超级军网俄战机轰炸美英在叙秘密军事基地（附英文原文）
来源：百度文库 编辑：超级军网 时间：2024/04/25 09:10:31
The Wall Street Journal
White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria. Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
When Russian aircraft bombed a remote garrison in southeastern Syria last month, alarm bells sounded at the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense in London.
The Russians weren't bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to U.S. officials. Their target was a secret base of operations for elite American and British forces. In fact, a contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out of the garrison 24 hours earlier. British officials declined to comment.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say the previously unreported close call for Western forces on June 16, and a subsequent Russian strike on a site linked to the Central Intelligence Agency, were part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure the Obama administration to agree to closer cooperation in the skies over Syria.
The risk that U.S. and British forces could have been killed at the border garrison hardened opposition at the Pentagon and the CIA to accommodating the Russians. But White House and State Department officials, wary of an escalation in U.S. military involvement in Syria, decided to pursue a compromise.
Yury Melnik, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, referred questions about the incidents to the Russian Defense Ministry, which didn't respond to a request for comment.
A provisional agreement reached by Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow last week--over Pentagon and CIA objections--calls for the former Cold War adversaries to join forces in strikes against the Nusra Front, Syria's al Qaeda affiliate. In exchange for the U.S. easing Moscow's international isolation, Russia would halt airstrikes on the U.S.-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force.
Talks are still under way between U.S. and Russian experts over the designated areas where the Russians would have to get Washington's approval before conducting strikes.
Proponents of the deal in the White House and the State Department say it will allow the U.S. to target Nusra in areas which have been off limits to American attack aircraft for months because of Russian deployments, and will provide a measure of protection to U.S. allies on the ground in Syria whom the Russians and Syrians were targeting in their air campaigns.
Critics of the deal at the Pentagon and the CIA say the White House gave in to Russian bullying and voiced doubt that Moscow would abide by the terms of the agreement. They say the U.S. needs to confront the Russians more squarely. White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria.
Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
Mr. Melnik, the Russian embassy spokesman, said, "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."
Officials close to Mr. Kerry said he shares the skepticism of military and intelligence officials about Russian intentions, which was why he inserted a clause during the negotiations to allow the U.S. to unilaterally suspend cooperation with the Russians if they started bombing U.S. allies again.
U.S. and British special forces based in Jordan cross the border into Syria on missions, helping maintain an unofficial buffer zone on Syrian soil to protect Jordan from Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The special forces would rendezvous with their rebel allies at the garrison, initially used by the CIA. For security reasons, the forces wouldn't spend the night.
A contingent of about 20 British special forces pulled out of the facility less than 24 hours before the U.S. tracked Russian aircraft on June 16 flying across Syria to the garrison, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials briefed on the strike. The aircraft dropped cluster munitions on the target, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.
After that first Russian strike, officers with the U.S. military's Central Command air operations center in Qatar called their counterparts in Russia's air campaign headquarters in Latakia, Syria, U.S. officials said. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State and shouldn't be attacked.
Roughly 90 minutes after the U.S. warning was delivered, U.S. aircraft circling nearby watched as the Russians launched a second wave of strikes against the garrison.
A U.S. military surveillance aircraft overhead tried to hail the Russian pilots directly using the frequencies which the U.S. and Russian governments had agreed to use in emergencies.
The Russian pilots didn't respond.
U.S. officials said four rebels were killed in the Russian strikes.
After the Russian aircraft returned to base in western Syria, the Pentagon demanded that Moscow explain what happened.
Russian military officials initially told their Pentagon counterparts that Russian pilots intentionally struck the garrison, but thought it was an Islamic State facility, according to the U.S. officials briefed on the incident.
U.S. military and intelligence officials rejected that explanation and said the Russian pilots would have been able to tell from the air that the garrison wasn't an Islamic State facility because of the unique ways in which it was fortified.
Among the protective measures surrounding At-Tanf were interlocking sandbag walls that are a signature characteristic of U.S. and British bases in the region.
