At a hearing of the Congressional Armed Services Committee on his nomination for the position of commander in chief of US Central Command, General Eric Korella considered that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will lead to broader instability in the Middle East, including Syria.”
As such, he said, while Washington places “strategic competition” with Beijing and Moscow a top priority, it also means that “we remain engaged in the Middle East and Central and South Asia.”
Kurella explained that Russia has military bases and forces in Syria, and “if Russia invades Ukraine, it will not hesitate to play the spoiler role in Syria as well.”
Commenting on these warnings, researcher Ziad Sankari told “Sky News Arabia” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to correct the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Ukraine is the gateway for his country to appear again as a “global pole and end its marginalization”, and at the same time Washington seeks to correct its image. After the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Al-Sankari predicted that if Washington implements its threats to impose economic sanctions, isolate Russia from the global banking system, and impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ruling elite, the American forces in Syria may be exposed to risks. Because Syria is under Russian military hegemony, the US presence in Iraq is also threatened by the presence of Iran-affiliated militias there, and a “semi-Russian-Iranian understanding may arise to harm the Americans.”
Researcher Ziad Sankari did not rule out that waves of this turmoil would reach Libya, where the Russian “Wagner” forces are located, and a stone’s throw from the European coasts, and it remains to be trusted that diplomatic solutions are the way out without a loser or a winner.
Threatening message to Russia
Kamel Al-Zogoul, a researcher in American history, believes that Corella’s statements come from his experience in the Middle East; He served as the chief of staff of the US Central Command during the terms of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Corella’s assessments have reasons, as Al-Zogoul explains in his interview with “Sky News Arabia,” including “the transfer of some of the duties of the Sixth Fleet from Afghanistan to the Central Command in the Middle East.”
The second is that contact with the Russians in Ukraine is part of a whole, as Washington implements its strategy in the whole world, with evidence that it has restructured its forces in the Middle East and Africa, and the third reason is a threatening message to Russia in Syria, the postponed file, which Washington can “turn over.” Papers” in Syria, and Moscow incurred heavy losses.
Al-Zogoul concludes that Washington has begun to rely on generals who have a comprehensive ideology linking geopolitical issues between the regions, and that is why Corella was nominated, who was described by former Central Command chief Joseph Votel as a “strategic thinker with a vision that enables him to see the picture in all its details.”
This comes as diplomatic efforts continue to resolve the Ukraine crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron said after meeting Vladimir Putin in Russia that he sees “concrete” solutions, and has received assurances from Putin that there will be no further escalation.
Russia has amassed 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, which has prompted accusations from the United States and European countries that it is preparing to invade, which Moscow denies.
