Russia’s military campaign in Syria seems to have changed President
Barack Obama’s opinion of its armed forces. He now says it’s “the second most powerful military in the world.” Two years ago he labeled Moscow as
nothing more than a “regional power.” Speaking at the
Association of southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in California, Obama conceded that “Russia
is a major military” and that “obviously a
bunch of rebels are not going to be able to compete with the hardware of the second most powerful military in the world.”

This is quite a statement from the US
president, who almost two years ago derided Moscow as nothing more than a “regional power” that “is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out
of strength but out of weakness,” in regards to his belief that Russia had
‘annexed’ Crimea from Ukraine.

In November, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Russia was challenging “American preeminence” and
Washington’s so-called “stewardship of the world order” as Moscow and China reassert themselves on the international arena as serious military powers.

Since responding to a request to
intervene in the Syrian conflict by that country’s president, Bashar Assad, Moscow has been pounding Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other
terrorist groups with daily sorties carried
out by its jets since September 30.

The move took Washington by surprise and the commanding general of the US Army in Europe said he was astonished by Russia’s capacity to deploy its troops to Syria.
"I was one of those people surprised about their move in Syria. I’ve been watching them in Syria for some time
now, but I thought they were so stressed with what they were doing that I didn’t
realize they had a capacity also to pick up and move into Syria," Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said in an interview with the defense News weekly in October, as
cited by Sputnik.

In December, Russia targeted IS militants in Raqqa with Kalibr land attack cruise missiles launched from a
submarine in the Mediterranean Sea. The 3M-54 Kalibr missiles were launched from the Kilo-class diesel-
electric submarine ‘Rostov-on-Don’, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. The Syrian conflict has given Moscow the chance to show-off some of its
latest hardware in active combat for the
first time. Amongst Russia’s fighter jets
at the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia is
the Su-35.
In the air, two Su-35s can provide a 360-degree field of view with coverage ranging to 400km, a spokesman for the Russian forces said. He also mentioned
that the Su-35 is a multirole fighter jet capable of providing air cover for the strike aircraft and strike surface targets as well as subsurface ones.

Additionally, in November 2015, Russia deployed a unit of its cutting-edge S-400 air defense systems to the base after one of its Su-24 fighter jets was
shot down by the Turkish Air Force in Syrian airspace.
S-400s are designed to ensure air defense using long and medium-range missiles that can hit aerial targets,
including tactical and strategic aircraft as well as ballistic and cruise missiles, at ranges of up to 400km.

Obama claims Moscow risks getting
stuck quagmire in Syria, however, according to Brian Becker of the antiwar coalition ANSWER, nothing could be further from the truth.
“Russia’s intervention, not the US, is turning out to be the decisive international factor aiding the SAA [Syrian Arab Army], which has done the bulk of the fighting
and dying… to stop ISIL,” he told RT.
According to Becker, Russia’s intervention has “irreversibly changed the military dynamic” in Syria, with both IS and the militants backed by the US,
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar losing
ground since October 2015. Washington
seems more upset than pleased at
these reversals.
“It shows that the US policy was a catastrophic failure,” Becker argued, adding that prioritizing the ouster of
Assad over defeating IS makes US foreign policy “look downright schizophrenic.”

It is not only Russia’s intervention in
Syria, which has made Washington reassess Moscow’s military might, as Russia continues to roll out cutting
edge battlefield technology. The Armata tank was officially unveiled at the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow in 2015, while Russia also released plans to
create a new heavy transport aircraft, capable of moving heavy army equipment to anywhere in the world in as little as seven hours.

While the transport aircraft, dubbed PAK TA is only likely to be built by 2024, the US is still in awe of Russia’s ability to move troops and hardware quickly.

"The ability [of Russians] to move a lot of forces very quickly is the thing that worries me the most about what they can do. The lack of indicators and warning
that we have and their ability to move a lot of stuff real fast – that's not a good combination," Hodges said in October.

It is not just the Russian’s who are
proving to be a match for the US, with US officials “amazed” at Chinese naval capabilities. In 2015, the Chinese Navy had more operational diesel and nuclear
attack submarines than their American
counterparts.
“They may not be the same quality, but their submarine forces are growing at a tremendous rate. They now have more diesel and nuclear attack submarines than
we have,” Vice-Admiral Joseph Mulloy, deputy chief of naval operations for capabilities and resources, told the House Armed Services Committee's Seapower Subcommittee in February,
2015. “They are producing some fairly
amazing submarines and they are actually
deploying them.”



https://www.rt.com/news/332867-russia-major-military-obama/

Osama cum Obama is a trash, Neva knew of his secret Jihadi stance,CNT wait fr trump to com do d needful.

GEJ2019:
Osama cum Obama is a trash, Neva knew of his secret Jihadi stance,CNT wait fr trump to com do d needful.

Waiting for Trump to be the next US president is like waiting for a ship at the airport.

