U.S.-backed forces in Syria launch offensive against Syrian government

This is happening in the exact same area where we killed 100 pro-Assad troops yesterday.

Reports are coming in that US-backed forces have launched an all-out offensive against the Syrian Arab Army and allied paramilitary groups near two government-held towns in Deir Ezzor province.
Moments ago, opposition sources began to report that forces of the US-led Deir Ezzor Military Council began storming positions of the Syrian Army and National Defence Forces at the government-held towns of Khashim and Tabiyyah on the eastern shore of the Euphrates River as part of an determined assault to capture the settlements.

This is still new, so there isn't many details, but it certainly appears that we are looking to start a war.

The Deir Ezzor Military Council is a completely separate entity from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Rather than just receiving military support from the US-led coalition, its fighters – virtually all ethnic Arabs – are actually on the payroll of the US Department of State and under the direct strategic guidance of the Pentagon (quite like the Free Syrian Army mercenaries at Al-Tanf).

In a related note, Turkey's offensive against the Kurds "has bogged down in the mountains and mud of northern Syria". However, it has had some effect.

YPG commanders warn that unless the US-led coalition somehow stops the Turkish offensive, they will be less enthusiastic about going after ISIS and may even abandon positions in Deir Ezzor, where the terror group is still active.
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Azazello's picture

Apparently Deir Ezzor is near some oil fields. MoA
Coincidence ? I think not.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

b has a theory that this operation is a reaction to the locals (non-Kurds) trying to give up the oil fields the Syrians and Russians.

Might this whole operation have been a trap? The U.S. military clearly knew that something was going to happen in the area. Local deals were made between the Syrian government side and locals Arabs holding the oil fields. The U.S. told the SDF to move out of the way. When the government aligned groups started to take over the field, as presumably agreed upon, the U.S. bombed them.

After the bombing, the remaining US loyalist militias are now counterattacking in an attempt to run the pro-Syrian militias off their bridgehead on the eastern side of Euphrates - effectively sealing off that side of the river if successful.

A big if.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

snoopydawg's picture

then when attacked call it self defense. There is a word for that, right? I've read some reports that we are allied with some of the ISIS forces that we let leave ran out of Syria. I wonder how our troops feel about this situation?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

GreatLakeSailor's picture

Had the election gone to Her, this post would've been dated 12:01pm, 2017Jan20...maybe 12:35pm.

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Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.

EdMass's picture

There are 2,000 US special forces troops in Syria.

They are surrounded. Who do we shoot at?

Can't bomb Syrian Gub troops (well maybe as long as we don't hit Ruskies), nor Russians, nor Iranians, nor Hezbollah.

Can't help Kurds that are deserting the battlefield to go north east to fight the Turks.

Support the "FREE SYRIAN ARMY". Yeah that works

We should've left a decade ago.

Mattis may be Maddog, but his testosterone cant solve this one.

But rest easy, the NK women's hockey team is gonna skate with the SK women's hockey team, even though the SK women's hockey coach cannot figure out why she spent years building a team only to see it f'd up by incompetents and Politics.

Oh well.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

snoopydawg's picture

@EdMass

Syria was the 3rd country we invaded on false pretenses and the 2nd Obama war that he got a pass on.

There was no outrage when he told us that Gaddafi had to go after making up false accusations against him like there was before the Iraq war. People even said that Obama ended two wars and hasn't started any new ones while he had troops in both countries and they are still saying that after he left office. This type of blindness to a person is something I'll never understand.

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@snoopydawg @snoopydawg

Maybe if you were dependent upon corporate propaganda radio and TV you'd understand only what they brainwashed you with?

I thank FSM daily that you and others here escaped any such fate to write here!

Edit: also that mine is not a jealous god, as I've just had spaghetti squash in spaghetti sauce for breakfast/dinner...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

CB's picture

had been destroyed in advance of the current operation.

https://rusreality.com/2018/02/09/in-defense-of-the-suspected-pro-americ...

According to the publication, in early January, the water level in the river suddenly rose several meters, and the flow velocity is increased two times. However, no significant precipitation in the region was observed. The next day the bridge collapsed.

“The investigation carried out by Syrian experts, showed that a sharp change in the water situation has occurred because of the deliberate opening of the locks on the hydroelectric dam at Tabqa, situated in the territory of opposition parties, controlled by the “international coalition” headed by the USA”, — the newspaper writes.

According to experts, the technical need in a sudden discharge of water at the dam was not. It is possible that this was an attempt by the us military to prevent the consolidation of the legitimate government of Damascus on the left Bank of the river, where the United States is going to increase its influence.

Russian military engineers have installed a small automotive collapsible bridge over the Euphrates in September. The length of the bridge is 212 metres, load capacity of 60 tons. The bridge can withstand the weight of heavy armored vehicles such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and rocket systems of volley fire.

[video:www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=xhkBYW1syc8]

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snoopydawg's picture

@CB

He has done nothing after his bases have been attacked and his soldiers killed, but I'm wondering how much longer he is going to be patient.

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CB's picture

@snoopydawg
Remember when the Turks shot down the Russian plane in 2015? Putin handled it so that Turkey ended up paying a very high economic cost but he did not burn any bridges. The Turkish Stream pipeline is on schedule.

