Russia in central Asia

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia in central Asia

Since the 19th century the Russian and Soviet states controlled central Asia, wresting control from the local Turkic (and also Tajik/Farsi) Muslims of the region.

Then in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union the Muslim states of central Asia gained their freedom and secured independence.

However the Russian state considers central Asia as part of its zone of influence and calls it part of its "near abroad".

This includes Kazakhstan which is around 1/3 Slav Russian.

The United States used the Islamic card in Afghanistan which is also home to Turkic and Tajik Muslims, some of whom are of the same ethnicity as people in some of the central Asian states e.g. Uzbeks, Turkmens and Tajiks.



It partly secured the demise of the USSR through using the Islamic card by Afghan guerillas and it is now widely speculated in the non-official, alternative media that the American regime plans use radical "Islamists" and terrorists to destabilize Russia's soft southern underbelly. There may also be the use of "colour revolutions".

A "colour revolution" is one where the US and western media camp in town and coincidentally there are "protests" led by quarters who are *coincidentally* very pro-western. These protests are then shown through out the world in the western dominated world media.

The protests are then said to represent the entire people of that particular country whereas in reality they could be merely a particular demography of young, urban middle class demonstrators, whilst the majority in the countryside might not even support them.

If local regimes use violence against the protestors then it will be said to be "human rights atrocities" and unacceptable, though Israel can use phosphorus on civilians in Gaza.

The question now is with the American regime formenting chaos through out the Muslim world, how will the Russian bear react to planned US-instigated turmoil and turbulence in central Asia.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia Holding Military Drills in Central Asia

Russian airborne forces training with Kyrgyz National Guard in the Kyrgyz mountains

(TASS - Russian news agency) MILITARY 4 hours ago | 256 0




Russian paras

BISHKEK, May 25 (TASS) - Kyrgyzstan begins on Monday joint military exercises with Russia that involve 250 Russian paratroopers and servicemen of Kyrgyzstan’s National Guard.



Six aircraft were used to transfer the units of Russia’s Airborne Forces.

“The exercises will last until June 5 and part of them will be held on territory of the fifth brigade of Kyrgyzstan’s National Guard, while the other on the Russian air base in Kant [Chuy region in Kyrgyzstan],” an official at the air base in Kant said.



The drills will see the landing operation of the Russian paratroopers and Kyrgyzstan’s National Guard and skill training in the mountainous areas, the official said.

The military chiefs of the two states reached an agreement on holding the exercises a month ago.

The Russian air base in Kant was opened in 2003 and serves as an air component of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The air base is located some 20 kilometers from the capital Bishkek. Su-25 attack aircraft, Il-76 transport aircraft and helicopters of the 5th Urals Army of the Air Force and Air Defence are based there.

The latest major exercises with the participation of the Russian paratroopers were held in September 2014. The Vostok command and staff maneuvers involved more than 155,000 soldiers from the forces of the Central and Eastern districts, Airborne Forces, Air Defence, Long-Range Aviation and Military and Transport aviation.

http://russia-insider.com/en/russia-kyrgyzstan-holding-military-drills/ri7339

155,000 Russian soldiers in an exercise in September, i.e. 0.1 million.

The bear is sending a message to everyone that it is in central Asia and that it is strong.





China, Russia and to a lesser degree are all planning if the US tries to start an ISIS style group or activity in central Asia.







Russian soldiers in Tajikistan.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia Holds Drone Drills in Tajikistan Mountains

Army serviceman launches a droneRussia Holds Drone Drills in Tajikistan Mountains © Sputnik/ Said Tsarnaev


ASIA & PACIFIC

The Russian military participates in military exercises with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Central Asian Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian military is conducting drills with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Central Asian Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains amid a surge in Taliban activity on the Tajik-Afghan border, the Eastern Military District's press service said Monday.

