Dr.Salim M.Al Zanoon
At the Israeli level, three types of military exercises were conducted, the first to deal with the intensity of the rockets, the second to protect the home front, the third simulating the war on multiple fronts, and the request from Congress to approve the supply of large quantities of ammunition.
At the Russian level, there is a Russian move to transfer the latest missile systems to the bases of the Hmeymim and Tartus, and statements of the General Staff that in the event of the threat of the Russian army in Syria, it will not only respond to the source of fire, but will hit US forces at sea, Moscow is not expected to be dragged to a military confrontation with Washington, and could be neutralized if its strategic interests in the region are ensured.
First: the United States.
Since the middle of 2017, the relationship between President Trump and Henry Kissinger has been strengthened, and appeared in more than one official meeting, and Kissinger began to crystallize a strategic vision and features of policies that serve the top strategy in the first place, rebalancing the status and influence of the United States on the world stage and laying the best foundations for “Crisis Management ” noting that Kissinger’s doctrine is based on two principles : the first is ” Control of oil leads to the control of entire nations or a group of nations, “and the second is” playing with fire “to get what it wants and to create chaos whenever possible.
In addition to the dismissal of Secretary of State “Rex Tilerson” and named “Mike Pompeo” with the background of the extreme, and the owner of an important record military and his services in the war on Iraq, and his strong opposition to the nuclear agreement, and preference for US military intervention over the approach of diplomacy and approval to negotiate with North Korea where it refers to that Washington is seeking to calm the Korean front to devote to work elsewhere. [2] ).
In the same context, it was agreed to form a US-UAE-KSA coordinating committee to deal with the operational aspects of the joint actions of the three countries against Iran and to stop the Iranian influence in the Gulf and the Middle East, which will be launched next week.
In this context, when considering the influence of the “Kissinger and Pompeo” dominating the decision-making joints, and the announcement of negotiations with Korea, and the formation of a high level US- KSA- UAE Committee, it is likely to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, and discussion of the withdrawal in mid-May or the end of March, the beginning of April is now underway, with Ready to launch a military strike either in Lebanon or to the Iranian capabilities in Syria.
Second: Israel.
During the current month, the IDF conducted three types of exercises, simulating multiple war models: [4]
The first is the training of “Jennifer Cobra”, a joint air defense training with the US military that simulates Israel’s exposure to large- scale rocket attacks.
Second: training the “steadfast”, which trains the home front forces to evacuate the wounded, dead and citizens and deal with hazardous materials, in scenarios simulating a fierce battle against Hezbollah in Lebanon, to be added challenges from the Syrian front, and the Gaza Strip.
Third: training the fighting on several fronts, it was a training in scenarios simulating: Russia’s action to put difficulties in the face of Israeli attacks in Syria, working through coordination or non-coordination with the Russians, and the possibility of infiltration of the war into Israel.
In addition, Israel asked the US Congress to approve the supply of large quantities of ammunition and diplomatic support for a strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon , [5] at the same time , the announcement of the strike on the Syrian nuclear reactor as a message addressed to Iran, and shortly before the US administration took its decision on the nuclear deal [6] .
Third: Russia.
The batteries of the latest S400 air defense missiles were transferred to the Hmeymim and Tartus base. [7] At the same time , the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Girasimov, warned that “in case of a threat to the Russian army in Syria, Russia will not only respond to US missiles , but on the carriers of the navy destroyers and US aircraft [8] .
The possibility of a direct military confrontation between Russia and the United States remains weak. In the event of any strike, Russia will be alert before a sufficient period of time. Historical experience indicates that Russia could be neutralized in the event of a war by ensuring its strategic interests in the region noting that the Russian threat to respond is only related to the threat to the Russian army in Syria and is unlikely to risk for a full military confrontation with Washington.
1. Trump Diplomacy: Ego or Kissinger Style, The Weekly, Center for American and Arab Studies, Week of March 16th, 2018 , available at: gl / jHVzj3
2.
3. Trump, Saudi Prince & UAE to set up action group against Iran, Debka File, March 20, 2018. Available at: gl / VHCxpc
4. Yaniv Kubovich , Israeli Military Drill Simulates Multi-Front War – With Russia Intervening Over Syria, Ha’aretz, Mar 15, 2018 Available at: goo.gl/h28rS1
5. Whitney Webb , Israel Seeks US Ammunition, Support for Planned Attack on Lebanese Civilian Targets, mint press news, March 2, 2018. Available at: goo.gl/CszHkh
6. Stuart Winer , Defense minister regrets releasing details of attack on Syrian nuclear reactor, Times of Israel. March 21, 2018. Available at: goo.gl/VxxjG1
7. Oriana Pawlyk, Russia Deploys More S-400 Missile Systems to Syria, Military.com, january 26, 2018. Available at: goo.gl/4L4QwT
8. Kathrin Hille , Russia threats military action against US in Syria, Financial Times, March 13, 2018. Available at: goo.gl/LXEvVg
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies