Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts + Iran troops to join

[MikeWB]

Things are really heating up now! Russians seem to know what they're after and US is in a complete disarray. Kerry & Оbаmа still don't know what they want.



Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military... as his jets launch new wave of air strikes in Syria

    * Russia launches second day of bombing runs on rebel groups in Syria
    * Putin's Chechen ally calls on Moscow to deploy Muslim troops against ISIS
    * Kremlin accused of targeting moderate rebels backed by U.S and not ISIS
    * Moscow foreign minister Lavrov rejected the 'rumours' as 'unfounded'
    * Hundreds of Iranian and Hezbollah troops 'set to launch ground offensive' 

By Will Stewart and Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: 07:23 GMT, 1 October 2015 | Updated: 14:56 GMT, 1 October 2015

Vladimir Putin has signed a decree drafting nearly 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military as Moscow's warplanes unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria.

The timing of the move – on the very day Russia entered the conflict yesterday – will likely raise suspicions the Russian President is planning a wider offensive to prop up his Syrian counterpart.

It also comes after one of Putin's staunchest allies called on him to send in Muslim ground troops to defeat the Islamic State and other Islamist extremist groups in the war-torn country.

Rest: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3255876/Russia-pouring-gasoline-fire-Syria-s-civil-war-says-America-Putin-defies-West-drops-bombs-non-ISIS-forces-fighting-Assad.html



BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government, sources said on Thursday, a further sign of the rapid internationalization of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake.

Russian warplanes bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War.

The U.S. and Russian militaries will hold talks at 11 a.m. EDT via video link to seek ways to keep their militaries apart as they wage parallel campaigns of air strikes in Syria, a U.S. defense official said.

Russian jets struck targets near the cities of Hama and Homs in western Syria on the second day of their surprise air campaign, which they launched on Wednesday.

Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions, but the area where it struck is held by a rival insurgent alliance, which unlike Islamic State is supported by U.S. allies including Arab states and Turkey.

Hassan Haj Ali, head of the Liwa Suqour al-Jabal rebel group, told Reuters one of the targets was his group's base in Idlib province, struck by around 20 missiles in two separate sorties. His fighters had been trained by the CIA in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, part of a program Washington says is aimed at supporting groups that oppose both Islamic State and Assad.

"Russia is challenging everyone and saying there is no alternative to Bashar," Haj Ali said. He said the Russian jets had been identified by members of his group who once served as Syrian air force pilots.

Two Lebanese sources told Reuters hundreds of Iranian troops had reached Syria in the past 10 days with weapons to mount a major ground offensive. They would also be backed by Assad's Lebanese Hezbollah allies and by Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq, while the Russians would provide air support.

"The vanguard of Iranian ground forces began arriving in Syria: soldiers and officers specifically to participate in this battle. They are not advisers ... we mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more," one of the sources said.

SAME ENEMIES, DIFFERENT FRIENDS

Russia's sudden decision to join the war with air strikes on behalf of Assad, as well as the increased military involvement of Iran, could mark a pivotal turning point in a conflict that has drawn in most of the world's military powers.

With the United States leading an alliance waging an air war against Islamic State fighters, the Cold War superpower foes Washington and Moscow are now engaged in combat over the same country for the first time since World War Two.

They say they have the same enemies - the Islamic State group of Sunni Muslim militants who have proclaimed a caliphate across eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

But they also have very different friends, and sharply opposing views of how to resolve the 4-year-old Syrian civil war, which has killed more than 250,000 people and driven more than 10 million from their homes.

Washington and its allies oppose both Islamic State and Assad, believing he must leave power in any peace settlement.

Washington says a central part of its strategy is building "moderate" insurgents to fight against both Assad and Islamic State, although so far it has struggled to find many fighters to accept its training.

Moscow supports the Syrian president and believes his government should be the centerpiece of international efforts to fight extremist groups.

It appears to be using the common campaign against Islamic State as a pretext to strike against groups supported by Washington and its allies, as a way of defending a Damascus government with which Moscow has been allied since the Cold War.

The Russian strikes represent a bold move by President Vladimir Putin to assert influence beyond his own neighborhood: it is the first time Moscow has ordered its forces into combat outside the frontiers of the former Soviet Union since its disastrous Afghanistan campaign in the 1980s.

GAME CHANGER

In the second day of strikes, Russia said it launched eight sorties with Sukhoi warplanes overnight, hitting four Islamic State targets. However, none of the areas where it said the strikes took place is held by Islamic State.

Al-Mayadeen, a pro-Damascus television channel based in Lebanon, said the jets carried out at least 30 strikes against an insurgent alliance known as the Army of Conquest. The alliance includes the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's Syrian branch, but not Islamic State.

The Russian and Iranian intervention in support of Assad comes at a time when momentum in the conflict had swung against his government and seem aimed at reversing insurgent gains.

"The Russian strikes are a game changer. Damascus is off the hook," a diplomat tracking Syria said.

The Army of Conquest in particular has been advancing against government forces in northwestern Syria, supported by regional countries that oppose both Assad and Islamic State.

Russia says its air strikes, unlike Washington's, are legitimate because they have Assad's blessing, and more effective because they can coordinate with government forces to find targets.

Russia's defense ministry said Sukhoi-24M and Sukhoi-25 aircraft had hit an ammunition depot near Idlib, a three-storey Islamic State command center near Hama and a car bomb factory in the north of Homs.

The Lebanese news channel said the Russian planes bombed rural areas near the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour, which is held by the Army of Conquest. The strikes also hit other areas in Idlib province, including the Zawiya Mountain region, as well as areas in Hama province to the south.

The anti-Assad Orient News channel also said Russian strikes had hit rebel positions in the Hama countryside.

