Syria And Russia Discuss New Weapons Deal In Face Of US-Polish Missile Agreement

Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Russia on Thursday for a two-day visit during which he is seeking to purchase advanced weaponry from Moscow including the Pantsyr-S1 Air Defense Missile system, the BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system and the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system already purchased by Iran. Syria has also reportedly offered to allow Moscow to deploy its Russian Iskander missile system, an advanced short-range, solid fuel-propelled missile, in its territory. The new Russo-Syrian military cooperation comes in reaction to the recent US-Poland missile deal which positions NATO missile systems on Russia’s western front, eliciting harsh threats and criticism from Russia and prompting Moscow to cut all military ties with NATO. The news comes amid a backdrop of a series of recent global geopolitical shifts which have significantly altered the balance of power in the world. The catalyst of these dramatic shifts was the 2008 South Ossetia War, which formally began on August 7, 2008 when Georgia launched a military attack into South Ossetia, a Georgian province which had declared independence in 1992. Russian armed forces quickly responded with a large scale counter-attack into South Ossetia, advancing deep inside Georgian territory well beyond the contested province. While a cease-fire was signed by Georgia and Russia on August 15, 2008, the powerful Russian counterattack was a decisive signal of the shifting balance of power in the region. Russian strike was essentially a strike against American power in the region, yet the US quickly regained its lost ground by signing a missile deal with Poland, thereby flanking Russia with NATO missiles on another front. Thus the game of global chess continues. While American missiles will soon flank Russia’s western front, Russian missiles may soon be positioned inside of Syria threatening America’s most powerful ally in the region, Israel. 08/21/08