Russia's growing military involvement in Syria, and the launch of its airstrike campaign there, have sparked intense criticism in the Gulf press, as well as on Syrian opposition websites. This criticism is expressed inter alia in cartoons that depict Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as having given Russia control of Syria in return for Russian protection, or depict Russia as attacking the Syrian people under the pretext of fighting terrorism in order to save Assad's regime. Some cartoons predicted that Russia is bound to sink in the Syrian quagmire, while others conveyed that Syria and the Middle East as a whole are being used as an arena for score-settling between Russia and the U.S. There were also cartoons that portrayed the U.S. as giving Russia a green light to intervene militarily in Syria.
The following is a sampling of these cartoons.
Assad Has Handed Syria Over To Russia
Assad turns "Syria" into "Russia" (Al-Watan, Qatar, September 30, 2015)
Putin takes the Syrian throne while trampling Assad (Orient-news.net, September 16, 2015)
Russian Intervention Benefits Assad, Targets Syrian People Rather Than ISIS
"Russia's targets": 5% ISIS, 95% Syrian civilians (Al-Watan, Qatar, October 5, 2015)
Russia aims at "ISIS," but shoots at "the Syrian people" (Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, October 3, 2015)
Russian plane helps Assad target the Syrian populace (Arabi21.com, October 2, 2015)
Russia helps Assad crush the Syrian people (Al-Watan, Kuwait, October 2, 2015)
Russian plane keeps Assad in his seat (Al-Watan, Qatar, October 3, 2015)
Russia Part Of Resistance Axis, Alongside Iran, Hizbullah
Iran, Russia fight Assad's war for him (Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, September 10, 2015)
Iran, Hizbullah, Russia behind the deadly mask of the "Syrian regime" (Al-Watan, Qatar, September 12, 2015)
Russia, marching to the trumpet of the Resistance Axis, tramples the Syrian people (Arabi21.com, September 29, 2015)
Russia Will Sink In The Syrian Quagmire
"The Russians have arrived!", and will join all the others already buried in Syrian soil: "Iraqis," "Turks," "Iranians," etc. (Al-Arab, London, September 28, 2015)
The Grim Reaper awaits the Russians marching into Syria (Al-Arab, London, October 2, 2015)
The Russian bear about to be swallowed by the Syrian serpent (Al-Arab, London, October 2, 2015)
The Russian bear sinking in "the Syrian swamp" (Al-Watan, Qatar, September 14, 2015)
The Russian bear heading towards the Syrian trap (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, September 16, 2015)
Al-Arab, London, September 28, 2015
Syria - A Theatre For U.S.-Russia Struggle
U.S., Russia face off over Syria (Makkah, Saudi Arabia, September 28, 2015)
U.S.-Russia duel will determine Assad's fate (Al-Watan, Qatar, October 2, 2015)
"The Western states," bruised and torn, contend with Russia over Syria (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, September 28, 2015)
U.S. Supports Russian Intervention In Syria
U.S., E.U, push Russia to intervene in Syria (Al-Qabas, Kuwait, September 30, 2015)
U.S. green-lights Russian military intervention in Syria (Orient-news.net, September 6, 2015)
Russia, standing on back of U.S., directs its fire in the opposite direction of ISIS (Orient-news.net, October 3, 2015)