Following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stated on Sunday that it was ready to ground troops to Syria to fight Islamic State. Damascus earlier said it would send unwelcomed invaders back ‘in coffins.’

The UAE’s preparedness to participate in a ground military operation in Syria was confirmed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, who said that "US leadership on this" would be a prerequisite.

"We are not talking about thousands of troops, but we are talking about troops on the ground that will lead the way ... that will support ... and I think our position remains the same and we will have to see how this progresses," he added, as cited by Reuters.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said they would contribute troops for a ground operation in Syria, should the US choose to start one. The three countries are already participating in the aerial bombing campaign spearheaded by Washington. The US however has repeatedly said it would not send ground troops to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and wants the Arab nations to do the fighting on the ground.

https://www.rt.com/news/331638-uae-ground-operation-syria/

oil flowing

Lord help us if Saudi pilots face Russin ones in the air It will be 1967 all over again

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/12/hillary-clintons-insane-plan-for-a-no-fly-zone.html

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-calls-no-fly-zones-syria

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/28/democrats-arent-on-board-with-hillarys-no-fly-zone-plan/

No thank you.

Hint. Hint.

A senior official in the United Arab Emirates says the Persian Gulf state is ready to send troops to Syria to join a US-led campaign allegedly fighting Takfiri Daesh (ISIS) group, Press TV reported.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said at a press conference in Abu Dhabi that "this has been our position throughout" as the UAE has been “frustrated at the slow pace .... of confronting Daesh."

"We are not talking about thousands of troops but we are talking about troops on the ground that will lead the way ... that will support ... and I think our position remains the same and we will have to see how this progresses," he said, noting that the “US leadership” of the campaign is the UAE’s prerequisite.

The announcement came after Saudi Arabia said on February 4 that it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the US-led coalition decides to start such operations. US State Department spokesman John Kirby welcomed the Saudi decision.

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1787121

Spreading liberal democracy...based on sharia law.

air conditioner

They will be anihilated by Russian mercs and Kurdish militias the minute the show up

Hint. Hint.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country should not repeat in Syria the same mistake it made in Iraq when it turned down a U.S. request to be part of the coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein.

“We don’t want to fall into the same mistake in Syria as in Iraq,” the president said, recounting how Turkey’s parliament denied a U.S. request to use its territories for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “It’s important to see the horizon. What’s going on in Syria can only go on for so long. At some point it has to change,” he told journalists on the return flight from a tour of Latin America, according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Opposition forces supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia are losing more ground to the troops of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Hezbollah militants and Russian airstrikes. Turkey has repeatedly urged the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq to increase its support for moderate rebel groups seeking the ouster of Assad.

Had parliament approved the U.S. request to join the coalition in 2003, "Turkey would have been at the table,’’ Erdogan said. Asked if Turkey could manage some sudden development in Syria, he said: "You don’t talk about these things. When necessary, you do what’s needed. Right now our security forces are prepared for all possibilities."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-07/erdogan-signals-turkey-won-t-stay-out-of-syria-if-asked-to-join

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country should not repeat in Syria the same mistake it made in Iraq when it turned down a US request to be part of the coalition that toppled Saddam Hussain.

“We don’t want to fall into the same mistake in Syria as in Iraq,” the president said, recounting how Turkey’s parliament denied a US request to use its territories for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “It’s important to see the horizon. What’s going on in Syria can only go on for so long. At some point it has to change,” he told journalists on the return flight from a tour of Latin America according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Opposition forces supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia are losing more ground to the troops of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who is backed by Hezbollah fighters and Russian air strikes. Turkey has repeatedly urged the US-led coalition fighting Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq to increase its support for moderate rebel groups seeking the ouster of Al Assad.

Had parliament approved the US request to join the coalition in 2003, “Turkey would have been at the table,” Erdogan said.

http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/syria/erdogan-signals-turkey-keen-on-syria-engagement-1.1667700

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Syrian aid workers, hours after the Geneva peace talks fell apart, that the country should expect another three months of bombing that would “decimate” the opposition.

