Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[angelburst29]

Another US foreign policy blunder!

US Shocked To Find Russian Machine Gun With Iranian Ammo Attached To Abrams Tank
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-17/us-shocked-find-russian-machine-gun-iranian-ammo-attached-abrams-tank

For military and political strategists in Washington, Syria’s civil war represents a different kind of nightmare. The Russia-Iran nexus is just about the worst possible outcome for the US, whose status as global hegemon was already fading in the face of an ascendant China.

Put simply, the partnership between Washington’s two worst geopolitical enemies represents a kind of “sum of all fears” scenario and to make matters worse, the alliance between Tehran and Moscow looks as though it will apply to Iraq as well, raising the spectre of the US being kicked out of the country it “liberated” after 9/11.

And while there’s nothing funny about the plight of the Syrian people, there’s quite a bit to laugh at when it comes to this latest (and perhaps greatest) US foreign policy blunder which is why we found the following bit from Defense News particularly amusing. Apparently, the Iran-backed (and US supported) Shiite militias battling ISIS in Iraq aren’t getting the kind of logistical support they need from Washington and so they have begun attaching Russian guns to Abrams tanks and firing Iran-stamped ammo.

Here’s more: Earlier this month, Shia militiamen in Iraq dropped off an American-supplied Abrams tank at a US-supported repair facility where workers were surprised to find an attached Russian machine gun plus Iranian ammo, Defense News has learned.

The MIA1 main battle tank — one of 146 frontline tanks the US sold to Baghdad — was transported through the Green Zone to a US-supported Iraqi service facility at al-Muthanna that was established as part of the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The tank was equipped with a Russian .50-caliber machine gun and Iranian-stamped 12.75-mm ammunition, according to a source at the facility.

“Once all the ammo was removed, as per procedure, by Iraqi personnel, we noticed Iranian markings on the back of the shell casings. Seems they put a Russian machine gun with Iranian ammunition on an Abrams tank.”

[...] .... what appears to have happened here is that because the Iran-backed Shiite militias are more adept than the Iraqi army on the battlefield, they’re the ones driving the tanks.

As a reminder, here’s their assessment of America’s role in providing support for the ground campaign against ISIS in Iraq (via Reuters):

Allied Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias who are leading the fight against Islamic State in Iraq, say the United States lacks the decisiveness and the readiness to supply weapons needed to eliminate militancy in the region.

And so, because of this “lack of decisiveness and readiness”, the militiamen improvised and slapped a Russian machine gun on a US-supplied tank and loaded it up with Iranian ammo.

As noted above, these soldiers aren’t really supposed to be driving these things which makes the following description of what unfolded when they dropped it off for service down right hilarious: “They brought it in through Iraqi checkpoints, back-rolled it off the trailer and then drove away.”



Any realistic plan to solve crisis in Syria should consider its people and leadership, Abdullahian says
http://sana.sy/en/?p=57612

Tehran, SANA- Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for the Arab and African affairs Hussein Amir Abdullahian stressed that any plan, that is characterized with realism, for solving the crisis in Syria should consider the main factors, including the Syrian people and leadership as well as the serious fight of terrorism to be more comprehensive and effective.

Abdullahian voiced, in a meeting with UN Under Secretary General Jan Eliason in Tehran on Monday, Tehran’s support for the political solution presented by UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to politically resolve the crisis in Syrian.

Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Mouallem announced before the UN 70th General Assembly Syria’s agreement to participate in the four brainstorming committees of experts proposed by De Mistura whose role he said is mainly to exchange ideas and conduct unbinding preliminary consultations whose agreed-upon outputs can be used to prepare for the launching of Geneva 3.

Eliason, for his part, underlined the need for following up political solutions to the regional crises, and called for increased efforts of all sides to help resolve the political crises in Syria and Yemen.



Syrian army, backed by Iranian fighters, advance south of Aleppo: monitor
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/syrian-army-backed-iranian-fighters-advance-south-aleppo-monitor

Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters made advances on Saturday in their offensive to retake territory around the northern city of Aleppo from insurgents and jihadist fighters, a monitoring group said.

The campaign around Aleppo, which the army launched on Friday, is one of several assaults it has waged against rebel fighters since Russian jets began carrying out air strikes on Sept. 30 in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

It has concentrated so far on clearing rebel areas south of Aleppo rather than the city itself, which is home to 2 million people and divided between government forces and rebels.



Warplanes of US-led alliance attack power plant in Aleppo
http://sana.sy/en/?p=58236

Aleppo, SANA – In blatant violation of international law, warplanes of the US-led alliance violated Syrian airspace and attacked a power plant that feeds Aleppo city, causing a blackout in the city.

A military source told SANA that warplanes of the Washington alliance violated Syrian airspace and attacked civilian infrastructure in Mare’a, Tal Sha’er, and al-Bab in Aleppo countryside on Sunday.

The source added that the warplanes attacked the biggest electric power plant that feeds Aleppo city, which resulted in cutting off power from most neighborhoods in Aleppo city.

This transgression comes only 8 days after two F-16 warplanes belonging to the alliance targeted two power plants in al-Radwaniye area east of Aleppo city, cutting off power from the area.


