Syria update - 10/07/2016

Coalition Leaked Plans to attack Syria with Nearly 800 Bombers

Israeli News Live

Several News agencies are reporting that Russia obtained linked information that the US and its Coalition were planning to launch a strike on Syria. But Press TV reports to what extent this strike was going to be. 800 bombers and Cruise Missiles launched from the Persian gulf striking Syrian targets of President Assad. White House Press Briefing claims the US has backed off from its plans of attack on the Syrian Government.

Sputnik -  https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20...
NATO backs down  https://yourritter1986.wordpress.com/...
http://theduran.com/us-backs-down-ove...
White house press  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIR4U...
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20...
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10...
Leaked News  http://www.presstv.ir/DetailFr/2016/1...

Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the decision to deploy S-300 anti-air missile system in Syria came after receiving leaked data on US intentions to bomb Syrian airbases.

"The S-300 appeared there [in Syria] after experts close to the American establishment had started leaking information…that the US could hit Syrian airfields with cruise missiles," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Russia's Dozhd TV chennel. T

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a battery of S-300 air defense systems had been delivered to Syria to protect the naval base at Tartus, as well as Russia warships deployed off the Syrian coast.

Earlier, Zakharova critized US Secretary of State John Kerry's statements on launching an investigation into "war crimes of the Russian Federation."

"This is propaganda," Zakharova said in an interview with TV channel Rain. "For this terminology has very serious legal consequences, and I think that Kerry tried all of these terms from the perspective of the discharge situation.

"If it comes to war crimes, US officials must begin with Iraq. And then go to Libya, be sure to go to Yemen — find out what's there. I want to say to juggle these words is very dangerous, because behind the American representatives really are war crimes."

Zakharova added that "the American side simply could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement" in Syria.

"They themselves have told us that they have no levers of pressure on the opposition."

On Friday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby dialed back Kerry's accusations.

"No, and the secretary did not allude to that today," he told reporters when asked if Kerry was ready to say he believed Moscow to be guilty of war crimes.

800 hunters bombarded Syria 

800 chasseurs bombarderont la Syrie

Des sources bien informées à Moscou et à Berlin font état d'un plan concocté par l'Otan visant à frapper l'armée syrienne à l'aide des dizaines d'escadrons et en présence de 14 pays. 

Informed sources in Moscow and Berlin show a plan cooked up by Nato, aimed to strike the syrian army with the help of dozens of squadrons, and in the presence of 14 countries.

The site analysis and information German Firil.net that reports this information suggests the presence of "more than 800 fighter-bombers" in this operation " would take place in the coming days."

"Nato had already designed a similar plan last July, the plan that has not seen the light of day : at the time some of the members of the Alliance and their regional allies were not militarily prepared, and a certain level of coordination between Moscow and Washington prevented Nato to seriously consider the military option. In effect, the plan cited above aimed to reproduce the same scenario as in Serbia of the 90's with the exception that the Russia of 2016 has nothing comparable to the Russia of 20 years ago"

The breakdown in dialogue between Washington and Moscow on the one hand and the meteoric rise of the syrian army in Aleppo on the other seem to have decided in Nato to launch a major offensive against the syrian army.

But looking for Nato?

The liberation of Aleppo by the syrian army will reduce the field to victories even larger or even the full recovery of the regions in syria by the syrian army.

-The developments on the ground have proven to the Americans and their allies one thing: the " Assad regime is in need of a maximum of one year to release the entirety of the syrian territory, and defeat the plans to dismember it. However, the crisis in Syria would have had to erode the military capabilities and economic of Syria, Iran and Russia by its length or even its long-term sustainability.

- The fact that Syria and its allies, the iranians and russians out, the head high of this crisis was due to offer on a platter of gold the control of the half from the Middle East to Russia , which means the gradual decline of Nato and the deterioration of the situation in which are the regional allies of the Alliance, namely Turkey, saudi Arabia and the arab countries of the Persian gulf.

