Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military

[Purveyor]

Vladimir Putin has conscripted 150,000 new troops into the Russian army as the country unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria - while and Iran and Islamist group Hezbollah prepare for a major ground offensive.

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria over the last ten days, backed by the country's Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, and rebel fighters from Iraq and Afghanistan, two Lebanese sources claimed today.

One of the sources said the Iranian ground forces were 'soldiers and officers', not advisers, adding: 'We mean hundreds with equipment and weapons. They will be followed by more.'

They are being supported by Russia's warplanes who bombed camps of rebel fighters trained by the CIA, one of the group's commanders claimed.

The White House said Russia's airstrikes in Syria were 'indiscriminate' and claimed its actions risk prolonging the conflict 'indefinitely'.

More...

[bemildred]

1. Link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3255876/Russia-pouring-gasoline-fire-Syria-s-civil-war-says-America-Putin-defies-West-drops-bombs-non-ISIS-forces-fighting-Assad.html

[Purveyor]

3. Thanks for posting the link. Posting from my phone just to

See if I could but could not get the link to copy and paste.

[bemildred]

4. My pleasure. nt

[bemildred]

7. That is actually an extensive article about what is going on there now, nt

[leveymg]

10. The current Russian Draft has been in place since 1967 - 150K in Spring and Fall

There are two drafts a year. This isn't new.

766,055 — is how many officers and soldiers Russia’s Audit Chamber says were paid to serve in the armed forces on 1 January 2013, according to RIA Novosti.

This confirms what’s been said by various military commentators over the past year or so. Several said about 750,000 or below 800,000.

The Audit Chamber is a quasi-independent and pretty reliable source, something akin to America’s GAO.

Walk this back . . . take 766,055 and subtract 220,000 officers, 186,000 contractees reported at the beginning of 2013, spring 2013 and fall 2012 draft contingents of 153,200 and 140,140, and you are left with 66,715.

That leftover number roughly corresponds to cadets in VVUZy.

Undermanning — below the statutory authorization of one million — has been confirmed officially.

This is the truest, most accurate manpower baseline we’re likely to see.

https://russiandefpolicy.wordpress.com/category/conscription/

[bemildred]

11. Yeah, I know. nt

[leveymg]

12. Well, then, where's the news behind this headline?

It seems that we're all supposed to be getting aroused, but in itself this detail conveys nothing significant.

[bemildred]

13. There is a lot of hyperventilating over minutae going on.

However if you don't restrict your reading and ignore the bloviating you can find all these things out.

And generally, if they are trying to get me worked up for some two-minutes of hate over whatever, that tells me things about them.

If Putin sends troops for ground war, he will send Chechens:

Russia Airstrikes In Syria: Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov Commits Troops To Fight Islamic State Group On The Ground

http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-airstrikes-syria-chechen-leader-ramzan-kadyrov-commits-troops-fight-islamic-2121094

And if he does not I will consider him as dumb as a Neocon.

[leveymg]

14. So, what does a Kadyrov Chechen do when he meets an ISIS Chechen?

Exchange weapons, or is that just CIA training?

[bemildred]

15. Cross the road? nt

[Rex]

2. Somebodies getting ready to go to war.

So strange seeing Hezbollah fighting ISIS. You would think they would want to gang up on the West. I guess we are not the Great Satan that we once were. Sigh.

[bemildred]

5. The Latest: Iraq PM says Russian air strikes are welcomed

===

3:45 p.m.

Iraq's prime minister says that he would "welcome" military strikes by Russia in his country if Moscow made such a proposal - but that hasn't happened yet.

Haider Al Abadi told France 24 television that "If we get the offer, we (will) consider it. In actual fact, I would welcome it," he said, noting that he has been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that Russia has no plans to extend its airstrikes to Iraq.

In the Iraqi prime minister's interview made available on Thursday, Haider said he would be "amazed" if Russian planes now carrying out air strikes in Syria were going after Syrian opposition rebels rather than the Islamic State group. He said it's in Russia's interest to go after IS sites because there are "more than 2,000" Russians IS fighters, making them a "national threat." They would "cause havoc" were they to return to Russia.

Haider also made a reference to the sparring between Washington, Moscow and others over finding a solution to the Syrian conflict that broke out in full once Russia began military moves in Syria, Iraq's neighbor.

"Our aim is to bring everybody to fight Daesh, not to fight among themselves," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_UNITED_NATIONS_SUMMIT_THE_LATEST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-01-15-59-56

[bemildred]

6. Russia says U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army not a terrorist group

Russia does not consider the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army rebels a terrorist group, and they should be part of a political solution in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after Russia was accused of bombing the group.

Lavrov told a news conference at the United Nations that Russian air strikes that began on Wednesday targeted Islamic State militants and "other terrorist groups" in Syria. "We targeted ISIL-associated depots, armaments and sites," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Free Syrian Army and U.S. sources said the strikes actually hit facilities of the U.S.-backed group, some of whose rebels have received training and support from the CIA.

Lavrov said Russia's targets were those considered terrorists by the United Nations and by the Russian legal system, including Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/01/us-mideast-crisis-lavrov-fsa-idUSKCN0RV51620151001

[geek tragedy]

8. they draft people into going on vacations? nt

[NuclearDem]

9. Actually, Russians are so excited to go fight in Syria

that Putin's just saving them a couple of steps at the recruiter's office.

[kelliekat44]

16. Good. That ought to be enough to take care of ISIS in Syria. nt

[moondust]

17. Some of the Syrian refugees are draft dodgers.

Probably happy to let Vlad and his boys do the bloodletting. Camping out in a Hungarian bean field beats dodging bullets and barrel bombs.