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roguenewsdao · 7 years

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Syraq SITREP 35: Israel Admits F16 Shot Down by Syrian Air Defense

Moscow's Reaction: Likely Grim Satisfaction that the Israelis Got a Bloody Nose Courtesy of their Clients

Even if Russia is not ready to take any rash actions or shoot down Israeli and NATO aircraft that do not directly threaten Russian units, the Syrians and Iranians are intensifying their efforts to ensure Israel, and later on the USA pay a price for aggression in Syria. This in turn will force Washington and most likely Tel Aviv to bolster their suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) capabilities in the Levant, and Israel to strike back hard in order to save face.

in Moscow, the most likely reaction at this hour to the news at the Kremlin and Foreign/Defense Ministries is grim satisfaction. The emphasis in CNN's reporting on Russian mercenaries of the alleged private security contractor Wagner in the American air and artillery strikes outside Deir Ez Zor did not go unnoticed, despite Secretary of Defense James Mattis distancing the DoD from reports of any killed or wounded Russian contractors on Friday. Mattis also said in a press conference that he had no idea why the pro-Syrian government forces attacked the SDF unit accompanied by American special forces. Most likely though, Mattis is well aware that the mostly Kurdish SDF seized Deir Ez Zor province oil fields from local tribes that, with ISIS removed, wish to profitably manage the local hydrocarbons in partnership with Damascus.

Mad Dog Mattis Plays Dumb Regarding U.S. Intentions in Occupying the Euphrates Valley

"Are the generals deflecting Trump by mentioning we control the Syrian oilfields when the President brings up the issue? Are the generals filling the President’s head with fears of Hezbollah and IRGC hordes running rampant across Syria? Al-Monitor has an article out today extensively quoting Secretary of Defense Mattis. He downplays the role of Russia in Syria and Russian influence over Assad. He seems to be downplaying the risks that our aggressive talk and actions in Syria could lead to a confrontation with Russia. Well I think this jarhead is full of crap this time. To reinforce this man’s fullness of crap, a story appears this morning in Al Masdar News about attacks by the US controlled Deir Ezzor Military Council on SAA and NDF forces in Khashim and Tabiyyah on the Eastern shore of the Euphrates. Unlike the YPG/SDF, the Deir Ezzor Military Council is on the direct payroll of the State Department. This is a dangerous game we are playing. TTG" -- http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/02/to-war-to-war-this-countrys-going-to-war-ttg.html

The timing of the vaunted IAF losing one of its aircraft is interesting: Russian and relocated Syrian air defenses reportedly stood down to allow the Turkish Air Force to resume strikes around the Kurdish enclave of Afrin. However, there were reports from the battlefields outside the city that the YPG Kurdish defenders were using Iranian made rockets and Toophan (TOW knockoff) anti-tank missiles against the Turks and their Syrian jihadist allies.

Turks Aim to Carve Out Neo-Ottoman Emp...Er, Safe Zones in Syria's Idlib Province

Nonetheless, even as the Turkish advance seemed bogged down around Afrin, with the jihadis suffering significant casualties and the TAF admitting to 17 soldiers killed in action since the start of the 'Operation Olive Branch', the Turks sent a large convoy to the town of Saraqeb. The intent appears to stop the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) from taking the crossroads town, which would open up an advance through thinly held jihadi lines into Idlib province. The Turks are also seeking negotiating leverage with the Russians, to establish an expanded 'deescalation zone' (of occupation) in the area that their troops will control.

Given that Turkish forces have already been hit with IEDs and faced artillery fire from pro-Damascus and Iranian-backed forces in the area, it remains to be seen if the Turks will suffer more casualties and back off, or reinforce more al-Qaeda friendly outposts in Idlib province. The SAA appears intent on cleaning up the last remnants of ISIS in northern Hama before pressing on to potentially bypass if not target any Turkish Army block posts.

" "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the recent statement by the head of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, regarding a potential meeting between Ankara and Damascus. “What would we talk about with a murderer who has killed a million of his citizens,” Erdogan said in his address to mukhtars— heads of Turkish villages and neighbourhoods—at the presidential complex in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, as quoted by TRT World." AMN ----------- The sultan is pretending to be motivated by concern for the Syrian peoples. Nonsense. He sees the opportunity to weaken Syria in pursuit of some future de facto annexations in northern Syria. Unfortunately for him the TSK is not doing well in establishing "facts on the ground" to support such ambitions. At the same time, the Turks are positioning small bodies of troops at Al-Eis, Idlib City and Saraqib supposedly to implement the Russian/Iranian/Turkish de-escalation agreement on Idlib Province but IMO their real purpose is to obstruct SAG recovery of the province. -- Col. Pat Lang, USA ret., former Defense Intelligence Agency" -- http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/02/httpssouthfrontorgrussian-military-us-led-coalition-struck-syrian-troops-conducting-operation-against-isis-cells-in-deir.html

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