Image is of Assad and his family.
After less than two weeks of retreating with few shots fired and little resistance, the SAA has retreated into, well, a state of non-existence. This thereby ends a conflict that has been simmering for over a decade. With the end of this conflict, another begins: the carving up of what used to be Syria between Israel and Turkey, with perhaps the odd Syrian faction getting a rump state here and there. Both Israel and Turkey have begun military operations, with Israel working on expanding their territory in Syria and bombing military bases to ensure as little resistance as possible.
Israeli success in Syria is interesting to contrast against their failures in Gaza and Lebanon. A short time ago, Israel failed to make significant territorial progress in Lebanon due to Hezbollah’s resistance despite the heavy hits they had recently taken, and was forced into a ceasefire with little to show for the manpower and equipment lost and the settlers displaced. The war with Lebanon was fast, but still slow enough to allow a degree of analysis and prediction. In contrast, the sheer speed of Syria’s collapse has made analysis near-impossible beyond obvious statements like “this is bad” and “Assad is fucking up”; by the time a major Syrian city had fallen, you barely had time to digest the implications before the next one was under threat.
There is still too much that we don’t know about the potential responses (and non-responses) of other countries in the region - Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Russia, for example. I think that this week and the next will see a lot of statements made by various parties and an elucidation of how the conflict will progress. The only thing that seems clear is that we are in the next stage of the conflict, and perhaps have been, in retrospect, since Nasrallah’s assassination. This stage has been and will be far more chaotic as the damage to Israel compounds and they are willing to take greater and greater risks to stay in power. It will also involve Israel causing destruction all throughout the region, rather than mostly localizing it in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Successful gambles like with Syria may or may not outweigh the unsuccessful ones like with Lebanon. This is a similar road to the one apartheid South Africa took, but there are also too many differences to say if the destination will be the same.
What is certain is that Assad’s time in power can be summarized as a failure, both to be an effective leader and to create positive economic conditions. His policies were actively harmful to internal stability for no real payoff and by the end, all goodwill had been fully depleted. By the end, the SAA did not fight back; not because of some wunderwaffen on the side of HST, but because there was nothing to fight for, and internal cohesion rapidly disintegrated.
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The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week’s thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel’s destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Pinned comment with info TBD describing what the news mega is to new folks
General overview: The News mega is a place where people talk about news from around the world.
Anyone can jump in and write something up. The really good stuff will get yoinked by me and edited into this pinned comment (with credit).
As a general notice to old heads, the newer crowd - as far as I’ve seen from applications - tend to lean a mix of apolitical progressive to some flavor of anarchism. So play nice if any of them accidentally wander in, especially those of you who love to engage in posting blood sports and call shitlibs compradors. (You know who you are. Kiddie gloves or just don’t engage)
refer to this comment from combate doomerismo
Welcome to all the newcomers.
I just want to add that although the news mega tends to be mostly about major conflicts of global importance, like the Ukraine war or the Palestinian war of liberation, new and old members are also welcome to share news from their part of the world. We’ve had news about Icelandic labour action, Argentina’s libertarian experiment, South African blackouts and Russian ice hockey.
It doesn’t have to be big news, anything that gives an idea of what it’s like in places you know about is appreciated, especially if it dispels common myths, illustrates larger trends or is simply weird and funny.
everyone is a shitlib comprador except me
cuck n chad ranking: 14 years of Syrian meltdown
Note: temporary removal of the first RUS vs UKR row, this edition is fully dedicated to Syria and related conflicts
Gigachad Chad Neutral Beta (Fe)Male Virgin Cuck Abu Mohammed Al Jolani (bro started last week with a little zone in Idlib and ended this week as conqueror of Damascus) SDF (what started as a little militia to control some Kurdish neighborhoods runs more than a third of Syria today) Bashar Al Assad (the lion himself, strong independent dictator who dazzled us for years, but one day the lion couldn’t do it anymore, so it was over) Iraqi Shia militia guys (spent years dying for Assad, went home to chill as the war calmed down, suddenly their life’s work is gone) Syrian statue quality (Saddam’s statues in Baghdad needed tanks and advanced rope to be pulled down, one guy that has gone to gym once can break a Hafez statue in two, very low quality work) Hezbollah (this collapse proved that were truly the backbone of all resistance in the region, everything is gone without them) Suheil Al Hassan (his Tiger forces leave the war as undefeated in actual combat, he deserves his gay harem) Iran and Russia (they deserve credit for somehow keeping a deeply unpopular regime alive for years, in the end they can’t force the SAA to fight if they don’t want to) Saudi Arabia (supported the rebels until they lost, then supported Assad until he lost, you’re fucked if the Saudis are on your side) ISIS and Baghdadi (if Jolani gets gigachad for his powerful end to the race, then ISIS get virgin cuck for going on a generational run for like two years before getting destroyed) The people of Syria (endured absolute hell for years, with millions leaving and hundreds of thousands dead) Erdogan (I hate that this watermelon seller gets so many Ws in life, but I can’t deny that he masterfully executed his role in this war) Iraq (suffered the worst ISIS spillover, the country almost collapsed because of it, but it came out as a mature leadership in the region) the World collectively (it never needed to be a massive war, everyone from the US to Russia to the Arab World are responsible for ruining a beautiful country) The people of Syria (14 years of pain, half of the population is gone, for what in the end, getting duped into accepting israeli control of the south and americans stealing oil in the east and jihadists in the capital) 
i actually don’t care if people not ideologically aligned with the left are putting CEOs in body bagsI for one am glad the FBI keeps get distracted from their primary mission (anti-communism) by the chuds who keep going nuts
it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice
That proverb is part of why I think China is going to ditch the Communist party name by 2080.