In April, the Taliban launched a large-scale offensive in Kunduz, an Afghan province bordering Tajikistan. Taliban attacks prompted Tajik authorities to strengthen its border with Afghanistan and stage military drills.



Russian Troops Practice Airstrikes in Tajikistan

"During the flights, the methods of interaction with Tajikistan's Defense Ministry units, motorized infantry actions in blocking and elimination of illegal armed groups, combing of adverse terrain, as well as operation of UAVs in the conditions of high temperatures and thin air were practiced," the press service said in a statement.
Earlier in May, a joint rapid-response force of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), including Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, among others, carried out large-scale anti-terrorism drills in Tajikistan.



Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150525...#ixzz3bAfdzajI



- Russia is sending a message to the Taliban and America that they are ready militarily to deal with the Taliban (American proxy) threat.

[HalloIsBack]

russian presence produce islamists!

i was born in soviet union but very critical towards my own birth country

why did not tiger mention the invasion of udssr in afghanistan 1979?
i hope tiger will also publish what soviet union and russia have done in caucasus and central asia

on one side he complains about islamophobia in tajikistan but on other side he adores putin and sovietunion, sovietunion who has destroyed lots of mosques in central asia

seriously i dont get it!

[Bengal_Tiger]

President Putin was in Tajikistan 4 days ago.


Putin: Russia Will Help Ensure Tajikistan's Stability Following Recent Violence

WATCH: Putin Says Fighting Islamic State A Priority (RFE/RL's Tajik Service)

September 15, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow will help Tajikistan ensure stability after recent violence there left more than 20 dead, stoking fresh fears of unrest in the former Soviet state.

Putin said Tajikistan could count on Russian "help and support," before adding that Tajik armed forces were "successfully dealing with the problems that arise."

Putin was speaking on September 15 in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, at a meeting of a Moscow-dominated security alliance of ex-Soviet states.

Among those attending was Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

Putin's comments come after gunmen loyal to Tajikistan's former deputy defense minister clashed with government forces on September 4.

Tajik officials blame Abduhalim Nazarzoda and his supporters for attacks on a police station and an arsenal near Dushanbe that killed 26 people, including nine police officers and 17 suspected militants.

At the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Putin also said Moscow was worried about a possible spillover of violence from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and other Central Asian states

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-tajikistan-stability-violence-putin-csto/27249224.html

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia To Redeploy Troops To Afghanistan – Tajikistan Border


Posted By: VW StaffPosted date: September 30, 2015 03:02:35 PMIn:

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, Russia is set to redeploy its military troops to Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan following a serious deterioration in the security situation in the region ever since US President, Barack Obama declared an end to the US combat mission in the area.



The aforementioned newspaper claims that the idea of Russian forces arriving at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border does not seem unlikely. Indeed, it appears that the Tajikistan government is keen on taking help from the Kremlin in a bid to get some much needed assistance around the shared border.

Quite recently, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov expressed grave concerns regarding security threats faced by Tajikistan from the South due to the worsening security situation in Afghanistan thanks to the presence of terrorist elements and the rapid emergence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

It is being feared that the ISIS-linked jihadists will be looking to enter Tajikistan via Afghanistan and if that happens, it could create a new security headache for Russia. Reports in various media outlets have already stated that Russian President, Vladimir Putin could offer under-fire Tajikistan help during his visit to capital Dushanbe later this week.

Putin arrived in the capital of Tajikistan this Monday to attend the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit.

On Friday, top foreign policy aide for Kremlin, Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin will be having a meeting with his opposite number Imomali Rakhmon which means that security the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border with Russian help could be one of the main agendas of the meeting.

“We are ready to provide assistance one way or another, as well as political support, and I think this matter will be one of the key ones during talks,” Ushakov told reporters.

And although Ushanov was not particularly forthcoming when asked about the prospect of Russia deploying its troops in Tajikistan, the fact that Moscow already has a military base in the country means that it is only a matter of time when Russian boots will be marching around the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.

