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NSS staff translations and comments
President Trump has promised that the Syrian government will pay a “big price” for doing something that they did not do. Anyone who has followed the reports by Vanessa Beeley and Eva Bartlett (follow on Twitter @VanessaBeeley and @EvaKBartlett) knows that the Western corporate media have been lying about Syria for years, and if you have read our article on the false flag chemical attack in E. Ghouta, you know this is a dangerous hoax that could be a prelude to war with Russia. Judging by the reader comments at the end of msm articles, it appears that the public, including once-loyal Trump voters, is no longer buying the false-flag lies. This will therefore not be a rerun of Trump’s Shayrat attack last year. It could backfire. Given the imminent danger of a strike on Syria by the US and/or allies like France and Israel, you should know at least the following military details from Russian-language, Chinese-language and English-language sources so that you can assess the seriousness of the situation. Following below is our translation from Russian of a report in Riafan.ru: BEGIN TRANSLATION The US is transferring the US Navy strike group with an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, media have reported. It is known that the air group will leave Norfolk on Wednesday. The US Navy strike group, led by the aircraft carrier Harry Truman, is being sent to the Mediterranean Sea, world media reported. The US Navy air strike group will reportedly leave from Norfolk on Wednesday and travel to the Mediterranean. In addition to the aircraft carrier Harry Truman, the group will include seven more ships, and two destroyers and the USS The Sullivans and USS Jason Dunham will join later. END TRANSLATION Southfront reports today: http://wtkr.com/2018/04/09/harry-s-truman-carrier-strike-group-to-deploy-wednesday/ "A Russian Su-35 multi-role air superiority fighter armed with what looks like Kh-35 cruise anti-ship missiles has just been spotted over the Syrian city of Tartus.” Below is our translation of a comprehensive article in the Chinese military journal Junshi (normally, Junshi is only published in Chinese and is rarely presented in translation in the Western press). BEGIN TRANSLATION What Syrian targets can the US strike? The Assad family private airport is on the list 2018/04/10 On April 9, 2018, local time, US President Trump announced that he would make a “significant decision” in the next 24 to 48 hours in response to the CW attack in the East Ghouta region in Syria. If that "significant decision" refers to a new round of strikes against the Syrian government forces, what are the possible goals of the action? According to Israel’s i24NEWS television station citing US officials, the Pentagon has submitted to Trump a series of options for air raids and targets, including naval warships launching Tomahawk cruise missiles and B-52 strategic bombers air-launching AGM- 86C/D cruise missiles to be used outside the theatre to attack, or use of B-2, F-22 and other stealth aircraft to bomb the Syrian territory. Another analysis pointed out that the most likely to be hit by the U.S. military are the three important military airports located near Damascus, Syria. Of these, the preferred target is the Shayrat Air Base, located about 30 kilometres southeast of Homs. It was this base that was attacked on April 7, 2017 by 59 U.S. cruise missiles. According to Russian media reports on the attacks, the Syrian Army has stepped up repairs in the past seven weeks, and the base has basically resumed the function of airport operations in late May of the same year. According to foreign media, if the U.S. military launches a new round of strikes, the highest strike priority will still be Shayrat Air Base. The original Syrian Air Force Base had three squadrons of Syrian Air Forces, and there were dozens of MiG-23 and Su-22 fighter planes. In September 2015, Russian military engineers began to refurbish the airport. In addition to the original 3,000-meter main runway, the Russians expanded and reinforced another 3000-meter-long alternate runway to accommodate large Russian transporters and long-range bombers. According to a Jane’s Defence Weekly report, the Russians had sent eight Mi-24/35 attack helicopters, one Mi-8/17 helicopter, and an unknown number of Ka-52 and Mi-28 attack helicopters to the base. A Russian artillery unit equipped with six 152-mm howitzers is also stationed here to support the Syrian 18th Panzer Division that attacked [terrorists at] the ancient city of Palmyra. According to the Journal of Defence and Diplomacy Strategic Policy [this is a direct translation from the Chinese, no such journal found], the Shayrat Air Force Base is Russia's "material transit hub" in Syria (a large number of Russian-made rocket launchers and TOS-1 flame thrower tanks are sent here to various fronts in Syria). Its status and role are second in importance only to the Hmeimim Air Base near Latakia (effectively reducing the congestion of the latter). In addition, the airport is also tasked with refuelling, overhauling, and resupplying ammunition for Russian, Syrian and Iranian air force aircraft participating in the war. The second target is the Dumayr Airbase, located 42 kilometers east of Damascus, Syria, which is Syria’s second largest military airport with 52 steel-reinforced concrete hangars (8 of which are underground) and one 3100 meter long runway. In terms of statistics, Dumayr Airbase was formerly home to the Syrian Air Force 67th fighter squadron with multiple MiG-23MLs, Su-22M2 fighters, and Mi-24 attack helicopters deployed there. It also has a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 [NSS note: The Pantsir is a comination cannon-missile air defence system, very economical and capable of shooting down a larger number of incoming threats than the S-400 or S-300 could]. The powerful anti-aircraft firepower network is the main frontline airport for the Syrian Army to support the East Ghouta's ground combat against a single strike, this base is likely to be included in the US military's "blacklist" of key targets. Not long ago, Dumayr Air Force underwent an attempted attack. When the Eastern Ghouta Battle began in late February 2018, a large quantity of heavy equipment of the Syrian troop "Tiger Force" was stored in Dumayr Air Force Base. On the evening of February 24th, the Israeli Air Force dispatched five air-to-surface missiles to the base. The result was interception by Syrian air defence forces, preventing the “tiger troops” from being “unjustly killed.” The third-priority target is the Mezzeh Military Airport located 6 kilometres southwest of Damascus, capital of Syria. It has 22 hangars (including 5 key guards [uncertain of translation]) and a 2700-meter-long runway with multiple MiG- 21, MiG-23 fighter jets and Mi-24 attack helicopters, Mi-17 transport/armed helicopters and the legal [sic] “Little Oryx” helicopter gunship. The Karzai Airport is also an important strategic facility for the Syrian Army. It is mainly responsible for transportation, transfer of personnel and materials, and is called the Syrian Army "wartime logistics centre." According to another disclosure by Reuters, the airport is still a private airport of the Assad family because of its proximity to the capital. It is usually under the tight control of the elite forces of the Syrian Republic Guard, special forces, and air force intelligence agencies, and has deployed Sam-6 air defences, missiles and ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" self-propelled artillery. After the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, the Karzai Airport was used by the Syrian Army as an artillery position to fight opposition forces operating on the outskirts of the capital. On January 13, 2017, Israel launched airstrikes on the airport, hitting an ammunition depot and causing a violent explosion, allegedly to combat the Lebanese Hezbollah armed targets in the base. END OF TRANSLATION Original site: http://new.qq.com/omn/20180410/20180410A12FML.html
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