(THREAD) The Syrian war is moving from overlapping fights against insurgents--US + Kurds and other local allies v. ISIS; Assad + Iran + Russia v. Syrian rebels, everyone v. al Qaeda--to a dangerous new phase. Turkey and now Israel now conducting military operations in the country
-
Show this thread
-
Yesterday, Israel bombed 13 targets in Syria, 4 of which the Israelis claim were Iranian. 1) An Iranian-made drone flew over Israeli territory. Israel shot it down. 2) The drone came from Syria's T4 military base. Israel sent 8 fighter jets to attack the base. 2/x
1 reply 14 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
3) Syria responded with anti-aircraft fire, knocking down one of the Israeli F-16s (the pilots ejected). 4) Israel then hit 12 military targets in Syria, including some air defense batteries. Here's some of the many dangerous implications. 3/x
2 replies 6 retweets 8 likesShow this thread -
By helping Assad government stay in power, Iran has effectively acquired forward operating bases near Israel. This in addition to it's ally Hezbollah, which controls southern Lebanon, along Israel's northern border. 4/x
1 reply 7 retweets 11 likesShow this thread -
It wasn't the first time an Iranian-made drone entered Israeli airspace. The first time was way back in 2005, when an unarmed drone, operated by Hezbollah, briefly flew over northern Israel before crashing in the Mediterranean. Iran's drone industry is now quite sophisticated 5/x
1 reply 5 retweets 5 likesShow this thread -
Russian personnel are stationed at Syria's T4 base. No reports of dead or injured Russians from the Israeli operation, but Russia called the attack "unacceptable." If the de facto Iran-Russia alliance in Syria gets into a conflict with Israel, it could easily suck in the US. 6/x
2 replies 12 retweets 13 likesShow this thread -
Meanwhile on the opposite end of the country, US ally Turkey is conducting a ground operation against US-backed Kurds. US forces are stationed in areas Turkey is poised to attack. The US needs to flee (abandoning the Kurds) or convince Turkey to stop to avoid confrontation. 7/x
3 replies 5 retweets 6 likesShow this thread
And the Syrian military's operating near the Turkish offensive, trying to retake territory it lost to ISIS (who lost it to the US-backed local forces) Many military-to-military clashes possible. Turkey-Syria (and Russia?), Turkey-US, US-Syria. Risk of spiraling escalation. 8/x
-
-
Iran and Russia are there to stay. They gained influence in the Syrian civil war, and aren't giving it up. Turkey and Israel border Syria, and will act to strengthen their positions and reduce cross-border threats. And the US is there, but doesn't seem to know what it wants (END)
1 reply 10 retweets 12 likesShow this threadThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.