Despite the fact that the Central Asian States gained independence following the disintegration of the USSR more than two decades ago, Russia still has a lot of influence in the region and has always made sure of an obvious present there.

Also, the fact that Kremlin is worried that the ISIS-linked violence in the Middle East could trickle down to the Central Asian region, clearly means that Moscow is in no mood to sit idly and see its neighbor’s situation keep getting worse by the hour.

Until 2005, Russian forces were providing security assistance to Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan but afterwards, Tajik forces took over. Already 22 people have lost their lives in bloody gun battles this month which has added to fears of religious unrest in the state which is a close ally of Russia.

The reason behind the consistently worsening of situation can be traced back to December last year when President Obama declared an end to USA’s decade-long mission in Afghanistan. The fact that US troops have more or less left the region has exposed Afghanistan to a multitude of issues and as things stand, the country is struggling to keep influence against Taliban, a force that in the past few months, has grown both in numbers and confidence.



Indeed, Afghanistan has been left in a precarious position ever since US rolled back its program.

Only yesterday, Northern Afghan city of Kunduz fell to the Taliban which indeed is a chilling news considering the fact that US left the country confident that it had taken care of business in an immaculate fashion.

Back in 2001, Kunduz was the last city that was taken from Taliban’s control and was heralded as the completion of Afghanistan’s complete liberation. This recent recapture clearly demonstrates the strength of Taliban and should not be taken lightly. It also shows that the Taliban now boast the confidence and the apparatus to take on the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) who have been put to the sword to say the least ever since US boots left the ground.

“The fall of Kunduz was a failure of both national and international leadership. Unfortunately, the government in Kabul is not taking responsibility for it. I am sure it will impact the National Unity Government very deeply,” says Kabul-based political expert, Haroon Mir, in an interview with The Diplomat.

Why the sudden need for Russia's troop deployment?

For the last ten years or so, Russia had one headache less to worry about. With the US presence in Afghanistan, Russia was able to stay less focused on the Afghanistan border acting as the gateway to Central Asia since it was heavily patrolled by US troops – meaning that the chances of jihadists entering Tajikistan via Afghanistan were slim to none. That allowed Russia to focus elsewhere. However, now that the US adventure in Afghanistan is over in more ways than one, Russia will now have to heavily rely on its own troops to take care of the security situation in Tajikistan.

The Tajik forces have not been able to cope with the security crisis lately which means that Russia had no other option but to get out of its comfort zone and ensure that the potential wave of extremism in Central Asia does not affect its own volatile cities like Chechnya, Dagestan and Makhachkala.

With the growing crisis in Tajikistan, the CSTO meeting couldn’t have come at a better time. Already, the Uzbek militant element is making things complicated for all member states of CSTO and Russia clearly cannot afford any sort of security lapses in Tajikistan which have the potential to gravely affect Russia’s internal security.

With current issues such as the South China Sea, Syrian and Middle Eastern crisis and Crimean crisis more in focus, the Afghanistan issue has slipped from under the radar which has further given Taliban a lot of confidence in taking things in its own hands.

Back in 2012, international donors gathered in Tokyo and pledged $16 billion in aid over four years. Next year, the donors will gather again but it will be interesting to see if they will be looking to dig deep just like they did three years ago keeping in mind the current developments in Middle East and Asia Pacific.

John Kerry is a firm believer in the National Unity Government formed by the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah even though he doesn’t feel the same way about the security condition in the country.

And although Afghanistan has asked neighbor Pakistan to do more in order to push back against terrorist groups, it is clear to see that Kabul should be more focused on its own security condition and try and develop more productive means to bring about stability within its borders just like Pakistan has been doing over the past few months.

All these issues have made things very complicated for Russia which is why it has become imperative for Moscow to quickly take control of the situation before the Taliban resurgence hits its shores which will be a potentially back-breaking event for Russia and its long-term goals in which Tajikistan holds an important place.

http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/09/russia-to-redeploy-troops-to-afghanistan/

*Article was 1 week ago.

