Opinion: Russia trains Iran as dominant military force as U.S., well, warns it again http://www.mcclatchydc.com/opinion/article132535024.html#storylink=cpyWith little international notice, Russia is using the Syrian civil war as a live-fire boot camp to train Iranian troops as the region’s dominant military force. And the U.S. seems unable — or still unwilling — to respond effectively.
Iran has already dispatched up to 100,000 troops or proxies into next-door Iraq, allegedly to help its Shiite neighbor combat the Islamic State. But it is also arming and backing Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Syria, among others.
Political columnist Andrew Malcolm
Iran’s concerted buildup, including sophisticated new Russian missile defenses, is expanding its armed influence toward tipping the Middle East’s balance of power adversely to American interests.
President Donald Trump says Iran is “misbehaving,” but so far he has merely warned the regime against its activities with symbolic sanctions. Iran’s response was to launch another test missile capable of reaching Israel.
Foreign news coverage is expensive, so Americans have been fed more on Trump tweets and White House turmoil. In a disturbing recent research analysis, the nonpartisan Institute for the Study of War reported:
“Iranian military cooperation with Russia in Syria is dramatically increasing Tehran’s ability to plan and conduct complex conventional operations. Iranians are learning by seeing and by doing, and are consciously trying to capture lessons-learned in Syria for use throughout their military and para-military forces. . .
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