Middle East Politics

Another (long) report on the by now long-touted long-term 'truce' or ceasefire proposal:

Rebuilding the Gaza Ceasefire
A ceasefire agreement has brought Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas back from the cusp of yet another calamitous war. However fragile, it offers a rare opportunity for all parties to finally break the cycle of recurring hostilities that has killed thousands since 2007.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-...israelpalestine/191-rebuilding-gaza-ceasefire

What’s new? For the first time since the 2014 war, a plan for a long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel started to take hold in early November, only to be disrupted by the largest escalation in over four years. The ceasefire has been restored, but it remains fragile.

Why does it matter? Sporadic escalations between Israel and Hamas since 2007 have claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and tens of Israelis. Coupled with an Israeli/Egyptian blockade on Gaza, the conflict is causing widespread suffering among the strip’s two million Palestinians. The current ceasefire offers a pathway to breaking this deadlock.

What should be done? Hamas should keep curbing protests and attacks from Gaza; Egypt and Israel should greatly relax the strip’s closure; and donors should quickly supply Gazans with clean water, electricity and sanitation. Meanwhile, international stakeholders should press Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to uphold the ceasefire in all its phases.
 
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Bennett bottled it at the last minute, handing Netanyahu yet another political victory; no elections just yet:

 
Syrian government claiming that opposition fighters launched a chlorine attack on regime-held areas in Aleppo:

 
2cents said:
Syrian government claiming that opposition fighters launched a chlorine attack on regime-held areas in Aleppo:

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Wait, I thought that the opposition didn't have any chemical weapons, and this was the justification for blaming the government for every incident without any sort of investigation? Now you tell me that when ISIS and Al-Nusra over ran half of Syria, they might have gotten chemical weapons?

WTF!
 
Nucks said:
Wait, I thought that the opposition didn't have any chemical weapons, and this was the justification for blaming the government for every incident without any sort of investigation? Now you tell me that when ISIS and Al-Nusra over ran half of Syria, they might have gotten chemical weapons?

WTF!
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UN investigations have confirmed that opposition groups have used chemical weapons in this conflict ages ago, so I'm not sure who you're arguing with here.
 
2cents said:
UN investigations have confirmed that opposition groups have used chemical weapons in this conflict ages ago, so I'm not sure who you're arguing with here.
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I think he has some sort of feed that alerts him to any opportunity to talk negatively about the US.
 
2cents said:
UN investigations have confirmed that opposition groups have used chemical weapons in this conflict ages ago, so I'm not sure who you're arguing with here.
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I was being sarcastic. Whooooosh.
 
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Organic Potatoes said:
I think he has some sort of feed that alerts him to any opportunity to talk negatively about the US.
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No, I just don't blame other countries for doing what we do ourselves. I don't live in a delusion, where I have to pretend that somehow we're the good guys, and they are the bad guys, or even that there is a team good and a team bad. People who fabricate this construction, are who I like to talk negatively about. I also love how if I point this hypocrisy out, I am "anti" USA.

Here is something that will blow your mind. I'm pro-west. I'm glad that we are running things. I'm glad that we are on top. I just don't begrudge others for trying to play the game our country and our closest allies are running. I think drones are great. I see them as no different than an F-16 or an F-18 dropping a JDAM, in fact, I see them as better and more efficient. No pilot fatigue, no risk to the pilot. This isn't dueling pistols, this is warfare, and you win wars by not fighting fair.

This is not a black and white issue, and yes, I tend to have a world view most people cannot wrap their heads around. We do plenty of evil shit. So do the Russians, and the Syrians, and every other country on the planet. What I don't do, is pretend we're sugar and spice, and our farts smell like roses. If you need to construct this delusion for yourself, cool. Let me know when you grow up and realize nuance is a thing.
 
Kerfuffle in Lebanon:

 
DtczbAkX4AA19B5.jpg
 
MDFC Manager said:
Nice, perhaps the city was at least on par with most big cities of the Western world?
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By 1915 probably not, the city's glory years were centuries before. I believe Aleppo was considered the bigger, more vital city in the last few centuries of Ottoman rule in Syria. By the First World War the city's importance was more symbolic than material.
 
Bush dodged like a pro. Quite remarkable he saw the funny side. Bush and Blair ruined that nation.
 
Tolerance in UAE? Outside of Saudi-Arabia it is the most intolerant country I've been to, and I've travelled for 3-4 years to both. The skyscrapers and shiny glass facades in UAE doesn't change that.
 
SwansonsTache said:
Tolerance in UAE? Outside of Saudi-Arabia it is the most intolerant country I've been to, and I've travelled for 3-4 years to both. The skyscrapers and shiny glass facades in UAE doesn't change that.
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Agreed. Dubai has a bit of a creepy undercurrent of intolerance that many westerners aren't exposed to.
 
Looks like curtains for the Syrian Kurds:

 
2cents said:
Looks like curtains for the Syrian Kurds:

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Not the first time they’ve been let down by the Yanks, and won’t be the last either.

Their only real option now is to cut a deal with Assad, surrendering territory back to the government in return for some form of semi-autonomy.
 
Also, how much of this do we think is down to the Kashoggi tension? Part of me thinks this is Trump attempting to placate the Turks in order to cool their probing of the Saudis.
 
Kaos said:
Not the first time they’ve been let down by the Yanks, and won’t be the last either.

Their only real option now is to cut a deal with Assad, surrendering territory back to the government in return for some form of semi-autonomy.
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They haven't been let down since the US purpose in Syria was to pursue ISIS, not help the Kurds exploit the chaos to initiate in a land grab.
 
Raoul said:
They haven't been let down since the US purpose in Syria was to pursue ISIS, not help the Kurds exploit the chaos to initiate in a land grab.
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Is that why they helped the FSA and their associates make a grab for regime territory?
 
Kaos said:
Is that why they helped the FSA and their associates make a grab for regime territory?
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The policy at that time was Assad's tenure was going to end so they thought they could help what they thought were moderates (bad move in retrospect). The kurds were obviously tangentially part of the equation but it was never meant to help some sort of diaspora landgrab.
 
Kaos said:
Is that why they helped the FSA and their associates make a grab for regime territory?
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Kurds have also grabbed Sunni Arab and Assyrian territories. Kurds didn't constitute the majority in today defacto "Rojava" before the war.
 
Kaos said:
Also, how much of this do we think is down to the Kashoggi tension? Part of me thinks this is Trump attempting to placate the Turks in order to cool their probing of the Saudis.
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There is also this from last night:



But this was always going to happen, no US administration was ever going to blow the alliance with Turkey for the sake of the Kurds.
 
Raoul said:
The policy at that time was Assad's tenure was going to end so they thought they could help what they thought were moderates (bad move in retrospect). The kurds were obviously tangentially part of the equation but it was never meant to help some sort of diaspora landgrab.
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Not really, it’s been well known that it’s been US policy since 2005 to dispose of Assad, this was only a continuation of an existing doctrine to overthrow him.
 
Kaos said:
What’s Sunni Arab territory?
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All the "Rojava" territory except the light green and purple areas
Edit: The red area of Tel Abyad is an Arab majority area, while the purple area of Kobani is a Kurdish majority area.
800px-De_facto_cantons_of_Rojava.png
 
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