Syria - U.S.-Russian Deal Fails (Again) Over Continued Support For Jihadis
Since the February ceasefire in Syria, which was broken by U.S. supported Jihadis, Russia tried to press the U.S. into fulfilling the UN Security Council resolution 2254. The resolution signs off on the ceasefire but demands that all nations continue to fight the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
But the U.S. continued to support al-Qaeda and its various front group in Syria like Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa. "Moderate rebels" were armed with modern weapons by the U.S. and trained in camps in Turkey and Jordan. They were sent to Syria to integrated with al-Qaeda and made it impossible to fight one group without hitting the other. The U.S. used this ploy to protect al-Qaeda from Russian and Syrian attacks. Such attacks, it claimed, would break the ceasefire as they would also hit its "moderate rebels".
To gain some negotiating advantage Russia and its Syrian allies closed all access to east-Aleppo which is held by Jihadis. The U.S. sponsored rebels and al-Qaeda responded with an attack in south Aleppo which then broke the new established siege.
But that move was a hail-Mary pass. "Rebels" from all fronts were pulled together to support the attack. MANPADs were delivered to deny Russia the use of attack helicopters. With the help of an al-Qaeda mass suicide attack the "rebels" took the artillery college and adjacent areas in south Aleppo and managed to open a corridor into east-Aleppo. This was a serious set back for the Russian plans.
The response was constant bombing of the hinterlands of the "rebel" held parts of Aleppo and Idleb governate which made any supply of their front difficult. The Russian and Syrian air forces destroyed the "rebel's" infrastructure, supply sites and their command and control elements. This took some time to show the inevitable effect. But today the Syrian army and its allies reconquered the artillery college and the Jihadi path into east-Aleppo is again closed.
Map by Peto Lucem - bigger
It is likely that the now failed plan of lifting the siege on east-Aleppo was so costly, with over a 1,000 rebels dead, that a repeat of any such attack is no longer possible.
But the Russian pressure to commonly fight al-Qaeda has still not resulted in an agreement. Late in June some hawks in the U.S. administration leaked "conditions" under which the U.S. would agree to Russia's demands. Those conditions were ridiculous. The Syrian government would have to ground its airforce and would have to stop fighting its immediate enemies while Russia would only be allowed to targets the U.S. agreed to. The negotiations had only one purpose:
The plan, if it was correctly "leaked" to the WaPo author, is nothing but additional delaying and obfuscation. The U.S. has no interest in ending the fighting in Syria. It wants to keep the conflict going as long as possible to "bleed" Syrian, Iran and Russia as much as it can.
But Russia insisted. Recently it seemed that the U.S. would finally agree to separate its "moderate rebel" Jihadis from al-Qaeda but it continued to demand that Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa should also be excepted from attacks. This as even U.S. experts acknowledge that these are mere front groups for al-Qaeda itself:
The United States risks losing the war against extremism in Syria if it continues to allow Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham to be seen by the Syrian people as the victors in Aleppo. Ahrar al-Sham is as much a part of al Qaeda’s long game in Syria as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. It shares the same goal to shape Syria’s population in a way that facilitates global jihad, and its pragmatic approach advances al Qaeda’s aim to build a durable safe haven in the Levant.
Today the Russian-U.S. negotiations failed again. The U.S. accused Russia, without any specifics, of backtracking on already agreed parts of the deal while Russia says the U.S. insists on continued protection of al-Qaeda elements.
The Obama administration does not want a deal at all. It wants to kick the can down the road for the next administration to pick up while all parties in Syria continue to bleed.
It also has no interest at all to subdue or eliminate radical Jihadis. It continues to support and supply these. A London Times reporter recently found that one rebel commander, Hakim Anza, who shot the reporter point blank while he was handcuffed and imprisoned by rebels in Syria, is now the leader of a "vetted" and CIA supported "moderate rebel" group:
Two of his brothers joined the al-Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front. One of them spoke on record about his loyalty to al-Qaeda to The Times. Meanwhile The New York Times ran a story about a war crime committed by Hakim Anza in 2012.
...
Last month, however, video surfaced of Hakim Anza proving that he was not only free, but was also serving in a CIA-vetted Syrian rebel group, First Regiment (al-Fawj al-Awwal), which was receiving US weaponry, including Tow missiles, as well as air strikes in support of their operations.
Hakim Anza is one of the "moderate rebels" the U.S. wants to protect from Syrian and Russian attacks. There is no reason to assume that any other "rebel" the U.S. supports in Syria is a less dangerous man. These brutes are the people the Obama administration wants to empower to rule that country.
One hopes that Russia has sufficient plans to eliminate them even while the U.S. continues to block any cooperation.
Posted by b on September 4, 2016 at 15:47 UTC | Permalink
well it sounds like time for Putin to agree to another 'truce' with the Hegemon so the Hegemon's proxies can reinforce and weapon up again, while Turkey grabs as much of northern Syria as it can
Posted by: paul | Sep 4 2016 16:56 utc | 2
The leaders of the "exceptional" hegemon never seem to grasp that, while it may accomplish some of its goals of destruction of ME nations which do not kowtow to the US , it cannot then continue to control these radidal jihadis as they seek their own goals.
It's still unknown whether bin Laden actually was behind the 9/11 attacks on NYC and Washington DC, as it might be he was the fall guy for some Deep State moves to get the US into more wars, so I can't claim that attacks on the World Trade Center were blowback. However, there have clearly been Al Q and other extremist groups either attacking Western Europe, other nations in the ME and Northern Africa, Turkey, etc., or their propaganda and the US's actions have convinced those not in the ME to support them by killing and endangering people in Western Europe. Bringing the hurt to those who work with the US.
