A Mediterranean Battlefield - Syria

[David Guyatt]

Not unexpected...

As we know, during the US-Russia ceasefire in Syria, the US has broken it's promise - as usual to the extent that it was predictable - and supplied sophisticated weapons to ISIS and al-Qaeda using the highly implausible argument that they are the "moderates" there. Thierry Meyssan now says that Putin will have to send back his aircraft now and that his decision to withdraw them for financial reasons was poor.

Evidently the US Neocons, even in an election year, continue to strictly adhere to their policy of regime changing Assad and changing the shape of Syria. That also means that next in line will be Iran, who is being bled in Syria anyway. It's a case of war-war and more war-war.

For me it also speaks that no matter who is elected president US foreign policy will remain the same. That suggests that, despite his awful rhetoric, Comb-over is on-board. Either that or the Neocons know he will be easily sidelined when it comes to foreign policy. Maybe the apparatus and levers of government are so in their hands that they'll simply ignore him if they decide it is not in their best interests? in which case do the Israel Firsters really have a death grip on the US?

The imminent return of Russian planes to Syria

by Valentin Vasilescu

Although Russia had decided to withdraw its bombers from Syria after the ceasefire concluded with the United States, it is now obliged to return to the battlefield, because Washington - in violation of its engagements has continued to deliver sophisticated weapons to the jihadists, including Al-Qaïda and Daesh. The aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov should be deployed in July.

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | BUCHAREST (ROMANIA) | 16 MAY 2016 FRANÇAIS TÜRKÇE ESPAÑOL DEUTSCH РУССКИЙ

Although Russia does not possess fifth generation warplanes, its bombers were particularly effective during their six-month campaign in Syria.However, after Russia and the United States agreed to a ceasefire from the 27th February 2016, President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of forty-six of the fifty-four or fifty-six Su-24, Su-25, Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 deployed at the Khmeimim airbase. The withdrawal was ill-advised. Indeed, in violation of their engagements, the United States have continued to deliver sophisticated weaponry to the jihadists, including combatants from Al-Qaeda and Daesh [1]. As a result, after the liberation of Palmyra, the Syrian Arab Army was unable to pursue its offensive against the Islamic State in Al-Raqqah and Deir ez-Zor [2], and suffered heavy losses in fighting against the Al-Nusra Front (a branch of Al-Qaïda in Syria) in the region of Aleppo.Besides that, in the space of one month, the Syrian aviation lost three combat planes (MiG-21, MiG-23 and Su-22), shot down in the north of Syria by Islamists using portable ground-to-air missile-launchers which had been introduced into the country in large quantities after the effective date of the ceasefire. This is why the Syrian Air Force does not attack more than 10 Islamist targets per day, which is insufficient when dealing with ground troops. The Syrian Arab Army finds itself in a delicate situation, and yet the Russian Army was constrained by the order from President Putin to withdraw the bombers from Syria, for budgetary and economic reasons. In addition, it seems that the proposition by the Commander of the Russian Air Forces, General Viktor Bondarev - to test the new Yak-130 light attack/training fighters in Syria on ground attack missions - has not been accepted by the Kremlin [3].The only option which has met with approval is the deployment of the aircraft-carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the Mediterraean, near the Syrian coast. The problem is that this aircraft-carrier entered a phase of repair and modernisation in 2015, in the Sevmash shipyards at Severodvinsk, and was scheduled to return to active duty only at the end of 2016. The modernisation involves adapting the aircraft-carrier to make it capable of functioning with the new MiG-29 K/KUB, instead of the old Su-33. The carrier pilots trained last year with the MiG-29 K/KUB for take-off and landing on specially-built strips (Nitka) which reproduce the decks of the aircraft-carrier, at Saki (Yevpatoriya vestul Crimeii) and Yeisk (on the coast of the Sea of Azov).The aircraft-carrier Admiral Kuznetsov (Projet 1143) is driven by gas turbines, has a displacement of 65,000 tonnes, and was launched in December 1990 at naval shipyard n° 444 South at Nikolaev, which was then in the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. It was built to carry between 52 to 55 planes and helicopters. The Admiral Kuznetsov is armed with eight AK-630-type AA artillery systems (2x30mm), eighteen 3K95 Kinzhal-type AA missile launchers, twelve ship-to-ship P-700 Granit missile launchers (range of 620 km, speed Mach 2,5) and two UDAW-1 anti-submarine missile launchers.The Minister of Defence for the Russian Federation has declared that the completion of repairs for the aircraft-carrier has been advanced to the 1st July 2016. This is why it will not carry only MiG-29 K/KUB, but will also keep some Su-33. Its new configuration will include twelve Su-33 multi-role aircraft, twenty-eight multi-role MiG 29 K/KUB, four Su-25UTG/UBP training and ground attack planes, and eight Ka-27 anti-submarine combat helicopters.The Su-33 and MiG-29 K/KUB taking off from the aircraft-carrier will only be armed with 30% to 40% of their potential maximum load of arms and fuel (6-9 tonnes). However, this restriction will not prevent them from having the same effect on their targets as the Su-24 and Su-34 bombers which operated in Syria. The Su-24 and Su-34 were each armed with two 250 kg KAB-250 S/LG bombs or two 500 kg KAB-500 L/Kr or KAB-1500 L/Kr bombs, all guided by laser, camera or GPS, or two Kh-29 L/T and Kh-25T-type air-ground missiles, guided by laser or camera. Conceived for hunting missions, the Su-33 and MiG-29 K/KUB will also carry short and medium-range air-air missiles.The small Russian aircraft-carrier is enough to damage the jihadists operating in Syria, who would be unable to fight back, and would have the same effect as one of the 11 nuclear-powered US aircraft-carriers which have a displacement of more than 100,000 tonnes, with more than seventy-eight planes on board (F/A-18E/F, EA-18G, E-2), and twelve SH-60F helicopters. The Admiral Kuznetsov is not the only aircraft-carrier which can operate with the MiG-29 K/KUB. The old Russian aircraft-carrier Admiral Gorskov, with a displacement of 43,000 tonnes, was rebuilt and modernised in the shipyards of Severodvinsk, and was endowed to the Indian Navy in 2014 under the name of Vikramaditya. It carries only thirty-six planes twenty-six 26 MiG-29 K/KUB and ten Kamov Ka-28/31 helicopters.

