Syria/Iraq Roundup - 17 December 2016

Iraq

The Golden Division of the ISF has reportedly lost 50% of its troops in the Mosul battle thus far.  Field Marshal Ashton Carter was out there recently to buck up the "fellows."  It must have been an interesting set of discussions.  IMO the Iraqis lack the will to take Mosul and the Kurds see it as yet another Sunni Arab city full of people who, like those who are leaving east Aleppo in Syria, are really jihadi supporters.  The IS are well dug in at Mosul and it will be necessary to destroy much of the city to re-capture it.  I wonder what Mikey Flynn will say about that.

Syria

It is cold and wet and nasty out in the field in Syria.  That slows everything down.  When your clothes are freezing stiff you don't think about much but getting warm. 

The dastardly propagandists of the Western media continue to suggest that parts of east Aleppo are still in the hands of the takfiri rats, but that is untrue.  The government controls the whole city.  The jihadis are just waiting for the bus.  Part of the agreement for surrender was that the long besieged Shia villages of Kafraya and Fu'a, a few miles north of Idlib City, would be allowed to evacuate their wounded and sick to government lines.  The takfiri rats stopped that evacuation and in retaliation Shia militias in Aleppo halted the outflow of jihadis and their dependents.   That will be sorted out.  I am curious to know how many people actually were in the jihadi enclave at the end. 

I am saddened to learn that the UK government has sent a military mission consisting of 20 officers with ranks up to brigadier to re-establish the military capabilities of escaped and defeated "moderate" FSA unicorns.  These unicorns are refugees from the debacle at Aleppo.   Well, pilgrims, where are the Brits going to do this training, etc.?  Perhaps the unicorn jihadis will be trucked around through Hatay to the area under Turkish Army control between Al-Bab and the Turkish border.  There are some SAS types guarding the trainers and in that area they would be fairly secure.  OTOH, if they try to do their job inside Idlib Province the UK government should prepare to receive some body bags with full ceremony.  pl  

Comments

[mike allen]

A white-bearded Mosuli gives his sword to the Commander of the Iraqi CTS. Is this a matter of respect or a formal surrender by a tribal elder?

http://www.alhurra.com/a/iraq-isis-/339911.html

[kooshy]

Babak during our elementary school ( shah' time) we were told lion is Imam Ali , sword is zolfaghar his sword, sun was Islam coming up lightning the universe, red was resistance to hostilities,( defense with blood) white was peace in center and back ground of sun, and green was color of Islam which was the religion of Iran. But Mary Boyce in her researched history of Zoroastrian, believes many of this symbols are related to pre Islamic period.

[The Beaver]

Oh oh The Syrian Ambassador at the UN has listed all the names today during an UNSC session

[mike allen]

Kooshy & Babak -

Thank you for the response. Interesting on the colors and the history.

But I thought MKO was a Marxist organization. And that they played an active part in the downfall of the Shah. They supported Ayatollah Khomeini until 1981. So why would they wave a monarchist flag?

I suspect the flag belonged to a supporter of the Iran National Council:

http://irannc.org/

[kooshy]

Mike- here, you can pick your own favorite national council of iran in exile there are many,

National Council of Resistance of Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Resistance_of_Iran

National Council of Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Iran

https://www.niacouncil.org/
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC)

As for questions on MKO, I think best is to ask Rudy Giuliani,Newt Gingrich, Howard Dean, and others.

[kooshy]

Mike here is one more i missed in case you didn't like any earlier one.

National Resistance Movement of Iran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Resistance_Movement_of_Iran

[kooshy]

Mike, there are the flags in Paris

"Joint Demonstration by the Syrian Opposition and the Iranian Resistance in Paris"
http://ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights/21742-joint-demonstration-by-the-syrian-opposition-and-the-iranian-resistance-in-paris

As Iranians say, sum of these, wouldn't add up to an underwear for Fati