Shashank Joshi Profile picture
Sep 28, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read Read on X
"A former rebel who fought in the Syrian civil war told The Times that 150-200 of his colleagues had been recruited by Turkey to fight on the Azerbaijani side"
thetimes.co.uk/article/nagorn…
"there had been no extra training, as the men were regarded as battle-hardened from years of conflict against pro-Assad forces.. contracts were for either three or six months. The fighters were told they would be used as guards, police officers & fighters"
thetimes.co.uk/article/nagorn…
And in the Guardian. "Syrian rebel fighters have signed up to work for a private Turkish security company as border guards in Azerbaijan, several volunteers in Syria’s last rebel stronghold have said" amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep…
"As with the Azerbaijan proposition, some men who went to Libya have said they were also told they would be employed as guards, but found themselves caught up in frontline fighting instead. Many also reported that commanders pocketed up to 20% of salaries" amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep…

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More from @shashj

Apr 3
An interesting essay on how US intelligence agencies judged Soviet intentions and capabilities & how that changed over time. "...probably incorrectly believing there was also a Soviet proclivity to prepare to launch a war if conditions seemed propitious" cia.gov/resources/csi/…Image
"...considerable [Soviet] exaggerations of Western bellicosity and capabilities, including planning for initiation of war. Soviet intel estimates, like those of the United States and NATO, were always predicated on initiation of war by the other side" cia.gov/resources/csi/…
'It is clear in retrospect that what had been needed in 1976 was not a hard-line Team B, but a more imaginative and far-seeing "Team C."' cia.gov/resources/csi/…Image
Read 4 tweets
Apr 2
I've been reviewing many of the past year's US & European military & intelligence assessments of how long it would take Russia to rebuild its military capability and the timeline on which any threat to NATO could unfold. A brief thread below which summarises these assessments.
Norway intel service: "At the earliest, Moscow may be able to fully realise these plans [for military expansion e.g. Karelia] five to ten years after the war in Ukraine is over." In some areas Russia has "next to no reserves" for the next two years. etterretningstjenesten.no/publikasjoner/…Image
Denmark intel: "no threat" now & "some years" for new units to be ready, but Ru more willing to use force "if it believes...NATO...is unable to maintain its military superiority, does not respond to Ru mil activities or no longer presents a united front." fe-ddis.dk/globalassets/f…Image
Image
Read 22 tweets
Mar 26
I wrote a piece on China’s evolution into a bigger, more sophisticated and more threatening cyber power over the past decade, and particularly in the last few years. I also look at the pivotal role played by China’s private sector ecosystem in that shift. economist.com/china/2025/03/…
A few sources. Ciaran Martin’s very good survey from a few days ago gazumped mine. rusi.org/explore-our-re…
Recorded Future has tracked the shift in Chinese cyber activity with some good data. go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/…Image
Read 7 tweets
Mar 24
Absolutely incredible. The Trump admin accidentally adds the editor of the Atlantic to a Signal group. Then Pete Hegseth sends him details of the US strikes on Yemen hours ahead of time incl. "precise information about weapons packages, targets & timing" theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Walz: "it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes [Red Sea]. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans" theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Stephen Miller: "...if Europe doesn’t remunerate [for Houthi strikes], then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return" theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 6 tweets
Mar 23
Witkoff on UK troop proposals. “it’s a combination of a posture and a pose and…simplistic. I think there’s this … sort of notion of we’ve all got to be like Winston Churchill, the Russians are gonna march across Europe. I think that’s preposterous” singjupost.com/transcript-of-…
Witkoff transcript is just eye popping: “Why would they want to absorb Ukraine? For what purpose, exactly? They don’t need to absorb Ukraine. That would be like occupying Gaza…They want stability there… But the Russians also have what they want” singjupost.com/transcript-of-…
Witkoff on US-Russia cooperation: “Share sea lanes, maybe send LNG gas into Europe together, maybe collaborate on AI together. If we can get past technology migration. Who doesn’t want to see a world like that?” singjupost.com/transcript-of-…
Read 7 tweets
Mar 22
America’s main negotiator with Russia appears to be completely captured by Russian propaganda. Witkoff: “there have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.” pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/…Image
The Russians must be dumbstruck they their opponents have managed to find perhaps the most gullible man on the planet. Putin “told me a story, Tucker, about how when the president was shot, he went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed.” pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/…Image
‘"I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war, and all the ingredients that led up to it," Witkoff noted.’ pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/…
Read 4 tweets

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