Russia has backed Assad for years and they will continue to support him, at least they know Assad. The US is so determine to get rid of Assad that they are willing to give weapons to groups that they know nothing about. Russia is doing the right thing sticking with Assad. It is sad that our country didn’t learn from their mistake. We armed Bin Laden in the 1980’s when he was fighting the former Soviet Union. Look what he did to our country years later. I hope Russia does help Assad, because I would rather have Assad in power than the rebels, at least he isn’t a threat to our country.

Posted by: Cynthia | Sep 16 2015 19:00 utc | 4

thanks b..
the article bym k bhadrakumar is very good..
i noticed a link to the poll data via angry arab as presented via WAPO.. funny how they present it..
ultimately europe has to make an ongoing decision to support the usa’s foreign interventionist policy and suffer the consequences or not.. looks like they have less stomach for it now then only a few short years ago.. wish our own cluster fucked gov’t of canada would pull it’s head out of the usa’s ass, but don’t expect that to happen any time soon..

Posted by: james | Sep 16 2015 19:42 utc | 6

I doubt the polling results. 80% of voters turned out for Syrian election & voted overwhelmingly for Assad. There’s no obvious event which wd cause them to turn against the govt upon which their survival depends. Even overseas war cause approval rating to rise. We’re asked to believe that in spite of a war at home that it fell? I don’t think so.
Who is this polling organization? Sounds like propaganda to me.

Posted by: Penelope | Sep 16 2015 19:58 utc | 8

– I would expect that when one or more large syrian cities fall the amount of refugees that flee to Turkey or Jordan will increase dramatically/explode.
– I am starting to think that Russia increases its military aid to Syria with a VERY cynical logic. Increase aid to Syria to increase “unrest” and drive more syrians refugees into Jordan & Turkey. It would help to undermine Turkey & Jordan financially even more. Some kind of retaliation for creating/fomenting “unrest” in the Ukraine.
And when those refugees (are helped to) flee to Europe then it will create more unrest in Europe and help to destabilize Europe as well. What is “Mission accomplished” in russian ? Or is the US “hell bent” on teaching Europe a lesson ?
I agree with “B”, there’re a bunch of people who have an agenda, who have “a plan” but I am still not sure what the ultimate goal is. Perhaps the next few days will provide better information.
I also assume that Erdogan wants to offload those refugees in an attempt to win the upcoming elections, which he’s -IMO- bound to lose. There’s even talk about a coup in Turkey and more unrest in Turkey is an excellent excuse for the turkish military to “restore order” (with the blessing of NATO). But I remain convinced that Erdogan’s days as prime minister are numbered.

Posted by: Willy2 | Sep 16 2015 20:01 utc | 10

@9 laguerre.. i have to agree with you..
penelope – polls are generally just a tool to massage folks brains..they have always been primarily a propaganda tool..

Posted by: james | Sep 16 2015 20:12 utc | 12

…most experts say that the U.S. should cooperate with Russia…
yeah, i mean…

Posted by: john | Sep 16 2015 20:17 utc | 14

Watching this video of young and able men, so called “refugees”, fighting against police at an inner-European border leads me back to the question of who sent them.

I’m sure many of them could best be described as ‘draft-dodgers’ in American parlance. I too was offended to discover that one of my Syrian colleagues had come to France, leaving his wife and children at home.
However, let us not forget that it is the practice in Islam for guys to marry very young. Many of those young men could be already married. And secondly that it is traditional for the guy to go ahead and establish a home, which he will bring the wife and children to later.
Like I say, the only real solution is to settle Syria. I suspect even Obama is beginning to think that.

Posted by: Laguerre | Sep 16 2015 20:25 utc | 16

made a little scan of most recent commentaries. From the North:
ANALYSIS
Russia’s backing of Assad stokes fears of worsening conditions in Syria
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-s-backing-of-assad-stokes-fears-of-worsening-conditions-in-syria-1.3228878
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation commentary is “more American than NYT”, but the comment section showed that Gov. Walker was not totally delusional when we told that a wall on Canadian border is something that “should be considered”. Leftist radicals to the man. Some bemoan the decline of CBC under Harper’s government. On the other side of the pond, Tory influence on BBC, if any, is not that much in evidence — I think that Tories themselves have profound doubts about “winning over ISIS by removing Assad” and all that.
Syria conflict: No sign of Assad regime crumbling
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34241256
At home, the news about the project “winning over ISIS by removing Assad and supporting well trained and democratically indoctrinate moderate rebels” are morose:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/small-number-u-s-trained-syrian-rebels-still-fighting-n428381
“A top U.S. military commander for operations in the Middle East acknowledged on Wednesday that there are only four or five fighters left from the first group of 54 Syrian fighters that had been trained by the U.S. as part of a $500 million program.
What’s more, there are only 100-120 fighters in three more classes currently being trained, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Christine Wormuth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.”
It remind me a Polish poem: “There was such a history exam when all students flunked and now they lie on a ceremonial cemetery, it’s not certain that they flunked, it’s not certain it was an exam, but certainly, all of them are in that cemetery.”