The Russians then told the Americans that the Jordanians had approved of the strikes in advance. U.S. officials said they checked with Amman and were told by their Jordanian counterparts that they had never given Moscow a green light.
The Russians later told the Americans that their air command headquarters in Syria wasn't in a position to call off the strikes because officers with U.S. Central Command didn't provide Moscow with the precise coordinates for the garrison.
U.S. officials said the Pentagon had never specifically asked the Russians to steer clear of the area around the At-Tanf garrison because it wasn't close to any of the front lines between the Assad regime and opposing forces and because Russian aircraft didn't operate in that part of Syria.
Moreover, distrust of Russian intentions ran so deep within the U.S. military and the CIA that U.S. officials didn't want to tell the Russians any more than they had to, officials said.
The strike sharpened divisions within the administration. Military and intelligence officials said it showed why Moscow couldn't be trusted. Administration officials in favor of the deal said the strike illustrated why refusing to cooperate with the Russians carried risks.
Following the strike, the U.S. gave the Russians some additional information about U.S. operations along the Jordanian border. U.S. officials said they told Moscow to steer clear of the border area.
But on July 12, as Mr. Kerry was preparing to fly to Moscow to complete the agreement to increase U.S.-Russian coordination, Russian aircraft targeted another base near the Jordanian border, about 50 miles from At-Tanf, used by family members of CIA-backed fighters and other displaced Syrians, according to U.S. officials briefed on the strike and rebel commanders.
Tllass Salameh, a commander with the Lions of the East rebel group which works out of the base, said 200 people were living at the "families' camp."
In the strike, the Russians used cluster munitions, which increased the number of casualties, according to Mr. Salameh and U.S. officials. Mr. Salameh said two young children, aged two and three, were killed along with two young women and a man in his mid-50s. In addition, 48 people were injured, all civilians, he said.
Suha Ma'ayeh in Amman contributed to this article.
Credit: By Adam Entous and Gordon Lubold
美媒：俄战机轰炸美英在叙秘密军事基地
链接http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-07/9215740.html
The Wall Street Journal
White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria. Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
When Russian aircraft bombed a remote garrison in southeastern Syria last month, alarm bells sounded at the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense in London.
The Russians weren't bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to U.S. officials. Their target was a secret base of operations for elite American and British forces. In fact, a contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out of the garrison 24 hours earlier. British officials declined to comment.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say the previously unreported close call for Western forces on June 16, and a subsequent Russian strike on a site linked to the Central Intelligence Agency, were part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure the Obama administration to agree to closer cooperation in the skies over Syria.
The risk that U.S. and British forces could have been killed at the border garrison hardened opposition at the Pentagon and the CIA to accommodating the Russians. But White House and State Department officials, wary of an escalation in U.S. military involvement in Syria, decided to pursue a compromise.
Yury Melnik, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, referred questions about the incidents to the Russian Defense Ministry, which didn't respond to a request for comment.
A provisional agreement reached by Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow last week--over Pentagon and CIA objections--calls for the former Cold War adversaries to join forces in strikes against the Nusra Front, Syria's al Qaeda affiliate. In exchange for the U.S. easing Moscow's international isolation, Russia would halt airstrikes on the U.S.-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force.
Talks are still under way between U.S. and Russian experts over the designated areas where the Russians would have to get Washington's approval before conducting strikes.
Proponents of the deal in the White House and the State Department say it will allow the U.S. to target Nusra in areas which have been off limits to American attack aircraft for months because of Russian deployments, and will provide a measure of protection to U.S. allies on the ground in Syria whom the Russians and Syrians were targeting in their air campaigns.
Critics of the deal at the Pentagon and the CIA say the White House gave in to Russian bullying and voiced doubt that Moscow would abide by the terms of the agreement. They say the U.S. needs to confront the Russians more squarely. White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria.
Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
Mr. Melnik, the Russian embassy spokesman, said, "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."
Officials close to Mr. Kerry said he shares the skepticism of military and intelligence officials about Russian intentions, which was why he inserted a clause during the negotiations to allow the U.S. to unilaterally suspend cooperation with the Russians if they started bombing U.S. allies again.
