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Page added on October 4, 2015
Iran Readies Massive Syrian Ground Invasion
On Thursday, in “Mid-East Coup: As Russia Pounds Militant Targets, Iran Readies Ground Invasions While Saudis Panic”, we attempted to cut through all of the Western and Russian media propaganda on the way to describing what Moscow’s involvement in Syria actually portends for the global balance of power. Here are a few excerpts that summarize what’s taking shape in the Middle East:
Putin looks to have viewed this as the ultimate geopolitical win-win. That is, Russia gets to i) expand its influence in the Middle East in defiance of Washington and its allies, a move that also helps to protect Russian energy interests and preserves the Mediterranean port at Tartus, and ii) support its allies in Tehran and Damascus thus preserving the counterbalance to the US-Saudi-Qatar alliance.
Meanwhile, Iran gets to enjoy the support of the Russian military juggernaut on the way to protecting the delicate regional nexus that is the source of Tehran’s Mid-East influence. It is absolutely critical for Iran to keep Assad in power, as the loss of Syria to the West would effectively cut the supply line between Iran and Hezbollah.
It would be difficult to overstate the significance of what appears to be going on here. This is nothing short of a Middle Eastern coup, as Iran looks to displace Saudi Arabia as the regional power broker and as Russia looks to supplant the US as the superpower puppet master.
In short, the Pentagon’s contention that Russia and Iran have formed a Mid-East “nexus” isn’t akin to the Bush administration’s hollow, largely bogus attempt to demonize America’s foreign policy critics in the eyes of the public by identifying an “axis of evil.” Rather, the Pentagon’s assessment was an attempt to come to grips with a very real effort on the part of Moscow and Tehran to tip the scales in the Mid-East away from Riyadh and Washington.
Solidifying the Assad regime in Syria serves to shore up Hezbollah and presents Tehran with an opportunity to assert itself in the name of combatting terror. The latter point there is critical. The West has long contended that Iran is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror, and the Pentagon has variously accused the Quds Force of orchestrating attacks on US soldiers in Iraq after cooperation between Washington and Tehran broke down in the wake of Bush’s “axis of evil” comment.
Indeed, Iran was accused of masterminding a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador at a Washington DC restaurant in 2011.
Now, the tables have turned. It is the US, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar who stand accused of sponsoring Sunni extremists and it is Iran, and specifically the Revolutionary Guard, that gets to play hero.
Of course this would be largely impossible without Moscow’s stamp of superpower approval. The optics around the P5+1 nuclear deal were making it difficult for Tehran to be too public in its efforts to bolster Assad. That doesn’t mean Tehran’s support for the regime in Syria hasn’t been well documented for years, it simply means that Iran needed to observe some semblance of caution, lest its role in Syria should end up torpedoing the nuclear negotiations. Now that Moscow is officially involved, that caution is no longer obligatory and Iran is now moving to support Russian airstrikes with an outright ground incursion (just as we’ve been saying for weeks). Here’s WSJ:
Iran is expanding its already sizable role in Syria’s multisided war in the wake of Russia’s airstrikes, despite the risk of antagonizing the U.S. and its Persian Gulf allies who want to push aside President Bashar al-Assad.
Politicians in the region close to Tehran as well as analysts who have been closely following its role in Syria say a decision has been made, in close coordination with the Russians and the Assad regime, to increase the number of fighters on the ground through Iran’s network of local and foreign proxies.
The support also could involve more Iranian commanders, military advisers and expert fighters usually assigned to these units, these people said.
Wiam Wahhab, a former Lebanese minister allied to Iran and Mr. Assad, stressed that Iran wouldn’t be dispatching troops in the conventional sense. Instead, they were likely to be officers and advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, he said.
“I know there is a major battle upon us and everything needed for this battle will be made available,” said Mr. Wahhab, who has some members from his own political party fighting in Syria alongside the regime. “There is a plan to carry out offensive operations in more than one spot.”
Experts believe Iran has some 7,000 IRGC members and Iranian paramilitary volunteers operating in Syria already.
Separate from the regular army, the IRGC was founded in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution as an ideological “people’s army” reporting directly to the supreme leader, Iran’s top decision maker.