But, for some reason, after many ugly failures to "use" these extremist groups effectively overall, the US leaders still want to continue doing these things which have ended in failure, all the while throwing into jail any non-state actors who merely support charities in Palestine or other essentially no-dangerous actions. Such rank hypocrisy.
Of course, if chaos and destruction and death is the plan of the US leaders, well, then they have achieved their goals. Deaths of our allies, innocents is A-OK with the US as long they feel they are achieving their long range goals.
I hope Russia can gain enough ground, along with the Syrian forces and allies, to keep the US from doing more destruction in Syria, but...the US will just keep trying to destroy those who stand up to it....
he US will just keep trying to destroy those who stand up to it....
Posted by: jawbone | Sep 4 2016 17:13 utc | 3
A telling photo from the G-20 talks
http://syrianperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CrgbVz0WIAAkVzr.jpg
Posted by: Yonatan | Sep 4 2016 17:27 utc | 4
The big question right now is whether Turkey will stop supporting jihadists in Aleppo City and renounce its longstanding efforts to annex the province. Mark Sleboda has staked his reputation (such as it is) on the position that Turkey is taking northern Syria for the United States. Many others, with more reason, claim that a deal has been struck between the allies and Turkey.
I trust Valentin Vasilescu on this and other issues. He wrote:
"After August 24th, 2016, the date that the Turkish army launched the operation around the town Jarablus, several rounds of talks, the latest of which was in Baghdad, were held between Russian, Syrian, and Turkish officers on limiting and controlling Turkey’s actions. After the failed coup, Turkey is no longer the aggressive Turkey that downed the Russian Su-24 jet at the end of 2015. Therefore, Turkish sources say that a consensus on more points was achieved in the end in terms of limiting the Turkish “Euphrates Shield” operation to Northern Syria in accordance with Syrian interests. Russian army staff officers were accepted as 'referees' to help control the planners of the Turkish Euphrates Shield operation." http://katehon.com/article/russia-syria-and-turkey-have-agreed-joint-operations-syria
Sleboda is trying to make a name for himself, and he will; however that name will be "Jerk". He rails about others writing "fan fiction" and launches ad hominem attacks, but is himself guilty of believing a few fictions. For example, he thinks that Obama's officials (the "administration hawks" are making foreign policy for him and carrying out that policy without Obama's approval. Another fiction is that the Kurds have been effective in fighting ISIS; actually, they have been effective at walking into towns that had been politely abandoned by ISIS without any suicide bombers or IEDs left behind. Only the Syrian forces have had to send in army sappers to de-mine every town taken from ISIS. And the Kurds' recent offensive in Tall Qarrah with 30 SDF shot dead shows what happens when ISIS is actually fighting back.
I think that the most important aspect of the Turkish invasion from a strategic point of view is that Russia could attack Turkish forces at any time and the U.S. would have a hard time justifying doing what they did on Aug. 18 in defense of their special forces embedded with the Kurds. This deal gives Turkey a free hand to drive back the Kurds, but Turkey has to give something in exchange for that, which is abandoning their ambitions with regards to partitioning Syria and taking Aleppo province.
Here’s some more from the imcomparable Andrew Korybko’s recent article on the Turkish ‘invasion’ of northern Syria:
Irrespective of if the Kurds are ultimately involved in Geneva or not, the reality remains that the Resistance Bloc has accepted that the FSA – which is recognized by all of them as a “legitimate” “moderate” negotiating partner – is expanding its influence over northern Syria and filling the void left by Daesh and the YPG, all with Turkey’s open and conventional military support. It can consequently be interpreted that a decision was made among the members of the Resistance Bloc to allow this to happen – if not outright facilitate it – possibly because they see it as the most pragmatic way to jumpstart the post-conflict negotiations in Geneva.
http://katehon.com/article/turkey-syria-fsa-and-upcoming-quarrel-over-syrias-constitution
A Free Syrian Army Sunnistan-State is being created, with Russian cooperation, under conditions established by the US sponsered false coup in Turkey. Russia had no choice but to go along, lacking the will to deploy sufficient manpower to fight the terrorists over there. When Joe Biden came to Turkey in the aftermath, he told YPG Kurds to get the hell out of Rojava-Dodge, on the pretext of responsiveness to an infuriated Erdogan.
Obedient proxies, whether they be Kurds or Al Qaeda, will be removed to mainly eastern Syria or western Iraq, to fight the Sunnistan and/or Kurdish Wars of independence, which could last forever, or until conditions for establishing Greater Israel are significantly enhanced. Until then, sorting will continue, with less useful captagon-soaked junksters sent to the meat grinder of Aleppo, as is happening right now.
Select others will move to strengthen the growing NATO-Kurd insurgency in north-western Iran, possibly with connivance of the powerful pro US faction within the Islamic Republic. I know that’s a lot for some readers to swallow but consider my argument. For Iran, the deal to develop the shortest route between the Indian Ocean and central Asia has already been done, with Rothschild-Zionist point man Modi of India, effectively isolating the southern Gulf region from the pipeline sweepstakes and bypassing the mythical Shia Cresent altogether. The Iranians still presume to reclaim their role as regional enforcers for the USA while the promised destruction of Saudi Arabia is a powerful motivator guaranteeing Republican Guards will cooperate. Iranians, including Islamist-Nationalists of the IRG, are not green with Islam but with envy for Russia. With nothing but hydrocarbons to sell, Russia remains Iran’s #1 economic competitor.
