Russian Aerospace Forces Honor War Hero Roman Filipov By Eliminating Dozens Of Jihadists In Syria’s Idlib (Video)

Your claim about the Arab league, America, and Israel wanting Assad to stay rings hollow. Here are two reasons why: 1) With Assad in power, it’s unlikely that Iran will leave Syria. Israel’s problem is Iran not Assad. Part of America’s problem is Iran too. The biggest threat to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain is Iran, not Turkey or the MB. These Shiites regularly threaten to attack these countries DIRECTLY (Something Turkey would not do). They have already attacked Saudi Arabia massive, destroying 50% of its oil production in a single attack. Turkey or the MB would never do that. Also note that they’ve surrounded Saudi Arabia on three fronts (Iraq, Yemen, Iran). 2) As recently as 2020, America’s UN envoy says that the U.S will not recognize any election in Syria if it’s not conducted according to resolution 2254. This condition doesn’t sound like a change of position to me.

What makes the MB the biggest threat to Assad is their ability to defeat Assad at the ballots.

I think the Syrian war will continue for a long time, provided Assad continues to drag his feet on implementing the UN resolution of 2015.

Israel and the Arab League want Assad to remain in power after the next election, but the US under Trump was indifferent to who remained in power, they were happy to let the election take it’s course. Apart from the fact both Israel and Trump have made statements saying they no longer have a problem with Assad remaining in power, here are some other reasons this was obviously the case, even well before they made those official announcements in mid 2018. In mid 2017 King Abdullah of Jordan on behalf of the Arab league [AL] brokered a reconciliation agreement between the Syrian Government and the 60,000 strong Southern Front Alliance, which was and still is a AL supported, that stopped most of the ongoing fighting in the southern territories of Darra, Quneitra, and As Suwayda. HTS which was AL supported at the time refused to comply to the agreement, and the FSA which was supported by the US at the time also refused to comply, Isis also kept fighting. Then at the end of 2017 the AL stopped supporting HTS, and in may/June 2018 the US also stopped supporting the FSA, they even kicked them out of Al Tanf and told them not to oppose the Syrian Government because they would no longer get US support. Then the Russians announced plans for the SAA to liberate all the southern territories, which meant an agreement was made that was acceptable to all parties concerned, the US, Israel, Russia, Syria, and Iran – [SF confirmed this just a few weeks ago in one of their articles]. Israel agreed to allow the Russians and SAA to liberate the south but had several conditions, 1 the Iranians/Hezbollah weren’t allowed to participate in the operation, and 2, they were to remove all their forces to a distance at least 60km away from the Israeli border. The Iranians were supposed to stay out of the fighting but they didn’t, Israel caught them out and proved the Iranian militias had swapped their own uniforms for SAA uniforms and joined the fighting, and instead of using that violation as an excuse to reinstitute air support for the rebel factions, the Israelis just laughed it off saying they expected something like this from the Iranians. It took the SAA and Russia just 2 months to liberate all the southern territories, the FSA, HTS, and Isis were beaten, and the Iranians were supposed to move out of the agreed areas according to the Russian agreement, but as that SF article last week pointed out they didn’t, instead they began increasing their presence in those areas and building up their infrastructure, and now as SF also keeps pointing out, the southern territories are “spiraling out of control”. None of those things could’ve happened if the US, Israel, and the Arab League wanted Assad removed, they only happened because the Russians gave the US/Israel/AL guarantees they’d be able to get Iran to comply to the stipulations Israel made. So Assad was allowed to stay in power pursuant to Iran leaving the disputed territory, that’s what the Russian guarantees promised Israel, the US, and the AL, but as SF has told us several times recently, the Iranians have refused to comply to the agreement they accepted back in mid 2018.

“As recently as 2020, America’s UN envoy says that the U.S will not recognize any election in Syria if it’s not conducted according to resolution 2254. This condition doesn’t sound like a change of position to me.”

“Trump has made his own attempts to get somewhere with the Russians. On the margins of the Group of 20 summit in Germany in July 2017, he and Putin finalized a cease-fire agreement for southwestern Syria. Trump met again with Putin in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, where they issued another joint statement on Syria. It emphasized the “importance of de-escalation areas as an interim step to reduce violence in Syria, enforce cease-fire agreements, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, and set the conditions for the ultimate political solution to the conflict” on the basis of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254.”

So there is no contradiction of policy, the US are prepared to let Assad remain in power until “free and fair” elections are held, and Trumps said several times he won’t have a problem if Assad and his Government are re elected. That may change under Biden. The Israelis have a choice, if Assad stays in power they know the Russian will try to keep the Assad/Iranian relationship at a manageable level, if the Muslim brotherhood wins power Turkey will become the dominant power in Syria, so the choice for Israel is Turkey in complete control of Syria, or Russia, Iran, and Assad all sharing power in Syria, who do you think the Israelis prefer. Russia, Iran and Turkey were the original orchestraters of resolution 2254, they drew up the resolution and took it to the UNSC for approval, it was accepted unanimously in 2015 and rehashed in 2018, and the rehashing took place at the same time Russia made guarantees that Iran would leave the disputed 60km buffer zone that Israel wanted, and at the same time Assad was also allowed to liberate all the southern territories unhindered, so no coincidence there, all part of one big package with something for everyone. So in late 2018 the Astana agreements were put into effect and they were supposed to address some of the issues preventing the implementation of resolution 2254, but Assad still refused to accept the resolution until the end of 2019, that’s when the UN made a new proposal that allowed Assad to amend some of the stipulations he was opposed to, and only then did he accept the resolution, which is now in the ‘long slow’ process of rewriting the constitution. So to simplify, the Israelis, US and Al all told the Russians that if they could get the Iranians to comply to the Israeli demands [60km buffer], they would allow Assad to liberate all the southern territories [that included Ghoutah], but after that happened the Muslim brotherhood refused to stop fighting in Idlib and Aleppo [many of their factions were designated as terrorist factions by the Astana agreements], and to this day there’s still no end to open hostilities and the terrorist factions haven’t been eliminated either, which are all mandatory requirements for resolution 2254 to be put into effect. So even though I know you think Assad’s stalling the political process the opposite’s actually the case, Assad keeps pointing out that the resolution can’t be implemented until all the terrorist factions have been eliminated, and they haven’t been eliminated yet, or separated from the moderate opposition forces, which they’re also supposed to do, so how can he implement a resolution that hasn’t met all the stipulated requirements, I don’t think he should have to either.

Your argument that America’s abandoning of HTS and FSA is a tacit approval of Assad’s continued rule fails to explain one thing: America’s refusal to leave Syria. I never disputed the fact that America has moved form its Assad-must-go position. Now, they say Assad can rule, but ONLY via democracy. I think you are obsessed with hating Turkey for unjustifiable reasons. Erdgoan doesn’t maintain that Assad must go. What Erdogan said was, Turkey will give Idlib to any democratic government in Syria, not to Assad. That’s pretty much the same as America’s position on NE Syria.

There is also the problem of Iran. You must understand that any Sunni president in Syria will forcibly disarm and disband Iran’s militias, even with the help of Israel. A Sunni-ruled Syria will also cut off Iran from Hezbollah. It doesn’t matter which group that Sunni president comes from.

Turkey will have a greater influence on any Sunni-ruled Syria than the Arab League or U.S.A. This is because of the positive image of Erdogan among Syrians, especially refugees.

Assad’s delay tactics of insisting on the elimination of all terrorists is a tacit admission that he’d lose in any election. Not even Assad believes that terrorists can be cleared from Syria without the cooperation of other powers like the US, Turkey, Arab League, and Israel

All it takes for Assad and his allies to lose is a democratic Syria. It doesn’t have to be a Muslim brotherhood president. All it takes is a Sunni president. Iran, Assad, Russia know this. That’s why they’ll stalling resolution 2254. Russia and Iran shot themselves in the foot with that resolution. They’ve realized it now, but it’s too late.

Trump told the Kurds at the end of 2017 he wanted to pull his forces out of Syria, he’s also said several times the Kurds should come to a reconciliation agreement with the Syrian Government, so I think Trump wanted to pull the US out of Syria from the very start of his presidency, you must’ve read many articles describing the situation, Trump wanted to pull out of Syria but the war hawks kept putting obstacles in his way. Just before the Turks invaded northeast Syria Trump had pulled out most of his forces and dismantled most of the infrastructure, but since the Turkish invasion US troops have been returning to Syria and the infrastructure has been rebuilt. So I blame Turkey for that, I think the Turks are the only reason the US has remained in Syria, they know Erdogan has his sights on the Syrian oil fields.

No I don’t hate Turkey, I hate Erdogan and his hard right religious driven political party, and his over presumptuous religious overtones. He’s locked up 80,000 innocent Turks since the coup attempt, so I don’t just criticize him for what he’s done in Syria and Libya, I also criticize him for what he’s doing to the Turkish people, who I like and admire. I have the same opinion about the Iranian Government, they’re a pack of religious nuts but I don’t hate the Iranian people for that, it’s just the government I despise.

The vast majority of Sunnis in Syria are Arabs, the Turkmen population accounts for only 5% of the Syrian population. Now look at Idlib and Aleppo, HTS is a predominantly Arab organization, there are Turkmen in the group but they’re the minority, HTS is essentially an Arab organization with Arab aspirations, on the other hand most Syrian Turkmen belong to Muslim Brotherhood factions and show their loyalty to the Syrian Interim Government, and as you’re fully aware they’ve been fighting HTS for control of the occupied territories since 2018, and losing. So you may be right about Turkey having more influence over the Syrian Sunni population than either the US or AL has, but the vast majority of Syrian Sunni Arabs don’t like Erdogan or his Ottoman ambitions, they may be living as refugees in Turkey or fighting in one of the Brotherhood factions in Syria, but when it comes time to vote they won’t be voting for Erdogan’s sponsored candidates, they’ll be voting for the Arab candidates.

With Russian help Assad could wipe out the terrorists in less than a month if Erdogan just moved out of the way, we all saw what the SAA and Russia can do back at the end of 2019, they overwhelmed the terrorist forces and liberated territory faster than they have anywhere else in Syria, it was only the Turkish intervention that staved off a massive collapse in the opposition forces.

Russia isn’t stalling the resolution, they’re doing everything they can to implement the resolution, Assad’s the only one stalling it’s progress. But as I said, the resolution calls for a separation of moderate and terrorist forces and a cessation of hostilities before the political process begins, and neither of those things have happened yet, so Assad shouldn’t be expected to uphold the resolution, not until those 2 stipulations have been met first, you can’t put the cart before the horse.

I think the best type of president for Syria would be someone who doesn’t think in terms of ethnic, religious, or cultural ties, I think they need a Baathist or a progressive socialist.

Asma al Assad is currently positioning herself for a possible future candidacy and she’s a Sunni, and I think she’ll do very well if she runs.

Trump withdrew from Syria due to pressure from Erdogan. Turkey wanted to destroy the Kurdish army America had built. Trump withdrew unwillingly, fearing a clash between Turkish and U.S forces, which will affect their cooperation and alliance. In fact, the withdrawal was partial. Trump was and is still an Iran hawk. Withdrawing from Syria would have helped the Shiite axis, which Trump hated so much and concentrated on the most. Again, Trump is a staunch Israel supporter, and Israel wouldn’t like American forces to leave Syria because they are keeping an eye on Iran along the Syria-Iraq border.

Your claim about America protecting Syria’s oil from Turkey is also void of reason. First, Russia would secure the oil fields if America were to leave. Turkey won’t stand in Russia’s way. Secondly, the U.S was, and is still doing oil business with Turkey from Syria. In 2014, hundreds of oil tankers were leaving Syria to Turkey. The bottom-line is, Trump NEVER for once decided to leave Syria. His anti-Iranian/Shiite attitude is enough proof.

Concerning the Arab Sunnis, I want you to know that Erdogan is the most popular leader in the Arab world. He outranks Putin, Trump, MBS, etc. His recent approval rating was 51%, followed by Putin 28%, then Trump. Go here https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/Lists/ACRPS-PDFDocumentLibrary/Arab-Opinion-Index-2019-2020-Inbreef-English-Version.pdf and here https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-arabs-perceive-turkey-s-foreign-policy-in-the-middle-east-40415

I argue that Erdogan’s approval rating among Syrian Arab Sunnis is much much higher. The HTS you keep mentioning are only an armed group. They don’t speak for the people they rule, just like other oppressive gulf regimes. So, whether or not they support Turkey bears little effect on Erdogan’s popularity. The Kurds are just between 5 – 10% of Syria’s population. Sunni Arabs account for 70 – 79%. And not all Kurds support the idea of a Rojava. Take Iraq for an example.

“With Russian help Assad could wipe out the terrorists in less than a month if Erdogan just moved out of the way”: Who are the terrorists in Syria and where are they located? What about ISIS, America and its SDF fighters? The above statement by you implies that America, SDF, and ISIS are easier to deal with than Turkey. If so, why won’t Assad and Russia start with them instead of Turkey? Besides, that’s where Syria’s oil wealth is concentrated. Please, explain why Turkey is a bigger problem or challenge than America.

About the resolution, you claim that moderates and terrorists must be separated. May I ask who the terrorists are, and who the moderates are, and why? Is there some kind of ceasefire with the moderates or not?

The best president for Syria? Well, people don’t always get the best president. The most people can have is a president elected by the majority.

Any Sunni with links to Assad is highly UNLIKELY to win a free and fair election in Syria.

We’ll have to disagree on Trumps real reasons for the US withdrawal, I still believe it was a combination of the Russian/US/Israel/Arab League/Iranian deal that SF informed us about last week, and also the fact that Trump’s been advocating for an end to all US supported military interventions in other countries [from before he even became president]. I don’t think he was intimidated by Turkey, if he was he wouldn’t have slapped on all those sanctions after the Al Hasakah intervention [12 documented war crimes in the first 2 weeks was his reason].

My claim Erdogan has his eye on Syrian oil is a response to several statements he made and were republished on either ‘Hurriyet’ or Daily Sabah’ or both, and in those articles he stated he though Turkey was in a much better position to administer the Syrian oil reserves in Deir ez Zor than anyone else was, and and I’ve read those statements several times, so it’s from the horses mouth I base my claim ‘Erdogan has his eye on the Syrian oil’.

Figure 75, Foreign policy assessments I found interesting, And Figure 80, Assessment of Turkish foreign policy is actually quite damning of Turkish foreign policy, especially the results of Palestinian policy, where I thought Turkey’s approval rating would be much much higher, so no points there for Turkish foreign policy anywhere in the Arab world, all other issues had higher disapproval than approval ratings with Palestine being the only policy with SLIGHTLY more positive than negative results. And this one is welcome news to me, Figure 66: Perception of statement: “No religious authority is entitled to declare followers of other religions infidels,”. But I couldn’t find the figure you quoted from to say this’

“His recent approval rating was 51%, followed by Putin 28%, then Trump”,

I skimmed both articles and didn’t find those figures anywhere, I know Erdogan has just reached a 51% approval rating in Turkey, which is up about 10 point from the last time I checked. Ant the TR article is a propaganda mishmash, it contradicts what your first link has to say about Arab views on Turkish foreign policy in Syria, the first article is at least scientific while the second is nothing more than ‘he said this and she said that’.

“Who are the terrorists in Syria and where are they located?”

One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter, so if you asked Assad he’d probably say ‘anyone using military force to oppose him’, and if you asked Erdogan he’d give a different answer, and if you asked Putin he’d probably say something different again. So the real answer is all the factions the Astana agreements designated as terrorists are terrorists, that’s the format the Russians, Turks, and Iranians used to differentiate between terrorist and moderate opposition. You could research what the Astana agreements have say and try to work out who’s who that way but it’s very complicated and nearly impossible to understand, especially when you start realizing many of the factions have moved out of old alliances and joined new ones, so someone who was a terrorist back in 2019 may no longer be designated a terrorist just by changing their political/military affiliations. Here’s my simple and easy method of working out who’s called a terrorist and who’s called a moderate opposition force, if they’re aligned to the Turkish backed ‘Syrian Interim Government’ [SIG], they’re moderate opposition, that applies to the Turkish occupied areas of Syria and the US occupied areas, if they’re not aligned to the SIG or US backed Syrian Democratic Council [SDC] they’re a terrorist, that’s not 100% accurate but it’s close enough for me. HTS is aligned to the ‘Salvation Government’ and so are many other factions, and if they are then they’re definitely designated as terrorists according to the Astana agreements. To find out who they’re currently aligned to just ask the wiki with a google search. Where are they, well HTS is mostly close to the Turkish border well out of harms way, and some of the other terrorist factions are also there with them, but some of the other terrorists are mixed in with the moderate opposition forces, who seem to be spread out all along the SAA front lines in a buffer area between the terrorists held areas and the SAA. There are more terrorists in Latakia, Hama and western Idlib that seem to be located close to the SAA front lines [Chechens + Uighurs], but over in eastern Idlib and Aleppo it’s mostly Turkish backed moderate opposition forces on the front lines. All 16 Astana agreements had ceasefire in them, and right up until about the 13th or 14th agreement the moderate opposition broke every one of those ceasefires, but the last few the SAA didn’t either, they just keep attacking the moderate opposition and ignored the ceasefires. The last ceasefire agreement was in March last year and it’s still supposed to be in effect now, but you wouldn’t know it when you look at the number of SAA artillery strikes.

Assad see’s the Muslim brotherhood as the biggest threat because for him they are the biggest threat [read his statements], he’s already lost the US controlled areas but has a slight chance of getting them back, but he’ll never get back the territory he’s lost from Turkey, and there’s just a small chance he may lose even more to Turkey under the right circumstances, so for Assad they are the biggest threat, Turkey and the MB, but they’re not the biggest threat to Putin, the US is.

I’m not sure who’ll be able to win, but I would hazard a guess and say Asma would do pretty well if she runs for parliament, maybe even if she ran for President in 5 years time, not the next one in a years time or less. Cheers.

Regarding your question on Erdogan’s approval rating in the Arab world, you didn’t digest that report well. But here’s a BBC summary to give you a quick picture: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48703377

Regarding Trump’s withdrawal from Syria, you cannot isolate Syria. Syria is the centerpiece of a greater geopolitical struggle to protect Israel and weaken resistance forces to America. It makes absolutely zero geopolitical sense for the U.S to leave Syria, especially considering Trump’s obsession with Iran (the powerhouse of anti-Americanism in the Middle East). To claim that Trump returned U.S forces to Syria because of Turkey’s ambitions over Syria’s oil is very juvenile. At the early stages of the war, Turkey never invaded, or showed any interest in occupying any part of Syria. Even when ISIS took a large swathe of Syrian land in 2014, Turkey didn’t invade. On the other hand, America used ISIS as an excuse to enter Syria, but it insisted on not cooperating with Assad’s forces. It opted for the Kurds. That was the beginning of disagreements with Turkey, and which led to Turkey’s first military action in Syria.

I maintain that your hatred for Turkey and Erdogan is not grounded on facts. Turkey was absorbing millions of Syrian refugees as the dictator, Assad, unleashed waves of military attacks to crush the opposition. Assad was in no mood for ANY talks, let alone a political compromise. Turkey had to stop the inflow of refugees as they would impact Turkey’s security and economy. Some of those refugees could be terrorists (American assets) that could be used against Turkey, just like they are using the Kurds and rogue soldiers for coups.

What you Assad supporters wanted was for Turkey to just keep taking refugees, more and more of them, even as Assad reject any negotiation and continue the brutal war to re-establish dictatorship over Syria. Sorry, but Turkey is right to create a safe place for refugees within Syria instead of hosting them in Turkey.

I want you to tell me how much Assad, Russia, or Iran has spent to take care of the Syrians wondering away from home. Do you even care? Do you know how much Turkey has spent to help them? Europe did help, but Turkey spent much more than Europe. And all you do everyday is complain that Erdogan and Turkey did this and that to Syria. All you care about is Assad’s rule, and everything else be damned.