U.S. and British special forces based in Jordan cross the border into Syria on missions, helping maintain an unofficial buffer zone on Syrian soil to protect Jordan from Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The special forces would rendezvous with their rebel allies at the garrison, initially used by the CIA. For security reasons, the forces wouldn't spend the night.
A contingent of about 20 British special forces pulled out of the facility less than 24 hours before the U.S. tracked Russian aircraft on June 16 flying across Syria to the garrison, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials briefed on the strike. The aircraft dropped cluster munitions on the target, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.
After that first Russian strike, officers with the U.S. military's Central Command air operations center in Qatar called their counterparts in Russia's air campaign headquarters in Latakia, Syria, U.S. officials said. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State and shouldn't be attacked.
Roughly 90 minutes after the U.S. warning was delivered, U.S. aircraft circling nearby watched as the Russians launched a second wave of strikes against the garrison.
A U.S. military surveillance aircraft overhead tried to hail the Russian pilots directly using the frequencies which the U.S. and Russian governments had agreed to use in emergencies.
The Russian pilots didn't respond.
U.S. officials said four rebels were killed in the Russian strikes.
After the Russian aircraft returned to base in western Syria, the Pentagon demanded that Moscow explain what happened.
Russian military officials initially told their Pentagon counterparts that Russian pilots intentionally struck the garrison, but thought it was an Islamic State facility, according to the U.S. officials briefed on the incident.
U.S. military and intelligence officials rejected that explanation and said the Russian pilots would have been able to tell from the air that the garrison wasn't an Islamic State facility because of the unique ways in which it was fortified.
Among the protective measures surrounding At-Tanf were interlocking sandbag walls that are a signature characteristic of U.S. and British bases in the region.
The Russians then told the Americans that the Jordanians had approved of the strikes in advance. U.S. officials said they checked with Amman and were told by their Jordanian counterparts that they had never given Moscow a green light.
The Russians later told the Americans that their air command headquarters in Syria wasn't in a position to call off the strikes because officers with U.S. Central Command didn't provide Moscow with the precise coordinates for the garrison.
U.S. officials said the Pentagon had never specifically asked the Russians to steer clear of the area around the At-Tanf garrison because it wasn't close to any of the front lines between the Assad regime and opposing forces and because Russian aircraft didn't operate in that part of Syria.
Moreover, distrust of Russian intentions ran so deep within the U.S. military and the CIA that U.S. officials didn't want to tell the Russians any more than they had to, officials said.
The strike sharpened divisions within the administration. Military and intelligence officials said it showed why Moscow couldn't be trusted. Administration officials in favor of the deal said the strike illustrated why refusing to cooperate with the Russians carried risks.
Following the strike, the U.S. gave the Russians some additional information about U.S. operations along the Jordanian border. U.S. officials said they told Moscow to steer clear of the border area.
But on July 12, as Mr. Kerry was preparing to fly to Moscow to complete the agreement to increase U.S.-Russian coordination, Russian aircraft targeted another base near the Jordanian border, about 50 miles from At-Tanf, used by family members of CIA-backed fighters and other displaced Syrians, according to U.S. officials briefed on the strike and rebel commanders.
Tllass Salameh, a commander with the Lions of the East rebel group which works out of the base, said 200 people were living at the "families' camp."
In the strike, the Russians used cluster munitions, which increased the number of casualties, according to Mr. Salameh and U.S. officials. Mr. Salameh said two young children, aged two and three, were killed along with two young women and a man in his mid-50s. In addition, 48 people were injured, all civilians, he said.
Suha Ma'ayeh in Amman contributed to this article.
Credit: By Adam Entous and Gordon Lubold
美媒：俄战机轰炸美英在叙秘密军事基地
链接http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-07/9215740.html
White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria. Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
When Russian aircraft bombed a remote garrison in southeastern Syria last month, alarm bells sounded at the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense in London.
The Russians weren't bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to U.S. officials. Their target was a secret base of operations for elite American and British forces. In fact, a contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out of the garrison 24 hours earlier. British officials declined to comment.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say the previously unreported close call for Western forces on June 16, and a subsequent Russian strike on a site linked to the Central Intelligence Agency, were part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure the Obama administration to agree to closer cooperation in the skies over Syria.
