Mark Carney dissolves the Canadian parliament, and we are off to the polls April 28th.
Promises to be a fairly " fruity" affair, with a lot going on internally and externally affecti g the potential outcome.
Buckle up!!
1 Like
Assad kept power due to Iranian weapons and Hezbollah troops. When Israel and Iran came to blows, Israel stepped up attacks on all Iranian weapons smuggling shipments they could identify. The pager attack and bombing campaign in Lebanon left Hezbollah without its entire leadership structure, then their troops were smashed by Israeli border raids. Hezbollah as a military force basically ceased to exist.
The flow on effects of Gaza stripped Assad of all this support, leaving him vulnerable to the HTS lightning advance that went down. But now they hold power HTS is very very aware that Hezbollah did some very evil things in the name of Assad, there will be no love lost there for a long time to come.
As with a lot of this region, the path forward in Syria will heavily be directed by the shenanigans of Turkey, Iran and Israel as they each try to influence the direction of the region.
(Please don’t take this post as a moral judgement of any kind about Gaza and Israel)
Just to note that Russia also provided military support to the Assad regime.
Hezbollah may have been a bit player in maintaining Assad in power.
2 Likes
It was a mix. Russia provided air strikes, which the rebels didn’t have a counter to. That was hugely impactful in swinging the balance of power on the ground. But without troops on the ground, the air strikes wouldn’t have achieved much, which is what we saw in the final days. Russia was bombing everything they could during the HTS advance, but the Assad forces weren’t holding the line anymore.
What Hezbollah did was provide backbone to the Assad forces on the ground. Hezbollah might have held the line without the Russian air support, but with the support it was decisive earlier in the war. And Hezbollah were the arm of Iran in this conflict, so brought substantial blood and treasure to the fight that Assad couldn’t provide himself.
It’s happening again. Iceland volcano livestream
2 Likes
The US has moved 6 B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. They have pulled 2 Patriot and a THAAD missile defence batteries from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean theatre. Air cargo shipments to Diego Garcia have increased by 50%.
I’m not saying something is certain to happen, but if the US was about to blow up Iran’s nuclear weapons program, this is what the preparations would look like.
4 Likes
Joining the dots ( as in the US politics thread) the upscale in attacks on the Houthis as Iran’s proxy, Trump’s letter to the Supreme leader of Iran ( with threats if Iran won’t come to the table to talk nuclear) the build up in Diego Garcia… Iran isn’t taking the bait to strike first.
2 Likes
Have you checked for updates on the signal chat?
8 Likes
Just call Pete Hegseth’s wife…she seems to be in the loop these days.
3 Likes
No words for this one
“ Hungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become “political”, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanhayu – the subject of an ICC arrest warrant – to Budapest for an official visit.
Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orbàn said Hungary was convinced the “otherwise very important court” had “diminished into a political forum”.
Netanyahu hailed “a bold and principled” decision. “I thank you, Viktor … It’s important for all democracies,” the Israeli prime minister said. “It’s important to stand up to this corrupt organisation.” Netanyahu has been under an international arrest warrant since November over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
2 Likes
Netanyahu is on trial for corruption in an Israeli Court. It keeps getting delayed mostly because of the need for him to devote his efforts to continue the War on Gaza ( Israel’s right to defend itself), other delays because of urgent surgery.
There are reports of legislation giving his government the power to dismiss and appoint Judges based on their loyalty to Israel values ( as defined by his Cabinet)
Meanwhile, the President of the EU Commission pays a visit to Netanyahu, great pics of them shaking hands.
3 Likes
Barry_day I have plenty of time for your posts but you’ve upset my Saturday morning cartoon frame of mind with this one. I can’t even imagine, and I’ve got a decent imagination. This world
3 Likes
I have a very vivid imagination and have seen show in Thailand where animals are active participants, but I cannot imagine how a woman has intercourse with a very small dog.
Not asking for anyone to tell me.
1 Like
The obvious question, of course, is how low can a person go?
2 Likes
Orban makes me ashamed to be Hungarian.
Hey Bacchus…remember out little exchange recently about who would be up against the wall if one of us took over.
You went with Economists (from memory) whilst I went with Lawyers.
I want to add “Influencers” to the list…the majority (if not all) are just total oxygen thieves.
4 Likes
He’s a ■■■■. #notallhungarians
1 Like
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s chilling warning to the world: Trump’s trade wars have changed everything and has made the world a much more uncertain and dangerous place.
3 Likes
