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Title: Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military... as Iran and Hezbollah prepare major ground offensive in Syria with air support from Moscow's bombers
Source:
Daily Mail
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... SIS-forces-fighting-Assad.html
Published: Oct 1, 2015
Author: By Will Stewart and Simon Tomlinson
Post Date: 2015-10-01 16:17:08 by redleghunter
Ping List: *Islamic caliphate expansion* Subscribe to *Islamic caliphate expansion*
Keywords: None
Views: 13936
Comments: 58
Vladimir Putin has conscripted 150,000 new troops into the Russian army as the country unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria - while and Iran and Islamist group Hezbollah prepare for a major ground offensive. Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria over the last ten days, backed by the country's Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, and rebel fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan, two Lebanese sources claimed today. One of the sources said the Iranian ground forces were 'soldiers and officers', not advisers, adding: 'We mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more.' They are being supported by Russia's warplanes who bombed camps of rebel fighters trained by the CIA, one of the group's commanders claimed. The White House said Russia's airstrikes in Syria were 'indiscriminate' and claimed its actions risk prolonging the conflict 'indefinitely'. The comments were made after the first in a series of discussions between US and Russian leaders aimed at 'de-conflicting' operations in the country. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the decree to conscript hundreds of thousands of new troops was not related to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Dmitry Peskov, who said Russia is targeting ISIS and other extremist groups, told Sputnik News: 'This is a regular document which the president signs twice a year.' It came as Moscow claimed to have attacked 12 ISIS targets including a command centre in Hama and ammunition depots in Idlib on the second day of the aerial campaign. The area targeted is largely made up of rebel insurgents which, unlike Islamic State, are supported by United States allies such as the Arab states and Turkey. A Syrian security source said bombs were dropped on a coalition of Islamist rebels including Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, the so-called Army of Conquest which fiercely opposes ISIS. The head of another rebel group, Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, which is part of the Free Syrian Army, said 20 missiles struck their Idlib base in two separate raids His fighters were trained by the CIA in Qatar and Saudi Arabia as part of a programme Washington said was aimed at supporting groups that oppose ISIS and President Assad. But Syria's ambassador to Moscow, Riyad Hadded, claimed the strikes were 'carried out exclusively against the positions of ISIS'. He added: 'The positions of Al-Qaeda are positions of ISIS. Carrying out strikes against these positions is natural and logical, they are dictated by the fact that these strikes are aimed also against other terrorist groups that support ISIS.' Meanwhile Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has challenged the United States to prove that Russia's operation was not targeting 'terrorists'. Today, Russia admitted the list of bombing targets were drawn up by the Syrian Defence Ministry, while it also used its own military satellites to obtain 'intelligence' to pinpoint targets . Moscow acknowledged it had moved marines to the war-torn country as the West fears more land forces are on the way. Putin denied allegations that his pilots left a trail of death among civilians, claiming this was 'information warfare' by the West. French President Francois Hollande said today that air strikes in Syria should only target ISIS, not other groups. However, the Army of Conquest, which controls Idlib province, said on Twitter that 'Russian pigs' had flattened a mosque in Jisr al-Shughur. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also joined the condemnation of Russian attacks by reporting US-backed rebel group Tajamu Alezzah was hit today and on Wednesday. The conflict could escalate even more with the arrival of hundreds of Iranian troops, who have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government. They are backed by Assad's Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah and by Shi'ite fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan, while the Russians would provide air support. Hollande will discuss the crisis with Putin on the sidelines of the Normandy Quartet meeting tomorrow, a source in the Palace of Elysee told Sputnik News.
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#1. To: redleghunter (#0)
Looks like Iran is going to put that quick $50 billion in cash to good use in Syria. Barry and Lurch must be so proud. And now maybe Trump knows why it was important to know who General Suleimani is and why it was important that he, the Ayatollah's personal envoy and top commmander, met with Putin last month. And why it is no coincidence that the Russians moved in with the Iranians joining them just as Vlad made his first trip to the U.N. in a decade. Not. A. Coincidence. Russia and Iran are gonna have a big party in Syria with that $50 billion we handed to them.
Nice image here: Let me know if it comes up at your end.
note that Russians have yet to hit a target in the Islamic State controlled regions .On the other post on Russia's Syrian intervention I postulated that Russia may become over extended ;being bogged down in Ukraine ,and opening a new front in Syria.
The Russians are also using cluster munitions. Something they railed against the Ukrainians using. All those unexploded ordnance among civilians.