ULSHERLAN:


Waiting for Trump to be the next US president is like waiting for a ship at the airport.

. ... its obvious trump can't win the presidential election.

the article is for those who see america as alpha and omega, america uses what the current APC is using "propaganda" to hype its military, and also thanks to Hollywood which has also helped in the american propaganda. like I have always said the u.s hasn't won any war since after second world war, even most of those they backed in wars either lost or ended in stalemate, eg us backed south korea, it ended in an armistice, in the Vietnam war also didn't favor their ally, the backed Iraq during the Iraq Iran war, still there was no major winner in fact Iran could be declared winners as they were almost standing alone and also under sanctions.

I can go on and on, Russia on the other hand don't do propaganda but actions eg in 2005 in 5 days shakasvilli Georgia was demacated up till this day the Russian backed territory is still independent of Georgia, shakasvilli ran to Ukraine for asylum and is now a governor in Ukraine, (from President to governor) ..
Crimea is already part of Russia as we speak.

forget propaganda when its time for action we know the real deal.

cc appleyard

Thanks for the summon.

Two things are necessary to understand a nation’s strategy. The first is to view the world through the eyes of that nation… to know what it hopes for and fears. The second is to understand that the nation’s leader is far from a free agent. He (or she) became the leader by making endless political and financial deals along the way, and he remains the leader only to the extent that he satisfies others. There are also constraints and imperatives surrounding the leader that shape his actions. Some derive from internal politics, but the most important have to do with power, or the lack of it. In order to deal with an adversary, or to crush him, understanding the world from his point of view is essential.

People tend to personalize power. We believe that the leader makes decisions as he wishes. When he does what we want him to do, he is wise and decent. When he thwarts our plans, he is a fool and a monster. This makes the world a simpler place… but also a fantasy land. It imagines that someone rules a country of millions alone and by his own whimsical neurosis. We see that personalization when people talk about Russia.

Many in the west have long been propagandized to see things from a steroetype perspective, particularly relating to Russia, vis-a-vis America's might and that of other European powers. To alot of these folks, since Russia, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is not economically vibrant like most of its compatriots in the west, it therefore has no teeth, and as such, cannot bite. This is the erroneous view held by many accross the west, even surprisingly among them that ought to have known better. Talking about military personals and strategic planners. By equating economic variables such as military spendings with capability, the ground for the misleading views regarding Russia's capability and ability to project power beyond the confines of its borders, was laid.

And so, when the moments came, the western military and strategic pundits were caught staring into outer space, (possibly looking for Aliens to explain what they thought only happen in the movies.) For they have so much be indoctrinated to believe that Russia cannot project power outside its borders. That the Russian army is not better than the one that fought world war 2. That Russia's technology is nothing other than screws and spanners. Since Russia doesn't readily have gigantic carriers like the United States of Anarchy, it is therefore no match for the other major powers.

But they have forgotten history. They have forgotten that Russian has fought many wars and lost very little. They have forgotten that when the Soviet Union imploded, it didn't implode along with the technological and military know-how of the Russian Bear, standing tall at the centre.

But then, that's how propaganda and hollywitch zombiefication works.

They have badly miscalculated Russia's capability and tenancity to react, in the face of NATO's provocasions and US meddling seeking to undermine Russia's interest in the Balkans and the East at large; and so decided to further poke the Bear. But when that Sleeping Bear awoke, the self classified western exceptionalists were stunned like one waking out of a sick dream!

They should have seen it in Georgia, but then, they argue that Georgia was just next door, and thats why the Russians had an easy ride. But the lightning speed of the Red army in the Crimean bloodless victroy, caught the western zombies stuttering. And the rapid deployment to Syria, coupled with the Russian show of previously unknown capabilites that renders large vessels useless, was the T.B Joshua-like anointing that jolted the west from itself bewitched delusional indoctrination.
And for the first time in decades, the west is learning to tell the truth. Even some of it's 'ministries of truth' like BBSin, are not been left out.

It is not too surprising to hear Obama confessing to the contrary, because, he appears to be very ill informed regarding Russia and the MidEast. Chavez could be right afterall: ''Obama is just a puppet in the White House.''
So, he can be forgiven.
But when you hear top US military Generals publicly confessing their awe and disbelief regardin Russia's military sophistication, that should tell you that propaganda is a major threat to US security. Because, if you know little or nothing about the enemy, your chances of success against him is almost at zero, or one that would be base on sheer luck.

The west hav so much failed to note that Russia would ONLY get involve in matters that directly threatens it's national and economic interest, like in Georgia, Ukraine, and now Syria. And when it does, there is no relenting. Unlike d US that is seen in every conflict with no clear-cut goal.

They also failed to note that Russia operates under two principles.

1. The principle of ''Under reporting'' and,
2. The principle of utmost secrecy.

These dictate Russia's capability.