Syrian president Assad boasts he has received Russian anti-aircraft missiles and holds the 'balance of power' (middle east, Israel)

[All American NYC]

Syrian president Assad boasts he has received Russian anti-aircraft missiles and holds the 'balance of power' in civil war

Syria has received the first shipment of Russian missiles that are part of a more sophisticated air defense system, President Bashar Assad bragged today....Israel's defense chief Moshe Yaalon said earlier this week that Russia's plan to supply Syria with the weapons was a threat and that Israel was prepared to use force to stop the delivery.....The developments raise fears of an arms race - not just between Assad's forces and the opposition fighters battling to topple his regime, but also in the wider Middle East.

World War three apparently begins with a Russian attack on the Holy Land. Because any attack on the holy land would of course draw us in.

[ellemint]

Why is Russia funding a bloody dictator, who will only use those weapons to slaughter more of his own people? What a true mess.

[GregW]

Russia has a Military Industrial complex nearly as large as ours. They have to do something with the stuff just like us. Syria is the current war so they are getting a piece of the economic action. I think we should let them and stay as far away as we can.

[All American NYC]

Originally Posted by GregW

Russia has a Military Industrial complex nearly as large as ours. They have to do something with the stuff just like us. Syria is the current war so they are getting a piece of the economic action. I think we should let them and stay as far away as we can.

If they attack Israel I don't think we would be able to.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by ellemint

Why is Russia funding a bloody dictator, who will only use those weapons to slaughter more of his own people? What a true mess.

For the same reason we do..proxy war games.

[Mr. Jim Robinson]

Originally Posted by All American NYC

Syrian president Assad boasts he has received Russian anti-aircraft missiles and holds the 'balance of power' in civil war.

Those anti-aircraft missiles will be useless if the U.S. has it's way and invokes a no-fly zone over Syria. Russia is upset with that idea.

[tablemtn]

Russia and Israel have an alliance and plenty of behind-the-scenes deals with one another. I suspect that Israel would rather have a weakened, chastened, but surviving Assad in power than a motley assortment of "rebels." This also draws Hezbollah north, and away from southern Lebanon for the time being.

Israel and Russia have weapons sales between them, there are over a million Russian-born people living in Israel (many of whom retain close ties to Russia - hence, the number of flights between the two countries as well as Ukraine), and Russian itself is widely spoken in Israel.

So I wouldn't worry too much about that. Assad has never been especially concerned with Israel except as a propaganda target; he has been much more preoccupied with his own potential rebels. That is the case more than ever.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by All American NYC

Syrian president Assad boasts he has received Russian anti-aircraft missiles and holds the 'balance of power' in civil war




World War three apparently begins with a Russian attack on the Holy Land. Because any attack on the holy land would of course draw us in.

These missiles are pointless as the rebels do not have aircraft.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jim Robinson

Those anti-aircraft missiles will be useless if the U.S. has it's way and invokes a no-fly zone over Syria. Russia is upset with that idea.

And how would they be useless against a no-fly-zone enforcement?

[boxus]

Originally Posted by GregW

Russia has a Military Industrial complex nearly as large as ours. They have to do something with the stuff just like us. Syria is the current war so they are getting a piece of the economic action. I think we should let them and stay as far away as we can.

This is it right here. The US is not the only country that has the military-industrial complex influencing foreign policy.