Insurgent-held Idlib province is of particular strategic importance to the Syrian government because it is close to Assad's heartland on the Mediterranean coast, where Russia also has its only Mediterranean naval base.

A Syrian military source said on Thursday that Russian military support would bring a "big change" in the course of the conflict, particularly through advanced surveillance capabilities that could pinpoint insurgent targets.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall and Tom Perry in Beirut, Andrew Osborn and Lidia Kelly in Moscow; Writing by Sylvia Westall and Peter Graff; Editing by Giles Elgood)

[rmstock]

Syria, the new satellite nation of the Russian Federation, with good naval
and harbor opportunities within the Mediterranean Sea.

[MikeWB]

Syria, the new satellite nation of the Russian Federation, with good naval
and harbor opportunities within the Mediterranean Sea.

Yeah, it sure seems that way. I don't think they had any options however... either be overrun by US/KSA proxies or let Russians help & cement their control. They've been trying for 4 years to remove tеrrоrіѕtѕ but it was a losing proposition since KSA, Oman, Kuwait & Turkey are funding tеrrоrіѕm.

[Michael K.]

Why didn't the Russians start to help Syria years ago instead of letting it become a refugee crisis first?  The weapons orders they are delivering to Assad were dated 2011, according to Russian sources.  They could have put small, symbolic  Russian military posts in the cities so that any rebel force overrunning it would have been messing with Moscow.

If you think about it, ISIS is good for the Kremlin either alive or dead at this point, which brings me to the topic of how now Moscow can take up the torch of the eternal "War of on Terror", with the inexorable ISIS as the eternal bogeyman and pretext for state terror and military pulverization.  Works out great for Israel, who is a major proponent of the pragmatic approach to defeating "terrorists", which most broadly construed means any stateless or militarily irregular resistor.

[MikeWB]

Here's current Russian strategy...

There are four major factions on the ground in the Syrian war: SAA, Nusra/Islamic Front, ISIL and Kurds. In addition, each of those sustains multiple fronts: SAA against Nusra and ISIL; Nusra against ISIL and Assad; Kurds against ISIL, Islamic Front and Turkish army; ISIL wages war on everyone but right now they mostly fight Islamic Front in Hasakah and Kurds in Idlib.

Current configuration defines main paradox of this war: ISIL is much less of a threat for Assad than the Islamic Front. It also affects the distribution of government forces: most of them (about 45k) are concentrated against the Islamic Front in the north and center of the country, about 15k - in Daraya in the south, and about 10-15k - against ISIL. The rest of Syrian army is stretched all over the country or serves in the internal rears.

Hezbollah and the Iranians also have presence in Syria, but they mostly operate on the border with Lebanon, actually performing military police duties and conducting operations against militant groups locked in a mountainous area, together with parts of the Syrian army. The main striking force of the Assad - the Republican Guard - is involved in the defense of Damascus or stationed in key strongholds, being the backbone of the whole army. The total number of the SAA is estimated at 120-140k + 40k irregular militias + about 40-50k mobilization potential, which could be drafted in critical situation.

Which is why Assad and the Russians have to defeat Nusra and Islamic Front before going after ISIL. Eliminating rebel groups in Idlib alone would release 20-25k government forces needed to start offensive on Palmyra and rescue besieged troops in Deir Ez Zor. After that, SAA and Kurds would be able to cut off ISIL from the Iraqi border and push to Raqqah.

[yankeedoodle]

Why didn't the Russians start to help Syria years ago instead of letting it become a refugee crisis first?

Didn't you happen to notice that Vlad made his move after the Iran deal was concluded?

Remember reading a lot of speculation that, after the Iran deal was concluded, somehow Iran's support for Hezbollah would diminish/disappear, and that that would make Syria vulnerable.

Vlad waited for the Iran deal to be concluded before coming to Syria's rescue.

[Michael K.]

You will check for politically correct, comerade WB.
We watch you.

New Military Conscription Unrelated to Russian Operation in Syria

The decree regarding an autumn conscription campaign for military service, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier, is not related to Russian military involvement in Syria, Dmitry Peskov said.

On Wednesday, Putin signed a decree drafting more than 147,100 men to serve in the Russian military.

"This... is a regular document which the president signs twice a year. It is not related to Syria in any way, of course, this situation does not concern the draftees in any way," Peskov said.


Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151001/1027834384/russia-syria-peksov-terrorism.html#ixzz3nMzSxS5Z

http://tass.ru/en/russia/691595

Putin signs decree to draft over 150,000 into army in next 3 mnth

Russia  March 30, 2013, 14:19  UTC+3

According to the decree, 153,200 citizens aged from 18 to 27 are planned to be drafted into the army during the period from April 1 to July 15

MOSCOW, March 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to draft Russian citizens for military service and discharge those whose service term ends.
According to the decree, 153,200 citizens aged from 18 to 27 are planned to be drafted into the army during the period from April 1 to July 15, this year.

http://uatoday.tv/news/meduza-putin-drafts-another-150-000-men-into-the-army-417604.html

NEWS18:14 MAR. 25, 2015

Meduza: Putin drafts another 150,000 men into Russian army

Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order on spring conscription into the Russian Army, drafting roughly 150,000 men between April 1 and July 15. The order also releases military personnel whose terms of service have expired.

On March 24, a Duma committee endorsed legislation that would place foreign travel restrictions on men who evade the draft, possibly prohibiting them from going abroad for as many as five years. The law would also ban draft dodgers from working in the civil service and any municipal offices for a period of five years.

[MikeWB]

You will check for politically correct, comerade WB.
We watch you.

Who's we, Shlomo? Your jеwiѕh neocon friends?