Michel Chossudovsky: Western Naval Forces Confront Russia?

As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan." General Wesley Clark. While confrontation between Russia and the West was, until recently, confined to the polite ambit of international diplomacy, within the confines of the UN Nations Security Council, an uncertain and perilous situation is now unfolding in the Eastern Mediterranean. Allied forces, including intelligence and special forces have reinforced their presence on the ground in Syria following the UN stalemate. Meanwhile, coinciding with the UN Security Council deadlock, Moscow has dispatched to the Mediterranean a flotilla of ten Russian warships and escort vessels led by the Admiral Chabanenko anti submarine destroyer. Russia's flotilla is currently stationed off the Southern Syrian coastline. Back in August of last year, Russia's Deputy Minister Dmitri Rogozin warned that "NATO is planning a military campaign against Syria to help overthrow the regime of President Bashar alAssad with a long reaching goal of preparing a beachhead for an attack on Iran," in relation to the current naval deployment. Russia's navy chief, Vice Admiral Victor Chirkov, confirmed. However that while the Russian flotilla was carrying marines, the warships would not be engaged in Syria Tasks. The ships will perform "planned military manoeuvers", said the Russian Defense ministry." The US-NATO alliance has retorted to Russia's naval initiative, with a much larger naval naval deployment, a formidable Western armada, consisting of British, French and American warships, slated to be deployed later this summer in the Eastern Mediterranean, leading to a potential "Cold War style confrontation" between Russian and Western naval forces.