Russian Federation Claims Airstrikes Hit ISIS Targets In Syria

Those differences are embodied in Russia’s current operations and how the USA wishes it would act.

Obama accused Moscow of “propping up a regime that is rejected by an overwhelming majority of the Syrian population”.

Administration officials have alternately welcomed a Russian role, provided it is limited to fighting the Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates, and denounced it as a tool to rescue Assad or a cynical attempt to boost Moscow’s own military presence in the Mediterranean.

“While there is always danger of conflict, of inadvertent contact” between coalition and Russian warplanes, “we are continuing with our operations”, Warren told reporters at the Pentagon.

What was really important was whatever common approach they could have determined with respect to Syria. Among them was a mosque in the northern Idlib town of Jisr al-Shugour, whose capture by the rebel coalition in April underscored the growing threat to the regime. This frenzy was fed by the Times’ article, co-written by neocon national security correspondent Michael R. Gordon, a leading promoter of the Iraq-WMD scam in 2002. Cook said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those strikes had killed at least a dozen IS fighters. Putin did not limit Russia’s actions to the Islamic State.

Around 30 Russian jet fighters are now based in Syria to target the militant groups.

Faisal Al Yafai, chief commentator at the UAE-based newspaper, The National, recalled the words of David Petraeus, the US general who led the “surge” of American military reinforcements into Iraq in 2007-08 – “Tell me how this ends”.

The Russian defence ministry on Saturday confirmed that its latest airstrikes in Syria destroyed an Islamic State (IS) command centre. This reality was disclosed in a Defense Intelligence Agency report and was blurted out by Vice President Joe Biden.

“This takes us further away from any solutions”, said Hassan Hassan, the co-author of a new book on Isis and an associate fellow at the Chatham House thinktank in London. “And they will be there for a while if they don’t take a different course”.

Syrians look for survivors Wednesday after a Russian airstrike in Talbiseh.

US President Barack Obama warned on Friday that Russia’s aggressive military campaign in Syria supporting strongman Bashar al-Assad is a “recipe for disaster”, though Washington could still work with Moscow on reducing tensions.

Preferring Al Qaeda over Assad is the Israeli position – embraced by many neocons, too.

“It was in our interest to make sure that we were engaged with [the] moderate opposition inside of Syria because eventually Syria will fall”.

A former senior military adviser claimed the UK’s policy in Syria has been hampered by “wishful thinking” about what would happen to Assad’s regime.

“It was like a nuclear bomb,” he said.

Even Yafai says the idea that Russian Federation can supplant the United States in the region is fanciful.

“The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut”. “They don’t need to be that involved because the Americans are leaving so even a small presence will be enough to have a significant impact”.

“That immediately gets your attention”, Otto said.

“The training and equip programme was a specific initiative by the US Department of Defence to see if we could get a few of that moderate opposition to focus attention of the Islamic State in the eastern portion of the country”, Obama said.