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Tense relationship between Syria and Israel? Hasn't Israel just been freely bombing everything and taking territory while Syria's current leaders just continue to glaze Israel?

Trump National Golf Club Palmyra

the front looks like a duck

The payload/warhead and cruising speed of the S8000 are all similar to the jet powered Shahed 238/Geran-3, a jet engined version of the Shahed 136/Geran-2. The key advantage of this new missile is low observability/stealth, and an air launch capability. The 238/Geran-3 has seen increased use this year, after the first battlefield tests last year. If this new S8000 missile sees widespread adoption, it would suggest that the cost benefit analysis of the 238/Geran-3 doesn't work out, if you're going to spend the money and effort on a jet powered cruise missile in this class, might as well go a little bit further and make it stealthy and give it air launch capabilitiy as well. The advantage of the Geran-3 is range, double that of the S8000, but in a Ukrainian context it doesn't make much sense, a Geran/Shahed target is not reaching Lviv often, jet powered or not.

Ultimately it's about delivering this payload, the 90-120kg warheads, effectively. Shahed 136/Geran-2 is all about quantity and low cost over quality, a bunch of cheap propeller driven drones to overwhelm missile (SAM) and gun (AA) based air defences, as it's highly vulnerable to both. Shahed 238/Geran-3 can evade AA gun defences from ground based systems and attack helicopters more effectively thanks to its jet propulsion, but it is still quite vulnerable to SAMs and missiles launched from fighter aircraft. While Ukraine is facing a shortage of specialised SAM systems like Patriot and S-300P/V, it still has plenty of various SAM systems to counter the Shahed/Geran threat, jet powered or not, and these systems are increasing in number. So Shahed 238/Geran-3 doesn't help there. So the Geran-3 might sit in a no man's land in the the quantity-quality-cost triangle. Which would explain S8000. A stealthy missile with an air launch from various unconventional platforms like attack helicopters and UAVs, designed to penetrate the air defence net more effectively, going for quality.

If S8000 works as advertised and if production numbers are high enough and costs reasonable (big if on all three) Ukraine would need specialist SAM systems to intercept designed to engage low radar cross section targets at low altitude, like one of their rare S-300V air defence systems. However, S8000 is not comparable to Kh-59/69, which are considerably faster, likely stealthier, have a 1000lb/450kg class warhead, and have terrain following guidance systems. But Russia don't have enough of these to fire in large volleys. The idea is that they can make enough S8000s then.

Probably useful for surprise strikes on high value targets like HIMARS and air defense. Ukraine can get advance warning for a lot of Russia's other options.

Trump might be a monster, but he's also not oblivious to the terrible return on investment Israel is becoming. Netanyahu is desperate for a war with Iran, something Trump knows won't be popular for him OR successful, having seen what the Houthis can do with a fraction of Iranian firepower to hand. He even went as far as to exclude some of the hawkish members of his inner circle when they insisted in military action.

I think there is a side of him that does see this "Trump Gaza" thing earnestly, but also a side that is realising how much the GOP (and Democrats to many ends) have been trying to instigate a hot war in west asia. Or maybe he's just got one of the sensible aides in his ear this week.

Either way, strategically it makes sense for the US to push for peace in Gaza and Ukraine, not because it wants peace for its own sake or cares for the civilians in these regions, but because the empire is losing and bleeding the longer it fights on a dozen fronts unnecessarily. Kissinger, hell rest his soul, would have equally argued the same if he were alive and influential in the government - despite his evil, he knew when to back down and prioritize the empire above all else.

I don't agree with or back any of this administrations actions regarding Palestine. But the way Trump, Witkoff et all have been able to dog walk Israel and Netanyahu lays bare the fact that Israel is never in complete control of the US govt like people seem to believe. Biden could have gotten anything out of them he wanted and chose not to. Because he is a rabid Zionist war criminal and loves to see children genocided

Regardless of whether this specific truce works out in the long-term: when Palestine is liberated, history will remember that it was the Yemenis, who were bombed relentlessly, subjected to heinous genocidal sanctions, and slandered as "antisemitic Islamist Iranian-backed Houthi militias", who remained as the foundational internationalist military support front which ultimately forced the United States empire to accept defeat.

Glory to the martyrs and God Bless the Palestinian resistance, the Palestinian people, and the entire Axis of Resistance. May the prisoners soon taste freedom God willing.

This is obviously good news but a Palestinian friend of mine says trump is just doing this so he looks good during his upcoming trip to arab countries.

I hope so, it's probably better for it to be Corbyn, who did lose so yeah he's loser but what else do you have, to challenge the labour party instead of the greens

Harden your heart, oh Jezza

Lads on tour collapsing neoliberal order 2025

It's a tissue and elastic or stirrer.

Least believable part of this is that Merz would ever do anything fun

They're trying to think like