Let's Take on Russia, Why Don't We?

Russian aircraft bombed a rebel base in South-East Syria used by U.S. and U.K. special forces last month, the Wall Street Journal Newspaper reported Friday.

Moscow is allegedly using the strike to pressure the Obama administration into closer cooperation in Syria, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed government sources. It also claimed that Russian plane attacked a site used by families of CIA backed Syrian opposition fighters early this month.

[...]

Following the attack, U.S. forces informed their Russian counterparts in Syria that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State and should not be targeted. Roughly 90 minutes later, despite warning signals from U.S. aircraft, Russian planes attacked the site again, the newspaper claimed.

[...]

A U.S. official with access to classified intelligence described the incident as “very, very serious” and said that there had been the potential for U.S. and Russian jets to engage each other, the Radio Liberty news website reported.

[...]

“In reality, the only objective Russia pursues in Syria is fighting terrorism and we believe that better coordination of Russian and American efforts would contribute to effective pursuit of this objective, as well as to a diplomatic solution of the Syrian crisis,” said [Yury Melnik, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Washington, referring all questions to the Russian Defense Ministry which had not yet responded to requests for comment].

[...]

Cooperation between Russian and U.S. forces in the country faces a number of hurdles, including disagreements on the fate of the Syrian leader Bashar Assad and the designation of different armed factions as “terrorist.”

  Moscow Times

Yes, we like ours, the ones who behead children.

U.S. Foreign Secretary John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov reached an agreement in Moscow last week to coordinate strikes against the Al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Apparently, they didn't reach one on strikes against bases the US uses.

The Russians provided no explanation for the strike, which violated the “memorandum of understanding” between the U.S. and Russia that was put in place last year, and designed to maintain flight safety and avoid misunderstandings as the two major militaries share the same airspace and support different factions of the multi-sided civil war.

[...]

Immediately after the Russian strike, the U.S. military scrambled two F/A-18 Super Hornets to the area to provide support for the New Syrian Army units. When those aircraft left the area to refuel, Russian aircraft returned and conducted additional strikes, a U.S. defense official said.

  Military Times

It's been a month. Why haven't we bombed Russia?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.