Syria Superthread [merged]

[CougarKing]

Part of the US response to the Russian movements into Syria:

Reuters

U.S. asks Greece to deny Russian flights to Syria

By Renee Maltezou, Tom Perry and Lidia Kelly

ATHENS/BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States has asked Greece to deny Russia the use of its airspace for supply flights to Syria, a Greek official said on Monday, after Washington told Moscow it was deeply concerned by reports of a Russian military build up in Syria.

The Greek foreign ministry said the request was being examined. Russian newswire RIA Novosti earlier said Greece had refused the U.S. request, adding that Russia was seeking permission to run the flights up to Sept. 24.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would not give any official reaction until there was a decision from Athens.

Russia, which has a naval maintenance facility in the Syrian port of Tartous, has sent regular flights to Latakia, which it has also used to bring home Russian nationals who want to leave.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[jollyjacktar]

Lots of photos of Russian troops in Syria.  Shared under the fair dealings provisions of the copyright act. 

EXCLUSIVE: First picture 'proof' that Russia has troops on the ground all over Syria helping dictator Bashar Al-Assad - and they've been there since APRIL
Images showing Russians troops in Syria posted on social media accounts
Some have been taken at Russia's small naval facility in Tartus, Syria
But forces seen at other locations and pictures have been taken since April
Pregnant woman complained on social media that her Russian marine husband is being deployed to the country for 'three to eight months'
Pictures will infuriate Western leaders in the face of official Russian denials

ByWill Stewart for MailOnline

Published: 11:08 GMT, 8 September 2015 | Updated: 11:47 GMT, 8 September 2015

These revealing pictures apparently show how Russian troops are already on the ground in Syria as Vladimir Putin allegedly defies the West.

The images showing boots on the ground were originally posted on social media accounts of military personnel, but some were then hastily withdrawn once they began being noticed.

The shocking pictures will be seen as proof that despite official denials from the Russian president Vladimir Putin, he has deployed increasing numbers of troops to help prop up the regime of Syrian premier Bashar Al-Assad.

The pictures will infuriate western leaders who have called for the removal of Assad during the four-year civil war that has devastated the country, forced four million people to flee their homes and led to the terrifying rise of ISIS.

Until recently, this facility was guarded by as few as four Russian military personnel it has been claimed, in stark contrast to the numbers now visible.

One picture posted this week by 19-year-old Ivan Strebkov - who serves in the Alexander Nevsky Marine Brigade, based in Baltiysk on Russia's Baltic coast - shows four heavily armed troops at Russia's small but longstanding Tartus naval facility in Syria.

However, the Russian forces are also seen at other locations in the war-torn country, and the pictures have been taken since April, suggesting a gradual build up.

Another image shows nine Russian soldiers around a fire in a blitzed building in Homs, some 60 miles east of the Tartus naval port.

A picture posted by Alexei Khabarov shows a Russian soldier in Arab headgear at Hama, 90 miles from Tartus.

An image posted by Sergei Alexandrov taken on July 27 appears to show a Russian soldier in a trench in Halab - or Aleppo - in war-ravaged northern Syria, 150 miles from Tartus.

Another posted by Sergei Boroda last month shows a bearded fighter in a military encampment in al-Soda - also known as al-Sawda - around ten miles northeast of Tartus.

An photograph posted by Nikoli Kazakov shows soldiers apparently arriving in Syria in April, long before recent concern that led US Secretary of State John Kerry to challenge his U.S. opposite number Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov over the Russian troops in Syria.

An undated image highlights two Russian soldiers posing beside a poster of presidents Assad and Putin.

And a pregnant Russian woman appeared to have let the cat out of the bag when she complained on social media that her husband, a marine in Putin's armed forces, has been deployed to Syria.

While Russia has long supplied weaponry to Damascus, a Cold War ally, the naval resupply facility of Tartus is not designated a military base and Moscow has not previously had a significant military presence in Syria.

Despite this, there are claims of a rising number of visits to Tartus from the Nikolai Filchenkov - a large assault landing ship - and other Russian naval vessels.

The vessel was pictured on September 2 and is believed to be carrying equipment from the 810th non-divisional marine brigade, based in Sevastopol in Crimea. One marine from the 810th posted his social media status as: 'Gone to Syria'.

