OPINION:
Control of the Middle East has long been a Soviet and now Russian objective. Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has achieved that goal by creating a new axis of power in theater, an axis of Russia, Iran, and Syria. Mr. Putin has cemented that control by deploying strategic bombers to Iran to attack the Islamic State and possibly anti-Assad forces in Aleppo.
The change in facts on the ground over the last year is striking. Russia has a naval base at Tartus in Syria to support operations in the Mediterranean; its fleet in the Med dwarfs the American presence. It has multiple air bases in the Assad controlled Levant. Russia has joined forces with Iran and its terrorist army, Hezbollah, to push back anti-Assad forces in the Syrian Civil War and Turkey is talking about joining forces with the Kremlin to jointly attack Islamic State.
President Obama left a huge power vacuum in the Middle East and Mr. Putin has promptly filled it.
Reuters reported State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Tuesday called the Iranian deployment “unfortunate,” saying the United States was looking into whether the move violated U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran. Russia bristled at those comments on Wednesday after announcing that Russian SU-34 fighter bombers flying from Iran’s Hamadan air base had for a second day struck Islamic State targets in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, destroying two command posts and killing more than 150 militants.
“It’s not our practice to give advice to the leadership of the U.S. State Department,” Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. “But it’s hard to refrain from recommending individual State Department representatives check their own logic and knowledge of basic documents covering international law.”
Outflanked again, the Obama administration is left to mumble in the corner about Russia not being ’helpful.’
“These aircraft are being used by Russia’s air force with Iran’s agreement as a part of an anti-terrorist operation at the request of Syria’s leadership,” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told a Moscow news conference.
Case closed. Deal Done. Putin wins.
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