Russia has started pounding CIA-created ISIS terrorists in Syria heavily since then including launching of cruise missiles from the Caspian sea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrA3UYZBZsg

[Bengal_Tiger]

Afghanistan's Dostum Turns To Old Ally Russia For Help




Afghan First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum (left) meets with Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov in Grozny on October 5.


By Frud Bezhan
October 07, 2015

With the Taliban threatening to overrun large parts of Afghanistan, First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum is seeking help from an old ally -- Russia.

A graduate of the Soviet Military Academy and a general in the Soviet-backed Afghan army, Dostum is hoping his old links to Moscow will help him secure crucial military support for Afghanistan's besieged security forces.

A trip to Russia took him to Moscow and Chechnya, where he met with Ramzan Kadyrov on the Kremlin-backed regional strongman's birthday on October 5.

Dostum, who led an ethnic Uzbek militia during the civil war of the 1990s, landed in Moscow last week. He has held talks with top Russian security officials, pleading for heavy weapons and helicopter gunships for the 350,000-strong Afghan National Security Forces.

"The Russian side is committed to support and help Afghanistan in terms of helping its air and military forces," Dostum's spokesman, Sultan Faizy, told RFE/RL by telephone. "We're lacking air support, weapons, ammunition. We need a lot of backing and support to fight against terrorism."

But Faizy said that would not mean direct military intervention by Russia, which is still mindful of the 1979-89 war that killed some 15,000 Soviet soldiers and has repeatedly said it would not send troops to Afghanistan.

Faizy said that Moscow had promised to evaluate the situation in Afghanistan and "see what they can help with."

Russia has also pledged to pressure the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, three of which border Afghanistan, to boost support for the country, Faizy said.

Looking For Help

Faizy said Russian officials told Dostum they were concerned about Islamic State (IS) militants gaining ground in Afghanistan and the Taliban's brief capture last week of the northern city of Kunduz, the first time the militants have overrun a major urban center since being ousted from power by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The Taliban's capture of Kunduz was a major embarrassment to the U.S.-funded Afghan security forces, fueling questions over whether they can fend off militants without NATO troops, most of which pulled out of the country last year.

Dostum has urged the Central Asian countries -- where he has visited regularly -- to provide weapons and other military support.

Last year, Dostum made unofficial visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in order to negotiate potential deals for such assistance. But he came back empty-handed.

Dostum is now hoping his former connections with Moscow will translate into direct support.

The former strongman studied in the Soviet Military Academy in Moscow in the 1980s and then served as a general in the Afghan army, commanding his own militia battalion that fought against the mujahedin guerrillas. Dostum's militias received extensive funding and weapons from Moscow.

After Moscow cut off aid to the communist regime in 1992, Dostum switched sides and joined the rebels until the Taliban seized Kabul. He would spend the intervening years in exile in Turkey and the Central Asian states before he returned to Kabul permanently in 2009.

Welcome In Grozny

While in Russia, Dostum paid a visit to the North Caucasus region of Chechnya -- and posted a photo with his "friend" Kadyrov on Facebook on October 5. Kadyrov posted the same snapshot on Instagram.

Dostum said the two discussed "the fight against terrorism, especially against Daesh," using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group, which is also known as ISIS.

"Dostum noted that ISIS is trying to make Afghanistan into a bridgehead," Kadyrov wrote on Instagram on October 5. "In order to prevent this threat, Kabul needs Russia's support, as in Syria."

Kadyrov added that he was confident that Moscow would make a "positive decision in response to this request."

Local Chechen media quoted Dostum as praising Kadyrov's own experience in battling terrorism. "Both Ramzan Kadyrov and I have been waging the struggle with international terrorism," Dostum was quoted as saying by Grozny-inform.ru.

"In this field we can make a substantive coalition. We can learn from each other. We don't have concrete projects of cooperation yet, but that doesn't mean there won't be any in the future."

