Russian ships have pulled out of Syrian ports on a “training exercise.”
Air traffic has been halted in the area. Flight radar proves that commercial air traffic is avoiding Syria and Lebanon:
https://www.flightradar24.com/33.82,35.49/8
The world is holding its breath waiting to see what action, if any, is taken by President Donald Trump. It seems unlikely that he will do nothing, since that would result in worldwide humiliation. Yet, he is clearly hesitating. Perhaps the following article explains why:
http://www.pravdareport.com/hotspots/conflicts/07-04-2017/137411-russia_usa_nuclear_war-0/
We do not know the effectiveness of this system. Putin said that he will shoot down any missiles launched by the U.S. That should not necessarily be viewed as an idle threat. Putin may believe he is capable of doing that. The United States may believe he is capable of doing that. Perhaps the U.S. is trying to negotiate a deal with Putin where we can strike Syria and punish them without an extremely high risk military conflict.
If we launch missile and airstrikes against Syria and Russian air defense shoots down our missiles and planes, it will be beyond catastrophic. Since World War II the primary thing that has kept us safe is the ability of our military to defeat any air defense system. During both Iraq wars the U.S. states quickly destroyed the soviet designed air defense system which is the reason we scored quick and decisive victories. If countries like North Korea and Iran believe they are immune from attack by us we are in serious trouble.
On the other hand, if we launch missile and airstrikes against Syria and the Russia air defense systems do not work as advertised that would be a major humiliating event for Putin.
It seems logical that the U.S. will have to either get an agreement from Putin to not use those air defense systems or the U.S. will have to begin any mission by taking them out. There are probably some very intense meeting going on in both Moscow and Washington today asking a really important question. What are our real capabilities and what are the real capabilities of the S400 system. There is a lot more at stake than whether or no Assad, again, dumped chemical weapons on people.
Congress should be uniting around this President and showing a unified front to the world. Instead people who should know better are distracted by an over-the-hill porn star and a former FBI Director foaming at the mouth with his hatred for the President who dared fired him.
No wonder there are reports of Trump administration cabinet members meeting for prayer. Seems more than appropriate. Unfortunately the silence can’t last much longer and these are very scary times.
TDM