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Sep 16 2015 20:50 utc | 18

That Latin looks good to this Ph.D. in Classics.

Posted by: lysias | Sep 16 2015 21:18 utc | 20

@1 Harry Law
Unfortunately the US is too arrogant to admit its regime change polices have failed
@3 b
Kerry stressed it remained unclear if that position would change.
@4 Cynthia
The US is so determine[d] to get rid of Assad that they are willing to give weapons to groups that they know nothing about.
@9 Laguerre
The *only* solution is to settle Syria. Nothing new here. Support Asad, tell the rebels to stop fighting, and everyone turn on ISIS. Then everyone can go home.
So catastrophe for Europe, in order to please two nutter countries, Israel and Saudi. Not that the US should care, it has succeeded in doing down the EU.
@16 Laguerre
Like I say, the only real solution is to settle Syria. I suspect even Obama is beginning to think that.
I think that, as guest77 pointed out on another thread, getting rid of Assad is the US excuse for destroying Syria rather than the other way round, so that in fact its policy is successful.
So it won’t change. The second level benefit the US derives from its destruction in MENA is the consequences for its potential rivals in Europe, and it’s winning there as well.
With such ‘success’, I don’t think that the people in Obama’s earphones are going to have him change policy. The US is nutter country No. 1.
I do hope the Russians will gain the support they need to defeat the US’ Chechens/Georgians, in Syria and in Ukraine.

Posted by: jfl | Sep 16 2015 22:23 utc | 22

re 22

I think that, as guest77 pointed out on another thread, getting rid of Assad is the US excuse for destroying Syria rather than the other way round, so that in fact its policy is successful.

You haven’t bothered to understand what I was saying. Yes of course American policy is to destroy Asad, but it’s a failing policy, because it’s headed to put ISIS in power in Damascus. haven’t you understood this?

Posted by: Laguerre | Sep 16 2015 22:50 utc | 24

@24
You haven’t bothered to understand what I was saying … the US plan is to destroy Syria and its present tactic is the put ISIS in power in Damascus to effect that plan. Assad is the cover-story. He’s a ‘bad man’ and the US is saving he Syrians from him.

Posted by: jfl | Sep 16 2015 22:58 utc | 26

I don’t think the US is omnipotent. I think we’re going down. When I say the US is meeting with ‘success’ I am recounting its failure. Its ‘plan’ was desparate, monstrous and crazy from the beginning and it remains so. They are flying our collective plane into the ground.

Posted by: jfl | Sep 16 2015 23:03 utc | 28

The Yinon Plan fro Greater Israel requires the destruction (balkanization, shattering, destabilization) of neighboring states. Syria is one such neighbor in a succession after Iraq, Afghanistan, and etc. Israel is a US/UK Rothschild construct – overlay on Palestine.

Posted by: fast freddy | Sep 16 2015 23:13 utc | 30

The goal of predatory capitalism is chaos. This is how the oligarchs make their money. They are war profiteers and debt mongers. The combat zone of proxy ethnic forces fighting from Libya through Syria to Ukraine and Afghanistan is a natural outcome. Austerity forced onto Greece and the refugee deluge are the results of conscious decisions made by current rulers in the West. Any realistic analysis will say that the Syrian Civil War is the cause of the current Muslim Diaspora. Even Barrack Obama said so. But the retired rear admiral spokesman for the State Department is the symbol of anyone close to power who profits off of war. They are insane. They can’t admit that they are children killers. Even worse, it is all for nothing. The oligarchs are betting that these wars and the economic sanctions will destabilize Russia and they will get to plunder its resources. Instead, the economic sanctions will deepen Europe’s depression and more than likely the proxy wars with Russia will escalate into WW III unless there is a stand down.

