Good reading, ORAC. That clarified Turkey's position for me, somewhat. Thanks.

Joli, for a Turkish view on Mosul and the Lausanne Treaty, see here.


http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/44/676/8604.pdf

ANKARA (Reuters) — Turkey’s military has begun deploying tanks and other armored vehicles to the town of Silopi near the Iraqi border, in a move the defense minister said on Tuesday was related to the fight against terrorism and developments across the border. Fikri Isik said Turkey had “no obligation” to wait behind its borders and would do what was necessary if Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants took a foothold in Iraq’s Sinjar region, about 115 kilometers south of Silopi. “We will not allow the threat to Turkey to increase,” he told broadcaster A Haber in an interview.

The army deployment, disclosed by military sources, came after President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey was aiming to reinforce its troops in Silopi. Photos from the sources showed a long column of vehicles, including tanks, tank rescue vehicles and construction vehicles in single file.

The deployment coincides with an Iraqi operation to drive the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and after Iraqi Shiite militias launched a related offensive to push the jihadists out of the town of Tal Afar further west. Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara would have a “different response” for Shiite militias if they “cause terror” in Tal Afar, home to a sizeable ethnic Turkmen population with historic and cultural ties to Turk

Nice, now we are posting ISIS propaganda videos.

Noticed that the Russian aircraft carrier has broken down and is now being towed by its accompanying tug.........

"Noticed that the Russian aircraft carrier has broken down and is now being towed by its accompanying tug......... " as it was copypasted from a house-wife forum :-)


Looks like it stands still and is being re-fuelled.

Is this the image that you saw?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CwV8FzyWgAEQg_K.jpg:large

From

https://twitter.com/D__Mitch/status/794179032686399488

Not being towed but refueling from Northern Fleet tanker Dubna.

Sat image was from October 28th off the coast of Morocco.

It seems a fundamental flaw in their operations to have a warship, especially the size of a carrier sitting stationary while it takes on stores or fuel.

Good to see so many MPs advocating airdrops of food over Aleppo by the RAF. No doubt they will all be first in the queue to sit on the jump seat as an observer.

Yea I heard them on about that last night as well, including Benn.
He was one of the first parliamentary twats to advocate more UK mil involvement.
None of them have a ******* clue.

They are still trying to bring further RAF involvement.
 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...irdrops-aleppo

201 MPs have made a signature list asking for airdrops on Aleppo. I'm sort of staggered by this demand but not really surprised.
Wondering if my MP signed it.. maybe contact at my MP and ask her again to counsel avoid UK involvement. I mean its only what 19 days since Armistice. and all those poppies...yet quickly off we go again.
Think it would be very dangerous for our own people even in the slim chance this occurred. Easily construed as support for the rebels which would put our people in direct danger IMHO. Or may be its just simple me?

If they die while hungry or die with a bit of food in their bellies, when the projected massacres occur ... how does this airdrop help? From the linked Guardian article: Aid agencies never stop asking for more. (It's in the nature of the business, I suppose). Granted, this isn't my government nor our people (we've got a variety of folks in the region doing a variety of stuff) but I don't find Mr Robertson's appeal to be rational. Caveat: I was career military, so perhaps I just can't see things through his pair of glasses.


So I'll ask: is he doing this to try embarrassing the sitting government (who are not his party) or does he honestly believe that air dropped food is going to solve the problem? The problem is that there isn't a cease fire.

An observation. If the MPs had voted to back bombing Assad a few years ago, where would we be today? Would Russia have jumped in then?

Israeli missiles strike airport near Syrian presidential palace

Second time in eight days that Israeli jets had targeted positions outside Damascus

A barrage of Israeli missiles struck an airbase outside Damascus overnight without causing any casualties, Syrian state media reported on Wednesday. According to the Al-Mayadeen television channel, the jets targeted the Mezzeh military airport, which neighbours President Bashar al Assad's palace. Loud explosions in the Mezzeh neighbourhood were also reported on social media.

Syrian State news agency SANA said the missiles were fired from a position "west of Tal Abu Nada", a mountain in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights known as Mount Avital in Israel. "At 3:00 am (01:00 GMT) the Israeli enemy fired several surface to surface missiles from inside occupied territory," the state news agency SANA said, citing a military source. The media agency said the missiles caused a fire but no casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, earlier reported the sounds of explosions in the area of the airbase and said fires had erupted inside the facility afterwards. It did not confirm the source of the explosions.

The Mezzeh airbase, less than eight kilometres (five miles) southwest of Damascus, hosts the headquarters of the feared air force intelligence service and its notorious prison.

It was the second time in eight days that Israel, which is technically still at war with Syria, had targeted positions outside Damascus. Last week, Damascus alleged that Israeli jets attacked west of Damascus, with reports in Arab media saying an arms convoy intended for Hezbollah was the target.

The news came amid tensions along Israel's northern border after clashes between the Israeli army and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group........

Ah, so that's why the Israelis are pitching in. Time to make a fresh batch of popcorn.

Strange that Syria has recovered 95% of Aleppo city and there hasn't been a massacre of hundreds of thousands.

There hasn't been hundreds of thousands there.

Racedo,

Right, MOUT as usual. Losses are inevitable. BTW, I assume the situation in Mosul/Iraq is not better. Terrorists there also use human shields and do not allow the civilians to leave the occupied blocks (mines, killings of those who attempt to run away).

ISIS recapture Palmyra; thought they were supposed to be all but defeated?

Well, if Russia had been attacking Daesh as they have purported to, instead of shoreing up Assad against the Rebels, perhaps Palmyra wouldn't have fallen...again.

I'm sure once Aleppo is totally in Assad's hands, he'll purge Daesh once and for all. After he spends the next 50 years paying Putin back for the assistance, and has rebuilt most of the city.