Russia warns any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be shot down

[snoop1130]

Russia warns any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be shot down

By Tom Perry and Dahlia Nehme

 

A bus carries rebels and their families who left Douma, at Wafideen camp in Damascus, Syria, April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia has warned that any U.S. missiles fired at Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel enclave would be shot down and the launch sites targeted, raising the possibility of a U.S.-Russian confrontation.

 

Issuing the warning on Tuesday evening, the Russian ambassador to Lebanon also said such a clash should be avoided and Moscow was ready for negotiations. But his remarks could raise fears of direct conflict for the first time between major powers backing opposing sides in Syria's protracted civil war.

 

Moscow and Washington sparred at the United Nations on Tuesday over the use of chemical weapons in Syria as Washington and its allies considered whether to strike at Syrian government forces over the alleged poison gas assault.

 

At least 60 people were killed in Saturday's suspected chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma, Syrian relief workers said. An estimated 500 people were being treated for "symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals", the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

 

The Syrian government and Russia say the reports are bogus. The Kremlin said on Wednesday it hoped all sides involved in Syria would avoid doing anything that could destabilise an already fragile situation in the Middle East, and made clear it strongly opposed any U.S. strike on its ally.

 

After the attack, the rebel group holed up in Douma - Jaish al-Islam - finally agreed to withdraw from the town. That sealed a big victory for President Bashar al-Assad, who has now crushed the rebellion in the eastern Ghouta region near Damascus.

 

On the diplomatic front, Moscow and Washington stymied attempts by each other in the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to set up international investigations into chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday cancelled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on talks with Western allies about possible military action to punish Assad for the suspected gas attack on a rebel-held town that had long withstood a devastating Syrian government siege.

 

Trump had on Monday warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the attack was established.

 

"If there is a strike by the Americans, then ... the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired," Alexander Zasypkin, the Russian ambassador in Beirut, told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, speaking in Arabic.

 

He said he was referring to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian armed forces chief of staff.

 

The Russian military said on March 13 that it would respond to any U.S. strike on Syria by targeting any missiles and launchers involved. Russia is Assad's most powerful ally and its devastating air power has helped him wrest back large swathes of territory from rebels since 2015.

 

Zasypkin also said a clash between Russia and the United States over Syria "should be ruled out and therefore we are ready to hold negotiations".

 

Earlier in the week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said there was no threat of the situation in Syria spiralling into U.S.-Russian hostilities. TASS news agency quoted him as saying he believed common sense would prevail.

 

MISSILE SALVO FROM MEDITERRANEAN?

 

Any U.S. strike is likely to involve the navy, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defence systems. A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean.

 

With tensions mounting, pan-European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol warned airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria over the next 72 hours.

 

Eurocontrol said that air-to-ground and cruise missiles could be used within that period and there could be intermittent disruptions of radio navigation equipment.

 

Both Russia and Iran, Assad's other main ally, have warned his enemies against military action in recent days, underlining their commitment to the Syrian government they have armed and supported through years of conflict.

 

Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said during a visit to Damascus on Tuesday that an Israeli attack on an air base in Syria earlier this week would "not remain without response".

 

RISK OF "UNCONTROLLABLE ESCALATION"

 

On Monday, U.N. Syria peace envoy Staffan de Mistura cited the air base strike along with other recent events in Syria in a briefing to the Security Council, cautioning against a "situation of uncontrollable escalation".

 

Syria's Russian-supplied air defences shot down an Israeli F-16 jet in February during a previous bombing run against what Israel described as Iranian-backed positions in Syria.

 

Last year, the United States carried out strikes from two Navy destroyers against a Syrian air base after another toxic gas attack on a rebel-controlled pocket.

 

The U.S. and Russian militaries have sought to avoid conflict in Syria, notably last year in the Euphrates River Valley where they supported rival sides in the campaign against Islamic State militants.

