Russian parliament grants Vladimir Putin right to deploy military in Syria

[zenitzz]

Kremlin says vote refers to use of air force and does not mean Russian ground forces will be involved in conflict

Vladimir Putin has received permission from parliament for Russian forces to take place in bombing raids in Syria, two days after the Russian leader spoke to the UN and called for an international coalition against terrorism to fight Islamic State.

The federation council, Russia’s upper house of parliament, held a swift, closed session on Wednesday morning in which it unanimously approved Putin’s request.

Putin said in New York that Russia would not carry out ground operations in Syria, and his chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov, emphasised this again on Wednesday, saying the request to the federation council referred exclusively to airstrikes. He did not give any figures of the number of planes likely to be involved or the number of Russian military specialists on the ground inside Syria to back up the operation.

Fox News reported on Wednesday that Russian officials have sent an official demand for US planes to exit Syrian airspace immediately, as a number of Russian officials described western airstrikes in the region as illegal.

“You all know well that in the territory of Syria and Iraq … a number of countries are carrying out bombing strikes, including the United States,” said Ivanov. “These actions do not conform with international law. To be legal they should be supported either by a resolution of the UN security council, or be backed by a request from the country where the raids are taking place.”

Ivanov said the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, had asked Russia for military assistance, making Russia’s actions legitimate

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/30/russian-parliament-grants-vladimir-putin-right-to-deploy-military-in-syria

[apollofire]

Dont think War or Military Deployment is the solution for the on-going crises. UN should play active role to end the crises. Thanks

[Daniel91]

Dont think War or Military Deployment is the solution for the on-going crises. UN should play active role to end the crises. Thanks

I agree with you but it seems that UN  is unable to carry out any active policy in the Middle East because of disagreements between the main political forces in the Security Council.
Russia and America should agree and act together in Syria, this is the only way to end the conflict and chaos in Syria.
Unfortunately, it seems that now it is not a realistic option.

[bryant.coleman]

Dont think War or Military Deployment is the solution for the on-going crises. UN should play active role to end the crises. Thanks

The best solution would be a United Nations peace-keeper force in Syria. But none of the warring sides are in favor of that idea, and the Americans are opposed to it as well. Another issue is that since Syria is such a Risky region, very few of the UN member nations are likely to send their troops for the peacekeeper operations in that country.

[Pegas]

Afghanistan 2.0 back to ussr

[Btcforall]

Afghanistan 2.0 back to ussr

Yes I think Syria will become new battle field for Russia and US to test their military power against each other as they did decades ago in Afghanistan

[svein]

won't take long until they officially deploy ground troops

[bryant.coleman]

Afghanistan 2.0 back to ussr

Afghanistan 2.0 is ongoing in Afghanistan itself, and USA is fighting instead of the former Soviet Union. The Soviet defeat in Afghanistan was solely due to the fact that NATO supplied advanced anti-air weapons (such as Stinger missiles) to the Islamists. Without these American weapons and military trainers, the Soviets would have swept the floor with the Islamists.

[XEPBAM]

"Army of Islam" which is funded by Saudi Arabia, has declared war on Russia

[bryant.coleman]

"Army of Islam" which is funded by Saudi Arabia, has declared war on Russia

The war was actually declared long back in 1979 (with the help of the United States and NATO), when the Soviet Union decided to send troops to Afghanistan, in order to protect the Communist government there. The recent Russian air-raids in Homs and Hama are just a continuation of what has been going on for the past 36 years.

[Nemo1024]

Dont think War or Military Deployment is the solution for the on-going crises. UN should play active role to end the crises. Thanks

I agree with you but it seems that UN  is unable to carry out any active policy in the Middle East because of disagreements between the main political forces in the Security Council.
Russia and America should agree and act together in Syria, this is the only way to end the conflict and chaos in Syria.
Unfortunately, it seems that now it is not a realistic option.

To a certain degree, Russia and USA agreed. US military tops called Russian colleagues and did some coordination over telepresence on the 1st of October. That may not have made it to the US news. Also, Russia is acting in Syria within the UN mandate, and, more importantly, on the official request from the legitimate government of Syria.


In the latest edition of "News of the Week" with Dmitrij Kiseljov (Russian journalist under Western sanctions for NOT telling lies), he very accurately described Russian position on Syria: "USA is far away, while Russia has to live in this hemisphere. If the Islamic terrorists conquer Syria, their resources will be freed up to mount an attack on Russia. It is therefore in Russian existential interests to eradicate ISIS before it takes root and spreads to the Russian borders."

