Russia and US nearly had major conflict in Syria – media

A crisis was reportedly averted during a 2017 confrontation in which both sides threatened to use force, a new book has claimed

The world’s leading nuclear superpowers nearly came to blows in Syria after Russian forces threatened to destroy a US base unless American special forces vacated the facility, a UK journalist has claimed in a new book.

The tense standoff occurred in May 2017, at the height of the Syrian Civil War, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday, citing a new book by one of its own staffers. It began when Russia demanded that US special forces leave their base – the Al-Tanf garrison, located near the point where the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders meet – “or face destruction.”

US troops “dispersed into the desert as a precautionary measure,” according to the report. US Army General Stephen Townsend, then commander of US-backed coalition forces in Syria, responded by sending his Russian counterpart an ultimatum: “Are we talking or are we fighting?”

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After a brief pause, the Russian commander replied, “We are talking,” according to veteran Telegraph journalist Con Coughlin’s new book, ‘Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny.’ Townsend then told his coalition colleagues, “My Russian friend just backed down.”

The close call came while Russian General Sergey Surovikin, then commander of Moscow’s forces in Syria, was away on leave. “His replacement failed to observe the strict protocols agreed between the Americans and Russians to avoid a direct confrontation between the two forces,” the Telegraph said.

While US forces purported to be focusing on fighting Islamic State (IS) militants at the time, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed in October 2017 that they were allowing jihadists to move about freely around Al-Tanf. At the time, Russian forces were helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime defeat US-backed rebels and IS.


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US forces illegally occupied Syrian territory during the civil war and continue to do so to this day. Washington is still working with IS and other terrorist groups to carry out attacks against Syrian government forces, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergey Naryshkin said earlier this year. Assad said in March that the Al-Tanf garrison “serves entirely as a base for training terrorists.”

The Syrian conflict has repeatedly put Russian and US forces at risk of potentially escalatory clashes. Multiple American troops were reportedly injured when a Russian military vehicle struck a US vehicle in August 2020. Russian fighters employed by private military contractor Wagner Group were reportedly involved in a failed February 2018 assault by Syrian government forces on an outpost run by US troops and Syrian rebels in Deir al-Zour.


READ MORE: US officials have some nerve in accusing Russia of antagonizing their illegal occupation force in Syria

US Marine Corps may soon be leaderless

An abortion-related row could leave the military branch without a Senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in 164 years

A political standoff in Washington over the Pentagon’s abortion benefits for service members and their families has threatened to create a void in the leadership of the US Marine Corps for the first time since 1859.

The Marines apparently will not have a Senate-confirmed commandant to take the reins when current chief General David Berger completes his four-year term on July 10 because of a protest by Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, over military abortion benefits. Berger must vacate his position whether a successor has been confirmed or not, Military.com reported on Friday, citing comments by a Marine Corps spokesman.

President Joe Biden nominated Berger’s deputy, General Eric Smith, to fill the position, but Tuberville has vowed to block Senate confirmations for all Pentagon promotions because of the military’s new policy of reimbursing troops and their dependents if they have to travel out of state to receive an abortion. Smith will fill the position on an interim basis, as acting commandant, if the blockade is not resolved. Pentagon officials have warned that hundreds of military promotions could be disrupted this year.

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Pentagon to help troops get abortions

The conflict goes back to the US Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 legal ruling that had protected abortion as a constitutional right. The reversal opened the door for dozens of Republican-led states to impose new restrictions on abortion. The Pentagon responded in February by announcing that all US military branches would be required to offer special benefits, including three weeks of paid leave and full reimbursement for expenses, to service members and their dependents who travel to abortion-friendly states to terminate pregnancies.

Tuberville has claimed that the policy violates the Hyde Amendment, a US law that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. He has demanded that the Democrat-controlled Senate hold a vote on the abortion travel policy.

Asked in an interview last month how the confirmation impasse might make America look to its adversaries, Tuberville accused Biden of undermining US military readiness with “woke ideas.” He added, “If we want to talk about looking weak, that’s where we’re going to look weak.”


READ MORE: Pentagon defends LGBTQ priorities

Smith, Biden’s nominee for commandant, claimed last week that the effects of Tuberville’s protest would be felt across the US military ranks, from top leadership down to promotions of young lieutenants. “It certainly compromises our ability to be most ready,” he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.