Tag Archives: Syria

U.S. Considers Talks with Russia over Syria

The Obama administration has confirmed they are considering having talks with Russia over their build up in Syria and the future of the Syrian state.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that U.S. officials continue to voice concerns with Russia about their military buildup in support of embattled Syrian President Bashir al-Assad.

Kerry told reporters that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested “military-to-military conversation and meeting in order to discuss the issue of precisely what will be done to de-conflict with respect to any potential risks that might be run and have a complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are.”

“You have to have a conversation in order to do that,” Kerry told reporters. “It is vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations (and) not to put ourselves in a predicament where we are supposing something and the supposition is wrong.”

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said through a spokesman that because of the close relationship between Kerry and his counterpart he would be deferring the military discussions to Kerry.

The move comes amid criticism that Russia is trying to exploit the U.S.’s lack of action in Syria.

“Into this vacuum has now stepped Vladimir Putin,” Sen. John McCain, the committee chairman, said of Russia’s president. “As in Ukraine and elsewhere, he perceives the administration’s inaction and caution as weakness, and he is taking advantage.”

U.S. Officials Believe Russia Plans Forward Operating Base in Syria

Russian officials are planning to put a forward operating base in Syria according to U.S. officials.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told a group of reporters that the steady flow of equipment and personnel into the region is leading intelligence officers to that conclusion.  The Russian government has also been sending in heavy equipment and weapons into the base via cargo flights.

“We have seen indications in recent days that Russia has moved people and things into the area around Latakia and the air base there that suggests that it intends to establish some sort of a forward air operating base,” Davis said.

At least two flights a day have been taking place according to Davis.

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad and has stopped many actions in the United Nations against Assad through the use of their permanent veto in the U.N. Security Council.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. does not understand Russia’s ultimate goal in Syria.

“Clearly, they are providing more assistance,” Kirby said. “But the ultimate goal? The ultimate intent here? I think there’s still a degree of opaqueness about that.”

Russian Build-Up At Syrian Base Concerning U.S., NATO, Israel

A sudden build-up of Russian forces at a base in Syria is raising an alarm in the halls of power in the U.S. and Israel along with commanders at NATO.

The Russian naval base in Tartus has been flooded with new troops and units.  Two tank landing ships arrived at the base along with four transport aircraft with various pieces of equipment.  Russian aircraft have also been using a joint airbase in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

Officials within the Obama administration say they believe the Russian move has nothing to do with their stated goal of taking out ISIS, but keeping their ally Bashir al-Assad in power.  Moshe Ya’alon, the Israeli defense minister, echoed the administration’s views.

“The Russians’ intentions are to keep Assad in power, not to fight ISIL,” one administration official told Bloomberg. “They’ve shown their cards now.”

Even the President has hinted he sees the situation the same way.

“I think they get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory inside of Syria [to Sunni jihadist militias] and that the prospects for a [Sunni jihadist] takeover or rout of the Syrian regime is not imminent but becomes a greater and greater threat by the day,” President Obama told the New York Times. “That offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”

NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s move destabilizes the situation.

“I am concerned about reports about the increased Russian military presence in Syria,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Prague.  “That will not contribute to solving the conflict. I think it is important to now support all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.”

Russian leaders are dismissing the concerns of the world.  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marie Zakharova called the concern “strange hysteria.”

President Obama Wants 10,000 Syrian Refugees in U.S.

The White House has announced that President Obama is instructing his administration to clear the way for 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the U.S. during the next fiscal year.

The plan was met with immediate criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over security concerns.  The 10,000 would mark a significant increase over the nearly 1,300 that will enter the country this fiscal year.  Less than 1,500 Syrian refugees have entered the U.S. since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.

“Our enemy now is Islamic terrorism, and these people are coming from a country filled with Islamic terrorists,” said Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York. “We don’t want another Boston Marathon bombing situation.”

State Department spokesman John Kirby admitted there was a “significant national security concern” related to the President’s demand.

“I’m not arguing that we’re going to cut corners here,” Kirby said. “But the president has laid out his decision and the target he wants to achieve for the next fiscal year with respect to Syrian refugees, and we’re going to work very hard to do that.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest tried to lay out the case that no corners would be cut.

“Refugees go through the most robust security process of anybody who’s contemplating travel to the United States,” Earnest said. “Refugees have to be screened by the National Counter Terrorism Center, by the F.B.I. Terrorist Screening Center. They go through databases that are maintained by D.H.S., the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. There is biographical and biometric information that is collected about these individuals.”

More than 4 million Syrians have fled that nation since the beginning of their civil war.

Terrorists Seize Key Syrian Airbase

The key Syrian government airbase in Idlib has fallen to rebels after a two-year siege of the base.

The majority of the rebel groups that finally overran the base were Islamists groups including the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front.  The capture was possible because a major dust storm that struck the region grounded all the aircraft at the base.

The rebels now control the province of Idlib.

Syrian state TV even conceded the base, stating that troops had “evacuated their positions and moved to another point”.

Syrian President Bashir al-Assad has admitted that his army is facing a “manpower problem.”  He said that they will have to give up some land so they have sufficient forces to defend “more important” properties.

At least 240,000 people have died so far in the four year Syrian civil war.

Russia Admits Military Experts in Syria

The Russian government stopped denying they have troops in Syria.

The statement comes one day after the United States asked nations like Bulgaria and Greece to close their airspace to Russian military transports. Bulgaria agreed to the U.S. request but Greece did not publicly respond to the request.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed “advisors” are assisting with deliveries of Russian arms.  The Russian government is claiming the mission of the forces is just to assist the Syrian army in fighting militants.

However, U.S. officials say that Russian transports are also arriving with passenger flights that contain Russian troops putting together a forward base in Syria.

“Any effort to bolster the Assad regime would potentially be destabilizing,” the U.S. State Department said.

Russia has long considered Syrian President Bashir al-Assad a close ally.

Russia Sends Troops to Syria

Russian troops have begun a major military deployment to Syria.

The Russian government has been denying the moves, but the American government sent a terse warning to Russia about escalating the conflict.  Russian officials claim they are just helping the fight against terrorism.

“We have always supplied equipment to them for their struggle against terrorists,” Maria V. Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in an interview with the New York Times. “We are supporting them, we were supporting them and we will be supporting them.”

The US has gone as far as to ask nations such as Greece to deny use of their airspace to Russian aircraft transporting troops and weapons to Syria.

Analysts say that it’s likely Russia is using the fact the US has not really attempted to put a force into Syria to their advantage.

“It is basically a chance to play on Obama’s checkerboard,” said Konstantin Von Eggert, an independent political analyst, told the Times, stating it’s as if Russian President Putin is saying: “You want to fight the Islamic State. I am there. I am ready. Ah, sorry, you don’t really want to fight.”

Russia has a key naval base in Syria.

Massive Sandstorm Strikes Middle East

An out-of-season sandstorm has struck the Middle East causing thousands to have medical issues and reducing visibility in region.

The Times of Israel called the storm “a brownish-yellow fog throughout the country.”  The storm has been working across Israel and into Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.  Meteorologists say the storm will be followed by an intense heat wave that will last through the weekend.

Health officials through the region are telling residents to stay inside to avoid breathing problems.  Schools were either closed to keep children inside to avoid the fine particulates in the air.

The head of a major hospital in Damascus told reporters that over 1,200 people had been treated for breathing problems.  At least 100 of the victims were children.

“It is unbelievable. This must be some test,” said Mansour, a Damascus resident, who gave only his first name told the Associated Press. “It’s hot. Temperatures are high and above that we have this dusty weather! It is something beyond reasonable. Enough please!”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that some villages such as al-Mayadeen were so short of medical supplies that they ran out of oxygen canisters and had to turn away victims of the storm.

Germany to Welcome All Syrian Refugees

As a wave of Syrian refugees attempting to escape the violence of the Middle East drew closer to the Hungarian border, Germany announced they would be welcoming in anyone escaping the civil war.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the situation the biggest migration crisis since World War II.

The announcement comes as some smaller nations have declared states of emergency because of the mass wave of people fleeing ISIS and the Syrian war.  Macedonia first tried to use their military to keep out the migrants and when they were overrunning chartered trains to take the migrants directly to Germany or France.

German and French officials are working together to create a joint plan for all of Europe to deal with migrants from war torn areas.  The outline will provide expedited asylum for those refugees as well as returning to home countries those who are not arriving from an area of conflict.

“There are moments in European history when we face exceptional circumstances, and these are exceptional circumstances that will last,” Hollande said alongside Merkel before they met for talks in Berlin. “So rather than wait and then cope on a day-to-day basis, we must get organized and strengthen our policies.”

Germany announced they expect to absorb 800,000 migrants this year, after only receiving 44,417 in the first six months of the year.

Officials are dealing with a wave of anti-immigrant violence.  A shelter for migrants in the German town of Heidenau was attacked three consecutive nights despite police guarding the facility.

ISIS Destroys Ancient Temple

Islamic terrorist group ISIS has destroyed an ancient temple in the city of Palmyra, Syria in what the United Nations is calling a war crime.

The Temple of Baalshamin was destroyed on the heels of the terrorists killing Khaled al-Asssad.  The 82-year-old al-Asssad was an expert on Syrian antiquities and refused to tell the terrorists the locations of items they wanted to find.  Assad ran the antiquities department of Palmyra for 50 years.

Syria’s head of antiquities told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the terrorists blew up the temple on Sunday causing “much damage.”

“[ISIS] destroyed an incredibly important architectural structure,” Maamoun Abdulkarim said. “It is the first structure in the Palmyra complex to be destroyed, although they recently destroyed two Islamic shrines nearby.”

“They said they would destroy the statues but not the structures themselves inside Palmyra. They lied.”

The United Nations was swift to condemn the action.

“The systematic destruction of cultural symbols embodying Syrian cultural diversity reveals the true intent of such attacks, which is to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history. One week after the killing of Professor Khaled al-Assaad, the archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra’s ruins for four decades, this destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity,” Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement.

“The art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, is a symbol of the complexity and wealth of the Syrian identity and history. Extremists seek to destroy this diversity and richness, and I call on the international community to stand united against this persistent cultural cleansing. Daesh (ISIS) is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world. Despite the obstacles and fanaticism, human creativity will prevail, buildings and sites will be rehabilitated, and some will be rebuilt,” Bokova continued.

“Such acts are war crimes and their perpetrators must be accountable for their actions. UNESCO stands by all Syrian people in their efforts to safeguard their heritage, a heritage for all humanity.”