Attack on Aleppo Power Plant
http://and-ekb.livejournal.com/11579191.html

English translation at the bottom states, "The Power Plant was destroyed to cut water even more to Aleppo - the lift stations bringing water from the Euphrates are effected. The U.S. borrowed this very Israeli (ISIS) tactic to bring more chaos to the city. That and the limited supply of Chorine means water-borne illnesses are almost guaranteed to explode in Aleppo. The purpose of this undisputable war crime is to create a flood of refugees from all areas of Aleppo. A secondary purpose might be to affect the Syrian Army and allies fighting in the area - they are also dependent on city water.

The flood of refugees leaving (which has so far failed to transpire) are suppose to curtail Russian efforts to attack supply lines or mask the movement of rebels. The refugees fleeing to camps on the Turkish Border would be flooding the very roads and towns along the supply routes with a "moderate rebel" presence.

The U.S. has censored - to the degree possible - news of the F-16 strike and destruction of the Power Plant. Almost at the same time, the Dark Forces that control Twitter started deleting accounts reporting the serious humanitarian effects of the loss of water and electricity. Water and power were very sporadic in Aleppo to begin with because of the conflict - maybe an hour or two with either one.
Now there is none to speak of.

Instead of masking the voices of the Aleppo victims, the U.S. has created more of a crisis via blowback: people who had their Twitter accounts deleted for reporting the water shortage have gone on other social media and are bringing attention to the ham-handed U.S. Government attempts to control the narrative via censorship on Twitter.

There's no easy way to "prove" Twitters censorship other than reports of deleted accounts, but one only need to do a search on Aleppo and Water to see the awkward results remaining: 1) No individual reports of water cuts or hardship if they directly attribute the bombed Power Plant (those accounts deleted), 2) An odd number of NGO (Red Cross, UNICEF) tweets on where to find water wells in Aleppo - which is mostly polluted and unfit to drink."

 

[angelburst29]

Tony Cartalucci has penned a great article with "source" background of some of the entities behind the Syrian conflict - entitled:

Multipolarism Solves Syria at the Source
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/multipolarism-solves-syria-at-the-source.html

Some quotes:

Reuters recently published an op-ed titled, “Syria’s one hope may be as dim as Bosnia’s once was,” which argues that the only way the US can cooperate with Russia regarding Syria is if all players agree to a weakened, fragmented Syria.

If this scheme sounds familiar, that is because this op-ed was authored by Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution – a corporate-financier funded think-tank that has in part helped engineer the chaos now consuming the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). O’Hanlon previously published a paper titled, “Deconstructing Syria: A new strategy for America’s most hopeless war,” in which he also calls for the division and destruction of Syria.

In it, O’Hanlon calls for the establishment of “safe zones,” the invasion and occupation of Syrian territory by US, European, and Persian Gulf special forces, the relaxing of criteria used to openly fund what would essentially be terrorists operating in Syria, and openly making the ousting of the Syrian government a priority on par with the alleged US fight against the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL).

“Relaxing” criteria regarding who the US can openly fund and provide direct military support for, is nothing less than tacit support for terrorism and terrorists themselves.

But none of these treacherous methods should be shocking. That is because O’Hanlon is also a co-author of the 2009 Brookings Institution report titled, “Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran”. In this signed and dated criminal conspiracy, methods for covertly overthrowing the Iranian government with US-backed mobs augmented with armed militants, the use of US listed foreign terrorist organizations to wage a proxy war against Iran, the provocation of open war with Iran, and the use of Israel to unilaterally attack Iran first, before bringing America inevitably into the war shortly after are all described in great detail throughout the 156-page report.

While some have tried to dismiss this report as a mere theoretical exercise, suggestions like having terrorist organization Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) removed from the US State Department’s foreign terrorist organization list so that the US could openly arm and fund it in a proxy war against Iran, has since come to pass. The report was written in 2009, MEK was de-listed in 2012.

Additionally, the report also suggests luring Iran to the negotiating table where the United States would place before it a deal so irresistible that when Iran either rejected it or accepted it and then appeared to violate it, subsequent US military intervention would be seen by the world as a reluctant option of last resort that Iran brought upon itself. This has since manifested itself as the much lauded “nuclear deal.”

And almost to the letter, every criminal conspiracy laid out in this report meant for Tehran, has been each in turn used against Syria. The report noted that Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah would be significant obstacles to dividing and destroying Iran and that each must be dealt with first. The report was written in 2009, the war in Syria began in earnest in 2011.

However, O’Hanlon, and even Brookings itself are not solely responsible for the death and destruction Syria now suffers, or Libya, Iraq, and others have suffered before it, or even those the US plans to target next will suffer. They are but individual cogs in a much larger machine. They are but individual cogs in a much larger machine. To understand the scope of that machine, one must look at who underwrites and ultimately directs the work Brookings does. By doing so, we can understand the very source of what drives the chaos in Syria, and then go about stopping it.

Brookings’ 2014 annual report (.pdf) reveals among others, the following sponsors from big-finance; JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, State Farm, MetLife, and GEICO. From big-defense there’s; General Electric, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Big-telecom is represented by; Comcast, Google, Facebook, AT&T, and Verizon. Big-oil; Exxon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, British Petroleum, and Shell. And even consumer corporations like Pepsi and Coca Cola help underwrite what are essentially policy papers conspiring to commit crimes against humanity that have since been systematically carried out at the cost of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.

It is the Fortune 500, centered on Wall Street and London, driving the conflict in Syria and the larger arc of chaos consuming the MENA region and beyond.

