Yes but we NEVER heard of them. I mean NEVER. And if people knew about them, I can't imagine anyone in the IC took them seriously

If HTS wanted to make a big statement they should make a concerted and rapid push to Damascus and by-pass Homs. That would be the coup de gras for Assad. Hit where they aren't expecting it.

🇺🇸🇸🇾NEW VIDEO: Putting Syria’s Conflict in Context: Reality on the Ground Driving Difficult Decisions

Update on US proxy war in Syria…

▪️Syrian forces continue withdrawing following a large offensive carried out by US-sponsored terrorists from Idlib, northern Syria;… pic.twitter.com/RgpIb63h2L

— Brian Berletic (@BrianJBerletic) December 6, 2024

And this is despite the fact that the Russian Aerospace Forces struck the bridge in the Er-Rastan area.

3/ pic.twitter.com/qgnDBCmQPU

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 6, 2024

Hezbollah deployed a small number of troops in an advisory capacity from Lebanon to Syria overnight to help stop opposition fighters from capturing the strategic city of Homs, two senior Lebanese security sources told Reuters

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 6, 2024

So is the best case that this becomes the black hole of the Middle East and draws in one set of crazies after another to fight and die?

Clavell said:

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So is the best case that this becomes the black hole of the Middle East and draws in one set of crazies after another to fight and die?

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We can only hope. While it's in all likelihood bull**** and won't hold up I do like the surface level talk of this HTS group wanting to be more Syria and less Islamic.

Would be a nice surprise if that's real. Regardless, I hope we stay on the sidelines assuming we aren't fully funding this adventure.

Do you just go out of your way to find Twitter posts blaming the United States for everything that happens in the world?

AtticusMatlock said:

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Do you just go out of your way to find Twitter posts blaming the United States for everything that happens in the world?

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Outside of MSM it's really not hard to find those...

AtticusMatlock said:

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Do you just go out of your way to find Twitter posts blaming the United States for everything that happens in the world?

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I certainly don't go to the MSM to find accurate reporting/news.

We are the media now pic.twitter.com/p4OVdHmd4T

— TesAli (@alifarhat6_ali) December 5, 2024

IT'S REALLY HAPPENING.

Brian Berletic seems interesting. Almost everything he posts is all pro-Russia. He even is critical of Trump as running a neocon war hawk administration.

He is critical of the American media, but is heavily in favor of Russia where making an online comment critical of the government just had its penalty increased to two years in jail. Given the pace that Russia is nationalizing private business right now, anyone so in love with them must fall pretty far left on the economic political scale.

2wealfth Man said:

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If HTS wanted to make a big statement they should make a concerted and rapid push to Damascus and by-pass Homs. That would be the coup de gras for Assad. Hit where they aren't expecting it.

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look at the map - you can't really do that as the highway network runs from Aleppo

south to Hama to Homs to Damascus.

alot of Syria is desert.

you are not including Deraa and Idlib provinces to the south of Damascus which are also in open revolt and moving north right now.

YouBet said:

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Clavell said:

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So is the best case that this becomes the black hole of the Middle East and draws in one set of crazies after another to fight and die?

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We can only hope. While it's in all likelihood bull**** and won't hold up I do like the surface level talk of this HTS group wanting to be more Syria and less Islamic.

Would be a nice surprise if that's real. Regardless, I hope we stay on the sidelines assuming we aren't fully funding this adventure.

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I am much less pessimistic than you.

I just watched a ten minute interview with Al Jalani. he is very impressive in his intelligence, and clarity of thought and his temperament

now can he turn into Osama Bin Laden? of course it is possible

is it probable based on the last 4 years of his actions? no.

the Iranian Shia militias appear to be retreating back to Iraq right now- just as Israel crushed Hizbullah and the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon and crushed Hamas in Gaza-

iran is being defeated and attacked on several fronts.

glorious.

it is getting harder and harder to see how Assad can hold control over Syria. if he loses Homs this weekend, that is 3 of the 4 largest cities in Syria.

now he is also being attacked from a few miles south of Damascus

supposedly a drone was sent against his palace

"A military checkpoint of the Pro-Assad forces forces near the town of Ghabagheb on the Damascus-Daraa international highway has been stormed, with all equipment seized."

