1) Are We In A Proxy War With Russia ..... 2) Is Russia Guilty Of War Crimes?

[ScottL]

Israel: Russia Putting Down Roots in Middle East (Jerusalem Post)
Russia is planning to stay in Israel's neighborhood for the long term, Israel Navy Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Dror Friedman told Army Radio on Wednesday.
"You see their activities in the field and you see them putting down roots. You see their activities in the Port of Tartus [in Syria] and you understand that this isn't the activity of someone who is planning to pack their bags and leave tomorrow morning."
"You can see this through the amount of weaponry, the equipment they are bringing, the bases they are building."
Friedman said that the Russian military presence in Syria changes the way that the Navy operates in the area. "There have been instances in which we assessed the situation and changed or chose not to carry out operations," he said.

 

[ScottL]

Is Russia Abandoning Iran in Syria? - Yigal Carmon, A. Savyon and Anna Mahjar-Barducci
On March 11, 2017, the Iran Diplomacy website, which is close to Iranian Foreign Ministry circles, wrote that Iran is in a state of shock. Despite Iranian-Russian cooperation in recent years, Iran currently feels that Russia is abandoning it in favor of other vital interests, such as reaching understandings with the U.S. to promote the lifting of sanctions, and with Turkey as its senior regional partner.
High-ranking American-Russian coordination (ostensibly for the purpose of defeating ISIS) is taking place at a time when the Trump administration, which is known for its anti-Iranian regime stance, is organizing the Gulf states and other Arab countries into what the Arab media refers to as an "Arab NATO" against Iran. These developments create a feeling of siege and existential threat in Tehran in light of the formulation of a wide American-Russian-Arab (and Israeli) front against Iran's revolutionary regime. (MEMRI)

 

[ScottL]

• U.S. Should Warn Russia to Keep Iran and Hizbullah Away from Israel's Syrian Border - Dennis Ross
  Part of being Israel's strategic partner means backing it when it is countering new threats. In this case, the U.S. administration should bluntly warn the Russians against Iran and Hizbullah seeking to establish a position in southern Syrian adjacent to Israel and Jordan.
  It should be clear that we will support Israeli actions to prevent any such movement southward - and if there is an escalation, the U.S. will materially back Israel and be ready to offer any assistance that Israel might require. The Iranians should know they are playing with fire, and that message should be conveyed by the U.S., not just Israel. The writer is counselor at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and served in senior positions in the Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations. (New York Daily News)

 

[ScottL]

• Iranians at the Gate - Eyal Zisser
  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Russia last week was dedicated to Israel's red lines on any Iranian presence in Syria if and when the war there comes to an end. Iran potentially could have physical control of the country, thanks to tens of thousands of its operatives on the ground from Hizbullah, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, or Shiite militia fighters "imported" by Iran into Syria from across the Middle East.
  
• The immediate issue Israel must deal with is the Iranian and Hizbullah presence in southern Syria, while the long-term issue is the question of Iran's status in Syria. The writer, vice rector at Tel Aviv University, is former director of its Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. (Israel Hayom)
  
• Who Will Dominate the Post-Islamic State Landscape in Iraq and Syria? - Jonathan Spyer
  While the tactical contests are continuing, the general direction of events in both the war against Islamic State and the fight between Assad and the rebels is now clear. Islamic State is on its way to ceasing to exist as an entity controlling significant territory. Having lost tens of thousands of fighters and with the flow of recruits drying up, facing enemies with complete control of the skies and vast superiority in numbers and equipment, Islamic State has no means of reversing the trend. Moreover, the rebellion against Assad is in retreat, and its eventual eclipse seems a near certainty.
  As the direction of events becomes clear, so the possibility emerges of the Iran-led alliance achieving an overall victory in the Syria and Iraq wars. Assad's own forces are entirely dependent for advances on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hizbullah, Iraqi Shi'a militia forces and paramilitary formations created by the Iranians. That is, the real power would be Iran-arranged forces on the ground.
  Yet advances for the Iranian side are possible only with the support of Russian air power. And Russian goals in Syria do not necessarily dovetail with Tehran's. The writer is Director of the Rubin Center, IDC Herzliya, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. (Jerusalem Post)

 

[ScottL]

Assad: U.S. Military Forces in Syria Are "Invaders" - Joe Sterling, Jennifer Deaton and Barbara Starr
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad called American troops deploying to Syria "invaders" because he hadn't given permission for them to enter the country. "And we don't think this is going to help. What are they going to do? To fight ISIS? The Americans lost nearly every war. They lost in Iraq, they had to withdraw at the end. Even in Somalia, let alone Vietnam in the past and Afghanistan."
The Syrian leader was interviewed by China's Phoenix TV and his remarks were reported by Syria's SANA news agency on Saturday. U.S. Marines have arrived in northern Syria with artillery to support U.S.-backed local forces prior to an assault on Raqqa, ISIS' capital. (CNN)

 

[ScottL]

Lessons from Friday's Israel-Syria Missile Clash - Anshel Pfeffer (Ha'aretz)
The airstrikes carried out against Hizbullah targets in Syria that took place early Friday were the first to be confirmed officially by the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson.
Syria's air-defense forces launched a long-range missile in an attempt to shoot down Israel's jets. The missile was fired much too late to endanger the planes, but could have fallen on civilian areas within Israel and was therefore intercepted by an Arrow 2 missile.
An attack carried out by Israeli warplanes flying over Syria (and not using standoff missiles from afar as happened in other strikes recently) may be an indication that there is an understanding with Russia over Israeli operations within the area that Russia protects with its own air-defense systems.

 

[ScottL]

I guess this is sort of a Syria thread now.....

U.S. Airlifts Hundreds of Militia Fighters for Attack in Syria - Michael R. Gordon and Anne Barnard (New York Times)
Hundreds of Syrian fighters and their American military advisers, backed by American artillery and attack helicopters, have begun a major operation to cut off Raqqa, the Islamic State's capital in Syria, officials said Wednesday.
The mission reflected the leeway the Trump administration has given its commanders to carry out operations without prolonged review in Washington.

Who are these people???
Rebel Push on Damascus Shows Syria's War Is Far from Over - Liz Sly (Washington Post)
An unexpected rebel push on Damascus has brought Syria's civil war to the heart of its capital for the first time in years, serving as a reminder that the conflict is far from over.
Rebel forces have advanced to within a few miles of the historic Old City of Damascus as a Russian-sponsored cease-fire that took hold in December is now in shreds.
Although the rebels lack the capacity to topple Assad, Assad's forces also lack the capacity to defeat the rebels, said Andrew J. Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

 

[919]

DICK CHENEY: 'No question' Russia meddled in US election, and it could be ‘an act of war'

http://www.businessinsider.com/dick-cheney-russia-hack-no-question-act-of-war-2017-3

 

[fletchisrhsm]

DICK CHENEY: 'No question' Russia meddled in US election, and it could be ‘an act of war'

http://www.businessinsider.com/dick-cheney-russia-hack-no-question-act-of-war-2017-3

Quoting a NeoConservative talking about war. LOL. Whats next posting Barry Sotero quotes talking about sucking dick?

 

[ScottL]

Cyberwarfare is the future. The Pentagon is attacked millions of times daily now, as well as US nuclear installations.

 

[fletchisrhsm]

Cyberwarfare is the future. The Pentagon is attacked millions of times daily now, as well as US nuclear installations.

No doubt but to call this an act of war is ironic. We dont meddle online in others affairs?? Shush()*