During a conversation on the sidelines of this week’s Syria donor conference in London, sources say, Kerry blamed the Syrian opposition for leaving the talks and paving the way for a joint offensive by the Syrian government and Russia on Aleppo.

“‘He said, ‘Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition,’” one of the aid workers, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her organisation, told Middle East Eye.

Kerry told reporters on Friday, as tens of thousands fled the Syrian government and Russian bombardment of Aleppo, that both Russia and Iran, another of Syria's allies, have told him that they are prepared for a ceasefire in Syria.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/opposition-blame-syrian-bombing-kerry-tells-aid-workers-1808021537

Over the weekend, four of Russia's newest and most sophisticated military aircraft - the Su-35 "Flanker E" - arrived at the Russian airbase of Latakia in Syria.

This comes on the back of another alleged violation of Turkish airspace by a Russian Su-34 "Fullback" fighter-bomber on Friday.

Relations between Ankara and Moscow remain extremely tense since Turkish forces shot down a Russian Su-24 jet after allegedly violating Turkish airspace for under 20 seconds in November.

Although Turkey is within its legal rights to shoot down foreign military aircraft which violate its airspace and refuse to comply with warnings, Ankara deliberately took a very aggressive stand against repeated Russian violations by shooting down the plane.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/analysis-russia-piling-pressure-turkey-160207065649214.html

of even handed support for a popular revolt against the Assad government

At that point it is an open conflict between the US and Russia

Turkey and Nato will cease to be a cloak for US intensions at that point

However if a Flanker with it's anti air craft missile support bring down an F22 in an open combat scenario

then the entire US advanced weapons propaganda machine will fall to pieces

At that point desperation and extreme danger of a wider conventional war begins

It's a shit storm Randy The smell of shit is clinging to the air

It's easy to theorize, but that will only take you so far, these people are nuts.

But I don't think the Turks or GCC will go in without our consent, and for the moment I don't think that consent will be forthcoming. Meanwhile, I am pretty sure our friends in Europe want nothing of the sort.

If the Turks and GCC do go in, without our consent, I expect they will be handed their asses in short order, both of them. But that is just a hunch.

Turkey is ready "if necessary" to let in Syrian refugees trapped on its border after fleeing heavy fighting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Tens of thousands of Syrians, mostly women and children, remain stuck at the Turkish border after escaping a Russia-backed government offensive in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

"The regime has now blocked a part of Aleppo ... Turkey is under threat," Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from Senegal on Saturday.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/turkey-open-border-syrian-refugees-160207113555928.html

Thousands of Syrians have travelled in freezing temperatures to Turkey's border after fleeing a government assault that threatens a new humanitarian disaster, as Damascus warned Riyadh and Ankara not to send in troops.

"Thousands have been sleeping in the open, in fields and on roads," on the border and in the nearby Syrian city of Azaz, said Mamun al-Khatib, director of the Aleppo-based pro-rebel Shahba Press news agency.

"And because the main rebel supply route between Aleppo and Turkey has been cut, the price of oil, foodstuffs and baby milk has shot up in the north of Aleppo province," he added.

Activist Fadi Hajjar told Al Jazeera on Sunday that locals were preparing for Aleppo, which has been under partial rebel control since 2012, to be captured by the Syrian government and besieged.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/thousands-syrians-turkish-border-syria-warns-ankara-riyadh-161337839

And as long as Erdogan or people of his ilk are in power in Turkey, I'll take the Kurds.

It's been an obvious question for some time now.

I don't believe for one second that our government was unaware of his relations with ISIS. We knew about the oil sales and if we didn't, why not? It speaks volumes about our government's intentions in the ME. Peace certainly isn't the goal.

Syrian Constitution will recognize the Kurdish people

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that a delegation from the international coalition includes British and the French persons, led by Brett McGurk the representative of the United States in the international coalition against the “Islamic state”, landed yesterday by helicopter in Rmelan airport located in northeast of Syria and which the American Administration has expanded in order to be a military base for US forces, and this is considered the first visit by a US official to Syria outside the Gate of Damascus.

