Should also be noted that Russian AD radars were turned off after the American warning that they were going to act. I can think of 2 reasons.
1) Fear of HARM
2) Did not want the Americans to know that they could not track the attack.
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The US Navy appears to have fooled Russia and Syria with a warship ruse before the strike
When President Donald Trump threatened to send missiles at Syria — despite Russia's promises to counter-attack— all eyes turned towards the US Navy's sole destroyer in the region. But that may have been a trick.
Pundits openly scoffed at Trump's announcement of the strike days in advance, especially considering his criticism of Barack Obama for similar talk, but the actual strike appeared to go down well.
In April 2017, two US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean steamed into the region, let off 59 cruise missiles in response to suspected gas attacks by the Syrian government, and left unpunished and unpursued.
But this time, Russian officials threatened to shoot down US missiles, and potentially the ships that launched them, if they attacked Syria. A retired Russian admiral spoke candidly about sinking the USS Donald Cook, the only destroyer in the region.
When the strike happened, the Cook didn't fire a shot, and a source tell Bloomberg News it was a trick.
Instead, a US submarine, the USS John Warner, fired the missiles while submerged in the eastern Mediterranean, presenting a much more difficult target than a destroyer on the surface. Elsewhere in the sea, a French navy frigate let off three missiles.
But the bulk of the firing came from somewhere else entirely — the Red Sea.
Near Egypt, the USS Monterey, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser fired 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer shot 7, accounting for about a third of the total 105 missiles fired.
Combined with a trilateral air assault from a US B-1B Lancer bomber and UK and French fighter jets, the attack ended up looking considerably different than last year's punitive strike.
Photos from the night of the attack show Syrian air defenses firing missile interceptors on unguided trajectories, suggesting they were simply blind fired, and did not target or intercept incoming missiles.
"No Syrian weapon had any effect on anything we did," Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie told reporters of the strike on Saturday, calling the strike "precise, overwhelming and effective."
Syria said it shot down 71 of the missiles fired, but no evidence has yet surfaced to vindicate that claim. During the last strike, the US admitted when one of its Tomahawks failed to reach its target due to an error with the missile. Link
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Originally posted by TopHatter View PostInteresting how "little" was launched from the Med.
I wonder if that was to demonstrate to all and sundry how boxed in Syria is and how even potentially disputing control of the Med is no shield for her.
Or maybe there was just a dearth of appropriate assets there.
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Originally posted by snapper View PostFrom a man who criticised others (rightly in my view) continually for signalling what they may do but yet himself made public via twitter what he planned to do? "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" from a guy who preached not telling them? Nothing will change in Syria because there is no coherent policy on what should be done. One of strikes - no matter how much ordinance is dropped on infrastructure, change not a jot on the ground. Trumpkin got to look big, the murders will continue. "Mission Accomplished".
In case you have not been keeping count and you have not. That's THREE strikes against Moscow. The cruise missile strike last year. Bombing a Russian merc column. And today. Your Trumpkin claims are every bit as hollow as your professionalism.
The fucks can go on killing each other. Good!
Originally posted by snapper View PostSermons* or is that preaching too? You keep on preaching too Colonel. I am looking forward though to the birth of my daughter, though hopefully not the sleepless nights as my Muscovite cousin has volunteered to help as a 'Nanny' so God willing I shall time to recover with my Husband, milk some goats, cook, enjoy a few glasses of wine again and read before I travel again or return to work.
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WSJ's edit is calling for the setting up of a safe zone. similar to what happened after GW1
Trump’s Next Syria Challenge | WSJ | Apr 15 2018
A single missile strike won’t stop the designs of Iran and Russia.
By The Editorial Board
April 15, 2018 3:13 p.m. ET
President Trump announced “mission accomplished” after Friday night’s missile attack on Syria, and he’s right if his goal was merely to punish Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons. But if Mr. Trump also wants to deter Russian and Iranian imperialism, reduce the chances of another Mideast war and keep Syria from producing global terrorists, he needs a more ambitious strategy.
