[NYP] It was inevitable. Russian "mercenaries" attacked a forward base in Syria where they knew American advisors were stationed. It was a test. And our military passed.
Let’s hope the administration passes, too.
The core of the attacking force came from the Wagner Group, Russia’s version of the American thugs who worked for the company formerly known as Blackwater. But while the media refers to the Russians as mercenaries, the Wagner Group functions as an auxiliary of the Russian military ‐ it previously gave command performances in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. It exists to give Moscow (barely) plausible deniability.
It also allows the Kremlin to avoid reporting formal military casualties. Putin remembers the popular disaffection in the 1980s because of the "zinky boys," the young Russian soldiers returning home in zinc coffins in large numbers.
But the bottom line is that these killers ‐ primarily ethnic Russians, but also recruited regionally ‐ work for Putin. Russian suggestions that this was a rogue operation are ludicrous: An armored task force including hundreds of Russian citizens doesn’t attack US troops and blindside Putin. Doesn’t work that way, comrade. |