Daily Beast: Assad’s ‘Final Offensive’ in Syria May Be Postponed for Lack of Troops
Russia’s already bombing, but Syrian government troops are vastly outnumbered—and the Iranian and Hezbollah forces that Assad relied on in the past are holding back.
ISTANBUL – The big Syrian government offensive to recapture rebel-held Idlib province—which the United Nations fears could cause the deaths of thousands and displace a million civilians—is on hold for want of forces on the ground to coordinate with Russian air power, according to military leaders in the Syrian opposition.
The Syrian regime has at most 25,000 troops based in the region, including about 5,000 reinforcements, some of whom are conscripts drawn from surrendered rebel enclaves, whose reliability in battle remains to be tested. They will face more than 100,000 motivated defenders, many of whom were forced there from other regions and have nowhere else to go.
Read more ....
Update: Rebels, Turkey prepared for battle, but assault could be delayed (Al Jazeera)
WNU Editor: It looks like Robert Fisk was/is right .... Is The Battle For The Last Syrian Rebel Stronghold All Hype? (September 10, 2018).
3 comments:
Did they try and scare them out?
Here's my "take." The Russians do not waste bombs. As such, the bombing has a purpose. The troops to take Idib are available. The "rebels" are being allowed an opportunity to negotiate a face saving surrender whereby they lose and Assad and his allies win. The "rebels" are probably not bright enough to get this or perhaps they are simply to evil. No matter how fortified they are with their human shields they are going down.
Advice to America and the "west," watch this, study this, learn how to conduct diplomacy, and how to win a war. While Trump is better at diplomacy than typical US leaders, he is not on the level of these. Perhaps he can get there. Unlike typical US leaders he has demonstrated a certain humility in being able to learn.
The first step to success is recognizing reality and acting accordingly. US leadership not only has trouble with this but they also tend to make up their own reality when the real world doesn't suit their fantasies. Maybe this is ideological blindness.
That article was just one long war propaganda piece. What passes for journalism these days is amazing.
Post a Comment