The more than 100,000-strong force controls a vast military, economic and security power structure in Iran and is in charge of proxies across the region. Its paramilitary organization, the Basij, was the lead force in the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in 2009.
Since late 2012 Iran has played a lead role in organizing, training and funding local pro-regime militias in Syria, many of them members of Mr. Assad’s Alawite minority, a branch of Shiite Islam. Experts believe they number between 150,000 and 190,000—possibly more than what remains of Syria’s conventional army.
What’s more, some experts estimate 20,000 Shiite foreign fighters are on the ground, backed by both Shiite Iran and its main proxy in the region, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah.
About 5,000 of them are new arrivals from Iraq in July and August alone, said Phillip Smyth, a researcher at the University of Maryland. He said this figure was compiled through his own contacts with some of these fighters, flight data between Baghdad and Damascus as well as social media postings. “It looks like it was timed out to coincide with the Russian move,” Mr. Smyth said.
Yes, it certainly does “look like” that, and it wasn’t hard to see this coming. Here’s another excerpt from our recent analysis:
Back in June, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimaini, visited a town north of Latakia on the frontlines of Syria’s protracted civil war. Following that visit, he promised that Tehran and Damascus were set to unveil a new strategy that would “surprise the world.”
Just a little over a month later, Soleimani – in violation of a UN travel ban – visited Russia and held meetings with The Kremlin.
Make no mistake, this is shaping up to be the most spectacular US foreign policy debacle since Vietnam – and we don’t think that’s an exaggeration.
The US, in conjunction with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, attempted to train and support Sunni extremists to overthrow the Assad regime. Some of those Sunni extremists ended up going crazy and declaring a Medeival caliphate putting the Pentagon and Langley in the hilarious position of being forced to classify al-Qaeda as “moderate.” The situation spun out of control leading to hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and when Washington finally decided to try and find real “moderates” to help contain the Frankenstein monster the CIA had created in ISIS (there were of course numerous other CIA efforts to arm and train anti-Assad fighters, see below for the fate of the most “successful” of those groups), the effort ended up being a complete embarrassment that culminated with the admission that only “four or five” remained and just days after that admission, those “four or five” were car jacked by al-Qaeda in what was perhaps the most under-reported piece of foreign policy comedy in history.
Meanwhile, Iran sensed an epic opportunity to capitalize on Washington’s incompetence. Tehran then sent its most powerful general to Russia where a pitch was made to upend the Mid-East balance of power. The Kremlin loved the idea because after all, Moscow is stinging from Western economic sanctions and Vladimir Putin is keen on showing the West that, in the wake of the controversy surrounding the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia isn’t set to back down. Thanks to the fact that the US chose extremists as its weapon of choice in Syria, Russia gets to frame its involvement as a “war on terror” and thanks to Russia’s involvement, Iran gets to safely broadcast its military support for Assad just weeks after the nuclear deal was struck. Now, Russian airstrikes have debilitated the only group of CIA-backed fighters that had actually proven to be somewhat effective and Iran and Hezbollah are preparing a massive ground invasion under cover of Russian air support. Worse still, the entire on-the-ground effort is being coordinated by the Iranian general who is public enemy number one in Western intelligence circles and he’s effectively operating at the behest of Putin, the man that Western media paints as the most dangerous person on the planet.
As incompetent as the US has proven to be throughout the entire debacle, it’s still difficult to imagine that Washington, Riyadh, London, Doha, and Jerusalem are going to take this laying down and on that note, we close with our assessment from Thursday:
If Russia ends up bolstering Iran’s position in Syria (by expanding Hezbollah’s influence and capabilities) and if the Russian air force effectively takes control of Iraq thus allowing Iran to exert a greater influence over the government in Baghdad, the fragile balance of power that has existed in the region will be turned on its head and in the event this plays out, one should not expect Washington, Riyadh, Jerusalem, and London to simply go gentle into that good night.