The risk that U.S. and British forces could have been killed at the border garrison hardened opposition at the Pentagon and the CIA to accommodating the Russians. But White House and State Department officials, wary of an escalation in U.S. military involvement in Syria, decided to pursue a compromise.
Yury Melnik, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, referred questions about the incidents to the Russian Defense Ministry, which didn't respond to a request for comment.
A provisional agreement reached by Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow last week--over Pentagon and CIA objections--calls for the former Cold War adversaries to join forces in strikes against the Nusra Front, Syria's al Qaeda affiliate. In exchange for the U.S. easing Moscow's international isolation, Russia would halt airstrikes on the U.S.-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force.
Talks are still under way between U.S. and Russian experts over the designated areas where the Russians would have to get Washington's approval before conducting strikes.
Proponents of the deal in the White House and the State Department say it will allow the U.S. to target Nusra in areas which have been off limits to American attack aircraft for months because of Russian deployments, and will provide a measure of protection to U.S. allies on the ground in Syria whom the Russians and Syrians were targeting in their air campaigns.
Critics of the deal at the Pentagon and the CIA say the White House gave in to Russian bullying and voiced doubt that Moscow would abide by the terms of the agreement. They say the U.S. needs to confront the Russians more squarely. White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria.
Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
Mr. Melnik, the Russian embassy spokesman, said, "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."
Officials close to Mr. Kerry said he shares the skepticism of military and intelligence officials about Russian intentions, which was why he inserted a clause during the negotiations to allow the U.S. to unilaterally suspend cooperation with the Russians if they started bombing U.S. allies again.
U.S. and British special forces based in Jordan cross the border into Syria on missions, helping maintain an unofficial buffer zone on Syrian soil to protect Jordan from Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The special forces would rendezvous with their rebel allies at the garrison, initially used by the CIA. For security reasons, the forces wouldn't spend the night.
A contingent of about 20 British special forces pulled out of the facility less than 24 hours before the U.S. tracked Russian aircraft on June 16 flying across Syria to the garrison, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials briefed on the strike. The aircraft dropped cluster munitions on the target, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.
After that first Russian strike, officers with the U.S. military's Central Command air operations center in Qatar called their counterparts in Russia's air campaign headquarters in Latakia, Syria, U.S. officials said. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State and shouldn't be attacked.
Roughly 90 minutes after the U.S. warning was delivered, U.S. aircraft circling nearby watched as the Russians launched a second wave of strikes against the garrison.
A U.S. military surveillance aircraft overhead tried to hail the Russian pilots directly using the frequencies which the U.S. and Russian governments had agreed to use in emergencies.
The Russian pilots didn't respond.
U.S. officials said four rebels were killed in the Russian strikes.
After the Russian aircraft returned to base in western Syria, the Pentagon demanded that Moscow explain what happened.
Russian military officials initially told their Pentagon counterparts that Russian pilots intentionally struck the garrison, but thought it was an Islamic State facility, according to the U.S. officials briefed on the incident.
U.S. military and intelligence officials rejected that explanation and said the Russian pilots would have been able to tell from the air that the garrison wasn't an Islamic State facility because of the unique ways in which it was fortified.
Among the protective measures surrounding At-Tanf were interlocking sandbag walls that are a signature characteristic of U.S. and British bases in the region.
The Russians then told the Americans that the Jordanians had approved of the strikes in advance. U.S. officials said they checked with Amman and were told by their Jordanian counterparts that they had never given Moscow a green light.
The Russians later told the Americans that their air command headquarters in Syria wasn't in a position to call off the strikes because officers with U.S. Central Command didn't provide Moscow with the precise coordinates for the garrison.
U.S. officials said the Pentagon had never specifically asked the Russians to steer clear of the area around the At-Tanf garrison because it wasn't close to any of the front lines between the Assad regime and opposing forces and because Russian aircraft didn't operate in that part of Syria.
