WORLD at WAR, Official 2012 Thread (TO BE CONTINUED) Israel, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, PA, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, China, U.S.

just want to end their leadership....country if absolutely necessary.

ummm...yes

Still moving things all day and all night; you guys have fun and keep up on the news!

SLACKER!!!

The moving part is ok, it's the packing/unpacking and figuring out where the stuff is going to go, I don't like. Feel for you, MM!

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Hey guys, check out the article in the thread. Looks like Syria on the move again.

Thread: Breaking: Fierce Battle Erupts As Syria Fires Into Jordan

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Hey Darby. I'm curious why Syria would move units off the Golan to go to Jordan, though. I know they've been after rebels, and THEY'VE gone into Jordan, but taking troops off of the Golan Heights doesn't make sense to me. How thin are they spread out?

In an attempt to stay in power, Assad has been giving de facto autonomy to ethnic minorities. He basically surrendered the Kurdish areas....(Syrian Army left w/o a fight and Kurds just took over). My guess is that he is doing the same with the Druze in the Golan...

He's not worried about an Israeli invasion/Russians are blocking overt foreign intervention (sort of - looks like Turkey keeps ignoring that memo)...

He's not worried about Islamists taking control of Druze areas - Is the 'secret' religion of the Druze even comsidered to be a branch of Islam?. I doubt the Islamists (who consider Sufis to be heretics) view it that way....

So he gets to redirect his troops to places he needs them...and he doesn't have to worry about his enemies (internal & external) moving in to fill the void...

It actually makes more sense to abandon the Druze in Golan than to abandon the Kurdish areas....

To answer your "how thin are they spread out"? The Syrian military is strained. There haven't been the widespread defections people expected - but conscripts are deserting...and some officers have changed sides. They've been fighting for 18 months and I think a majority (or at least a plurality) of deaths in Syria have been soldiers - so that makes 10 to 15k KIA...Also, there are reports that some of the Sunni troops aren't committed to the fight - e.g. that they are firing over the heads of the FSA. Before the war, Syria's best troops would have been in the Golan....While Assad may still have a large number of soldiers - he may not have a large number of elite troops at this point....

Thanks, Darby. I have to admit, I need a program most days. I hope I'm not driving you all nuts with noobie type questions. Do you know or am I remembering incorrectly, it seems like I remember the Druze being considered more Christian than muslim some years back. Or are they like the Palestinians, both?

Your edit sounds like trying to train the Afghani's. They would dissapear and go home for a few weeks or so after payday. Most never came back.

Your questions are not noobie - how many Americans have heard of the Druze? Druze are not Christians and they are not Palestinians - they are a unique ethnic group....I think Israeli Druze are Israeli citizens. I know they serve in the IDF - but Israel isn't really my bailiwick...

The Druze religion is a secret - really....Druze are not allowed to talk about it....I get the impression that their faith is similar to the Alawites - a syncretic faith that is basically mish-mash of near eastern beliefs. A big difference - women are supposedly excluded from the Alawite faith (Alawites think women don't have souls)...I think I remember that women play a big role in the Druze religious mysteries. The religion in that part of the world that I find most fascinating in Yazidism - It's practiced by some Kurds (and their neighbors) in Syria & northern Iraq... Yazidism basically seems like a form of satanism...They worship a Peacock Prince - a fallen angel who lives on earth. They need to keep him happy b/c if he is upset he will punish you....

Wow, I'm going to have to look up more info on the Druze. I know they aren't Palestinians, I meant like Palestinians are both Christian and muslim, some are one and some are the other. I guess I'm just remembering old news programs the wrong way. I always thought the Druze were just another tribe. Thanks.

This is premove weekend, next weekend is the move, only made 7 storage unit moves today. Only using one friend this weekend. Hopefully he will come back next weekend too.

Dang!! And my family says I have a lot of stuff!! We moved from 1800 sq. ft with LOTS of storage to 1300 and NO storage. THEN, my grandma died and I got her church organ, her music (to go with all of mine!) AND her huge bedroom set that barely fits in our bedroom!LOL

Better make sure you feed your friend really well, MM!

Thread: Top Chinese Security Official Makes Surprise Visit To Afghanistan

It looks like Karzai wants to run through the last "super power". He met with China's head of security on the 22nd. China is going to give Afghanistan help battling terrorism.

Where's my duct tape?

there are druze in lebanon, israel and syria. the druze in israel sided with the jewish people in 1948 and regularly serve i nthe idf. but the druze on the israeli side of the golan are loyal to syria and the druze in lebanon have switched back and forth in thier allegiances a lot -- right now their main party is pro-assad, kinda sorta in a wishy washy way. i get the impression the syrian druze haven't participated much in the rebellion.

i guess you could say the israeli druze are palestinian inasmuch as they're arabs from palestine. but they've never considered themselves palestinians -- anymore than anybody did before 1948. israeli bedouin don't think of themselves as palestinians even though they're arab muslims from palestine.

and lots of bedouin serve in the idf
there's a druze likud mk

haaretz breaking news is reporting that a monitoring device disguised as a rock exploded at fordow. no more details.

Thanks Swin. The more I'm on this forum, the more I realize I don't know as much as I thought I did. Not counting the "ask me a question" type threads.lol Nothing is simple, is it? Through in modern politics and we've got a lovely mess. Sorry, watching old tv shows, while I'm doing laundry!

*throw in...not through! sorry.

Last Edited by Texan Buckeye on 09/23/2012 02:56 AM

i just got back from a party -- should turn in now

Rumors have it that war did NOT break out last night!

[link to www.foxnews.com]

Isreal will not re-evaluate peace deal with Egypt.

And provide plenty of drink!

If it's available in your area I would HIGHLY suggest the oldest brewery in the US. (Yuengling). Their traditional Lager is absolutely BRILLIANT!

I have not heard of that beer, I will go try to find it.

Big week coming up. Get ready for quite the speeches from Ahmadananut and then too Bibi.

Militarism are prepared.

Diplomacy is a frace.

Obahmah is too close in the polls which does not help Israel and its decisions and does not help Obahmah in keeping his decision not to attack Iran.

Many things keep us all guessing as to when an attack by Israel may happen, can not rule out this week either.

It's made in Pottsville, PA and only available in the east. Just became available in Ohio last year. I don't know if you can buy it online. Just remember the name and try it if you get a chance.
Once you do, you'll probably have to move again! (to where it's available).