94 Comments on "Iran Readies Massive Syrian Ground Invasion"
ennui2 on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 10:33 am
Zerohedge. Nuff said.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Zero_Hedge
joe on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 10:35 am
What a crock of propaganda this is. I was interested until they harper on about hizbolla. They only country hizbolla has a beef with is Israel. So driving 4 million Arabs out of their homes cuts off Israel so called 2 main enemies. Or did I misread this. For this, Russia has to give up its only port in the Mediterranean, and sit by while the West circles his nation with missiles? GO MURKA! GO FREEDOM! The reward for this? Western people (but really we mean white Christian Europeans and most Chrisitan Americans) get to sit by and watch billions of Saudi and Qatari dollars go to pay for extremism so that more kids and shoot up magazine companies and fly planes into buildings. Our leaders are SOOOOO intelligent.
This war is all about securing the last of the easy oil and preparing for not preparing for peak oil because this is how we begin the road to Mad Max guys. By flag waving and being stupid.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 11:04 am
Iran won’t invade Syria if Putin’s air offensive
does the job. Most military experts don’t believe
air power alone can bring down an insurgency.
Military ‘experts’ got us to where we are today.
This time might actually BE different. US Drones did a great job dismembering al Qaeda. Russians have deployed drones in Syria.
Nations still built Battleships long after they became obsolete. This is now the case with aircraft carriers and F/16 type fighter/bombers.
I’ve been predicting for a year Syria’s war metastasized from type 2 proxy stage to type 3 confrontation.
What you won’t be reading anywhere but oil related journals are detailed reasons neither Russia or Iran are determined to keep control of Syria. You certainly won’t read why Saudi Arabia is fighting tooth and nail (with US help) to keep Syria and Yemen in US orbit.
Hint: It’s almost always about oil.
Israel is still America’s only truly adept proxy ME fighting force. The (big) question remains, does Israel dare attack Russian ground forces? (Iran’s proxy)
I think not.
Having said that. How long can Israel tolerate Iranian troops (if they ever come) in Syria?
Davy on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 11:11 am
Emu, I can see you are incapable of putting rubber boots on and wadding through the muck of the swamp to find the truth. You want to sit in the air-conditioning and have it served to you on fine china. ZH is an obnoxious group of assholes but they are uncovering some good alternative information. Many articles are just flat agenda speak like most everything today from one side or the other. Our modern age has succeeded in peak absurdity at every level. Why should they be any better or worse? Emu, tell me how fox news is palatable. Talk about some crazy shit. Watch fox news for a hour and tell me you don’t feel nauseous.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 11:27 am
In any case, oil prices have reacted to Putin’s power play. Russia’s coalition now solid, consists of Iran, Iraq, Venezuela and Ecuador.
Saudi Arabia may have founded OPEC, but times have changed.
Libya and Afghanistan and Sudan are still in a turmoil that won’t be settled soon enough to make up for increasing world oil demand.
I believe shortage is the reverse of ‘glut’.
US production can’t return fast enough even with crude pumped up to $100 or higher.
Canada’s oil companies have also laid off tens of thousands in their oil patch.
The US has a full plate in Afghanistan as the Taliban resumes offensive operations.
If the West wants safe pipelines, soon we need to deal with Taliban.
Nigeria is closer to another civil war then ever.
Daily, like in Iraq, there are unspeakable atrocities. Boko Haram, an IS affiliate, take full credit.
Davy on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 12:03 pm
Bob, you like to do the win/lose oil war scenarios. You refuse to realize such a win/lose oil war cold or hot leaves collapse for everyone. The global economy is teetering now do you think an oil war will not initiate a complete global collapse?
Plantagenet on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 12:24 pm
First Obama’s bumbling re-started the cold war with Russia. Then his wimpiness and indecision in dealing with Assad, Syria and the Islamic State created a power vacuum that Putin and Iran are more then happy to fill, potentially destabilizing the entire middle east.
Cheers!
ennui2 on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 12:52 pm
Typical peakoil peanut-gallery commentary.
1) It’s all about oil, even during a glut.
2) It’s always Obama’s fault.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 1:36 pm
Davy, This Syrian ‘proxy war’ is hardly new.
I’ve been trying to get people’s attention on this topic for five years, other places other rooms.
In fact, I was asked not to post on one oil centric chat room for bring up Syria in 2010.
(Berry Petroleum, Investor Village)
Today, this is one of their main topics.
