Karen DeYoung writes in a Washington Post article entitled "Obama administration scrambles as Russia attempts to seize initiative in Syria":
"Blindsided by the unexpected swiftness of Russia’s air attacks in Syria, the Obama administration scrambled Wednesday to retake the diplomatic and military initiatives, saying that it would not be bullied into supporting President Bashar al-Assad and that it was about to significantly expand its own Syrian air operations."
Obama won't be bullied by Putin? Bullsh*t! Obama caved to all of Khamenei's demands, and Putin knows that America's president is incapable of forcefully opposing him. Why did Putin send Russia's military into Syria to support Assad? Answer: For the same reason that he invaded the Ukraine, i.e., because there is no one in the White House to oppose him - at least for the next year and three months. Putin is taking full advantage of this opportunity while it lasts.
Friday, January 20, 2017 cannot come soon enough.
#44 is consistent about not believing in the USA being the sole superpower, why should he be surprised?
ReplyDeleteAll due respect, Putin's move in Syria seems to be motivated by 1) supporting a longtime client state, 2) attempt to protect Eastern Orthodox Christians, 3) seeing a void in the Eastern Med where so many offshore gas fields will need protection by a serious navy, 4) get the EU happier if the flood of migrant refugees stops, and probably to 5) tick off Turkey (an old Russian pastime), and maybe 6) protect Syria's Kurds.
The immediate bonus was to show #44 how to actually deploy and fight. Am personally curious about the logistics and planning of Russia's deployment, complete with 'pop-up' bases.
Anyway, good luck sorting through the western analyses.
Most pundits seem stuck in the Cold War points of view.
Me? World War One never really ended. Just some long pauses while the remaining land empires study their maps
As for Ukraine? Different reasons. Hard for me to understand why the borders drawn by Khrushchev, or his 'gift of Crimea' to Ukraine in 1954 are so sacrosanct to NATO.
No one knows who will be #45, so no one should hold their breath waiting for another change in American foreign policy. The lawyers own our military Rules of Engagement, which is why we do not seem to win since Panama and Grenada.
another terrible mass shooting in Oregon, and impending hurricane, took the news off PM Netanyahu's speech this afternoon.
Coincidence his pause was 44 seconds?
just read this, far better than what I have been thinking:
ReplyDeletehttp://libertyunyielding.com/2015/09/16/syria-you-know-this-isnt-about-assad-anymore-right/