The collection of images have been seized on by critics to claim that Putin has taken a major decision to boost his military presence in Syria in support of the country's autocratic president Assad.

The photographs suggest serving Russian forces have been in Syria since April at least.

Blogger Nikolay Makhno gathered together a collection of pictures from the social media accounts of alleged serving Russian soldiers.

'The Russian president's press-secretary Dmitry Peskov has denied the reports of Western media about the participation of Russian army in fighting in Syria,' he said.

'At the same time, photographs of Russian soldiers prove that they keep arriving to fight for Assad.

'Not just 'instructors' are going there - but entire groups of special forces and marines.

'The majority of them are coming via Tartus, but they can also be seen in Homs, Latakia, Damask, Ail As-Soda, Salamia, Ham.

'Some army units are serving in Syria for four-to-six months, and sometimes they mask themselves like Arabs.'

The blogger from Kiev likened the build-up to the deployment of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, which was resolutely denied by Moscow

'The families of Russian soldiers will try to find out where their husbands are spending their holidays - in Ukraine or in Syria,' he wrote.

The images do not prove Russians are directly involved in fighting but suggest Putin's troops are on the ground in a number of locations in Syria.

Separately, a video from Syria supposedly filmed on August 23 during the battle of the port of Latakia shows an ultramodern Russian-made infantry combat vehicle 82A with an 2A72 30mm cannon.

There are claims Russian speech is heard in the video. The vehicle is painted in colours and there is an identification number in Russian style.

Claims today made by independent radio station Echo Moscow say the following shouts were heard in Russian: 'Let's do! Throw it! Do it again! Let's do it again!'

The report concluded that the 'Russian speaking crew' deployed in a new and 'rare' combat vehicle was seeking to prevent Latakia falling to Assad's foes.

'In March, Assad has lost Idlib, in April - Jisr Shughur, and Latakia is a strategic fort, the biggest port in Syria,' stated the report.

'The international airport is there which is also a military base. If Assad loses Latakia, he will soon lose the control of this aviation base, and Tartus is not far from there.'

Recently there were reports citing anonymous U.S. intelligence officials stating Russia has set up an air traffic control tower and transported prefabricated housing units for as many as 1,000 personnel to an airfield serving Latakia.

In the pictures, one soldier called Fedor Shmatko was pictured in April serving in Syria. But later he changed his social media account name to Denis Smoldyrev, deleting pictures linked to Syria.

Another wielding a Kalashnikov, called Nikita Saveliev, has since deleted his account on Vkontakte, a Russian social media network.

If Putin is engaged in a covert build up, as happened in Ukraine, according to the West, it could backfire, say Moscow experts.

'After the Soviet operation in Afghanistan, our public opinion has certain prejudices against sending troops to fight for ideals that are foreign to us,' Nikolai Kozhanov, of the Moscow Carnegie Centre, told The Moscow Times today.

Kerry expressed fears about an 'enhanced Russian buildup' in Syria.

'The Russian side has never concealed the fact that it is sending military equipment to the Syrian authorities to help them fight terrorism,' retorted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Putin said recently it was premature to talk about Russia taking part in military operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. 

And earlier this month, Putin claimed Assad is ready to hold snap parliamentary elections and could share power with a 'healthy' opposition. 

'We really want to create some kind of an international coalition to fight terrorism and extremism,' Putin told journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum last week, saying he had spoken to U.S. President Barack Obama on the matter.

'We are also working with our partners in Syria. In general, the understanding is that this uniting of efforts in fighting terrorism should go in parallel to some political process in Syria itself,' Putin said.

'And the Syrian president agrees with that, all the way down to holding early elections, let's say, parliamentary ones, establishing contacts with the so-called healthy opposition, bringing them into governing,' he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3226009/First-picture-proof-Russia-troops-ground-Syria-helping-dictator-Bashar-Al-Assad-ve-APRIL.html#ixzz3lANav7SS
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[tomahawk6]

Russian ROE's might be just whats needed to stop IS.Maybe this will divert their energies from the Ukraine.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Lots of photos of Russian troops in Syria.  Shared under the fair dealings provisions of the copyright act.

Syria's Info-machine:  LIES, all lies!  ;D

Rumors that Russia is stepping up its military presence in Syria are "fabricated by intelligence agencies of the West and some Arab countries," Syria’s Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi told the Lebanese TV channel Al-Manar. Excerpts from this interview have been quoted by the SANA news agency on Tuesday.

