Well, so far Russia's just been trolling Turkish planes. I guess they feel a bit safer about that than, say, painting their radar on American planes.
Will things get hot in Syria?
- Thread starter Gingerbread Demon
- Start date
Last time a Syrian jet violated Turkish airspace, it was shot down. So if it's a game Russia is playing, it certainly is a dangerous one.
So has this really got to do with a gas pipeline through Syria that the USA wants access too?
What happens if America doesn't get its way?
What happens if America doesn't get its way?
I think it's more to do with that naval supply base that Russia has in Syria. It's leased to Russians by Syrian government and there's no guarantee that rebels will honor that agreement if they manage to topple al-Assad. It's also the only naval facility they have in the Mediterranean and they were in progress of expanding it when the whole mess in Syria began.
Oh ok. I read on another forum that there was a gas pipeline that might be part of the reason everyone is in Syria...
This is the current situation in Syria. I did not expect ISIS to be holding so much of Syria.
Unfortunately, this map can cause a person to exaggerate the extent of ISIS' holdings, as most of their territory is open, uninhabited desert/wilderness.
I'd like to see anyone try to take a russian military base. If they feel generous (or the public eye is watching) they might issue a warning, usually it's fire first and maybe ask questions later.
You have to admire Putin though sometimes.. he has a plan and a strategic goal and he's pursuing it without caring for anybody. Everybody knows what he's up to yet he doesn't care and proceeds until everything is set in stone and near immovable and only then will he want to enter diplomatic talks at which point he can argue from a strong position because no one can command him when he controls all strategic assets much less throw him out via military means.
The world often gets up in arms when the US plays world police but i'd rather prefer the US play hard ball and create facts than the Russians, at least the US pretend to care about moral issues.
I assume people are using this as their source for the pipeline theory.
As far as why the US is involved, it doesn't hold up. We'd be putting a lot more effort into it if we really cared that much about a pipeline.
Intervention in Syria is deeply unpopular in Russia, so it's unclear what's in it for Putin--this is not a political winner for him. Does it possibly have to do with the pipeline? Are there interests who want to see it under Russian (or Russian client state) control? I guess that's possible, but wars are costly and almost never worth whatever material gains they may be fought for. Russia's level of commitment is pretty low so far, which could be read as acknowledgment of the action's unpopularity in Russia, or a cost/benefit proposition--it's worth $x to prop up Assad, with the pipeline taken into account, but at $x+1 it costs too much to make sense.
There's been rumbling of Russian "volunteers" intervening in Syria as they've done in Ukraine. Calling them "volunteers" is a misnomer, though, as they actually get paid by the Russian government. That means supporting such "volunteers" would not be free and have to factor into a cost/benefit approach.
Even so, we can't be sure Putin is using either a public approval approach or a cost/benefit approach. He may be operating on completely different assumptions and priorities--we just don't know. It's not like he openly tells us what's motivating his actions, and the state apparatus in Russia isn't powerful enough to countermand him.
Or another option
Maybe Putin really does want to head off ISIS and get rid of them for his buddy Assad. But to do that gotta get the rebels first.
Maybe Putin really does want to head off ISIS and get rid of them for his buddy Assad. But to do that gotta get the rebels first.
Assad seems to have launched a ground offensive.
From Caspian Sea no less. I guess they have permissions from the governments of Iran and Iraq to use their airspace for a missile attack. We would have heard some outrage from them already, if that wasn't the case. Turkish airspace is off limits for obvious reasons.
How do you accidentally bomb a hospital being run by a charity group?
I don't think anyone is calling it accidental.
The US said it was an accident and Obama has said sorry for bombing the hospital.
Well, that's certainly risible. Offering apologies is not the same as it being an accident, though. I assume the White House calling it an "accident" is nothing but political ass-covering.
The same way the US "accidentally" bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Well, I think nobody who doesn't like Assad will want to live in Syria. Rebellion is untenable with those damned Russians and Chinese. The resistance groups had a good run, and fought the good fight, but if I were them, I'd just run out of the country, and join the refugees. It's not like the U.S. or NATO has done much of anything to give them cover from the aforementioned Russians and Chinese.
It's not like Star Wars, where they have their own jets and tanks. They just don't stand a chance.
Then again, does anyone think there are any resistance cells that are still alive that are moderate enough to make the decision to call it quits, and run away?
It's not like Star Wars, where they have their own jets and tanks. They just don't stand a chance.
Then again, does anyone think there are any resistance cells that are still alive that are moderate enough to make the decision to call it quits, and run away?
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