Posted on 10/01/2015 4:15:01 AM PDT by markomalley
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed hopes that Russia's participation in the solution of the Syrian conflict will bring peace to the region.
"The Russian Federation has made a responsible decision on the use of armed forces to defend the people of Syria from the sorrows caused by the arbitrariness of terrorists. We believe this decision will bring peace and justice closer to this ancient land," the patriarch said in a statement quoted by the press service for the Synodal Information Department on Wednesday.
"Wishing peace to the peoples of Syria, Iraq and other countries of the Middle East, we pray for this tough local conflict not to develop into a major war, for the use of force not to lead to the death of civilians, and for all Russian military [personnel] to return home alive," the patriarch said.
He reiterated that the Russian Orthodox Church has more than once called on the administrations of Russia, other countries and international organizations not to ignore the suffering of civilians in Syria and other countries of the region.
"We know about the catastrophic situation that the people who have become the targets of extremists and terrorists are now in, and not from hearsay, but from personal meetings with the religious leaders of the Middle East," the statement says.
The patriarch said Orthodox Christians were deeply saddened by the numerous instances of violence against Christians in the region, abductions and killings of bishops and monks, barbaric destruction of ancient temples, adding that "the Muslims of these places, which are holy to representatives of all Abrahamic religions, suffer as well."
"Unfortunately, the political process did not lead to any significant improvement of the situation of these innocent people and they need military protection," the patriarch said.
Russian involvement will help in the fight against ISIS, but only a fool honestly thinks it will bring “peace to the region”.
Sad commentary when one can say you trust Putin to deal with isis and radical muslims more than your president.
The CCCP’s overtaking Eastern Europe in 1945 should bring peace & tranquility to a troubled region...
Neither Putin nor Assad are going to attack ISIS. They need ISIS to justify Assad’s rule.
Unless Russia is planning to commit tens of thousands of ground troops to Syria, all these airstrikes do is give Assad a little more time and insure Russia is part of whatever is next in the middle east.
It’s not just a fight against ISIS but against muslim extremists of various names
Russia is bombing in coordination with the Syrian Army on the ground.
Yesterday, the Syrians took back 3 villages near Homs after the airstrikes hit the rebels, and overnight they hit an ISIS Truck Bomb factory that the Syrians haven’t been able to get to.
They seem to be coordinating, instead of the occasional pin-pricks Obama has been doing.
A universally-held sentiment, to be sure.
The EU must be holding its breath and praying 24/7.
From the dumb statements coming out of the WH, we need to factor
in the lamebrain types the WH ding-a-ling surrounds himself with:
<><> know-nothing Josh Earnest,
<><> Susan "The Video" Rice, O's ntl security (gag) advisor),
<><> Tommy "The Dude" Vietor, O's campaign driver who (no joke)
had ntl security clearance, and actually sat in on Crisis Room meetings,
<><> Marie Harf, the State Dept's glittering jewel of colossal ignorance.
They can coordinate with Syria all they want but as we have learned these past 15 years, unless there is a large commitment of ground troops that is willing to go door to door, airstrikes have mixed results. We have employed airstrikes in Iraq, Afghanistan and in Syria for well over a decade, flying thousands of bombing missions. ISIS fighters, Al Queda and the whole lot are still making gains, retaking areas once controlled by coalition forces and are settled in for the long fight.
http://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0814_Inherent-Resolve
As of 4:59 p.m. EDT Sept. 29, the U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 7,162 airstrikes (4,583 Iraq / 2,579 Syria).
U.S. has conducted 5,590 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (3,125 Iraq / 2,442 Syria)
Rest of Coalition has conducted 1,572 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (1,439 Iraq /133 Syria)
The countries that have participated in the airstrikes include:
In Iraq: (1) Australia, (2) Canada, (3) Denmark, (4) France, (5) Jordan, (6) The Netherlands, and (7) UK
In Syria: (1) Australia, (2) Bahrain, (3) Canada, (4) France, (5) Jordan, (6) Saudi Arabia, (7) Turkey and (8) UAE
As of Sept. 29, U.S. and partner nation aircraft have flown an estimated 56,819 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Syria.
Yes of course!
1 Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
I’m guessing the Russians will be much less concerned with the PC media crowd fomenting “public opinion” as they bomb the living crap out of Syria (and elsewhere).
Sad to see Putin is defending Christians in the ME and America is letting the genocide continue.
Agree. The Russian troops will almost certainly go in and actually fight and kill ISIS. They probably won’t be hamstrung by ridiculous and dangerous ROE. However, that (expanding Russian influence & power) won’t bring peace. Just a shift to more subtle state sponsored violence.
I’m sure the destruction of Israel along the way is part of the equation for that peace...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.