-The gap is very small between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would drive the democrats to resort to the military option, and this, with the goal of increasing the chances of a victory democratic presidential US.

-A victory in syria would ensure the rise of Hezbollah, and would increase the bargaining power of the pro-Assad to the negotiations.

Russia has not hidden its concern to see Washington cut the dialogue because this decision means, "the return of the United States to the military option".

Moreover, it is to answer this same concern that Moscow, who are well aware of the plan Nato has sent his S300 in Syria. The missile batteries S300 will be deployed in the base of Latakia, but the S400 are already sent to Syria.

According to the German sources, the meeting of John Kerry and the syrian opposition to Washington, and his opposition to a military solution in Syria have not only been a decoy, intended to take short Russia and its allies, once the offensive launched.

According to the plan of Nato, the attack will begin with air strikes and large-scale that will last 3 to 5 days and will be targeted on the centre of command and the general staff of the syrian army! there will also be a question of assassination of top commanders of the syrian army and the attacks on public buildings both in the suburbs of Damascus that in the suburbs of Aleppo and Latakia.

800 fighter-bombers will take off for Turkey, Jordan and the Mediterranean and cruise missiles, and Tomahawk to be fired from american bases in the Persian gulf. Hunters will avoid, obviously, this part of the airspace of syria is exposed to S400 russians. They are going to get so the sky syrian through the north-east , Iraq, Jordan and Israel.

"This is an operation that resembles the "desert Fox", which was held in 98, and it is saudi Arabia who is going to finance it," according to the German sources. No ground troops will not take place but the "rebels trained by the CIA" will take over in the hours following the bombing of the premises referred to. Trucks full of weapons from Turkey and Jordan will contribute to the advance of arms and ammunition.

The offensive will be triggered within a few days unless a truce manages to install. Israel will not intervene in the case of an emergency.

The United States will not be able to lose in Syria because that would mean the defeat of their allies ......

And Russia? the answer is quite clear.... it is not a question for the ' pro-Assad not losing.

#NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization: NATO not planning to take part in combat operations in Syria, Iraq ― Stoltenberg

NATO will not participate in combat operations in Syria and Iraq, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday.

“NATO will not be part of combat operations. We have already started training Iraqi officers in Jordan, we will soon start to train Iraqi officers in Iraq, and we will also start to provide support with AWACS surveillance planes to the international coalition fighting ISIL,” Stoltenberg said.

Speaking about the alliance’s actions in Afghanistan, Stoltenberg stressed that NATO believes it is more important to provide assistance to Kabul in ensuring the country’s security. “As you know we have ended our combat operations in Afghanistan so what we do now is support the Afghan forces,” he said in a doorstep statement before the European Union-hosted Brussels conference on Afghanistan.

CONFIRMED: U.S. backs down over Syria after Russian threat to shoot down American aircraft

Following Russian warning of American aircraft being shot down, White House spokesman confirms plan for U.S. air strikes on Syria has been rejected.

Following yesterday’s Russian warning that Russia stood ready to shoot down US aircraft or missiles attacking Syria, the US has confirmed all plans for military action against Syria have been dropped.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed this speaking to reporters on Thursday 6th October 2016.

“The president has discussed in some details why military action against the Assad regime to try to address the situation in Aleppo is unlikely to accomplish the goals that many envisioned now in terms of reducing the violence there.  It is much more likely to lead to a bunch of unintended consequences that are clearly not in our national interest.”

The US will never admit that it was the Russian warning that deterred it from carrying out air and missile strikes, and it is still pretending that the option of military strikes is still on the table.  In Josh Ernest’s words

“I’m not going to take any options off the table. I am not going to be in a position [we’re] taking options off the table for the commander-in-chief.”

However these are face-saving words. 

Military strikes against Syria would have happened long ago had it not been for the strong opposition of Russia.  The fact the Russian military is now physically present in Syria with advanced surface to air missiles and is warning that it stands ready to shoot US aircraft down if the lives of Russian personnel are put in danger has taken the idea of US military strikes off the table. 