All those unexploded ordnance among civilians. yes and other 'dumb' munitions . Doubt if they have adequate spotters on the ground to access accuracy of their campaign. Wondering where the outrage will come from regarding collateral damage . Doubt the Russians will be held to such high standards as US and Israelis are subject to .
Yes, where are all the usual peaceniks who rail on drone strikes etc.
First, we'll have to have some reporting. I don't doubt that the Russians will be much more blunt than the much more sophisticated weapons in the American/Israeli arsenal. Even so, the precision of our bombing was often overrated. We did drop, for instance, huge numbers of dumb bombs in Iraq during both Gulf Wars. Yet all the American public saw were endless loops of a (relatively rare) missile going down a chimney. If the Russians are bombing civilian areas, it should be noted and condemned. There is a big difference here however. Assad's is the legally recognized government under international law and the Russians are there as an ally to assist them in a civil war against multiple factions, the largely imaginary Free Syrian Army which is mostly now a front group for CIA aid to al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate and the real "rebels" that we are supporting. Then there is ISIS. Iran has also entered with ground troops who will be spearheading the attacks on rebels. Since FSA/al-Nusra are the rebels closest to Assad, it is only natural the Russians would attack them and the Iranians help in mopping up these areas. You do conquer contiguous territory, not waste resources on an enemy you aren't bordering. ISIS, in this sense, is hiding behind the skirts of the "rebels" (FSA, al-Nusra/al-Qaeda). By contrast, we have no official agreement with the Assad government and we are waging war on the Islamic State, a self-declared Caliphate that is unrecognized by any government. None of our actions have even the fig leaf of U.N. sanctions or resolutions. Regime change in Syria has been on the agenda for some years. You recall when Pelosi flew there to grovel with an airliner of Dem congresscritters. A few years after that, Kerry had meetings with Assad, including elegant dining with both of their wives present. When all this effort failed to persuade Assad to commit political suicide, the Dem elite and neocon allies sought to delegitimize Assad's government and encourage attacks on it. This followed on the actions of the Qataris/Saudis/Kuwaitis/Turks to fund and provide passage for jihadi fighters from around the world to descend on Syria to knock off Assad. I find it striking how similar the efforts to topple Syria are to the same failed policies we used to topple Iraq. And with the same exact dismal outcomes our only likely reward for such efforts. And the EU migrant crisis is a direct result of these moronic policies in both Syria and Libya but with plenty of migrants also coming from Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan. Just how much more Arab Spring do we need before we rethink these disasters?
The "Arab Spring" has now become the Arab Exodus.
I notice Drudge is linking RT on Russia supposedly striking an ISIS command center. This is, of course, their propaganda line and I expect every Russian story to say that they are striking ISIS. I don't see anything in it to identify it as an ISIS training base. RT: Russian Air Force destroys ISIS command center, training camp (VIDEO) They seem to be going for a Shock & Awe™ effect with this video for the good Russian peasant patriots to view on RT. Notice they are conducting these strikes in zones 2, 3, and 7, all in northern Syria. Only the strikes in zone 7 is likely to have been against ISIS forces. An interesting Wiki media page, a big map: Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War I think they are trying to buy Assad some breathing room on his home front but will try to close off the open north-central Turkish border. That means wiping out ISIS in northern central Syria, along the Turkish border. This will allow Syria (Russia/Iran/Hezbollah) to cut off some of the easiest resupply routes and jihadi border crossings. The Kurds have already closed off Syria's northwestern border with Turkey. Then they will proceed to mop up the rest of the "rebels", saving ISIS for last. Russian air power, Iranian crack troops, experienced and hardened Hezbollah to form the leadership cadres for the Syrian army.
Excellent maps. I believe your analysis is quite good too. We just finished an Intel week with some young officers and soldiers. Perhaps I will invite you to the next one:) Yes the ever so important 'rat line' from Turkey is key to cut off. The Kurds have been doing a good job at that (along with some air strikes from the US) on the long strip in governorate 4 and 5 and some of 3. Have to wonder what will happen when this Russo-Shia alliance encounters the Kurds. Kurds hate Persians, Arabs and especially Turks. That is why all of the above try to kill Kurds. As I said way back in March of this year. It's a messy affair over there that challenges and keeps Intel wonks awake at night.
interesting . Of course Vladdy has not done much to stop the flow of jihadist from Russia's southern frontier into the Syrian battlefield.
