📍 Breaking News: This article covers the latest developments. Stay informed with comprehensive coverage.
syria-seizes-massive-captagon-and-hashish-shipment-in-central-desert/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syria seizes massive captagon and hashish shipment in central desert">syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria’s accession to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS marks a public alignment with the Western camp, particularly in security and armed forces spheres. Membership in the coalition entails a set of obligations, including intelligence sharing, logistical backing and operational coordination — all of which now apply to Syria, the 90th member of the alliance. Although Damascus has joined in a political rather than armed forces capacity, this does not exempt it from fulfilling its commitments. Syria is already engaged in direct military and security confrontations with ISIS on its own soil, which naturally broadens the scope of counterterrorism cooperation. Yet this development raises pressing questions about the nature of such cooperation, especially in light of Syria’s longstanding ties to the Eastern bloc and its deep entanglement in long-term Russian arms contracts.
What becomes of these agreements? And how will Russian military presence and weapons systems fare now that Damascus has joined a coalition traditionally seen as Moscow’s adversary? Beyond Politics Official statements from Syria’s Minister of Information have framed the country’s coalition membership as political rather than military. In fact, however, military experts suggest that even within this framework, a degree of operational coordination is inevitable. Strategic affairs expert Mahmoud Abdul Salam argues that Syria’s accession imposes obligations that require it to become an active player in the fight against terrorism.
This, in turn, necessitates access to advanced and effective weaponry, in line with other coalition members. In return, Damascus is expected to offer full logistical backing, including access to airports and bases for combat and training missions. Military analyst Mohammad Abbas Mohammad adds that Syria’s inclusion implies the need for a joint operations room to oversee coordination, cooperation, command and fire control. This requires interoperability among combat units, which can only be achieved through joint training and the establishment of advanced communications and reconnaissance systems, supported by technical and software upgrades for command centres. He further notes that such integration will likely demand the introduction of Western weapons systems to ensure effective command and control.
This must be accompanied by the retraining of syrian/" class="auto-internal-link">syrian troops to meet the standards of joint operations with coalition partners, should such collaboration become necessary. The Armament Dilemma Abdul Salam acknowledges that Syria’s historic arms agreements with Russia may face complications. Since the 1970s, Syria has relied heavily on Russian weaponry, particularly missile and air defence systems, both in terms of training and operation. However, Israel has…