Rockets on Golan, Pentagon flouts Obama, no truce
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis
The Pentagon and US army are not following the orders of their Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama in the execution of the military cooperation accord in Syria concluded by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Sept. 12. Five days after the truce they agreed would go into effect Monday, fighting was still raging Saturday, Sept. 17. DEBKAfile was the only Western publication to foresee this eventuality in an article published on July 18. It was already evident then that any military cooperation agreement between the two powers would be contingent on America exposing its intelligence-gathering methods to Russia - not just in Syria but worldwide. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford will never on any account admit that, in the execution of military collaboration with Russia in the Syrian conflict, they are not exactly carrying out the president's precise instructions. But according to DEBKAfile's military sources, defense officials are simply dragging their feet in ground operations. This is driving Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals into fits of rage. It is becoming evident that the brutal standoff in Syria will be sustained until Putin is satisfied that the US is cooperating with Russian forces in Syria and the Mediterranean region in all spheres.
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis
The Pentagon and US army are not following the orders of their Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama in the execution of the military cooperation accord in Syria concluded by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Sept. 12. Five days after the truce they agreed would go into effect Monday, fighting was still raging Saturday, Sept. 17. DEBKAfile was the only Western publication to foresee this eventuality in an article published on July 18. It was already evident then that any military cooperation agreement between the two powers would be contingent on America exposing its intelligence-gathering methods to Russia - not just in Syria but worldwide. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford will never on any account admit that, in the execution of military collaboration with Russia in the Syrian conflict, they are not exactly carrying out the president's precise instructions. But according to DEBKAfile's military sources, defense officials are simply dragging their feet in ground operations. This is driving Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals into fits of rage. It is becoming evident that the brutal standoff in Syria will be sustained until Putin is satisfied that the US is cooperating with Russian forces in Syria and the Mediterranean region in all spheres.