Posted on 02/14/2016 1:57:24 AM PST by SaveFerris
Dubai (AFP) - Saudi Arabia has deployed warplanes to a Turkish airbase in order to "intensify" its operations against the Islamic State group in Syria, a senior Saudi defence official has said.
"The Saudi kingdom now has a presence at Incirlik airbase in Turkey," brigadier general Ahmed al-Assiri was quoted as saying by Al-Arabiya television late on Saturday.
"Saudi warplanes are present with their crews to intensify aerial operations along with missions launched from bases in Saudi Arabia," Assiri said, without providing further details.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Saudi jets would be deployed at Incirlik, and that the two countries could participate in ground operations against IS in Syria.
Riyadh and Ankara are both opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose foreign minister last week warned that any ground intervention would "amount to aggression that must be resisted".
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
WHY would SA send jets when Russia has ISIS completely on the run at this point?
They and Turkey dont give a dam about ISIS at this point, they do, however, give a big dam about Russia and Assad.
Smells like trouble. I think sides are firming up, and it won’t take much to trigger a larger ME skirmish.
Why? Because the reason for SA jets is other than being reported. They’re stacking up against Russia and Syria.
Note that the Russians have bought their best anti-aircraft systems over since the downing of a Russian jet and the execution of a pilot.
This is pre-conflict stack up of forces.
Syria is a secular Dictatorship. Forces are aligning to see it disposed of and forces are digging in to protect it.
I wonder if Egypt will feel the need to throw in with the soft NATO coalition.
-I wonder if Egypt will feel the need to throw in with the soft NATO coalition.-
I think Egypt is an economic basket case. They might throw in if somebody pays their way, but even then the government is on shaky ground. The prudent thing for them to do is mind their own business. Throwing in on either side will cause much agitation at home.
At this point, it almost looks like ISIS is fairly irrelevant, overshadowed by larger regional powers using circumstances to further their own goals. Is this secular vs Islamist governments?
I wonder what the Turks would do if Russia fired a four or five thousand land-based missiles into Istanbul or Ankara?
Invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
I would assume Turkey’s biggest leverage are the straights connecting Black Sea to Mediterranean.
Russia is pushing the anti Assad rebels out and have the Turkman rebels up against the Turkish border, the kurds are paying court in Moscow to Putin.
Yea, NATO is afraid of a Russian Turkish conflict, provoked by Turkey and it’s machinations in the region.
I agree; NATO is certainly concerned about this boiling over into an all-out Turkish/Saudi/Gulf States conflict versus Assad/Russia/Iran, etc.
We seem to be at the point in the Syrian Civil War where the assorted proxies will take a backseat and the regional powers themselves will now operate directly in theater via their military forces.
That’s a recipe for disaster.
And how many wars have been fought over that Isthmus?
Russia is fighting for it’s life much the same as we’re fighting for our lives except that we’re doing it through bullshit then ballot and they’re doing it with gunpowder and cartridge.
I’m not seeing the “Russians fighting for their lives” part, unless you mean after a hypothetical closure of the waterways. Currently, I see Russia as supporting old allies Syria and Iran, and maneuvering to gain a warmer water port.
The division of control line is the Euphrates - Russia has the west and the US has the east. Raqqa is east of the River ... The US owns ISIS ...
Almost all of Russia’s efforts are in the west. ISIS only suffers the occasional US pinprick when the lawyers agree there are no possible civilians within half a mile. ISIS is not on the run, but actually growing.
However, Assad says his forces will take back the entire country, so what happens when they cross the river is any one’s guess.
Turkey and SA both support and finance ISIS which is Sunni. Assad and his SAA are Alawites - close to Shia and Iran.
Saudi planes are there to help the Turks kill Kurds and SAA troops. There are no ISIS forces around Azaz (Kurd) and Aleppo (SAA) - but are further east.
Russia is likely waiting for a clear and egregious attack by the Turks so they cannot invoke Article 5 - or that’s what I would do - and then Russia will slam the Turkish mil to pieces, giving the Kurds the contiguous state along Turkey’s southern boarder.
The question is, do the US and NATO really want peace?
wow. you know your stuff.
then that’s it. theres no ISIS related reason for Saudi Jets to be there.
and if assad wants his whole country back, which can only happen with Russian warplanes, this could get bad.
i was so hopeful for Egypt when I read Al Sisi visited some churches.
but it seems like even their “moderates” hate christians.
but they must hate MB too to overthrow it.
bad times, my friend.
an now, my paesano, Scalia...I still can’t accept it and my soul is crushed by the hatred and vitriol for him om the internet.
The Sauds hate Iran and Russia. I think they are there to do war on Russia and Iran.
I fear when Russia blows up like that, it will be nukes sent to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Maybe the US, too.
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