Fact Or Fiction?
Russian Jets in Syrian Skies
Russia has begun its military intervention in Syria, deploying an
aerial contingent to a permanent Syrian base, in order to launch
attacks against ISIS and Islamist rebels; US stays silent.
By Alex Fishman
September 01, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "Ynet"
- Russian fighter pilots are expected to begin
arriving in Syria in the coming days, and will fly their Russian air
force fighter jets and attack helicopters against ISIS and
rebel-aligned targets within the failing state.
According to Western diplomats, a Russian expeditionary force has
already arrived in Syria and set up camp in an Assad-controlled
airbase. The base is said to be in area surrounding Damascus, and
will serve, for all intents and purposes, as a Russian forward
operating base.
In the coming weeks thousands of Russian military personnel are set
to touch down in Syria, including advisors, instructors, logistics
personnel, technical personnel, members of the aerial protection
division, and the pilots who will operate the aircraft.
Past reports have stated that the Russians were in talks to sell the
Syrians a package of MiG-29 fighter jets, and Yak-130 trainer jets
(which can also serve as attack aircraft.) The current makeup of the
expeditionary force is still unknown, but there is no doubt that
Russian pilots flying combat missions in Syrian skies will
definitely change the existing dynamics in the Middle East.
The Russians do not harbor offensive intentions towards Israel or
other sovereign states in the area, and their main stated goal is
battling ISIS and preserving Assad's rule. However, their presence
will represent a challenge to the Israeli Air Force's freedom of
operation in the skies above the Middle East.
Western diplomatic sources recently reported that a series of
negotiations had been held between the Russians and the Iranians,
mainly focusing on ISIS and the threat it poses to the Assad regime.
The infamous Iranian Quds Force commander Major General Qasem
Soleimani recently visited Moscow in the framework of these talks.
As a result the Russians and the Iranians reached a strategic
decision: Make any effort necessary to preserve Assad's seat of
power, so that Syria may act as a barrier, and prevent the spread of
ISIS and Islamist backed militias into the former Soviet Islamic
republics.
The Russians are not the only ones coordinating their Middle East
policy with the Iranians; The US has also jumped aboard that train.
American government officials have been holding intensive
consultations with representatives of the Iranian regime concerning
a stronger joint effort against ISIS in Iraq. It seems that the US
government currently views Iran as a central and necessary force in
the campaign against ISIS within Iraq.
The Iranian-American cooperation is focused on two focal points: The
first being Anbar province, where the Iraqis have thus far failed to
expel ISIS; and the second Mosul, where the Iraqis have yet to come
up with a feasible plan to recapture the city.
Western diplomatic sources have emphasized that the Obama
administration is fully aware of the Russian intent to intervene
directly in Syria, but has yet to issue any reaction. The absence of
a vocal opposition from the Obama administration is compounded by
its cessation of calls for the dissolution of Assad's murderous
regime.
This and more: The Iranians and the Russians- with the US well
aware- have begun the struggle to reequip the Syrian army, which has
been left in tatters by the civil war. They intend not only to train
Assad's army, but to also equip it. During the entire duration of
the civil war, the Russians have consistently sent a weapons supply
ship to the Russian held port of Tartus in Syria on a weekly basis.
The ships would bring missiles, replacement parts, and different
types of ammunition for the Syrian army.
Arab media outlets have recently published reports that Syria and
Russia were looking for an additional port on the Syrian coast,
which will serve the Russians in their mission to hasten the pace of
the Syrian rearmament.
In the meantime, Assad's army is in full scale retreat in the
strategic province of Idlib. Mere days ago, a force from the Jaesh
Al Fatah (A coalition or rebel groups including Jabhat al-Nusra)
advanced on the Abu Duhur military airfield in southwestern Syria's
Iblib province, which borders on Latika. Alwaite and Christian
residents of the area have fled to the last remaining Alawite
Bantustans along the country's coastline.
Even Turkey, which has so far avoided any action which would
strengthen Assad, has had to come to terms with the Russian-Iranian
move and the resulting American silence, leading it to launch its
own bombing campaign against ISIS in Syria.
During a recent trip to Qatar, Erdogan reached understandings with
the Qataris and the Saudis regarding a program to arm Muslim
Brotherhood backed rebels who are fighting against ISIS, de-facto
fighting both Assad and ISIS.