• Russia Is Disengaging From Syria: Arms Shipments Stopped, Warships Exit Tartus
    30 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Russian naval vessels have unexpectedly departed the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus and Russian arms shipments to Syria have been suddenly discontinued. DEBKAfile’s military sources reveal that those and other steps indicate that the Russians are rapidly drawing away from the Syrian arena to avoid getting caught up in the escalating hostilities expected to arise from military intervention by the US, Europe and a number of Arab states. Russian intelligence appears to have decided that this outside intervention is imminent and Moscow looks anxious to keep its distance for now. According to our military and Russian sources, these drastic steps must have been personally ordered by President Vladimir Putin. He is believed to have acted over the objections of some of his army and naval chiefs. This would explain the mixed statements issuing from Moscow in recent days about the disposition of Russian personnel at the naval base in Tartus and Russian military personnel in Syria. Wednesday, Aug. 22, Commander of the Russian Navy Vice Adm. Viktor Chirkov said that if the fighting in Syria reached Tartus, Moscow may decide to evacuate the base. He stressed that this decision would have to be taken on the authority of President Putin. He was the first Russian official to suggest the possibility of an evacuation. A week later, Aug. 28, Russian chief of staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov denied anything had changed in the working procedures of Russian military personnel in Syria or that there were any plans to evacuate the Russian naval base in Tartus: "I think it's too early to draw conclusions [from the situation in Syria]," said the general. "No one is running away from there.” When a Russian journalist pressed the general and ventured to ask whether Moscow was terminating its military involvement in Syria, Marakov retorted, “Why are you so worried about Syria?" But he didn’t answer the question. DEBKAfile's military sources disclose that the Russians have taken five significant military steps with regard to Syria in the last two weeks: 1. They cancelled a large-scale naval exercise dubbed “Caucasus 2012” scheduled to start mid-August in the eastern Mediterranean opposite the Syrian coast; 2. Warships from three fleets - the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea – concentrated opposite Syria have dispersed and returned to their bases; 3. Syrian President Bashar Assad was notified that Moscow was halting military aid to his army - except for intelligence updates and advice on logistics from Russian military advisers; 4. Moscow has not clearly announced a freeze on arms shipments, including replacement parts for Russian weapons, which make up the bulk of the Syrian army's weaponry. Officials have only said, “There are no large Russian weapons shipments planned in the near future to Syria." 5. The only Russian naval ship left in Tartus - a floating Russian Navy PM-138 shipyard – is also under orders to depart Tartus and return to the Black Sea in September. A Russian source disclosed that all the remaining Russian personnel in Tartus have gathered on the floating shipyard, except for two officers on shore. This vessel and the remaining personnel are evidently packed up and ready to sail at any moment out of the Syrian port. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.debka.com/article/22314/Russia-is-disengaging-from-Syria-Arms-shipments-stopped-warships-exit-Tartus[/url]
Good! Bombs, NOW
EVERYONE WINS
Did Russia suddenly get a thought that maybe supporting a country nobody likes is a bad idea? Or did they just get bored with irritating the rest of the globe?
[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;37459461]Did Russia suddenly get a thought that maybe supporting a country nobody likes is a bad idea? Or did they just get bored with irritating the rest of the globe?[/QUOTE] They probably have some super secret plan. Maybe they found a new ally in the region to base up with.
Syria probably ran out of money to give to Russia
[QUOTE=Chernarus;37459502]They probably have some super secret plan. Maybe they found a new ally in the region to base up with.[/QUOTE] they're not cartoon villains putting some grand, manipulative plan into motion. it's much more likely that they just saw that continuing to sell to Syria was really bad for their PR.
I guess they finally got the last vodka case out of the port.
[QUOTE=Cone;37459546]they're not cartoon villains putting some grand, manipulative plan into motion. it's much more likely that they just saw that continuing to sell to Syria was really bad for their PR.[/QUOTE] But Russia is supposed to be evil anti-democracy communist nation secretly plotting to nuke USA.
Well guess we can look forward to a new regime in Syria. 10$ that its just another dictatorship.
Hmm... I'll wait for a source I've heard of
i wonder how much money russia made from the massacre
Shit's going down !
[QUOTE=Florence;37459624]Well guess we can look forward to a new regime in Syria. 10$ that its just another dictatorship.[/QUOTE] tunisia
[QUOTE=Florence;37459624]Well guess we can look forward to a new regime in Syria. 10$ that its just another dictatorship.[/QUOTE] Libya
[QUOTE=zombays;37459543]Syria probably ran out of money to give to Russia[/QUOTE] Not even that. They probably realized that Assad is losing control of Syra FAST. The situation is getting worst and the rebels are gaining ground and momentum. It's only a matter of time before some sort of intervention happens(Assad is getting desperate) and when that happens Russia does not want to be still around.