Posted by: VietnamVet | Sep 16 2015 23:43 utc | 32

@33 laguerre.. what about the thought expressed randomly over this thread and many others that it is not about the usa, so much as it is corporations running the usa and much of the western world at present? in this context those wanting to exploit others knows no geographical location and is willing to go into any country and remove the concept of sovereignty of what a country might have meant at some distant point in the past? that is how i see it which is why i relate to what vintage red @21 is saying, as well as vietnam vet @32 who has articulated it in a slightly different way..
maybe i am wrong, but i don’t believe all western people are fucked.. maybe some countries can be accused of being more propagandized or ignorant of history or what lies outside their own borders, but generally i think the larger war going on at present is one of oligarchs and corporations dictating the terms of what is happening on the planet.. it used to be that gov’t’s had some sort of say but the political class appear to have been completely bought out to the point where their is no regulation, or respect for other countries sovereignty, or only in so far as they align with a particular ideology that could best be described as ‘neoliberalism’ run rampant..

Posted by: james | Sep 16 2015 23:59 utc | 34

re 34

but generally i think the larger war going on at present is one of oligarchs and corporations dictating the terms of what is happening on the planet.

In this context, there is a big battle taking place at the moment in Britain, which corresponds entirely to your worries. A nice political guy, Corbyn, is being slaughtered by the media, for having been elected as leader of the Labour Party. One after another, the media, left or right, launch their attacks. But I don’t think they’ll succeed, because they guy is too simple and honest.

Posted by: Laguerre | Sep 17 2015 0:24 utc | 36

@Laguerre, 23:
I believe I was exactly trying to reinforce your point on walls:
I wrote that the Maginot Line was “just a waste”; you wrote it “was foolish from the beginning”.
The Picts likewise outflanked Hadrian’s Wall by sea—no different.
The Great Wall of China was perhaps “better conceived” but was still only as good as its gatekeepers. In the case of the Mongol conquest of China, several Han generals and many troops defected to the Golden Horde. My own linked example was of a later general who let the Manchus in, thinking to ally with them against a rebel faction, only to be conquered by the Manchus for his trouble. Either way, a gatekeeper problem.
Now walls and barriers—literal and figurative—are being discussed with regard to keeping economic and political refugees out of the US and EU. All are intended to keep “barbarians” and other foreigners out, and as you said don’t succeed, one way or another, sooner or later.
You don’t have to tell me how sick things are here–I’ve felt it from my earliest memories, which is why I say I couldn’t help but become a communist here in the capital of capitalism. We certainly have our work cut out for us reaching people through the suffocating neofascist corporate propaganda, sociopathic socialization, racist arrogance, political amnesia and weapons-grade ignorance–an old comrade described it as “breathing enemy air”–but we don’t give up.
I’m trying to agree with you, in principle if not in every nitpicky detail; are you trying to find ways to disallow that? I remember well the photo of the last Marine being lifted off the embassy in Saigon, the retreat of the Marines from Beirut, Black Hawk Down. All “omnipotent” powers portray themselves as such, until reality shows them otherwise—and like walls, they will eventually fall. Rome the Eternal, O Britannia, Israel, the US… If I thought the US was omnipotent I wouldn’t be here at MoA. I hope to live to see *this* Empire fall; whether I do or not I’ll chip away at its sick, self-contradictory, poverty-amid-plenty foundations as best I can, regardless of what anyone thinks, here or elsewhere…

Posted by: Vintage Red | Sep 17 2015 0:43 utc | 38

c’mon folks, if y’all read The Nation you would know that Obama is a foreign policy grandmaster

Posted by: lizard | Sep 17 2015 1:32 utc | 40

@40 if it wasn’t coming from Alfred McCoy, I’d dismiss it out of hand.
No doubt Obama has been one of the most aggressive US Presidents. He’s outdone Cold Warriors and I’d even say GWB, though with more finesse and more secrecy. So, aside from the value judgement of calling him a “grand master” especially when he seems more like “ruthless, bloodstained executive”, if he has, as McCoy says, extended the life span of the US Empire, McCoy doesn’t note the costs or note who is going to benefit from such an extension. It certainly isn’t “the American People”.
TTIP and the TPP are going to be utter disasters for the American people, though will be bonanzas for the Corporations who are writing it.
Obama’s overtures to Cuba and Iran – I don’t think there is any hope that this is going to work out for the US as many are expecting. The deal signing and embassy openings are merely first steps – there’s no evidence that either country is going to jump into the loving bosom of the oligarchy of the United States of America. These countries will both remain closer to China and Russia than either are with the United States for exactly so long as the US Empire does exist! In fact, I suspect the US will be a net loser on both deals. It’s too little, too late on both counts.
Obama has been a disaster for civil liberties. Obama still hasn’t closed Guantanamo, the battle with the CIA over the truth about torture still rages. He presided over the institutionalization of mass surveillance. He’s at war with whistleblowers.
his efforts in the Arab World have been about as successful as Bush’s adventure in Iraq (though far more wide ranging and thus more dangerous). The US still remains wedded to the two most criminal regimes on the planet: KSA and Israel.
The US empire may have extended itself some decades, but only in the sense that the French extended their rule in Algeria a few years by digging in their heels for as long as they could. In any case, for anyone other than the very, very rich, such efforts will be disastrous as they are dangerous.

