Russian Surprise -- Attack Blows Up Kerry's Delaying Tactics
by Moon of Alabama via tom - ICH Saturday, Jun 18 2016, 11:09pm
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The U.S. is unwilling to stop its [proxy] war on Syria and to settle the case at the negotiation table. It wants a 100% of its demands fulfilled, the dissolution of the Syrian government and state and the inauguration of a U.S. proxy administration in Syria.
After the ceasefire in Syria in late February Obama broke his pledge to separate the U.S. supported "moderate rebels" from al-Qaeda. In April, U.S. supported rebels, the Taliban like Ahrar al Sham and al-Qaeda joined to attack the Syrian government in south Aleppo. Indisputably, U.S. proxies broke the ceasefire.
Two UN resolutions demand that al-Qaeda in Syria be fought no matter what. Nevertheless, the U.S. has at least twice asked/insisted that Russia cease targeting al-Qaeda. It insists, falsely, that it cannot separate its "moderates" from al-Qaeda and that al-Qaeda 'therefore' cannot be attacked because that would also hit its "moderate" proxies/friends.
The Russian foreign minster Lavrov has discussed matters with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry many times. However, the only response he received were more requests to further withhold bombing. Meanwhile al-Qaeda and the "moderates" continued to break the ceasefire and attack Syrian government forces.
After almost four months Kerry continues to insist that the U.S. needs even more time for the requested separation of its proxy forces from al-Qaeda. Foreign Minister Lavrov recently expressed Russian consternation over America's transparent tactics:
The Americans are now saying that they are unable to remove the 'good' opposition members from the positions held by al-Nusra Front, and that they will need another two-three months. I am under the impression that there is a game here and they may want to keep al-Nusra Front in some form and later use it to overthrow the [Assad] regime," Lavrov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.The bucket was full and Kerry's latest request for another three month pause of attacking al-Qaeda was the drop that let it overflow. Russia now responded by hitting the U.S. where it did not expect to be hit:
Russian warplanes hit Pentagon-backed Syrian fighters with a barrage of airstrikes earlier this week, disregarding several warnings from U.S. commanders in what American military officials called the most provocative act since Moscow’s air campaign in Syria began last year.U.S. jets came and the Russian jets went away. The U.S. jets left to refuel, the Russian jets came back and hit again. Allegedly two U.S. proxy fighters were killed and 18 were wounded.
The strikes hit a base near the Jordanian border, far from areas where the Russians were previously active, and targeted U.S.-backed forces battling the Islamic State militants.
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These latest strikes occurred on the other side of the country from the usual Russian operations, around Tanf, a town near where the borders of Jordan, Iraq, and Syria meet.
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The Russian strike hit a small rebel base for staging forces and equipment in a desolate, unpopulated area near the border. About 180 rebels were there as part of the Pentagon's program to train and equip fighters against Islamic State.
When the first strikes hit, the rebels called a U.S. command center in Qatar, where the Pentagon orchestrates the daily air war against Islamic State.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to confirm the attack Friday, telling reporters it was difficult to distinguish different rebel groups from the air.Translation: "If you can not separate your forces from al-Qaeda and differentiate and designate exclusively "moderate" zones we can not do so either."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article44910.htm