Understanding the premeditated nature of the West’s war on Syria and the fact that this current conflict serves only as a stepping stone toward a well-defined strategy to next destroy Iran explains why “partnering” with the US in any kind of solution regarding Syria is an impossibility. A “political settlement” that results in the division of Syria or the removal of the current government is also entirely unacceptable for this same reason.

Russia’s decision to defend the sovereign government of Syria and assist in the elimination of Syria’s enemies within its borders, as well as the warding off of its enemies beyond them is the most immediate course of action to “solve Syria.” Inviting Iran and even China to take take part in a larger campaign to secure Syria’s borders and assisting in the restoration of order within the country is a concrete next step. Expanding this coalition to cover Iraq next will create a geopolitical “no-meddling-zone” the West will find itself outside of.

A multipolar world not only means a distribution of global power, but also a distribution of global responsibility and wealth. And this extends not only to nations, but also states and provinces, as well as communities and even individuals. However insignificant individual efforts may seem to decentralize power and wealth away from existing monopolies, they are no less insignificant than the efforts of individual soldiers fighting and winning in Syria. Indeed their individual contributions alone are meaningless – but collectively they lead to victory.

 

[thorbiorn]

The Washington Post has a map that gives an idea of what Syria and its allies are fighting against:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/foreign-fighters-flow-to-syria/2015/01/27/7fa56b70-a631-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_graphic.html

This is an old map though, it is from Januray 27 and the data still older. What is important perhaps, is that when Syria gets closed down, all these people will flow back to where they came from, pretending nothing happened. This is what Putin and Russia is aware of and prepared for. On the other hand, Western Europe and other countries have encouraged this revolt against the Syrian Government, I guess there will be a bill to pay according to how they have contributed.

 

[angelburst29]

Tony Cartalucci has penned a great article with "source" background of some of the entities behind the Syrian conflict - entitled:

Multipolarism Solves Syria at the Source
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/10/multipolarism-solves-syria-at-the-source.html

While Tony Cartalucci focuses on the "Multipolarism" involved in solving the problems in the Middle East and Syria, F. William Engdahl has written a descriptive history of the geopolitics that have brought all the elements together - to where we are now.

Russia’s Awesome Responsibility
http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/18/russias-awesome-responsibility/

The Russian decision to proceed with military support to the Damascus government has shifted the global geopolitical map significantly. For the moment Washington is choosing to react with words, no doubt planning carefully its next move. The Russian intervention has exposed the fraud of the US position in the Middle East and shown the world that Washington lies, that she supports the very terrorists who allegedly were behind the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. The decisive question now is what strategic plan does Moscow have to foster world peace after the defeat of ISIS?

From the standpoint of tactics, Russia has made a brilliant, unexpected move against the war agenda of certain very bad circles in the USA by her invitation to Washington to form a common coalition to combat terrorists in Syria, to wage a real “war on terror,” an offer immediately rejected by President Barack Obama. By accepting the invitation of the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad to help combat the grave danger of ISIS, Al Qaeda (al-Nusra Front), and numerous other outlaw terrorist gangs, most made up of foreign mercenary psychopaths from at least 80 foreign countries, Russia is scrupulously abiding by the UN Charter. The US, which has been bombing a sovereign nation for more than one year without permission, is not abiding by international law.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared repeatedly over a period of years, Washington and those who control Washington policy are pursuing some form of what they like to call America’s Manifest Destiny, ever since the Soviet Union dissolved and with it the Warsaw Pact military alliance in 1990-1991. It is neither manifest nor destiny, rather the mad plan of some power-addicted circles.

In February, 1992 the Pentagon’s Defense Planning Guidance for 1994–99, a strategic policy for the post-Cold War era–a world with one Sole Superpower–was drafted by the office of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz. Known today as the Wolfowitz Doctrine, it was prematurely leaked by a Pentagon official who believed such a radical departure from US defense posture–particularly when the prime “enemy,” the Soviet Union, was no more the enemy–should be subject of a full public debate. The initial draft policy, which is actual policy today, was hastily edited and softened after appearing in original form in the New York Times. The original policy however remained until today.

The original Wolfowitz doctrine stated that, “America’s political and military mission in the post-cold-war era will be to insure that no rival superpower is allowed to emerge in Western Europe, Asia or the territory of the former Soviet Union.” It called for action outside the UN rules if necessary and for the US military to wage pre-emptive wars: “We will retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing selectively those wrongs which threaten not only our interests, but those of our allies…” At that time Dick Cheney was President Bush senior’s Secretary of Defense.

That original Wolfowitz Doctrine became official, declared policy under George W. Bush’s presidency after September 11, 2001 when Cheney, Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby, Richard Perle, Andrew Marshall and other hard-core so-called neo-conservatives controlled US military and foreign policy. It was made public in the media as the Bush Doctrine or formally, the National Security Strategy of the United States, in 2002. The policy justified “pre-emptive” US military strikes such as against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, as well as US promotion of regime change in nations around the world not willing to tow the Washington line under the name “exporting democracy.”

After ISIS, What?

By launching an active military campaign in Syria against ISIS and other terrorists together with the legitimate Syrian government and armed forces, Russia has accepted what I consider an awesome responsibility. It in effect has shredded the unilateral tyranny embodied in a world under Washington’s Wolfowitz Doctrine.