I would add that these warnings would have been given by the Russians to the US in private before they were made public yesterday.

It is because the military option no longer exists that the US has been obliged to return to diplomacy.

I do not expect this to change whoever is elected President in November.

US & Europe Preparing Sanctions Against Russia for Fighting Terrorism in Syria

On Friday, German media reported that Berlin was mulling sanctions against Russia for its role in Syria. A day earlier, the White House confirmed that Washington too was considering the option. Russian commentators almost couldn't contain their irritation, suggesting that sanctions talk is nothing short of showing support for terrorists.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday that Norbert Roettgen, the chair of the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee, had called for new sanctions against Russia over its role in the Syrian crisis, suggesting that Moscow must face "consequences and sanctions" for its "war crimes."

A day earlier, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told reporters that Washington was not ruling out "multilateral efforts outside of the UN," including sanctions, "to impose costs on Syria or Russia or others with regard to the situation inside of Syria."

Commenting on Western officials' latest sanctions threats, Svobodnaya Pressa contributor Andrei Ivanov suggested that he found "the latest excuse for imposing sanctions surprising," to say the least, especially as far as Berlin is concerned.

In Crimea's case, sanctions could at least be understood as a reaction to Brussels' efforts to support the pro-EU government in Kiev following the Maidan coup; moreover, Crimea, and Ukraine, are at least located in Europe.

"But talk about concern for the inhabitants of Syria's Aleppo simply looks strange," Ivanov noted. "Everyone knows that European officials do not much care about the suffering of civilians in the Middle East. Otherwise, they would have acted much sooner, and would have actively fought against the terrorists.

" Meanwhile, the columnist emphasized, "by and large, in Syria, Russia is fighting for the security of Europe…And here, just when the Syrian army has surrounded the militants in Aleppo, and is on the verge of restoring the rule of law in the country's largest city, the news leaks from Berlin that the Germans apparently don't agree with this turn of events."

What's more, as if in concert, the European Parliament has announced that it is examining a resolution on the introduction of a no-fly zone over Syria, and a new round of sanctions against Russia, ostensibly 'to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.'

Commenting on the latter story, Ivanov suggested that two points immediately jump out at him.

"Firstly, it's not clear exactly how European countries can technically achieve a no-fly zone. The situation on the ground in the area is controlled by the Syrian Army on the one hand and by terrorist gangs on the other. To create a no-fly zone it would be necessary to install an air defense system. Who will do it?"

"Are European countries prepared to provide SAMs to Bashar Assad, so that he can prevent Russian planes from flying over his country? Or are the weapons meant for the militants? Or perhaps French planes will shoot down Russian ones?"

"Secondly, what interests exactly does Europe have in Syria over which it is necessary to threaten our country?" Ivanov asked. "The answer suggests itself: Brussels is showing solidarity with Washington, who has decided to halt all contact with Moscow in resolving the Syrian crisis."

"But Europe, and Germany in particular, have already seen that sanctions hit not only Russia, but also European businesses. The continent is suffering huge losses. It was even rumored earlier that countries were even ready to 'forgive' Russia for Crimea. Now, it turns out that Berlin and Brussels are ready to face new losses, all on behalf of militants belonging to terrorist organizations.

Asked to comment on this absurd situation, Vadim Trukhachev, a senior lecturer in international politics at the Russian State University for the Humanities, suggested that it was all part of the bureaucratic inertia of European officials, who set their sights on 'Russia the enemy' a long time ago, and are now searching for any excuse to continue the ruinous sanctions policy.

Moreover, the expert explained, Western capitals have also fixated on the notion that 'bloody dictator Assad' must go. The problem, he added, was that in their search of 'moderate opposition' forces, few Western observers have been able to admit to themselves that this opposition consists of literal cutthroats.

For his part, Konstantin Voronov, a senior lecturer at the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Svobodnaya Pressa that US and European 'concern' over the situation in Syria is only logical, since the prospects of Damascus actually defeating the terrorists would infinitely strengthen Moscow's position in the Middle East. "That frightens most Western politicians," the analyst noted.

