Cyprus-Forum.com

[repulsewarrior]

...either way, i would have assumed that a demonstration for or against 'war' would draw more crowds.

[Paphitis]

Only 150 people have turned up at a demonstration against Russian military involvement in the Syrian war

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/m ... 28299.html

There are at least 150 Russians who Putin can’t lie to. You wait. This is going to be a harder sell than Ukraine.

This is ridiculous!

Don’t you feel embarrassed going on about a demonstration of 150 in a country of 143 million?

No quite pleased as a matter of fact because there are 150 people willing to show their opposition. It is a small microcosm, whiuch indicates millions more who are silent.

It starts from within, and people are now understanding the lies and deceit of Putin.

It is only the beginning.

Bear in mind also, that Ruissia is not like the USA where people are free to demonstrate and oppose their Government. In Russia, freedoms are not so simple.

[Paphitis]

An American soldier was killed in a joint US-Iraqi operation in Iraq (which succeeded in freeing 70 Kurdish hostages held by Daesh).

http://www.bbc.com/news/34607471

It seems, contrary to initial reports, that no Kurds were among the seventy people rescued in that operation:

About 70 hostages were rescued, defence officials said, including Sunni Arabs, 20 Iraqi security force members and IS members being held as suspected spies. No Kurds were rescued, the Pentagon and Kurdish officials said, despite initial reports to the contrary.
A Kurdish intelligence source however told the BBC only 17 were rescued, all former IS militants. He said the operation's aim was to capture prisoners who had defied orders of their IS leaders.

http://www.bbc.com/news/34607471

So they now have seventy people who know Daesh from the inside but are now obviously Daesh haters (presumably so given that Daesh was about to execute them). Now, I can see how these people will be useful in the offensive that appears to be about to start. Interesting. Perhaps that’s why American ground troops were involved.

This is great news Tim, and it looks like a major victory for us.

The amount of intelligence that will be gathered should help us quite a lot.

[Get Real!]

Request for McCain Investigation for Narcotics Trafficking and War Crimes

In addition, it has been reported by Afghan media, Afghan individuals and other western media that intelligence services such as the CIA and MI6 are involved in the drug trafficking in Afghanistan. It has also been alleged that some U.S. Senators, who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are profiting from the drug trafficking such as through the provision of necessary chemicals to convert the raw opium to heroin.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/10/23/378169/

[Get Real!]

Bear in mind also, that Ruissia is not like the USA where people are free to demonstrate and oppose their Government. In Russia, freedoms are not so simple.

You never fail to take your stupidity to a new level each day...

[Paphitis]

Bear in mind also, that Ruissia is not like the USA where people are free to demonstrate and oppose their Government. In Russia, freedoms are not so simple.

You never fail to take your stupidity to a new level each day...

Stupidity? Really?

In the USA you can do anything you like and hold demonstrations against the Government as long as you don't harm individuals, property or public assets. This is the main reason why the USA has many friends and allies. most countries identify with the democratic freedoms and human rights such a society offers and therefore, the USA has 60 countries within its coalition whereas Russia enjoys very little to no support globally.

In Russia, if you did that, then the Government will harm either you or your family.

[Tim Drayton]

Only 150 people have turned up at a demonstration against Russian military involvement in the Syrian war

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/m ... 28299.html

There are at least 150 Russians who Putin can’t lie to. You wait. This is going to be a harder sell than Ukraine.

This is ridiculous!

Don’t you feel embarrassed going on about a demonstration of 150 in a country of 143 million?

I have great admiration for those 150 people who are prepared to stand up against a vicious and corrupt dictator.

Has it occurred to you that, if, as seems likely, Russia ends up getting bogged down in a quagmire in Syria, those numbers will grow? Let us wait until the initial euphoria dies down and more and more people realise that Russia's goal in Syria is not to fight Daesh, at least not until it has put the genie back in the bottle and restored the Assad dictatorship. Incidentally, genies tend not to go back into bottles.

[Tim Drayton]

Some interesting reporting on that operation to release hostages from a Daesh prison from the website Daesh Daily, which posts comments from all of the sources it can find (and translates those in Arabic into English), and has also added its own comment.

The Pentagon says one American was killed in a successful U.S. military operation to rescue dozens of hostages who “faced imminent mass execution” in Hawija. [CNN]

A security source in Kirkuk says US Special Forces raided a Daesh prison in Fadhikha, a village 10 km (6 miles) east of Hawija. The prison was formerly the home of a judge. American troops in 5 Chinook helicopters, supported by jets, drones and Iraqi troops, conducted the operation. They rescued a large but so far unspecified number of prisoners—estimated in the dozens—including former Daesh members, killed many Daesh fighters, and then destroyed the prison. The source says the operation was conducted after several airstrikes on nearby areas. The operation led to the arrest of Daesh’s wali of Hawija and its military commander. Most of Daesh’s leaders in Hawija are missing after the operation. [Mada]

A second security source says the operation was conducted by American troops and Peshmerga and resulted in killing 80 Daesh terrorists and capturing 5. [Sumaria]

