[Newsbot]

Title: French jets bomb ISIS targets in Syrian stronghold of Raqqa
Category: Military
Posted By: N_Fiddledog
Date: 2015-11-16 00:11:23
Canadian

[maldonsfecht]

happy hunting and sorry you'll be seeing our Hornets flying the other way...

[BartSimpson]

A valid question here is that if these targets were known all along then why weren't they bombed before this? Why did 120+ people have to die in Paris before these targets were hit?

[andyt]

This wasn't some extra mission. The other countries just allowed France to go first on a mission that was already planned.

[BRAH]

After Obama's G20 news conference on the Paris Terrorist Attacks the World knows where he stands.

[N_Fiddledog]

$1:

Fear grips Syria's Raqqa as French and Russian airstrikes intensify

BEIRUT -- Islamic State militants are stiffening their defences for a possible assault on their de facto capital Raqqa as international airstrikes intensify on the Syrian city in retaliation for the Paris attacks. The fighters are hiding in civilian neighbourhoods and preventing anyone from fleeing, activists said.

Activists from Raqqa say the northern Syrian city's estimated 350,000 residents are gripped by fear, rattled by powerful Russian and French airstrikes that shake the city daily and worried they would be trapped with nowhere to go amid signs of a looming ground invasion by U.S.-allied Kurdish and Arab forces in Syria.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/fear-grips- ... -1.2662932

[xerxes]

What was it? 20 different targets hit? Unless it was 20 seperate carpet bombings it's next to nothing.

[N_Fiddledog]

Must be the possibility of the ground invasion that has them spooked.

Before the Turks and the Russians got into this and started hitting everybody except ISIS I remember how the Kurds and the FSA were starting to win ground to the North of Raqqa. They were taking towns from ISIS and massing their forces. They were saying not Raqqa right now, but...

The Russians aren't going to ally with the FSA, but if they coordinate with the Kurds (or at least the American led allies), the French stay pissed off and the Turks stay out of it, yeah Raqqa could fall.

Who takes over the city after ISIS is gone could create some fun arguments.

[Canadian_Mind]

At this point, with all the refugees leaving the country, I have a hard time believing anyone left in Raqqah are innocent in the sense that they aren't active ISIS members or aren't otherwise supportive of the ISIS cause.

Now, this is a pretty broad assumption, so tell me if I'm wrong. But if I'm not wrong, why aren't we trying to level the city and kill everyone in it?

[andyt]

Really? 350,000 supporters of ISIS, including the women and children? You might want to read what FD cited above

[andyt]

xerxes xerxes:

What was it? 20 different targets hit? Unless it was 20 seperate carpet bombings it's next to nothing.

20 bombs, not 20 targets. Only two targets have been mentioned.

[Jabberwalker]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

A valid question here is that if these targets were known all along then why weren't they bombed before this? Why did 120+ people have to die in Paris before these targets were hit?

I've been wondering exactly that, myself. What exactly are they usually bombing if not the enemy's headquarters.

[N_Fiddledog]

I can't vouch for this one. It's from the leftist Daily Beast, but they're claiming Russia was carpet bombing EBI a day or two ago.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... cades.html

EBI is Everybody But ISIS. This will in some way known only to Vladimir Putin teach ISIS a lesson about bringing down the Russian jet liner in the Sinai, I guess.

"Take that FSA who fights ISIS. That will teach you a lesson ISIS."

That's interesting. Vladimir logic is a lot like Prog logic in that it doesn't make any sense.