Putin ready to launch total war against jihadis
Nov 16, 2015 23:08:48 GMT -5
Post by J.J.Gibbs on Nov 16, 2015 23:08:48 GMT -5
ISIS picked wrong enemy – Putin ready to launch total war against jihadis
MOSCOW is preparing to beef up its aerial bombing campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria in retaliation for the downing of a Russian jet over Egypt as France mourns for the Paris terror attacks.
By Tom Batchelor
PUBLISHED: 08:00, Mon, Nov 16, 2015 | UPDATED: 08:39, Mon, Nov 16, 2015
ISIS militants sickeningly claimed 'credit' for the Metrojet A321 crash which killed all 224 people on board.
Investigators are still working on the black box data to determine what exactly caused the jet to crash, but intelligence sources increasingly believe it was triggered by an explosive device smuggled onboard.
And ISIS, which has established a base in Sinai province, tops the list of potential culprits.
The mass slaughter of Russian citizens by the extremist group threatens to escalate the war in Syria, where Vladimir Putin's warplanes have been bombing for over a month.
Russia has also shown solidarity to France and the West after the Paris terror attacks, with Moscow paying tributes to the victims.
Defence and security expert Raffaello Pantucci told Express.co.uk ISIS involvement in the plane tragedy would "only harden Russian resolve that they need to do something stronger".
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hand with Syria President Bashar Assad in the Kremlim
Syrians evacuate people from damaged buildings following Russian airstrikes
Russian military chiefs feared a terror attack such as that which took place on Saturday over Egypt would swing public opinion in Russia against the airstrikes.
But Mr Pantucci, the director of International Security Studies at the respected Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank, suggested that was not likely to be the case.
"Russia has dealt with all sorts of terror attacks at home and the population is fairly resilient to them," he said.
That view was challenged by Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow in Russian studies at Rusi.
Dr Sutyagin, who specialises in US-Russian relations, said the Kremlin was "already increasing" its airstrikes in the region but that it was unlikely Russia would "dramatically increase" aerial bombardment of ISIS targets as a result of the plane crash.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with cadets during a street rallyGETTY
Putin talks with cadets during a street rally
He explained that the best response for Moscow was to "pretend that nothing has happened", adding that a mechanical fault on the plane would be the ideal scenario for Putin, whose ambitions in Syria were to conduct a "remote, bloodless war".
"If you do not deliver on what you promise, you are in trouble. That is why they will keep the line that nothing happened but a technical fault," he told Express.co.uk.
"We just do not admit that it is somehow related to ISI. Domestically that will be the main problem, they need to maintain that line."
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MOSCOW is preparing to beef up its aerial bombing campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria in retaliation for the downing of a Russian jet over Egypt as France mourns for the Paris terror attacks.
By Tom Batchelor
PUBLISHED: 08:00, Mon, Nov 16, 2015 | UPDATED: 08:39, Mon, Nov 16, 2015
ISIS militants sickeningly claimed 'credit' for the Metrojet A321 crash which killed all 224 people on board.
Investigators are still working on the black box data to determine what exactly caused the jet to crash, but intelligence sources increasingly believe it was triggered by an explosive device smuggled onboard.
And ISIS, which has established a base in Sinai province, tops the list of potential culprits.
The mass slaughter of Russian citizens by the extremist group threatens to escalate the war in Syria, where Vladimir Putin's warplanes have been bombing for over a month.
Russia has also shown solidarity to France and the West after the Paris terror attacks, with Moscow paying tributes to the victims.
Defence and security expert Raffaello Pantucci told Express.co.uk ISIS involvement in the plane tragedy would "only harden Russian resolve that they need to do something stronger".
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hand with Syria President Bashar Assad in the Kremlim
Syrians evacuate people from damaged buildings following Russian airstrikes
Russian military chiefs feared a terror attack such as that which took place on Saturday over Egypt would swing public opinion in Russia against the airstrikes.
But Mr Pantucci, the director of International Security Studies at the respected Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank, suggested that was not likely to be the case.
"Russia has dealt with all sorts of terror attacks at home and the population is fairly resilient to them," he said.
That view was challenged by Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow in Russian studies at Rusi.
Dr Sutyagin, who specialises in US-Russian relations, said the Kremlin was "already increasing" its airstrikes in the region but that it was unlikely Russia would "dramatically increase" aerial bombardment of ISIS targets as a result of the plane crash.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with cadets during a street rallyGETTY
Putin talks with cadets during a street rally
He explained that the best response for Moscow was to "pretend that nothing has happened", adding that a mechanical fault on the plane would be the ideal scenario for Putin, whose ambitions in Syria were to conduct a "remote, bloodless war".
"If you do not deliver on what you promise, you are in trouble. That is why they will keep the line that nothing happened but a technical fault," he told Express.co.uk.
"We just do not admit that it is somehow related to ISI. Domestically that will be the main problem, they need to maintain that line."
link
