Thursday 10 December 2015

Syria threatens to shoot down NATO planes

THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT, WITH THE S-300 NOW HAS THE MEANS TO SHOOT DOWN ANY AIRCRAFT THAT ENTER ITS AIRSPACE AND HAVE LEGAL PRECEDENT TO JUSTIFY SUCH AN ACTION.

Good Article by Finian Cunningham

Syria Tells NATO: Keep Jets Out Or Get Shot Down – OpEd

By Finian Cunningham*

Russia's S-300 anti-aircraft missile system at the Victory Parade, Red Square. Photo Credit: Kremlin.ru, Wikipedia Commons.Russia's S-300 anti-aircraft missile system at the Victory Parade, Red Square. Photo Credit: Kremlin.ru, Wikipedia Commons.

7 December, 2015

Syria is ready to deploy the fearsome S-300 air-defence system supplied by its Russian ally. The anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles will give Syria control over its territory and the capability to shoot down any intrusive warplane or missile. NATO warplanes beware!

The fatal shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 two weeks ago has given urgency to installing the air-defence system. It is as much in Russia’s interest as it is in Syria’s to have air cover – and the S-300, and its newer generation, the S-400, are reckoned to be the best technology in the world for that job.

It’s a top-of-the range weapon”, says the British defence publication, IHS Jane’s, probably surpassing the American Patriot missile system. The Russian-made S-300 can take out any modern fighter plane or missile, including Cruise missiles, at a range of up 150 kilometres and an altitude of 27 kilometres.

According to a senior officer at the Syria-Russia joint military operations room in Damascus, the mobile S-300 is ready for deployment at various locations across the country.

Translated from Arabic language Alrai Media (thanks to the reliable Fort Russ Russian news site), the senior Syrian officer at the operations room is quoted as saying: “Soon Syria will announce that any country using the airspace without coordinating with Damascus will be viewed as hostile and [we] will shoot the jet down without warning. Those willing to fight terrorism and coordinate with the military leadership will be granted safe corŠ»ridors.”

This may seem like a dangerous escalation. American fighter jets have been bombing Syrian territory since September 2014, having carried out thousands of air strikes allegedly against the Islamic State (IS) terror group (also known by its Arabic name Dash).

Since the Paris terror attacks last month, France has stepped up its air strikes in Syria too. In the past week, Britain and Germany parliaments have voted for their air forces to join the other NATO members in aerial operations. The US-led bombing coalition in Syria also includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Russia is the only country whose military aircraft are legally deployed in Syria because Moscow has the full consent of the Syrian government. All the others do not have consent from Damascus and simply invited themselves.

So we have at least seven foreign powers deploying their warplanes to bomb Syrian territory – all in violation of international law.

It is irrelevant whether the US-led alliance claims to be fighting terrorists, or whether they claim it is in “self-defence” as France, Britain and Germany are. The Germany justice minister Heiko Maas, speaking after the Bundestag voted for military action this week, claimed that the United Nations Security Council resolution passed last month in the wake of the Paris attacks makes the German intervention legal. That UNSC resolution does not specifically sanction military action.

In any case, the ultimate legal criterion is the position of the Syrian state authorities. Western governments and their media have done everything to discredit, demonise and delegitimise the Syrian government. That’s part of the US-led criminal enterprise for regime change in Syria. But the fact remains, Syria is a sovereign state fully entitled the legal rights of all other UN members.

If the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad – which is the internationally recognised governing authority of Syria and retains its seat at the UN – does not consent to foreign military intervention, then that intervention is illegal, as Moscow and Damascus have repeatedly pointed out.

Syria, with the S-300 missile system supplied by its Russian ally, now has the technical means to defend its borders and airspace from all intruders. It also has the legal right to defend the inviolability of its territory. After all, US President Barack Obama invoked this right with regard to Turkey after the shoot-down of the Russian Su-24. Obama said Turkey had “every right to protect its skies” (even though the evidence shows that the Russian fighter jet did not breach Turkish territory).

In other words: what’s good for Turkey is good for Syria, as for any other nation.
Now, some might say it is a reckless move for Syria to train its skies with the powerful S-300. If a US, French, British or German warplane is shot down then that may ignite a full-on war with the American NATO military alliance. Russia would inevitably be dragged into the fight, which could slide into a world war between nuclear powers.

But hold on a minute. That logic amounts to the US and its allies using such fear as a weapon to disarm others and to prevent sovereign states from exercising their rights.

Such a dynamic is a blank cheque for powers to bully and oppress others which the U.S. has been doing for decades.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin has said time and again, the issue is one abiding by international law. Without respect for international law then the world resorts to the law of the jungle and barbarism, as Putin said in his recent state of the nation speech.

What we have seen in recent years since the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001-2003 is the wholesale erosion of sovereignty. This has involved the overt deployment of military force and the covert use of “asymmetric war”, says American political analyst Randy Martin (who writes at crookedbough.com).

The use of proxy military force by the US and its NATO allies has been seen in regime-change operations in Libya, Syria and Ukraine, combined with media propaganda campaigns and economic sanctions,” says Martin. “A key strategy here by the Washington-led powers is to erode sovereign rights of designated enemy states.”

The deployment of so-called Islamist terror groups to destabilise Syria as with neo-Nazi paramilitaries in Ukraine is all part of the West’s asymmetric warfare.