Posted by: guest77 | Sep 17 2015 2:04 utc | 42

@ 43 guest77.. in english here…

Posted by: james | Sep 17 2015 2:45 utc | 44

Haven’t We in the West been brainwashed into accepting that bald-faced lies (from Politicians Owned by the 1%) are an essential part of State-craft?
It’s patently ridiculous and Cretinous.
Politicians in the West should be put on notice that lying to the people who trusted them, voted for them, and pay their salaries & perks will, henceforth, become a Serious, Life-Shortening, Health Hazard.
That would solve so many problems so quickly that the 1%’s heads would be spinning.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Sep 17 2015 3:22 utc | 46

@my 37, 38, 39:
Apologies for the unintended triplication. b, if there is a way to delete two of those, I’d be appreciative…

Posted by: Vintage Red | Sep 17 2015 4:33 utc | 48

I’m less cynical than b about the origin of the Syrian refugees, especially since the overwhelming message I’m hearing from them is that they want the violence driven by the non-government militias to stop, that they have been saying fukUS need to stop arming the terrorists.
Yes they are fit young men in the main which is why they want to get out. Their families have sent them out of Syria to establish a position for others to join them in.
Most seem to be educated middle class Syrians and syria isn’t the only society where the bourgoisie put covering their asses ahead of patriotism, fighting for your beliefs etc.
That said – what we saw in Hungary over the last fortnight and last night in particular was anti-semitism in the true sense of the word. Not the judeophobia that zionists like to term anti-semitism, but the genuine article hatred and fear of semites.
I just had a row with and aquaintance whose family were originally Hungarian Jews a couple generations back. This dickhead was prattling on about how the Hungarians and Austrians had the right idea, that keeping ‘the Arabs’ ‘those people’ out was a smart move. The discussion got outta hand when I pointed out that the vast bulk of his family who disappeared into the camps in the 1940’s would vehemently disagree, that the attitude even educated Hungarians have towards Syrians and Roma (ever heard a Hungarian talk about ‘the gypsies’? Talk about evil incarnate that’s ignorant magyars on Roma) is exactly the same as the attitude that drove pogroms and had so many Hungarians keen on Naziism.
There are many good reasons why former warsaw pact countries shouldn’t have been admitted to the EU much less nato and most of them have been ignored by the western european nations, to their cost.
The way that Hungary has gassed and batoned refugees fleeing a war zone, has woken up many in western europe to a simple reality, that is the western european EU members had 50 years of shared culture and values by the time they finally got really close – mostly thanks to TV and other popular culture trash, but that’s another issue.
The eastern and central european nations are quite limited in the cultural norms they share with the older EU members. A process of detachment for decades until cultural balance is found, would prevent many of the negative aspects of the EU which are currently tearing it apart, from worsening.
If we cast our minds back to the late 80’s early 90’s before the neolib takeover, the EU was something alright in many ways. Of course the threat it posed to the amerikan empire was obvious and most europeans just couldn’t conceive that threat would be their undoing. The clock cannot be turned back, but rather than give in to the prejudices exploited by racist pols advocating destruction of the EU, a viable middle ground which devolved some control to communities and reduced the one size fits all rules that the neoliberals have used to advance corporatism could strengthen a smaller alliance of european nations.
As for sledging refugees who have suffered more than most humans have to deal with & supporting the oppression of any humans for the crime of being diferent, the dreaded ‘other’, I’m sorry b but I cannot agree that is a good thing.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Sep 17 2015 5:17 utc | 50

@51 jen – i think many folks are aware of the views you articulate, but it doesn’t get discussed.. thanks for articulating some of my own thoughts on this..

