Too bad, ISIS is not being fought.
"a recent investigation conducted by Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent newspapers left in Russia, complicates this cozy tale of counterterrorist cooperation. Based on extensive fieldwork in one village in the North Caucasus, reporter Elena Milashina has concluded that the "Russian special services have controlled" the flow of jihadists into Syria, where they have lately joined up not only with ISIS but other radical Islamist factions.
In other words, Russian officials are adding to the ranks of terrorists which the Russian government has deemed a collective threat to the security and longevity of its dictatorial ally on the Mediterranean, Bashar al-Assad."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/23/russia-s-playing-a-double-game-with-islamic-terror0.html
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Understanding Provocation [Provokatsiya]
One of the most powerful tools the Kremlin has in its secret arsenal of Special War is provocation, what they call provokatsiya.
While Moscow cannot claim to have invented this technique, which has existed as long as there have been secret services, there's no doubt that Russians have perfected the art and taken it to a whole new level of sophistication and deviousness. At times, it can become a strategy all on its own (not always, mind you, with edifying results).
Provokatsiya simply means taking control of your enemies in secret and encouraging them to do things that discredit them and help you. You plant your own agents provocateurs and flip legitimate activists [in this case, dupe actual Jihadis -ETL], turning them to your side.
When you're dealing with extremists to start with, getting them to do crazy, self-defeating things isn't often difficult. In some cases, you simply create extremists and terrorists where they don't exist. This is causing problems in order to solve them, and since the Tsarist period, Russian intelligence has been known to do just that.
While this isn't a particularly nice technique, it works surprisingly well, particularly if you don't care about bloody and messy consequences. ..."
http://20committee.com/2014/03/29/understanding-provocation/
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In other words, it's like starting a fire, or pouring gasoline on a fire, in order to be the 'big hero', being first on the scene to put it out. Except in this case, you get to grab control over the buildings and town you helped 'saved' from the fire you helped to start.
Posted By: TRT NEWS October 31, 2015
Prague, Czech Republic - Russia is orchestrating, coordinating, and funding the ongoing invasion of European countries by Muslim, military-age males, the Czech Defense Minister shared with IDNES.cz on October 10th, 2015.
According to Martin Stropnicky, the Defense Minister for the Czech Republic, he was informed by the Hungarian Defense Minister Istvan Simicsko that Russia was financing the busing of military-age Islamic males across the borders of the Balkan nations.
-snip-
Speculation has been rife for some time now that Russian forces have been plotting a ground invasion to retake the former satellite states of the Soviet Union, and eventually capturing the European capitals.
The overwhelming of these nations' borders, social services, and law enforcement mechanisms would destabilize and weaken the internal security controls when Russian military units would make their move.
"The Russian Federation does not desire a unified and cohesive European Union," Stropnicky said in the interview. "I do not envision the current invasion ceasing anytime soon."
As the Russian Federation has modernized its military forces and transformed its military theory to a hybrid combination of special forces, infantry, and airpower, it has made impressive advances in its latest generation tank and fighter jet, both of which purportedly claim to be superior to American counterparts. ..."
We didn’t destroy oil infrastructure in IRQ, but we did target delivery outlets- to strangle the IRQ army and degrade their mobility. If RUs has some collusion going on with Assad ( of course right) keeping SYR/IRQ oil facilities intact is in their future interests. Strangling the trans capability and by extension the revenue end is a wise strategy. Recovery later for both gov and civ concerns is expedited by protecting infrastructure, we do the same.
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Sounds like anti-Assad propaganda. The Catholic Patriarch of Syria thanked the Russians publically.
They will get around to ISIS (the article says that even now 30% of Russian airstrikes are against ISIS), but their priority is the rebel groups in the West (which are closer to unseating Assad).
The Russians are fighting at the strategic level - to cut off all the rebels (including ISIS) from their Turkish support first. When the supply lines are cut, it will be much less costly to overrun ISIS positions (while they are out of ammo and suffering desertions).
The Russians also know that if they take out ISIS first, the Turks, Saudis and Obama will be back to supporting the other groups to overthrow Assad. So they plan to defeat those forces first, and save ISIS for later.
Well gosh, if Syrian activists say this is true, then it must be. LOL
This is retarded, if ISIS controls an area every drop of oil produced there is theirs. The Russian bombing is the only thing that has hurt them. Now it has provoked some fun British propaganda.
“Oil trucks that move between the ISIS-held cities of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, owned by civilians, are also targeted by Russian jets.”
The transport trucks attacked by the P-47 Thunderbolts yesterday as they were moving between Munich and Berlin were actually owned by private companies.
“local activists claim”
Dude, why you blowed up my truck. No warning pamphlets were dropped either.
Kadyrov posting videos of opposition politicians in gun crosshairs, what a government over there all the way around. Kleptocracy. Gangster government. Check Senator Corker’s remarks too, there will be unrest as Putin’s riches are exposed.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35471246
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6727528/2016/02/01/russia-chechen-crosshairs
http://www.rferl.org/content/caucasus-report-chechens-letter-putin-kadyrov/27527957.html
Moscow Times, Russians fear backlash in answering opinion polls: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russians-keep-lips-locked-in-opinion-polls-fearing-backlash/556530.html