this is flight path of that plane, it crashed in the mountains
he’s dead
Cite your source
source for?
Sic semper tyrannis
There are some reports he was shot down.
By the Russians lol.
That would be the funniest shit if true.
If it were true (currently I don’t think so) we’d have a warm spot on FIRMS and civilian reports of a transport plane coming down, but nobody has reported one so far. (However, Syria is likely to have so many warm spots currently that a private researcher may be unable to count them and make sense.)
However, assassinating someone with an air defense complex while retreating / evacuating yourself in face of an advancing opponent - that’s unreliable. (Russians were last seen evacuating their air defense systems and flying away with what could be taken along, but rebels did get some really interesting items.)
I’ll confess, I’m embarrassingly uninformed on Assad and the broader situation in Syria. Anybody have any good resources to get a basic understanding?
Fuck Assad, he could have simply chosen to not order shooting at peaceful protesters in 2011 and overseen a peaceful transition to democracy. Instead, he chose death and destruction for millions of people. He deserves everything that’s coming to him, and Syrians everywhere have every right to celebrate tonight.
The future is uncertain: this is what freedom looks like. My entire heart goes out to the Syrian people. Hopefully the maniacs leading the HTS and the SNA will not manage to smother them.
This is not “what freedom looks like” this is “what a violent rebellion looks like”. There are good odds that the new regime will be as bad or even worse. People who overthrow a power with military force aren’t often interested in sharing that power afterwards.
The other option: overthrow the violent regime with magic.
I don’t know what to tell you - people always think there must be a “good” option, and if the current one is bad then any other option must therefore be good.
This could also be a radical regime like the Taliban that could actually be worse for most people.
What about this: the status quo under Assad with houndred of thousands tortured and murdered is bad enough to try to change it.
Well… Yeah. But do the rebels care about that? Or do they just feel that Asad was just torturing and murdering the wrong people? And do they feel that Assad was just not following the koran closely enough by allowing women to be educated?
Rebellion against oppression often leads to a different type of oppression, and given the groups these rebels have been associated with in the past it’s concerning at least.
You just write down what pops up in you mind.
Where are your sources for those claims?
What claims? You just say things that pop in your mind too. Where are your sources?
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This is untrue considering their track record after the rebranding from Al-Nusra to HTS. They’re not spawning out of thin air.
What is untrue? My concern? How can my concern be “untrue?”
The skills needed to be a revolutionary are very different from the skills needed to govern. Remember when the taliban was “kinder and softer” for a few months?
I’ll be happy if my concern is misplaced. But time will tell.
How can my concern be “untrue?”
The idea that they “could be” ignores the fact that they’ve been actively governing their territories since (and before, I guess) 2017, and they haven’t started a Taliban-style brutal regime there. I mean I guess it’s not impossible for them to suddenly change their style of governing, but what I’m trying to say that they have a track record we can use to try and predict their future behavior.
So maybe next time have a conversation rather than just telling somebody “that’s untrue”? No need to be weirdly adversarial…
That said - you raise some good points. I’m not ignoring anything though. You’re acting like my “concern” is saying “things will go bad” when it’s not.
I mean very narrowly this moment right now. This moment of uncertainty where anything is possible. This is what freedom looks like: anything is possible, the best and the worst.
I gotcha - though I personally wouldn’t choose the word “freedom” for that. “Uncertainty” is more appropriate I’d say. The future of the nation will be up to the rebels, not the people. They won’t get any say unless the new regime lets them.
“The king is dead! Long live the king!” and all that…
Why are the HTS maniacs again?
The are a rebranding of Al-Nusra, a split of Al-Quaeda.
This is their leader: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Mohammad_al-Julani
They are putting on a “moderate” face, it remains to be seen if they mean it.
The are a rebranding of Al-Nusra, a split of Al-Quaeda.
They’re a split of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was mostly (or only??? Idk) fighting the US invasion, so that doesn’t say much. Also from what I have read they’ve been keeping their promise of civil liberties in their territories. So what I want to say is: Have they done something or does anyone who’s not secular enough qualify as a maniac?
We are not talking about “not secular enough” here, we are talking about Al-Quaeda, get a grip. The leader guy had made an oath of allegiance to al-Zawahiri. Al-Nusra at times collaborated then fought against ISIS. They were also responsible for war crimes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front#War_crimes
Regardless, like I also said they are putting on a moderate face and say they are different. But minority groups in Syria are rightly feeling threatened.
We are not talking about “not secular enough” here, we are talking about Al-Quaeda, get a grip.
Again, we’re talking about Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the now leader/founder of HTS joined them to fight against the US invasion of Iraq. Not saying they’re good guys or not, but in this context “they’re Al-Qaeda” isn’t saying much. This sort of bad word logic doesn’t really check out with reality.
They were also responsible for war crimes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front#War_crimes
Okay fair enough that’s maniac material. That said, don’t they have a good enough track record as HTS starting 2017?
Well, you know the movie reference: Illinois Nazis, I hate Illinois Nazis.
Anyway, we’ll find out soon enough what these guys are.
Minority groups in Aleppo welcomed them and said they feels safe. Whether this will last has yet to manifest, but probably the main dividing line would be Sunni-Shia.
Also protection of minorities is a fundamental islamic value. People like Daesh bastardize Islam.
Good riddance and hopefully Bashar al Assad is found and brought back for fair and prolonged trial (because his list of deeds is long, and he needs to testify).
I suspect he’d easily get the maximum punishment available, in any reasonably balanced justice system on the planet. A dictator on trial would also be a cautionary example for future dictators.
However, given that he’s not entirely out of resources, I think he may temporarily slip away into a country that agrees to host him.
About things in Syria: I worry that civil war isn’t over. Judging by the fighting in Manbij, one faction of the rebels (SNA) is now attemping to conquer territory from the SDF (Autonomous Administration of North-Eastern Syria). Unlike the government, the SDF however isn’t demoralized - they aren’t fighting for dictator Assad, but democracy and autonomy, and they can be expected to mount an effective resistance.
I hope that someone reminds the parties to the conflict that they need to stop and negotiate really soon now.