According to the minister, "this hostile campaign is aimed at creating the impression that the Syrian state has become so weak that it has to seek direct military assistance from its friends." ....

 

[The Bread Guy]

Lots of photos of Russian troops in Syria.  Shared under the fair dealings provisions of the copyright act.

A subtler line from Russia, via its info-machine:

Moscow is not planning to transform its logistics center in Syria's Tartus into a full-format military base, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and special presidential representative for the Middle East and African countries Mikhail Bogdanov told Interfax.

"There are no such plans," Bogdanov said when asked whether Russia could transform its logistics center in Tartus into a military base amid Western media reports alleging that Russia was stepping up its military presence in Syria.

"This logistics center has been in Tartus for decades, and nobody has ever had any questions on this account," Bogdanov said.

"The parameters of this center's operations and its purposes are well-known, and I don't see any problems in this case," the diplomat said.

Not quite a denial of ANY troops in country ....

 

[CougarKing]

It was stated on another forum that Russia also moved its sole Typhoon class SSBN to the Eastern Med. Sea, in addition to the other warships headed to Syria, though I'm still searching for an online source that corroborates this:

Reuters

Russia sends ships, aircraft and forces to Syria: US officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia has sent two tank landing ships and additional aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and has deployed a small number of naval infantry forces, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in the latest signs of a military buildup that has put Washington on edge.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[CougarKing]

The latest: Russian forces start participating in actual combat. So this is a full intervention by Putin, not just a presence to deter the US coalition from taking out Assad:

Reuters

Exclusive: Russian troops join combat in Syria - sources
Wed Sep 9, 2015 5:18pm EDT
By Gabriela Baczynska, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Phil Stewart

MOSCOW/BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday.

The sources, speaking to Reuters on condition they not be identified, gave the most forthright account yet from the region of what the United States fears is a deepening Russian military role in Syria's civil war, though one of the Lebanese sources said the number of Russians involved so far was small.

U.S. officials said Russia sent two tank landing ships and additional cargo aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and deployed a small number of naval infantry forces.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[tomahawk6]

The Russians are trying to save Assad and deploying ground forces may save Assad but also help defeat IS.The US effort to topple Assad needs to be shelved for the time being.IS is a far bigger threat.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Assad as a threat to the west is long gone, let Russia spill it's own blood there for a change. Eventually they to will get stabbed in the back by their friends. The bet thing to do now is to "Welcome" the Russians in, that would alarm them as they will start thinking it's a trap. The best way to counter Russia is to get it to get involved in many arenas and let that tax it strength and ability to focus.

 

[Kirkhill]

Assad as a threat to the west is long gone, let Russia spill it's own blood there for a change. Eventually they to will get stabbed in the back by their friends. The bet thing to do now is to "Welcome" the Russians in, that would alarm them as they will start thinking it's a trap. The best way to counter Russia is to get it to get involved in many arenas and let that tax it strength and ability to focus.

Assad is not going to send troops to Ottawa.  Agreed. 

But Assad is a threat to the West.

This is the weapon of choice for both him and Vlad.

Aylan is a disruptive force that costs Vlad and Bashir nothing.

 

[a_majoor]

Zerohedge on unfolding events in Syria. Frankly, it is time to pull out and allow the Russians, Syrians and Iranians spend their own blood and treasure against ISIS and their backers in the Gulf States. It will be interesting to see just who exactly has more resources to keep up the fight:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-10/major-humiliation-obama-iran-has-sent-soldiers-support-russian-troops-syria

In Major Humiliation For Obama, Iran Sends Soldiers To Support Russian Troops In Syria

When Zero Hedge first reported ten days ago that Russian troops, in their bid to support the Assad regime in its ongoing confrontation with various ISIS, Al Nusra, and other US-supported groups in what has become the proxy war of 2015 (one which even comes with thousands of refugees for dramatic media impact) had been quietly massing in Syria and have set up a forward operating base near Damascus, there were those who were openly skeptical.
Then, just a few hours ago, Bloomberg finally confirmed that "top officials were scheduled to meet at the National Security Council Deputies Committee level to discuss how to respond to the growing buildup of Russian military equipment and personnel in Latakia" and that Russia is "set to start flying combat missions from a new air base inside Syria."

