Now we've got a new player, Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis, unlike the West, are
taking their fight right to Assad (link is external). This is
where things could spiral out of control really fast.
Smoke and embers aren't that dangerous.
'Thank you Russia!' - Residents of Liberated Syrian Towns
US-Backed Shia Fighters Turn to Assad – Reports
Breaking: Saudi Arabia moves planes to Turkey, Joint attack on Russian, Syrian and Kurdish forces begins (continually updated) | Veterans Today
Confirmed: Russian and Syrian jets are on standby to shoot down any Turkish or Saudi plane that crosses into Syria. Turkey is prepared to close the Bosporus and attack Russian ships in the Mediterranean.
[ Editor’s Note, 2:30 pm ET: VT is back up after being hacked for several hours when one key story was up — the one below on the Saudis moving tactical nukes to Turkey, to be closer to the NW Syrian battleground, and the NATO tripwire for any attack that might be launched on Syria after some staged provocation.
This comes the day after Munich started, with the Turks shelling Azaz, 4 to 5 miles south of the Turkish border — the last town on that supply road to Aleppo.
With this shelling, Turkey is in effect saying they are initiating an “artillery buffer zone”, something most would consider a repudiation of the Munich cessation of hostilities. If the Kurds and Syria can move closer to their own borders, they can mine the roads to slow down any Turkish advance.
We also suspect today’s hacking to have been an eavesdropping event to delay a new story we are working on — how Turkey has purchased swine flu from an employee at the Lugar lab in Georgia, which already has killed 1000 in Ukraine, been released in Russia, and surprise, surprise beginning to show up in the Turkish Kurdish resistance.
Neutrom bomb in Yemen.
The above link is very informative and long. (luckily the collective won't be able to read all of it as their attention span is 5 minutes, . . tops.)
Iran Won’t Allow Turkey, Saudi Arabia to Exacerbate Syria Situation: Deputy Commander
In an interview with Al-Alam TV, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri underlined the country’s opposition to the deployment of foreign forces in Syria, and said Tehran will not allow outside actors to foment more insecurity in the war-torn country.
“Saudi Arabia has exhausted its military muscles in the Syrian battlefield. It has failed both in Syria and Yemen. If they had had the ability, they would have already sent troops to Syria,” Jazzayeri said in an interview with Al-Alam News Network on Sunday.
On whether Iran would send more military advisors to Syria to counter possible Saudi deployment, he said, "We will not let the situation in Syria get out of control so that some rogue states could implement their policies. If needed, we will take some appropriate decisions."
Elsewhere, Jazzayeri stressed Iran's support for Russia's military assistance to the Syrian nation in the war on terror, adding that Tehran and Moscow coordinate their political and military measures in Syria.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia are desperately trying to restore the balance between opposing forces in Syria, while militants, backed by both countries, are losing ground to the Syrian Army supported by Russian anti-terrorist campaigns, according to the Independent. On Sunday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Ankara and Riyadh may launch a joint operation "against the Daesh terrorist group" in Syria. In fact, the newspaper noted, the countries only plan to support anti-government forces. Additionally, Ankara is going to attack Syrian Kurds which have been successfully confronting Daesh militants under the support of the US-led coalition. How come they call it an "anti-terrorist operation" then? The answer is anger.
"To add to Ankara's fury, the Russians, too, are now building close ties with the Kurds," the newspaper reads. "One cannot rule out Riyadh and Ankara, feeling increasingly desperate, taking action which will add to the witch's brew which is now Syria.
The mere fact that Saudi Arabia will send troops and aircraft to Turkey doesn't mean an invasion is inevitable. But this is for sure a bad omen.
