Russia is sending ships loaded with tanks and trucks to support regime of President Assad in Syria
UNCONFIRMED reports suggesting that Russia was planning to expand its military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad prompted a warning from the U.S. that such actions could lead to a confrontation with coalition forces.
In Washington, the State Department issued a statement after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to express concern over unconfirmed reports “suggesting an imminent enhanced Russian military build-up” in Syria.
While not elaborating on or confirming the accuracy of those reports, the State Department said Kerry made clear to Lavrov that such actions “could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation” with the anti-Islamic State coalition operating led by the US that is carrying out strikes in Syria.
Russia has been a stalwart ally of Assad throughout Syria’s civil war and has provided diplomatic support and weaponry to help the Syrian leader maintain his grip on power. Moscow also maintains a small naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartous on the Mediterranean Sea.
The influx of troops - and possibly combat jets - comes as a key Syrian cleric was killed in a bombing yesterday.
Sheik Wahid Balous, was a prominent critic of Assad and had called on youth in Sweida province to refuse to serve in the military. He was also a critic of the Islamic State militants who have taken over a third of the country and are fuelling the civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people and wounded more than 1 million.
Balous, who was a strong supporter of rebels trying to topple Assad, died in one of two consecutive car bomb explosions, including one near the National Hospital in Sweida.
Unpopular regimen
Anti-government violence erupted at the weekend in a southern Syrian province that had largely stayed on the sidelines of the country’s civil war.
The violence in Sweida province, a stronghold of the Druze minority sect, followed the killing of a prominent cleric in explosions yesterday that claimed the lives of at least 25 others, activists and pro-government media said. Rioters holding the government responsible for the cleric’s death destroyed the statue of late Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad and besieged security offices, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activist groups said.
The Observatory said the death toll rose Saturday to 37, including six security personnel killed in clashes with rioters.
Anyway how long till we see some Russian troops in orange jump suits soon to be beheaded or worse. Would make a juicy target for ISIS and a great PR scoop for its cause. Memories of Afghanistan in the 1980's anyone.
The US can sit back and keep suppling weapons to the Rebels which will in the end kill Russian soldiers should they be on the front lines.
Anyway how long till we see some Russian troops in orange jump suits soon to be beheaded or worse. Would make a juicy target for ISIS and a great PR scoop for its cause. Memories of Afghanistan in the 1980's anyone.
Perhaps. But unlike the US or any of its allies, the Russians are far a more credible source for a potential "boots on the ground" commitment in Syria than any other out-of-region party.
Watch them pour in en masse once any Syrian civil war end game (or extended stalemate) is in sight, and extend endless military equipment support to the Assad regime in the meantime.
Perhaps. But unlike the US or any of its allies, the Russians are far a more credible source for a potential "boots on the ground" commitment in Syria than any other out-of-region party.
Watch them pour in en masse once any Syrian civil war end game (or extended stalemate) is in sight, and extend endless military equipment support to the Assad regime in the meantime.
America is not happy... I think they worry that Russa will do what America did in Iraq... occupy and control
America is not happy... I think they worry that Russa will do what America did in Iraq... occupy and control
Actually what America did in Iraq was "occupy but not fully achieve control, and then bail out".
And to underline the point, they did it twice.
I'd envision that Russia's trajectory in Syria would be somewhat similar, if they do prove to put in ground troops to support their Assad-led client state.
Anyway how long till we see some Russian troops in orange jump suits soon to be beheaded or worse. Would make a juicy target for ISIS and a great PR scoop for its cause. Memories of Afghanistan in the 1980's anyone.
The US can sit back and keep suppling weapons to the Rebels which will in the end kill Russian soldiers should they be on the front lines.
Why would they be supplying the rebels?
Whenever you have an argument with someone, there comes a moment where you must ask yourself, whatever your political persuasion, 'am I the Nazi?'
Actually what America did in Iraq was "occupy but not fully achieve control, and then bail out".
And to underline the point, they did it twice.
I'd envision that Russia's trajectory in Syria would be somewhat similar, if they do prove to put in ground troops to support their Assad-led client state.
Twice? The US did not occupy Iraq in the first Gulf War. Allied forces spent a few days in southern Iraq wiping out the Iraqi Army as they retreated from Kuwait. Allied forces then pulled back to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
newjez
7 Sep 2015, 04:21 AM
Why would they be supplying the rebels?
The US has been supplying the rebels with "non lethal" supplies for the last 2 years. Via Saudi Arabia and other gulf nations direct offensive/defensive weapons are being supplied. Ever wonder how the Syrian Rebels ended up with US made TOW anti-tank missiles which have been kicking the crap out of Assad's armoured formations, what's left of them.
So if Russia sends it own ground forces into action it may lose soldiers to US made and supplied weapons to the rebels. Russia cannot claim retrospectively that the US has increased its support as these weapons have been supplied long prior to any direct Russian involvement.
Why Russia is concerned is ISIS took control of southern districts in Damascus over the past week, meaning the Capital of Syria could fall into ISIS hands over the coming weeks or months or at least fought over by ISIS and the Rebels with Government forces withdrawing to traditional Alwaite areas which is Assad's main support base, this is closer to the coast. Government forces are close to collapse so the Russian involvement is to help Assad sure up his military position.
Here lies the main issue. If Russia was deploying forces to fight ISIS, I don't think to many nations would be concerned and welcome it. However by fighting against the Rebels who want a new government and no one that uses the military on its own population or chemical weapons against civilians. Assad made a mistake early on by using the military to put down the protesters which for weeks had been peaceful, by killing protesters it unleashed the civil war in a region flooded with battle harden population from the wars in Iraq. I actually think Assad was surprised how ineffective his military one of the strongest in the region was, even with the help of Hezbollah and Iran. Now Russia wants to help directly.
The Russians will fail. If the ground troop commitment is real, as at present it seems far to small to be of any real use. Russia could just be reinforcing the troops it already keeps at Tartus naval base which the Russian Navy use to resupply in the Mediterranean.
I would think with how events are going in the Ukraine and the state of the Russian economy currently in Recession, the last thing Russian needs is another draining adventure overseas.
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