Press TV Iran- Russian, Syrian, Iranian Defense Ministers’ Joint Summit
The defense ministers are to exchange viewpoints on the latest regional developments and ways to strengthen and extend the fight against terrorism during the trilateral meeting, the IRNA news agency reported.
Al Jazeera- Russians prepare new Ground Operations in Syria
“Russia has little choice. It can’t allow itself to lose Aleppo. This would deprive it of a trump card. This would enable the other side to regain the initiative and [force Russia] to accept conditions not favourable for Assad,” Sergey Strokan, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera.
There are Russian voices within the government and military pushing for the ground operation.
Russia’s intervention in Syria has been costly – billions of dollars have already been spent, and the country is suffering from an economic crisis.
The Kremlin never wanted a permanent war, and it can’t just pull out of a conflict that has brought it back into the international arena.
That is why some analysts suggest a “Stalingrad” in Syria is what the Syrian government and its allies need – a final battle to decisively end the war. And that would require ground troops.
New York Times- Russians Using Syria as Proving Ground
In a report this month for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Gustav Gressel argued that Mr. Putin had overseen the most rapid transformation of the country’s armed forces since the 1930s. “Russia is now a military power that could overwhelm any of its neighbors, if they were isolated from Western support,” wrote Mr. Gressel, a former officer of the Austrian military.
A couple of things you need to know up front- the same clowns who’ve been lying to you this entire time instigated the war in Syria. Second, two of the projected belligerents sought strengthened relations with the US in the mid 2000s.
MLCOA: Airstrikes will resume in Syria soon, with Hezbollah’s coordination on the ground and guidance from Alfa Group. I also expect a larger presence of conventional troops to hold Aleppo once taken by Assad’s forces. Expect oil prices to rise(the Saudi surplus is beginning to dwindle), coupled with an uptick in violence in Europe as more Sunni “refugees” flood in with a populace finally waking up to what’s happening to them.
MDCOA: Chechnya erupts into violence once more, leading to violence inside Russia. Pockets of Chechen dissidents have been fighting alongside Right Sektor in Ukraine as well as ISIS, getting experience. Meanwhile, Muslims have a different objective- bringing Europe under a Caliphate.
On another note…I wonder how many of those domestic insurgency programs the Soviets had a hand in on our shores are still in operation?