So yes, for whatever reason (and the reason as we explained is clear: natural gas pipelines) Russia is making not only its increasing support for Assad known, but also that it is in Syria and that any further US-funded and supported incursions by ISIS or whatever is the media scapegoat terrorist organization du jour, will not be tolerated.

To be sure, none of this is in any way a surprise to the US - just as the US is using ISIS as a pretext to invade or pressure any mid-east nation it desires "in order to hold the jihadist terrorist scourge", so Russia is now using ISIS as a comparable excuse to intervene. After all, if ISIS is the friend of humanity, then surely Russian aid will be welcome. That it is not, had made it abundantly clear that not only is ISIS just a convenient diversion, but the reasons for a Syrian invasion and deposition of Assad, are purely political and entirely in the realm of real-politik. Also, Russia's return to Syria in greater numbers is no surprise to anyone in the Pentagon - this was merely the long-awaited escalation of the foreplay that started when ISIS mysteriously emerged on the scene just over a year ago.

But in the latest twist in what we have been warning for months has the makings of the biggest proxy shooting war in years, one that will come as a major humiliation to the Obama administration, today we find out that none other than America's most recent diplomatic sweetheart in the Gulf region, Iran, has deployed ground soldiers into Syria in the past few days in cooperation with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
This answers our question from earlier this week:

So as the coalition drives towards Sana'a - which the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper says will be "liberated" after a "decisive battle" in Marib - and as Turkey, the US, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar mull options for the final push to oust Assad in Syria, the only remaining question is whether Iran will remain on the sidelines and allow the Houthis to be routed and Assad deposed, or whether, like Moscow, Tehran finally decides that the time for rheotric has come to an end.

And on that note, we'll close with the following from AP: "Iran's foreign minister on Monday criticized demands for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying such calls have prolonged the Arab country's civil war. Mohammad Javad Zarif went so far as to say that those who have in the past years demanded Assad's ouster "are responsible for the bloodshed in Syria."

And so, Iran appears to have picked its side, and knowing that it has Obama wrapped around its finger as part of Obama's huge "diplomatic coup" of restoring relations with Iran as part of the Nuclear Deal (since any backtracking would further embarrass the US president) and can pivot in any direction in the Syrian conflict, it has decided to side with Russia and Syria.

According to Ynet, a further said that the increased military involvement in Syria was "due to Assad's crisis and under Russian-Iranian cooperation as a result of a meeting between Soleimani with Russian President Vladimir Putin."

Where things get even more complicated, is that while Israel would do everything it can to turn public opinion against Iran, especially if it is now involved in the Syrian debacle, Israel still has cordial relations with Russia: "We have dialogue with Russia and we aren't in the  middle of the Cold War," said the source. "We have open channels with the Russians."

So what does Iran joining the conflict really mean?  "It's hard to forecast whether Russia's presence will decide the fate of Syria, but it will lengthen the fighting and bloodletting for at least another year because ISIS won't give up," said the source.

In other words, unless even more foreign powers intervene, you know "to stop ISIS" by focusing all their firepower on attacking or defending Assad, the Syria conflict will drag on indefinitely with an unknown outcome. Which in turn begs the question: how long will Israel keep out of the war, and if it decides to join whether it be using one of the more traditional, false flag methods to enflame public opinion against Iran. Who will be collateral damage then.

One thing is certain: with the GOP unable to block the Iran nuclear deal in the Senate, should it emerge and be confirmed, that Iran is indeed present, then Obama will be faced with the biggest diplomatic headache in his administration's history, namely the explanation of why he is scrambling to restore diplomatic connections with a regime that couldn't even wait for the Iran deal to be formally passed before it turned its back on its newest "best friend" in the Oval Cabinet, and promptly side with the KGB agent who over the past two years has emerged as the biggest US enemy in three decades.

Furthermore, it also means that now Russia suddenly has the media leverage in its hands: a few "leaked" photos of Iran troops to the press and the phones in the US Department of State will explode.

But the most important news is that, as we warned previously, with every incremental party entering the Syria conflict, the probability of a non-violent outcome becomes increasingly negligible. And now that Iran is involved, it means that both Israel and Saudi Arabia will be dragged in, whether they like it or not.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

This is basically a Game of Empires:  a tussle between the Arabian, Persian and Ottoman Empires for control of the region. 