Mentioning Yemen here on this venue I’m met with blank pages. I suppose ennui doesn’t think
Yemen is important to oil. (NXY) (OXY)
Oil is moving higher BECAUSE Russia, Iraq, Venezuela and Iran preparing to oust Saudi Arabia in a grand Coup.
For a year Ive been ending posts by pointing out Iran and Saudi Arabia were at war. BOTH are OPEC members, what could possibly go wrong?
I get more feedback pissing into a strong wind.
As for OUR President Obama, the only alternatives solutions to Syria anyone offered was war.The American Right is falling all over themselves admiring Putin the ‘strongman’.
“Obama projects weakness, Putin strength”.
IMO Putin has been planning this move for years.
First, he needed Iran, Iraq and Venezuela on side.
Davy on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 1:51 pm
Bob, I appreciate all your ME posts. I read them all and I have learned much. My point is you have a tendency to dismiss the central fact of this global system and its foundational commodity and that is there is no decoupling of individual nations or groups of nations. We are too connected to survive an oil war in a status quo condition. Any nation that wins will lose.
It’s like NUK war only instead of NUK winter we get starvation and a collapsed world economy. That is my point Bob and keep up the ME postings for sure.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 2:02 pm
syrian tinderbox whether true or untrue this story should have lit up the oil trading.
With so many interests at stake ‘incidents’ like ones described are going to persist until it’s too late.
complex…..Russian fighter jets….have intercepted Israeli F-15’s fighter bombers
Six Russian fighter jets type Multirole Sukhoi SU – 30 SM have intercepted 4 Israeli McDonnell Douglas F-15’s fighter bombers attempting to infiltrate the Syrian coast
EXCLUSIVE-Strategika 51:
Six Russian fighter jets type Multirole Sukhoi SU – 30 SM have intercepted 4 Israeli McDonnell Douglas F-15’s fighter bombers attempting to infiltrate the Syrian coast.The Israeli F 15 warplanes have been flying over Syrian airspace for months and in particular the coast of Latakia, which is now the bridgehead of the Russian forces in Syria.
The Israeli jets would generally follow a fairly complex flight plan and approach Latakia from the sea
On the night of 1 October 02, 2015, six Sukhoi SU-30 Russian SM fighters took off from the Syrian Hmimim airbase in the direction of Cyprus, before changing course and intercepting the four Israeli F-15 fighters off the coast of Syria, that were flying in attack formation.
Surprised by a situation as unexpected and probably not prepared for a dogfight with one of the best Russian multipurpose fighters, Israeli pilots have quickly turned back South at high speed over the Lebanon.
The Lebanese army has officially announced at 2313 Z (local time) that four “enemy aircraft” (Israeli) had crossed the airspace of the Lebanon.
This ‘incident’ between the Russian and Israeli combat aircraft struck with amazement the command of the Israeli air force, which has estimated that a possible dogfight between F-15 Israelis and the Russian Su-30 would have led to the destruction of the four aircraft Israelis.
Israel has strongly protested to Moscow of the incident but the Russians demanded explanations about the presence of Israeli military aircraft in full Syrian airspace.
This incident indicates that the protection of Syrian airspace is now under the protection of the Russian air weapon. What causes gnashing of teeth in Washington.
The incident has been ignored by major news agencies but relays political and media of Israel in the United States, Europe and in the Arab world will redouble their efforts to demonize the Russian support for the Syrian Government.
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=53f_1443836190#ShphmeRupM1DqEh6.99
Davy on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 2:20 pm
Bob, planes are not shot down until there is combat. The F15 is a capable aircraft especially in the hands of well trained Israeli pilots. This account sounds dramatized for effect. You know the big bad Russians chased off the weaker Isrealis. I am sure these situations are taking place because these armies are constantly testing the air defenses of their opponents. What I discount is the addition of the elements of Hollywood drama your account portrays.
Boat on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 2:48 pm
Obama wimpy? I think he has been way to aggressive. The Middle East has been a black hole for spending on borrowed money. The surge in Afghanistan was a waste of lives and money. Staying in Iraq is a waste of time and money. Yemen, Libya are all a waste of time.