LMCane said:

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YouBet said:

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Clavell said:

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So is the best case that this becomes the black hole of the Middle East and draws in one set of crazies after another to fight and die?

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We can only hope. While it's in all likelihood bull**** and won't hold up I do like the surface level talk of this HTS group wanting to be more Syria and less Islamic.

Would be a nice surprise if that's real. Regardless, I hope we stay on the sidelines assuming we aren't fully funding this adventure.

---

I am much less pessimistic than you.

I just watched a ten minute interview with Al Jalani. he is very impressive in his intelligence, and clarity of thought and his temperament

now can he turn into Osama Bin Laden? of course it is possible

is it probable based on the last 4 years of his actions? no.

the Iranian Shia militias appear to be retreating back to Iraq right now- just as Israel crushed Hizbullah and the IRGC in Syria and Lebanon and crushed Hamas in Gaza-

iran is being defeated and attacked on several fronts.

glorious.

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I wonder how much of the intel gathered about Hezbollah and Syria from Israel's pager op made its way into the hands of those supporting this attack against Assad?

Really this is pretty incredible.

It seems very unlikely at this point, given regime forces are melting away and an Iranian intervention is not forthcoming. Best guess, RF will focus on cutting some kind of deal to keep its two main bases which are key to operations/influence in MENA. https://t.co/8e4UHWrhG2

— Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael) December 6, 2024

When you're kind of waiting for the many fronts in #Syria to stabilize before updating the map (and it never happens) pic.twitter.com/HswevpzQYY

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 6, 2024

Iran losing is great, still not sure who is 'winning' or if that is a 'good' team to support. Hezbollah and Hamas should have less firepower, but Erdogan on the other hand will be in a much stronger position, if Assad's 'regime' collapses fully.

AtticusMatlock said:

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Do you just go out of your way to find Twitter posts blaming the United States for everything that happens in the world?

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I mean, it's hard not to find some culpability.

How about Jake Sullivan’s email to Hillary Clinton?

“Al Qaeda (AQ) is on our side in Syria.”

This guy Sullivan was Hillary’s foreign policy advisor; and he has been leading Biden’s National Security Council. pic.twitter.com/GS2jOLsThS

— S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) December 6, 2024

Unanimous support for a new OSCE Sec. Gen. is hopefully a good sign.

Important
👇 #Velsig https://t.co/XrZmYUQ7Eu

— Velina Tchakarova (@vtchakarova) December 6, 2024

Egyptian and Jordanian officials have apparently urged Assad to form a 'government in exile'

At this point the battle for #Homs is everything - if he can stop the opposition advance, Assad may have a fighting chance to buy himself time to convince his allies to help, and to see his enemies start fighting each other rather than himself. If not, I'd say he's done and it's…

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 6, 2024

Why does all of this remind me of an extremely armed bar room brawl?

He is saying mostly the right things, but so did the Taliban in the days after the takeover of Kabul.

He has tried to rebrand himself and his coalition as Syrian nationalists. However he is still very much an Islamist.

He was in US custody for 5 years after being captured in Iraq. After his release he founded the Al-Nusra front in Syria. This was the official Al-Qaeda branch in Syria. He worked in sync with Al Qaeda in Iraq. When Al-Baghdadi decided to form ISIS they split.

They got pushed out of Aleppo and settled down in Idlib where he gradually built a coalition of militias and other groups to join him in a Syrian nationalistic alliance. This is what we are seeing now.

However it should be noted in the past he said his stated goal is to create an Islamic State in Syria and, at least 10 years ago stated directly that Christians and other religions would not be accommodated.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/4/who-is-abu-mohamad-al-julani-the-leader-of-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-in-syria

Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has announced that they are now at the Gates of Homs in Western Syria, with the City likely to fall in the coming hours. If Homs is captured, then Russian and Syrian Forces in Tartus and Latakia will be cut-off from the remainder of the Country.

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 6, 2024

A lot happening over the last several hours.