Posted by: james | Sep 17 2015 6:26 utc | 52

@jfl, 49:
Thank you–in that case I’ll just say, “Third time’s the charm!” 🙂

Posted by: Vintage Red | Sep 17 2015 7:46 utc | 54

@ 51 Jen
I don’t deny any of what you wrote Jen, but just as I cannot support the blanket harassment of followers of Islam just because some may be fundies, the notion of going after refugees just because a small percentage may be infiltrators is also immoral and unjust.
I posted when this all began that Merkel was abusing the situation to undermine the wage fixing system in Germany and that isn’t the fault of the refugees either.
If I was a young bloke living in Syria I would be sorely tempted to jump ship because no one on any side is waiting for volunteers – and those families living in towns which have been over run by isis or the al Qaeda asshole have had enforced enlistment by the government for some men from each family, followed by abduction enlistment by the terrorists for the rest.
The ME has been suffering from hideous conflict for a long time, Syrians knew what would happen to their sons because they had seen what happened to Lebanese youths back when fuckwitted Reagan cranked up that conflict at Israel’s behest, consequently at the first sign of disaster many families sent young men off to scout a place for the clan – not to create an aq cell – just to establish a home.
I dunno about you but I’m not gonna say getting the fuck outta Dodge when the odds are high that one slimy politician or another is gonna send you off to to kill or be killed if you stick around, is a bad thing.
our family sheltered ‘shirkers’ (young men who refused to fight in WW1 there may have been some Axis sympathisers among em but that is irrelevant) and I reckon denying sociopaths the means to have their way is a good thing.
I want Assad to stay because that is the best chance for Syria, but I’m not so naïve that I think any ruling clique who hold control for decades are whiter than white – reducing these situations to good Vs bad is always wrong no matter who is selected for which role because reducing nuanced situations to that simplistic shit is how assholes crank these things up.
The Hungarian government doesn’t harass these refugees because of concerns about infiltration, it harasses them because it is a right wing populist mob of assholes who are beating up on refugees because it strikes a chord in the minds of Hungarian racists.
The batoning and gassing last night was appalling – we all know the best fix for Syria would be to starve the terrorists of funds but that just isn’t gonna happen unless people demand it, beating up on reffos merely indulges sick prejudices as does offering support to this type of racism.
As I have also posted even sociopathic amerika takes in more than 1 million illegal migrants a year, that amerikan population is considerably smaller than the population of EU nations combined, the media of Europe are beating up a crisis over less than 300,000 refugees in toto.
It’s bullshit and any pol who tries to use the misery of Syria for selfish political ends as Orban has is a lowlife scumbag.
If people want to be pissed about Europe receiving what it has dealt to the rest of the world for more than 200 years, focus on Goldman Sachs chief and UN migration boss Peter Sutherland who says:
The EU should “do its best to undermine” the “homogeneity” of its member states, and he also told the House of Lords committee migration was a “crucial dynamic for economic growth” in some EU nations “however difficult it may be to explain this to the citizens of those states”.
In other words the practise of destroying a single common culture so as to allow the population to become divided to best be played off and prevented from achieving the unity necessary to resist corporate capitalism isn’t some secret conspiracy, these fuckers boast about what they have done.
Syrian migrants are just people trying to find a safe and secure spot in a world that has been carefully crafted to fuck Syrians over.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Sep 17 2015 8:03 utc | 56

When asked what the White House would think about Russian airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, press secretary Josh Earnest said that “any efforts by Russia that are geared towards doubling down on their support for the Assad regime would be counter-productive and destabilizing,with the potential to drive some Syrian citizens into the arms of the Islamic State or other extremist groups”. The French and Australians say they are going to bomb Islamic State.
Is this not going to support Assad? Is US bombing of Islamic State not going to support Assad? Of course it is possible that those NATO members will not be bombing Islamic State at all, but simple pinpricks [failure by the US to bomb known Islamic State training camps has been well documented] to prolong the war and hope Assad is ground down and eventually forced to capitulate. The Russian entry into the equation wrecks those schemes.

Posted by: harry law | Sep 17 2015 9:08 utc | 58

One less-explored aspect of this artificial crisis to consider is the stage the TTIP-CETA bargaining is reaching – as well as citizen opposition to it. With not only huge opposition, but also strong Europe-wide campaigning and solidarity over TTIP, I can’t help wondering whether one of the intended effects is to drive in wegdes at mental borders and hope to weaken such solidarity.