Many southern Russians and former Russians were already living in the region. Chechens, Circassians, Ingusheti, Dagestanis (our own Boston bombers were Chechens from Dagestan). The remainder of these nations in Russia are restive and their diaspora is resentful of Russia. Another group to learn about are the Circassians. Only 700K still live in their homeland, with Sochi as their ancient capital. The Russian Olympic village and resort was built on the site of old mass graves from the war they fought with the Tsar which led to their expulsion. About 3.5 million of them live outside of Russia. When Putin held the Olympics in Sochi, it revived Circassian nationalism. Syrian Circassians and even some Iraqi Circassians are still rather well-known. Vlad also has little control of jihadis originating from Russia's southern Muslim neighbors. For instance, the recent crying jihadi who drove his APC into a target to blow it up was from Uzbekistan. There will likely be some historical nastiness when Russia encounters these people who fled or were expelled from their homelands in Tsarist Russia. I don't doubt that many of these disapora Caucasians would love a chance to shoot at some Russians if given a chance. After a while, it is a bit much to try to keep track of all these outsider communities in Iraq/Iran/Syria. But there is little doubt that ISIS in particular is led and utterly dominated by its Chechen leadership cadre. Then you have the "collaborator" government now installed in Chechnya. The Chechen leader, Kadryov, is foaming at the mouth, wanting to go fight in Syria with Russia against the ISIS Chechens. Notice that Kadyrov bears some resemblance in features and reddish beards to the Chechens who lead ISIS. Because they are Chechens.
Thanks. I guess Bibi got tired of hearing Lurch and Zero lecture him about settlements, conceding to terrorists, and how good the Iran nuke deal was. So Bibi did the only thing logical. Go to the enemy (Putin) of his enemy (Zero). Quite nicely choreographed I might add. A nice state visit, very respectful and I'm sure Putin did not usher Bibi out the back door with the soiled linens like Zero did.
Stone's vid was from 2013, it seems. Around the annual summer celebration of Russia's victory in WW II. The guy who re-posted it was trying to get people to think it was more recent. This is a way of spamming your own YouTube channel to drive up hits to it. Here is a vid from Bibi's own YouTube channel, of a hastily convened meeting he had with Vlad in Moscow a week ago, just prior to both of them heading to the U.N. (Turn on captions and auto-translate to English.) And RT's spin (in English):
The United States, President Obama said at the U.N. General Assembly last week, “worked with many nations in this assembly to prevent a third world war— by forging alliances with old adversaries.” Presumably, the president was not referring to his deeply flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the recent agreement that the White House has marketed as the only alternative to war with a soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. Rather, it seems he was referring to the post-World War II period, when the United States created and presided over an international order that prevented an even larger, potentially nuclear, conflict with the Soviet Union. Now, that Pax Americana may be ending. Indeed, Russia’s airstrikes against CIA-vetted Syrian rebels last week looked like a punctuation mark. When the secretary of state holds a joint press conference with Moscow’s foreign minister after Russia has decimated American proxies bearing American arms, we are not witnessing anything like a return to the Cold War. Rather, we’re witnessing a new order being born. It is an order that is being designed by others, without any concern for American interests. Its cradle is not the conference rooms of the U.N., but the killing fields of Syria. After four and a half years, the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis it has spawned threaten to disrupt two zones of American vital interest, the Persian Gulf and Europe. America’s Cold War prosperity depended on our ability to trade with the rest of the world across both oceans. The United States built a powerful blue-water navy and far-flung bases as tokens of our willingness to protect our allies and stand up to their, and our, adversaries. What facilitates both trade and the movement of a military as large as America’s is access to affordable sources of energy, which is why the security of the Persian Gulf has been a vital American interest for 70 years. The nuclear agreement with Iran signals that Obama doesn’t see things this way. From his perspective, no core American interest would be threatened by either the domination of the Gulf by revolutionary Iran or the likelihood that other regional powers will go nuclear. The JCPOA told American partners in the Middle East that the old alliance system was finished. Israel and Saudi Arabia would get stiff-armed, and Iran would get to call plays in the huddle. What Obama sought, as he said in a New Yorker interview, was a “new geopolitical equilibrium.” Vladimir Putin understood Obama’s rhetoric and actions as confirmation of what he’d already surmised. Putin showed NATO to be a paper tiger when he moved against Georgia, then ordered a Russian crew based in Syria to shoot down a jet flown by NATO member Turkey, then annexed Crimea, to little response. In July, the JCPOA opened the way for Russian and Iranian cooperation in Syria. The Americans, Putin understood, had no stomach for a fight. But the White House may have helped create the conditions for a conflict much larger than the war already underway in Syria, a conflict