Valentin Vasilescu

Translation
Pete Kimberley

] ] &notes=Although%20Russia%20had%20decided%20to%20withdraw%20its%20bombers%20from%20Syria%20after%20the%20ceasefire%20concluded%20with%20the%20United%20States,%20it%20is%20now%20obliged%20to%20return%20to%20the%20battlefield,%20because%20Washington%20-%20in%20violation%20of%20its%20engagements%20%E2%80%93%20has%20continued%20to%20deliver%20sophisticated%20weapons%20to%20the%20jihadists,%20including%20Al-Qa%C3%AFda%20and%20Daesh.%20The%20aircraft%20carrier%20Admiral%20Kuznetsov%20should%20be%20deployed%20in%20July.] ]


[1] « Les États-Unis violent le cessez-le-feu en Syrie et arment Al-Qaïda », Réseau Voltaire, April 25th, 2016. « Qui arme les jihadistes durant le cessez-le-feu ? » (Vidéo), par Thierry Meyssan, Télévision nationale syrienne , Réseau Voltaire, April 30th, 2016.[2] «Les opérations de l'armée arabe syrienne après la libération de Palmyre», Valentin Vasilecu, Traduction Avic, Réseau international, April 3rd, 2016.[3] «Des avions YAK-130 russes en Syrie ?», Valentin Vasilecu, Traduction Avic, Réseau international, April 21st, 2016.

Voltaire's facts on the arms shipments:

The US is violating the cease-fire in Syria and arming Al Qaeda

VOLTAIRE NETWORK | APRIL 25, 2016 ESPAÑOL ITALIANO DEUTSCH عربي PORTUGUÊS TÜRKÇE

On 7 April 2016, Jane's revealed that the US Navy Military Sealift Command launched in 2015, two tenders for transporting the Romanian port of Constanta weapons to the Jordanian port of Aqaba [ 1 ].Weapons that could be identified were manufactured in Bulgaria, which confirms the previous survey of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network [ 2 ] and our [ 3 ].The tender was won by Transatlantic Lines and cargo carried by the Geysir (IMO: 7710733).The first shipment left Romania December 5, 2015 and was delivered to half TaÅŸucu (Turkey), and half to Aqaba (Jordan). It comprised a total of 117 containers for 2007 tonnes. Either in addition Kalashnikovs and machine guns, some 50 missile Faktoria, between 796 and 854 missiles and 162 tons of explosives.The choice of Faktoria anti-tank missiles can be explained by their similarity to those used by the Syrian Arab Army, the 9K111 Fagots ATGW they are an improved version, so that one can accuse it of various crimes she did not commit.We just learned that the second delivery, which was more important than the first, left Romania March 28, 2016 and was delivered on April 7, that is to say the day of the publication of the article Jane's.Therefore, the United States themselves have violated the cessation of hostilities signed on February 12, 2016. They took advantage of the naivety of Russia and Syria to rearm jihadist groups, just as they had done early 2012 during the observation Mission of the Arab League, and during the UN.The weapons were handed over by the Pentagon, either directly or via the Turkish army to qualified groups of "moderate", that is to say simultaneously participating in the Geneva peace talks.According to observers on the ground, including those opposed to the Syrian Arab Republic, the groups that coordinate the battle with Al Qaeda, routinely recovering half the weapons they receive international terrorist organization. They are therefore well mainly the United States arming Al Qaeda, just as it is the US that mainly armed Daesh, particularly in 2014, organizing "abandonment" of weapons they had to deliver Iraqi Army.



[ 1 ] " US arms shipment to Syrian rebels detailed " Jeremy Binnie & Neil Gibson, Jane's, April 7th, 2016.[ 2 ] " War Earnings: Bulgarian Arms Add Fuel to Middle East Conflicts ", Maria Petkova, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network,December 21, 2015.[ 3 ] " How Bulgaria has provided drugs and weapons to Al Qaeda and Daesh ", by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, January 4, 2016.


Voltaire network
Voltaire, international edition

Focus


In short


controversies


diplomatic wire


documentary Watch