It is clear that over recent days, far from being the nation defeated and bitterly humiliated by the West after 1990, Russia and its President, Vladimir Putin, have shown Russia is a power to be taken very seriously. This is necessary if the world is to organize a peaceful alternative to the wars that NATO and the Pentagon hawks are ever concocting. However, showing power, while necessary to establish authority, is by no means sufficient. The strategic responsibility which Russia has undertaken by its actions in Syria is to be the transforming catalyst to form a larger coalition for genuine peace among nations and peoples, of respect for borders, for sovereignty–both individual and for states, if Russia and the world are to be better off for it. Otherwise, the military actions play into the spreading of war and destruction to all mankind.

The Russian Defense Ministry itself has estimated a 3-4 month military campaign to defeat the Syrian terrorists together with the official Syrian Armed Forces, Iran and others. The question at that point, with a semblance of stability in Syria and also Iraq, will be not only how to secure the stability to enable reconstruction of Syria where more than 9 million are displaced. The ultimate challenge will be what economic order or matrix will emerge internationally from the ashes of war? That will determine the possibility or not of genuine peace and isolation of Washington’s war machine.

[...]

Russia before Bolsheviks

Contrary to the mythology that passes for history at western universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton or Harvard, Russia in the years leading to outbreak of World War I was on the path to become a towering prosperous economic nation, something especially not welcome in London.

Czar Alexander II during the American Civil War issued a decree to liberate the serfs in 1861. Unlike Lincoln’s emancipation of slaves, Russian serfs were liberated with land. The 22 million liberated serfs were free to go to the cities where they provided the labor force for emerging industry. In 1881, a terrorist band of some 40 members, assassinated Alexander II. Russia was becoming too powerful for the British. The assassin came from a terrorist clique, People’s Will (Narodnaya Volya), secretly financed by London international bankers as were virtually all such “revolutionary” organizations then in Russia, much as the USA government NGO’s today finance the Russian Opposition Coordination Council, Alexey Navaly’s Progress Party and other “opposition” groups.

Despite the death of Alexander II, modernization of Russia continued. In 1883 the assassinated Czar’s son, Alexander III, followed serf liberation with creation of the state Peasant Land Bank allowing peasants to buy their land with virtually interest free loans. Railways were built, including the Trans-Siberian Railway, the ambitious project of Russia’s great economic innovator, Count Sergei Witte. Witte, who had translated the German national economist Friederich List into Russian, was well aware that the phenomenal industrialization of Germany after 1871 owed much to the ideas of List and his followers.

The Czar named Witte as Director of Railway Affairs within the Finance Ministry from 1889 to 1891. There he initiated building the Trans-Siberian Railway to unify the vast area of Russia. Witte also managed to win the principle to assign employees based on their performance, rather than political or family connections.

In 1889, Witte published a paper, “National Savings and Friedrich List,” outlining the economic theories of List, who justified the need for a strong domestic industry, protected from foreign competition by customs barriers, opposite today’s WTO or TPP or TIPP free trade regimes. This resulted in a new customs law for Russia in 1891, which spurred a dramatic increase in industrialization.

In 1892 Witte as Minister of Finance accelerated funds to railway construction, made a treaty agreement for passage of the Trans-Siberian rail line via China to Vladivostok, and concluded a ten year commercial treaty with Germany. In 1896 he put the ruble on the gold standard, and passed a law limiting factory work hours and other labor laws more advanced than those of the United States then. Russia was prospering and at peace with all her neighbors, especially Germany and China.

British machinations to foster the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and the ensuing Revolution of 1905 in Russia, and ultimately to manipulate the Czar into a secret alliance with France against her natural ally, Germany, resulted in the destruction of the enormous positive developments of pre-Revolutionary Russia. Wall Street and the City of London financed Leon Trotsky, Lenin, and the Bolshevik Revolution essentially as they did Boris Yeltsin after 1990, to open up Russia for looting and balkanization by favored western companies.

Russia’s awesome responsibility

Today Russia, in association with the Eurasian Economic Union partner countries, with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization partner countries, with the BRICS partners and the emerging group of nations in the Middle East, is in a unique position to not only deal a death blow to Washington-created terrorists in Syria, but also to transform the foundations of world economic stability by understanding the true possibilities she has to end the tyranny of debt slavery by private western banks and their central banks of the Dollar System.

The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate recently circulated its proposals for creation of interest-free banks based on the Islamic banking model. There are many useful ideas being debated in the wake of the brutal Washington and EU economic sanctions. But so long as Russia’s Central Bank adheres to western central bank rules and makes inflation control and ruble stability the purpose of monetary policy, Russia ultimately may win the battle for Syria and lose Russia and all positive impulse she represents for the world.

What we face in our world today goes far beyond the battle over Syria. The world is being lured into wars everywhere, from Ukraine to the South China Sea, from Libya to Europe itself in the form of floods of war refugees spreading war energy. In a real sense the United States itself is in a spreading war of violence, race hate and killings. Latin America is in a state of war in Venezuela, Brazil and elsewhere, wars, even if economic and political wars at present.

What is being confronted today in Syria by Putin’s Russia is the vulnerable end, the Achilles Heel, of a vast plot to bring all of the countries of the European Union and Russia and China ultimately into a state of war, beginning with floods of Islamic refugees disrupting the normal order of entire nations such as Germany, and also threatening Russia itself with Chechyn and other Islamic terrorists returning from ISIS, as well as threatening China via her Uyghur Muslim population.

