Americans and Russians Fought a Battle in Syria — It’s Time to Care

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Interesting revelations. 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/us-russia-syria-implication-serious/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

One of the interesting aspects of the Trump era is the extent to which our political culture is obsessing over marginalia while truly significant events transpire largely out of sight and out of mind. For example, late last year the Iraqi government announced the defeat of the ISIS caliphate within Iraqi borders — a significant moment, no doubt — but that same day Donald Trump got in a Twitter spat with the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel over the crowd size at a Pensacola rally. Guess which event got more coverage?

Part of this dynamic, of course, is the president’s fault. He should have trumpeted the allied victory and charted the road ahead. The caliphate was in ruins, but ISIS still exists. Where do we go from here? And part of this is the media’s fault. It’s just easier to follow the president’s lead. After all, that’s where the clicks are. It’s harder to look at the world and discern which stories truly matter.

And that brings me to one of the most momentous mysteries of the new year. Did American and Russian forces just engage in a deadly clash in Syria, and was that clash the direct result of a Putin-approved effort to test American defenses? While Americans were arguing over Russian Facebook posts, did American air power and artillery leave up to 300 Russians dead on a Syrian battlefield?

Here’s the basic chronology.

 

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That sounds more like a mistake (breakdown in intelligence and/or communication) than a Russian ordered attack on an American position.  The Russians would learn absolutely nothing useful from dispatching units without air support to attack an American force with bracketed artillery and air support.  They already know that attacking a position occupied by US military personnel means they return fire, in this case with drastically superior weaponry.  The Russians certainly know that the US military is very capable of effective night fighting.  I suspect the Russians are not using air support on missions in close proximity to known or suspected US military positions, specifically to avoid an accidental engagement that quickly escalates.  Whenever the news made it to the White House, it seems someone wisely advised Trump not to escalate it further.

Sadly, this is the kind of thing that is inevitable when more than two parties are fighting and there are also external military powers intervening on opposing sides.