Iraq and ISIS Discussion

I actually made made my own thread about that but got quoted. Problem is the more civilians in this site the more less creditable the site becomes which is why I keep my distance and don't usually post.
 
I'm going with bomb.
Saw the story on the news today and massive structural failure screams bomb to me.
Taking off from Egypt (airport security isn't their strongpoint).
I doubt it was ISIL though, I'll go with the Muslim Brotherhood, though ISIL has been very active in the Sinai.
 
I served six months in Sinai with the MFO. During that time, one of my platoon's two outposts overlooked the Sharm El Sheik airport. Sharm and Nama Bay were HUGE attractions for Russian and European tourists. If people even think this was really an attack, it will devastate tourism in the region for months.

Plus it will probably provoke a bloody over-reaction from both Egypt and Russia.
 
I served six months in Sinai with the MFO. During that time, one of my platoon's two outposts overlooked the Sharm El Sheik airport. Sharm and Nama Bay were HUGE attractions for Russian and European tourists. If people even think this was really an attack, it will devastate tourism in the region for months.

Plus it will probably provoke a bloody over-reaction from both Egypt and Russia.
Regardless of what happened, I see Putin dropping his best into Syria and telling them to behead ISIL, and the Russians ARE willing to kill family members if that's what it takes to get to the head of the snake. There should be a lot of rich Saudis, Pakistanis, and Qataris who should be nervous.

Oh, and Ben Carson (along with a everyone else) is an idiot for calling on Obama to make Syria a no-fly zone. Russians own the airspace and wouldn't take kindly to our declaring it a no-fly zone.
 
I've read several reports that said they had been having engine start problems all week. I'm still waiting to see what the official report says but with how damaged everything looks from the impact who knows when that will be.
 
While being respectful of the tragedy, I laughed out loud as I read this most recent article.

Airline exec says external impact caused Egypt plane crash - StarTribune.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Only an external impact could have caused a Russian plane to dive into the Egyptian desert, killing all 224 people on board, the airline said Monday, adding to a series of incomplete and confusing statements from investigators that left unclear why the plane broke up in mid-flight.

"We rule out a technical fault of the plane or a pilot error," said Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of Metrojet. "The only possible explanation could be an external impact on the airplane."

Translation: Regardless of the fact that structural engineers and accident investigators have not had a chance to even begin to look at the wreckage, there is NO way Metrojet will ever admit that the plane could have had maintenance issues or security procedure could have permitted a bomb to be put on board -

ETA - Personally the 'bomb on board' thing is what concerns me most when I fly. Anytime I see folks messing around with their carry on and handle their key-fob, the blood pressure jumps a bit.
 
While being respectful of the tragedy, I laughed out loud as I read this most recent article.

Airline exec says external impact caused Egypt plane crash - StarTribune.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Only an external impact could have caused a Russian plane to dive into the Egyptian desert, killing all 224 people on board, the airline said Monday, adding to a series of incomplete and confusing statements from investigators that left unclear why the plane broke up in mid-flight.

"We rule out a technical fault of the plane or a pilot error," said Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of Metrojet. "The only possible explanation could be an external impact on the airplane."

Translation: Regardless of the fact that structural engineers and accident investigators have not had a chance to even begin to look at the wreckage, there is NO way Metrojet will ever admit that the plane could have had maintenance issues or security procedure could have permitted a bomb to be put on board -

ETA - Personally the 'bomb on board' thing is what concerns me most when I fly. Anytime I see folks messing around with their carry on and handle their key-fob, the blood pressure jumps a bit.
Metrojet would have minimal say on who loads the bags. Going to be a bunch of locals who get vetted by Egyptian Security (one of the reasons I think bomb).
Egyptians need to be looking for the guys who have stopped coming to work.
 
