4 Russian ships head for Syria

Obviously, just to keep an eye on US Navy vessels (wink)

" MOSCOW: Three Russian naval ships were sailing toward Syria in the eastern Mediterranean on Friday and a fourth was on its way, the Interfax news agency reported, citing a source at navy headquarters.

Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said Thursday that Russia was boosting its naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea, but primarily in order to organize a possible evacuation of Russians from Syria. He did not say how many vessels were being sent.

The prospect of increased Russian naval presence near Syria has stoked fears of a larger international conflict if the United States orders airstrikes over an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in a suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital. The U.S. already has numerous war ships in the Mediterranean.

Two Russian amphibious landing vessels and a reconnaissance ship have passed through the Dardanelles strait, according to the report carried by Interfax, a privately owned agency known for its independent contacts within Russia's armed forces.

Three Russian war ships were seen sailing through the Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if they were the same three vessels, although that seemed likely.

Interfax reported that another landing ship had left the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Friday morning and was to pick up a "special cargo" in Novorossiysk before sailing toward the eastern Mediterranean. The state RIA Novosti news agency also said that the landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov would be headed toward Syria after picking up cargo in Novorossiysk, which it said would take several days.

The three ships reported to have passed through the Dardanelles are the Novocherkassk and Minsk landing vessels and Priazovye reconnaissance ship.

The Defense Ministry said it was unable immediately to confirm the ships' departure.

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Friday, warning the U.S. and its allies against striking any chemical weapons storage facilities in Syria.

"That would create the threat of releasing highly toxic chemical agents, with corresponding consequences for the civilian population and the environment," the statement said. "Moreover, it can't be excluded that as a result of such a reckless action militants or terrorists could gain access to chemical weapons. This is a step toward proliferation of chemical weapons not only across Syrian territory but beyond its borders."

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mi...hip-towards-syria-interfax.ashx#ixzz2e7Udz2Cn
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)


Hmmmm..

 

Just reading here that Putin at G20 announced he will 'assist' Syria if attacked by external forces

Also 'special cargo' sent by Putin to Assad!!!

Edit/Remove baiting/insult

 

U.S. stocks fell after Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country will assist Syria if strikes are launched, erasing earlier gains amid a slower-than-forecast rise in employment.

Nine of 10 main groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated today, led by a 1.1 percent slide in health-care companies. Financial and industrial shares slipped 0.8 percent.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent percent to 1,642.79 at 10:05 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 138.31 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,799.17. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 36 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of day.

Bloomberg

 

If most sane people think Americans at war with Syria is a really bad idea by now, then a war with Russia is just plain insanity surely

 

Wow! Wouldn't it be something if American and Russian navy ships inadvertently got into a shootout in the Mediterranean?

Who do you think would win? Do the American warships even have any bullets?

Whose side would the Israelis support? Remember, Israel deliberately and purposely attacked and sunk the USS Liberty (q.v. google) in the Mediterranean circa 40 years ago -- and made light of it.

 

The general mood of Americans even before the Russian response was pretty negative to the idea

 

Israel would probably strike a Russian ship and try to blame it on Egypt to try to drag us into this mess too!!



- - - Updated - - -

and ?...................

there is no democracy in the USA
the people don't get to decide on anything
they just follow their leaders

Edit/Baiting/Insulting

 

No the leader threw to Congress which is made up of elected officials by the people.

 

I don't think Russians will start war over Syria. However they will continue to assist the legitimate Syrian government in any way they can. Some Russian analysts actually say whatever the USA decides to do about Syria - it's win-win for Russia. An interesting take on the whole situation.

On Syria, Russia awaits chance to say ‘I told you so’ - Vladimir Radyuhin

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-...hance-to-say-i-told-you-so/article5094118.ece

 

Why does it say four Russian ships in the OP when it says three Russian ships about a bazillion times in the article?

 

I'm hoping we do not interfere in a civil war
Remember we were at war with China During the Korean war
Do we want a war with Russia ?
either side may escalate the war to nuclear war

 

Perhaps because of this

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ru...syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53916&NewsCatID=359

and they are apparently being joined by Chinese ships

http://www.infowars.com/report-china-sends-warships-to-coast-of-syria/

Sounds like it is getting crowded there.

 

He also said he would attack Syria irrespective of what the congress decide.

 

He's looking a bit of a fool. At least Congress might give him a way out. Hopefully they will say no and then he can say he has decided to go by the will of the people.

 

Obama looks foolish either way.

He never should have drawn that red line in the first place.

 

I don't see that as a possibility unless the US plans on sinking the Russian evacuation ships.

 

I don't know if AIPAC and the neocons have gotten that message or, if they have gotten the message, simply doesn't care. At any rate, what the American people want doesn't amount to a straight row of turds.

 

Russia evacuated it's citizens in April/May. The boats likely have promised military equipment for Assad.

 

The Israelis didn't QUITE sink the Liberty, but it was John McCain's admiral pappy who was tasked with making light of it.

 

There instances when so-called "incidents " occur - which neither side would admit it to have been "planned " It just happened and the consequences followed.

 

Yeah! WW3. I was really hoping for a zombie apocalypse but I will take whatever I can get. At least with all the chemical weapons being thrown around there is a chance of them reacting with each other and hopefully creating some zombies.

 

Better for the US to quietly wait until the results of the UN inquiry and then deal with it through the UN but I agree with Silver Surfer that the Russians have no interest in a war with the US. If indeed Chinese warships are also there I imagine it is just to make the US think twice before attacking Russian boats unloading weapons to Assad. It is however dangerous to tread on thin ice.

 

Well lets wait till that happens.

 

Syria is the only port the Russians have in the Mediterranean though, that is a huge strategic interest for Russia. They won't attack as long as they think that Assad is still in control but with all this hemming and hawing in DC about not ruling out ground troops and the Saudis and other countries trying their best to get him out of power to the point of offering to pay for the war............this could very well be a case study for Murphy's law. The old saying about all the battle plans and strategies are only good until the point when you actually start fighting does have some relevance.

Still want my zombies though.

 

I believe an unidentified State Department official stated that Obama would attack regardless of what Congress decides. To my knowledge, Obama hasn't gone beyond saying that he has the authority to act under the War Powers Act, but that's a dubious claim.