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Mirror: Putin has sent the feared Spetsnaz special forces into Syria to bail out Assad.
The move is a blow to Britain and America’s mission to wipe out Islamic State but maintain an opposition to brutal dictator Assad
Russia has sent its crack special troops into Syria to back up President Bashar al-Assad’s bid to wipe out his opposition.
Vladimir Putin’s feared Spetsnaz unit and a covert para battalion ghosted into the war-torn country and are preparing for an all-out assault on rebels fighting the regime – including moderate units such as the western-backed Free Syrian Army.
A military source said last night: “Putin’s marines are there to guard the airbases they are using against sabotage by rebels. But Spetsnaz and air-assault troops are not there to provide security to static objects, they are extremely aggressive and highly trained.
“They are there to mop up after air strikes, call in air strikes, go on extremely covert missions against rebels and ultimately wipe them out.
WNU Editor: This is a step up from earlier reports that regular Russian soldiers may enter the fight in Syria .... Russian Soldiers to Join Fight in Syria (NYT) ... and this deployment makes far more sense than some other reports stating that 150,000 Russian soldiers may be sent to Syria .... Report: Russia Planning To Send 150,000 Soldiers To Syria. There are also some other reports that Russian "mercenaries" may be sent in .... Russia may pay 'volunteers' $50 per day to fight in Syria against ISIS (CSM) .... but I am skeptical.
Update: A reliable contact that I know in Moscow has just told me that Russia's Zaslon Special Forces have been operating in Syria for the past few weeks. For those who may not know .... Russia's Zaslon Special Forces is the country;s top soldiers .... Russia's 'Zaslon' Military Operators Are So Shadowy They Make Ninjas Look Like Amateurs (Business Insider/Moscow Shadows).
6 comments:
WNU Editor,
The MSM has gone full metal jacket on the Russian moves,
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/02/a-useful-prep-sheet-on-syria-for-media-propagandists/
Thank you for the link Jay. My head is just swimming hearing all of these spokesmen and women in Washington lecturing to everyone that Russia's move into Syria will be a disaster .... while conveniently ignoring the utter mess and disaster that they have caused in the past few years.
WNU Editor,
The Build up to the Iraq War pretty much exposed how much the MSM is in the bag and just disseminates propaganda and lies.
Sure, there were Mia culpa's and only Judith Miller got fired,
But they were back to their old tricks days later.
That's why I like the blogs and the Internet,
And how I found War News Updates.
WNU,
You might want to cue up some more whale videos, you may need them. Zaslon, well now, things are becoming much clearer (especially with the passing comment I saw on one of your recent posts). I know some Irani regulars are in country. With them and Quds cadre providing leadership for Hezbollah, it looks like the Russians are going to try to play anvil to the Irani's hammer.
The Russians and Israel apparently have come to an agreement of sorts putting the Israeli's on the sidelines. This leaves Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and maybe Eygpt now completely isolated. The Turks are putting up a show of bluster, but I don't see it lasting long. I would watch Saudi and UAE moves, military and economic (especially petrol related), very closely. Egypt is a special case (to Israel) so I don't see Israel agreeing to much of anything there, nor would Russia need it. To influence the canal (the only thing of real interest to Russia right now) you need not own it.
I would expect more Chinese naval activity off the approaches to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea entrances. Anti Piracy work of course, cough, cough.
I think I can see what Putin's up to. The potential payoff for him is huge and it is his to win or lose. The US administration is now irrelevant (I don't think they even realize it) reduced to being school marmish from the sidelines with occasional too little too late help to various moderates.
One thing is certain to pull this off Putin needs victories and victories fairly quickly.
The Black Tulip will fly again, they forgot about their experience in Afganistan.
Very good! The presence of Russian is necessary to stabilize Syria and minimize the humanitarian chaos.
Funny, people remember the Russian campaign in Afghanistan, but forget the disaster of the American campaign there and in Iraq.
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