Asia and Europe need the oil flowing a lot more than the US. Time to take a step back and let it play out.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:01 pm
Reprinted from Huff Post
Last week, the Taliban began the process of retaking Afghanistan, starting with the northern city of Kunduz. The U.S. and Afghan governments have since been battling to recapture it — a fight that included the U.S. bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital that killed at least 12 medical staff, along with at least seven patients, on Saturday.
On US air assault Doc’s w/o Borders Hospital
The Taliban has since charged that Afghan intelligence purposely gave the U.S. the hospital’s coordinates. Even the possibility that such an accusation is true — and the duration of the sustained attack suggests that something unusual happened — points toward the reason that Afghanistan is headed back toward Taliban control: The government is thoroughly corrupt, and the U.S. has been unwilling to take measures to address the situation. While a handful of civilian and military leaders identified corruption as an existential threat to the country, the problem remains unsolved.
ww.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sarah-chayes-kunduz_56103348e4b0768127024d1b
Boat on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:13 pm
Bob,
I read the attacking force was 500 men. They took Kunduz by surprise and took few casualties. It is easy to take territory, much harder to keep it.
2 presidents have had their nose rubbed in Afganistan. You would think they would learn. People like Planty keep these wars alive.
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:15 pm
Davy,
Obviously this is a single instance, on the second or third day of air combat.
I must point out however, two important facts.
1) Israel was invading Syrian airspace.
2) Israel and Syria have, for years, been in a declared state of war. We can assume Israel and Russia have different objectives.
The Russian aircraft had a bombing mission. Not interception. What if the F/15’s were Saudi?
Will Russians view this as a purposeful or oh accidental escalation?
1) What if aircraft in question were Iranian instead of Russian?
2) What are the odds Israel will test again?
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:17 pm
MOSCOW, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Russian planes have flown 20 sorties in Syria and struck 10 Islamic State targets in the past 24 hours, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Russia has said it would step up its air strikes in Syria, escalating a military intervention which Moscow launched on Wednesday to weaken Islamic State militants, but which Western powers say aims to support President Bashar al-Assad.
“As a result of our air strikes on Islamic State targets, we have managed to disrupt their control system, the terrorist organization’s supply lines, and also caused significant damage to the infrastructure used to prepare acts of terror,” the ministry said.
It said the strikes, conducted by SU-34, SU-24M and SU-25 planes, had hit targets in the Idlib and Raqqa provinces, including a terrorist training camp and a suicide belt factory.
The strikes, which it called pinpoint, had also destroyed three ammunition stores and four Islamic State command centers, the ministry said.
Jim Wherry on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:23 pm
The problem with Iran sending “only Officers and advisors” is that Syrian young men are fleeing the country in DROVES. This especially includes Shi’ites.
NPR ran a story, a few weeks back, about a man who had just graduated from college in Syria with an economics degree. The day he graduated, his family sent him out of the country.
When he arrived at the airport, he found a bunch of other young men. “Like me, they had all just graduated from university, that day. We all knew why we were here.”
BobInget on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:38 pm
For all you anti American chaps, a gift.
li M. Latifi and W.J. HenniganContact Reporter
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders closed its hospital in the Afghan province of Kunduz on Sunday, and charged that a suspected U.S. airstrike that killed 22 people there appeared to have been a war crime.
The closure was a blow to the embattled northern province where more than 400 people have been injured in the last week in fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban. The group took control of the provincial capital briefly last week.
The Pentagon said there are three investigations into the airstrike, one by the Defense Department, one involving both the United States and Afghanistan, and one by NATO. Pentagon officials have thus far said only that a U.S. airstrike Saturday morning may have caused collateral damage.
Doctors Without Borders said it would be satisfied only with an investigation by an independent, outside authority.
The aid agency called the bombing, which went on for more than an hour, horrifying and said it had informed U.S. and Afghan officials of the hospital’s GPS coordinates before the strike occurred.
Afghan forces hunt Taliban in Kunduz as militant leader claims ‘symbolic victory’
Afghan forces hunt Taliban in Kunduz as militant leader claims ‘symbolic victory’
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in French, said Sunday that the death toll had risen to 22 — 12 staff members and 10 patients, three of them children. The toll was an increase of three over the figure announced previously. In addition, dozens of people were injured.
“Under the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed, MSF demands that a full and transparent investigation into the event be conducted by an independent international body,” the organization said in a statement on its website. “Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient.”
