Putin's Movements Into Syria Concern Israel

We seem to be in the beginning stages of Ezekiel 38-39. The alliances between Iran, Israel and Turkey have been forming for a while now, and at this point we may be seeing the next stage being prepared, as Russia and Iran expand their military growth into Syria ('from the north" of Israel). With Russia sending air defense missile systems, it appears that there is more to this build-up than simply fighting ISIS, and as the article states, it is "more far reaching than it would appear". This article captures some of these issues:

Putin’s slippery evasions for Netanyahu’s concerns about Iran

Iran – under the cover of the Syrian army – is trying to “build a second terrorist front against us from the Golan Heights.”

The point the Israeli prime minister tried to make was that Israel’s security was at stake here - not Syria’s. He stressed that Iran and Syria were arming the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hizballah with “advanced weaponry that is directed at us, and has already been fired at us.”

US officials disclosed that Russia had started drone surveillance missions in Syria...

troops at the Russian base outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia were seen preparing to deploy batteries of advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Their presence in Syria will raise major questions, one of which is this: against which air power are they deployed, given the fact that the Islamic State has no air force.

Their deployment therefore poses troubling ramifications for the ongoing Syrian civil war as well as the region as a whole. For Israel, the placement of S-300 missiles in Syria is problematic for three reasons:

1. They seriously reduce the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of action in Lebanese and Syrian airspace.

2.  Following a spate of contradictory and muddled statements about Moscow’s intentions to withhold the S-300s from Syria and Iran – an apparent smoke screen -, it turns out that they are coming to Syria after all.

3.  The Russians say they are building up military strength in Syria to fight ISIS. But neither ISIS nor any other regional power poses an air threat to the Russian deployment. So the state-of-the-art air defense missile delivered to Syria, to which Iran too has access, does pose a threat to Israel’s security.

Its deployment in Syria appears to signal that Putin has a long game for his military buildup in Syria - more far-reaching that it would appear.

Each day brings news of more Russian forces arriving in Syria. At first, reports said several hundred marines were being deployed, but now preparations are being made for 2,000 of them.

A similar process is occurring with the deployment of anti-aircraft missiles. Initially, reports said that Moscow was providing Syria with the SA-22, known as the Pantsir-S1, but those missiles never arrived. Now, it appears that the S-300 is to be deployed instead.

The arrival of four advanced multi-role Sukhoi 30SM (Flanker) tactical jets in Latakia on Sept. 18 has also raised eyebrows. It came just hours after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in an effort to prevent collisions between US and Russian forces operating in Syria. As those jets are intended for air-to-air combat, observers wonder which forces are to be targeted. The same question hangs over the half a dozen MiG-31 interceptors, which landed in Damascus earlier this month.

So what is Putin’s real game in Syria?

In another development that was only noticed in very few circles in the West and Israel, Iranian Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, military advisor of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on ‘Friday, Sept. 18: “Russia moves in coordination with Iran in some regional issues including Syria.”

In other words, the US and Israel, which are attempting to coordinate their military steps with those of Russia, have already fallen behind.  

Reports in Israel over the last few days have claimed that Putin was keen on holding the summit even more than Netanyahu, and that the Israeli Air Force had started setting up a mechanism for liaison with the Russian Air Force in order to prevent inadvertent collisions.

There is no doubt that Netanyahu is making a bold statement by bringing to the Kremlin meeting the IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkot and the head of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Hertzi Halevi. This is the first time such high-ranking military officers have participated in a meeting of the Israeli and Russian leaders. 

Putin will be attended by his national security advisor, Nikolai Patrushev. This is the Russian president’s way of indicating that, for him, the talks will focus on a general assessment of the Syrian situation, whereas Israel is seeking a discussion on the military aspects of the growing Russian intervention..

Also see:

Cass Sunstein, Jade Helm and Laboratory America

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