In an eerie way it is the reverse of the Great Crusades that began under mandate from Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095, which turned much of Europe, Byzantium and what is now Ukraine and Russia, into bloody killing fields that laid the basis for the Medieval Dark Ages. This time Islamic fanatic Jihadist terrorists are sweeping into Western Europe, into Russia, into China to destroy the institutions ultimately of stability built over the centuries since the Great Crusades.

In 1095 the Roman Pontiff wanted a war against those who had caused the Great Schism with Rome in 1054. The aim was to capture Constantinople, the center of Orthodox Christianity, where at the time Orthodox Christian monasteries expanded as far as Syria. What resulted over the course of two or more centuries of brutal Crusades, ultimately spread to European Christians, to a Crusade against of so-called Christian Catholic lands against eastern Orthodox Christians, and Christian Catholics warring against Islam.

Today’s Crusade was initiated perhaps as far back as the decision by George H.W. Bush and his sponsors in 1991 to launch a brutal war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq—Operation Desert Storm. Since that point the US military has been implicated in the Yugoslav dirty war from 1991, which among other aims was aimed to show the EU it was impotent without Washington’s military and to claim NATO must stay. Then came the 2001 US war on Afghanistan followed by the war on Iraq, then the numerous wars of “democracy” called Arab Spring after 2010 until Syria today and Ukraine.

Stepping outside the individual wars and viewing events as if from above, it becomes clear that the devilish plan behind these cumulative disturbing wars over especially the past two decades is to destroy the Euro as potential rival to the US dollar as viable reserve currency of the world economy, and to destroy any idea of an EU that is sovereign and independent in foreign and defense policy as the original Maastricht Treaty mandated in 1992. The only way Europe could manage such a challenge to American hegemony would be firmly to integrate their economies, especially Germany’s, with Russia and China and all Eurasia.

For the Sole Superpower it became essential to destroy any possible independent EU that could exist apart from being a vassal to a US hegemony. It became essential to destroy the emergence of the European Economic Union and the Euro as a threat to the prime reserve currency role of the US dollar, hence the Euro crisis around Greece after 2010.

It became necessary to destroy the increasingly strong economic and political ties that were growing rapidly prior to November 2013 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Russian Federation. Hence the February 2014 US Coup d’ Etat in Ukraine and forcing the EU, against her own economic interests, to impose economic sanctions against Russia via US blackmail on Germany and other EU states after 2014. As Stratfor head George Friedman, one of the few studied geopolitical analysts in the US establishment, remarked in a speech in March 2015 to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, a prime focus of US foreign policy for the past 100 years has been about preventing an effective alliance between Germany with its great economic excellence and Russia with its vast resources and geographical extent.

A deep study of history then can tell us volumes about what forces Russia, Germany and the world face today.

It is an awesome responsibility Vladimir Putin and the Russian state accepted when they accepted President Assad’s request to aid his war on terror. Clarity on the strategic goal for not only Russia, but also for the vast majority of the world with whom Vladimir Putin’s Russia has positive relations, is the next step.

 

[angelburst29]

Wonder what's behind this incident of a French Military jet in a near colliston with a airliner carrying a Russian Parliamentary Delegation ?

Russia Summons French Envoy Over Dangerous Aviation Incident in France
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151019/1028758804/russia-summons-french-envoy-aviation-incident.html

The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the French ambassador in Moscow over a dangerous aviation incident involving a French military jet and a plane carrying Russian lawmakers on Monday.

Russia said that the incident with a Russian aircraft undermined the possibility of holding talks in France.

"On October 19, Ambassador of the French Republic in Moscow Jean-Maurice Ripert was summoned to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexei Meshkov to give explanations regarding a dangerous near collision of a French Air Force jet with an airliner carrying a Russian parliamentary delegation headed by Russian Federation Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly Sergei Naryshkin to Geneva to attend the 133rd Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union, which took place in the [French] national airspace the same morning."

According to the statement, the Russian side has expressed deep concern over in connection with an event.

"It was stressed that such actions undermine the possibility of using France as the venue for multilateral meetings and negotiations."

Member of the Russian delegation Sergei Gavrilov told Sputnik that the French jet had been maneuvering dangerously close to the plane of the Russian delegation.

Nevertheless, he expressed hope for a constructive dialogue with French lawmakers despite the incident.

"We hope for a full understanding with the French Parliament despite the fact that today the French Air Force acted extremely unfriendly toward a plane carrying the Russian delegation. One of the [French] fighter jets dangerously maneuvered in close proximity to the Russian airliner. I think that neither in times of Mitterrand, nor in the times of de Gaulle or even Sarkozy such incident was possible," he told Sputnik.

 

[angelburst29]

Wonder what's behind this incident of a French Military jet in a near colliston with a airliner carrying a Russian Parliamentary Delegation ?

Russia Summons French Envoy Over Dangerous Aviation Incident in France
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151019/1028758804/russia-summons-french-envoy-aviation-incident.html

The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the French ambassador in Moscow over a dangerous aviation incident involving a French military jet and a plane carrying Russian lawmakers on Monday.

Update:
Russian lawmaker calls incident with Duma speaker’s plane unfriendly act by NATO
http://tass.ru/en/politics/830032

MOSCOW, Octrober 19. /TASS/. Member of Russia’s State Duma lower house and a member of the Russian delegation Sergey Gavrilov has described as an unfriendly act on the part of NATO the incident when a French Air Force fighter had a dangerous approach with an airliner carrying Russia’s parliamentary delegation led by State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin to Switzerland.

