And meant to add, they (IS) didn’t rebrand as ISIS/ISIL until after actually expanding into Iraq.

IS had it’s first success when it took Raqqa, Syria. This was in early 2013. It wasn’t until 2014 that they had successes in Iraq. But Raqqa remains still as their base of power.

Originally they just called themselves IS (to differentiate themselves from AQI). The IS or IL was added on later after forming a declared caliphate that spanned the border region. The capital of the caliphate is in Raqqa (Syria). There are both Iraqis and Syrians in the makeup of the group’s structure. Yes, there are…

ISIS originated in Syria, not Iraq.

There’s a difference in a general bombing campaign in a wartime environment and taking out members of a group/insurgency embedded /hiding within a general population. Carpet bombing, random bombing, dumb bombing can be done on the cheap in one situation but would be highly counter-productive (and supportive of the…

Right, the paranoia runs deep. What do you think about stories like this: http://mashable.com/2014/08/03/ext…

Possibly? Your responses only back up what I said.

That’s great - enjoy your freedom and economy.

Sadly you won’t hear anyone of the Russian Federation on the internet freely talking anymore. It’s illegal to be critical (they will be prosecuted/imprisoned for it under specific laws). And, for example, Russian bloggers are required by law to only use servers physically located in Russia, the servers are monitored.…

I used to live in Germany but spent a lot of time in eastern Europe. Many moons ago, I also used to work in a field that centered around the former Soviet Union. Now I just follow things closely because of friends and acquaintances I have in Lithuania, Ukraine, and Albania.

The optimal opportunity for a peace deal may be a situation in which Putin believes a decisive triumph is not possible, but he can still save face by spinning the outcome as a success. In other words, he needs a story to tell the Russian people about the positive results of the mission. This narrative doesn’t need to…

Not only is the US no long an importer:

What branch did you serve in out of curiosity?

As someone that actually follows energy sector stuff like you must - this guy absolutely has no real idea what he’s talking about.

A radar system for that system is coming online in Romania this year. But that’s not the same thing as an ABM system that would be effective at detecting/stopping a nuclear strike from Russia.

The move towards UAVs for scout/recon roles I’d guess played a role in things as well?

Putin is rather alone in the world when it comes to viewing the EU as an existential military threat... it’s not an easily understood cassus belli for most though. Which is why Russian propagandists try to tie in NATO in some way I’d guess? Ukraine only had popular support for joining the EU though - NATO was never in…

Don’t forget Georgia. Another revisionist land grab recently.

Possibly this Spring/Summer... I’ve thought the same as well. I’m certain they have started considering it as at least being possible to accomplish but I’m not too confident it would be this year.