********************  POSTING RULES & NOTES  ********************
#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.
#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.
*****************************************************************

The article appears to be behind a pay wall.

I've argued that the concept of regime change in Syria was given lie
because of these bans on MANPADS (surface to air missiles) and other
heavier weapons...and the fact that the US could easily have destroyed the
Syrian armed forces in about a week, at least enough for an early victory
by the rebels.

However, the CIA did, through Qatar or S. Arabia, provide many Tow II
anti-tank weapons, which disabled around 18 Syrian T-55 and T-72 tanks
(most of which were returned to service) in 2016. There are youtube videos
of this available. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvVd1e8Gwug ], I can't
remember what year this was. But...the Syrian Army has one of the largest
armored equipped armies on the entire planet with close to 5,000 armored
vehicles with at least 3000 of that being heavy tanks (mostly T-55s, now
obsolete but fine for urban warfare it seems). But total number of TOW
anti-tank missiles are much higher according to this recent article:
https://www.newsweek.com/us-military-targeted-own-missiles-middle-eeast-1277293
It seems that there were over 1000 TOW missile launchers given to the
rebels in Syria. So the US via it's Arab state allies provided the
missiles. But...

The problem then really lies in the obvious lack of anything else such as
command and control, access to satellite intelligence, MANPADS and even
heavy machine guns to down helicopters and Russian fighter jets. Zip. Zero.
There ARE YouTube vids of rebels using MANPADS to shoot down choppers and
jets early on in the civil war but these were all taken from the Syrian
arsenal by deserting Syrian troops. They are clearly Igla surface to air
missiles being used by the rebels.

So it goes again to motivation of by the US to supply some, but not enough,
heavy defensive and offensive weapons by the CIA/NATO/EU.

David
_________________________________________________________
Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm
Set your options at: 
https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com

Reply via email to