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FM
Former Member

Russian build-up in Syria part of secret deal with Iran’s Quds Force leader

 

As the Pentagon warily eyes a Russian military build-up in Syria, Western intelligence sources tell Fox News that the escalated Russian presence began just days after a secret Moscow meeting in late July between Iran's Quds Force commander -- their chief exporter of terror -- and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Fox News has learned Quds head Qassem Soleimani and Putin discussed such a joint military plan for Syria at that meeting, an encounter first reported by Fox News in early August

"The Russians are no longer advising, but co-leading the war in Syria," one intelligence official said. 

The Quds Force is the international arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, involved in exporting terrorism to Iran's proxies throughout the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. 

Intelligence sources told Fox News that -- in addition to the previously reported arrival of nearly 50 Russian marines, 100 housing units and armored vehicles delivered by a stream of massive Antonov-124 Condor military transport aircraft and two Russian landing ships in Syria -- the Russians have delivered aviation, intelligence and communications facilities to deploy a powerful offensive force. 

Officials who have monitored the build-up say they've seen more than 1,000 Russian combatants -- some of them from the same plainclothes Special Forces units who were sent to Crimea and Ukraine. Some of these Russian troops are logistical specialists and needed for security at the expanding Russian bases. 

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  • Russian transport planes seen flying into Syria

"Imagine how the Americans came to Iraq and Afghanistan. It's the same kind of build-up. They bring everything, they build everything they need," the intelligence official said. 

The shadowy Iranian commander Soleimani visited Moscow from July 24-26 -- just 10 days after the nuclear deal was announced, despite a travel ban and U.N. Security Council resolutions barring him from leaving Iran. He met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin to discuss arms deals. But Fox News has since learned that the Russian and Iranian leaders were also discussing a new joint military plan to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad, a plan that is now playing out with the insertion of Russian forces in Syria. 

There are indications that Soleimani is not only involved in the Russian build-up in Syria, but may be leading the operation, though he has not been seen in Syria recently. 

The Russians want to protect their interests in Syria. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the Russians had $4 billion in outstanding arms contracts with the Syrian government. The Russian Navy has maintained a base in Syria since the 1970s. This week, an image also surfaced purporting to show Nusra Front fighters standing by a Russian-supplied aircraft at a captured Syrian air base. 

U.S. defense sources tell Fox News that most of Russia's heavy military equipment has arrived by sea onboard Russian amphibious transport ships. Those ships began arriving in the Syrian port of Tartous in recent days. U.S. officials have confirmed a total of eight military cargo planes from Russia landed in the past few days outside Latakia, a port city on the Mediterranean, becoming an almost daily occurrence. 

Onboard those vessels: Russian armored vehicles, tanks, helicopters, unmanned drones that can be armed and used for intelligence gathering. Western intelligence sources also confirm that the Russians have sent a mobile air traffic control system, communication/listening units, and pre-built housing units. 

Fox News has learned that the Russian units include members of the Airborne Rifle brigade, the equivalent of U.S. Army Rangers. 

The reason that the Iranians are increasingly concerned about Assad's future is that they do not want a situation in which the Islamic State makes its way to Lebanon unchallenged, posing a threat to Iran's proxy Hezbollah, according Western sources. This makes the Iranians natural allies of the Russians. 

Iran, these sources say, wants Syria to serve as its buffer zone between ISIS and Hezbollah. 

Few think Russia's military build-up denotes an intent by Russia to join the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. Despite downplaying the reports last week, the State Department and Pentagon are now so concerned by Russia's presence that Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart twice this week to express his misgivings about the escalating conflict.

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It is no surprise that Russia has taken the actions it did with respect to sending in military advisers - and even Ukraine-style unmarked military - as well as logisitcal and intelligence support for Assad. There are two reasons for this:

  1. Russia's naval base - as decrepit as it is - in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.
  2. Russia's struggles with Islamists on its own fringes.

 

Obama has made it clear that Syria must be solved by (a) a political solution, and (b) by regional Arab governments' involvement.

 

Obama is not pondering, prevaricating or being a wuss. H is smart because baseman may not have considered the aftermath of military invasion and occupation. Obama knows also that Syria, with its large urban structures, is not like places such as Afghanistan and Somalia. Obama knows that Israel can handle any IS takeover, but of course we know Russia would not allow it. Remember Assad is from the minority Alawite (closely aligned with Shiites and thus Iran) while the Sunni majority is split between the rag-tag militias and IS (who both fight each other as well as Assad)

 

Thus Obama has smartly gotten the Russians to do its policing work to keep IS at bay. As long as there is the civil war going on IS will thrive.

 

Obama will only act militarily when genocide or chemical weapons are involved. Assad was not punished after his Saran gas attack on his own people and I think Obama could have been more forceful. However he would have had to get UN approval quickly. His red line act was to get Assad to stop gas attack and the next one makes him history - Russia or no Russia.

 

Kari
Originally Posted by Kari:

It is no surprise that Russia has taken the actions it did with respect to sending in military advisers - and even Ukraine-style unmarked military - as well as logisitcal and intelligence support for Assad. There are two reasons for this:

  1. Russia's naval base - as decrepit as it is - in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.
  2. Russia's struggles with Islamists on its own fringes.

