Lavrov: Unclear what exactly US is doing in Syria & why results so insignificant
The
Russian Foreign Ministry has questioned the effectiveness of the US-led
year-long air campaign in Syria, saying it’s unclear “why the results
of so many combat sorties are so insignificant.” Failing to curb ISIS,
the US has now “adjusted” its program.
“We
have very few specifics which could explain what the US is exactly
doing in Syria and why the results of so many combat sorties are so
insignificant,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian channel NTV. “With,
as far as I know, 25,000 sorties they [US-led air campaign] could have
smashed the entire [country of] Syria into smithereens,” the minister noted.
Moscow claims #ISIS lost most of its ammunition & heavy vehicles in Russian airstrikes http://on.rt.com/6tsh
Syrian army advances under Russian air cover, sparks fiercest clashes ever
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‘We forgot what peace is’: Everyday life in war-torn Damascus revealed in touching photo report
Syria’s
capital Damascus has been blighted by the same civil war which has
gripped the whole country for more than four years. Residents say that
they don’t remember what peace is. Many hope that Russia’s military
operation will finally stop the violence.
Damascus residents told Russian journalists Nigina Beroeva and Ksenia Bolshakova, who report for the Varlamov.ru blog, that people in the capital welcomed the start of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation, launched on September 30, with enthusiasm.
“In Damascus [people] remember this day. Locals say all people were watching TV, following the news, rejoicing. During peaceful times maybe only football was watched with such interest,” the reporters wrote.
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Yahoo News
US draws a line on protecting CIA-backed rebels in Syria
By KEN DILANIAN October 13, 2015 4:17 PM
FILE
- In this June 17, 2015 file photo, smoke and explosions from fighting
between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels in the
Quneitra area of Syria are seen from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Russian military intervention to prop up the Syrian government has
put new scrutiny on the CIA’s secret support to Syrian rebels fighting
Bashar Assad, raising questions about how far the U.S. is willing to go
in empowering its proxies to take on Vladimir Putin’s allies. (AP
Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The Russian military intervention to prop up Syria's government
has brought new scrutiny of the CIA's secret support to Syrian rebels
fighting President Bashar Assad. But how far is the U.S. willing to go
to empower its proxies to take on Vladimir Putin's allies?
The answer seems to be: Not very far.
"Countering
Russia's involvement in Syria doesn't rate nearly as high on the scale"
as battling the Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate across
parts of Syria and Iraq, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told
reporters Tuesday.
After the
CIA spent more than two years secretly working with Arab allies to arm,
train and fund thousands of so-called moderate rebels to oppose Assad,
American officials have watched in recent days as Russian bombs and
missiles have targeted those groups.
U.S.
officials and outside experts say the Obama administration is unlikely
to protect CIA-backed rebels from Russian air strikes — by providing
them with surface-to-air missiles, for example — for fear they could
fall into the wrong hands and be used against passenger jets in a
terrorist attack. There is also little appetite in the White House for a
U.S.-enforced no-fly zone in Syria, officials say.
Instead,
the U.S. has been continuing its delivery to rebels of American-made
TOW anti-tank missiles. Rebels have deployed the missiles to great
effect over the last six months, and even more so in the last week,
destroying dozens of Russian-made Syrian armored vehicles.
Read More Here
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Washington
(AFP) - Two weeks into Russia's air war in Syria, some observers say
the narrow scope of the US-led mission in Syria -- to conduct drone and
plane strikes against Islamic State jihadists -- needs an urgent
rethink.
The Pentagon
insists Moscow's bombing campaign in support of President Bashar
al-Assad will not alter the US-coalition's own military mission in the
devastated nation.
But the
stubborn fact remains: Russia's presence has forced the US military to
adapt to a suddenly much more complex battle space.
Patrick Skinner, director of special projects for The Soufan Group intelligence consultancy, said it is a game-changer.
"Things are coming into focus and people are choosing sides in a way that they haven't had to before," he said.
President
Barack Obama has until now adopted a cautious line on Syria, bombing IS
jihadists and calling for Assad's departure but taking no official part
in the country's four-and-a-half-year civil war.
Read More Here
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Militant Islamist fighters hold the flag of Islamic State (IS) while taking part in a military parade …
"Islamic
youth everywhere, ignite jihad against the Russians and the Americans
in their crusaders' war against Muslims," the speech by Islamic State
spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said.
The United States and Russia are carrying separate airstrike campaigns in Syria, which they say are targeting Islamic State.
Washington
says Moscow's campaign has mainly targeted other insurgent groups
including those that have fought Islamic State, a charge Russia denies.
The
United States is also carrying out airstrikes in Iraq, where Russia has
also become separately involved. A senior Iraqi parliamentarian said on
Tuesday that Russian officials were part of a new Iraq-based
intelligence center with staff from Iran and Syria.
The
audio message also confirmed the death of Abu Mutaz Qurashi, which the
SITE monitoring service said was a reference to a senior Islamic State
official killed in an airstrike in Iraq in August and referred to then
as Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali.
The
White House said at the time that a U.S. air strike in Iraq had killed
Hayali, whom it described as the second-in-command of the group which
has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.
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