Even narrowly defined, the military strike was valuable in enforcing the longtime taboo against chemical weapons—all the more so after Barack Obama drew his famous “red line” in 2013 and failed to enforce it. Criticism of the strike from the Obama gallery that failed so utterly in Syria can’t be taken seriously.
The 105 Tomahawk and standoff air missiles, launched from three directions into Syria, did tangible damage to Syria’s chemical-weapons R&D and storage facilities. Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters, “no Syrian weapon had any effect on anything we did,” including Russian-supplied missile defenses.
The damage might have a deterrent effect on Assad’s use of chemicals, given that Mr. Trump said Friday he is prepared to enforce the ban again. Mr. Trump lost credibility on that score in the last year after his Administration concluded several times that Assad had used chlorine gas but took no action. Next time the attack should be even more punishing.
The military contribution from Britain and France was useful in demonstrating a larger willingness to prevent the normalization of WMD. And the strike could have a demonstration effect on North Korea as Mr. Trump heads into his perilous summit with Kim Jong Un.
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Yet one bombing won’t change the fundamentals of the Syrian battlefield, or the strategic reality that the Russia-Iran-Assad axis is winning. By Sunday Assad had already resumed bombing rebel areas, including civilian homes. To alter those realities, Mr. Trump has to do more than plead with the Russians and Iranians as he did Friday night:
“To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children?” The answer is they do.
And the only way to change their minds is to change their recognition of the costs and benefits of intervention.
One useful step would be keep the pressure on Russia to fulfill its agreement to eliminate chemical arms from Syria. Russia surely knew about the stockpiles, and the U.S. should demand that the United Nations office in Damascus inspect the chemical attack areas. It should also insist on U.N. access to all areas needing humanitarian aid. If Syria refuses, the U.N. should cease all such aid to the country since most of it now goes to the regime.
More broadly, Mr. Trump needs a strategy for putting pressure on the Syrian axis and gaining leverage in talks to end the civil war. The best idea we’ve seen would follow the example of President George H.W. Bush after the first Gulf War in 1991.
The U.S. and its allies established and enforced a no-fly safe zone in northern Iraq that protected the Kurdish areas from attacks by Saddam Hussein. The plan worked for a decade and allowed the Kurds to build the most prosperous, pro-American part of Iraq.
The U.S. already operates a de facto safe zone east of the Euphrates River with some 2,000 troops. But a zone there and another near the border with Jordan might require fewer troops once Islamic State fighters are further reduced. Such a zone would allow refugees to return safely, easing pressure on nearby states. It would give the U.S. leverage over Kurds and Arabs under protection to help against a revival by Islamic State or al Qaeda. And that might help ease tensions with the Turks.
Such a zone wouldn’t threaten Assad’s control over the rest of Syria, but the U.S. has called for Assad’s ouster for seven years without effect. Better to accomplish what we can than to keep tilting at what we can’t.
Above all, the safe-zone strategy would send a signal that the U.S. isn’t abandoning the region to Iran and Russia. Iran’s strategy is to use southern Syria as a second base, along with Lebanon, for Hezbollah militia and arms on the border with Israel. This would make an Israeli-Iran conflict inevitable, and the U.S. would be drawn in eventually.
The better U.S. strategy is to support regional opponents of Iranian imperialism and try to turn Syria into the Ayatollah’s Vietnam. Only when Russia and Iran begin to pay a larger price in Syria will they have any incentive to negotiate an end to the war or even contemplate a peace based on dividing the country into ethnic-based enclaves.
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Executing such a strategy would require considerable diplomacy, as well as persuasion and commitment by Mr. Trump at home and abroad. Perhaps that is beyond his interest or capacity. But this Administration still has three years to run, and what former General David Petraeus once called the “geopolitical Chernobyl” of Syria is far from contained.
Barack Obama dealt Mr. Trump a bad hand by letting Russia, Iran and China believe they could advance their goals of regional domination without U.S. resistance. In Syria as elsewhere, Mr. Trump has to decide if he wants to ratify that American retreat or develop a strategy to stop it.