[QUOTE=smurfy;37459674]Libya[/QUOTE] If you're going to play the Libya card, Egypt.
[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;37459461]Did Russia suddenly get a thought that maybe supporting a country nobody likes is a bad idea? Or did they just get bored with irritating the rest of the globe?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Chernarus;37459502]They probably have some super secret plan. Maybe they found a new ally in the region to base up with.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=zombays;37459543]Syria probably ran out of money to give to Russia[/QUOTE][QUOTE=Cone;37459546]they're not cartoon villains putting some grand, manipulative plan into motion. it's much more likely that they just saw that continuing to sell to Syria was really bad for their PR.[/QUOTE] Did [B]anyone[/B] read the article? It says they're pulling out because they feel outside intervention is imminent and they want to get their men and material the hell out of the way.
I wonder if the US or another western nation warned them they were about to attack so as to avoid a skirmish.
[QUOTE=NeonpieDFTBA;37459865]I wonder if the US or another western nation warned them they were about to attack so as to avoid a skirmish.[/QUOTE] France and the US have been threatening a lot with intervention if Syria just about does...anything, now. "If you do [I]this[/I], we'll attack!" "If you do [I]that[/I], we'll attack!" The list of things is getting pretty big and soon Syria is going to trip over one of them.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37459753]Did [B]anyone[/B] read the article? It says they're pulling out because they feel outside intervention is imminent and they want to get their men and material the hell out of the way.[/QUOTE] this is facepunch, where the bad reading rating was removed because it would have become the only rating to be used
[QUOTE=viperfan7;37460723]this is facepunch, where the bad reading rating was removed because it would have become the only rating to be used[/QUOTE] And was supposedly replaced with a 1 hour ban length, but I never see that unless it was the first or second post.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37459753]Did [B]anyone[/B] read the article? It says they're pulling out because they feel outside intervention is imminent and they want to get their men and material the hell out of the way.[/QUOTE] We're talking geopolitics here, nothing's simple and only very rarely does the country's explanation actually explain everything. And I doubt we can fully trust russia when it comes to why they disengaged from Syria, which they have fiercely defended for quite a while now.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37459753]Did [B]anyone[/B] read the article? It says they're pulling out because they feel outside intervention is imminent and they want to get their men and material the hell out of the way.[/QUOTE] But didn't they put their shit there as to prevent intervention? Either Russia was just all bark but no bite or this source is fishy. Are there any more sources? This IS a Celastias thread, he likes to use stupid sources for his News Posts.
[QUOTE=Ganerumo;37460793]We're talking geopolitics here, nothing's simple...[/QUOTE] Emperor Scorpious' analysis was simple, and clear, however. It had to do with reading or not reading the OP.
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;37460799]But didn't they put their shit there as to prevent intervention? Either Russia was just all bark but no bite or this source is fishy. Are there any more sources? This IS a Celastias thread, he likes to use stupid sources for his News Posts.[/QUOTE] Their shit was sitting there [I]before the Arab Spring started.[/I] Syria didn't suddenly become a Russian ally because a revolution started in it.
Maybe the French or Turkish told Russia something. Also no offense to the OP, but I'm gonna wait for other sources to emerge.
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;37460799]But didn't they put their shit there as to prevent intervention? Either Russia was just all bark but no bite or this source is fishy. Are there any more sources? This IS a Celastias thread, he likes to use stupid sources for his News Posts.[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartus#Russian_naval_base[/url] [QUOTE][B]Tartus hosts a Soviet-era naval supply and maintenance base, under a 1971 agreement with Syria,[/B] which is still staffed by Russian naval personnel. Tartus is the last Russian military base outside the former Soviet Union, and its only Mediterranean fueling spot, sparing Russia’s warships the trip back to their Black Sea bases through straits in Turkey, a NATO member.[8][/QUOTE]
Crap, if Russia is willing to walk away from extremely lucrative arms deals with Syria then they must have pretty damn good information suggesting we're about to invade yet another sovereign Middle Eastern nation. The list of people in that part of the world we haven't dropped bombs on in the last 20 years is getting short...
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;37460799]Are there any more sources? This IS a Celastias thread, he likes to use stupid sources for his News Posts.[/QUOTE] I'm calling bullshit. Al Jazeera's been glued to Syria, have some of their best dudes on the ground, and they make no mention of this anywhere. DEBKA is primarily based on sourceless rumors, so this isn't actually news until someone confirms it.
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