No one is quite sure what the Middle East will look like in a month let alone in four years . However , I doubt there is a single expert that would disagree that the entire situation is one sour bottle of Jack Daniels away from all out war . Russia is currently on a scorched - earth bombing conflict.attack.bombing campaign in Syria with the U.N. Security Council approving their military conquest . However , Russia has only been given the go - ahead for targeting ISIS , which with their recent bombings of schools , hospitals , and rebel infrastructure , they have shown they do n't care what the U.N. says and they are actively working to keep Assad in power and their influence intact . With the Iranian Nuclear Deal emboldening Iran 's position in the Middle East , Russia is in a quite powerful position to expand their sphere of influence and push back against the West .

That ’s not delusional . That ’s a fact . ” Approximately 250,000 people trapped in rebel - held east Aleppo have been subjected to intense bombing conflict.attack.na since Thursday which has destroyed civilian infrastructure such as emergency response clinics and left almost 500 people dead , activists on the ground say . Syrian president Bashar al - Assad and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have ignored pleas from the West and besieged residents to cease the campaign , which civilians report has included napalm , cluster bombs , and incendiary devices . Several countries , and Nato , have said the attacks amount to war crimes .

Once they think they , you know , “ Well , let ’s not take any more casualties , ” they ’ll just leave — do n’t think you ’ve beaten them . I ’m watching now a film coming out of Ramadi where Iraqi soldiers are looking through holes in the wall to snipe back at the ISIS people that are 100 , 200 yards away , but we claim that Ramadi is now under our control . “ My own experience with these kinds of insurgents over time is that they just do n’t bomb for the sake of bombing conflict.attack.bombing ; it ’s part of a greater strategy . Even if it ’s just a car bomb in the street , it ’s intended to terrorize ; it ’s intended to kill a particular person . ” So we have a conflict now in which we ’re fighting two different wars .

“ He is showing the Russians can walk and chew gum as well as play chess , while the current U.S. administration foreign and military policy is a shambles , ” Mr. Deptula said . “ The gradualistic , weak and uncertain policies of the Obama national security team in the Middle East have yielded a dramatic advantage to the Russians . ” The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday issued an update on its bombing conflict.attack.na campaign . It said Tu-22M3s and Su-34 fighters from Iran hit targets only in Deir ex - Zor and targeted only the Islamic State . “ As a result , the strikes have eliminated five large depots with armament , munitions and fuel , six control centers , a large number of militants , artillery positions and armored hardware of terrorists , ” the ministry said .

The victory is a fragile one . The area is still a conflict zone and it may be some time before a secure corridor for food and medical supplies can be set up , and the regime has called in reinforcements . “ We expect revenge bombing conflict.attack.bombing by the regime , including , possibly , chemical weapons , ” said Zaher Sahloul , a Syrian - American doctor who coordinates medical aid in the city . Still , for the rebels , it has been a remarkable triumph against the odds . After months of retreat under pressure from government forces and Russian airstrikes , they have not only broken the siege , but overrun a key base the regime had used to enforce it and apparently taken possession of a large cache of weapons and artillery .

READ MORE : Terrorists in Aleppo ‘ forcefully ’ enroll teens – Russian MOD That battle now is now concentrated in Aleppo where jihadists are centered . Denying US - led criticisms that Russia and Syrian air forces are rather bombing conflict.attack.na the positions of the so - called moderate rebels , Assad emphasized that anyone who holds a weapon is a terrorist . “ Now , most of the world used the word ' opposition ' about people who carry guns and kill people . You do n't call them opposition ; ' opposition ' is a political term ; it can not be a military term , ” he said .

Hillary has been much attacked for the deaths of U.S. diplomats in Benghazi , but her tireless promotion of the overthrow Muammar Qaddafi by NATO bombing is the far graver disaster . Hillary strongly promoted NATO - led regime change in Libya , not only in violation of international law but counter to the most basic good judgment . After the NATO bombing conflict.attack.bombing , Libya descended into civil war while the paramilitaries and unsecured arms stashes in Libya quickly spread west across the African Sahel and east to Syria . The Libyan disaster has spawned war in Mali , fed weapons to Boko Haram in Nigeria and fueled ISIS in Syria and Iraq . In the meantime , Hillary found it hilarious to declare of Qaddafi : “ We came , we saw , he died . ”

In late April I was among the 25 Vermonters who occupied Congressman Bernie Sanders ’ Burlington office to protest his support of the NATO bombing conflict.attack.bombing of Yugoslavia and the ongoing war against Iraq . Calling ourselves the “ Instant Antiwar Action Group , ” we decided to bring our outrage at

Moscow began air strikes in Syria last September . The United States has called on Assad to step down but has refrained from directly targeting his forces . Communication between the United States and Russian militaries on Syria has been limited to contacts aimed at avoiding an accidental clash as they carry out separate bombing conflict.attack.bombing campaigns and small numbers of U.S. forces operate on the ground . Although no U.S. forces were in the area at the time of Thursday 's strikes , the U.S. military activated the emergency communications channels with Moscow to tell Russia to stop striking the area , the official said . Some time passed after that communication but Russia carried out a subsequent strike , the U.S. official said .

Monitors and activists on the ground put the figure much higher . Residents in the besieged part of the city allege that the recent bombing has deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure , including two hospitals , two civil defence service rescue centres and several ambulances which have been left completely unserviceable . Dr Al - Awad has worked at east Aleppo ’s Al Quds hospital , which - like many of the area ’s remaining medical facilities - now operates from an undisclosed location to shield it from bombing conflict.attack.bombing after the original site was destroyed by an air strike in April 2016 . Video shows amazing rescue of child as shelling resumes in Aleppo There are only around 30 doctors in east Aleppo left to care for thousands of people in need of emergency and other medical care .

Royal Navy vessels are monitoring Russian warships as they pass through the Channel , potentially bringing supplies to the bombing conflict.attack.na campaign against the Syrian city of Aleppo . Michael Fallon , the defence secretary , promised this week that the Russian fleet would be marked “ every inch of the way ” . No 10 confirmed that the vessels , including Russia ’s only aircraft carrier , the Admiral Kuznetsov , were being shadowed by the navy as they headed towards the eastern Mediterranean via the Dover Strait .

Moscow believes severing routes between Syria and Turkey cuts off supplies it accuses Ankara of providing to terrorist groups , which are not confined to ISIS and the Nusra Front according to the Russian definition . Moscow believes helping the regime restore control of Aleppo would boost its morale and allow it to continue fighting the Russian war against Islamic groups it classes as terrorist groups . Aleppo is therefore key to the strategy pursued by Russia , which will not stop bombing conflict.attack.na it for the sake of the Vienna process created by Russia or for fear of European or American reactions . The contrast is clear between the European reaction and the US reaction . Europe fears Russian policies and their implications , including further refugee influx to its shores .

The United States - led bombing conflict.attack.bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria surpassed a stunning milestone this month , underscoring the magnitude of the coalition ’s quest to crush the militant group . Coalition drones and warplanes unleashed 49,917 bombs and missiles against ISIS targets through June 30 , according to new official figures released this week by the U.S. Air Forces Central Command . Daily airstrikes by America and its allies throughout July has since pushed that number above 50,000 , according to Airwars , a watchdog group that monitors the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIS .

Damascus has reacted harshly to the bombing conflict.attack.na of Kurdish militias in northern Syria on Thursday morning by Turkey ’s air force , vowing to intervene next time Ankara sends its planes over its border . Read more In a statement , the Syrian Defense Ministry accused Turkey of “ flagrant aggression , which targeted innocent citizens , ” saying that it considers it “ a dangerous development that could escalate the situation . ”