 

However, U.S. forces in February killed or injured hundreds of Russian contractors fighting on Assad's side during a confrontation in Deir al-Zor province.

 

U.S. officials said last month pro-Syrian government forces including Russian mercenaries massed near U.S. and U.S.-backed forces in the same region, but a potential confrontation was defused after the U.S. military contacted Russian officers.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that any military action would not target the Syrian government's allies or anybody in particular, but rather the Syrian government's chemical facilities.

 

Any U.S. strike similar to the limited one launched last year would not cause a shift in the course of the war that has been going Assad’s way since Russia intervened on his side.

 

DEADLY CHEMICAL ATTACK

 

Syrian aid workers reported more than 1,000 people injured in the reported gas attack on Douma. Doctors and witnesses said victims showed symptoms of poisoning, possibly by a nerve agent, and reported the smell of chlorine gas.

 

France and Britain discussed with the Trump administration how to respond to the Douma attack. Both stressed that the culprit still needed to be confirmed.

 

The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Assad's government had been asked to make necessary arrangements for an OPCW investigation team to visit shortly.

 

The mission will aim to determine whether banned munitions were used but not assign blame.

 

The Assad government and Russia both urged the OPCW to investigate the allegations, a move by the two countries that was apparently aimed at averting any U.S.-led military action.

 

A European source said European governments were waiting for the OPCW to carry out its inquiry and for more solid forensic evidence from the attack to emerge. Any plan by Washington and its allies to take military action was likely to be on hold until then, the source told Reuters.

 

Despite the international revulsion over chemical weapons attacks, the death toll from such incidents in Syria is only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of combatants and civilians killed since the war erupted in 2011.

 

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations, Andrew Osborn and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow, Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam, Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Mark Hosenball and Patricia Zengerle in Washington, Jamie Freed in Singapore, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-4-11

[Tchooptip]

They are all crazier than each other

[geriatrickid]

So basically, this is going to  be a weapons testing  exercise.  The Russians will use their state of the art anti missile systems against the incoming French, UK and USA ordinance.  Should be interesting.   If the west succeeds, the Iranians will have to be more  accomodating on the nuclear arms issue. If the Russian system works, the Iranians can give a finger to the  USA, KSA, UAE and Israel as they will be untouchable.

[overherebc]

Trump tweeting/twittering? that his missiles are newer and 'smarter' than the other sides.

Waiting for the 'my dad is bigger than your dad'  from somebody.

[car720]

13 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

So basically, this is going to  be a weapons testing  exercise.  The Russians will use their state of the art anti missile systems against the incoming French, UK and USA ordinance.  Should be interesting.   If the west succeeds, the Iranians will have to be more  accomodating on the nuclear arms issue. If the Russian system works, the Iranians can give a finger to the  USA, KSA, UAE and Israel as they will be untouchable.

but isn't it always about weapons testing.  The manufacturers need a proxy war in order to test weapons and promote sales.  What advances have we really made since we got up of all fours?

[car720]

11 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Trump tweeting/twittering? that his missiles are newer and 'smarter' than the other sides.

Waiting for the 'my dad is bigger than your dad'  from somebody.

so, you want to have a dad measuring contest?

[overherebc]

12 minutes ago, car720 said:

so, you want to have a dad measuring contest?

Trump does by the sound of it.

[overherebc]

If heading back to UK by air soon start checking flight paths over that area. Itchy fingers on buttons could shorten your flight suddenly.

[geriatrickid]

1 minute ago, overherebc said:

If heading back to UK by air soon start checking flight paths over that area. Itchy fingers on buttons could shorten your flight suddenly.

The warning/advisory was  posted. The EU has learnt from the murder of the  Malaysian  jet over the Ukraine.

 

EASA has issued a notification for airlines on the risk of possible military action in the eastern Mediterranean. We have published the notification on the NOP in accordance with normal procedures for disseminating this kind of information.