Turkey now effectively forms the top of a giant ‘T’, with FSA-Sunnistan as the stem, of an enormous geographical clamp superimposed overtop of and across the semi-mythical Shia corridor. Either Putin has been outfoxed and humilated by Erdogan, or else all parties are working to create kill zones for less useful terrorists.
Sorry b, I’m not buying it. This is how wolves cooperate.
Posted by: C I eh? | Sep 4 2016 17:55 utc | 6
The root of the problem is deeper than the common man's comprehensive abilities allow to understand. Without getting into the details of the modus operandi the U.S. has been operating under since its inception, one can only recommend to wise up in regards to the history - since it gives valuable insight into what is to come.
What happens in Syria and what happened in Libya/Iraq/Afghanistan/Yemen/Yugoslavia is U.S. business as usual. Under no so called 'president', 'congress' and 'senate' has there been no meddling into sovereign states affairs, overthrows of governments that were obstacles to the land of the slave owners - home of the manipulated. This is what the U.S. does for a 'living'. Under the guise of security and jobs, anything goes - backed up by a sheep-like population.
This documentary exposes what the U.S. is best at: lies and deceit. It is inherent in its society and trickles down to the common man, who all too willfully joins the imperial forces to maim and kill with impudence - in the name of 'democracy and freedom'. Whereas the forms of 'freedom' and 'democracy' that are sold to the public were always of Orwellian nature. The freedom that is promoted and bombed into place is like the freedom from cancer through death. The democracy is one that requires billions of dollars and with the debt clock being at $ 20 Trillion, 'democracy' remains the property of the owners of this war machine.
Without further ado, here is the link to the documentary 'The Panama Deception'. Please note the stinking lies that always emanated form the war ministry. Its mouthpieces are among the lowest level at what could be called human. The media had from day one only one function: to deceive the population. The lies that were spread about Panama are the lies that are spread about Syria. Nothing has changed and why would it? The population is incapacitated through centuries of lies and deceit. Like George Carlin said so eloquently: "I live by simple rules. Rule number one: I never believe what the government says."
https://thoughtmaybe.com/the-panama-deception/
Hopefully the reign of the common man-hating Plutocracy is over soon. The question that remains unanswered though is: will there be any survivors?
IF and that is a huge IF, humanity can rid itself of the people that operate the empire, we may one day watch the documentary "The Syria Deception".
Posted by: Stillnottheonly1 | Sep 4 2016 18:26 utc | 7
@4 Diana - nice overview. It was always clear when Turkey entered Syria that a fundamental test to reveal the true underlying realities would be how far Erdogan goes and where he stops. And perhaps, where he turns back, although the theater hasn't shown any real need yet for Turkey to withdraw.
@5 C - wolves are pretty noble creatures in my book. And they do cooperate, rather than form hierarchies. So, yes, a decent analogy if that's how you meant it (I found it hard to read what your emphasis was meant to imply).
I like Korybko's picture and your amplification, that the goal is to kill the terrorists and in their place only have Erdogan to negotiate with. But Erdogan doesn't have much room to maneuver, and certainly none to "outfox" Putin. Deals were made before he went in, after months of discussions. How would he betray these arrangements? In return for what and from whom? From the US? The US has nothing to give, and is rapidly becoming the least of players in this theater.
As to Iran, I can't find even a microscopic trace of evidence to suggest that the formal nation, its deep state, or popular culture attempts in any sense to operate as "enforcer" for the USA. And Putin recently - was it in the Bloomberg interview? - made the case for Iran getting some leeway to bring its hydrocarbons production up to par, even while the other producers agree to limit production. Russia argues for a bigger piece of the pie for Iran. Hardly enemies they. So, if it's still your argument, I'd welcome your making a fuller case for it.
As to b's point - there's something very intangible always about watching Russia and its longing for agreements. It's like watching paint dry. But it's a funny thing, when it's all done, Russia always seems to be holding the trump cards, all signed and sanctified by international law. That the US doesn't honor international law is a card the US plays, but out of a shrinking hand. The day is coming when the US will find itself constrained by law, and painted into a corner by that slow-drying paint. And Russia will hold all the concession rights.
Posted by: Grieved | Sep 4 2016 18:33 utc | 8
US will support any genocidal maniacs if Russia supports the opposite force. Reagan supported Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Clinton supported the KLA in Kosovo, and Obama supports the Al Qaeda. Whatever it takes, I guess...
Posted by: telescope | Sep 4 2016 18:42 utc | 9
thanks for the overview b.. re usa/obama - "It wants to kick the can down the road".. i think that is partly true.. it will not acknowledge the lie about 'moderate', but continues on - biz as usual, hoping to shut down alternative views, including ongoing attacks on rt.com.. that the usa supports al qaeda/isis/saudi arabia/israel is fairly obvious here.
@4 diana - thanks for your overview too.. yes - ongoing open question which could change to more clarity further down the road..
@5 C I eh? - thanks for sharing your perspective.. i read your post as stating the western agenda to make this a religious conflict to further it's geo-political/economic agenda.. perhaps nothing has change in that agenda, but as i have said in many threads - turkey is walking a fine line here and it remains to be seen just how it wants to walk it... the verdict is still out.. and - i don't think the wolf analogy is a good one.. wolves only eat when they need to.. oligarchs don't have the sense that wolves have, so not a good analogy as i see it. in fact there is no analogy that works with nature to people who are so destitute of ethics or morality.. just doesn't work that way in the world of animals..
