Those who see the current war with ISIS in Syria and Iraq as a precursor to the end times likely took great interest in a recent report from the Wall Street Journal that stated Pentagon officials believe Russia purposely bombed a military base in Syria that is used by U.S. military personnel.
According to the report:
When Russian aircraft bombed a remote garrison in southeastern Syria last month, alarm bells sounded at the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense in London.
The Russians weren’t bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to U.S. officials. Their target was a secret base of operations for elite American and British forces. In fact, a contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out of the garrison 24 hours earlier. British officials declined to comment.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say the previously unreported close call for Western forces on June 16, and a subsequent Russian strike on a site linked to the Central Intelligence Agency, were part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure the Obama administration to agree to closer cooperation in the skies over Syria.
It would appear that bid worked out in Russia’s favor. White House and State Department officials, “wary of an escalation in U.S. military involvement in Syria,” accepted a “compromise” with Russia over coordination of military operations in Syria.
Reportedly, CIA and Pentagon officials have strongly objected to a new agreement, signed last week by Secretary of State John Kerry, in which the former adversaries would join forces in strikes against the Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate. In exchange for the U.S. backing down to Russia, it would stop its airstrikes on American-backed rebels and work to prevent similar attacks by Syria.
According to the WSJ:
Proponents of the deal in the White House and the State Department say it will allow the U.S. to target Nusra in areas which have been off limits to American attack aircraft for months because of Russian deployments, and will provide a measure of protection to U.S. allies on the ground in Syria whom the Russians and Syrians were targeting in their air campaigns.
Critics of the deal at the Pentagon and the CIA say the White House gave in to Russian bullying and voiced doubt that Moscow would abide by the terms of the agreement. They say the U.S. needs to confront the Russians more squarely.
The base in question is used by U.S. and British special forces units to create a “buffer zone” to protect Jordan from ISIS.