 

[Media1]

Dumb Russia will miss the target. They are arch liars..Have limited technology's. All lies

[Belzybob]

Good opportunity for them both to see if the billions spent on armaments actually work.

[Morch]

3 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

So basically, this is going to  be a weapons testing  exercise.  The Russians will use their state of the art anti missile systems against the incoming French, UK and USA ordinance.  Should be interesting.   If the west succeeds, the Iranians will have to be more  accomodating on the nuclear arms issue. If the Russian system works, the Iranians can give a finger to the  USA, KSA, UAE and Israel as they will be untouchable.

 

I don't think it's all that straightforward. Russia and Syria may claim interceptions which did or did not occur. The US may deny such. Assessment of damage done, unless a clear cut result, will also be a matter of presentations and spin.

 

A couple of other points worth bearing in mind, is that the number of claimed interceptions does not necessarily bear much relevance - some of the intercepted projectiles/missiles will be decoys, and numbers of missiles launched will factor a certain percent being intercepted/missing target/malfunctioning .

 

In the recent "alleged" Israel airstrike - according to reports, aircraft spent about 10 minutes within Lebanese airspace - enough time to be detected and intercepted. 8 missiles launched, 5 claimed intercepted - even if figures are correct, decoys are a possibility, and damage done is a fact.

[bristolboy]

49 minutes ago, Media1 said:

Dumb Russia will miss the target. They are arch liars..Have limited technology's. All lies

"Russia's arms sales last year totaled $15 billion, making it the world's second-largest arms exporter after the United States. Sales this year are expected to be around that level."

http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-russia-poised-to-expand-its-arms-sales-abroad-2017-8

I know that Turkey recently purchased a Russian missile defense system for about 2 billion dollars. 

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, Morch said:

I don't think it's all that straightforward.

Interesting analysis published in April 2017 - deja vu?

Can US Warplanes Evade Russian Air Defenses? We May Soon Find Out in Syria

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/04/can-us-warplanes-evade-russian-air-defenses-we-may-soon-find-out-syria/136867/

 

[Different]

Aim some rockets to Russian targets then call it friendly fire, this what I would do when dealing with thugs like Putin.

[Kasset Tak]

9 hours ago, car720 said:

but isn't it always about weapons testing.  The manufacturers need a proxy war in order to test weapons and promote sales.  What advances have we really made since we got up of all fours?

That is the reason that US has basically been at war since they entered WWII. And it's get even more hilarious when US blame Russia for doing it to sell more weapons... as US is the No. 1 arms exporter in the world!!!

[dunroaming]

9 hours ago, overherebc said:

Trump tweeting/twittering? that his missiles are newer and 'smarter' than the other sides.

Waiting for the 'my dad is bigger than your dad'  from somebody.

Well it certainly won't be "my dick is bigger than your dick"  from Trump 

[dunroaming]

9 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

So basically, this is going to  be a weapons testing  exercise.  The Russians will use their state of the art anti missile systems against the incoming French, UK and USA ordinance.  Should be interesting.   If the west succeeds, the Iranians will have to be more  accomodating on the nuclear arms issue. If the Russian system works, the Iranians can give a finger to the  USA, KSA, UAE and Israel as they will be untouchable.

Then maybe we should all hope that the Russians are successful with their anti missile systems because if those missile make it then hundreds of people will be killed and that could escalate to something much worse!

[Morch]

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Interesting analysis published in April 2017 - deja vu?

Can US Warplanes Evade Russian Air Defenses? We May Soon Find Out in Syria

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/04/can-us-warplanes-evade-russian-air-defenses-we-may-soon-find-out-syria/136867/

 

 

Well, not a whole lot said there, actually.

 

There were also a couple (or more?) of these attacks, previously:

 

Who is attacking Russia’s bases in Syria? A new mystery emerges in the war.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/who-is-attacking-russias-main-base-in-syria-a-new-mystery-emerges-in-the-war/2018/01/09/4fdaea70-f48d-11e7-9af7-a50bc3300042_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4e3c27d492b1

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmeimim_(air_base)#Major_reported_incidents
 

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Then maybe we should all hope that the Russians are successful with their anti missile systems because if those missile make it then hundreds of people will be killed and that could escalate to something much worse!

