Syria

[Kriegsspiel]

A massive battle between US and Syrian pro-regime forces reportedly killed more than 200 Russians

Marines in Syria fired more rounds than any artillery battalion since Vietnam — and burned out 2 howitzers in the process

[boglerdude]

Incoming, Sergey!

Cuz freedom isn't freeee

[Kriegsspiel]

A massive battle between US and Syrian pro-regime forces reportedly killed more than 200 Russians

http://www.newsweek.com/total-f-russian ... ens-818073

Interesting, the Russians have a direct equivalent to 'fuck' that they use the same way (unless the translator was making up their own stuff).

"“One squadron fucking lost 200 people..."

“They were all shelling the holy fuck out of it"

"our fucking government will go in reverse now"

“My guys just called me, they are sitting there drinking, many are MIA, it’s a total fuckup, another humiliation.... Nobody gives a fuck about us.”

“We got our fucking asses beat rough, the Yankees made their point,” he said. “What were they hoping for, that the Yankees are just going to fuck off?... It’s bullshit, some people can’t even be fucking ID’ed, too many people there.”

"There are about 215 fucking killed”

[Mr Vacuum]

What a nightmare.

Unrelated but this thread reminded me, I’ve been missing TennPaGa’s posts around here.

Continuing the thread drift, I watched 13 Hours and liked it a lot. Hats off to the filmmakers and of course the “practitioners,” to use Kbg’s term.

[Kriegsspiel]

Tucker Carlson talks about our meddling in Syria. His take is that it would be syriasly stupid to escalate.

[ochotona]

We've been in the f-ing sandbox for 15 f-ing years. No more.

[ochotona]

I think Drumpf has people who are trading his accounts based on his Tweets. He can move the Dow hundreds of points in a day with a single tweet. What an opportunity for profit potential.

How convenient that he refused to out his assets into a blind trust, like every other recent President.

[ochotona]

I think Drumpf has people who are trading his accounts based on his Tweets. He can move the Dow hundreds of points in a day with a single tweet. What an opportunity for profit potential.

How convenient that he refused to out his assets into a blind trust, like every other recent President.

Yes. He definitely can move the markets with barely-veiled WWIII references. This is what sane people expected from him in this office, and well, now we see it. It's tragically funny ... all so predictable, but somehow people wanted to buy into his carnival barking. So sad. But it won't last much longer.

It just seems unsustainable. How long can he go on before he just strokes out?

[Tortoise]

I’m assuming the establishment wants regime change in Syria because the current regime is very friendly with Russia?

In other words, Syria is really just a proxy war with Russia, right? And the radical Muslims are just a common enemy of both sides, like banana peels on an obstacle course?

[dualstow]

Don’t forget the the not so much radical but dangerous pragmatic Persians: Iran.

[Mountaineer]

Yes. He definitely can move the markets with barely-veiled WWIII references. This is what sane people expected from him in this office, and well, now we see it. It's tragically funny ... all so predictable, but somehow people wanted to buy into his carnival barking. So sad. But it won't last much longer.

It just seems unsustainable. How long can he go on before he just strokes out?

Yeah, I agree. The chaos is unbelievable. We've never seen turnover in WH staff like this. He isn't looking too healthy. I actually hope he makes it through his term and goes back to private life, allowing another Republican to run.

It's all good.

Psalm 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

[MWKXJ]

These multi generational, half-hearted, Vietnamesesque misadventures in the Middle East could serve to train the nation's competitors how best to fight the United State's military.

The Thebans, meantime, singly, having many skirmishes with the Spartans in Boeotia, and fighting some battles, not great indeed, but important as training and instructing them, thus had their minds raised, and their bodies inured to labour, and gained both experience and courage by these frequent encounters, insomuch that we have it related that Antalcidas, the Spartan, said to Agesilaus, returning wounded from Boeotia, "Indeed, the Thebans have paid you handsomely for instructing them in the art of war, against their wills.

-Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Pelopidas

...IMHO, there seems to be far more safety in adopting a Switzerland-style neutrality rather than pre-empting danger by diving headlong into global Machiavellian intrigue and proxy conflicts. The only way to win is simply not to play.

[...]a new king of the Mendesian province was proclaimed his successor, and came against Nectanabis with an army of one hundred thousand men. Nectanabis, in his talk with Agesilaus, professed to despise them as newly raised men, who, though many in number, were of no skill in war, being most of them mechanics and tradesmen, never bred to war. To whom Agesilaus answered, that he did not fear their numbers, but did fear their ignorance, which gave no room for employing stratagem against them. Stratagem only avails with men who are alive to suspicion, and, expecting to be assailed, expose themselves by their attempts at defence; but one who has no thought or expectation of anything, gives as little opportunity to the enemy as he who stands stock-still does to a wrestler.

-Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Agesilaus

...as with investing, the best strategy in geopolitics would likely be to to avoid tinkering and simply leave things be.

[ochotona]

Why did the Brits and Frogs go in with Drumpf?

[Kriegsspiel]

[boglerdude]

Why did the Brits and Frogs go in with Drumpf?

The world is a business, Mr. Beale!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxiT30N6ti4