"The incident shows lack of respect for the norms of international flights and is an unfriendly act on the part of NATO," Gavrilov told reporters. "In my opinion, such behavior would have been unthinkable during France’s independence, before it joined NATO, under Charles de Gaulle, [Francois] Mitterrand and even [Nicolas] Sarkozy."

The lawmaker confirmed that the plane carrying the Russian delegation was flying along the agreed international corridor.

 

[thorbiorn]

Regarding the French fighter jet approaching the Russian diplomatic. It could be deliberate and known to the level of Hollande, it could be coincidental, which is less likely, or it could be that there are factions within France, just like seen in a couple of high profile cases in recent years, like Charlie Hebdo, or Merah, that wish to make their voices heard.

 

[Lilou]

So the French Ambassador is saying it was a Swiss aircraft!

https://www.rt.com/news/319077-france-russia-jet-ambassador/

The French Defense Ministry denies breaking any aviation rules, claiming that no French aircraft were involved in the incident. The French Foreign Ministry alleges the jet that came dangerously close to the Russian plane was in fact Swiss.

Suspicion fell on France’s Air Force as Geneva’s airport is located not far from Switzerland’s border with France.

"It's a Swiss aircraft," a French foreign ministry official said, as cited by Reuters.

 

[angelburst29]

Another report of Russian warplanes intercepting Israeli fighter bombers - trying to enter Syrian airspace on Sat. Oct. 17, 2015.

Russian warplanes intercept Israeli fighters in southern Syria
http://en.mehrnews.com/news/111158/Russian-warplanes-intercept-Israeli-fighters-in-southern-Syria?

DAMASCUS, Oct. 18 (MNA) – Russian jets forced Israeli fighter-bombers to change their course when trying to enter the Syrian airspace.

Russian Aerospace Force warplanes operating in Syria forced Israeli fighter-bombers to change their course when trying to enter the airspace of the Arab nation on espionage missions.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted Lebanese diplomatic sources saying that the event took place yesterday after Russian radars detected various Zionist fighters flying close to the Syrian territory.

According to the daily, the Russian warplanes immediately blocked the course of the Israeli fighters while overflying Akkar region, in northern Lebanon, and sent a clear warning that they would open fire at them if they violate the Syrian airspace.

The article, also released by the Iranian HispanTV website, explains that the Israeli fighters' mission was to spy on the movement of the Russian ships docked in Tartus port, 255 kilometers north of this capital.

The Israeli fighters also tried to "watch" the warplanes movement in Latakia air base to detect "alleged transfer of arms to Lebanese Hezbollah militias," reported the daily.

The source said that the Israeli Army warplanes changed their course to avoid a confrontation with the Russian fighters.

The Russian and the Israeli regime recently reached an agreement to avoid accidental clashes between the Israeli Army and the Russian forces stationed in Syria.

 

[goyacobol]

[...skipped the body of a great article]

A deep study of history then can tell us volumes about what forces Russia, Germany and the world face today.

It is an awesome responsibility Vladimir Putin and the Russian state accepted when they accepted President Assad’s request to aid his war on terror. Clarity on the strategic goal for not only Russia, but also for the vast majority of the world with whom Vladimir Putin’s Russia has positive relations, is the next step.

angelburst29,

This was well worth the reading. I think it is spot on. The "deep study of history" really shows how we got here and where this might be going. I am really routing for the Putin option of sane leadership vs US hegemony. It is obviously heating up with the interference of jets trying to harass/goad the Russians into an incident they can use as an excuse to keep on keeping on with their nefarious goals.

Thanks so much !

 

[angelburst29]

Russia Summons French Envoy Over Dangerous Aviation Incident in France
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151019/1028758804/russia-summons-french-envoy-aviation-incident.html

The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the French ambassador in Moscow over a dangerous aviation incident involving a French military jet and a plane carrying Russian lawmakers on Monday.

Update:
Russian lawmaker calls incident with Duma speaker’s plane unfriendly act by NATO
http://tass.ru/en/politics/830032

MOSCOW, Octrober 19. /TASS/. Member of Russia’s State Duma lower house and a member of the Russian delegation Sergey Gavrilov has described as an unfriendly act on the part of NATO the incident when a French Air Force fighter had a dangerous approach with an airliner carrying Russia’s parliamentary delegation led by State Duma speaker Sergey Naryshkin to Switzerland.

Swiss MoD Denies Military Jet Narrowly Avoided Collision With Russian Plane
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151019/1028768322/switzerland-collision-russian-plane.html

The Swiss Ministry of Defense has denied Monday that its military jet had narrowly avoided collision with an airliner carrying Russian lawmakers in the French airspace.

Switzerland confirmed that its F/A-18 military aircraft had neared a plane with the Russian parliamentary delegation on board, but said that it had been performing standard verification procesures, Swiss Federal Department on Defense, Civil Defense and Sport spokesman Peter Minder told RIA Novosti.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador in Moscow over a dangerous aviation incident involving what it believed was a French military jet and a plane carrying Russian lawmakers. However, Paris said later that the aircraft belonged to Switzerland.

Member of the Russian delegation Sergei Gavrilov told Sputnik that the jet had been maneuvering dangerously close to the plane of the Russian delegation.

"For us it was an absolutely normal act. It was the Swiss F/A-18 [jet] which departed from Biel at 10:20. It checked the tale numbers of the Russian aircraft bound for Geneva. This is standard procedure and there was no 'dangerous proximity'," Minder said.