A Kurdish official informed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the US-president representative met in the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) with members of the democratic self-management in the provinces of al-Jazira and Kobani, the US official also met officials and leaders in the area and praised the experience of the self-management in Syria, he said to them: “what you are now in the self-management, is your right, because you fought against the extremist of Daesh organization, and expelled them from these areas, and future Syria will be democratic and will respect the rights of the Kurdish people, and the new Constitution of Syria will ensure that.”

http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=43831

Reminds of of choosing sides for some game as a child...
"I take Joey!"
"Hey! Who's side are you on??"
Do you suppose he really doesn't know that it's a little more complex than that.
And that "lashing out" at someone you want as a friend is kinda dumb.

(Lest I be accused of the same simplicity of thought that I accuse Erdogan of, my sphere of influence in this world is 4 acres. I can be 'simplistic')

for Americans or the majority of Europeans, although I imagine the EU leadership might sell-out the Kurds for any Turkish help with their refugee crisis if their current bribery proves ineffective.

and Putin can do what he wants with Turkey when they don't have big brother helping them.

We can build an air base in Kurdistan to replace Incirlik. The Kurdish people would appreciate the jobs.

The Kurds have pretty much always supported the US, even though we abandon them as soon as our interests have shifted. They deserve our support long term.

As if the housing of 2.5 million Syrian refugees, a dangerous escalation with Russia, and jitters over a string of Kurdish victories on its southern border were not enough, Turkey woke to another nightmare this week as thousands of Syrians massed at the Turkish border.

The new exodus is a result of the surprisingly swift advance of Russian-backed regime forces towards Aleppo this week. Aided by an intense Russian air campaign, forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar el-Assad were able to break the three-year rebel siege of Shia villages Nubul and Zahra and encircle Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo. While no longer the bustling commercial centre that it once was, Aleppo and the surrounding villages are still home to half a million Syrians and remain the nerve centre for Syrian opposition activity.

Overnight, 20,000 Syrians had fled to the Bab al-Salam (Öncüpinar) border crossing on Friday, with Turkish and United Nations officials predicting tens of thousands more to come if the fighting in Aleppo intensifies.

While Turkey has not yet allowed in the new wave of refugees, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu pledged on Friday that Turkey would not leave them without food or shelter. Turkish government aid agencies are scrambling to build capacity, identify vacancies in existing refugee camps in the area and provide a registration system for the newcomers. Plans are underway to open the border crossing on Monday, which incidentally coincides with a snap visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ankara to discuss the joint action plan on refugees between Turkey and the European Union.

http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_turkeys_triple_disaster5086

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a visit to the Turkish capital on Feb. 8, to meet with the prime minister, as the European Union struggles to cope with the more than one million Syrian refugees that have fled their country due to an ongoing civil war.

According to her official program, Merkel will hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Ankara, with the main focus of the meeting being the implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan.

The European Union pledged to give 3 billion euros worth of funds to Turkey in return for a stoppage of irregular migrants travelling to EU member countries.

“The core of the meeting will be on how the action plan agreed between Turkey and the EU in late November [2015] is implemented,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Feb. 5.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/merkel-to-visit-ankara-over-syrian-refugee-crisis-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94851&NewsCatID=510

God only knows what the US or any of the other belligerents is really up to. The only certainty is that no one knows how to stop it even if they wanted to.

Which explains much.

But the point is I don't think we are really agreed as to what we want, and so we are most unlikely to get it, whatever it is, and most of it is about what happens here anyway, not about what happens overseas (we have ignored as long series of disasters, embarassments, and debacles) it's about who gets to be the big shot here. That's what matters.

I think turkey is going easy on isis completely.

---

Al-Qaida’s affiliate and Ahrar al-Sham are partners in an alliance known as Jaysh al-Fatah, or Army of Conquest, and have recently debated formally merging.

