Russians Making Big, Dangerous Move into Syria
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russians Making Big, Dangerous Move into Syria*
Strategic alliance include fleet, missiles
Posted: September 19, 2008
Just as Russia has reasserted its power in the Black Sea, it now plans
to make waves in the Mediterranean Sea by establishing a major base in
Syria.
This decision not only will allow a permanent presence of Russia's
nuclear-armed Black Sea fleet in the Mediterranean, but it also offers
the potential for future confrontations between Russia and Israel, as
well as with the United States.
The Russian navy has begun to upgrade facilities in Tartus, Syria, and
already has backed this up by moving to Syria a flotilla of its powerful
warships led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. The flotilla
includes the Russian navy's biggest missile cruiser Moskva and some four
nuclear missile submarines.
From 1971 to 1992, the former Soviet Union operated a naval maintenance
facility at Tartus. It then fell into disrepair. Only one of its three
floating piers remained operational.
But the facilities now are being restored.
"It is much more advantageous to have such a facility than to return
ships that patrol the Mediterranean to their home bases," said former
Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Eduard Baltin.
The establishment of the permanent base also is viewed as Moscow's
response to the upcoming installation of U.S. missile interceptors along
Poland's Baltic coast at Redzikowo. Such an agreement was signed last
month between the U.S. and Poland.
Syria, meantime, also is considering a request from Moscow to base
missiles in the country due to tensions between Russia and the West over
its invasion of Georgia in the Caucasus.
Russia would send in the surface-to-surface Iskander missile which
Moscow says is capable of penetrating any missile defense system.
With a NATO code name of the SS-26 Stone, the Iskander is a road-mobile
system. It has a range of 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, giving Damascus
the capability of striking Tel Aviv in Israel.