Moreover, distrust of Russian intentions ran so deep within the U.S. military and the CIA that U.S. officials didn't want to tell the Russians any more than they had to, officials said.
The strike sharpened divisions within the administration. Military and intelligence officials said it showed why Moscow couldn't be trusted. Administration officials in favor of the deal said the strike illustrated why refusing to cooperate with the Russians carried risks.
Following the strike, the U.S. gave the Russians some additional information about U.S. operations along the Jordanian border. U.S. officials said they told Moscow to steer clear of the border area.
But on July 12, as Mr. Kerry was preparing to fly to Moscow to complete the agreement to increase U.S.-Russian coordination, Russian aircraft targeted another base near the Jordanian border, about 50 miles from At-Tanf, used by family members of CIA-backed fighters and other displaced Syrians, according to U.S. officials briefed on the strike and rebel commanders.
Tllass Salameh, a commander with the Lions of the East rebel group which works out of the base, said 200 people were living at the "families' camp."
In the strike, the Russians used cluster munitions, which increased the number of casualties, according to Mr. Salameh and U.S. officials. Mr. Salameh said two young children, aged two and three, were killed along with two young women and a man in his mid-50s. In addition, 48 people were injured, all civilians, he said.
Suha Ma'ayeh in Amman contributed to this article.
Credit: By Adam Entous and Gordon Lubold
美媒：俄战机轰炸美英在叙秘密军事基地
链接http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-07/9215740.html
The Wall Street Journal
White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria. Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
When Russian aircraft bombed a remote garrison in southeastern Syria last month, alarm bells sounded at the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defense in London.
The Russians weren't bombarding a run-of-the-mill rebel outpost, according to U.S. officials. Their target was a secret base of operations for elite American and British forces. In fact, a contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out of the garrison 24 hours earlier. British officials declined to comment.
U.S. military and intelligence officials say the previously unreported close call for Western forces on June 16, and a subsequent Russian strike on a site linked to the Central Intelligence Agency, were part of a campaign by Moscow to pressure the Obama administration to agree to closer cooperation in the skies over Syria.
The risk that U.S. and British forces could have been killed at the border garrison hardened opposition at the Pentagon and the CIA to accommodating the Russians. But White House and State Department officials, wary of an escalation in U.S. military involvement in Syria, decided to pursue a compromise.
Yury Melnik, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington, referred questions about the incidents to the Russian Defense Ministry, which didn't respond to a request for comment.
A provisional agreement reached by Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow last week--over Pentagon and CIA objections--calls for the former Cold War adversaries to join forces in strikes against the Nusra Front, Syria's al Qaeda affiliate. In exchange for the U.S. easing Moscow's international isolation, Russia would halt airstrikes on the U.S.-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force.
Talks are still under way between U.S. and Russian experts over the designated areas where the Russians would have to get Washington's approval before conducting strikes.
Proponents of the deal in the White House and the State Department say it will allow the U.S. to target Nusra in areas which have been off limits to American attack aircraft for months because of Russian deployments, and will provide a measure of protection to U.S. allies on the ground in Syria whom the Russians and Syrians were targeting in their air campaigns.
Critics of the deal at the Pentagon and the CIA say the White House gave in to Russian bullying and voiced doubt that Moscow would abide by the terms of the agreement. They say the U.S. needs to confront the Russians more squarely. White House and State Department officials are wary of intensifying a costly proxy fight that could exacerbate the level of violence in Syria.
Since its armed intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last September, the Russian air force has conducted hundreds of sorties against CIA-backed rebels fighting his government, fueling U.S. anger.
Mr. Melnik, the Russian embassy spokesman, said, "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."
Officials close to Mr. Kerry said he shares the skepticism of military and intelligence officials about Russian intentions, which was why he inserted a clause during the negotiations to allow the U.S. to unilaterally suspend cooperation with the Russians if they started bombing U.S. allies again.
U.S. and British special forces based in Jordan cross the border into Syria on missions, helping maintain an unofficial buffer zone on Syrian soil to protect Jordan from Islamic State, U.S. officials said. The special forces would rendezvous with their rebel allies at the garrison, initially used by the CIA. For security reasons, the forces wouldn't spend the night.
