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| First Russian transports got their wheels up Tuesday morning 15 MAR 16. |
14 March 2016: In a plot twist that caught most by surprise, with the exception of the governments of Syria and Iran, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin today announced that Russia will commence a redeployment of the bulk of its forces out of Syria and back to Russia tomorrow.
Apparently Putin believes that Russian forces have completed their primary mission in the rescue of Bashar al-Assad's regime from what appears to be imminent collapse just 6 months ago. Exactly which forces and military assets are withdrawn and their timetable for redeployment remains to be determined. A key consideration revolves around the formidable Russian air defense network and whether it remains, is pared down or removed entirely. It appears certain that a contingent of Russian forces will likely remain at the Tartus naval installation and the Hmeimim Air Base near Jableh for some indeterminate amount of time.
This withdrawal comes at a time where neither of the two primary enemies, Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, have been militarily defeated, so it remains to be seen just exactly what effect this withdrawal with have on the battlefield, other than a reduction in the number and possibly quality of airstrikes jihadist forces will be subjected to, and the bulk of the combat now left to Iranian and Syrian forces and their proxy militias.
This development makes for a genuine wait-and-see situation for what develops next given what Bible prophecy declares will happen in Syria (Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17), as well as the fact that Israeli air superiority over the Golan, southern Syria and Lebanon will continue as before, as will Iranian belligerence with Hezbollah on Israel's northern frontier.
