The "capital" of ISIS in Syria is being approached rapidly by the opposing forces of the Russian-led and US-led led coalitions in the country.
With both sides eager to be the first to claim total victory over the bloodthirsty terrorists and executioners, the developing battle has been compared with the Battle for Berlin in 1945.
In the closing days of World War 2 in Europe, forces aligned with the United States and Soviet Union approached the Nazi German capital of Berlin from west and east, respectively. The ultimate victory finally went to the Soviet Union, who proved far more determined to take the German capital even despite great sacrifices of men and materiel.
One analysis posted to Fort Russ on 11 June notes that while US-backed Kurdish Peshmerga forces have held positions close to the ISIS terror capital for a longer period than the Russian-backed Syrian Army, recent gains by the latter have been astonishingly rapid.
US-aligned forces have been almost constantly positioned about 40 kilometers from Raqqa. On the other side, al-Masdar News reports that in a mere two weeks the Syrians and their Russian allies pushed a fresh 80 kilometers towards the city and obtained a similarly proximate position, threatening to take it first.
As explained by the Fort Russ report, the capture of Raqqa would be a devastating defeat to ISIS. "A successful storm of the city would show that the “Caliphate” can’t even keep what it has proclaimed to be its own home", the blog noted.
Emphasizing the comparison between the Battle for Raqqa and the race towards Berlin in 1945, the Fort Russ blog stated, "In both cases, the position of Moscow was more altruistic and constructive, while Washington’s was cynical".
This latter point in the post may be a reference to the US's belief that fascists and terrorists are worth supporting and consorting with if they will interfere in the progress of Russia and its allies. Such behavior has been spotted in US and western policy supporting not only terrorists in Syria but also nationalists in Ukraine.
Anti-NATO micro-activism group is live: The BlogTweetcasting the views of some of the most active but under-a... https://t.co/tq435MbnFM— The clubof.info Blog (@ClubOfInfo) June 10, 2016
