Ralph Peters, New York Post: Russians attacked American troops on Putin’s orders
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 most important thing about this attack on our troops is that it couldn’t have happened without Vladimir Putin’s personal approval. Nye vozmozhno.
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.
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WNU Editor: Ralph Peters is wrong. Russians go to the polls next month. The last thing that Russian President Putin wants to do right now is to rock the boat by launching a military strike against U.S. forces in Syria. There is no upside for him to order such an attack .... but there is definitely a lot of downside. So who order the attack? The decision to launch this attack involving Russian mercenaries could only come from the Russian company that manages these mercenaries. Did they decide to join this Iranian-backed Syrian military unit at the last moment? Did they see an opportunity to take an important oil field? Or did the Syrians/Iranians convince them that this was a good operation and they said .... what the heck. Either way it was a slaughter, and I am sure there are a lot of upset people right now. But for now .... everyone wants this story to go away.
Update: Why am I not surprised .... Neither Kremlin nor Pentagon confirm reports of alleged Russian losses to US strike in Syria (RT).
