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Both the Democratic front-runner and the Republican rising star think the US should declare and enforce a no-fly zone in Syria. Military experts say it could set up a showdown with Russia that would be best to avoid. Here’s a surprise – Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican rising star Carly Fiorina agree on something big. Both think the US should declare and enforce a no-fly zone in Syria to protect civilians and US-backed rebel fighters. Former Secretary of State Clinton’s pronouncement on this emphasized its humanitarian aspects. “I personally would be advocating now for a no-fly zone and humanitarian...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - International monitors say they have spotted a new kind of Russian weapons system in rebel-held Ukraine this week, possible evidence of Moscow's continued interest in Ukraine even as it focuses on Syria. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is monitoring a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, reported that its monitors had seen a mobile TOS-1 'Buratino' weapons system for the first time. The Buratino is equipped with thermobaric warheads which spread a flammable liquid around a target and then ignite it. It can destroy several city blocks in one strike and cause indiscriminate damage. Only...

This was a bad idea when Fiorina pushed it yesterday and it’s still a bad idea today. Is one worse than the other, though? Fiorina wants an NFZ to protect American-backed rebels from Putin’s bombs; Hillary wants one for “humanitarian” reasons, the same sort of thinking that produced the paradise you and I know as modern Libya. It’s worth risking a world war to help decide which barbarians ultimately prevail in Syria, no? “I personally would be advocating now for a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to try to stop the carnage on the ground and from the air, to...

A new report confirms more White House woes with our ally Israel. A Politico exclusive reveals that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid confronted White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on two occasions to ask President Obama to reject a UN resolution that would grant Palestine statehood. Both times, Obama gave him the silent treatment. While Reid has previously shown his support for Israel, his latest request may not exactly have been for the Middle Eastern country’s best interests. The timing suggested he was trying to secure passage for the Iran Deal: The requests from Reid came as he was...

McCain reacted to Russia's announcement that it had begun launching air strikes targeting ISIS militants in Syria by calling on the White House to arm Syrian rebels with weapons to shoot down Russian planes. McCain initially responded to Fox News host Neil Cavuto's question about whether he would shoot down Russian planes by saying no, but then went on to assert that he would arm Syrian rebels to carry out that very same task. "I might do what we did in Afghanistan many years ago, to give those guys the ability to shoot down those planes, that equipment is available,"...

BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia bombed Syria for a third day on Friday, mainly hitting areas held by rival insurgent groups rather than the Islamic State fighters it said it was targeting and drawing an increasingly angry response from the West. The U.S.-led coalition that is waging its own air war against Islamic State called on the Russians to halt strikes on targets other than Islamic State. "We call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting ISIL," said the coalition, which includes the United States, major...

BEIRUT — Russian warplanes have struck targets deep inside the Islamic State’s heartland province of Raqqa for the first time, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The strikes were carried out against an Islamic State training camp and a command post near the city of Raqqa, expanding the scope of a three-day old air campaign that had previously focused on attacking rebel groups opposed to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Hillary Clinton wants to create no-fly zones in Syria, splitting with White House on response to Russian airstrikes. Hillary Clinton wants to create no-fly zones inside Syria, splitting with the White House on how to respond to Russia's airstrikes against Syrian rebels who are fighting dictator Bashar Assad. "I personally would be advocating now for a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to try to stop the carnage on the ground and from the air, to try to provide some way to take stock of what's happening, to try to stem the flow of refugees," Clinton told Boston TV station WHDH...

The U.S. and Russia are "barreling toward a Second Cold War," Marco Rubio will say in a speech today in Iowa, "and strong American leadership is the only force capable of ensuring that peace and security once again prevail." Rubio, who has gotten attention for his hard-line foreign policy outlook, is to speak in Cedar Rapids at the Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security National Security Forum. "The more our current president fails the test of leadership against Putin, the more important it becomes for our next president to pass it. I will pass this test," Rubio vows in prepared...

One day after launching a campaign of airstrikes in Syria, Russia announced that it is considering going into Iraq. A foreign ministry representative said Thursday that Russia would consider any request from Iraq to conduct anti-ISIS airstrikes in the country, and Iraqi President Haider al-Abadi told Western news outlets that Russian airstrikes were "a possibility" and that Iraq would "welcome it." "Our message to the Russians — I met with Putin — please join this fight against Daesh," Abadi told PBS NewsHour. Daesh is another name for ISIS. "Daesh is a dangerous terrorist organization, not only against Iraq, against Syria,...