@7 grieved.. thanks as always for your reasoned and well thought out viewpoint..
@8 telescope... ditto your comment..
Posted by: james | Sep 4 2016 19:01 utc | 10
Read the headline and thought, did I dream it when earlier today RT had
((US-Russia deal on Syria may be imminent, but Obama says “we’re not there yet”))
https://www.rt.com/news/358189-obama-syria-deal-russia/
“We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support, but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria,” Obama admitted, speaking at the G20 summit in Hangzhou.
“But if we do not get some buy-in from the Russians on reducing the violence and easing the humanitarian crisis, then it's difficult to see how we get to the next phase,” he added.
~ ~ ~
See, it always Russia’s fault – they did not “”Buy-in”” to Obama’s conditions.
What a loser. Is it not enough and time for Russians and allies stop engaging the Americans?
What will be left of Obama’s legacy - his 8 years as POTUS? Nada.
Oh yeah, he did sign NDAA.
Posted by: likklemore | Sep 4 2016 19:23 utc | 11
@telescope #8:
US will support any genocidal maniacs if Russia supports the opposite force. Reagan supported Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Clinton supported the KLA in Kosovo, and Obama supports the Al Qaeda.
You forgot to mention that Jimmy Carter supported Al Qaeda the Mujahideen, too.
LOL, I looked the word up in Wikipedia to make sure I spelled it right, and it turns out that that's just Arabic for "jihadi". You learn something every day. So to Reagan, "jihad" meant "fighting for freedom". (Reagan liked to call the Mujahideen "freedom fighters".)
@Yonatan #3:
A telling photo from the G-20 talks
It looks like the attempted coup has aged Erdogan.
Strange times.
Turkish pivot? idk. What we see seems more like the possibility of such. Causing both sides to woo Erdogan. How believable? Everyone has a different view. Strange how this mirrors Obama who prides himself on his chameleon-like ability to shape-shift.
Best to remember the abiding interests. Ties that bind.
Feeding Jihadis into a Russian meat grinder? Nah. They are too useful. Needed in Africa and Central Asia.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 4 2016 19:39 utc | 13
A seemingly-new development (unfortunately I didn't save the link) -- elements of the US State Dept are advancing a proposal that Syrian planes be bombed on the ground and that their runways be destroyed.
If this plan began, would the Russians use its S-400 system?
Posted by: chet380 | Sep 4 2016 20:06 utc | 14
@13 chet380... sounds plausible, except i don't think russia would let that happen... bad enough the ''moderate'''s are destroying syrian infrastructure... i guess that's another reason why they are designated 'moderates'....
Posted by: james | Sep 4 2016 20:11 utc | 15
I was hoping there was be some deal in order to restrain Clinton from starting a NATO/US shooting war with the Assad regime and Russia if she is elected. Looks like that hope is fading away if not totally gone. Good luck to all of us.
Posted by: Erelis | Sep 4 2016 20:13 utc | 16
The biggest threat most recently in Syria has been turkeys increasing invasion and occupation, but that gets no mention by B ?
So predictable.
B really just can't let go of our weak Russia has been.
As soon as Turkish state criminals crossed into Syria, Russia should've attacked the Turks to put a full stop to it, and said, now we're "even ".
Posted by: tom | Sep 4 2016 20:13 utc | 17
The excellent Sharmine Narwani tweets: "US-Russia deal is technicality. Real deal is Russia-Turkey one, already playing out in #Syria battlefield. Separation of forces happening."
She continues, with successive tweets [1 through 8]:
Jihadi union plan cracking, defections clear w/ Suqur al-Sham's split frm Ahrar. Many factions left to join Turkey's "umbrella" on border. 1Turkey-Russia deal KEY. It peeled off militant factions from Saudi/Qatar & physically separated them under new Turkish umbrella in north. 3
Important to also note reconciliation deals around Damascus - Darayya, Moadamiya, Ghouta. Rebels are dealmaking, shifting patrons/futures. 5
When separation of forces complete, AQ+terrorists will be destroyed, Turkey's militants stay W. of Euphrates, everyone piles in on ISIS. 6
Kurds will remain E. of Euphrates, but Kurdish entity will not be accepted by any party. Kurds took a gamble w/ US encouragement and lost. 8
Hard not to conclude that Saudi, Qatar and the US lost also. And the settler state of course.
Lamentation for the dead. All praise to the fighters.
Posted by: Grieved | Sep 4 2016 20:14 utc | 18
I never thought the Russian will fall into the negotiation trap set by the US as the Palestinian did for decades. US objectives never changed i.e. total destruction/dismemberment of Syria. These on/off negotiations and ceasefires are giving the jihadist time re-group and to get more advanced weapons from the Saudis and US. There are some reports pointing out that the CIA is supporting one group and the Pentagon is support an opposite group. It was presented as a innocent lack of coordination, I don't believe that. Remember the innocent faulty intelligence on Iraq WMD.
Posted by: Dan E | Sep 4 2016 20:20 utc | 19
Why the United States believes that it must do some work in Syria? Syria has never been a geopolitical sphere of american influence. Syria is a place of interest of Russia, China and Iran, and therefore it is useful for others to go to the barber and cut their hair smoothly
Posted by: ALAN | Sep 4 2016 20:36 utc | 20
The linked Foreign Policy article illuminates how completely clueless most American "experts" are, or else reveals the sort of context-free vacuum from which they work.
