Posted on 09/10/2015 7:19:18 PM PDT by Mariner
Beirut, Lebanon — Mounting evidence suggests Russia is significantly increasing military assistance to the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in what is seen as a bid to solidify Moscow’s position in one of few Middle Eastern countries where it still has influence.
The move, analysts say, capitalizes on a low-risk opportunity created by the United States’ reticence to get more closely involved in the Syrian conflict, which has lasted for more than four years and claimed the lives of nearly a quarter million people.
The reports of a Russian military buildup in northwest Syria have raised alarms in Washington. Over the weekend, Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to warn that Russia’s military assistance “could further escalate the conflict.”
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
What NATO policy? This is way beyond NATO’s authority and region of influence. I don’t think, with the exception of France, no one in Europe wants to get involved in this mess.
I’ll go ahead and predict within a hundred days....some US unmanned drone will be shot down by the Russians. Some hostility will brew up, and we will go into some weird reactionary phase against the Russians. Oddly, they are the only stabilizing force in Syria currently. Whatever the US and the Saudis did in the beginning to create ISIS and it’s threat in the region....that really was a five-star screw-up.
“I do not see Russia conducting any offensive operations against ISIS for the simple reason that Russia cannot maintain the logistical means to accomplish this mission.”
Since the rumors of “Active” Russian involvement in Syria began three weeks ago, the rebel stronghold in the Damascus suburbs “Surrendered” after a “lightening strike” by some special forces against the ISIS command there.
They signed a “Ceasefire”/surrender, that allows the rebels to leave Damascus for Lebanon, with personal arms, but they have to leave the heavy weapons/missiles behind.
This was just last weekend.
Bottom line, no one has gone after ISIS “Seriously”, yet. If Russia “Unleashes the hounds” against them, something Obama has actively PREVENTED, they will likely fall apart pretty quickly.
It’s nice to think that Putin may be hurting because their oil is selling so cheap.
Same feeling here. My gut feeling is to trust a traditional enemy more than our own leaders.
Syria is Putin’s toehold in the ME. He will want influence in picking Assad’s successor.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-09-10/russia-s-syrian-air-base-has-u-s-scrambling-for-a-plan
The State Department had already begun pushing back against the Russian moves, for example by asking Bulgaria and Greece to deny overflight permissions to Syria-bound Russian transport planes. But the president didn't know about these moves in advance, two officials said, and when he found out, he was upset with the department for not having a more complete and vetted process to respond to the crisis.
The kenyan micromanages everything out of the White Hut. Everything is supposed to go through the NSA at the WH.
I did not think of it that way - that is very plausible. It does seem on foreign policy Obama's State has been a mess since Hillary.
Or State Dept. thought that they can handle it better by leaving Obama out of the loop. Past track record shows that he has not been really helpful in stabilizing the situation. Although State Dept. is not the shining example of competence, they thought that Obama makes thing worse for them if he meddles in.
I read an article on this a few weks back. Seems that El Presidente Obongo is managing everything through a massively enlarged NSC at the WH. And State hates him for that.
Here’s the article with the dirt on the NSC/State battle:
It won’t be a surprise if an influx of Taliban fighters show up on the battleground.
I doubt Russia will get too invested in this debacle. It looks like a tar baby.
Why couldn’t a pipeline go through southern Iraq and Turkey if ISIL can be gotten out of the way. Granted the Kurds could be a problem, but I think that could be solved.
....”It’s simple, Russians don’t abandon their allies, something the USA always does when Democrats get power. Assad is in danger of complete collapse, and Putin will do what he can to save him. Unfortunately Assad is the only alternative to ISIS or Al Qaeda, so I wish the Russians well in this case.”....
I agree....and all parties want Russia in the fight against ISIS...But Russia wants the ‘Syrian Army’ in this coalition as well, which would mean Obama’s desire for regime/region change and land-locking Russia would go down the tubes.
Russia and Assad have been negotiating diplomatically with the Rebels for shared power,....which you would think any solution to Syria at this juncture would be great so that they can go after ISIS.
NSC is chocked full of Muslims Bo’s appointed...so you can bet their input isn’t in our best interests.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.