By Jason Ditz
(ANTIWAR.COM) — Following Thursday’s report that Russia had recently informed the US of planned military operations against terrorist groups on the Syria-Jordan border, a company of US Marines conducted a live-fire exercise in the same area. Officials say it was intended to be a “warning” to Russia.
The exercise took place near the US base at al-Tanf, at the corner of Syria’s border with Iraq and Jordan. Though the US no longer really has any rebel allies in the area, which was the initially point of the Tanf base, the US does regularly attack any pro-Syrian forces who get too close.
The proximity of Islamists, especially al-Qaeda-linked groups on the Jordan border, has pretty much been ignored by the US. The possibility that Russian and Syrian forces might take care of those groups has infuriated the US, and led to threats of force.
Centcom officials continue to talk up the idea that they “will not hesitate to use necessary and proportionate force” if Russian, Syrian, or other pro-Syrian groups get too close to the Tanf base.
In the past, US forces have attacked pro-government militias for getting near Tanf, and have also attacked and killed hundreds of Russian military contractors on one occasion, an incident followed up by US bragging.
Though Pentagon officials are presenting this as standard operating procedure, it is anything but, particularly since Syria never authorized US troops to be there in the first place. Attacks on Russian troops would be a much bigger deal, and not something casually passed off as “self defense.”
By Jason Ditz / Republished with permission / ANTIWAR.COM / Report a typo
Jason Ditz and ANTIWAR.COM loose….geopolitics should be left to your betters. This whole spiel reeks https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7396afb5632257f656bf0b080130b07d93f3cab6793947923149039a805d1ea2.jpg
Russia just conducted a large scale landing exercise from the Med into Syria as a warning to the U.S. and has staged tactical nuclear weapons for use if chemical weapons (WMD) are used against Syrian, Russian, or Iranian personnel. Russian electronic jamming has been used to shutdown a Navy destroyer and Israeli fighter jets, making them helpless. Only about 80 percent of U.S. cruise missiles survived during the last U.S. attack. Could get very interesting very quickly.
Whoever we have in Syria are very clearly there in violation of any and all known laws that govern the conduct of “civilized” nations. We have absolutely NO justification for ANY KIND of military, or other kind, of intervention into the affairs of Syria, or for that matter, any other country in the middle east or elsewhere in the world. Let’s hope, for their sake, than the fools in Washington do not order an attack on the Russian forces lawfully there at the invitation of the entirely lawful Syrian government. The “base” in question is surrounded and isolated, in any combat situation that could develop, by forces superior to those now there and any that we could bring to their relief. As a previous comment has hinted, the US on longer has military superiority with respect to Russia, or China. Both countries have repeatedly been given indications that we intend a first strike nuclear attack on them by our crazed neo-con idiots in Washington. Unless the criminals now ruling this country believe that they have so corrupted and screwed up things in this country that suicide is the only way out, attacking either Russia or China, let alone both, has to be a really, really, poor idea.
Russia was invited by the Syrian government to assist it in expelling terrorists. The US invaded Syria of its own accord, in direct contravention of international law. The US has no moral standing here, none at all. For several years, it has been financing and supporting terrorists in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East while hypocritically stating the opposite. Are you as sick of American perfidy as I am?
Being as Trump is the Commander-in-chief [ Only during War–remember that! ] It makes sense that the military would leak such information instead of Trump declaring it. But on the other hand, The military is part of the deep state and the shadow, governmental
group of people that control us where and when it truly matters, when it is truly important. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF MY COMMENT IF IT DOES NOT CHANGE THE REALITY OF WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT ARE THE VALUE OF ALL COMMENTS?