On Sept. 30, Russian warplanes launched their first air raids in Syria, striking eight targets around Homs, north of Damascus. In a second day of strikes on Oct. 1, Moscow’s planes hit another five targets, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The Kremlin insists it’s hitting militants from the so-called Islamic State. But the locations of the aerial strikes imply otherwise—that Russia’s bombing civilians and U.S.-backed rebels instead. Chillingly, video and photographs from Russia’s new air war seem to indicate that the attacks are inaccurate and indiscriminate.

On Thursday, Russian warplanes stationed in Syria attacked a terrorist training camp and a command center, taking it out with a precision strike launched form an altitude of over 5,000 meters, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Trends Russian anti-terror op in Syria READ MORE: RT EXCLUSIVE: First look at Russian airbase in Latakia, centerpiece of anti-ISIS operations (VIDEO) The airstrike was one of a dozen conducted by Russia in Syria on Thursday during 18 sorties, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, the ministry spokesman, told journalists. Advanced Sukhoi Su-25 and Su-34s were used for strikes. “The targeting systems of those planes allows...

Senators are calling on President Obama to clarify his strategy on Syria, after Russia ignored repeated U.S. warnings and began bombing rebel groups there this week to shore up the Assad regime. -snip- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), one of the administration's biggest foreign policy critics, called on the administration to take stronger measures. "We should establish no-fly zones in Syria and make it clear that any aircraft that enters those zones will be shot down,” he said.

The man poised to be the next House speaker said Monday that the U.S. needs to assume a more aggressive posture around the world, saying the key to foreign policy is making it “painful” for countries to misbehave. Rep. Kevin McCarthy backed calls for a U.S.-enforced no-fly zone over Syria, saying it would boost the fight against the Islamic State rebels and also curtail the Syrian regime’s ability to strike its own citizens.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate John Kasich on Friday morning will advocate for certain areas of Syria to be designated as sanctuaries from violence for civilians and made no-fly zones given Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent decision to target Islamic State there with air strikes. According to a statement provided to Reuters, the Ohio governor will say: "Russia's recent military build-up and intervention in Syria are neither intended to defeat ISIS nor to relieve the suffering of Syrian refugees. Mr. Putin's real goals are quite different: to take military action to rescue Assad's criminal government from its death and to strengthen...

In an apparent break with the Obama White House, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for the creation of a no-fly zone inside Syria Thursday, the day after Russian warplanes started bombing rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. “I personally would be advocating now for a no-fly zone and humanitarian corridors to try to stop the carnage on the ground and from the air, to try to provide some way to take stock of what’s happening, to try to stem the flow of refugees,” Clinton said in an interview with NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston after a campaign...

American Decline: Years of diminishing U.S. power under President Obama have brought us to today's historic Mideast dilemma: proving our willingness to shoot at Russian forces or keep our tail between our legs. -snip- Carly Fiorina, whose debate performances have propelled her into the top tier of 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls, on Wednesday told Fox News' Sean Hannity that the U.S. should establish a no-fly zone around U.S.-backed Syrian rebels. Would that mean using "force against Russian jets?" Fiorina hoped not, but added: "If it does come to that, I think we must be prepared." Nuclear-armed U.S. and Russia are...

Russian warplanes have destroyed an Islamic State command centre in Syria, according to Moscow's Defence Ministry. The Sukhoi-34 jets also targeted a rebels training camp - obliterating infrastructure which the ministry claims was being used to prepare "terrorists". Moscow claims it has carried out 18 attacks in Syria since Thursday night, with 12 of them hitting Islamic State targets. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one Russian airstrike has killed at least 12 IS militants in Raqqa province

Russia estimates its air strike campaign in Syria could last three to four months, the head of the foreign affairs committee at the State Duma, Russia's parliament, said on Friday. "There is always a risk of being bogged down but in Moscow, we are talking about an operation of three to four months," Alexei Pushkov told French radio Europe 1, adding that the strikes were going to intensify. Pushkov was speaking a few hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to meet leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine in Paris for talks.

Syrian military weakness, painfully exposed over the last few months, is the main reason for direct Russian intervention in the war – whether its goal is to strike at Islamic State or, more likely, to take on any rebel force fighting Bashar al-Assad in order to shore up his position and stave off demands that he step down. Officials and analysts say Moscow decided to deepen its involvement after the fall of the northern towns of Idlib and nearby Jisr al-Shughour in May served as a “wake-up call” about the parlous state of the Syrian army. Both were taken by...