Syria shoots down F-16

[Tigranes]

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of an advanced warplane to enemy fire for the first time in 36 years.

The jet’s two-man crew survived with injuries, and Israeli generals insisted they had inflicted much greater damage in Syria - even as Damascus claimed a strategic gain in the decades-old standoff with its old foe to the south. Syrian pro-government al-Watan newspaper said the country’s air defenses had “destroyed the myth of Israeli air superiority in the region”.

Both the United States, Israel’s closest ally, and Russia, which supports Assad in the Syrian civil war, have expressed concern over the latest clashes. But what will happen next?

 

[FriendlyFire]

One F-16 for Half of Syrias air defenses seems to be a good trade ?

 

[Ajidica]

What does Israel think would happen, flying warplanes into the territory of another country with whom you have an armistice with to carry out airstrikes?
Flipping it around, would Israel stand by and go "fair's fair, we aren't going to shoot down your warplanes" if Syria were to carry out airstrikes on groups inside Israel hostile to Syria that the Syrian government felt Israel was collaborating with?

The one of the worst things about this whole sorry state of affairs is that it is contributing to the blurring of the line between war and peace. Is the United States at war with the Syrian Arab Republic? In all honestly, I can't give an answer on that, and that should be concerning for any number of reasons ranging from international law, to US constitutional law, to basic human decency.

 

[red_elk]

Perhaps somebody has upgraded Syrian anti-aircraft capabilities.
There were reports that the plane was shot down using old S-200, or relatively modern Buk SAM.
Israeli claimed they were defending themselves...

 

[FriendlyFire]

Israeli claimed they were defending themselves...

Its called retaliation for the Iran drone strike from within Syria
Honestly it looks like Syrian civil war is like a proxy battlegrounds for everyone in the middle east as well as their strategic allies.

It was kinda expected that this would happen once the common enemy of ISIS was crushed, now it back to the old grievances

 

[Kyriakos]

What does Israel think would happen, flying warplanes into the territory of another country with whom you have an armistice with to carry out airstrikes?
Flipping it around, would Israel stand by and go "fair's fair, we aren't going to shoot down your warplanes" if Syria were to carry out airstrikes on groups inside Israel hostile to Syria that the Syrian government felt Israel was collaborating with?

The one of the worst things about this whole sorry state of affairs is that it is contributing to the blurring of the line between war and peace. Is the United States at war with the Syrian Arab Republic? In all honestly, I can't give an answer on that, and that should be concerning for any number of reasons ranging from international law, to US constitutional law, to basic human decency.

Indeed.

Syria didn't allow israeli planes to enter, so how exactly is Israel not (once again) rogue-ing it? It basically seems to be a jewish Turkey (which is all the more funny, given how anti-semitic - ie not just anti Israel state- Turkey is).

 

[Commodore]

And this is how a civil war escalates into a regional conflict.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Perhaps somebody has upgraded Syrian anti-aircraft capabilities.
There were reports that the plane was shot down using old S-200, or relatively modern Buk SAM.
Israeli claimed they were defending themselves...

Frankly I was hoping that with Russias help Syria could have implemented no flight zone for any hostile aircrafts over its territory. But perhaps this was just a warning...

 

[r16]

ah yes , caught unprepared without a piece .

israel has been long attacking Syria , moreso during the Civil War , as it's the last of the Confrontation States and has no ideas of giving up the Golan Heights . Civil War weakens the capability to "defend" , adding to Israel's status of being a "spoiled brat" . Considering the invention of the Superfighter way of aerial operations in which Western planes are not lost to enemy fighters and every casualty is like totally the last and the last Israeli casualty was an A-4 in '82 , divebombing the PLO school for Air Defence and got like 50 Grails in response , because A-4H has an extented tailpipe and no 5 Grails can suffice . Or something . Neverminding 5 or 6 of the superfighters have been "eaten by dragons" in the last decade , but since they were flown by Arabs , all the whiteskins ignore that .

sure enough , crowing in New Turkey . They are like born by idea that Israel is supreme and will take revenge and topple Esad and Ankara will partake in the loot . Much happiness in how the how the proxies of the West will now be greenlighted ; can even end the siege of Qatar ! Sure enough proxies are greenlighted and some Turkish helicopter goes down . To be followed by the heaviest casualties or something of the ongoing stuff inside Syria .

sure enough the communique of the discussions of the talks with MacMaster are so neutral . That's the mistake of muzzling , nobody would have read it that now that MacMaster has accepted his true masters and stuff , next time he will be wearing skirts when he comes to New Turkey . This is not as bad as the one after the next time , where he will also be wearing lipstick and makeup . Because this trouble between New Turkey and US is much like the one with the Netherlands and the New Turkey . Nothing will happen to Ankara , now that Israel will not be fighting Russians , despite their specific set of glorious victories . Ankara will , with non stop releases of Esad supporting the seperatists , now that even Trump is like shy of Russian of nukes .

and sure enough , every commentator insisting on that the Russian airliner crash is an accident . Al Crusading had an American expert who like taught Russian witnesses on the scene that they didn't see the plane coming down in flames . It was just a bird in the engine that created a trail of flame from the engine . And oh my , am not the nerd ı used to be , ı had never heard of an An-148 . So like , maintenance issues . See , Russians are to be minded . This being the third . The Sina crash was ISIL taking revenge , the Black Sea crash was the Red Army choir , ı don't know , after Palmyra the Roman city was saved ? And this the demise of the whiteskinned superfighter . That's a term for the US Teen-series , those unbeatables . But than Putin is a coward , right ? He can't possibly seek to return the favours , now that them Russians are like totally very conspiracy prone and might attempt irrationally deny the truths of accidents .