 

Why do you assume hundreds of people will be killed? Don't recall that how things went down last time the US had a go at Syria. I don't think the US planners focus on targets which will result in high casualty figures.

[Ron19]

Troll post removed.

[BuriramSam]

11 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

That is the reason that US has basically been at war since they entered WWII. And it's get even more hilarious when US blame Russia for doing it to sell more weapons... as US is the No. 1 arms exporter in the world!!!

Totally agree. And if anyone has doubts as to how powerful the US war machine is, they should take note of how well it got a hold of the last two US presidents. Both, to different degrees, did the bidding of war mongers and became war mongers themselves. This comment may not be suitable for partisan hacks.

[Morch]

3 hours ago, BuriramSam said:

Totally agree. And if anyone has doubts as to how powerful the US war machine is, they should take note of how well it got a hold of the last two US presidents. Both, to different degrees, did the bidding of war mongers and became war mongers themselves. This comment may not be suitable for partisan hacks.

 

Yeah, because one just have to assume some "US war machine" getting hold of presidents, rather than standing US foreign policy issues. The included assertion that a leader taking any kind of military action turns him into a "war monger" is bogus. Same goes for the "partisan hacks" comment - partisan not being limited to US politics, that is.

[BuriramSam]

17 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Yeah, because one just have to assume some "US war machine" getting hold of presidents, rather than standing US foreign policy issues. The included assertion that a leader taking any kind of military action turns him into a "war monger" is bogus. Same goes for the "partisan hacks" comment - partisan not being limited to US politics, that is.

Yes because it's impossible to end two wars in eight years. 

[Morch]

38 minutes ago, BuriramSam said:

Yes because it's impossible to end two wars in eight years. 

 

[overherebc]

UK 4am news Trump starting to back down and now says maybe.

[zydeco]

21 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Interesting analysis published in April 2017 - deja vu?

Can US Warplanes Evade Russian Air Defenses? We May Soon Find Out in Syria

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/04/can-us-warplanes-evade-russian-air-defenses-we-may-soon-find-out-syria/136867/

 

The only time Soviet/Russian military technology ever approached equaling the US was with Russian MIGs in the early stages of the Korean War. Ever since then, no matter the arena, Russian junk gets smoked when put up against the US.

[balo]

I'm pretty sure if Trump wants to start WW3 , he will send a tweet out : Let's get them ! Missiles on its way ! 

He is a good example the humanity is stupid and always will be. Sure let's destroy the good world we built opp since WW2,  

Lets destroy the future for our kids by acting stupid.

 

Maybe we need more women in power after all, at least they know what's it like to give birth to a beautiful baby so they will think twice before they hit the red button. 

 

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

The only time Soviet/Russian military technology ever approached equaling the US was with Russian MIGs in the early stages of the Korean War. Ever since then, no matter the arena, Russian junk gets smoked when put up against the US.

 

It's been a while since top of the line (or near that) military technologies of both sides were directly pitted. In the past, Russia (and before that, the USSR) had a policy of exporting lower spec versions to costumers and client states. This somewhat changed overtime, plus the better grade equipment in Syria is owned and operated by Russia. Doubt it would be a walk in the park if push came to shove.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, balo said:

I'm pretty sure if Trump wants to start WW3 , he will send a tweet out : Let's get them ! Missiles on its way ! 

He is a good example the humanity is stupid and always will be. Sure let's destroy the good world we built opp since WW2,  

Lets destroy the future for our kids by acting stupid.

 

Maybe we need more women in power after all, at least they know what's it like to give birth to a beautiful baby so they will think twice before they hit the red button. 

 

 

 

"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a tweet."