With the US leading the propaganda charge against Russia, from the humanitarian convoy attack blamed on Syria and Russia to the suffering civilian population, Washington's main goal, according to Voronov, has been first to influence Europe, and then to get it to agree to actual political decision-making.

Ultimately, the analyst noted, whether it be Ukraine or Syria, US and European sanctions policy is aimed, more than anything else, at pressuring Moscow into regime change. Whether this occurs violently or via an elite transformation doesn't matter. What matters, to both Washington and Brussels, is that Russia becomes "just a normal European country," one "without geopolitical ambitions – a purely regional power fixated exclusively on domestic issues, and with limited foreign policy objectives."

"We did just that in the 1990s," Voronov stressed. "We limited our geopolitical interests, but received no positive response from the West. On the contrary, the West openly interfered in our internal affairs. Therefore, today's struggle in the international arena is one of high stakes. At one time, we embarked to try to have the same footing as the West – to build the same kind of economy and the same socio-political system. But this only exacerbated the geopolitical struggle."

Accordingly, the analyst noted, today, Russia has nowhere to step back from. "We should not expect to make friends with the West by withdrawing from all the important geopolitical frontiers. Quite the opposite: a weak Russia would only be ripe to be finished off," Voronov concluded

Obama administration accuses Russian government of election-year hacking

Signaling a low-point in Washington-Moscow relations perhaps not seen since the Cold War, the Obama administration on Friday ended months of speculation and blamed Russia for deploying its hackers to meddle with the U.S. election.

The accusation came at the end of a week that saw the United States halt negotiations with Russia over joint operations in Syria targeting extremist groups.

The public finger pointing also bows to weeks of pressure from Capitol Hill and national security experts, who have lambasted the White House for staying silent about the series of hacks that have roiled the Democratic party, exposed the inner machinations of political organizations, revealed the private exchanges of high-ranking officials and fueled doubts about the electoral system's integrity.

On Friday, the administration broke that silence.

"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process," said Jeh Johnson, the secretary of homeland security, and James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, in a statement. "Such activity is not new to Moscow — the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there."

"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," he added.

The administration urged "state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance" from the Department of Homeland Security.

The blockbuster allegation is expected to further erode the already-hostile relations between Russia and the U.S.....

Toxic relations: US accuses Russia of war crimes in Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of committing ‘war crimes’ in Syria. The explosive statement comes on the heels of news that Russia is backing a United Nations envoy’s idea of escorting Al-Nusra terrorists out of Aleppo rather than bombing them. RT America’s Alexey Yaroshevsky has the report.

US government officially blames Russia for political hacks

In a joint statement by the Office of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, the US government officially accused Russia for the WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 hacks. The statement gave no specific evidence or reason behind the hacks, but said US officials were “confident” Russia was involved due to the methods used by the hackers. RT correspondent Caleb Maupin has the report.

Despite Russia Warning, US Considers Hitting Assad

Russian DM: US Should Think of Consequences Before Attacking Syrian Army

6 October, 2016

Officials with the US State Department have repeatedly talked of “non-diplomatic options” recently in Syria. Though they’re trying to be coy, what they’re really talking about is overt military action against the Syrian government, attacks which would threaten Russian forces embedded with them, and likely drag Russia into a shooting war with the US.

Russia’s Defense Ministry was quick to urge caution today, noting that they’d recently deployed air defense systems into Syria specifically to counter the threat of US attack, and that the US should “carefully” consider the potential consequences of launching such strikes.

The State Department acknowledged they were aware of the Russian warning, but insisted that internal discussion within the US government continues on the “non-diplomatic” options, which is to say, starting a war with Russia. Spokesman John Kirby added there would be no discussion with Russia over the matter.

Kirby added that the US was not “giving up” on Aleppo, and was continuing to discuss options to prevent the Syrian government from capturing the remainder of the city, which is held by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. This appears to be fueling much of the rhetoric on Russia.