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Trump Challenges Putin For Second Time – What Are Russians Going To Do?



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Jun 20 2017
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For the second time, Trump administration is provoking Putin regime with the latest shooting down of a Syrian SU-22 warplane. Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, this is the first time the U.S. has shot down a Syrian aircraft, and it’s a great deal. As usual, it wasn’t the U.S. fault (it never has) as the aggressor America justifies its action.

 

The U.S. Central Command claimed that the plane was shot down in “collective self-defence of coalition partnered forces” after it had targeted U.S.-backed forces near the ISIS-held city of Raqqa. The U.S. military confirmed that one of its F-18 Super Hornets shot down a Syrian jet that had dropped bombs near the U.S. partner forces SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces).

However, the Syrian army claims its Russian-made fighter jet was conducting a mission against ISIS militants. But why can’t U.S.-backed SDF and Russia-backed Syrian work together to terminate their common enemy – the Daesh (ISIL, ISIS, IS) – once and for all? Syria-Russia-Iran coalitions are winning the Syrian War so they have no reason to bomb SDF.

 

That would mean that the Syrian SU-22 bomber was indeed targeting the ISIS terrorists, who happened to be hiding among the U.S.-sponsored SDF. That also means the U.S. is secretly protecting the ISIS, keeping them alive to justify the existence of SDF. In short, Washington doesn’t want the Syrian War to end peacefully because it isn’t on the winning side.

US Shot Down Syrian SU-22 - Trump Challenges Putin

Coincidently, the shot-down drama occurred on the same Sunday when Iran fired several ballistic missiles at ISIS positions in eastern Syria in what it said was a message to archrival Saudi Arabia and the United States. In reality, Iran was merely testing water to see the reaction of the U.S. – whether Washington would get upset over its use of “ballistic missiles” to exterminate ISIS.

 

Obviously, it was a brilliant tactical move by the Iranians. If the U.S. goes ballistic over Iran’s use of ballistic missiles, America would be accused of protecting the terror group ISIS. On the contrary, if the U.S. doesn’t do anything, Iran would take it as a green light to continue developing and testing ballistic missiles – under the pretext of using them to target ISIS.

Iran Launches Ballistic Missiles Against ISIS

Tehran said the missile strike by its powerful Revolutionary Guard hit Syria’s eastern city of Deir el-Zour on Sunday night and was in retaliation for two attacks in Tehran earlier this month that killed 17 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group. Like the U.S., this is Iran’s first missile attack abroad in over 15 years and its first in the Syrian conflict.

 

The downing of Syrian bomber was a deliberate attempt by President Donald Trump to divert the public’s attention – again – from the domestic chaos its administration is facing. Conveniently, the U.S. military shot down the Syrian aircraft after the Korean conflict fizzles with the withdrawal of two aircraft carriers – USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan – from the Korean Peninsula.

Aircraft Carrier - USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan - Exercise

The burning question, however, is this – what is Russian President Vladimir Putin going to do about the second provocation from U.S. President Donald Trump? The first provocation happened in April when Trump authorized the unleashing of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on a Syrian airbase. Back then, Russia and Iran had declared they would strike back if the U.S. strikes again.

 

Well, guess what, the U.S. has struck again, shooting down a friendly SU-22 bomber. Unlike Obama administration where the Russia kept provoking the previous U.S. president, this time, the role is reversed. Trump administration is now provoking the Russian president for a war. Russia would be called a toothless tiger, worse than North Korea, if it does nothing.

Raytheon Tomahawk Cruise Missile

It’s worth to take note that clashes between the Kurdish-led SDF and Syrian forces have been rare. For the U.S. to use them as pawns to justify the shooting down of a Syrian aircraft goes to show Trump administration’s desperation in baiting Putin to enter a war, opening a new chapter of war in the region, as a diversion from his domestic problems.

 

Now, Putin is caught in a chess game which needs a careful move. He should be careful not to let people think that Russia is too weak to draw the necessary red line on what the U.S. can do against his ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sitting on his hands would bring out the perception of his cowardice, and it would encourage rebels to reopen the Syrian Civil War.

United States vs Russia - Donald Trump vs Vladimir Putin

So far, the clueless Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called on Washington to coordinate actions in Syria and avoid unilateral actions. Moscow, on the other hand, has condemned the American military’s downing of the Syrian warplane and threatened to target aircraft flown by the United States and its allies west of the Euphrates.

 

The Russians also said they had suspended their use of a hotline that the American and Russian militaries used to avoid collisions of their aircraft in Syrian airspace. But Russian’s threats could fall on deaf ears. They had threatened to halt its use of the hotline in the past – after the Tomahawk strikes – only to continue and even expand its contacts with the United States military.

North Korea Kim Jong-un - Laughing After Successful Missile Test

If North Korea is an indicator, there’s only one way to intimidate the U.S. – Vladimir Putin must act like the notorious Kim Jong-un. The Russians have to make good of its threat. Russian warplanes, to be protected by S-400 and S-300 air defence system, should be sent to bomb ISIS targets to test if the U.S. would also be willing to shoot it down.

 

However, unlike North Korea, the Americans have nothing to lose in the Middle East. There are no important allies such as South Korea or Japan under threat in the Gulf. And there’s no U.S. military base in the region under immediate threat if the U.S. starts a new war with Syria, or even with Iran for that matter. So what are you going to do, Mr. Putin?

President Donald Trump - Increase Defence Spending - Make America Great Again

 

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