The Guardian: Turkey and US 'agree in principle' to provide air support for Syrian rebels
* Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu: ‘They have to be supported via air’
* Two countries agreed $500m programme to train Syrians in February
Turkey and the US have agreed in “principle” to provide air protection to Syrian rebels being trained and equipped to fight Islamic State militants, once they enter Syrian territory for battle, Turkey’s foreign minister said.
The two countries agreed in February to train and equip up to 15,000 Syrians under the $500m US programme designed to add a credible ground force to an air bombing campaign against the militant group.
The program suffered unexplained delays as the US resisted Turkish calls for the force to be also prepared to fight the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, and the sides tried to reach agreement on who to train.
WNU Editor: The U.S. has not commented on these reports, but if true it is a major escalation in the war in Syria .... in fact .... the U.S. and Turkey will be "officially" at war with Syria. I also expect Russia and Iran to respond. I cannot help but wonder on how long is it going to take before this policy of "air protection" becomes a policy of providing air support in the form of bombing raids against the Assad regime.
More News On Turkey And The U.S. Have Agreed "In Principle" To Provide 'Air Protection' To The Syrian Rebels
Turkey, US to provide air protection to Syrian rebels -- AP
Turkey says in deal with U.S. on air support for Syria rebels -- Reuters
US, Turkey Agree To Provide Air Support For Syrian Rebels: Official -- IBTimes
Turkey, US to provide air support for Syrian rebels -- Albawaba
Turkey, U.S. agree 'in principle' to provide air cover for Syrian rebels battling ISIS -- Haaretz
Turkey says it struck deal with US on air support for Syria rebels -- Jerusalem Post
15 comments:
WNU Editor,
The Lybian No Fly Zone became a Bomb the Libyan Military on day one.
I guess we are going to find out how well the SAAF's air defenses work,
And we will find out who get's blamed when a US, or Canadian Pilot, shot down over Syria, get's captured and burned alive by ISIS.
It was Obama's promise to Putin that they would NOT conduct a bombing campaign in Libya that broke the camel's back in U.S. - Russian relations when the bombing campaign began. After that episode, Putin never trusted Obama again.
This is bad..
WNU Editor,
Yup, Russia had brokered a deal to have Saleh take over, his Dad was going to go into exile, there were going to be reforms and elections,
The "Humanitarian Crisis" had been exposed as a hypothetical fraud,
But Hillary just had to kill someone, ( lot's of someones").
I guess the next Syrian Express, out of Sevastapol, headed out in just under two weeks, might have some new toys on it for Assad.
Jay, thank you for the heads up on Saleh. I have not looked at the wire services in the past few hours .... I guess now is the time to see what is happening in Yemen.
What Russia will be sending to Syria is also on my mind. I do expect some impressive anti-air weapons to be delivered soon in view of today's Turk-U.S. air support agreement for the Syrian rebels.
WNU Editor,
If the Turks are telling the truth,
Might be more than just weapons, adding publically Russian Servicemen to operate and maintain the systems, would create a "red line" for the US, and if it's the SS-400's there are lots of safe places they could be based, and cover all of Syria.
ISIS took Tadmur airbase, and will probably attack Syria's most important air base at T.4 soon.
That means all of central and eastern Syria has no radar coverage or AA, apart from whatever ISIS has.
I guess with the regime losing so many battles and weakening the Turks have decided it will soon be time to implement the no-fly zone.
The S-400 is a mobile system with a 600km range radar, and 400km range missiles, max speed of the missiles is Mach 6.2. Distance between elements can be 40km and the radar system can track up to 100 different targets at the same time, target 36 targets per "shot".
You don't need an airport or airbase, just a road.
Civil radars can be data linked to the system, providing a larger " field of view".
Russia is militarily the most powerful country in the world. Policies that bring about conflict and distrust between oneself and the most powerful nation on earth would seem to be foolish in the extreme.