"The United States must take action to provide Syrian civilians and opposition groups with an acceptable alternative to the al Qaeda network. Washington must also focus on preventing the further development of sharia-based governance structures in opposition-held areas in order to combat al Qaeda’s subversive strategy."
The fusion between "moderate rebels" and al-Qaeda has been common knowledge for at least four years. The U.S. has facilitated this fusion as a matter of policy. Hey "experts" - Plato's Allegory of the Cave was written 2500 years ago. Check it out some time.
Posted by: jayc | Sep 4 2016 20:57 utc | 21
19
In the interest of keeping the dollar as both petrodollar and world currency, the US intends to block the geopolitical aims of RU, China and Iran.
Further, the fracturing of MENA states into violent, regressive fiefdoms has been ordered clearly in the Oded Yinon Plan for Greater Israel (from the Nile to the Euphrates) and more recently in the PNAC Plan for full spectrum dominance.
And he said, "I just got this down from upstairs" -- meaning the Secretary of Defense's office -- "today." And he said, "This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran."
Posted by: fast freddy | Sep 4 2016 21:04 utc | 22
USA will be isolated. Putin in a candid statement views grim outlook going forward
• 'It's not our fault': Vladimir Putin insists Moscow is not to blame for their 'frozen' relations with the US, and he doesn't see any 'thawing' if Hillary becomes president)) Russian President spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok
• Russian President spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok
• Said America had 'gazed into the magic crystal of national interests'
• Added Washington had understood the diplomacy 'their way'
• Claimed that relations won't improve if their 'logic'continues
• Made comments as Obama revealed pair were in talks 'around the clock'
• US President said they were looking at how best to deal with Syria
• Admitted they wanted to reach an agreement, despite grave differences
"Vladimir Putin has insisted Russia's strained ties with the United States are not Moscow's fault.
The Russian President said relations with Washington were in a 'frozen state' during the 2nd Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
The leader said if their 'logic' persisted, then there won't be any 'thawing' of the cold links if Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election.
He made the remarks just 24 hours before Barack Obama insisted the pair were negotiating 'around the clock' to stop the violence in Syria."
(emphasis added)
~ ~ ~ ~
TASS NEWS:
((Putin: Moscow hopes for higher level of relations with London in politics, economy))
Putin meets UK’s prime minister Mrs.Theresa May.
and she looks thrilled
Posted by: likklemore | Sep 4 2016 21:05 utc | 23
The important point is that this AGAIN absolutely PROVES that Barack Obama - not just "the administration" - DIRECTLY supports AlQaeda in Syria. Which makes HASH of the notion that he is somehow "reluctant" to further the war against Syria. He MAY not be prepared as a "lame duck" to directly start a war against Syria at this point (and be BLAMED for it), as he absolutely WAS during the "chemical attack" false flag in 2013, but he is STILL CLEARLY on board with prosecuting the war against Assad and supporting terrorist groups in Syria to do so.
And this directly implies that the Turkey invasion into Syria is HIS plan, NOT just Erdogan's and NOT Putin's. And that implies that the goal is the same as always: support ISIS and AlQaeda against Assad by establishing a "safe zone" where those groups can operate and also by preventing the Kurds from establishing their own "safe zone" which could be used against the terrorist groups.
Which then further implies that if Russia does not do something to reverse the Turkey invasion, then the war will - eventually - be lost. Russia and Assad CAN NOT win the war if there is direct support for the insurgents by external nations and a safe haven for them to operate from. This is because the Assad regime MUST necessarily be bled of its resources unless its allies Russia and Iran can replace those resources. At best, this means the war will continue for a VERY long time, perhaps another five years or more.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Sep 4 2016 21:09 utc | 24
Yeah . . . you were so quick to label Snells a CIA asset, what proof is there this guy isn't?
Sounds like another bogus escape story to sell content. Google Richard Engles
The Iraq war was the most heinous atrocity by the US in my memory; but the Neocons were somewhat able to obfuscate the public, claiming yet another "oops" in a long list. With Syria, all the cards appear to be in full view. And they are deplorable. The US is in bed with the same dicks that had been the reigning bogeyman, in order to overthrow yet another regime.
I keep thinking back to the killing, early on in the conflict, of Journalists by ISIS. This was very odd because most participants in a conflict see a tool in the press, rather than a liability. A belligerent's cause may not be just, but the press can be manipulated (likely no objections coming from anyone on this forum to that last point) to win over the oh so critical public support.
My questions are two. First, is this repulsion of the press, and the sordid details of a conflict they can illuminate, by threat of murder the next generation tool in the regime change toolkit? Second, what are the stakes here. I would love to hear from b on this, but the forum as well. Seems soft diplomacy might have been a better tactic to bring Syria into the Western orbit, and the next best tactic being to just leave them alone. How is this gamble possibly worth it? I have no way of calculating the gains that could be had in relation to the absurd discrediting that is underway.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Sep 4 2016 21:42 utc | 26
I'm surprised that none of the commenters have yet read Valentin Vasilescu's article, which sets out specifically the conditions under which Russia is allowing Turkey to invade Syria, and even says that Turkey will help Syria and Iranian volunteers to surround and eliminate ISIS while preventing ISIS from retreating to other countries.
Vasilescu:
The first point imposed on Turkey was a threshold in terms of forces deployed by the Turkish army in Syria, which is not to exceed 8,000 soldiers (two mechanized brigades, an artillery regiment, a battalion of special forces, a squadron of F-16, and a mixed one formed from helicopters, amphibious assault and transport vehicles).