i mean this as half serious opinion and half lighthearted jab at revisionism
Interesting commentary by a Vietnamese communist:
https://xcancel.com/darrion_nguyen/status/1865962973455634668What happened in Syria vindicated Ho Chi Minh famous teaching “A nation who does not want to fight for its independence does not deserve it”. That’s why even though we got support from our allies (materials, technical), it was the Vietnamese to decide our struggle.
We got “negotiated” by big nation (incl. so called allies like the USSR / China) during Geneva and we learned our lesson. Le Duan famously said if we want unification, we must not fear the US, and also not fear the USSR and China, which means if our allies don’t agree to our course of action (let’s say fully liberate the south), be prepared to get supply cut off and fought on our own term if we want unification.
Reality shows that was correct decision, culminating in Paris 1972 where we negotiate directly with the US. In the last days of south Vietnam, the West called the USSR and China to talk to Hanoi to halt our operation, but it was all in vain.
Reminds me how Iran didn’t want Ansarallah to seize Sanaa, but Ansarallah did it anyways.
Man, imagine telling someone that this year, there’d be two attempted or successful assassinations in the United States, one against a president, but the OTHER one caused more of a ripple
The other assassination was against a real ruler of the United States though.
Let’s be real, if the Trump shooter hadn’t missed, that too would have caused a ripple.
Trump shooter was served a target on a Golden platter and still missed. It would’ve been insanely funny if trump got JFKed.
So what happened with that airplane supposedly shot down over Homs? We got info from FlightRadar but no videos or photos of the wreck? That usually comes out real quick.
https://xcancel.com/Kalibrated_Maps/status/1866259550074212660#m
Russia seems to be finally making the push to cut Pokrovsk off from supply.
Pokrovsk is an incredibly important rail and logistics hub, not to mention defensive position, so I don’t see Ukraine giving it up without a fight. If it falls quickly, they are so fucking cooked.
Also, Russia has reportedly been shuffling bombers between air bases lately, among other preparations, which suggests another cruise missile volley soon.
Ali Larijani reportedly offered him pre-set conditions 2 weeks ago in Damascus. Bashar didn’t agree with them and even refused to meet with Larijani—Iran’s special envoy—when he returned to Damascus Friday Dec 6. Bashar Assad refused to open the Golan front, despite being asked to by the resistance groups. The Assad government, after becoming too close with the Gulf Arabs, had put a lot of restrictions on IRGCQF, this sparkled dissatisfaction.
Ex-IRGCQF officer claimed Iran intel knew since 2 months ago that rebel groups in Idlib were up to something. He claims Iranians shared their worries with Turkey, but “Turks deceived them and assured Iranians there’s nothing to be afraid of—Should not have trusted the Turks. The situation in Syria has not ended and it’s going spark unrest. Especially between Kurdish SDF vs Turkish-backed rebel groups (e.g. HTS) AND inner fights among rebel groups.
It’s now widely known that Iran, Hezbollah and other Shia factions asked Assad for permission to open a front in the Golan Heights after October 7th to support the resistance in Gaza & Lebanon. However, Assad refused, reportedly saying he did not want to drag Syria into a possible open confrontation with Israel & he did not want to risk jeopardizing his normalization progress with the Gulf States. Yemen’s Ansarullah reveals more about Assad: ‘He closed our embassy in Damascus, in exchange for Saudi Arabia letting him open a Saudi embassy there’
From Telegram
Time is a flat circle
"The US Central Command said its forces conducted dozens of airstrikes on Islamic State targets in central Syria on Sunday
In a statement, the Centcom said its strikes were aimed to ensure that the Islamic State does not take advantage of the current situation in Syria.
