay porn.
Like the youth on the entire planet, they are under a large degree of mind control. Only their mind control apparently often includes suicide, murder and torture. There has been talk of the type of speed or MDA that they are all on, and the type of drug people are taking certainly influences the type of mind control. And also consider how they behaved in Cologne on New Years 2016.
Posted by: Kenny | 01 December 2016 at 04:09 PM
How about "CIA agents"? In any case certainly not Rebel, the Confederacy has been besmirched far too much by the Obama regime already. I think it is racist for the Obama regime to all any non-European's rebels. It is cultural appropriation of the concept of what a "Rebel" is.
Posted by: Kenny | 01 December 2016 at 04:12 PM