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U.S. forces killed scores of Russian mercenaries in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to one U.S. official and three Russians familiar with the matter.

More than 200 contract soldiers, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, died in a failed attack on a base held by U.S. and mainly Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region, two of the Russians said. The U.S. official put the death toll in the fighting at about 100, with 200 to 300 injured, but was unable to say how many were Russians.

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Originally posted by kpo:
A bit more about the role of Russian mercs, and how the deaths are difficult for Putin domestically - https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-14/putin-is-struggling
-to-keep-his-wars-separate

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
YES!!!

*pumps fist*

Direct confrontation with Russia over OUR desire to (ILLEGALLY) partition Syria!

Once again, a rogue USA operation to destroy yet another nation!

What's not to like???

[/snark]

*****

Well, SECOND, here you have two examples of the famous "chicken-hawks" that piss you off so much. THUGR will join this circle-jerk in three... two ... one ...

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Once again, a rogue USA operation to destroy yet another nation!

What's not to like???

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Originally posted by captaincrunch:

Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
YES!!!

*pumps fist*

Direct confrontation with Russia over OUR desire to (ILLEGALLY) partition Syria!

Once again, a rogue USA operation to destroy yet another nation!

What's not to like???

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I'm missing where anyone cheered this on. Cites? It's a very short thread - should be easy. Yanno, easy for an honest person.

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Well CC, sig could always cite herself on this one. Come to think of it I just did and so have you.

http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=62236&mid=10472
04#1047204

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Is there an end in sight? While Putin essentially declared the Syrian war over back in December, if anything, the conflict has now grown even more complex. Ahead of the March presidential elections, he seems eager to avoid anything that could alarm the Russian people. If Putin withdraws from Syria now, it is essentially handing the country over to Iran, particularly after the failure of his peace talks. Russia is learning the lesson of so many imperial powers past: It’s much easier to get into a Middle Eastern conflict than to get out of one.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
YES!!!

*pumps fist*

Direct confrontation with Russia over OUR desire to (ILLEGALLY) partition Syria!

Once again, a rogue USA operation to destroy yet another nation!

What's not to like???

[/snark]

*****

Well, SECOND, here you have two examples of the famous "chicken-hawks" that piss you off so much. THUGR will join this circle-jerk in three... two ... one ...

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Imagine if Trump weren't Putin's puppet, how many more would have been killed !!

Obama or Hillary would have never green lit such a *turkey shoot.

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Originally, Wagner was well-funded and seems to have simply operated as part of the forces commanded by the Russian command team in Damascus. It provided them with tough, seasoned ground troops but also deniability; as a notionally mercenary force, the government did not have to report its casualties and thus could continue to maintain the fiction to its own people that this was a war with few risks to the Russians deployed. From 2017, though, something changed. Maybe because the ground war seemed all but won, or at least within the capabilities of the revived Syrian army, the money stopped flowing.

Enter Prigozhin. That year, as it seems Moscow no longer wanted to pay for these soldiers, one of his companies, Evro-Polis, stepped in to pick up the slack. In 2016, its core business was listed on the official register as dealing in food products. In 2017, suddenly, it had added mining and trading in oil and gas, it opened an office in Damascus, and it signed a five-year contract with the Syrian government’s General Petroleum Corporation. This gave it the right to claim 25% of the proceeds from any rebel-held oil and gas fields that Wagner captured.

It is impossible to be sure, of course, but the timing is suggestive. Wagner is a useful asset and Moscow did not want to lose it, but nor could it justify paying what has been estimated at almost $125 million a year for it. So it let Prigozhin turn it into a speculative commercial venture. It is worth noting, after all, that its most recent, ill-fated venture – which saw it suffer a devastating US counter-attack – was aimed at seizing the Conoco oil fields, a target of limited strategic value but considerable economic potential.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Imagine if Trump weren't Putin's puppet, how many more would have been killed !!

Obama or Hillary would have never green lit such a *turkey shoot.

* unless it was Militant jihadists in Libya, attacking our own Embassy staff, so as to cover up some illegal arms deals , that is.

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You really don't know how anything works do you. This was our troops defending themselves. Trump had nothing to do with it.


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Originally posted by THGRRI:

You really don't know how anything works do you. This was our troops defending themselves. Trump had nothing to do with it.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by THGRRI:

You really don't know how anything works do you. This was our troops defending themselves. Trump had nothing to do with it.

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This was our troops ALLOWED to defend themselves. Trump and Mad dog Mattis absolutely had something to do w/this , I guarantee it.

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So what are you saying? That until Trump became president they were not allowed to defend themselves? Because that's what your post implys'. Stupid...again more stupid shit from you rappy.


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Originally posted by AURaptor:

It's the truth. Trump told Mattis do as you need to do, and he took the gloves off. Obama would have NEVER allowed that.

How are you calling ME stupid for relaying the facts ?


You're just that much in denial .


Obama sucks. Trump has issues, but allowing troops to defend themselves isn't one of them. Troops love Trump.

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You stating here that our troops that are in Syria were not allowed to defend themselves while Obama was president, shows an incredible lack of common sense and or honesty. And, its documented.


T