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Top NATO General: Russians Starting to Build Air Defense Bubble over Syria
(Washington Post) Thomas Gibbons-Neff - While Russia's stated goal in moving into Syria is to fight the Islamic State, NATO's top commander believes Russia's new presence includes the first pieces of an intricate layer of defensive systems deployed to hinder U.S. and coalition operations in the region. "As we see the very capable air defense [systems] beginning to show up in Syria, we're a little worried about another A2/AD bubble being created in the eastern Mediterranean," said Gen. Philip M. Breedlove on Monday. A2/AD stands for anti-access/area denial. Breedlove suggested that Russia's presence in Syria had little to do with fighting the Islamic State and a lot to do with propping up Syrian President Assad. "These very sophisticated air defense capabilities are not about [the Islamic State], they're about something else," said Breedlove.