by Ghassan Kadi
The enemies of Syria have been gleefully watching Syria getting dismembered, its people killed and its infrastructure destroyed for five long years.
Every time an icon was destroyed, they leaped with joy. Every time they conjured up a plot to widen the scope of the war and involve NATO, they impatiently sat in front of their televisions waiting and bracing to hear that the presidential palace has suffered a direct hit. This was not to happen, and the resilience of Syrians, their resolve and the manner in which they honed on President Assad was and continues to be something that enemies of Syria were neither prepared for nor ready to accept.
And now, as Syria is emerging triumphant, and as Saudi Arabia finds itself facing huge difficulties, domestically, regionally and internationally, and as the stupid and short-sighted policies of Erdogan have moved terrorism into the heart of Turkey, and as the EU is reaping the fruit of the evil seed it planted in Syria, the enemies of Syria are desperately trying to find a reason to put a smile on their faces.
It is not at all surprising then to see them celebrate President Putin’s decision to pull troops out of Syria.
Putin’s decision came as a surprise to all of us. Some of us were quicker than others in analysing it properly. And whilst the haters of Syria and Russia, as well as those who personally hate presidents Putin and Assad were quick to make the event look like a turnaround in the relationships between Syrian and Russia, even a failure, the decision was not as surprising as first seen.
I asked a number of friends, the opinions and views of whom I highly respect, the following question:
“What’s your take on the Russian withdrawal? I am fully aware it could be a tactical action, one that is reversible etc etc.. What I’m worried about is a possible conflict between Moscow and Damascus. Are you aware of any such thing?”
The “conversations” were private, and my friends had no idea that I asked that same questions to others, so the responses were not only independent, but also done spontaneously without any editing or need for holding back any concerns.
Here is the first response in its entirety:
“Hi Ghassan, I am more worried about a rift between Lavrov and Putin than between Putin and Assad, however remote that may be. This leads to my definite belief that Russia and Syria have orchestrated this whole process down to a T. No chance or possibility of a disagreement between Syria and Russia. And I can splurge and say that Russia is preparing the political ground for a greater conflict and consequent comeback because they do not have faith in US/Saudi/Turkish reaction to their gesture of goodwill, after clearly demonstrating their incredible firepower”.
This was the second response, also quoted in its entirety:
“Everything is possible, of course. But I see no signs of conflict. But, if there was such a conflict, we would not know about it, right? But the key thing is that I don’t see the Syrians being in any position to argue with the Russians and, besides, the Russians would have other means of pressure other than withdrawal. So no, I really don’t see any reason at this point to suspect a rift. Do you?”
Both responses were heart-warming and reassuring indeed, and then, I received a response from a true hero; a Syrian NDF operative. I had in the past relied on this particular friend to give me information of events as they happened on the ground, and at times, before they happened. He gave a very long answer, and I will skim it down to its core. This was his response (without any corrections):
“Don’t worry. Perfect and absolute understanding between Moscow and Damascus. Syrian army rejuvenated and best trained and equipped with Russian and Iranian expertise. Major weapons remain..specially S 400. Decision made between all parties. Readiness remains. Bases remain. Only part leaves. Part stays. Russia delivered ultra.modern equipment. Withdrawal..pragmatic…Diplomatic. .tactical…ellusive..many reasons… it is not a total withdrawal.
No one touches Syria. They can’t… anytime very quickly Russians can and will come back . Russians remain on the ground as usual. There is no conflict. How could there be….this is friendship. ..strategic survival necessity… its pipelines. ..it’s prevention… its defence….IT’S A VITAL FRIENDSHIP BASED ON COMMON VIEWS. .COMMON HEARTS…COMMON CULTURES..COMMON INTERESSTS…COMON EVERYTHING.
Russians keep their word. This is extrem important for the public and institutions…in Russia and worldwide. There is no necessity staying right now. We all saw how fast they can come. Part of russian forcea will stay.
Syrian army trained and supplied by russian army. What conflict ? The cooperarion has never been tighter !!!
From the start itvwas agreed upon a 3 months intervention. It h been prolonged. .. 5..6months… longer than that it would be regarded as occupation..understand. many pragmatic reasonable reasons. NEVER EVER CONFLICT BETWEEN SYRIA AND RUSSIA. Soulmates don’t dissagree.”