that could someday force the United States to defend its vital interests. “There already is a third world war underway,” says Angelo Codevilla, professor emeritus of international relations at Boston University. “It’s the war between Sunnis and Shiites. It’s a world war because it engages people all around the world who happen to be Muslims.” Codevilla thinks it unlikely that the war will expand past the Middle East but notes that Pakistan, a nuclear Sunni power, could present problems. In any event, the Obama administration has little ability to shape outcomes. “Once you seize a position by force, as the Russians have,” says Codevilla, “you are in the diplomatic driver’s seat. Putin is schooling the U.S. foreign policy establishment in foreign affairs. He has put his armed forces not at the service of Bashar al-Assad, but at the service of Russian interests.” And Obama? The White House believes in a balance of power without winners and losers, an abstract international system with room for every nation to pursue its rational interests. But this is fantasy: Whatever order exists belongs to the power that imposes it. The Syrian war threatens two of the pillars of the order we formerly led. “At what point does the Syrian conflict create political instability in places like Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing states in the Persian Gulf?” asks Walter Russell Mead, professor of foreign policy and humanities at Bard College. “As long as nothing is happening to block the oil flow, it’s the refugee flow that makes Syria an international issue.” But even before the refugees, European security services were overwhelmed trying to keep tabs on potential jihadist recruits traveling from Europe to the Middle East and back. The influx of hundreds of thousands more migrants from the region is likely to generate political instability and could carry the war between Sunnis and Shiites into Europe. To stem the refugee crisis, the White House is broadly hinting it is willing to go along with Tehran and Moscow and let Assad stay in power, at least for now. But it is Assad and his allies—not, as the administration seems to suggest, the Islamic State—who are responsible for the vast majority of the refugees. If the Obama administration accommodates Russia and Iran on Assad, it will be acquiescing in a plot to extort and destabilize Europe. In the Gulf, Mead says, “if the Sunnis continue to feel that they’re losing an existential conflict with Iran, they may move toward a closer relationship between governments and radical groups. Keeping oil money out of the hands of truly radical jihadists has been a core U.S. interest since September 11, but if the Gulf states don’t feel we are keeping our part of the bargain by providing security, they could take matters into their own hands.” Of course, another option for the Gulf states would be to enlist Russia, which, unlike the Obama administration, has shown its willingness to act on behalf of its own interests. Now that Obama has forsaken America’s post-World War II patrimony, life is more dangerous for America and its allies. This won’t be easy to reverse, no matter who succeeds Barack Obama. http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/end-pax-americana_1039617.html?page=1 Lee Smith is a senior editor at The Weekly Standard.
Thanks Tom. Lee Smith points out some valid points. Summary...as Hal Moore is attributed saying "things are getting sporty..." Regardless of how we got where we are now, the current situation is dangerous. Putin IS in the driver's seat. Zero is bowing.
Michael Goodwin of the NY Post speculates that the emperor knew of Russian plans ,and that he withheld that from Congress and the American people during the Iran deal debate . http://nypost.com/2015/10/03/syria-is-obamas-watergate/
Soleimani, banned from international travel because of links to terrorism, earlier had been spotted in Iraq, helping to defend Assad against Islamic State. Yet five days after Soleimani was in Moscow, Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate the travel restrictions against Soleimani would never be lifted. Apparently, they would never be enforced, either. From the article you linked above: Yes, these things were in motion for quite some time. I would say even those in Congressional leadership had to know too.
BTW, this isn't a very large conscript group. And there is considerable draft evasion in Russia. And increasing exemptions from service. And those who are drafted are only in for a term of one year. There are a lot of petty criminals in the appropriate age group who are given a choice between jail and the military. Russia still has severe hazing problems in a lot of army units, leading to deaths and maimings every year. At the same time, Russia is desperate to recruit and retain among their career officers (contract soldiers) those who can operate the complex machinery of modern warfare. Russia is grappling with how to have the corps of tech talent needed to operate its equipment properly. It does no good to build advanced weapons if you don't have the staffing to keep them in the air and reliable. Russia is attempting a transition to a much larger technical staff by 2020 and less reliance on one-year conscripts. Anyway, the article was sensational in that calling up 150,000 Russian conscripts is somehow unusual and it completely neglected the very real staffing problems that Russia's army still has. The Red Army is still a shadow of its former self. And that will not, can not, change in the short term. The Russians can do a lot more to close their tech gap against America's military but they are not closing the gap in the quality of their soldiers or their ability to retain them.