A contingent of about 20 British special forces pulled out of the facility less than 24 hours before the U.S. tracked Russian aircraft on June 16 flying across Syria to the garrison, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials briefed on the strike. The aircraft dropped cluster munitions on the target, according to U.S. officials and rebel commanders.
After that first Russian strike, officers with the U.S. military's Central Command air operations center in Qatar called their counterparts in Russia's air campaign headquarters in Latakia, Syria, U.S. officials said. The American officers told the Russians that the garrison was part of the U.S. campaign against Islamic State and shouldn't be attacked.
Roughly 90 minutes after the U.S. warning was delivered, U.S. aircraft circling nearby watched as the Russians launched a second wave of strikes against the garrison.
A U.S. military surveillance aircraft overhead tried to hail the Russian pilots directly using the frequencies which the U.S. and Russian governments had agreed to use in emergencies.
The Russian pilots didn't respond.
U.S. officials said four rebels were killed in the Russian strikes.
After the Russian aircraft returned to base in western Syria, the Pentagon demanded that Moscow explain what happened.
Russian military officials initially told their Pentagon counterparts that Russian pilots intentionally struck the garrison, but thought it was an Islamic State facility, according to the U.S. officials briefed on the incident.
U.S. military and intelligence officials rejected that explanation and said the Russian pilots would have been able to tell from the air that the garrison wasn't an Islamic State facility because of the unique ways in which it was fortified.
Among the protective measures surrounding At-Tanf were interlocking sandbag walls that are a signature characteristic of U.S. and British bases in the region.
The Russians then told the Americans that the Jordanians had approved of the strikes in advance. U.S. officials said they checked with Amman and were told by their Jordanian counterparts that they had never given Moscow a green light.
The Russians later told the Americans that their air command headquarters in Syria wasn't in a position to call off the strikes because officers with U.S. Central Command didn't provide Moscow with the precise coordinates for the garrison.
U.S. officials said the Pentagon had never specifically asked the Russians to steer clear of the area around the At-Tanf garrison because it wasn't close to any of the front lines between the Assad regime and opposing forces and because Russian aircraft didn't operate in that part of Syria.
Moreover, distrust of Russian intentions ran so deep within the U.S. military and the CIA that U.S. officials didn't want to tell the Russians any more than they had to, officials said.
The strike sharpened divisions within the administration. Military and intelligence officials said it showed why Moscow couldn't be trusted. Administration officials in favor of the deal said the strike illustrated why refusing to cooperate with the Russians carried risks.
Following the strike, the U.S. gave the Russians some additional information about U.S. operations along the Jordanian border. U.S. officials said they told Moscow to steer clear of the border area.
But on July 12, as Mr. Kerry was preparing to fly to Moscow to complete the agreement to increase U.S.-Russian coordination, Russian aircraft targeted another base near the Jordanian border, about 50 miles from At-Tanf, used by family members of CIA-backed fighters and other displaced Syrians, according to U.S. officials briefed on the strike and rebel commanders.
Tllass Salameh, a commander with the Lions of the East rebel group which works out of the base, said 200 people were living at the "families' camp."
In the strike, the Russians used cluster munitions, which increased the number of casualties, according to Mr. Salameh and U.S. officials. Mr. Salameh said two young children, aged two and three, were killed along with two young women and a man in his mid-50s. In addition, 48 people were injured, all civilians, he said.
Suha Ma'ayeh in Amman contributed to this article.