For whatever reason, the US bombing coalition is claiming that it is combating the IS jihadists in Syria. However, the evidence shows that Western “combat” efforts in Syria are very late in coming and not very effective, indicating a lack of commitment to genuinely defeat the terror network.

There is also reason to believe that the NATO rush to bomb IS oil smuggling routes in Syria is really motivated by a need to cover up the tracks of Western collusion with the terror groups. The American CIA and British MI6, along with Turk military intelligence, have been implicated in running the terror “rat lines”. Russian intelligence is lifting the lid on this sordid racket.

Western air strikes without the approval of the Syrian government are not only illegal, they lack credibility in their stated aim.

But either way, the imperative here is that Syria re-establishes its sovereignty and the principles of international law. If Syria is lost, then Western state sponsored banditry and terrorism will only escalate. Russia is already being targeted by the West’s asymmetric warfare, as is Iran and China.

Therefore, a line has to be drawn. And with Russia’s military support, Syria has the power to do just that. From now on, NATO warplanes violating Syrian territory should be put on notice. Keep out or get shot down.

*The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of MINA

The original item cited - 

S-300 in action in Damascus, Iranian Airforce sent to T4 airbase in Homs serviced by Russia


Fort Russ - 2nd December, 2015
Elijah J. Magnier
The Syrian war is rolling like a snowball on the edge of the winter with additional new elements that are introduced in the conflict. The presence of new weapons and armies will impose a heavy weight on the various forces fighting on the ground and over the ongoing diplomacy in the attempt to shorten the life of the war in Syria.
A high-ranking officer within the joint operation room in Damascus (consisting of Russia, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah) said “Damascus received sets of S -300 advanced Russian missiles, ready to enter active service. Soon, Syria will announce that any country using the airspace without coordinating with Damascus will be viewed as hostile and will shoot the jet (s) without warning. Those willing to fight terrorism and coordinate with the military leadership will be granted safe corridors”.

In another development, according to the same source, “Iran is preparing two squadrons of Sukhoi to engage the war in Syria. These will be stationed at the T4 Syrian military airport in Homs, very close to Palmyra (Tadmur), previously known as Tiyas. The Iranian Air Force will join the Russian Air Force in their war against extremist terrorist Kafeeree in Syria”.
The alliance of Russia, Iran, Syria and their allies like Hezbollah, the Iraqis and others are all directly involved in the battle. Russian armed forces, including ground troops, the Navy and the Air Force are supported by air defense system using TOR M 1 / M2 medium-range missiles, accompanied by Pantsir S- along with their most advanced S-400 missiles to create an air umbrella coverage over the Russian forces in the country. Another airport in Homs, al-Sha’ayrat, has been prepared to host newly arriving Russian Air jets. 
Al-Sha’ayrat is one of the most important military airport in Syria. Ground troops are securing a wide parameter to allow a comfortable maneuver. Engineers and ground crew services are ready and began to receive inbound aircraft of the Russian Federation, led by advanced Su-34 equipped with air-to-air missiles to protect other Jets while bombing terrorists from another incident like the Su-24 downed by Turkey last week”.
The sources add “Iran sent 4000 IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) equipped with mechanisms grenades and rocket launchers with self-propelled cannons to support its offensive operations in Syria. Moreover two squadrons of the Iranian Air Force will be deployed in the T4 –Tiyas airport, located close to Al-Sha’ayrat, when the Iranian engineers will conclude their work at the site. Iran Air Force, trilled to raise the efficiency of pilots in real combat operation, will provide an air support for all ground forces from Palmyra to Raqqa. Moscow agreed to provide all maintenance and ammunition needed to the Iranian jets. ”

On the S-300, the source concuded: “Syrian air defense crew completed their training on the S -300 missile system in Russia and received the full sets agreed with the government the Syrian forces. The Russian-made S-300s, which can engage 12 targets simultaneously at distances of 200 kilometers and heights of up to 27 kilometers, will be deployed in the liberated areas to cover the full Syrian geography. Damascus is expected – said the source – to announce, soon, that every unidentified jet flying in the sky of Syria will be considered hostile and will be shot down if no previous coordination have been made with the Syrian authorities. Syria is ready to provided safe corridors for those willing to strike terrorism”.
It is unlikely that Syria would declare war in the sky on the western coalition hitting ISIS group despite the deployment of the S-300 and when it will be officially announced. Nonetheless, it is certainly a strong message to Turkey that is seeing its never lasting dream of “safe-zone” vanishing in the air now more than ever. It is also a way for Damascus to put pressure on the west, mainly France and the United Kingdom, to force a diplomatic coordination with the actual government, also in terms of security, intelligence and “war on terror”. However, sources in the Syrian capital confirm that Assad doesn’t expect a sudden return of the Blue/White/Red flag over the French Embassy and the return of an Ambassador, despite the Paris attack. But for the war on terror to be efficient, Paris needs Damascus, and not the other way around, for it’s own national security protection. There are over 1400 French Mujahedeen Takferees fighting along ISIS and al-Qaeda in Bilad al-Sham. Many of these are listed in Assad intelligence files. The DGSE, French external intelligence service, will have no access to these without a diplomatic price in exchange. It will be a challenge for France to fly its jets over Syria without any coordination with Damascus and with the risk of being shot down by the S-300, mistaken for a Turkish or unfriendly jet, like Israel.
Sha’ayrat airport:
T4 Military Air Base (known as Tiyas):

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