 

Obama has made it clear that Syria must be solved by (a) a political solution, and (b) by regional Arab governments' involvement.

 

Obama is not pondering, prevaricating or being a wuss. H is smart because baseman may not have considered the aftermath of military invasion and occupation. Obama knows also that Syria, with its large urban structures, is not like places such as Afghanistan and Somalia. Obama knows that Israel can handle any IS takeover, but of course we know Russia would not allow it. Remember Assad is from the minority Alawite (closely aligned with Shiites and thus Iran) while the Sunni majority is split between the rag-tag militias and IS (who both fight each other as well as Assad)

 

Thus Obama has smartly gotten the Russians to do its policing work to keep IS at bay. As long as there is the civil war going on IS will thrive.

 

Obama will only act militarily when genocide or chemical weapons are involved. Assad was not punished after his Saran gas attack on his own people and I think Obama could have been more forceful. However he would have had to get UN approval quickly. His red line act was to get Assad to stop gas attack and the next one makes him history - Russia or no Russia.

 

Obama will not act under any circumstance, he has no courage.  Chemical weapons were used by ISIS, what did he do?  He tries to weave a complex thread hitting the enemy, the enemy of our enemy and the enemy of our friends and in the end spent $40 mil to train an army of 54 men to fight ISIS, Al Nusra and Assad, an army which disappeared without a trace.  I mean, that banna Putin must be laughing till he belly buss.  Obama has made the US into a joke.

 

The consequences of this Russian move are far reaching.  Germany (Merkel) already said the EU need to cooperate with Russia on Syria, hint, hint, Ukraine issue is done, Russia won.  The Russians, Assad and the Quds will defeat ISIL and push them back into Saudi, Turkey, Egypt, etc and they will have to deal with them.  The influence of Russia is on the ascend and their influence will stretch right into our own backyard.  The Russians will take advantage of the US lame-duck period to gain strategic footholds which will be difficult to reverse.

 

However, all is not lost, when President Trump take over, he already hinted he will work with Putin in the interest of the US.  Trump is brash but actually very pragmatic with leaders like Putin.

FM
Originally Posted by baseman:
The consequences of this Russian move are far reaching.  Germany (Merkel) already said the EU need to cooperate with Russia on Syria, hint, hint, Ukraine issue is done, Russia won.  The Russians, Assad and the Quds will defeat ISIL and push them back into Saudi, Turkey, Egypt, etc and they will have to deal with them.  The influence of Russia is on the ascend and their influence will stretch right into our own backyard.  The Russians will take advantage of the US lame-duck period to gain strategic footholds which will be difficult to reverse.

 

However, all is not lost, when President Trump take over, he already hinted he will work with Putin in the interest of the US.  Trump is brash but actually very pragmatic with leaders like Putin.

incoherent, clueless with all the pomposity of just-off-the-boat foreign policy 'knowledge'

 

lol lol

FM
Originally Posted by baseman:
However, all is not lost, when President Trump take over, he already hinted he will work with Putin in the interest of the US.  Trump is brash but actually very pragmatic with leaders like Putin.

Trump will always be president of his companies, but not the President of the US_of_A.

 

While he is currently leading, eventually another person will become the republican presidential candidate.

FM
Originally Posted by redux:
Originally Posted by baseman:
The consequences of this Russian move are far reaching.  Germany (Merkel) already said the EU need to cooperate with Russia on Syria, hint, hint, Ukraine issue is done, Russia won.  The Russians, Assad and the Quds will defeat ISIL and push them back into Saudi, Turkey, Egypt, etc and they will have to deal with them.  The influence of Russia is on the ascend and their influence will stretch right into our own backyard.  The Russians will take advantage of the US lame-duck period to gain strategic footholds which will be difficult to reverse.

 

However, all is not lost, when President Trump take over, he already hinted he will work with Putin in the interest of the US.  Trump is brash but actually very pragmatic with leaders like Putin.

incoherent, clueless with all the pomposity of just-off-the-boat foreign policy 'knowledge'

 

lol lol

Well, Redux woke up!

FM
Originally Posted by Kari:

Trump, as a CEO and owner, can do things by fiat - do this because I say so, or else! A US President on the other hand has to deal with Congress, States, The Supreme Court, International laws, the Geneva Convention, Allies, etc.

A good CEO don't have to be experts in every facet of everything.  The "knowledgeable" Obama seem frozen, paralysis by analysis, cannot keep his own house in order.  He seem to be always in catch-up mode and then put a good spin.  He seem very hemmed in on just about everything!

FM
Originally Posted by Demerara_Guy:
Originally Posted by baseman:
However, all is not lost, when President Trump take over, he already hinted he will work with Putin in the interest of the US.  Trump is brash but actually very pragmatic with leaders like Putin.

Trump will always be president of his companies, but not the President of the US_of_A.

 

While he is currently leading, eventually another person will become the republican presidential candidate.

Demerrara Guy shut up!

Who give you permission to speak?

Chief
baseman, you are yet to show how the US President is playing catch up. Please admit that you heard this phrase repeatedly on Fox News and are merely regurgitating it for our pleasure.

With the recent victory on the Iran nuclear deal and all his legislative accomplishments in the face of relentless GOP opposition
, especially Health Care, how can you say he can't keep his house in order?
Kari

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