What's Behind Carter's Claim That Russia Will Suffer Casualties in Syria?

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When US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that he expects Russia will soon suffer casualties, his phrase sparked the question whether the Pentagon has a Soviet-Afghanistan redux in mind for Syria, Germany-based political scientist and analyst Phil Butler remarks.

The real life "war on ISIL" conducted by the US is completely different from what Washington's tame media sources are telling the public: in fact it is a part of a US strategy of widespread regime change across much of the world, Germany-based American political scientist and analyst Phil Butler notes.

"Without expanding our story too far, the Arab Spring we heard so much about is not finished yet. As Barack Obama and other Western leaders have made abundantly clear, Bashar Assad's government must be overthrown by whatever means. ISIL, or even al-Qaeda, they're only bit players in an overall strategy to shift world affairs," Butler pointed out in his article for New Eastern Outlook.

The US' large-scale project in the Middle East is supported by its partners and NATO allies, such as Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco, Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Also allied with the coalition are the Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq, the so-called "Syrian opposition," and, rather surprisingly, America's bitter enemy al-Qaeda, along with numerous jihadist extremist groups like al-Nusra, the political scientist underscored. And here comes Russia…

"Russia is now flying support for a massive Syrian Army push to regain territory and control. The short story being, ISIL has suffered more losses in the last few days than throughout the US/Coalition campaign supposedly designed to eradicate these terrorists," Butler emphasized.
It goes without saying that Russia has largely upset the US and Co.'s applecart in the region.
Butler quoted US investigative reporter Jeffrey Silverman, who told him that Washington has invested too much in this Middle Eastern project to allow Russia "to just fly in and sort out the terrorists once and for all."

"We can expect that the US, its proxies, including Turkey, Jordan and Israel, will provide all necessary covert material support to try to save their joint project," Silverman emphasized.

The question remains open how far Washington will go to halt the Russo-Syrian advance in the war zone. Commenting on the issue, Butler called attention to US Defense Secretary Ash Carter's recent remarks over Russia's involvement in Syria.
"This will have consequences for Russia itself. And I also expect that in the coming days, the Russians will begin to suffer casualties in Syria," Carter said.


Furthermore, less than a week ago Barack Obama declared that Syria would become a "quagmire" for Russia, the US analyst highlighted.
Carter and Obama's words were not just casual comments, according to Butler. The political scientist referred to the fact that about three decades ago the Reagan administration provided the Afghani Mujaheddin, the would-be Taliban fighters, with Stingers to inflict serious damage on the USSR's Air Force in Afghanistan. So, is this the option Carter and Obama are hinting at?

"At this juncture, if Obama gives a green light to jihadists shooting down Russian planes, America will be exposed in the game. With millions of lives at stake in the region, and hundreds of millions more affected by the refugee crisis, sanctions, and America polarizing the world, the string pullers of Washington have few options," the analyst pointed out.

"If I were Ash Carter, I'd make damn sure Russian pilots had an American wing man or two. Even a lucky hit on an SU-34 sends a signal — Afghanistan Redux — America is guilty of chaos again," Phil Butler stressed.