Does the US want to go to war with a non-junior varsity Russia? From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
Yesterday morning we reported that in immediate retaliation for the US threat that the Pentagon may launch air strikes against the Assad regime in the latest and most dramatic escalation in the Syrian proxy war in years, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a battery of Russian S-300 air defense missile launchers has been transported to Syria. As Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, “the Syrian Arab Republic received an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. This system is designed to ensure the safety of the naval base in [Syrian city of] Tartus and ships located in the coastal area [in Syria]…”
Then, in an amusing twist, Konashenkov said it is unclear why the deployment of the missile system has created such a fuss in the West. “The S-300 is a purely defensive system and poses no threat,” he said.
To which we said that “of course, a defense system is precisely what the Pentagon would prefer to avoid in case an offensive attack was launched.”
Today, Russia confirmed that the deployment of the Surface-to-Air missile battery was clearly aimed at containing US offensive ambitions, when the Defense Ministry cautioned the US-led coalition of carrying out airstrikes on Syrian army positions, adding in Syria there are “numerous S-300 and S-400 air defense systems up and running”, as cited by RT.
Taking the mic for the second day in a row, Igor Konashenkov said that Russia currently has S-400 and S-300 air-defense systems deployed to protect its troops stationed at the Tartus naval supply base and the Khmeimim airbase. He added that “the radius of the weapons reach may be “a surprise” to all unidentified flying objects.”
Uttering the loudest warning yet that any US-coalition airstrikes would be met with a Russian response, the Russian Defense Ministry said that any airstrike or missile hitting targets in territory controlled by the Syrian government would put Russian personnel in danger, clarifying that “members of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria are working on the ground delivering aid and communicating with a large number of communities in Syria.”
“Therefore, any missile or air strikes on the territory controlled by the Syrian government will create a clear threat to Russian servicemen.”
Konashenkov warnedthat the Russian military won’t have time to use the hotline if it sees missiles on their way to targets in Syria.
“Russian air defense system crews are unlikely to have time to determine in a ‘straight line’ the exact flight paths of missiles and then who the warheads belong to. And all the illusions of amateurs about the existence of ‘invisible’ jets will face a disappointing reality,” Konashenkov added.
In an apparent hint at the U.S. stealth aircraft, he added that any “dilettante illusions about stealth planes could collide with disappointing realities.”
Adding to the warning, the spokesman also noted that Syria itself has S-200 as well as BUK systems, and their technical capabilities have been updated over the past year.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s statement came in response to the previously flagged “leaks” in the Western media alleging that Washington is considering launching airstrikes against Syrian government forces.
“Of particular concern is information that the initiators of such provocations are representatives of the CIA and the Pentagon, who in September reported to the [US] President on the alleged controllability of ‘opposition’ fighters, but today are lobbying for ‘kinetic’ scenarios in Syria,” he said.
He cautioned Washington to conduct a “thorough calculation of the possible consequences of such plans.”
To continue reading: Russia Warns US Any Strikes On Syrian Army Would Lead To War: “Our S-300, S-400 Defenses Are Up And Running
Reblogged this on behindertvertriebentessarzblog.