There have been reports now for weeks that the US and Russia are close to an agreement in Syria that would give the Kremlin what they have been dreaming of–joint operations with the United States in combatting the Islamic State in the Middle East. This type of deal would place…
With the multi-year reductions in the U.S. military budget and the refusal of much of the NATO alliance to contribute the agreed upon percentage of GDP for their own defense, NATO finds itself pathetically unable to handle two geopolitical situations at the same time. Russia has been aggressively probing NATO…
Russia Says No Change In Strategy In Syria After Turkish Offer To Join Forces…
US military officials believe Russia aircraft, operating out of Syria in June, purposefully bombed a secret US facility in Syrian territory near the Jordanian border. The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia took the action against the base, that sometimes housed secret American and British forces, in order to pressure…
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is reported to have offered Russia joint operations in Syria against the Islamic State. This is a huge propaganda win for the Kremlin, which has pushed for months for this type of arrangement to legitimize their own operations in the Syrian theater. The document…
This week a video appeared of a Russian helicopter being downed by Islamic State fighters in Syria. The Kremlin admitted the shoot down and said the aircraft was an old technology MI-24 which is flown by the Syrian air force. Moscow said the aircraft was being piloted by Russian pilots…
It seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin has Turkish President Erdogan more under his thumb than previously thought. After apologizing to Russia for shooting down a Russian jet who entered Turkish airspace, Erdogan is bending over backwards to please his new Russian Godfather. Turkey now says that Russia can use…
After surprising the world several months back by announcing Russia’s partial withdrawal from Syria and entering into negotiations with the United States and other powers to cease hostilities, it seems Russia may be preparing to re-escalate the military option in the Syrian civil war. The primary reason seems to be…
First posted at The Washington Times Force protection is critical in a foreign military engagement. Russia, it seems, is learning this the hard way. At least four helicopters and 20 trucks were destroyed at the T4 airbase near Palmyra, most likely by Grad rockets fired by the Islamic State. This…
Imagine this, you are an American Air Force pilot flying over Islamic State territory in Syria and you need gas so you hook up with a KC-135 tanker overhead to refuel. You begin to take on gas and then it stops after only 500 pounds. You can’t onload any more….