Putin will never do anything that will be detrimental to Russia. A slap in the face from the US is not worth going to war over. This is a sign of strength, not weakness. The US goes berserk when it thinks it is being slighted. That is it's weak point. Putin understands how to turn an opponent's strength against itself.

Just look at the wins Russia has made since 2000 despite all the shit being thrown at it by the US and it's satraps. Here's a sampler:

Russia ranked world’s 2nd military power after U.S.

Thinking the Unthinkable: Russia Has Re-Emerged As a Great Power

American Global Power Is Being Challenged by Russia and China—What Does the Future Hold?

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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@CB

@CB Jan. 23, 2017

AMMAN: Agricultural land in Syria’s eastern Deir e-Zor province was flooded on Monday after the Islamic State (IS) opened three turbines of Syria’s largest dam the day before, raising water levels of the nearby Euphrates River to their highest level in over 20 years.

The Islamic State opened the turbines on Sunday in an apparent scare tactic to deter the Syrian Democratic Forces and US-led coalition from shelling or conducting airstrikes on IS positions close to the dam by previewing the damage it could inflict on residents living along the river if the dam burst.

Amazing how often our tactics and ISIS' overlap.

This is interesting:

In addition to flooding agricultural areas, the opening of the dam’s turbines has limited the mobility of residents in eastern Deir e-Zor province.

“The river barges, which transfer residents and vehicles between the eastern and western banks of the Euphrates, have halted,” says Abu Laila.

In the eastern Deir e-Zor countryside, 13 IS-controlled towns fall along the Euphrates River, seven on the eastern riverbank and six on the western side.

Deir e-Zor residents and merchants have relied on river barges since late September 2016, when the US-led coalition struck and destroyed two main bridges connecting the western and eastern bank of the Euphrates River, Syria Direct reported at the time.

Residents in the eastern Deir e-Zor countryside are using small rafts to transport individuals, said Abu Laila. However, commercial vessels and cross-river trade have ground to halt, he added.

Who exactly are the terrorists again?

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

CB's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger
A short history of the CIA and Pentagon post WWII.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/03/bionic-mosquito/fruits-will-know/

Matthew 7: 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”

...
Of all of the powers in the war, the world had reason to hope due to the fact that it was America in this position – far better than the Soviets, Nazis, or Japanese. The world had in mind the statements in the Atlantic Charter, as just one example, of the moral high ground that America seemingly stood upon.

The Charter stated the ideal goals of the war: no territorial aggrandizement; no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people, self-determination; restoration of self-government to those deprived of it; reduction of trade restrictions; global cooperation to secure better economic and social conditions for all; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and abandonment of the use of force, as well as disarmament of aggressor nations.

The world saw sheep’s clothing. Yet, was there something underneath? Wolf or sheep, how does one know? By their fruits.

What “fruits” were born from this tree?
...
Perpetual War

Since 1945, the United States has been almost continuously at war – Wikipedia identifies 145 separate entries for the US during this time period. Some of the lowlights include: Korea (1950 – 1953); Vietnam (1955 – 1975, inclusive of all years with advisors); Bay of Pigs, Cuba (1961); Laos (1962 – 1975); Dominican Republic (1965); Iraq (1991 – present); Former Yugoslavia (1992 – 1996); Afghanistan (2001 – present); Yemen (2010 – present); Libya (2011); Syria (2014 – present).

This says nothing of other CIA- and NGO-driven activities.

Conclusion

After two great wars, it is fair to suggest that much of the industrialized world had grown tired of this method of solving disagreements; this is evidenced in the creation of regional and global bodies designed (however poorly) to maintain peace and improve trade.

Instead of utilizing the possibilities offered by this reality, the United States government has either utilized these bodies to further war or ignored these bodies if they stood in the way of war. In almost every situation, the United States government took specific steps to increase tension and confrontation.

The lack of peace that the world has seen since 1945 can be laid at the feet of the militarization of the United States.

Matthew 7:20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Reprinted with permission from Bionic Mosquito.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@CB

Probably starts with the War of 1812, where the only big US "victory" came after a peace treaty had already been signed - so it made no difference.

Then consider the Civil War, which resulted in only nominal and cosmetic improvements for the people it allegedly "freed" - and the losers were not slow in devising new chains and spinning new lies about how it had "really" been.

The brutally enforced peace terms after World War I led directly to World War II.

And after World War II the US was infiltrated and subverted by the very forces it had defeated ("Operation Paperclip" etc).

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

@TheOtherMaven @TheOtherMaven

...And after World War II the US was infiltrated and subverted by the very forces it had defeated ("Operation Paperclip" etc).

Wondering if anyone has the URL to/remembers the title of the documentary link posted on here, not that very long ago, which explained how fascist US industrialists sponsored Hitler and the attempted fascist global takeover before salvaging various useful/high-ranking Nazis, otherwise headed to trial for war-crimes from that first failed effort, to introduce them into government and industry for a longer and better-planned next effort currently failing again? Darned if I can recall/find any notes of either...

Edited for a missed letter and a couple of commas

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.