It’s no secret that the Russians have many thousands of fake accounts on social media. Most are under women’s names. The people running the accounts work for the Internet Research Agency, generally called the Agency. In my youth, I was a sucker for the sort of women who the Agency hires. Now, they’re as attractive…
Russia is learning that some people don’t scare easily
February 26, 2016
When Russia decided to intervene on behalf of Bashar al-Assad, those who don’t know anything about military matters thought that they were seeing a level of competence that nobody else had shown in the conflict. They were wrong. My experience with Russians had prepared me for what inevitably happened. One of the best films ever…
Weapons and tactics. Study them, and you’ll know the world
February 4, 2016
Last night I wrote a post about the war of words between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds. My opinion is that it’s posturing as a way of saving face, a way of projecting strength, and as geopolitical deception. Today I discovered that I was right. My knowledge of weapons and military capabilities allowed me to…
Context: Here’s how “civilized” westerners used to fight
January 30, 2016
While we wait to see what’ll happen in Syria, Iraq, and the rest of the Middle East, here’s some context for the fighting. In five years, about 250,000 have been killed in the Syrian civil war. In comparison, from February to December of 1916, over 300,000 combatants were killed in the Battle of Verdun. Nobody’s…
Turkey confirms that Arab League special forces are in Syria
January 23, 2016
I don’t blame people for being wrong about what’s happening in Syria. What does anger me is fearmongering and the notion that only westerners are capable of solving the problems in the region. American politicians say that the US has to lead the fight. Actually, our attempts to do so have made everything worse. The…
Tishreen Dam was taken in a ferocious battle
January 21, 2016
With each passing day, I’m more impressed by the ability of the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) and the Arab League to conceal what they’re doing in Syria. My little blog posts won’t change anything, because the plausible deniability is perfect. Operations security (OPSEC) is perfect. If I thought I were endangering anything, I wouldn’t do…
Never look for rationality where there is none
January 19, 2016
My lawyer told me that. He said the hardest thing he had to learn was to never look for rationality where there is none. I understand intellectually, but so far I’ve been unable to emotionally disconnect myself from the global irrationality I see. It fills me with horror and rage. I’m apolitical. Although I always…
Syria as a microcosm of the Middle East
January 17, 2016
How would you win the war in Syria? We have Alawites, Christians, and Shi’ites fighting against Sunnis and Christians; Turkey is supporting the Sunni Arabs and threatening to attack the Kurds; the Arabs accuse the Kurds of land grabs; Iran wants to use Syria to open another front against Israel; western powers have no credibility…