Sgt Joch

I agree with Peter on this one. In terms of the CMSF backstory, I can't see the UN intervening to put the Assad government back in power. To me, a more logical backstory would be tied in to Lebanon. Syria wants to keep Lebanon as a protectorate. The US and France have been pressuring Syria to leave. The Syrian army left in april 2005, but Syria is trying to maintain control, as we can see from the Hariri assassination and that of Tueni on Monday. For example, what about this sory: 1.In 2006, an anti-Syrian government is elected in Lebanon which starts to take concrete measures to remove Syrian influence from the lebanese government and economy; 2.The Assad government, in a bid to retain power, organises a coup by pro-syrian forces in Lebanon which topples the newly elected Lebanese government; 3.The new pro-Syrian government asks Syria for help to maintain order. Syria sends in a couple of divisions as "peacekeepers"; 4. The UN security council, which sees through the Syrian game, demands that Syria leave Lebanon. 5. Assad who knows that another pullout from Lebanon could lead to an internal coup against him, stalls for time and tries to bluff his way out; 6. US and coalition forces launch a limited attack against Syria to liberate Lebanon and blunt Syrian military capability. This scenario is a mix of Afghanistan, 1979, and Kuwait, 1990.

I agree with Peter on this one. In terms of the CMSF backstory, I can't see the UN intervening to put the Assad government back in power. To me, a more logical backstory would be tied in to Lebanon. Syria wants to keep Lebanon as a protectorate. The US and France have been pressuring Syria to leave. The Syrian army left in april 2005, but Syria is trying to maintain control, as we can see from the Hariri assassination and that of Tueni on Monday. For example, what about this sory: 1.In 2006, an anti-Syrian government is elected in Lebanon which starts to take concrete measures to remove Syrian influence from the lebanese government and economy; 2.The Assad government, in a bid to retain power, organises a coup by pro-syrian forces in Lebanon which topples the newly elected Lebanese government; 3.The new pro-Syrian government asks Syria for help to maintain order. Syria sends in a couple of divisions as "peacekeepers"; 4. The UN security council, which sees through the Syrian game, demands that Syria leave Lebanon. 5. Assad who knows that another pullout from Lebanon could lead to an internal coup against him, stalls for time and tries to bluff his way out; 6. US and coalition forces launch a limited attack against Syria to liberate Lebanon and blunt Syrian military capability. This scenario is a mix of Afghanistan, 1979, and Kuwait, 1990.

I agree with Peter on this one. In terms of the CMSF backstory, I can't see the UN intervening to put the Assad government back in power. To me, a more logical backstory would be tied in to Lebanon. Syria wants to keep Lebanon as a protectorate. The US and France have been pressuring Syria to leave. The Syrian army left in april 2005, but Syria is trying to maintain control, as we can see from the Hariri assassination and that of Tueni on Monday. For example, what about this sory: 1.In 2006, an anti-Syrian government is elected in Lebanon which starts to take concrete measures to remove Syrian influence from the lebanese government and economy; 2.The Assad government, in a bid to retain power, organises a coup by pro-syrian forces in Lebanon which topples the newly elected Lebanese government; 3.The new pro-Syrian government asks Syria for help to maintain order. Syria sends in a couple of divisions as "peacekeepers"; 4. The UN security council, which sees through the Syrian game, demands that Syria leave Lebanon. 5. Assad who knows that another pullout from Lebanon could lead to an internal coup against him, stalls for time and tries to bluff his way out; 6. US and coalition forces launch a limited attack against Syria to liberate Lebanon and blunt Syrian military capability. This scenario is a mix of Afghanistan, 1979, and Kuwait, 1990.

What I can't figure out is how he sees what's on the screen. :confused:

Yes, but weren't the Arabs on his side? That's supposed to help, I think. </font>

Yes, but weren't the Arabs on his side? That's supposed to help, I think. </font>

Yes, but weren't the Arabs on his side? That's supposed to help, I think. </font>

It can't be that hard, old man, that chap Lawrence did it with less than a thousand men in 1918.

It can't be that hard, old man, that chap Lawrence did it with less than a thousand men in 1918.

It can't be that hard, old man, that chap Lawrence did it with less than a thousand men in 1918.

Syria is suspected of being behind today's assassination of journalist and lawmaker Gibran Tueni. Syria denies involvement in recent hit Lebanon blast kills anti-Syria lawmaker If true, it's a surprising move, I thought Syria would lay low considering the international scrutiny they are getting over the Hariri assassination.

I dunno, but I don't think those guys are in CM:SF. When I check it out for myself I'll make a detailed report to you guys. I think you'll like some of the other improvements, besides the new ignition sobriety testers installed in every vehicle Steve </font>

Dillweed, I hope you are right, but I'm looking at the new XBOX (my son wants it ), 3.2 GHZ CPU, ATI X1800XL video card, for about CDN $500. If I want to upgrade my computer, the best I could get would be a pentium 3.8 or a FX-57 and when I add the motherboard, ddr memory, fast HD, new pci video card, etc., you're looking at lets say CDN $2,000. That's mighty powerful competition from the XBOX. Tom Clancy is starting to migrate his games to XBOX. Ghost Recon 3 will be XBOX only, no PC. I thought GR 1 was a pretty decent game. If all the FPS, tactical shooters and the like become XBOX only, will software makers keep making games for the PC market or will PCs go back to being workhorses while consoles become the new entertainment machines. If that happens, what happens to Battlefront, will it remain a niche PC player or will we eventually see a XBOX version of CM?