The second agreed point was the area in Syria where the Turkish military may move to eliminate Islamic State fighters. This is a strip between the cities of Quarah Koubri and Jarablus (90 km) with a depth of 30 km from the Turkish-Syrian border. At the same time, Turkey has committed to not allow rebel FSA (Free Syrian Army) militants to act in this strip independently, without orders from Turkish army units.
Although the Syrian army intervened in defense of Kurdish YPG fighters surrounded by Islamist rebels in the Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo on August 21st, 2016, the YPG attacked the Syrian army in the city of al-Hasakah, conquering it. Therefore, also included in the second set of points is that the Turkish army has permission from the Syrian government to evacuate from the eastern bank of the Euphrates (even in battle) Kurdish rebels (YPG) who conquered the city of Manbij from the Islamic State with the help of US special forces. Russian S-400 missile systems will not bring down Turkish aircraft flying beyond the 90x30 km strip if they are acting against PKK terrorists.
The third point agreed upon means the withdrawal of most rebel groups controlled by the Turkish intelligence services in the battle zones around the city of Aleppo and in the Latakia governate. This maneuver will help the Syrian army achieve final victory in the battle for Aleppo.
Turkey pledges that when the offensive of Iranian volunteers and Syrian army to encircle and liquidate the Islamic State starts, then the Turks will execute a maneuver of forces and means together with the Syrian army. No matter what actions the Kurds will take against the Islamic State, Turkey will create a safety cordon along the Syrian-Turkish border to prevent the dispersal of Islamic State fighters to other countries.
@26 Diana Good point!
The photo @3 tells the story.
Another one: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CriyEsiUsAE36pe.jpg
Posted by: From The Hague | Sep 4 2016 22:42 utc | 28
@24 denis.. not sure who you're talking to, or who it is you're referring to either!!
google search for richard engles, brings up richard engel... from wikipedia
"Kidnapping in Syria
Main article: NBC News team kidnapping in Syria
On December 13, 2012, Engel and his five crew members, Aziz Akyavaş, Ghazi Balkiz, John Kooistra, Ian Rivers and Ammar Cheikh Omar, were abducted in Syria. Having escaped after five days in captivity, Engel said he believed that a Shabiha group loyal to al-Assad was behind the abduction, and that the crew was freed by the Ahrar al-Sham group five days later.[45] In April 2013, Engel recounted his experience in a Vanity Fair editorial, titled "The Hostage".[46]
Engel's account was however challenged from early on, with Jamie Dettmer of The Daily Beast citing unnamed sources, who believed Engel and his team had been kidnapped by rogue rebel groups opposed to Assad.[47] In April 2015, NBC had to revise the kidnapping account, following further investigations by the New York Times, who had conducted several dozen interviews, suggesting that the NBC team "was almost certainly taken by a Sunni criminal element affiliated with the Free Syrian Army," rather than by a loyalist Shia group.[48]
Posted by: james | Sep 4 2016 22:42 utc | 29
Re: Posted by: Diana | Sep 4, 2016 1:31:38 PM | 4
Re: Mark Sleboda - I called him out once - ONCE - on Twitter for something he asserted - and he blocked me! So you can add thin-skinned to the list of Sleboda adjectives.
Well, it would certainly be helpful if the U.S. handles the Syria crisis better than it is handling the China situation. What just happened when Obama landed in China is quite disturbing. Check out:
Tarmac Altercation Erupts After Obama Lands In China: Official Shouts "This Is Our Country, Our Airport"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-03/tarmac-altercation-erupts-upon-obamas-arrival-china-after-official-shouts-out-countr
The situation with China has become quite extreme. Much worse than I thought at first glance.
Posted by: blues | Sep 4 2016 22:59 utc | 31
Re: Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Sep 4, 2016 5:42:26 PM | 25
Interesting thing about those ISIS journalists "beheadings" a couple of years ago. Did you actually take the time to watch the so-called gruesome "beheading" videos?
I sure did - and do you know what? Amazingly - not a single "beheading" in any one of them!!
Pure psyops on Western populations.
b, 'These brutes are the people the Obama administration wants to empower to rule that country.'
The people empowered by the Obama administration are the brutes now ruling the USA.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 4 2016 23:22 utc | 33
The 'neolithic brain trust' whose main tactic is paying mercenary combatants to physically occupy desired territories so that the natural and unnatural resources can be raped and taken at will are not in my opinion living in the real world.
"Recent news reports indicate Russia’s intention to modernise much of its military in the coming years. The commander of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RChBD) troops, Maj. Gen. Eduard Cherkasov, announced a focus on so-called ‘flame weapons’ – incendiary, thermobaric and fuel-air explosive (FAE) weapons – describing a program of modernisation and development.
“For the future we are creating special ammunition that will hit highly secure defense constructions. Shortly, infantry flame units will receive new weaponry with higher fire precision and the penetration before exploding effect, ability to destroy fortified emplacements, armoured equipment, and personnel in trenches.”
…
“Flame weapons are very efficient in close combat and have not only physically destructive but also psychological effect on an enemy.”
Arms and munitions using these principles are more prominent within Russian military doctrine compared with that of many western nations, with systems ranging from light weapons such as the GM-94 grenade launcher, to self-propelled rocket artillery such as the TOS-1 Buratino multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and the 7100 kg AVBPM air-delivered munition."
