An image shared on social media of Russian mercenaries operating in Syria (Twitter)
Tom Ricks, Task & Purpose: How And Where Will Russia Retaliate For The US Airstrike That Killed Mercenaries In Syria?
That’s a question buzzing around Washington these days. My friend Eliot Cohen, a former State Department counselor who is now a professor of strategy at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, tells me he is “convinced that the Russians will try to get even.”
Indeed, the Russians have a reputation of tit-for-tatting especially in the Middle East, when they have been offended by local groups. But obviously hitting back at the U.S. is a different question.
I would think this issue right now is on the desks of the defense secretary, the director of national intelligence, and the national security advisor. What could Putin do? Well, he could respond with a massive hacking effort against U.S. forces in Syria. (Headline: “Russian Bots on the Ground”) Someone else I know suggests that they might attempt to knock down a U.S. aircraft, particularly an AC-130.
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WNU Editor: A lot of wild speculation from Tom Ricks in the above post, and the usual digs at President Trump. Editorializing aside .... Putin has bigger concerns right now, and that is winning this month's Russian Presidential election. As to the question .... will Russia get "even"? I am sure there may be some in the Kremlin would like to do a tit-for-tat. But I do not think the Americans are that stupid to offer it to them.
