Syria amassed huge arsenal of Russian weapons before uprising

[W.G.Ewald]

Syria amassed huge arsenal of Russian weapons before uprising - Middle East - World - The Independent

After a winter of bloodshed in which President Bashar al-Assad
deployed tanks and rockets to pulverise his own cities, figures
released yesterday showed that Damascus splashed out millions of
dollars both before and during the anti-government uprising in an
effort to develop an enormous arsenal of largely Russian-made
weapons.

Arms deliveries skyrocketed by nearly 600 per cent between 2007 and 2011 compared with the preceding five-year period. As the Syrian people laboured under a faltering economy and Baathist repression, Damascus spent hundreds of millions of dollars on missile systems, air defence facilities and anti-ship rockets.

 

[Tshering22]

Syria amassed huge arsenal of Russian weapons before uprising - Middle East - World - The Independent

So you planning to invade these folks?

My opinion would be that you let Turkey or Saudi deal with it.

 

[Mad Indian]

I agree with Tshering ,Dont damage your name any further- USA

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Does anybody read?

From the article:

Britain and other Western governments have repeatedly talked down the idea of a Libya-style attack on President Assad.

Why the gratuitous advice in these posts?

 

[The Messiah]

Why ? It would be in our interest if usa itelf gets into another war. Will weaken both.

 

[Yusuf]

Why ? It would be in our interest if usa itelf gets into another war. Will weaken both.

A weak US= stronger China = not in our interest.

 

[The Messiah]

A weak US= stronger China = not in our interest.

A weak usa would fulfil our wishes more easily against those of china's. The greater our importance in the partnership the better it is for us.

 

[Tshering22]

Does anybody read?

From the article:



Why the gratuitous advice in these posts?

Syria war if it happens would be led by GCC countries and followed by Turkey.

 

[illusion8]

Not only that Russia has an defense order of 20 billion dollars from Syria at present. All the more reason for the US/NATO not to attack Syria for the sake of Russia.

 

[illusion8]

Russia's controversial stance in the Syrian crisis has left many wondering what Moscow stands to gain by backing the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Analysts say political and strategic concerns are Russia's primary motivation: Moscow is pushing back against what it sees as excessive Western interventionism in sovereign states, and fears losing an old ally that is its last foothold in the Middle East.

But economic ties -- valuable military contracts and energy investments that could be lost if the Assad regime fails -- play a key role as well.

"It's a significant economic interest," said Daniel Treisman, a Russia specialist at UCLA. "We're talking about several billion dollars in contracts with Syria may be at risk."

Billions in arms sales: Even as images of horrific suffering stream out of the country, Russia has maintained that the situation is for Syrians to resolve without outside intervention.

Russia and China vetoed a proposed U.N. resolution aimed at halting the violent crackdown, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov touted Assad's commitment to ending the violence during a visit to Damascus on Tuesday.

Russia has long been Syria's primary military supplier and currently has about $4 billion worth of contracts for future arms deliveries to Damascus, according to a report from global analysis firm Oxford Analytica. Syria received 6% of total Russian arms exports in 2010, the report said, and is "critical for some [Russian] companies' financial survival."

"Overseas arms contracts are very important for the Russians," said Rajan Menon, a professor at Lehigh University who studies Russian foreign relations. "There have been significant cuts in the size of the Russian military budget relative to the Soviet period, so if you want to keep people employed in the military-industrial complex, you need exports of armaments."

Recent turmoil in the Middle East, however, has cut into this business.

With the loss of arms sales to Iran following U.N. sanctions and the cancellation of contracts in Libya after the Gadhafi regime's overthrow, the list of Russian arms customers in the region is dwindling. The lost business with Iran was worth $13 billion, according to Treisman, while the Libyan deals totaled $4.5 billion.

The loss of Syrian business would not by itself sink Russian arms production, but the issue has taken on added significance with Russia's presidential election looming and factory workers' votes up for grabs, said Sarah Michaels, the chief Russia analyst at Oxford Analytica.

The close military ties between the two nations have also yielded Russia's only military base outside the former Soviet Union, a naval facility in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.

Beyond the arms trade, Russian companies have made a number of investments in Syria. These projects are worth roughly $20 billion and include some from Russia's powerful energy sector, such as a natural gas production facility and pipeline, according to Oxford Analytica.

Dealing with dictators: Russia, of course, is not unique in its dealings with one of the region's autocratic regimes. The United States, for example, had significant economic ties to Egypt under the Mubarak government that came under scrutiny amid the turmoil there last year.

For now, Russian leaders are betting that their strategic interests will be best preserved if Assad can maintain his grip on power, Treisman said. The economic concerns, he added, are "one element" in Moscow's broader considerations.

"If they come to believe that Assad's on his way out, then I think they will start to worry much more about what policy his successor will take toward Russia, and its economic and military interests," Treisman said.

The Obama administration, for its part, says it's clear that Russia needs to rethink its approach.

"Russia must realize that betting everything on Assad is a recipe for failure," White House press secretary Jay Carney said this week.

 

[Mad Indian]

Does anybody read?

From the article:



Why the gratuitous advice in these posts?

Because US/EU does the same mumble jumble before attacking other nations.

 

[Armand2REP]

Sarko needs to start another war before his re-election.

 

[The Messiah]

Sarko needs to start another war before his re-election.

against germany ?

 

[Armand2REP]

against germany ?

Germany just disbanded half their Army, should be a cakewalk.

 

[The Messiah]

Germany just disbanded half their Army, should be a cakewalk.

what about ingurland ?

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Why ? It would be in our interest if usa itelf gets into another war. Will weaken both.

I would like to see Lebanon get Syria's boot off its neck after all these years.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Because US/EU does the same mumble jumble before attacking other nations.

The content of the original article enumerated Russian arms deliveries to Syria. I don't see the connection to a US threat.

 

[asianobserve]

The only thing that's cautioning the West right now against going all-out against Assad is the reliability of the "rebel forces..." But in the strategic chess board Assad must still be tamed or he must go since he is the key to unraveling Iran, and I think it will happen only not in the spectacular Sarkozian swagger like in Lybia.

 

[spikey360]

The bottomline is, all weapon producing countries profit immensely and during war. All infrastructure building countries (most of which naturally produce weapons too) gain immensely after the war. They will do whatever farce it requires to increase their profits. Sometimes befriending each other, and at other times pitting themselves against each other.

 

[asianobserve]

The bottomline is, all weapon producing countries profit immensely and during war. All infrastructure building countries (most of which naturally produce weapons too) gain immensely after the war. They will do whatever farce it requires to increase their profits. Sometimes befriending each other, and at other times pitting themselves against each other.

And let's not forget that wars and the technologies of death that it spawns give rise to excellent forums like DFI...