The latest news about Russia sending troops to Syria to fight with the Assad regime is that Moscow has installed an advanced anti-aircraft missile system in that country. Think what that means.
1. The opposition fighters in Syria do not have aircraft. Besides the Assad regime, the main groups fighting are ISIS, the al Qaeda affiliated rebels, the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The Assad forces have an air force, but that force is allied with the Russians.
2. The aircraft operating inside Syria other than those of the Syrian air force belong mostly to the USA, Turkey, Jordan and the UAE. These aircraft have been targeting ISIS and not the Assad forces.
3. Two or three times during the last year, Israeli planes have attacked sites in Syria which were very close to Israel. These were attacks designed to disrupt attacks launched from Syrian territory on Israel itself. The Russian air defense system does not provide coverage for the areas south of Damascus where the Israeli planes flew.
4. The only planes that are being put at risk by the Russian air defense missiles are those of the USA, Turkey and Jordan.
Why are the Russians building air defenses against the US Air Force? Are they planning on using those missiles to shoot down American planes? Are the Russians even going to have control over these air defense systems? Maybe the Iranian generals who run much of Assad's military will have access to the controls. Will the Iranians launch missile attacks on US planes so as to show Iran's contempt for the USA?
And here's the key question: why is nothing being done by Obama to stop the massive deployment of Russian troops into Syria? Is this part of Obama's retreat in favor of Iran that was manifested in the nuclear arms deal with the Iranians?
This is an inflection point. If America does nothing, then major changes will come to the region and they won't be good ones.
1. The opposition fighters in Syria do not have aircraft. Besides the Assad regime, the main groups fighting are ISIS, the al Qaeda affiliated rebels, the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The Assad forces have an air force, but that force is allied with the Russians.
2. The aircraft operating inside Syria other than those of the Syrian air force belong mostly to the USA, Turkey, Jordan and the UAE. These aircraft have been targeting ISIS and not the Assad forces.
3. Two or three times during the last year, Israeli planes have attacked sites in Syria which were very close to Israel. These were attacks designed to disrupt attacks launched from Syrian territory on Israel itself. The Russian air defense system does not provide coverage for the areas south of Damascus where the Israeli planes flew.
4. The only planes that are being put at risk by the Russian air defense missiles are those of the USA, Turkey and Jordan.
Why are the Russians building air defenses against the US Air Force? Are they planning on using those missiles to shoot down American planes? Are the Russians even going to have control over these air defense systems? Maybe the Iranian generals who run much of Assad's military will have access to the controls. Will the Iranians launch missile attacks on US planes so as to show Iran's contempt for the USA?
And here's the key question: why is nothing being done by Obama to stop the massive deployment of Russian troops into Syria? Is this part of Obama's retreat in favor of Iran that was manifested in the nuclear arms deal with the Iranians?
This is an inflection point. If America does nothing, then major changes will come to the region and they won't be good ones.
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