The Syrian Army’s latest offensive against ISIS, launched late last week in the Hama Province, has advanced quickly, crossing into the southernmost portion of the Raqqa Province, whose provincial capital is the ISIS capital city.
This is coming at the same time as a US-backed offensive by the Kurdish YPG, which is covering some northern parts of Raqqa Province as well as neighboring Aleppo Province, leaving the city of Raqqa itself increasingly pinched between the two battles.
Early in the ISIS establishment of its caliphate, Raqqa was the de facto capital not just because it’s a big city, but because ISIS had pretty effective control of the entire region around it, linking it to all the other major ISIS possessions.
Increasingly that’s not the case, with Raqqa’s supply line to Mosul through contested Kurdish territory, and it’s supply line to Aleppo territory increasingly under pressure as well. There are still no indications that the city itself faces any near-term threats from any of its enemies, but it no longer enjoys the relative security it once did.
Two off topic issues I would like to air on this thread because the stories won’t post them here on antiwar.com. If this is against the rules then please delete this post and let me know so I won’t do it again.
1. Making an issue of Clinton’s warmongering. NO! definitely not because that won’t gain sympathy for Trump and he knows it. Otherwise he would be using it. And also because his agenda isn’t antiwar and won’t be antiwar because that’s not his schtick and it’s not popular with the voters. Trump knows very well what the dog whistle isssues are and doesn’t need to be told bay anybody.
2. Mohammed Ali was not a draft dodger, he refused to go to war on libertarian issues and humanitarian issues.
NO US CITIZEN REFUSED TO GO TO WAR BECAUSE HE/SHE WAS A DRAFT DODGER. NOT EVEN BUSH2!
There will be gains made and also losses by the Syrian forces but the US is relentless in it’s push to over throw Assad. But we should be quite confident that Obama and Putin have manipulated the situation that will not allow allout US war. Putin will not back down and he has MAD to back him up. This fact is satisfaction fore we at antiwar.com but small satisfaction in understanding that the slaughter of the people will go on indefinitely because neither side will back off.
Although there is little doubt that Clinton has planned for war in Syria and Iran, and desires to fulfill the PNAC agenda, there is no possibility that she will pursue it. Other slower methods will have to suffice. Trump on the other hand leaves it up to question. If he’s a corporate psychopath as a lot of people suspect, he won’t be deterred by fear of MAD. Psychopaths know no fear! They will not compromise and they will not be defeated.