*DAMN* I can't use that line again until 2008.

Why would it be a bad thing for the community if CMSF is a hit? Battlefront would have more money to turn out higher quality products faster. The market for quality realistic simulations is dying and things are only going to get worse as more games move to consoles like the XBOX. If the price to pay to keep this market alive is to have a lot of new, fresh faces around, I say: "Welcome, young, green and soon to be crushed opponent!"

Peter, I don't know where you got the idea from my posts or the links I posted that I see the world in black and white terms. I have too many gray hairs for that. I see everyone in various shades of grey ( except CANADA, of course, we're perfect ) I am no expert on Syria, like everyone else, I have been playing catchup and reading various articles since CMSF was announced. I certainly would not say that Syria is EVIL, it certainly is not even close to Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union, it is a run of the mill dictatorship, about par for the course in that region of the world. However, the more closely you look at it, the harder it is to find any redeeming quality in the Assad regime. The basic aim of the Syrian government appears to be the protection and the promotion of the Assad family and their cronies. Nothing gets done in Syria unless the Assad family and allies get their cut and any potential enemy is ruthlessly put down. In that sense, it feels alot more like the mafia than a goverment. It is certainly not an issue limited to Syria, you had the same thing in Marcos's Philippines, Mobutu's Congo, Amin's Uganda, Hussein's Iraq, etc., etc. It certainly is not an issue that would justify an armed invasion to change the regime. I can think of many other countries that would be on the list ahead of Syria. Assad senior and junior have been very good at sensing when they should keep a low profile, something which Saddam Hussein never quite mastered. If you want to know more about Syria, a good place to start is the Middle East Quaterly. Middle East Quaterly Despite what you might think about the political leanings of the ME forum, the Quarterly publishes articles which are informative and well researched. The Board of Editors includes Anthony Cordesman who is recognized as being one of the authorities on Middle Eastern military affairs. You may question some of their conclusions, but their facts usually check out. one last point, I am sure the reference to slowing democratisation on the site is a mistake, when you look at the affiliated sites, it is clear that one of their missions is to promote democracy in the region. John.

Are you still using drunken, nearsighted, demolition derby drivers as the standard?

Peter, I found the last two articles after about 10 minutes of googling, which is a very superficial research. I'm sure if I did a more in depth academic research, I would find pretty much the same thing. Do the american ME forum and Israel's ICT have an agenda? probably, but I have seen other articles about Syria's involvement in the drug trade and other illegal activities from time to time which say pretty much the same thing. The last point about Syrian labour is minor, but you have one article that estimates 1,000,000 syrian workers in lebanon and one that estimates between 500,000 to 800,000 workers, I'm fairly confident that there is no accurate census available other than these rough estimates. But the important point is that the Syrians were taking jobs away from the lebanese. for example, from the second article: there is also this selective quote from the second article: However, if you would like to offer up your own sources instead of just criticizing mine, I'm all ears. And regarding your last point: I think you will see that I criticize everyone equally, including the Brits. John. [note:edited to add content] [ December 07, 2005, 08:13 AM: Message edited by: JC_Hare ]

You Brits, always letting the facts get in the way of a good story! some backup: terror and crime in lebanon web page When you analyse Syria, think of "The Sopranos", the only aim of the Syrian government is to defend and promote the business interests of the Assad family and their allies. Syria would not have stayed for 30 years in Lebanon if it was not a profitable venture. John.

Peter, I agree the ME forum has an agenda which made me leery at first, but the articles themselves appear to be well researched. Besides, its not like there is a ton of information on the net about Syria. John.

screenshot? -please, pretty please, before the forum spins into a black hole. I think we have said all there is to say about 5.56 v. 7.62 ammo... steps away from the keyboard...

I knew that torture thread would not last long. Getting back to semi-topic. Some posters have inquired what Syria is getting out of Lebanon. Lebanon is a major cash cow for Syria. Syria after Lebanon: Hooked on Lebanon

It is a delicate issue. There is a good article in the New Yorker about an Iraqi suspect who died while he was being "interrogated" by the CIA. A Deadly Interrogation It also appears that there may be other similar cases. Of course, we should not be surprised that these cases are appearing. The Bush administration has been steadily expanding what is permissible in terms of interrogation. It was only a matter of time before deaths occured. This case cetainly raises the question of whether it is permissible to torture and kill suspects, whether in the context of the war in Iraq or the war on terror.

Yes, bring in the B-52s! [ December 05, 2005, 07:44 AM: Message edited by: JC_Hare ]

30 000 points! :eek: I am having trouble just panning around! I have to admit your map of Kharkov is very impressive.