- to say nothing of tactical neutron weapons. The Russian Federation has stayed conventional but if pushed could quickly go protoneolithic on the neolithics without batting an eyelash. Just my opinion.
Posted by: ALberto | Sep 4 2016 23:31 utc | 34
@Julian
I watched the Foley video. If I were a war correspondent it really wouldn't matter. If the killing took place; I'm not going. If it didn't; an agency willing to fake a journo killing are probably not far from killing a journo that's capable of shedding some light on what they were trying to hide in the first place... so I'm not going.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Sep 4 2016 23:35 utc | 35
@4 Diana
'The big question right now is whether Turkey will stop supporting jihadists in Aleppo City ...'
Have they stopped? I don't think they have. They are busy enlarging the scope of their invasion at present, when they're well established there they'll turn full attention to the rest of Syria.
'[Some people believe]... Turkey is taking northern Syria for the United States. Many others, with more reason, claim that a deal has been struck between the allies and Turkey.'
I think both are wrong. I think Turkey is out for Turkey under Erdogan, and Erdogan thinks he can team with Saudi/GCC money to take over the ME.
'After the failed coup, Turkey is no longer the aggressive Turkey that downed the Russian Su-24 jet at the end of 2015.'
? Invasion is not aggression ?
'[The Kurds] ... have been effective at walking into towns that had been politely abandoned by ISIS without any suicide bombers or IEDs left behind.'
As have the Turks. The US pulled the IS' strings in the one case and Turkey in the other. IS is a joint stock operation.
'Russia could attack Turkish forces at any time and the U.S. would have a hard time justifying ...'
Could, but is not dumb as a rock, so will not do so. Russia will define a defensible perimeter in Turkey and defend that.
'This deal gives Turkey a free hand to drive back the Kurds, but Turkey has to give something in exchange for that, which is abandoning their ambitions with regards to partitioning Syria and taking Aleppo province.'
Turkey has parlayed geopolitical contention into a free hand in Syria, has abandoned none of her ambitions ... more betrayal to come. But you have to wonder how such predictable actions can constitute betrayal ... betrayal on the 'wish' plain, I suppose. If wishes were fishes we'd all be fried.
That's the way it looks to me anyway. I'm no more likely to be right or wrong than the next person.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 4 2016 23:41 utc | 36
I love reading the stuff on this blog. Mostly a place, like a bar, where opinions are tossed around with ever increasing ranker as the whiskey flows. [Yes, B is a genius!] Over time, while still a place of good analysis, it becomes remarkably the same basic arguments.
So, having made the arguments, and oft times reversing what was said, what do we know?
- The empire of chaos thrives on chaos
- The empire of chaos often supports both sides of a dispute (pentagon on one side; cia on the other; and who knows how many others taking even more seemingly contradictory positions).
- The empire of chaos does not care about anything ... it's people only care for more, more, more ... it's politicians only care about riding the gravy train ... the 0.001% only care about amassing more wealth than they could ever need ...
- The oligarchy of the empire of chaos dates back to the founding ...
So ... what the hell does this tell us?
It tells us that if the empire of chaos does not get its' way, then it will gladly use whatever means to make it impossible for life to continue.
Sadly, humanity is a cancerous growth ... and will eventually kill the host. Thus, nuclear was or global warming will eventually do the trick.
Hopefully, on a planet far away ... somewhere in the vastness of the cosmos there is a planet much like that prior to so-called civilization ... where despite tooth and claw, only death for sustenance reigns supreme. Here, greed has created a world that is becoming not worth living in.
Posted by: rg the lg | Sep 4 2016 23:46 utc | 37
@5 CIey?
From your link ... 'It can consequently be interpreted that a decision was made among the members of the Resistance Bloc to allow this to happen.'
May be interpreted, may be assumed ... then again the 'members of the Resistance Bloc' may be just forced to deal with it after the fact, just like the US/NATO.
You're right, the rest of your analysis is too much for me to swallow. I'm sure it's a figment of someone's imagination, but we poor people are having insurmountable difficulty telling fact from figment in Syria, let alone at the scope of your reach.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 4 2016 23:50 utc | 38
'B' in this article asserts, and has asserted in times past, that some Syrian rebels are trained in Jordan with US financing. I've said in times past, and I reiterate today, I can see no evidence for this. Syrian rebels train in rebel-controlled areas of Syria including Idlib and Daraa provinces. They don't have legal power to carry weapons in Jordan, and none of them have trained in Jordan, I re-assert. All Syrian rebels are cut from the same cloth as the people in Jordan who could potentially stage an Islamic-spirited uprising against the govt of Jordan. They are anathema to the govt of Jordan.
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Sep 4 2016 23:59 utc | 39
Posted by: Grieved | Sep 4, 2016 4:14:00 PM | 17
Very good tweets indeed, check if you haven't already.
https://twitter.com/snarwani/status/772433470031273984
I still think that there are very different strategies and tactics at play among the US elite, which makes them so unpredictable. Obama/ Kerry can't guarantee for much, even if they want(ed) to. So every little step has to be fought for, even if the outcome has been clear for a long time.
Posted by: smuks | Sep 5 2016 0:09 utc | 40
@25 ihlta
'How is this gamble possibly worth it? I have no way of calculating the gains that could be had in relation to the absurd discrediting that is underway.'