Iran is pulling out their people. Generals, military, civilians, are rapidly evacuating the country.

Three Iranian Officials have told the New York Times that they have begun the Evacuation of Senior Military Leaders and Personnel from Syria, in anticipation of the Imminent Collapse of the Assad Regime. Top Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds… pic.twitter.com/jUzZBE034G

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 7, 2024

Assad had apparently evacuated his family to Russia, but now there are reports he personally has flown to Tehran.

To the south, the local Druze population has taken control of their majority regions:

The Druze and Christian population of Suwayda in southern Syria has taken control of the city and forced Assad’s forces out.

The Druze-majority city near the border with Jordan has a population of 100 000.

Assad won’t be able to turn this thing around. pic.twitter.com/98kVFfpZvR

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 6, 2024

The primary military rebel group is already fighting inside Homs against a rapidly collapsing Syrian army.

There's a serious chance Damascus could fall within a few days.

HTS learned from ISIS not to be too brutal.

The pipeline war continues.

Back in 2021 PBS did a Frontline on Jolani. It has comments disabled and won't allow me to share. Interesting.

A US government funded media organization does an interview with a US designated terrorist leader with a $10M reward for his capture. Jolani says he did the interview to change his image and he's different than the others.

https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-cia-pentagon-isis-20160327-story.html

That's funny

I haven't really followed this one. Who is the us deep state supporting on this one? And what's significance of Syria?

You hate to see Iran and Russia fleeing from Syria. Oh wait no, I love to see it. People from a certain perspective hate to see it though.

We really don't want Syria to fall to these guys. These rebels are worse than Assad and his people.

FriscoKid said:

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We really don't want Syria to fall to these guys. These rebels are worse than Assad and his people.

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Yeah, I can't figure why so many here are on their side.

Assad is scum, but he's far better than Al-Qaeda 2.0.

Rapier108 said:

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FriscoKid said:

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We really don't want Syria to fall to these guys. These rebels are worse than Assad and his people.

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Yeah, I can't figure why so many here are on their side.

Assad is scum, but he's far better than Al-Qaeda 2.0.

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I was really naive about Saddam Husain when the US took him out in the gulf war. I can still remember someone telling me that the dictator was a bad dude, but he was better than the alternative. I looked at him like he had two heads and I thought he was absolutely nuts. Assad is a brutal dictator that has used inhuman means to keep his power, but he has largely allowed different religions and people to exist in his country as long as they didn't threaten his power.

Just like Saddam, Assad is the only non-religious extremist that won't allow rape of people base on religion. pic.twitter.com/xpKzqCCVoa

— Muhammad Abuzar Khan (@FuhrerAbuzar) December 7, 2024

Trying to catch up on this story on Twitter before sleep and this popped up. All I can say is "yep".

They've apparently abandoned the interior.

If the regime is still cohesive and capable of implementing a strategy, it seems to me that the decision has now been taken to shrink presence back to a North-South area, in Western Syria. An area stretching from Turkish border (Latakia Mountains), to Damascus (via Homs).

Again… https://t.co/n1QF0EJwBP pic.twitter.com/Jo1c4UYKT9

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 7, 2024

About right;

The most effective solution would be to establish a short interim government to stabilize the system and pave the way for discussions among Syrians in Damascus. talks must aim to agree on a longer interim body and facilitate the integration of rebel groups. The fighting must stop

— Ro¢ky (@LShahri81141) December 7, 2024

Interesting thread. I certainly don't know this guy but he seems to know what he's talking about.

1/
Assad’s forces are done. Homs is indefensible—his best troops were in Hama, and when the time came for close quarters urban combat, they folded. SAA must retreat now, taking forces and materiel to the Nusayriyah Mountains to their last defensible line. pic.twitter.com/s1WuFjEvFf

— Karim Franceschi (@karimfranceschi) December 6, 2024

Not sure which guys are the worse, but pretty sure there are not enough good guys fighting for it to matter. Whatever the outcome bad guys will be making the decisions.

LMCane said:

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Bayou City said:

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Where do You guys get these up dates?

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I am on Twitter as I am working on my book

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Hardest working man in literature!?!?