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as the syrian civil war rages on, the russians continue to back the assad regime in the fight against myriad rebel groups. the bloody conflict has garnered international attention, including a refugee crisis in the middle east and europe (which is quickly spreading to the united states, as well). 




the united states has been involved in several military actions to aid the rebel groups in syria, though much of this help has aided the rise of isis (smuggling weapons to these groups fighting assad, only to end up with isis). given us involvement, and russian backing of the assad regime, tensions between the two superpowers have risen to near cold war levels. 




one recent event demonstrating just how volatile the situation was a near-collision between two fighter jets, one american and the other russian, in syrian airspace. #breaking russian, us jets had near miss over syria: us officials 




zero hedge has details: 




the near miss occurred late on october 17, when a russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane maneuvered in the vicinity of an american warplane, air force lieutenant general jeff harrigan said. the russian jet came to <u+201c>inside of half a mile<u+201d>, he added. another us military official, speaking on condition of anonymity , said the american pilot could feel the turbulence produced by the russian jet<u+2019>s engines. 




<u+201c>it was close enough you could feel the jet wash of the plane passing by,<u+201d> the official said. 




the incident appears did not take place out to malice, as the russian pilot had simply not seen the us jet, as it was dark and the planes were flying without lights according to agp. this incident was deemed unsafe, but not necessarily unprofessional, officials said. <u+201c>i would attribute it to not having the necessary situational awareness given all those platforms operating together,<u+201d> harrigan said. 




the incident raises serious questions about the extent to which pilots are able to track the complex airspace they operate in. 




the us-led coalition has set up a hotline with russian counterparts so the different militaries can discuss the approximate locations and missions of planes, and avoid operating in the same space at the same time. in this case, the american pilot tried unsuccessfully to reach the russian jet via an emergency radio channel. 




this close-call is one of several similar incidents in the past six weeks or so. the russians have become increasingly brazen in the past few months, especially in the syrian arena. anything that threatens the russo-syrian alliance is not taken too well by the kremlin, and responses are bold, dastardly, and provocative. 




luckily, there have not been any full-blown engagements between american and russian military forces, but the number of close-calls in recent days is cause for concern. these are two of the world<u+2019>s most prominent nuclear superpowers, one of whom is becoming more and more brazen and willing to incite conflicts when it suits their interests. 




the other is a regime with massive military superiority, yet weak and flaky leadership. 




at this point it is not totally clear what the russians will do next. undoubtedly, they will continue to prop up the assad regime and bomb anywhere rebel forces may be, but whether or not they will harass american military forces in the area remains to be seen (though i predict that it will only continue to further escalate).
breaking: u.s. and russian jets almost collide over syria
seth connell