A later CBS News report described the operation as conducted by 30 US personnel in five helicopters and Kurdish commandos that rescued 70 hostages. An NBC News report said that the Kurds requested US help because many Kurdish prisoners were in small cages and about to be executed, but none of the hostages rescued were Kurds. The Kurds attacked the prison, met resistance, but were then backed up by the US force.
The Kurdish version gives most of the credit to the Kurds. The Kurdistan Region Security Council says it gathered information about a Daesh prison 7 km (4 miles) north of Hawija and conducted a successful operation, supported by Coalition airpower, to take over the prison and release 69 prisoners, none of them Kurdish. The report doesn’t mention US paratroopers as part of the “Coalition airpower.” It says an American soldier was killed and 3 Peshmerga fighters wounded, while 30 Daesh armed men were killed and 6 captured. The Kurdish troops then pulled back to their bases and sent the hostages for medical checkups. [Rudaw]

The Daesh version of the story is that American troops conducted a “failed” airborne operation on a prison in the village of Al-Masnna’ north of Hawija at 2 am. Daesh says American jets, 4 Chinooks and 2 Apaches participated in the operation and bombed the road between Hawija and the prison and the areas surrounding the prison before the airborne troops clashed with 6 Daesh guards for 2 hours before bombing the prison and killing most of the prisoners and taking others away, none of them from the Peshmerga. Daesh says many American soldiers were killed or wounded in the operation while only 3 Daesh guards were killed and 3 wounded. [Twitter]

A security source says the American operation in Hawija was very difficult because it was done in one of Daesh’s most important strongholds. He says the troops managed to free all the hostages. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. This development was a total surprise. Whether it sets a precedent for future Special Forces raids in Iraq is an open and intriguing question. Similar raids have been conducted in Syria, however. At the moment, this sudden appearance of American troops on the ground has to be encouraging to both Iraq and the Kurds, maybe not to Daesh.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find the above a whole lot more impressive than dropping bombs at random over areas where Assad’s opponents are operating and killing innocent citizens instead.

[Tim Drayton]

From acorns mighty oaks do grow.

May 2, 1964: The first major student demonstrations against the Vietnam War take place in New York City. 400-1000 students march through Times Square to the United Nations to protest what was then called "US intervention" in Vietnam.

April 17, 1965: A coalition of Students for Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)and other activists organizes a massive anti-war march on Washington, D.C. Organizers had expected about 2000 marchers. The actual count was about 25,0000.

April 15, 1967: Spring Mobilization to End the War (MOBE). 400,000 march in Anti-Vietnam War protest from Central Park in New York to the United Nations building.

The trend continued.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacificaviet.html

[Paphitis]

Some interesting reporting on that operation to release hostages from a Daesh prison from the website Daesh Daily, which posts comments from all of the sources it can find (and translates those in Arabic into English), and has also added its own comment.

The Pentagon says one American was killed in a successful U.S. military operation to rescue dozens of hostages who “faced imminent mass execution” in Hawija. [CNN]

A security source in Kirkuk says US Special Forces raided a Daesh prison in Fadhikha, a village 10 km (6 miles) east of Hawija. The prison was formerly the home of a judge. American troops in 5 Chinook helicopters, supported by jets, drones and Iraqi troops, conducted the operation. They rescued a large but so far unspecified number of prisoners—estimated in the dozens—including former Daesh members, killed many Daesh fighters, and then destroyed the prison. The source says the operation was conducted after several airstrikes on nearby areas. The operation led to the arrest of Daesh’s wali of Hawija and its military commander. Most of Daesh’s leaders in Hawija are missing after the operation. [Mada]

A second security source says the operation was conducted by American troops and Peshmerga and resulted in killing 80 Daesh terrorists and capturing 5. [Sumaria]

A later CBS News report described the operation as conducted by 30 US personnel in five helicopters and Kurdish commandos that rescued 70 hostages. An NBC News report said that the Kurds requested US help because many Kurdish prisoners were in small cages and about to be executed, but none of the hostages rescued were Kurds. The Kurds attacked the prison, met resistance, but were then backed up by the US force.
The Kurdish version gives most of the credit to the Kurds. The Kurdistan Region Security Council says it gathered information about a Daesh prison 7 km (4 miles) north of Hawija and conducted a successful operation, supported by Coalition airpower, to take over the prison and release 69 prisoners, none of them Kurdish. The report doesn’t mention US paratroopers as part of the “Coalition airpower.” It says an American soldier was killed and 3 Peshmerga fighters wounded, while 30 Daesh armed men were killed and 6 captured. The Kurdish troops then pulled back to their bases and sent the hostages for medical checkups. [Rudaw]

The Daesh version of the story is that American troops conducted a “failed” airborne operation on a prison in the village of Al-Masnna’ north of Hawija at 2 am. Daesh says American jets, 4 Chinooks and 2 Apaches participated in the operation and bombed the road between Hawija and the prison and the areas surrounding the prison before the airborne troops clashed with 6 Daesh guards for 2 hours before bombing the prison and killing most of the prisoners and taking others away, none of them from the Peshmerga. Daesh says many American soldiers were killed or wounded in the operation while only 3 Daesh guards were killed and 3 wounded. [Twitter]

A security source says the American operation in Hawija was very difficult because it was done in one of Daesh’s most important strongholds. He says the troops managed to free all the hostages. [Sumaria]

DaeshDaily comment. This development was a total surprise. Whether it sets a precedent for future Special Forces raids in Iraq is an open and intriguing question. Similar raids have been conducted in Syria, however. At the moment, this sudden appearance of American troops on the ground has to be encouraging to both Iraq and the Kurds, maybe not to Daesh.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find the above a whole lot more impressive than dropping bombs at random over areas where Assad’s opponents are operating and killing innocent citizens instead.

Sounds like a major victory for the Iraqis and Peshmerga here. All the credit to them.

Condolences to the American Soldier's family.