I pray the US will survive long enough to get a change in leadership who can establish some sort of trust between the United States and Russia. A good place to start would probably be to sever all ties with Western European nations. It's easy for them to act in such a manner towards Russia. If this whole thing turns as bad as it could, it will be the US and not them who will bear the brunt of the Russian military reprisal.
As for Syria, isn't the Assad government fighting ISIS? Aren't we fighting ISIS? If so, it would seem some type of temporary cooperation between us and the Syrian government would be in order.
With that said ISIS has captured and held territory both in Iraq and Syria faster and more efficiently than the US military ever could have even before it was badly worn down from continuous fruitless operations around the world. As such, it seems there's little the US could actually do here.
Regardless who prevails in this they are all currently bitter enemies of America be it ISIS or the Russian/Syrian/Iranian side. For America, it would seem out of the frying pan into oven applies here. There may be a way to turn this around. First acknowledge the superior position of Russia relative to the United States and act accordingly. A good place to start may be by asking how we might add value to Russia and its leadership. People have been doing this sort of thing with a large degree of success for centuries.
WNU Editor,
Logically speaking, shouldn't the US turn a blind eye towards Assad and his regime due to new developments in the conflict?
Who would rule Syria if Assad's regime collapses?
ISIS, as we all know, are brutal rulers - they should not lead.
The Islamic Rebel Coalition (al-Nusra, etc.) (weren't they related to or involved with Al-Qaeda?) are perhaps a better choice but they still conform to Sharia Law and preach "death to America".
The Moderate Rebel strategy failed, and parts (if not all) of the FSA has already joined the coalition mentioned above... they cannot rule.
The way I see it, Assad is the best choice for preserving order in Syria (despite his brutality and numerous human rights violations), and on the world stage, does not threaten America. To further push Assad ahead of the race, Syria's has connections with Russia. If the US decides to bomb Assad, tensions will further flare between the two superpowers.
Thoughts?
Thanks.
^ To further add to my point, one can look at Libya and what happens when a totalitarian government collapses.
One word: Chaos.
Gaddafi's regime held things together, albeit strictly, and was not a threat to the west.
Now, the country is fragmented with many rebel groups fighting for control. The population is worse of than under Gaddafi (at least in some areas), the country's international relations have stagnated, and the West now has another region where safe havens for "terrorists" are being erected.
Good point Anon. When the first Syrian protests broke out I was hoping for political compromise and change. The people had not been radicalized, and there was a certain hope that the first steps to a more open government was about to occur.
No more now.
The population has become completely radicalized .... and there is no interest in any negotiations or compromise.
For the moment this is a fight to the finish. And while I am now predicting a Lebanese type of partition .... this is still going to be a fight that is going to last a long time .... a few more years at most.
I would flee the country, but if given a choice between Assad, Al Qaeda/Al Nusra, or the Islamic State .... I would rather live under Assad than under the other radical Islamic groups.
Al Nusra is Al Quida.
Just a Syrian name for a regional Franchise.
WNU Editor,
There was offers of compromise and reform, from the regime.
The next day in the city of Taymor, 27 cops were killed, 47 "Regime" members and their families were brutally murdered, the Post Office, City Hall, the Regional Palace, the Hospital, the Telephone Exchange were all attacked and burned.
In 2006 the Bush Administration started providing organizational and communications training to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, while at the same time, the Saudi's were providing arms, funds and military training.
The "terrorists" were front and center at the Syrian Spring Protests, they just had a completely different agenda than the rest of the protestors.
Jay .... Assad's recent offers of compromise and reform ... brokered by Russia .... unfortunately fell apart. Too many people have died .... there is no longer any hope for reconciliation.
As to the beginning of the Arab spring in Syria .... yes .... there were many radical elements involved .... but there were also many moderate elements too. Unfortunately it does not take much to bring turmoil to a country .... and Syria was ripe to be blown apart.
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