One can almost smell the adrenalin in this last response; which I dearly treasure.
As The Saker put it bluntly in his article yesterday, he trusts Putin, and so do I. Putin is not going to cut and run, even if there is indeed some dispute between himself and the Syrian leadership, which is very highly unlikely.
President Putin is not going to blemish his impeccable record of certitude, strength and resolve by walking out and away.
The troglodytes can keep on wearing their ugly toothy grins, but for as long as Russia and Syria uphold their principles and what unites them, their enemies shall not pass.
The September 2015 Russian initiative in its initial form is over, but Russia’s role is not over and out.
“Nuff said. :D
Thank you Ghassan.
“their enemies shall not pass.”
“No Pasaran!” The call of the fighters defending the Spanish Republic in Madrid over 80 years ago, whilst facing the fascist hordes. The cause remains the same. No to fascism! The call remains the same!
No Pasaran!
Hear hear. Thank you.
Thanks, Ghassan, for this and other pieces!
Since Russian planes are servicemen are still on all active fronts (and will remain on all active fronts, according to Elijah J. Magnier) the “leaving” is only vis-a-vis the Ceasefire! And even here, President Putin made a warning: “At the same time, I would like to stress that any group violating the ceasefire will be taken off the list provided by the United States, with all the consequences that come with it.” http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/51526
When I heard news of Russian withdrawal, my first thought was – they are leaving because they are worried about Saudis and Turks, Russia isn’t ready just yet to fight a WW3.
On seeing just what is being withdrawn, my second thought was – this is non-event, it’s just for show to offer the Yanks and their slaves a face-saving way out of the mess. Planes went to Russia, the rest is still in place. And planes have wings, you know? And those wings can carry them back just as quick.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Putin got wind of, or anticipated as a predictable approach, or both, that once the peace talks and such got a bit of momentum the US was planning to start complaining a lot about Russian forces and their bombing as being counterproductive to peace bla bla, with their big international media megaphone.
So rather than be in a position where he had to either do what the Americans told him to, or refuse/ignore them and look obstructionist, he pre-empted by pulling out on his own. Thus, he has the diplomatic initiative and can contrariwise push the Americans to pull out their stuff. Meanwhile as you say, the pull-out itself is pretty cosmetic and of a nature to be reversed extremely quickly if other actors try to take advantage militarily.
And again, if he tried to pull out but was forced to return because of others’ bad actions, he has diplomatic cover to escalate the intervention if necessary. I see plenty of win here; very Clausewitz, in the sense that both diplomacy and warfare are pursuing the same goals in collaboration despite their different means.
(As a side note, I feel that US warfare once it gets going tends to sabotage US diplomacy except on the brute mafia “Make a ‘xample out of the sonofabitch so everyone knows they don’t want to be next” level)
@Russia and Syria have orchestrated this whole process down to a T.
The speed, precision, flawless execution of the whole operation and the very limitation in time reveals an extraordinary preparation, correct assessment of the strategical situation, precise intelligence, careful planning, which required an extended time. And the strike came at the moment chosen for maximum effect (surprise no less). The magnitude of the results obtained with the minimum of means is proof that the planners were sure that they would reach their goals in the set timeframe. I think that the cowboy strategists would realize that they have to do with real professionals who mean business and not try anything foolish. There are certainly plans to deal with that also.
Dw, Russian planes rule
https://youtu.be/zEeQWbC-wKA See this from like 10min on, many Russian planes but not in Russian Hands. :)
People must have forgotten all the little tidbits of the last 6 months. Syria has no sovereignty as such left. It was all sold to Russia.. It would have been the only way Russia would have accepted this mission. Russian supplies right now are free.. Like Syria is part of Russia. We will only know all the little details if and when someone else comes to power and a Russian shows up on his presidential door and shows him the signed papers about the sale… Syria.. Also why Assad waited so long.. The barbarians were already inside the gate before he relented. The US supplying 15,000 TOW missiles to neutralize the SAA forces, forced Assad to capitulate. Almost everyone who watches Syria already knows this.. For Syrian oil, gas and other resources, Russia will rebuild Syria.. It will be like japan and Germany.. They are sort of free and look free but they are US property.. Syria is Russian property now no matter who rules. International laws or not, no one spends the effort Russia has spent in all spheres on another country for just a good job.. Its hard economics.. There is now not even a blip about the cost to Syria on this military operation.. Until sept 2015, we heard a lot about loans and iran picking up the tabs and all kinds of things.. Not now.. Just like japan or south korea, Syria also has no say in pretty much anything.