Senior Pentagon officials said the three investigations that have been launched are centered on whether the U.S. military knew the hospital was nearby when an AC-130 gunship opened fire and whether the clinic was being used by the Taliban to launch attacks.
Thus far, no U.S. or Afghan personnel have been able to gain access to the hospital because the area remains contested, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Sunday. He called the situation “confused and complicated.”
The investigations “will be, and needs to be, full and transparent,” Carter told reporters aboard the Pentagon’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane en route to Madrid. “There will be accountability, as always in these incidents, if that is required.”
U.S. defense officials said small teams of U.S. and Afghan special forces were pinned down by Taliban gunfire Saturday morning near the hospital and called in an AC-130 to pound the area with fire.
The AC-130 Spectre is a heavily armed ground-attack aircraft outfitted with turrets and mounted Gatling-gun style auto cannons that fire rounds powerful enough to rip apart tanks.
Defense officials said that because it was an intense fire exchange with the Taliban, it remains unclear if the AC-130 was responsible for the hospital’s damage or if it came from elsewhere.
NEWSLETTER: Get the day’s top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>
But victims inside the hospital said the strikes continued even after the agency contacted military officials and informed them of the hospital’s position.
Gen. John Campbell, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has been in constant communication with Carter and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani about the incident. Carter said he said he has not instructed Campbell to halt airstrikes in Afghanistan.
“Gen. Campbell will take whatever actions he thinks are appropriate,” he said. “Right now, he is focused on the investigation and supporting the Afghan security forces.”
Campbell is set to appear in front of Congress to discuss the campaign in Afghanistan and is all but certain to discuss what happened at Kunduz.
Local and international bodies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and the public health ministry, have condemned the hospital attack. Afghan forces say that Taliban fighters holed up in the facility were firing at government and U.S. forces, but the hospital refutes these claims.
One hospital worker, who said he lost dozens of colleagues in the attack, said the government’s claims are not possible.
“The doors were closed. It was late, no one could get in or out. The only people inside at the time were us — the staff — and the patients.”
Babs on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:41 pm
So what are we going to do now? Iran and Russia are ready to fight Islamic state and to make sure Assad stays in power.The whole of middle east is in chaos.Millions of refugees are rushing to Europe.There is a possibility of ISIS fighters mixing with refugees to Europe.This will make Europe unsafe and the world is coming to an end.What is the solution? What shall we do? Bring Russia back to the table.Discuss the situations and try to amend relations with Russia.In this way they could be changes.This is my view.
dn32844 on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:43 pm
The U.S.and its allies’ murdering innocent people in the name of fighting ISIS has hit the fan and now to cover it they have increased anti Russia & Iran propaganda. The couldn’t do a zhit and don’t want others destroy their creation.
narayan on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 3:47 pm
please listen to Ron Paul’s comments on Syria situation. He said,we made a mess in Iraq, and better not to repeat in Syria. Like it or not, right now, Assad the bad wolf is the better bet than ISIS. Let the Russians do the dirty job, get the nose bloodied, and go back like we do in Iraq. Best policy for the US is, as D.Trump says, wait and see.
Friar Tuck on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 4:08 pm
All these arm chair experts, they couldn’t all be wrong.
Andrew X on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 4:24 pm
There are already Iran troops in Syria and we know this because Israel killed a few of the about a month ago. More of the same? Alongside Russians? Putin has been battling Islamic jihadists for years and I don’t see him allowing the Islamic State of Iran control over Syria.
Tom on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 4:33 pm
DONALD TRUMP
Kensan on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 4:48 pm
It seems the intent of the U.S. is to overthrow governments and destabilize the countries in the region. Examples are Iraq, Libya and the support of the various Islamist groups fighting in Syria, while Russia and Iran are supporting the government. Which is the more constructive approach ? Not a difficult choice.
Garry B. Coston on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 5:06 pm
If Russia, Asad, Iraq, Iran, and Hezbollah start tipping the balance of power and institute change in the Mideast in their favor, the west will not sit idly by; what do I think will happen? World War 3 after an ultimatum is given to Russia and its friends int he region, in which they will thumb their nose at the west, and then World War 3 will erupt.
