Mercer (7
Feb 2012)
"Gog - Magog on the
horizon?"
Russia vetoes motion after preparing Special Forces for Syria
DEBKAfile Special Report February 4, 2012, 7:51 PM (GMT+02:00)
Syrian shelling leaves hundreds dead in Homs
The West and Russia had a major showdown Saturday Feb. 5 over
the Arab League resolution calling on Bashar Assad to step down
and allow the formation of a national unity government. US
President Barack Obama demanded a UN stand against the Syrian
president's "relentless brutality" and a vote before the end of
the day. It was put to the vote and defeated by Russian and
China vetoes.
Moscow sources charged that the motion had been intended to pave
the way for war in Iran and a bid to overthrow the Tehran
regime.
debkafile's military sources report that the Russians backed
their hard line against the West by putting Rapid Reaction Force
(aka Spetsnaz) units in Black Sea bases on the ready to set out
for Syria and defend Damascus. A Cold War dimension has been
injected into the Syrian crisis, which is fast descending into a
sectarian war between Syria's ruling Alawites (Shiites) and the
majority Sunnis. The regional dimension is provided by pitting
Iran and Syria against Turkey and the Gulf Arabs.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's earlier
announcement that he would visit Damascus next Tuesday, Feb 7,
with Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov
was meant to buy Bashar Assad another three days' grace to
polish off the opposition before a possible UN-ordered
ceasefire.
However, the US and Western powers refused to wait for further
Syrian excesses to take place after various sources reported
earlier Saturday that Syrian troops had shelled the Homs
district of Khaldiyeh, killing an estimated 350 people there and
injuring some 1,500, in the worst military bombardment of nearly
11-month-old uprising,.
Syrian government officials denied the charge accusing "gunmen"
of killing civilians.
debkafile's intelligence sources note that Moscow's gesture to
send the Russian foreign intelligence chief to Damascus
alongside the foreign minister is supported additionally by the
presence in the Syrian port of Tartus of Russia's only aircraft
carrier Admiral Kuznetsov with two destroyers and a marine
force.
Aside from a few Turkish brigades strung out along the Syrian
border, the West maintains no troops on in the vicinity of Syria
since the American military withdrew from Iraq last December.
The United States presented a tough front at the UN Security
Council Saturday, with President Obama insisting that the
council vote on a Arab League text without further delay or
changes to accommodate Moscow and that its president step down
over his "unspeakable assault" on Homs.
The hard lines taken by Washington and Moscow over the Syrian
crisis produced a harsh showdown over the "Arab Spring" per se,
which Russian has been building up to since NATO helped Libyan
rebels overthrow Muammar Qaddafi.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who runs for his third
term as president in a month's time, and President Dmitry
Medvedev appear to have determined, even at the price of
military intervention, not to let NATO and Arab states repeat
the Libyan exercise in Damascus. The gauntlet they threw down
was picked up by President Obama Saturday. If the Russians
continue to obstruct the US, European and Arab role in backing
the Arab revolt and the Muslim Brotherhood, The United States,
the Europeans and the Gulf Arabs are likely to redouble their
efforts to unseat Bashar Assad.