To add to that, yesterday Germany extradited to Russia a terrorist harking from North Ossetia, who underwent training in ISIS camps in Syria, which target terrorists for operations on Russian territory. North Ossetia still remembers the terrorist attack in Beslan, so terrorists are frowned upon. If anyone wonders how that terrorist turned up in Germany, my guess is: with the wave of "refugees".


And as usual, a very good step-by-step unbiased (ok, maybe only slightly biased) analysis of the situation by Lada Ray:

https://futuristrendcast.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/russia-strikes-isil-isis-positions-in-syria-what-does-it-mean/
 
Two points pertaining concerns in this thread:

4. Of course, US and its EU/NATO allies have been invading and bombing countries regularly.

Russia for many, many years has NOT done any military operations outside its borders, except the four-day war with Georgia, which was a response to Georgia’s aggression against S. Ossetia, resulting in the deaths of eight Russian UN-mandated peacekeepers, thus forcing Russia to respond.

This, therefore, is the first (if you don’t count the former Soviet Republic of Georgia’s brief peace-keeping operation) case of Russian interference in a foreign conflict.

It is important to remember that while US, UK, France, Turkey and Israel have never been invited to Syria, Russia is acting upon a direct invitation and plea for help of the Syrian government. The staggering difference should be understood fully.

Russia is the ONLY legitimate foreign presence in Syria!

5. Some have been worried that Syria may become a new Afghanistan for Russia. As we know, Afghanistan ended in 1989 in the Soviet troops withdrawal, followed by the collapse of the USSR. When Brezhnev first went into Afghanistan in 1980 it was also done after an official invitation and multiple pleas for help by the Afghan government. US was secretly training Taliban and Al Qaeda to fight the Russian-leaning Afghan government, in order to lure the USSR into Afghanistan. These fears of the repeat of the past problems are understandable, but unfounded.

Putin isn’t Gorbachev, who made a lot of mistakes; present day Russia isn’t the old USSR. I can predict with absolute confidence that nothing similar to the Soviet Afghanistan business will take place here. This story is very different.

And, of course, this:
https://futuristrendcast.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/putins-full-speech-at-2015-unga-do-you-realize-what-kind-of-monster-youve-created/

With a reference to this:

Putin’s interview to American TV channels CBS and PBS. Vladimir Putin gave an interview to American journalist Charlie Rose in the run-up to his address at the UN General Assembly’s 70th session.

Full text of the interview: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/50380

[Nemo1024]

Putin’s interview to American TV channels CBS and PBS. Vladimir Putin gave an interview to American journalist Charlie Rose in the run-up to his address at the UN General Assembly’s 70th session.

Full text of the interview: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/50380

Rose is so painting himself into a corner with every question. Take, for example, this:

CHARLIE ROSE: The Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States welcomed your assistance in the fight against the Islamic State. Others have taken note of the fact that these are combat planes and manpad systems that are being used against the conventional army, not extremists.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: There is only one regular army there. That is the army of Syrian President al-Assad. And he is confronted with what some of our international partners interpret as an opposition. In reality, al-Assad's army is fighting against terrorist organisations. You should know better than me about the hearings that have just taken place in the United States Senate, where the military and Pentagon representatives, if I am not mistaken, reported to the senators about what the United States had done to train the combat part of the opposition forces. The initial aim was to train between 5,000 and 6,000 fighters, and then 12,000 more. It turns out that only 60 of these fighters have been properly trained, and as few as 4 or 5 people actually carry weapons, while the rest of them have deserted with the American weapons to join ISIS. That is the first point.

Two fun articles to read about this interview:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-28/kunstler-rages-perhaps-america-has-gotten-what-it-deserves
http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=23216

[bryant.coleman]

In the latest edition of "News of the Week" with Dmitrij Kiseljov (Russian journalist under Western sanctions for NOT telling lies), he very accurately described Russian position on Syria: "USA is far away, while Russia has to live in this hemisphere. If the Islamic terrorists conquer Syria, their resources will be freed up to mount an attack on Russia. It is therefore in Russian existential interests to eradicate ISIS before it takes root and spreads to the Russian borders."

This is inevitable, if the ISIS gains a foothold in either Syria or Iraq. There are at least 3,000 Russian citizens fighting alongside the ISIS (mostly Chechens) and there are thousands more from Central Asian nations such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Also, there are reports that the Islamic Movement of Central Asia (IMCA) is trying to merge with the Islamic State.

[Lenore]

Afghanistan 2.0 back to ussr

Yes I think Syria will become new battle field for Russia and US to test their military power against each other as they did decades ago in Afghanistan

Yeah I agree with you.  I think it will be a way tosee who has what and what a possible outcome maybe between Russia and the US.