Posted by: Petra | Sep 17 2015 11:23 utc | 60

from the link at 58:
Andrew Korybko: As for why the millions of others have left, it’s hard to generalize, but part of the reason is the material attractiveness abroad (such as the dream of earning Euros), which in some way, is being used to lure Syrians out of their state in order to demographically weaken it. The advance construction of refugee facilities in Turkey prior to the War on Syria is a case in point, and according to Ghassan and Intibah Kadi writing for The Saker, Ankara has finally decided to allow the refugees to leave the encampments that they were forcibly detained in, thus manufacturing the latest migrant wave for reasons that have yet to be fully explained. Perhaps, as they suggest, it’s to increase Turkey’s leverage vis-à-vis the EU when it comes to ascension talks, but whatever it is, it’s clear that the refugees are being politicized, and in some cases, weaponized. Let’s also not forget that these individuals have to pay tremendous amounts of money to human smugglers in order to sail to Greece, so the assumption that they’re the most desperate of the desperate simply isn’t true for the most part. And, considering that they were stuck in Turkey’s ‘refugee camps’ for the past couple of years, it’s questionable how they received the money, or, one is tempted to think, could they have brought so much money with them four and a half years ago that they still had some left for when the time to leave finally arrived?
It’s also curious that many of these individuals are of moderately young age and are well-fit, meaning that, as the Kadis also wrote, they could be defending their homeland had they not fled. Many of those that left were anti-government individuals in the first place, so that may have played a role in why they made their decision to go abroad, perhaps right before the Syrian Arab Army regained control of their neighborhood out of fear that they could get in trouble for their terrorist sympathies.

Posted by: okie farmer | Sep 17 2015 12:34 utc | 62

Massive amounts of conjecture in this article. Russia isn’t there to fight Isis. Just because someone got CIA training doesn’t mean they work for the CIA or american govt. The united States will continue to support the Kurds and if they use that knowledge to fight Turkey then good on them. The people who are flooding Europe are doing so because they are educated and somewhat modern people. They don’t want to live in camps in Lebanon. Christ, there’s a lot of bullshit here. You don’t understand nuance.

Posted by: Jason | Sep 17 2015 13:24 utc | 64

Why would Doha based Al Jazeera publish this article by a British expert? He now “works for a NGO in Syria!”
○ Ghouta chemical attack: Two years onward
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a former soldier. He was commanding officer of the UK Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Regiment and Nato’s Rapid Reaction CBRN Battalion.
New Strategic Partnership Announced as Expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE joins Avon Protection. The partnership will see Hamish de Bretton Gordon, formerly COO of SecureBio, which he founded 3 years ago, move to Avon Rubber p.l.c. as Managing Director CBRN.
Follow me:
Syria Relief UK based charity – Syria Relief Ajmal Ramzan, Managing Director – Rulers of Qatar – House of Thani – SATUC: founder Sheikha Al-Thani
○ Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammed Al Thani Charity sends relief for Syrians

Posted by: Oui | Sep 17 2015 14:22 utc | 66

ok this migrant-muslim invasion has me wondering if this all a giant scheme to drive wealthy europeans out of europe into USA, while Europe descends into a giant kosovo?

Posted by: aaaaa | Sep 17 2015 15:08 utc | 68

Cynthia 4:The serial liars say OBL did the dirty deed,in the first hours before there was any proof.Why believe them?The FBI had absolutely no solid evidence to tie him to 9-11.I carried in my wallet for years a story from the NYTs saying Israel used a first cousin of one of the alleged hijackers as an informant for years.Ding-ding-ding-ding….
Orban recently?said something taboo about Israel I believe.So Hungary will bear the brunt of Ziosh*t.Why should Hungary,the land of the Magyars,for centuries,pay the price for Zionist destabilization?Yinon indeed.

Posted by: dahoit | Sep 17 2015 15:20 utc | 70

what % are male? What % are syrian? I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t think of this ‘migrant crisis’ being anything short of an invasion.
Sooner or later there will be kosovo 2.0 in some region of EUrope because of this.. In the meantime crime will increase substantially and more of Europe will resemble any number of bad areas- heavier police state, heavier political correctness policing, more organized crime, more unsafe areas, etc