Out of curiosity I compared this flight with Air France Flight 447. This one is an Airbus 321 and 447 was an A330. Wikipedia has a solid* write-up of 447's demise and if you're bored you can look it up.
Air France Flight 447 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Using the CNN article and its referenced Flightradar24 you'll see some similarities:
Russian plane crash in Egypt: 'External influence' blamed - CNN.com
Crash of Metrojet Flight 7K9268 | Flightradar24 Blog

Varying airspeeds, rapid final descent, rapid changes in airspeed and altitude, no mayday call, and Airbus has a history of pitot tube failures on A330's. The Russians can squawk all they want, but I'll remain skeptical of "external" events until more data is provided.

Final report on 447:
http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2009/f-cp090601.en/pdf/f-cp090601.en.pdf

* - Yeah, this is Wikipedia but I'm citing info found in the official BEA report. Wikipedia makes it a LOT easier to digest.
 
Out of curiosity I compared this flight with Air France Flight 447. This one is an Airbus 321 and 447 was an A330. Wikipedia has a solid* write-up of 447's demise and if you're bored you can look it up.
Air France Flight 447 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Using the CNN article and its referenced Flightradar24 you'll see some similarities:
Russian plane crash in Egypt: 'External influence' blamed - CNN.com
Crash of Metrojet Flight 7K9268 | Flightradar24 Blog

Varying airspeeds, rapid final descent, rapid changes in airspeed and altitude, no mayday call, and Airbus has a history of pitot tube failures on A330's. The Russians can squawk all they want, but I'll remain skeptical of "external" events until more data is provided.

Final report on 447:
http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2009/f-cp090601.en/pdf/f-cp090601.en.pdf

* - Yeah, this is Wikipedia but I'm citing info found in the official BEA report. Wikipedia makes it a LOT easier to digest.

Popular Mechanics did a great write-up about it.
 
Although I admire the actions of people who went and volunteered with the Kurds, and even thought i would like to do so myself a few times. There is absolutely no way in hell I would have carried or fired a weapon over there, without some written statement from the US Gov, Iraqi Gov of guaranteed exemption of prosecution. All those great people, can still be charged for crimes committed in Iraq and or Syria. People making videos, giving interviews and social media the hell out of their exploits. They are truly out of their minds and living in a false realty. Both of those country's wouldn't think twice about bringing charges against any westerners.

Not even getting into the issues of fighting for a foreign military during a time of war...bat shit crazy.
 
Those people are idiots. What's the different between them or a Chechen going to fight in Iraq? It is okay because we have the moral high ground or okay because they are on our side? Think of it like this, you're on patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan circa 2009 when you bump into a group of armed Westerners. "Oh, we're just here fighting xxxxx." You have a group of armed vigilantes in your battlespace and regardless of their nationality....are you really going to look the other way?
 
A bomb would be easy to arrange in sharm. Sinai is a breeding ground and magnet for plenty of talent, and Egypt gets their assets handed to them fairly frequently there.
 
I was in Egypt for grad school in 2006 when Sharm was bombed - very popular hotspot on the strip, it was during the Egyptian version of Spring Break for the colleges so a lot of tourists. The Egyptian government came down on the bombers - and their sympathizers in the Sinai - like a ton of bricks. I think Egyptian security forces had killed more than 30 people in raids and imprisoned more than 200 within 2 weeks of the bombing. It's possible the Sisi regime has gotten worse at repression than the Mubarak regime was but I doubt it. Suppression of internal discontent is something Egyptian security forces are a 'T' at.
 
They're a t at making a mess, sure, but not necessarily at clearing out the Sinai, not even close. they've been getting their asses kicked there for 2 years now. That place is fucked up, hard to operate in, and full of bad guys. Just because they killed a bunch and arrested more doesn't mean they know wtf they're doing.
 
Those people are idiots. What's the different between them or a Chechen going to fight in Iraq? It is okay because we have the moral high ground or okay because they are on our side? Think of it like this, you're on patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan circa 2009 when you bump into a group of armed Westerners. "Oh, we're just here fighting xxxxx." You have a group of armed vigilantes in your battlespace and regardless of their nationality....are you really going to look the other way?

Um, yes, we DO look the other way depending on alliance. Chechens are fighting for ISIL and ANF, not YPG.
 
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