[vero]

If the US were in Russia's position ... anyone who presents themselves as a threat to military operations ... would be attacked ... in order to secure air and ground operations.

[fuddudle]

I think the ISIS are losing a bit of steam, they're getting caught in the middle of a battle between two super powers, and meanwhile they're still executing people for believing in the same god.

[Nemo1024]

In the spirit of "Use the Source, Luke", and to offset for some of the selective reporting and misrepresentation, that I've seen in MSM, here is a link to the full transcript of President Putin's speech at UNGA:

http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50385

...

Russia has consistently opposed terrorism in all its forms. Today, we provide military-technical assistance to Iraq, Syria and other regional countries fighting terrorist groups. We think it’s a big mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian authorities and government forces who valiantly fight terrorists on the ground.

We should finally admit that President Assad’s government forces and the Kurdish militia are the only forces really fighting terrorists in Syria. Yes, we are aware of all the problems and conflicts in the region, but we definitely have to consider the actual situation on the ground.

Dear colleagues, I must note that such an honest and frank approach on Russia's part has been recently used as a pretext for accusing it of its growing ambitions — as if those who say that have no ambitions at all. However, it is not about Russia's ambitions, dear colleagues, but about the recognition of the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world.

What we actually propose is to be guided by common values and common interests rather than by ambitions. Relying on international law, we must join efforts to address the problems that all of us are facing, and create a genuinely broad international coalition against terrorism. Similar to the anti-Hitler coalition, it could unite a broad range of parties willing to stand firm against those who, just like the Nazis, sow evil and hatred of humankind. And of course, Muslim nations should play a key role in such a coalition, since Islamic State not only poses a direct threat to them, but also tarnishes one of the greatest world religions with its atrocities. The ideologues of these extremists make a mockery of Islam and subvert its true humanist values.
...

And I have some news regarding Syria later today.

[apollofire]

War is not going to end the crises. UN should actively engage with the Syria govt to resolve the issue.

[Souldream]

ONU 27Th April 2011 ->  At the United Nations, a resolution of the Security Council condemning the crackdown was blocked by Russia, which considers that the situation in Syria "does not constitute a threat to international peace and security."

... What is the threat now ? Oil price ?

[Nemo1024]

War is not going to end the crises. UN should actively engage with the Syria govt to resolve the issue.

Agree. And at least Russia is doing just that - cooperating with Syrian government. On the other hand, military operations are needed to mop up the mess others created. Another such mess was ended by Russia/USSR exactly 70 years ago.


Today is the 5th day of Russian aerial assistance to the Syrian army in their common fight against Islamic terrorists of ISIS.

Today's results are: 3 stores of munitions, 4 command centres and a base of the terrorists have been destroyed.

Below is an article containing several videos, as Russian military operates in full transparency.
http://www.aif.ru/society/army/samolety_vks_rossii_udarili_po_8_obektam_igil_v_provincii_idlib

Yesterday another ISIS command centre was destroyed, which several groups of terrorists laid down weapons and surrendered to the Syrian authorities. Several other groups abandoned their positions and started escaping North in the direction of Turkey and Europe (the choice of direction is thought-provoking).

And the day before yesterday a camouflaged munitions and explosives factory used by ISIS was destroyed.

Now, stating the obvious, if the American goal of bombing Syria for the past year was to eradicate terrorists, you'd expect USA celebrating such advances. But no. The goal was always, as Obama stated, to overthrow yet another legitimate government in the Middle East.

Russia's progress is so spectacular so far, that USA is in full panic mode. Chief of Pentagon Carter said today that Pentagon will do everything it can (including military force) to oppose Russia in its fight with terrorism in Syria. (Remember how USA supplied Taliban with Stingers, which lead to slowing down and then negating an initially successful Soviet fight against Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan?)

http://tvzvezda.ru/news/vstrane_i_mire/content/201510051506-x7gc.htm
http://russian.rt.com/article/120768

Also, NATO is calling for an extraordinary meeting, while the chief of NATO issues a warning, saying that Russian actions in Syria puts it at odds with NATO.

http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2015/10/05/n_7670837.shtml?

In other words, both NATO and USA have openly and officially stated their allegiance with and support of the Islamic terrorists of ISIS. That's the only way to interpret such statements.

Meanwhile, Russian military ship "Cesar Kunikov" entered Mediterranean sea with a shipment of munitions and supplies to the Syrian army.

http://lenta.ru/news/2015/10/05/vmf/

Russia also sends humanitarian / medical / refugee camping aid to Syria. Its aim is to allow Syrians, who were displaced by ISIS to stay in Syria and not flee the country, with the goal of rebuilding the country once ISIS is defeated.