This, again. Express.co.uk: End of ISIS? Putin 'sending 150,000 soldiers to Syria to WIPE OUT evil Islamic State' This article via Drudge seems to allege these are not new conscripts at all. The city is the self-declared capital of ISIS in Syria and is patrolled by as many as 5,000 jihadi members. Putin is set to mobilise 150,000 reservists who he conscripted into the military earlier this week.
Yes, the proper term for calling up Reservists is 'activate.'
I'm left wondering if this is just how the Russians describe calling up reservers but we aren't given more info.
I think different concepts and practices. Our Reservists/Guard drill often and every year do a two or three week annual training. So when they are called they are already organized in units and therefore 'activated' for federal service or if NG for state service. This is officially called mobilizing the Reserves We also have what is called inactive reserves. People who once served either active duty or reserve/NG and they wait on a list for a number of years. They can be recalled to active duty via a 90 day letter. This pool of officers, NCOs and EMs is not unit specific. This is called the Individual Ready Reserve. IRR. The Russians made a lot of changes to their Armed forces structure which takes some reading to fully appreciate. After the break up of the Soviet Army, the Russians established a National Guard with certain BDEs stationed in various regions. I think what the Russians did was either call up one of these units (or all of them given the 100,000 number) or recalled 100,000 of their version of the IRR. This is like reading 'stereo instuctions'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Armed_Forces
There are no replies to Comment # 53. End Trace Mode for Comment # 53.
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#3. To: TooConservative (#1)
#6. To: redleghunter, Too Conservative (#3)
#11. To: tomder55 (#6)
#14. To: redleghunter (#11)
(Edited)
The Russians are also using cluster munitions. Something they railed against the Ukrainians using.
#21. To: tomder55 (#14)
Wondering where the outrage will come from regarding collateral damage . Doubt the Russians will be held to such high standards as US and Israelis are subject to .
#23. To: redleghunter (#21)
Yes, where are all the usual peaceniks who rail on drone strikes etc.
#24. To: TooConservative (#23)
Just how much more Arab Spring do we need before we rethink these disasters?
#27. To: redleghunter (#24)
(Edited)
Overnight, the Russian Air Force conducted 10 sorties and hit seven targets in Syria, Konashenkov said. Over the 24 hours the planes bombed a field camp in Aleppo province, a logistics center in Idlib province and a command point at a fortified facility in Hama province. 
#28. To: TooConservative, tomder55 (#27)
#29. To: redleghunter, Too Conservative (#28)
#31. To: tomder55, redleghunter (#29)
Of course Vladdy has not done much to stop the flow of jihadist from Russia's southern frontier into the Syrian battlefield.
#32. To: TooConservative, redleghunter, tomder55 (#31)
#33. To: A K A Stone, tomder55, CZ82, liberator (#32)
#35. To: redleghunter, A K A Stone (#33)
#36. To: TooConservative, redleghunter, A K A Stone (#35)
#38. To: tomder55 (#36)
#42. To: redleghunter, TooConservative (#38)
Regardless of how we got where we are now, the current situation is dangerous. Putin IS in the driver's seat. Zero is bowing.
#47. To: tomder55, TooConservative, CZ82, liberator, GarySpFc (#42)
After all, the Russian plan took shape well before late September. The Iran deal was officially finalized on July 14, and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani met with Putin in Russia on July 24. Fox News, which first reported the meeting, even had the flight numbers of Soleimani’s Iran Air flights between Moscow and Tehran.
#49. To: redleghunter, tomder55, CZ82, GarySpFc, Pericles (#47)
Title: Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts...
#50. To: All, redleghunter, tomder55, CZ82, GarySpFc, Pericles (#49)
Vladimir Putin has conscripted 150,000 new troops into the Russian army as the country unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria...
This bears watching, to see whether it's just the usual batch of conscripts or it is 150K of trained soldiers who had recent service in the Russian military. It is odd to speak of conscripting the reservists. Normally, conscripts are untrained recruits and normally you would write about "calling up reserves" or "activiating reserves", not speak in terms of conscripting reserve troops.
The Russian leader is reportedly mounting an enormous military mission to take control of the terror group's stronghold of Raqqa.
#51. To: TooConservative (#50)
#52. To: redleghunter (#51)
#53. To: TooConservative (#52)
I'm left wondering if this is just how the Russians describe calling up reservers but we aren't given more info.
Replies to Comment # 53.
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