 

[red_elk]

Its called retaliation for the Iran drone strike from within Syria

Yeah, cool. Retaliation for Iranian "drone strike" (which didn't strike anything), against Syria.
Because retaliation against Iran would have caused real retaliation.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Yeah, cool. Retaliation for Iranian "drone strike" (which didn't strike anything), against Syria.
Because retaliation against Iran would have caused real retaliation.

its the Middle East comrades
Thats is how thing work over there, Ivan will fit right in

The Israelis have bombed Syria numerous times over the course of the war — though this is their first public acknowledgment of doing so. They want to counter Iranian influence on their doorstep in the form of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite organization, and various pro-Iran militias, all deployed in defense of the Assad regime. Meanwhile, the Russians are relentlessly bombing Syrian rebel groups, often at the expense of civilians in their midst.

Israel claimed its attacks served as a stark warning to Iran. “They, and we, know what we hit and it will take them some time for them to digest, understand and ask how Israel knew how to hit those sites,”

He has made overtures to Russia in a bid to drive a wedge between Moscow and Tehran, Assad’s two main foreign backers. Russian forces

 

[red_elk]

Frankly I was hoping that with Russias help Syria could have implemented no flight zone for any hostile aircrafts over its territory. But perhaps this was just a warning...

Russia and USA won't shoot at each other in Syria, at least I hope so.
And now there is also Turkish activity in Afrin - they called their operation against Kurds "Olive Branch", can you imagine that...

Erdogan seems to have coordinated the invasion with Russia and Iran. But while pro-Turkish rebels were busy fighting against Kurds, Syrian army liberated almost half of the biggest rebel enclave in Idlib

 

[Tigranes]

Russia and USA won't shoot at each other in Syria, at least I hope so.
And now there is also Turkish activity in Afrin - they called their operation against Kurds "Olive Branch", can you imagine that...

Erdogan seems to have coordinated the invasion with Russia and Iran. But while pro-Turkish rebels were busy fighting against Kurds, Syrian army liberated almost half of the biggest rebel enclave in Idlib

According to several sources, the home of an Armenian family that had settled in Afrin following the Armenian Genocide was shelled on Jan. 24, killing Armenian Rosher Konis. The reports also indicate that Konis’s mother, Shamsa, and sister, Hanifa Konis, were gravely injured in the bombing.

On the other hand, Speaking to CNN Turk last Sunday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said if US troops wear “terrorists’ clothes” and find themselves among “terrorists” of the Kurdish YPG forces attacking the Turkish troops, “there is no chance that we [will] make a distinction at this point.” With so many actors in Syria lot's of terrible mistakes are just bound to happen. Perhaps only then the power with first largest army in NATO will be able to pressure country with the second largest NATO Army.

Howerver story with Turks downing Russian plane and later reaffirming friendship with Russia shows that sometimes tragic mistakes can be overlooked for the sake of a bigger picture.

 

[red_elk]

According to several sources, the home of an Armenian family that had settled in Afrin following the Armenian Genocide was shelled on Jan. 24, killing Armenian Rosher Konis. The reports also indicate that Konis’s mother, Shamsa, and sister, Hanifa Konis, were gravely injured in the bombing.

On the other hand, Speaking to CNN Turk last Sunday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said if US troops wear “terrorists’ clothes” and find themselves among “terrorists” of the Kurdish YPG forces attacking the Turkish troops, “there is no chance that we [will] make a distinction at this point.” With so many actors in Syria lot's of terrible mistakes are just bound to happen. Perhaps only then the power with first largest army in NATO will be able to pressure country with the second largest NATO Army.

I sympatize to the Kurds in this conflict, despite they blamed Russia in turning blind eye on the Turkish actions. Well, Russian conditions were to restore Syrian government rule in Afrin, which Kurds declined. Hope they will be able to stand on their own, since they won't get help from US side either. Erdogan promised to withdraw his troops eventually, but no sane person would trust him.

Howerver story with Turks downing Russian plane and later reaffirming friendship with Russia shows that sometimes tragic mistakes can be overlooked for the sake of a bigger picture.

Russia tries to turn US and Turkey against each other, that's the only idea of this "friendship".

 

[Takhisis]

no sane person would trust him.

So… why does Putin appear to trust Erdoğan?

 

[dutchfire]

Perhaps somebody has upgraded Syrian anti-aircraft capabilities.
There were reports that the plane was shot down using old S-200, or relatively modern Buk SAM.

You're saying the Ukrainians are involved?!

 

[red_elk]

So… why does Putin appear to trust Erdoğan?

I don't think he even predends to.

You're saying the Ukrainians are involved?!

Why Ukrainians? These are the Soviet-made SAMs.

 

[red_elk]

It was just a bird in the engine that created a trail of flame from the engine . And oh my , am not the nerd ı used to be , ı had never heard of an An-148 . So like , maintenance issues .

Flight recorders recovered. Speed sensor malfunction, due to icing. Heating was turned off.

 

[EgonSpengler]

An article in The Washington Post this morning cites an advisor to Khameini who said, "If the Americans won't leave [Syria], we [Iran] will kick them out." Good times.

 

[Tigranes]

Four Russian nationals, and perhaps dozens more, were killed in fighting between pro-government forces in eastern Syria and members of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, according to Russian and Syrian officials.

A Syrian military officer said that about 100 Russian soldiers had been killed in the fighting on Feb. 7 and 8, but news about Russian casualties has dribbled out only slowly, through Russian news organizations and social media.