Posted by: aaaaa | Sep 17 2015 15:32 utc | 72

Though most experts say that the U.S. should cooperate with Russia against IS I rather expect the White House to escalate the conflict.
Not so sure. One difficuly is judging the rift between Obama-Kerry, lets call them the ‘realists,’ along with the retired ‘experts’ like Kissinger (murderous *xxxx* so if he is tempered heh…), vs. neo-cons plus other hawks. US foreign policy (horrific as it may be, another topic) is not being managed by a steady hand with a plan and is clearly rudderless, with factions in the in-group fighting / compromising / ignoring each other / trying to make clumsy deals with each other (money, status), etc.
Obi-Kerr have won / will win on Iran, which many did not expect. AIPAC has been weakened, sentiment against Israel is rising, Palestine has joined the ICC (something Isr. and the US did everything to prevent.) Iran was brought in from the Cold, that was a US initiative. Iran did not request this ‘deal’ (which can be seen as quite unfavorable for it), it was a US proposal / initiative, how could it be otherwise?
The US cannot manage all its ‘enemies’ (ROW – 1) and the ME mess looks marginally better with Iran at least open to US influence or kept muted, quiet. Khamenei has been making fiery anti-Isr speeches, in code (besides for his public) what this means is that even if the US brought thru the ‘Iran’ deal Iran will not budge on that issue and that US influence on Iran will remain marginal – he states (hopes.) Anyway this changes the whole ME picture.
As for Syria, the EU is getting cold feet, and the power-sharing proposals in Syria (not new, Assad has always said, vote, etc.) are gathering steam. One major stumbling block – not only the reactions of the incredulous public – but for pols is that after 15 years (…just the recent past) of bashing all things, all things and more things, Muslim (religion, the ppl so primitive dontcha know, women oppressed slaves, bad ugly dress, no liberty, oppressive dictators, islamist terrorists, djihadists bone-chillin’ gutting violence, muslim countries, etc. etc. -> not KSA oops, etc.) it now broadly revealed that the US supports (-ed) such forces (an enemy of my enemy is my friend.) Now it has gotten itself into a major quandary…
It is slowly becoming noticeable, bruited about, that Islamist terrorists, the ‘Taliban’ (Pashtun peasants..), neo-Nazis, neo-fascists, terrorists, etc. are funded by the US, contrary to its Beacon on the Hill shrill-n-tinny toot-toot proclaimed ideals. This loss of image is well nigh impossible to couteract, ask any B* movie star, shyster lawyer, or Capo Mafia type -> except by fighting ISIS. (Which I don’t expect will happen any time soon..but moving towards…)
1. ROW = The Rest Of the World. China, Russia, etc.

Posted by: Noirette | Sep 17 2015 17:12 utc | 74

Adam Osmayev is another well-connected Chechen terrorist(?), based in the UK. He went to UK public school, was flush with cash, particiapted in the Debaltsevo encirclement on the side of Ukraine. UK public schools have strong military connected, incorporating some form of military training into the curriculum. Some schools have their own arsenal of rifles etc. He had associations with the Nemtsov false-flag murder and there is a suggestion of involvement in a plot to kill Putin in 2013.
http://thetruthspeaker.co/2015/02/08/adam-osmayev-british-raised-but-not-british-terrorist/
http://fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/nemtsovs-killer-was-hired-by-commander.html

Posted by: Yonatan | Sep 17 2015 18:16 utc | 76

Peter Lee in Counterpunch has a good summary of the Syrian saga. There is little there that most of us are not familiar with. It occurred to me that reading it, though, that the US must be fully aware that its policy if a total failure. I suspect that the only reason we continue to pursue this failed policy is to try to drag Russia further into that quagmire. Just like with Ukraine where we tried to provoke Russia into invading Ukraine so we could have a major propaganda victory that would drive an irreparable wedge between Russia and Europe. Lavrov and Putin have played Ukraine correctly so far and I suspect they will not fall into any traps in Syria either.

Posted by: ToivoS | Sep 17 2015 19:03 utc | 78

Let me remind you again about the big picture, I’ve saying this for years already.
This is a world war concerning transition from the world dominated by the AngloZioAmerica Thalassocracy into a new order, where the power is shared with the Eurasian block.
Obama’s team, including “deep state” structures behind him, realizes that this is inevitable and have been trying to guarantee a “soft landing”, a “graceful fall” out of the US from the current British-centered “empire”. That’s because people from his camp are neither not as much implicated thecrimes of the global cabal (e.g. 9/11) nor as insanely desperate to march onf towards the full spectrum dominance.
Forces of the “empire” have so much blood, tears, human suffering on their hands, and so no future for themselves in the coming new order that they have and will do everything they can to undermine its coming. They a have been sabotaging, undermining and discrediting Obama in any possible way in his efforts to reach an amicable agreement with the Eurasian powers (EU-Russia-China).
Syria, Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela, Malaysia are just different fronts in this war and the pressure by the Thalassocracy on Obama has been enormous since his betrayed them o November 6 2012. This includes many staged “false flag” operations like Sandy “Hoax”, Aurora, recent one in Virginia aimed at disarming Usaians, like it was done in other colonies of The Crown Corporation, e.g. Australia or England.
Who ever blames Obama for the whole evil of the “empire”, has no clue how many gambits this game to avoid world nuclear confrontation requires, and becomes a tool of the global evil AngloZioAmerican cabal, either a “useful idiot”, or paid provocatour.
Obama is not a world savior, think more like a front man for a “von Stauffenberg group”.