Rights activists accuse Kadyrov of condoning abuses, ignoring Russia's constitution, and creating a climate of fear to suppress an Islamist insurgency and separatism in Chechnya, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars that revived memories of the Afghan conflict.

http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-russia-dostum-seeks-military-help/27293696.html

[Bengal_Tiger]

- If Russia is not prepared to allow ISIS to take over Syria because of the long term threat US-sponsored terrorists and militants pose to Russia, then it will definitely not allow terrorists in Afghanistan which is even closer to home to do that.

- The same applies to Iran which doesn't have a border with Syria but does with Afghanistan.

- It will be interesting to see what sort of support Dostum can get from Turkey too.

- I read an article today stating Russian tanks have gone to the border with Afghanistan (next to Tajikistan), can't locate it now but if I can later, will post it.

[Bengal_Tiger]

US nursing Daesh in Afghanistan: Russia officials

Thu Oct 8, 2015 6:19PM



Zamir Kabulov, the Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan

Russian officials have suggested that the United States is plotting the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan and the expansion of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group there.

The officials made the remarks during a security conference in Moscow, Russia Today reported on Thursday.

Addressing the event, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan, said, on several occasions, Taliban groups which had refused to join Daesh were “set up” to be targeted by US airstrikes.

“The Afghan Army practically has no aircraft. Only the Americans do. These details bring some very bad thoughts and concerns. We have to take them into account and draw conclusions accordingly,” the official said.
“It seems like someone’s hand is pushing freshly trained ISIL (Daesh) fighters to mass along Afghanistan’s northern border. They don’t fight foreign or Afghan government troops,” Kabulov noted.

Colonel General Igor Sergun, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s military intelligence agency, said the US is maintaining a long-term goal of preventing stability in Central Asian countries and surrounding Russia and China with a network of regimes loyal to Washington.

He said Daesh “uses the worsening of the situation in Afghanistan to strengthen its position.”

Kabulov said individuals holding British and American passports were among those Daesh instructors training militants in Afghanistan as part of the group’s efforts to make inroads into Central Asia.

Citing Russian intelligence estimates, the diplomat said the number of militants in Afghanistan, who had pledged allegiance to Daesh, stood at 3,500.

The Takfiris have seized about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria. Its elements made their debut on the Afghan territory about a year ago.

On June 16, Taliban warned Daesh ringleader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, against “waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan.” Taliban asked the Daesh leader to keep his men out of Afghanistan by withdrawing his support for those elements that are recruiting young militants in Taliban strongholds.

Since August 2014, the United States and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what they say are positions of the Takfiri terrorist group in Iraq. The campaign has failed to dislodge the group.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has expressed regret that Daesh had grown in strength since the allies started the campaign in Iraq, calling the assaults’ mission into question.

Some members of the US-led coalition have also been pounding purported Daesh positions inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a United Nations mandate since last September in a mission, which has likewise fallen short of uprooting the terrorists.


This US Air Forces Central Command photo shows a pair of US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles flying over northern Iraq early in the morning of September 23, 2014 after conducting airstrikes in Syria (AFP photo).


Upon a request from Damascus, Russia has been conducting airstrikes of its own against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria for over a week now and has been welcomed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to embark on any such military measures on Iraqi soil.

Also on Thursday, Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Arab Army, General Ali Ayoub confirmed that the group had lost part of their military capabilities due to Russian airstrikes.

US President Barack Obama has, however, called Moscow’s aerial campaign a “recipe for disaster” and claimed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin cannot “distinguish between” Daesh terrorists and the so-called moderate militants.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/10/08/432572/Russia-US-Daesh-Afghanistan

[Bengal_Tiger]

From another website:

The resurgence of the Taliban, after displaying a higher degree of military operational skill during the attack on Kunduz, as well as reports that some of its units are merging with or being subjugated by ISIS militants, adds uncertainty to the fate of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and to the preservation of a secular regime in Kabul.