perhaps this clarifies a little
“Damascus has paid for all Moscow supplied weapons, due to existing contracts, and assistance through the FSI Russian Federation carried out by the Russian side at no charge, said Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad. “Our countries have a strategic partnership since the Soviet times. Syria pays for Russian weapons, taking into account existing arrangements. We paid everything required by applicable treaties. As for the operations of VKS the Russian Federation, it was using the people of Syria and the Syrian government, our armed forces and it’s free, “- said the ambassador. At the same time, he expressed gratitude to the Russian people and the Russian president “for the assistance to the Syrian people.”
http://www.anna-news.info/node/55063
google translate
extract from v extensive report
Dear Ghassan,
I want to be honest and say I did not completely understand the necessity of this article.
Is there a group of people actually questioning a possible rift between Syria and Russia just because Russian forces partially withdrew?
As a person studying the relationship between Syria and Russia through-out this crisis, the thought of a possible rift has never come to my mind, and neither does it seem that people are widely discussing this issue.
Are there any indications of a rift or are you reassuring people who have thoughts that their might be something between Syria and Russia?
Or am I missing something?
I agree with you to a certain extent. That said, many enemies of Syria were using the “opportunity” to try to “prove” that Russia was letting Syria down.
There is indeed a huge crowd putting Putin down. Thanks Ghassan for sharing the views of the Syrian NDF operative. They know best.
Thanks for pointing that out !
Keep up the good work.
For past one week or so, most of the websites dealing with geopolitical and strategic news, are finding it fashionable to write articles on Russian partial withdrawal from Syria – some mention how Russia has ‘run away’ because of unsustainable cost, some opine about ‘deal’ between Putin and Obama, some other can’t hide their glee about ‘break-up’ between Lavrov/Shoigu and Assad, and, so on ….
In my opinion, these are all kneejerk reactions of the global media controlled by AngloZionist plutocratic elite. Russia is fully committed to support the Syria government and its Armed Forces which has significant strength drawn from Irani Military, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shia Militia.
The war to restore normalcy in Syria and Iraq continues. Diplomacy is being pushed into the forefront.
The only point to ponder, I feel, relates to Kurdish autonomy. Not sure, how it will progress or, even regress. But, in Turkey and Syria, this will be a political issue which can not be pushed away any more (Iraqi Kurdis have autonomy, even if that functions as Barzani controlled estate) …
One need only look at Libya then Syria to see the massive difference in just about everything. Russia has demonstrated that another alternative exists to the continuous war waged by the Outlaw US Empire to gain Full Spectrum Dominance–Peaceful coexistence as sovereign equals is entirely possible and indeed preferable. But there’s still much work to do and a long ways to go before the tide is finally turned from War to Peace.
No, it is far, far from over but the Russians have stepped back into a defensive position having declared the offensive phase of their operation over and listing an impressive string of accomplishments. Like an actual CEO, Putin showed what the shareholders ( the Russian people) got for their money/personal sacrifice and that it was wisely spent. They will support him in whatever is required for sanity in the Ukraine in the future now that the trust and respect is doubly earned.
The “don’t F with me ” attitude is still there however and that is very appropriate given the ” all or nothing/winner takes all” mentality of the American neocons.
The show down at Erdogan’s not-OK corral is still pending. He wants to set the time and place but that is not going to happen.
The threat that Syria faces now is dismemberment (i.e., America’s Plan B), particularly through a potential Kurdistan.
Just recently, the Kurds in Northern Syria have announced that they want a federal set-up with greater powers for themselves. This is just the first step to creating a Kurdish entity carved out from Syrian land, which by wild coincidence has significant energy resources.
Behind this Kurdish gambit of course are America and Israel.
Let’s see how Russia responds, given that it has “no moral responsibilty to ensure the territorial integrity of Syria.”