Posted by: ProsperousPeace | Sep 17 2015 20:48 utc | 80

re: 79 & 80, If Obama is as well-meaning a fellow as you infer, how do you reconcile (for example) his efforts to push the TPP and its related elements; his great zeal for bank bailouts in spite of 95 percent public opposition; his refusal to use “the bully pulpit” to do anything to counter GOP opposition to do anything that might benefit the public (especially when he had majorities in both houses of Congress).

Posted by: fast freddy | Sep 17 2015 21:25 utc | 82

○ Russia proposes talks with US military over Isis situation in Syria
John Kerry in reply to Russia’s FM Sergei Lavrov:
○ U.S. Open to ‘Tactical, Practical’ Talks With Russia On Fighting IS

Posted by: Oui | Sep 18 2015 1:53 utc | 84

@55, 56 Foff, you dumb Svoboda gagger, if you’re going to run some kind of sockpuppet “intelligence” (I use the term… advisedly) operation, at least wait for fifteen minutes before fake responding to your fake sockpuppet posts.
You fucking moron.

Posted by: guest77 | Sep 18 2015 2:07 utc | 86

Oh, and with the EU? “F the EU” will be on the gravestone of US-EU relations. And death comes closer and closer the more the US keeps following policies that have bad consequences for the EU (sanctioning Russia, massive refugee flows, etc… etc…). Eventually, the EU will have no policy choices left – except for repression. Becuase there’s clearly a war brewing there between the US poodle parties and the democratic outpourings of the people.
@70 Lysander – thanks, glad it made you laugh. The idea of some General deciding that the lie “four or five are still fighting” was preferable to just admitting that “its a total wash” is really… you couldn’t make it up. It belongs in Dr. Strangelove.

Posted by: guest77 | Sep 18 2015 3:02 utc | 88

@87 I like your summary

Posted by: aaaaa | Sep 18 2015 3:59 utc | 90

To all:
The last time i visited this place was the 16 of September. Everything written in my name up until now is bullshit from people stealing my name, especially Post Nr 86.
But i do feel a hostility towards non-Jews and more so after this.
Now, Shalom, fuck off and invent you own fucking names.
GUEST77

Posted by: guest77 | Sep 18 2015 6:51 utc | 92

12,000,000 holocaust in Yemen, where a bottled water factory was bmobed by the US-IL-KSA Axis, and it melted the workers to their machines, and even melted the bottled water, which is, of course, the signature white phosphorous calling card of Tel Aviv, and a sure sign the KSA royals intend ethnic cleansing to grab the huge new oil and gas finds in Yemen, the same way IL zoyals intend ethnic cleansing in Gaza to grab the huge offshore gas fields of the Gazans, and maybe Egypt. It was quite a coincidence that Morsi was sacked in the same week Egypt announce a massive offshore gas find. All the NWO underbelly to neoliberal corporate privatization, the same Marcos/Khashoggi/Bush NWO underbelly that looted Philippine gold, created Glasnost junk bonds, and privatized $250B in oil and gas right out of the Soviet Union, the same Nuland/Biden/Poroshenko NWO underbelly that looted the Ukraine gold, created Kiev junk bonds (underwritten by ZiMF andbackstopped by Kerry-Kohn) for maximum privatization of Ukraine resources, the wasp laying its eggs on the paralyzed populace, trapped in the horrific web of a compliant, even complicit media.
And then more wasps hatch out. http://tinyurl.com/px3rvc7
“We won, you lost. It’s just business, get over it.”

Posted by: NoReply | Sep 18 2015 9:28 utc | 94

Why wouldn’t the mainstream media be complicit? It’s the same people who own the media that also own the oil companies and the munitions factories. And they own Disney World to sell the lies to the kids.

Posted by: fast freddy | Sep 18 2015 11:02 utc | 96

I’ve had this feeling all along that there is some dynamic concerning Syria that makes the country absolutely crucial to Russian security. Not sure exactly what it is, though. Always felt that Russia can not let Assad fall.
Now there’s this:
Russia Raises Prospect of Troops Entering Combat in Syria

Posted by: blues | Sep 18 2015 13:33 utc | 98

K@100
You make it appear that the Russian people have some control of Russian FP or that the Duma would dare to refuse Putin’s requests.
That said I don’t think Putin will make this mistake, he certainly remembers Afghanistan. Aid will flow and more advanced arms and trainers but the escalation threat is a political maneuvering ploy to gain more international support which is working to some degree with Germany and even Kerry talking of working together against the Islamic State.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Sep 18 2015 15:01 utc | 100