No need for the Russian, Chinese or American "empires" to get involved, but if one does (such as Russia is clearly doing) I believe that it will ultimately be to their detriment.

I concur that we should back off and let them have at it.

 

[Jed]

This is basically a Game of Empires:  a tussle between the Arabian, Persian and Ottoman Empires for control of the region. 

No need for the Russian, Chinese or American "empires" to get involved, but if one does (such as Russia is clearly doing) I believe that it will ultimately be to their detriment.

I concur that we should back off and let them have at it.

As long as someone deals with the domestic ISIS threat that saps our errant youth and exports the terror threat to Western shores.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

As long as someone deals with the domestic ISIS threat that saps our errant youth and exports the terror threat to Western shores.

Our very involvement is the attractant....for both youth who run away to the circus (let them go I say) and those that would do us harm here.

 

[GAP]

Our very involvement is the attractant....for both youth who run away to the circus (let them go I say) and those that would do us harm here.

for  youth who run away to the circus...........40 years ago was for pure adventure of it.....different cause, similar attraction..... :nod:

 

[Kirkhill]

Meanwhile, in Latakia

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/russia-sends-artillery-and-tanks-to-syria-as-part-of-continued-military-buildup

 

[CougarKing]

Sad and tragic... aside from these rebels, perhaps the Kurds really are the only non-Assad force in Syria who can stand up against ISIS. But it seems the US has allowed the Turks free rein to bomb some of the Kurd groups in return for Ankara allowing the US to stage strikes from Incirlik AFB...

Reuters

Only handful of U.S.-trained Syrian rebels still fighting
Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:18am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only four or five U.S.-trained Syrian rebels are still fighting in Syria, a top U.S. general told Congress on Wednesday, acknowledging the U.S. military is conducting a broad review of the training program.

General Lloyd Austin, who leads the U.S. military's Central Command, said he expected the numbers of U.S.-trained Syrian rebels to grow over time. But he acknowledged the program was behind schedule and the military's initial training targets would not be met.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Kirkhill]

Why is Incirlik necessary?

Kobane to Dhekelia (British Sovereign Base Area) - 550 km
Kobane to Akrotiri (British Sovereign Base Area) - 450 km
Kobane to Erbil (Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq) -  500 km
Kobane to Sulaymaniyah (Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq) - 650 km
Kobane to Duhok (Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq) (Under Construction) - 408 km
Sulaymaniyah to Akrotiri - 1100 km

Dhekelia to Latakia (Syrian Open Port - Russians moving in) - 200 km

The Russians have moved in to Limassol next door to British SBA Akrotiri. 

Push Back.

Push into Latakia under humanitarian auspices (with or without UN - Russian veto likely - Chinese veto debatable)

Push the Iraqis to assist (Reestablish the Kurdish no fly zone).

It is not a lack of options.  It is a lack of will.

(And by the way Kurdistan opens up the Caucasus and the Black Sea).

 

[CougarKing]

Perhaps, new self-propelled artillery for Assad's remaining forces?

Reuters

Exclusive: Syrian army starts using new weapons from Russia - military source
Thu Sep 17, 2015 11:20am EDT
By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support to Damascus that is alarming the United States.

"The weapons are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely," the source said in response to a question about Russian support. "We can say they are all types of weapons - be it air or ground."

The source said the army had been trained in the use of the weapons in recent months and was now deploying them, declining to give further details other than saying they were "new types".

(...SNIPPED)

 

[The Bread Guy]

And we're not keen on (not) being to Ukraine, either ....

A group of Russian soldiers who are serving in the army on military contracts (as opposed to draftees) have reportedly refused to be deployed in Latakia, Syria.

Officials from Russia's Eastern Command have denied this report, saying its training exercises are limited to Russian soil. Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said earlier today that the Kremlin has no knowledge of the situation.

A lieutenant who identified himself as Alexei N. told the Russian news website Gazeta.ru that commanders selected 20 of the best-trained soldiers and told them that they would be deployed to a hot region. They were warned that the climate would be very different from what they were used to and that there would be poisonous animals at the new place, but the specific region was not named. The group was first sent to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. At first, the soldiers assumed they were being sent to the east of Ukraine, but later they found out they would be deployed in Syria.

On September 16, a General Staff representative dressed in civilian clothing told the group that a secret decree stipulates that they would be sent to Latakia and that they may have to participate in fighting ....