Plot Thickens as Russia Expands Syria Presence

Russia is on the move in Syria, saying it wants to help the war-torn nation fight Islamic terrorists. But the United States believes Moscow has ulterior motives.

Political activist and blogger Ruslan Leviev says he knew something was brewing in Syria when families of Russian soldiers started contacting him in early August.
 
"That's when we first started getting messages that our Russian military contractors are being sent to Syria," he said.
 
Leviev says Russia has moved a small but significant military force into Syria in recent weeks.
 
"After our first investigation we published the number of military equipment we thought was there," he said. "Based on the images of soldiers being brought to Syria on military ships, we thought that there was no less than 1,000 of them."

According to the New York Times, satellite images from the Syrian port city of Latakia show Russia has also moved about half a "dozen T-90 tanks, 15 howitzers, 35 armored personnel carriers, 200 marines and housing for as many as 1,500 personnel."
 
"All this shows is that Russia has made a qualitative shift in its behavior," Russian political analyst Vyacheslav Matuzov said.
 
Moscow has denied that it is building up its military presence, saying that it instead wants to help Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fight the Islamic State terror group.

"I would like to say that we are supporting the government of Syria in the fight against a terrorist aggression and are offering and will continue to offer it necessary military-technical assistance," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
 
And Assad needs the help. He's been losing territory to ISIS a lot faster this year than when the war started four years ago. Troop morale is also down significantly.
 
But Pentagon officials say Moscow's sudden military moves into Syria aren't just about fighting ISIS. They believe Russia is ultimately trying to protect Assad, a longtime Russian ally.
 
Putin agrees. He told CBS's "60 Minutes" that Assad must remain in power to avoid another Libya. 

However, the U.S has repeatedly called for the Syrian dictator to step down.  And the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says Russia's moves to defend Assad will only encourage the radical Islamic views of ISIS.
 
"To pursue the defeat of ISIL without at the same time pursuing a political transition is to fuel the very kind of extremism that underlies ISIL. And if that's the Russian view that's a logical contradiction," Carter said.
 
Russia's intervention has forced a meeting between Putin and Obama in New York next week. The two haven't met in 15 months and the U.S wants to know what Russia's long-term military intentions are in Syria.