Originally posted by chakos View PostMaybe someone can explain something to me here. Seeing the images of this alleged attack it doesn’t look anything like a chemical weapons attack. It actually looks to me that the US is looking for an excuse to smack down Assad and humiliate the Russians. My question is this... so what if Assad wins and Russia gains an alliance with a newly resurgent secure Shi’a crescent.
What does America lose in real terms? How does this effect US foreign policy and economy if the Middle East ends up dominated by a Russian/Shi’a alliance backed by Chinese money?Last edited by Double Edge; 16 Apr 18,, 12:27.
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Originally posted by zraver View PostCongress' war making powers are basically a giant appropriations bill, since they know longer issue letters of margue. For money already disbursed ie weapons already bought, the President's authority to use force is unrestrained by the Constitution. The President can use every bomb and bullet in the US inventory. The one thing he can't do is buy more.
I didn't realise there are as many as 2000 US personnel in SyriaLast edited by Double Edge; 16 Apr 18,, 10:15.
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Originally posted by snapper View PostNothing will change in Syria because there is no coherent policy on what should be done.
And a coherent policy can be worse than an incoherent one. "Incoherence" gives one options, flexibility, and room to maneuver when the ground shifts beneath one's feet.Last edited by Ironduke; 16 Apr 18,, 19:34.
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Originally posted by WABs_OOE View PostAre you freaking serious? 100 missiles and 3 destroyed sites says you don't know jack shit about him.
Originally posted by WABs_OOE View PostGo worry about upcoming sleepless nights and doctor visits up the ying yang. Start putting money away for an education fund. Leave the things you can't do anything about than to preach to those who don't want your surmons.
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Originally posted by snapper View PostTrumpkin is deeply compromised by Moscow
Originally posted by snapper View PostHis deeper problems are what concerns me as they may affect me, my country and my family.
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We are not arguing 'Original Sin' here dating back to the Garden of Eden but total slimeball possibility regarding the allegations and known history of Trumpkin and Ladies from many sources. The details we hope not to discuss as they are not really the discourse of polite society. I, being female, certainly dislike his remarks regarding Ladies but that is not what troubles me; I have heard it all before. Trumpkin is deeply compromised by Moscow and a total egotist in it entirely for himself. That he is disrespectful to any Lady that goes near him is their problem. His deeper problems are what concerns me as they may affect me, my country and my family.
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Originally posted by TopHatter View PostIf Trump managed to confine his immorality to merely raw-dogging porn stars and the like, I could almost ignore that. It certainly bespeaks to a character bereft of conscience, but hey that's politicians in general.
Syria air strikes: Macron says he convinced Trump not to pull out troops
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he convinced US President Donald Trump not to withdraw troops from Syria and instead commit "for the long term".
Earlier this month, Mr Trump declared that the US would "be coming out of Syria very soon".
On Saturday, joint US, UK and French strikes targeted Syrian government sites in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack.
Mr Macron said he also persuaded Mr Trump to keep the strikes limited.
The pair, who are reported to have a friendly relationship, spoke multiple times in the days before the military action was taken.
US-led strikes on Syria: A move with unpredictable consequences
The United States and its European allies launched airstrikes early Saturday on Syrian research, development and military facilities in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus last weekend that killed at least 40 people.
The tripartite military action from the United States, France and Britain was designed to set back or destroy Syria's chemical weapons program, the three countries said, and deter any further use in violation of international conventions. They stressed that the strikes were limited and not intended to signal a Western intervention in the Syrian civil war or an attempt at regime change.
"The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons," US President Donald Trump said in a televised address. "We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents."
In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May repeated that the military action was not about "intervening in a civil war" and "it is not about regime change."
"It is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties," she said.Last edited by Ironduke; 16 Apr 18,, 04:03.
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Originally posted by citanon View PostLOL where were you guys when LBJ pranced around butt naked on AF One?
Get it out! Get it Out! Get it Out!
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Originally posted by Double Edge View PostMore on this legal basis business. Article 2 of the US constitution. Why would that be invoked for an action in Syria. To protect US interests.
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