Joe on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 5:18 pm
Iran is Russia’s lacky? LOL. Go bleed for Assad and Putin. Lots of coffins going back to Iran once again killing off their young men. Russia doesn’t have the stomach for shipping back body bags, so Putin is let Iran fight probably because their equipment is a POS.
skydog on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 5:28 pm
its to late to fix the asad thing theirs going to be a dogfight us and its allies and russia and its allies lets not fool our selfs
bill on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 5:32 pm
Ezekiel 47 from the bible. read it. This is the beginning of the end. And unless you read it please don’t reply with an uninformed comment. The events that are and about to happen was predicted thousands years ago. May God save us all.
apneaman on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 5:41 pm
Sorry bill. I already used that page to wipe my ass. Why don’t cha tells all about it.
Omar ibrahim on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 6:09 pm
Once in in force as Russia seems intent on entering the region as a major player it’s I ultimate public reception will hinge on whether it can do something constructive in Palestine.
That will be the sine quo none equalizing factor for battling the Islamist movement(s) that will remain uppermost in the general public mind and could only be supplanted by a resurgent pan Arabism focusing on Palestine.
Short of a genuinely decisive action in and for Palestine Russia will eventually do a second Afghanistan.and regret it.
The USA and the Judo/ neoconservative
Christian alliance will not play ball , being forced out as sole Peace monger,will make many noises and possibly undertake some drastic moves, short of war.
the next American President will have to face Israel/Zionism/International Jewry and that is when he will decide to go to war, unlikely, or terminate Israeli mastery of America’s Middle East policies.
MrNoItAll on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 6:19 pm
It really is impossible for any of us regular guys and gals to figure out exactly what is going on in the ME, or to even attempt to decipher all of the backstabbing, backroom secret negotiations, misdirection, psy-ops and other cloak and dagger B.S. going on there. For all we know, America realized that they made a mess of trying to defeat ISIS, the Europeans started putting intense pressure on America due to the flood of refugees, and so America then entered into a secret arrangement with Russia to come in and kick serious ass knowing that Russian reporters won’t be standing around making a big deal out of all the collateral damage. Or not. Speculation is all we have, and it ain’t much.
Khalil on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 6:40 pm
No secret agreement with the U.S. and Russia. Russia and Iran are just taking matters into their own hands to get rid of the U.S. funded Isis and the funded rebels who are trying to overthrow the legitimate government in Syria.
jerry harshman on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 6:40 pm
This article includes lots of facts, includes views of both sides, & presents a logical conclusion. Many of the comments agree with what was in the article, some others only expressed opinions based on the propaganda they have been exposed to for many years, rather than current facts. The author has done a useful job of informing, even though he has oil related motives.
Bloomer on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 6:52 pm
We are told by our Western government leaders that the reason we intervene in foreign countries affairs, is to stand up for human rights and to promote democracy.
If this is truly the case, then why do we continue to trade with countries like Saudi Arabia and China where human rights do not exist?
What good will result when we align ourselves with al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups?
We have lost our sense of humanity, sold it out for our quest of liberalize trade and laissez-faire capitalism.
onlooker on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:07 pm
Well put MrNO. It just seems like a mad scramble to attain some advantage and to mitigate undesirable consequences. US knew it would be like this, so I would give them the advantage. The “War on Terror” was always going to be fought mostly in the ME. This is because it is more of a war to control the foundation energy source OIL.
Boat on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:16 pm
Bloomer,
From birth you will live in the world of spin. Politics to shopping to religion. There is a grain of truth in almost everything but also a grain of one sided opinion. Always look at both sides of the story.
bob kahn on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:20 pm
I really don’t know where “Bob” is getting his information but the idea that Russia is in Syria for humanitarian reasons and is trying to destroy ISIS is ludicrous. The fact is that Russia is there for one reason only and that is to prop up their proxy in the region Assad and that is not a good thing. Russia is destroying all of Assad’s opponents and that is not a good thing for US interests in the region.
The fact that Russia is behaving this way has been noted by Michael Fallon, Great Britain’s secretary of defense, who was quoted Saturday as saying that only 5 percent of Russian airstrikes so far have hit Islamic State targets. The bulk have killed civilians and fighters from other anti-Assad groups, he told the Sun newspaper.