The international jihadist forces now assembling in Afghanistan are a destabilizing factor for the entire region. This sounds an alarm bell for Russia and its allies in Central Asia, which sooner or later will force them to undertake pre-emptive action

http://in.rbth.com/world/2015/10/09/troika-report-is-there-a-taliban-isis-double-threat-to-rusia_481055

- The fall of Kunduz made the leader of Tajikistan go to Russia to speak to the Russians about this.

- Dostum went to Russia too.

- Russia is monitoring the situation in Afghanistan.





Russia to Sign Contract on Mi-35 Deliveries to Afghanistan in October



03:03 09.10.2015(updated 03:23 09.10.2015)


Russia plans to sign a contract on the delivery of several Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia will continue providing support to Afghan government forces and plans to sign a contract on the delivery of several Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan in October, Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan and head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Asia Department Zamir Kabulov told the Izvestia newspaper.

Afghanistan’s first Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has asked Russia for military aid amid a fight against Islamic State (ISIL) militants.

"Russia is already providing certain assistance in strengthening the capabilities of the Afghan government forces," Kabulov said, explaining that Russia delivers weaponry to Afghanistan and provides military training for Afghan officers.

According to the Russian envoy, this process will continue and Afghanistan will receive more Russian aid in the near future.


"We plan to conclude a contract with the Afghan side in October on the delivery, on a commercial basis, of several Mi-35 combat helicopters," Kabulov told the Russian Izvestia newspaper.

He stressed that the key to peace and security in Afghanistan is not the foreign troops present in the country.

"Afghanistan has an army and many Afghans are capable of bearing arms and know how to use them well. We need to strengthen the national potential, and not try to defend the Afghan government with foreign troops," Kabulov said, adding that the presence of NATO/US forces in the country has led to the rise of extremists, not their decline.

Afghanistan continues to be in a state of political and social turmoil as the Taliban and Islamic State (ISIL) radicals take advantage of instability in the country, which has persisted since the 2001 US-led invasion.

On Thursday, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Gen. Valery Gerasimov said that the number of ISIL militants in Afghanistan stands at around 2,000-3,000 and is growing constantly.



Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/2015...#ixzz3o4FY6SCC




- Russia doesn't want NATO in Afghanistan or anywhere else in its Central Asian neighbourhood.


- Russia will support the Afghan military to combat the Taliban/militant threat..


- Sooner or later Russia may have to start leaning on the Taliban's masters, the Pakistani military.



War criminal and thug, Raheel Sharif, the current ruler of Pakistan as army chief. His regime may come under Russian pressure to stop supporting the Taliban.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Russia, Allies To Start New Military Exercises In Tajikistan

January 5, 2016 - 5:15pm, by Joshua Kucera

Russia and other allies will hold a military intelligence exercise, the first of its kind, in Tajikistan in April.

A source in Tajikistan's security services told the newspaper Asia Plus that the Collective Security Treaty Organization will hold the exercise in a military training area in the Khatlon province, which borders Afghanistan. About 800 soldiers from CSTO member states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan will take part. The source told Asia Plus that it's the first time the CSTO has held an exercise specifically devoted to intelligence.


Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan has become Russia's prime security concern in Central Asia as the Taliban has become more and more active in neighboring northern Afghanistan.

Russia is also looking at bilateral Russia-Tajikistan military action in case of a deteriorating security situation in Tajikistan, a senior Russian diplomat has said. "We may use coalition groups of the armed forces of Russia and Tajikistan, if circumstances demand," said Aleksandr Sternik, the head of the Russian foreign ministry's department in charge of ex-Soviet states, in an interview Sunday with the news agency Interfax. He said the issue was discussed at a recent meeting of the CSTO in Moscow.

"Toward this end we're optimizing the structures and deployment schemes of the 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan. Its capabilities are increasing. Under the current circumstances taking into account the state of affairs in the border region this is the most effective model of cooperation," Sternik added.

