Posted on 10/26/2019 7:57:49 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
Russia's Defence Ministry has criticised the United States' decision to send armoured vehicles and combat troops into eastern Syria to protect oil fields, calling it "banditry."
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said the move is aimed at keeping the fields from potentially falling into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.
The decision was the latest sign that extracting the US military from Syria is more uncertain and complicated than President Donald Trump has made it out to be.
On Saturday, there were several troop movements in Syria as the various players adjusted to the US decision to withdraw troops from the northeast.
A US convoy of more than a dozen vehicles was spotted driving south of the northeastern city of Qamishli, likely heading to the oil-rich Deir Ez Zour area, or possibly to another base nearby. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, also reported the convoy, saying it arrived earlier from Iraq.
A large convoy of Syrian government troops was also spotted heading toward the M4 highway. Syrian state news agency SANA said troops have entered the region of Ras al-Ain, deploying to eight villages along the highway and close to the Syria-Turkey border.
Syrian government troops had not set foot in northeastern Syria since 2012, when the government pulled out to focus on the war elsewhere in Syria.
The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), took control of the area when it allied itself with the US in its battle against ISIL in the region. Since its founding in 2015, it significantly expanded its control across northern and eastern Syria and has sought to create an autonomous federation there.
But after Trump ordered his forces to withdraw from Kurdish-held
(Excerpt) Read more at aljazeera.com ...
I never argue with facts.
Neither should you.
The fact is Syria/Russia needs it’s forces for Idlib. Now.
Who said it does not?
www.wsj.com/amp/articles/russia-strikes-syrian-rebel-stronghold-raising-fears-of-assad-regime-offensive-11571929496
You do.
Google Idlib news, please:)
Why?
What idiocy would you have me see?
The ‘news’ from Idlib is that Trump told Syria/Russia/Turkey to stay out of the way of a US Special Forces unit that took out Bagdhadi and other Jihadis.
Rumor is that Al Quida terrorists gave up Baghadi, but you wouldn’t ubderstand that point.
My congratulations about Baghdadi but the rest is too hard to comprehend:)
Again, sorry to be argumentative, but it shouldn’t be “hard to comprehend” for anyone who has followed events.
Idlib is full of Turk backed anti-Assad terrorists.
They were given the choice of fighting or going to Idlib. They took the Idlib choice.
Now they have to be cleaned out.
We have our own oil.
So we are protecting the oil fields from the Syrian government?
Some here suggest they need to forget about their oil and focus on other areas instead.
Maybe the crisis is escalating in other areas specifically to shift their focus there.
I wonder who are on board of ‘Kurding oil company’.
i think i can write something that will succeed in disgusting and offending everyone.
I think both sides have a point. These are exactly the oil fields that ISIS was occupying and selling oil to turkey to fund all their atrocities.
In an ideal world this would be under Syrian sovereignty. But on a short term basis it makes sense for us to safeguard it. if it really is short term.
The fields were assaulted by ISIS once before and repulsed - this is to keep the remnants from repeating the same tactic and using the money to reconstitute. Tanks are necessary because troops only would be vulnerable, if the weather turns bad and no air is available.
Agree. It is much better to allow the remnants of ISIS to take the fields unopposed and start up again than “extort” by “defending” and “profiting” from them.
The argument is that the Syrian forces should look elsewhere. ISIS is a ruse in this case. The main idea is to control the fields. Kurds want it, Turks want it, Deep State by proxy of US military wants. The only rightful owners are Syrians and they supposed to look elsewhere. ‘There are more pressing issues’. LOL.
ISIS is a ruse in this case
I didn’t see media driving anything like it. Why someone should tell it. Just connect the don’t. All the actual fighting is mostly about these fields. ISIS is and was mostly irrelevant.
Because ISIS would take the oil by force and sell it, generating cash to rebuild their forces.
Currently, there is nobody else who is trustworthy or strong enough to defend these oil fields.
That’s called rule by a crisis and lies.
Lift sanctions from Syria and put sanctions on Turkey for violating Syria’s integrity and Syria is strong enough.
Even without it Syria with Russian help is more than capable to take and hold the fields. They even capable to wipe out the limited US contingent be get there but don’t think it worth the fallout.
ISIS is nothing now.
Before Obama’s Arab Spring, these oil fields belonged to Syria. If we want to take away something from Syria that matters to the World, take back Lebanon.
“Syrian government troops had not set foot in northeastern Syria since 2012, when the government pulled out to focus on the war elsewhere in Syria.”
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