In villages and towns northwest and north of Aleppo, FSA militias are already relying on Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nusra to help them to try to survive a week-long Assad onslaught that has seen Russian warplanes fly hundreds of round-the-clock bombing sorties.

Regime forces have managed to capture a chain of villages that control the main rebel supply route for insurgent-held districts in Aleppo city.

“The situation is disastrous,” said rebel fighter Abu Zaid, who had just returned to Turkey from the front-lines. “The Russians are flying six-plane sorties and we are being bombarded by artillery and coming under multiple rocket attacks.”

http://www.voanews.com/content/moderate-syrian-rebel-factions-face-wipe-out/3180474.html

The Turks, Saudis and Qataris are going to make a stupid move and invade.

That seems likely to lead to a lot more refugees. Putin seems intent on making sure there are plenty as it is. They could get in the way of the fighting. It will not be pretty. It will look like Yemen.

Syrian government troops advanced Sunday toward a rebel town near the Turkish border as they pressed a Russian-backed offensive that has prompted tens of thousands to flee, a monitor said.

The town of Tal Rifaat is around 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) from the Turkish frontier, where Syrians who have fled fighting near Aleppo city have been gathering since the assault was launched Monday.

It is one of the last rebel strongholds in the north of Aleppo province and government troops are just seven kilometres away, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said regime troops want to push north to the border with Turkey to prevent rebels and weapons from entering Syrian territory.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/syrian-army-advances-towards-turkish-border-monitor/article/456874

---

Not only that, but the rebels' fragmented nature, lack of central leadership, and conflict of purposes and sway, was also a reason behind the quick falling in the face of the Syrian army, which, despite of the long and exhausting conflict, is still coherent behind its leadership, with the key support of Hezbollah and other pro-government fighters.

After the Russian Air Force intervened against the insurgent groups in Syria late last September, the Syrian Military General Command declared the beginning of a wide-scale offensive on several key fronts in Syria.

The offensives have recently started reaping fruits, with the army units retaking key areas in the north and south, cutting key rebel supply lines from border areas.

In the northern provinces of Aleppo and Damascus, close to Turkey, the military forces backed by Russia and Hezbollah have wrested control over key towns, cutting most of the rebel supply lines from the Turkish territories, whose government is also accused by Damascus of supporting the rebels in Syria.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-02/07/c_135083718.htm

It was a startling announcement that prompted a flurry of urgent headlines and seemed to answer the prayers of the Obama administration and presidential candidates alike: Saudi Arabia said it would be willing to send ground troops into Syria to combat the Islamic State.

“That kind of news is very welcome,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Added White House spokesman Josh Earnest: “We certainly welcome the announcement from our partners in Saudi Arabia that they would be prepared to ramp up their commitment militarily to this effort.”

The Saudi statement, made February 4 by its Defense Ministry spokesman, also seemed tailored to meet the strategy formulations of Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in regard to countering the Islamic militants, who have established a “caliphate” over large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

Sanders has long complained that “wealthy and powerful Muslim nations in the region can no longer sit on the sidelines and expect the United States to do their work for them.” In a major speech last November, he said the United States should create “an organization like NATO” to confront not just ISIS, but “the rise of violent extremism and…the root causes underlying [its] brutal acts.” Likewise, Clinton said victory over ISIS required Arab states and Turkey to “step up” their contributions in the fight.

http://www.newsweek.com/saudi-offer-troops-syria-not-realistic-experts-423860?piano_t=1

...must not realize Turkey has one of the most powerful militaries on the planet.

Erdogan is a lout.

But it's pretty easy to choose between Erdogan and Turkish forces.

One man's terrorist is another man freedom fighter? Perhaps. Erdogan is the kind of election-rigging tyrant against whom people fight for freedom. He has as much credibility calling the PKK terrorists as Ferdinand Marcos had calling Cory Aquino a terrorist-support politician.

I don't trust Edrogan, and I believe he's involved with ISIS, the same goes for the Saudis and the UAE!!!