In November, Russia announced that it was shutting down its military facility in Kulyob (part of the 201st base) in Khatlon and moving those forces to Dushanbe. But Russia also has announced plans to reequip Russian forces in Tajikistan with new equipment including BTR-82A armored personnel carriers and new sniper rifles.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/76706

1. Central Asian Muslim states such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan under Russian leadership may ultimately consider a Syria style operation if invited to by the Kabul government.

a: Tajikistan and Uzbekistan do not want fundamentalists and radicals in the area to get strong especially in light of the destruction they are causing in Syria, Iraq etc.

b: Uzbeks and other Turks alongside Tajiks inside Afghanistan would naturally support them in any security restoration operation.


2. The Russians just like in Syria would not have to send many soldiers but just bomb the Taliban heavily whilst on the ground:

- Afghan Tajik
- Tajik Tajik
- Afghan Uzbek
- Uzbek Uzbek
- ANA (Afghan National Army)
- Hazaras (Hezb i Wahdat and others)
- Shias
- Afghan Turkmen

would all provide the ground troops needed to crush the Taliban.

There are claims that in Syria there are around 1/2 a million pro-Assad troops consisting of: The Syrian Army (SAA), NDF (Syrian regional militias), Iranian IRGC, Iraqis and Afghans and of course a few Russians.

The Syria operation will give the Russians valuable experience in how to co-ordinate any such future operation in Afghanistan.

Russia and the Central Asian states would obviously be backed by China, India, Iran and Turkey.

Not to mention further afield states like Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Bangladesh and others would voice soft support.

I don't think any such operation will happen or needs to happen however as the Taliban are weak and are becoming more and more divided and their masters, the Pakistan army, know that they can't remove the Kabul government hence Raheel Sharif running to Kabul every couple of months.



Kyrgyz troops, Kyrgyzstan is one of the countries opposed to the Taliban.





Army of Tajikistan, Tajikistan will not accept the fall of Kabul or Afghanistan to the Taliban.



Afghan Hazara fighters in Syria. Iran would support Hazaras and Shias in Afghanistan from stopping the Taliban taking power.



Dostum in Turkey, Afghanistan's Turkic peoples would enjoy the support of Turkey from stopping a Taliban takeover.



Chinese drone. China has a big fleet of drones which it can easily send in to Afghanistan to locate pro-Pakistan Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in any future Syria style operation.



The bulk of the fighting would be carried out by Afghan Nation Army troops. However the ANA need to invest in drone technology, first the acquisition of it and the effective operational usage of them followed by indigenous production of Afghan drones primarily to locate anti-government insurgents.

It is not difficult to create a basic drone.



A basic drone being built.





More advanced drones.



Chinese built drone in Iraq bombing a ISIS/Wahabi base in Ramadi.

[Bengal_Tiger]

[MENTION=19424]Firdousi[/MENTION]

China and Russia do not want Islamic militants taking control in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

1. The Russians are in Syria with 10,000 soldiers.

2. The Russians and Chinese are helping the Iraqis e.g Chinese-made drones.

3. The Russians have supplied the Afghan army with 10,000 AK47s and also helicopters.

The Iraqi army is in a similar situation to the Afghans, whereas the Afghans are fighting the Taliban, the Iraqis are fighting ISIS.

ISIS in Syria is sponsored by Turkey, the Taliban in Afghanistan are sponsored by Pakistan.

There are many parallels.

However 3 nuclear giants, Russia, India and China will not allow Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban.

The Afghan military is getting stronger year by year.



ANA (Afghan National Army).



ANA with arrested Pakistan-backed Taliban militant. Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism in Afghanistan as Turkey is sponsoring terrorism, ISIS, in Syria.



ANA soldier in Islamic prayer.



ANA forces backed by Russia, China, India and central Asian states engaged in extensive anti-insurgency operations across the country dealing with Pakistani-backed terrorists.