Minder said that such checks were carried out hundreds of times a year. The Swiss Armed Forces decide to selectively check diplomatic flights as well, including from Russia, the US and France adding that Switzerland had known that the Russian airliner had a diplomatic status.

The Russian delegation, led by Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, was heading to the Swiss city of Geneva to participate in the 133rd assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the information on the aviation incident had been received from the Russian plane's pilot.

"We have received the information from the [Russian plane's] pilot that it had been the French Air Force aircraft. We started to check this information and summoned the French ambassador to the Foreign Ministry. It is a standard procedure in such cases because we are talking about a parliamentary delegation headed by the the State Duma head [Naryshkin], which was going to attend an official event. It took the ambassador some time to clarify the circumstances," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Moscow hopes that the reasons of the incident would be "explained in details via French and Swiss diplomatic channels," Zakharova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is trying to "very quickly respond to everything that happens" to avoid provocations as "there are a lot of smear campaigns, leaks, references to unnamed sources, so every time we try to figure it out," she said.

Sergei Naryshkin said that he was sure Russia and Switzerland would clarify the issue, however, the incident "was unpleasant."

 

[angelburst29]

Russian lawmaker calls incident with Duma speaker’s plane unfriendly act by NATO
http://tass.ru/en/politics/830032

Russian Jamming System Blocks All NATO Electronics Inside Bubble 600 Km in Diameter over Syria
http://osnetdaily.com/2015/10/russian-jamming-system-blocks-all-nato-electronics-inside-bubble-600-km-in-diameter-over-syria/

New Russian Jamming System Near Latakia Blocks All NATO Electronics Inside Bubble 600 Km in Diameter; Radar, Satellites, Communications All Disrupted; System Shifts Military Balance in Favor of Russia

From the combat zone in northern Syria comes news of the deployment of a new Russian electronic jamming system which can reportedly blind radar, disrupt electronic guidance systems, and interfere with satellite imagery as well. As a result, NATO is effectively blinded inside a bubble of 600 km in diameter centered on the Russian base at Latakia, reports, Thierry Meyssan from Damascus.


The technology in question seems similar to the KRET Richag-AV system, although it apparently functions on a larger scale. A tactical version of this system was presented to journalists in the Russian city of Back in April 2015. As Sputnik reported then:

“The Richag-AV system, mounted on the Mi-8MTPR1 (a variant of the Mi-8MTB5-1 helicopter) is said to have no global equivalent. Its electronic countermeasures system is designed to jam radar, sonar and other detection systems in the aims of defending aircraft, helicopters, drones, ground and naval forces against air-to-air and surface-to-air defense systems within a radius of several hundred kilometers. It can be mounted on units from any branch of the armed forces, including helicopters and airplanes, as well as ground and ship-based forces. The Mi8-MTPR1-based Richag-AV platform, using multi-beam antenna arrays with DRFM technology, is designed to actively jam and thus ‘blind’ radar systems in order to defend against radio-electronic guided weapons systems. In a combat situation, the system would operate as part of an aviation shock attack group aimed at breaking through virtually any defense system, blinding everything up to and including the US MIM-104 ‘Patriot’ anti-aircraft missile system.”

NATO supreme commander and US Air Force General Philip Breedlove was probably talking about this new KRET system when he addressed the German Marshall Fund on Monday, September 28. Here Breedlove had warned that Russia was creating an “A2/AD bubble” over the Syrian coast, and the eastern Mediterranean. A2/AD is the abbreviation for anti-access and area denial. Breedlove pointed out that Russia has already established such bubbles over the Baltic Sea at the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and also over the Crimea and the black Sea.


‘While Russia’s stated goal in moving into Syria is to fight the Islamic State, NATO’s top commander believes Russia’s new presence includes the first pieces of an intricate layer of defensive systems deployed to hinder U.S. and coalition operations in the region. “As we see the very capable air defense [systems] beginning to show up in Syria, we’re a little worried about another A2/AD bubble being created in the eastern Mediterranean,” said Breedlove to an audience at the German Marshall Fund Monday. A2/AD stands for anti-access/area denial. During the early stages of warfare, A2/AD could have been a moat around a castle, or spikes dug into the ground—anything to keep the enemy off a certain swathe of territory. In the 21st century, however, A2/AD is a combination of systems such as surface-to-air missile batteries and anti-ship missiles deployed to prevent forces from entering or traversing a certain area—from land, air or sea. According to Breedlove, the introduction of an A2/AD bubble in Syria would be Russia’s third denial zone around Europe. The first and oldest he said, was in the Baltics where the Russian naval base in Kaliningrad has robust anti-air capabilities. The second zone—originating from Russian-occupied Crimea—covers the Black Sea. “Russia has developed a very strong A2/AD capability in the Black Sea,” said Breedlove. “Essentially their [anti-ship] cruise missiles range the entire Black Sea, and their air defense missiles range about 40 to 50 percent of the Black Sea.”