I will always hail Erdogan’s firm determination to stand by the Syrian Sunnis. He made it clear to both Assad and Russia that Turkey won’t shy away from a war to protect the helpless Syrians. When Assad and Russia tried to impose cost on Turkey in 2020 for being in Syria, the answer from Ankara was quite clear. And as it stands, you are right that Assad will not be allowed to re-establish dictatorship in Idlib or anywhere Turkish forces are.

Ok thanks for the additional link. You make some points I can’t argue against but some simple facts make your side of the argument a lot more complicated. Putin accused Erdogan and his son of complicity with Isis, he presented damning evidence showing convoys of Isis trucks carrying stolen Syrian oil to Erdogan’s sons oil refinery in Turkey, so at one point Turkey was actually helping fund Isis activities in Syria. And after 2018 the only entry point for foreign Jihadists into Syria has been through Turkey’s border, all the other entry points, Israel, Jordan, Iraq were all bordered by SAA forces or Iraq forces in SDF territory, so Turkey was also instrumental in funneling in foreign Jihadists, at least from the start of 2018 [and probably before]. And not all the refugees living in Turkey or Turkish occupied areas of Syria are pro Erdogan or AK Party, some of them are just as scared of the foreign Jihadists and moderate opposition as they are Assad’s Government. so a small percentage at least would still be loyal to the Syrian Government [if they could]. You see things in black and white where I see things in shades of grey, while you believe I’m being anti Turkish in some of my rhetoric I think I’m just repeating what most of the Turkish opposition parties say about Syria and Turkish foreign policy [not just concerning Syria], so I can’t be anti Turkish if some of the things I say are the same as what the Turkish opposition parties are saying, just anti AK Party. I know Erdogan’s locked up 80,000 Turkish citizens since the coup attempt back in 2016, they’ve been charged with having some sort of affiliation to that uprising 4 years ago, but I honestly don’t believe all 80,000 of them were so involved they deserve prison sentences, that’s a lot of co conspirators, or is it just a lot of political opponents. And I’m not sure every HDP politician Erdogan arrests is a secret member of the PKK.

“And as it stands, you are right that Assad will not be allowed to re-establish dictatorship in Idlib or anywhere Turkish forces are”

But HTS has, they set up a dictatorship and now they control 75% of the territory that Turkey actively protects with it’s military assets, so Erdogan’s not only allowed HTS to set up a dictatorship in areas of Latakia, Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo, he’s also actively protecting them now, and that’s despite the fact he signed the Astana agreements that designated HTS as terrorists and enemy combatants.

Every argument has 2 sides, and while we agree on many things concerning Syria we also disagree with just as many more, no 2 people ever agree on everything, but that’s the way the world is, I agree with my mother sometimes and sometimes I agree with my father. Cheers.

That’s bs …

I don’t take you seriously … full stop

I don’t care if you take me seriously or not. What I said to you is truth.

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/with-eye-on-iran-israel-increases-military-support-for-syrian-rebels-1.5826348

Quoting Haaretz doesn’t make it true …

Israel doesn’t do anything of the sort …. they target Jihadis in Syria and in Gaza

It’s counter intuitive to believe otherwise … only anti-Israel Haters believe that bs

Did Q tell you? pmsl

So you are calling Haaretz liars now in order to keep the illusion the Israelis are the good guys to you? Ok. This is your fantasy, not mine.

Haaretz is an extremely lefty newspaper …

I don’t read it

I’m not following Haaretz …. or any LEFTY NEWS SOURCE … Gideon Levy is a clown in my books … ?

Yes terrorists do kill their brothers and sisters all the time, what world do you live in? The pictures you found online you say, but I saw all the live broadcasts and I saw something completely different, all the reports back then claimed they were ethnic Russians. Beslan isn’t 80%, Ossetian, it’s 65% Ossetian, Ingush is at 4%, here’s a link for the ethnic makeup of north Ossetia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Ossetia%E2%80%93Alania

One mans terrorist is another mans leader, but in my eyes he’s still just a terrorist. The only difference now is he gets to terrorize his own people instead of terrorizing the Russians.

If you’re goal is an independent Muslim Vainaikh state, no, it doesn’t make sense to mass murder your own children. Terrorists are brutal, not completely stupid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan Beslan is 80% Osset.