Credit: By Adam Entous and Gordon Lubold
美媒：俄战机轰炸美英在叙秘密军事基地
链接http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-07/9215740.html
http://news.wenweipo.com/2016/07/23/IN1607230002.htm
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≡ 關於文匯報雲報紙文匯報PDF版移動客戶端繁體簡體 logo首頁 > 快訊 > 正文 俄戰機轟炸美英在敘利亞秘密軍事基地 2016-07-23 【文匯網訊】據環球時報7月23日報道，美國《華爾街日報》21日披露出一則勁爆新聞：俄羅斯戰機近日在敘利亞轟炸了美英秘密軍事基地。令人意外的是，美國白宮和國務院選擇了妥協。事件凸顯敘利亞內戰的巨大危險——它隨時有可能演變成一場大國間的衝突。22日，俄總統新聞秘書佩斯科夫拒絕對美媒這一報道發表評論。他回應說：「(克里姆林宮)並不知道這一事件。這樣的問題需要問國防部。」 據報道，事發於6月16日，遭轟炸的哨站位於約旦與敘利亞邊界附近。美軍方以及情報官員在通報中說，轟炸前，美追蹤到俄戰機飛越敘利亞前往該哨站的行動，20名英軍撤離。俄戰機對目標投擲了集束炸彈。俄軍第一次轟炸後，美軍設在卡塔爾的中央司令部空軍部門致電俄在敘利亞拉塔基亞空軍司令部。美官員告訴俄羅斯人，該哨站是美軍針對IS行動的一部分，不應被攻擊。但就在美軍發出警告後約90分鐘，在該哨站附近盤旋緊盯形勢的美機發現，俄羅斯人對該哨站進行了第二波轟炸，炸死了4名叛軍人員。 事件發生後，五角大樓要求俄方做出解釋。俄軍方開始稱，俄軍打擊的基地屬於IS。但美方官員反駁了這種解釋，並稱這一基地有一系列特殊設施，確定其屬於西方軍人所有「並不困難」。基地設施保護中有環環相扣的沙袋牆，這是美英在該地區軍事基地的重要標誌。俄軍方後來向美方表示，沒有取消對基地的打擊，是因為華盛頓並沒有向莫斯科提供設施的準確坐標。 《華爾街日報》分析，莫斯科意在施壓奧巴馬政府，逼其同意在敘利亞空域進行更密切合作。但美英軍人險些被炸死，刺激了五角大樓以及中情局的強硬派，他們反對迎合俄羅斯人;白宮以及國務院的官員，則由於擔心美軍更深捲入敘利亞決定尋求妥協。7月上旬，美國國務卿克裡訪問莫斯科並達成一項臨時協議——美俄聯手轟炸敘利亞的「基地」分支「努斯拉陣線」。作為對美國緩解莫斯科國際孤立的交換，俄將停止轟炸美國支持的叛軍並且對敘利亞空軍進行限制。 《華爾街日報》21日披露，俄羅斯戰機近日在敘利亞轟炸了美英秘密軍事基∧
手机发真是不方便
炸的就是你美英的秘密基地,这基地干什么勾当大家应该懂的!
来自: 手机APP客户端
来自: 手机APP客户端
鹅毛没有投降派扯后腿真是啥都敢放开手脚干。
都是旧地图惹的祸！
明明是这个基地先动的手。
想起了大使馆事件，不过毛子真牛，该打得打，该炸的炸，反正经济就那样了，也不搞什么韬光养晦政策，作风很毛子
轰炸英美秘密基地……炸死四个叛军成员……
不就是CIA的安全屋吗，说的那么高大上
可以，這個很毛子。
哈哈哈哈，还好还好
炸了也就炸了，还能咋地，毛子真正不错，敢想敢干，美帝就怕这样的。
谁让你霉国人跟ISIS恐怖分子一起混了？作恶多端，活该！
轰炸英美秘密基地……炸死四个叛军成员……
这个很有意思。
这个很有意思。
毛子还是毛子、老美还是老美。。。。
美国继续制裁呗，哈哈哈～
这霉蒂哑巴吃黄连有苦说不出吧，活该
轰炸英美秘密基地……炸死四个叛军成员……
估计还会有倒霉蛋般的据点挨炸的。。。。
难道三战一直在进行
那四个叛军是哪的？
哇靠！毛子也用“过期地图”。
米英：这是基地！
大毛：哦，基地组织
大毛：哦，基地组织
过期地图很清真
毛子真下手也敢下手
不好意思，我们使用的地图过期了，纯属误炸
叙利亚反对派还有希望吗