In addition, the Russian military had provided a demonstration of their ability to blind even the sophisticated Aegis phased array radar, which is part of the equipment of modern US cruisers and destroyers. This incident came during the Crimean crisis of spring 2014, when the US sent a destroyer into the Black Sea. This ship was repeatedly buzzed up by a Russian Sukhoi-24 jet fighter, which was able to cripple the radar guidance the systems of the vessel. Here is a summary of the incident from Live Leak:


“The US destroyer USS Donald Cook, equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles entered the neutral waters of the Black Sea on April 10, 2014. The purpose was a demonstration of force and intimidation in connection with the position of Russia in Ukraine and Crimea. The appearance of American warships in these waters is in contradiction of the Montreux Convention about the nature and duration of stay in the Black Sea by the military ships of countries not washed by this sea. In response, Russia sent an unarmed bomber Su- 24 to fly around the U.S. destroyer. However, experts say that this plane was equipped with the latest Russian electronic warfare complex. According to this version, Aegis spotted from afar the approaching aircraft, and sounded alarm. Everything went normally, and the American radars calculated the speed of the approaching target. But suddenly all the screens went blank. Aegis was not working any more, and the rockets could not get target information. Meanwhile, Su-24 flew over the deck of the destroyer, did battle turn and simulated a missile attack on the target. Then it turned and repeated the maneuver. And did so 12 times.”

 

[goyacobol]

Yes, and SOTT says so...

Playtime is over! Russia to increase missions in Syria to 300 a day!

Moscow plans a huge surge in military operations in Syria, according to reports

Russia has been flying around 50 missions a day on average in Syria. Soon this number will be closer to 300, according to reports in the British press. The Independent reports:

Russia aims to increase its aerial missions over Syria to 300 a day, sources close to the country's operations have reportedly said.

President Vladimir Putin said the country is currently flying around 50 missions a day on average in Syria.

Operation sources, however, say the aim is to increase this figure to between 200 and 300 a day, according to The Sunday Times.

The construction of a new airstrip as part of preparations for the surge in missions is also reportedly under way.

Russia has deployed a range of bombers, jets, fighters and helicopters in its bid to probe rebel forces in Syria, including Su-24M and Su-34 bombers and Su-30CM fighters.

The source told the newspaper proposed targets were chosen by the Syrians, then passed on for verification by Russian drones.

"They are extremely concerned about the image of Russia's military actions here," the source told The Sunday Times.

This comes just days after the U.S. refused to enter into dialogue with Russia concerning Syria and the creation of an international anti-terror coalition.

ISIS fighters are already fleeing for their lives: Now with 300 missions a day, the Russian air force will wipe out ISIS before you can say "moderate CIA-trained rebel."

 

[goyacobol]

Russia Insider says...

Tired of Russian Airstrikes, ISIS Fighters Are Cutting Their Beards and Fleeing to Turkey

The Islamic State's combat capabilities were always wildly exaggerated. Although clearly gifted at making head-chopping videos (where the actual head-chopping is edited out, because c'mon, ISIS understands it needs to stay PG-13 if it wants to reach audiences of all ages), ISIS has never faced any serious armed opposition. (They've been fighting the Syrian army, of course, but Assad has also been simultaneously battling with 10 other radical groups. And the U.S. dropping bombs on sand dunes doesn't count.)
With Russia's entry into the conflict, the months of carefree head-chopping has come to an abrupt end. Now faced with almost certain death, “radical Islamists” in Syria are having second-thoughts about martyrdom. Also, it's time for a haircut!


Hundreds of ISIL fighters are fleeing Syria for Turkey, as Russia's Defense Ministry previously said, and reports are popping up that they are leaving their beards behind.

.2/ More Jihadi beards, shaved off in Reef #Aleppo, as they flee clean shaven 2 #Turkey, these Via @leithfadel pic.twitter.com/xOmMkhH8oY
— Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber)
October 12, 2015

According to reports, more than 100 (beardless?) ISIS fighters flee to Turkey each day — apparently disguised as “refugees”.

What's the need for disguise, though? Turkey has been funneling weapons to ISIS since the start of this god-awful conflict. Dear ISIS fighters: March home and receive the hero's welcome you deserve! NATO members always honor their warriors.

 

[goyacobol]

Who needs Russian ground troops? Here are some more Barrels. By the end of the year Russia may have this capability.

Russian ‘Skynet’ to lead military robots on the battlefield

In a step towards creating independent artificial intelligence comparable to Skynet from the 'Terminator' franchise, a Russian company has successfully tested software capable of undertaking decisions and carrying them out without any human intervention.

The United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (OPK), an integral part of the Rostec arms corporation, says it has developed the Unicum (Latin for 'the only one') software package that gives military or civilian robots enough artificial intelligence to perform complicated tasks completely on their own.

READ MORE: ‘Robots replacing soldiers won’t make anybody safer’

Powering a group of up to 10 robotic complexes, the Unicum artificial intelligence (AI) communicates and distributes ‘roles’ among the robots, chooses the ‘commander’ of the robotic task force and assigns combat mission to each individual machine.
t can locate targets, choose dominating positions on a battlefield, request target elimination validation from human operators and eliminate the targets. It is also capable of automatically requesting replacements for disabled machines.

“This is the first [AI] system of that quality that has successfully completed the tests and has been passed on to the client. The technology is being readied for installation on real life robotic systems, both civilian and in the military, including unmanned aerial vehicles,” OPK Deputy Director Sergey Skokov said.

The Unicum AI could be installed on any robotic system, no matter where it is used: on the ground, in the air or out at sea. It has the ability to act independently or in groups.

The developers claim their AI could exclude humans from taking part in the actions of robots altogether.

“With Unicum, the robots will be capable of executing tasks independently, to see and evaluate the situation, plotting new courses as well as communicating with other machines. In fact, this is yet another step to the creation of fully-fledged artificial intelligence, enabling mechanisms with nearly human capabilities,” Skokov said.