Alex A. on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:20 pm
The Middle East has been a real powder keg since 1946, with the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, the Suez War in 1956, some smaller conflicts that resulted in the Six Day War in 1967. The Palestinians want their own ‘State’ on the West Bank. So, why not let them have it? But with stipulations that would keep outside influences out of the picture (namely Lebanon and Syria). But the situation in Syria is going to have to be dealt with by both sides. Instead of the Syrians running away to Europe, they need to help solve the situation by standing up to the cowardly ISIS and helping to eradicate them. All they are doing, is to expand the problem by running away. Iran and Russia are taking full advantage of this exodus by bringing in their own military forces under the guise of combating ISIS. They want to build a barrier around Israel and Saudi Arabia (which more or less happens in my latest book: ‘A Sea of Glass’). It is totally scary to think about.
AmericanWarrior on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:30 pm
Greetings all, I understand for some of you, English is not your primary language, but please try to be clear and concise with your statements, I can’t understand much of what many of your are trying to say and which side if any you support. As to hammering the American Military for hitting the hospital in Kunduz, supposedly the staff says there was no fighting in the area, but no one can access the area to check out who or what hit the hospital, because of all of the fighting and the confused situation. As to the war crime, that infers that the Americans knowingly hit a hospital intentionally without cause (as in someone was being attacked from that location). Additionally, they say that someone knew it was a hospital, well just because someone knew, there is no evidence that the Americans knew. Also, in the 14 years since America has been in Afghanistan there has not been one proven incident where the American military was proven to have intentionally hit a civilian target, so why would they start now? American haters jump on anything to attack the US, so whats new? Russia is using dumb bombs that are more area type weapons (versus precision that the Americans use) kill in a large radius around targets that they want to hit. Apparently they killed nearly 40 civilians in one attack and the Syrians kill hundreds with barrel bombs and they attack Americans with war crime accusations, when nothing has been proven yet. It is their sorry asses that would be the first to call on the American Military if they were kidnapped to come and save them. They work in war zones and bad things happen, sometimes intentional and other times not. I have spent 10 years in various war zones and not a whole lot is predictable. It is war, hello, if you want to be safe, go home.
Also, I have read in some of the posts that the CIA created ISIS, where did that lie start at? America supported people in Afghanistan who fought the russians and the turned on us and created Al Qaeda, but that only shows them to be back stabbing, lying, ungrateful p.o.s’ that the are.
Take care and God bless, respectfully, American Warrior
Bloomer on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:47 pm
Its always been about the oil in the middle east onlooker. If I have to listen to one more politician tell us its about freedom, I think I am going to upchuck.
Davy on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:47 pm
MR, I am wondering the same thing about this whole Syrian scenario. Us mere mortals have little clue for what is really happening behind the scenes. There is so much noise about what people think is happening. In these situations with all the noise who knows. Russia and the US have common goals and conflicting ones so there is room for compromise and maneuver.
Boat on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 7:58 pm
The US could have easily replaced Assad but with who. This is the lesson from Iraq and Libya. Easy to replace a bad actor but very hard to find a moderate.
Boat on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:03 pm
Same problem in the Ukraine. The population is split into factions. If they would rather kill each other instead of live together there is not much the international community can do.
apneaman on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:05 pm
AmericanWarrior, you need to change your handle to American Storyteller.
apneaman on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:05 pm
Boat your a fucking idiot.
makati1 on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:06 pm
Well, from the accounts above we can see who is gulping down the Western Koolaid. When you quote the US, UK, or NATO, you are quoting the same source the US Ministry of Propaganda. But then, government “Koolaid” kills the thinking process. LMAO
Mike on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:06 pm
Thanks Bill response at 5:32 PM…events prophesized over 3000 years ago. Ezekiel 38-39 already has stated what will be. Get ready get ready the end is near before the last 7 years of tremendous pain the world will every know, the Tribulation ad Great Tribulation period. LOL man always playing a chest game with God. America, Moscow, Iran, Syria read the Bible, it tells you what will happen and it’s not pretty.
apneaman on Sun, 4th Oct 2015 8:11 pm
Mike, fuck your stupid infantile goat herder fairy tales.