“Battle damage assessments are underway, and there are no indications of civilian casualties,” reads a statement by Centcom posted on X.
“There should be no doubt – we will not allow Isis to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” said Gen Michael Erik Kurilla.
“All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support Isis in any way,” Kurilla added."
They carpet bombed them with B-52 bombers, apparently one site had over 140 bombs dropped on it. B-52, A-10 and F-15E aircraft used. 75 targets total according to CENTCOM.
B-52, A-10
So they let the US do the bombing then
Syrian air defence systems don’t really exist anymore, they’re either in HTS’ hands, or being destroyed by Israel. Russia is withdrawing so they’ll want to stay out of this.
Ain’t no way a Mcdonalds employee snitched on the Adjuster 💀
Maybe looking for clout? Or the owner of 86 McDonald’s who was just there.
Did anyone here invest in turkish cement and get the bag? Really we should’ve seen this coming.
I doubt its limited to cement companies either. You’ve all read about reports of HTS/SNA fighters carrying turkish liras. The implication is clear, Afrin and Idlib have been integrated to the larger turkish economy. And as bad as the turkish economy got these past few years, we are talking about a middle income nation that produces pretty much every kind of consumer good you need.
The future of Syria’s economy pretty much hinges on wether the new government can sell itself as compliant with western dictats so sanctions are dropped (Israel is doing everything possible to make this untenable) and wether the country will recover oil revenues from SDF held territory (US doesn’t seem keen on letting go of that territory either, at least not now). Absent these, it will have to become a turkish economic satellite like Afrin and Idlib.
Assad was so afraid of Israel defeating Syria militarily that he eventually let Israel blow up all of the country’s military hardware without resistance. If America doesn’t stay in Syria forever, IS is going to sweep through half of the country.
Israel not even waiting a single day to invade Syria to grab more land is really something.
International Rules Based Order!!
Um, Israel didn’t “invade” Syria, their tanks just crossed the border into another country to secure a buffer zone
Only crazy putinist orcs invade other countriesEvery security buffer mysteriously gets filled up with condos, neccessitating an additional security buffer. :thonk:
I wonder how long they will wait before building settlements. And they’ll need another buffer zone to protect those…
Who would they settle there? AFAIK a huge chunk of the Israeli population fled the country.
The ones who can’t get back into South Lebanon
Almost like they had time to plan beforehand
I guarantee you they’ve had a war plan for this for decades.
Every country has a giant filing cabinet full of plans for what to do in every case ranging from instability in a neighboring nation to time travellers from Atlantis invading. A lot of places intentionally wargame ridiculous scenarios to try to figure out weird corner cases and potential weaknesses.
You’re no doubt correct about that but it’s one thing to have a plan it’s another thing to have the logistics train in place
The Adjusters twitter has been found
He’s an anti woke AI will save humanity guy
the contradiction between reading and positively reviewing the unabomber’s manifesto and all the pro-AI/tech will save us type posts on his twitter is really something. it’s the tech bro version of shoot and cry (why do I have to keep developing and promoting these terrible AIs that will one day kill us all!!!)
Not really surprising tbh. Americans have very little class awareness and the red scare successfully made them reflexively hate Communism or anything revolutionary. At the same time, far-right ideology has been largely left alone in comparison and people are naturally going to look that way when they hate how the system is and see no other option.
yeah and trying to right-wing your way out of a problem the right-wing got us into is always going to turn out incoherent
Arriving to the propaganda of the deed through fucking rothbard anti-regulation brainworms
He had a spinal fusion operation in his lower back according to twitter, I’d say that would probably serve as motivation for killing a health insurance CEO.
His twitter banner:
BRELOOM?!
I won’t believe it’s actually him for a while yet, imagine the pressure to find this guy, cops would never lie tho
I hope it gets archived before the feds delete it.
Trump’s second assassin was an entertaining read.
Under the cover of heavy artillery and airstrikes, the Israeli Army is continues to make advances into Syria, allegedly their goal is Daraa.
Who are they fighting? Are they fighting anyone or are they just killing people?
I think they will pretty much kill anyone on sight, even other Israelis, that’s why they ask Israelis civilians to not go to that region.