The US/NATO no longer calculate gains, they calculate losses exclusively. They are dedicated to their program of death, devastation, destruction, and deceit. The 'win' they imagine comes after all those they haven't cut-in for a share on the 'winning' side have been destroyed and they are the only ones left standing. It's worked for the US twice before ... but this time they've somehow managed to sell the plan to Europe, which is always at ground zero for these little economic resets. I suppose that's the real 'beauty' of the plan this time for the Americans ... the Europeans will be cut-out of their cut-in, again, at the 'win', because they will be dead, will have been devastated, destroyed, and deceived along with all the other patsies.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 5 2016 0:13 utc | 41
Gernot Erler is the Deputy Chairman of Germany's Social Democrat Party (SPD), which is the junior party in the current coalition government in Germany. Within the SPD, Erler has foreign policy leadership responsibilities. Within the goverment, he is Germany's special coordinator for Russia policy. On 31 Aug 2016 he said “the findings are clear” from a UN report published last week that Syrian security forces recently used chlorine gas attacks against civilians and he continued: “The United Nations should prepare clear sanctions [against the Syrian state], despite the Russian veto threat. Moscow is obviously more concerned about being seen as a friend of the criminal Assad regime than in taking joint action and sanctions against this provocative treaty violation.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-germany-idUSKCN1173H9
Syria denies this most recent accusation about using chemical weapons. A spokesperson for the Syrian govt at the UN building on 30 Aug 2016 spoke about the evidence in the UN report in which the accusation is made. He said that the conclusions of the report “lack any physical evidence, whether by samples or attested medical reports that chlorine was used”, and that the report was “totally based on witnesses presented by terrorist armed groups.” http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/09/01/482705/Syria-UN-report-chemicals
Regarding this allegation against the Syrian govt, I know the Syrian govt well enough to know it's a false allegation, without my having to take any time to look into this allegation's alleged facts. The same goes for the allegations (year after year) that the Syrian security forces torture prisoners and torture with the authorization of high officers. Torture is longstandingly illegal in Syria and the personnel of the government overwhelmingly support this law, and hence I don't need to look at the evidence of torture to know that it is bogus evidence, which is evidence concocted and propagated by Syria's enemies for international propaganda reasons. In a like way, I know the Syrian govt has no inclination to use chemical weapons in the current environment; and it has no reasonable military motive for to do so. The chemical weapons use that's alleged in the UN report is just two small-scale, isolated incidents. The scale is tiny (two incidents) compared to the scale of the daily non-chemical bombardments that have been going on. Why such small scale? -- because bogus evidence couldn't be produced on a large scale.
Gernot Erler and hundreds of millions like him in the West, without sufficient evidence for believing it, sincerely believe this most recent shit is the truth. Because their presuppositions are all wrong, they will believe the next bogus accusation that comes down the pike too.
I hold Gernot Erler up as another item of evidence that the German political society is just as ill-informed and badly prejudiced as the Americans, Brits and French are, when it comes to Syria. 'B' on this board has demonstrated this with respect to Americans, but (to my knowledge) he hasn't made an effort to demonstrate that the Germans are equally as benighted.
By the way, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that Russia, which has veto power on the UN Security Council, is ruling out extending the UN inspectors' mandate to investigate further instances of chemical weapons use in Syria, which expires on September 24. Spicey-ba! http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-questions-un-report-blaming-syria-chemical-attacks-churkin-power/27956253.html
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Sep 5 2016 0:14 utc | 42
@26 Diana
I think that Kathon is delivering the message as 'revealed' to them by the usual, rolled eyes into the back of their head, 'divine' sources. The power of their faith is unrivaled.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 5 2016 0:16 utc | 43
@38 Ghubar Shabih.. since you have a few reuters links - Americans are training Syria rebels in Jordan: Spiegel.. or Militant Islamic Group ISIS Trained at U.S. Base in Jordan.. sometimes google can be your friend..
@41 Ghubar Shabih.. that might be true about german political society being but i do believe 'b' hasn't given them a free pass on what there attitude towards ukraine or syria.. i could be mistaken, but b seems fairly impartial in calling bullshite on any and all of those media outlets that are peddling propaganda.. he might pick on the nyt more frequently, but overall he seems to have an 'equal' hate towards most of the msm!
Posted by: james | Sep 5 2016 0:52 utc | 44
16.
The reason you are consistently wrong on Syria/Russia issue is because you assume that Russia's national interest with regard to Syria should coincide with your own poorly thought out wishes and desires. It's almost certainly not so.
Posted by: telescope | Sep 5 2016 0:52 utc | 45
@ 40 jfl
I get your response, but your words convey little. The underbelly of blogs, and especially the forum, is the need to appeal to the audience by overwhelmingly emotional appeals. Bad stuff is happening and is disguised in those very emotions. Bring out the atrocity by calling it out.
I come here to replace my emotions with structure.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Sep 5 2016 0:58 utc | 46
@45, ihlta
You asked a question, I tried to answer it. Their calculation is in negative numbers. I don't mean that as an emotional appeal, I see what they're doing and call them on it. You were expecting the tooth fairy to 'splain it all and wrap it up into a structure that would replace your emotional revulsion? I don't think there is one. They have their vile plan, and they're following through. All we do at this blog is catalog the progression. The only structure that will replace my revulsion is political structure, which at least puts direct responsibility for our actions in our own hands. Sorry, my words convey so little to a man of such stature as yourself.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 5 2016 1:13 utc | 47
@26 Diana - thanks for the nudge, sometimes it's not clear that one should go upstream to the source. Vasilescu strikes me as a very capable military analyst. I wish his sources weren't anonymous, but I suppose if this were public knowledge we'd all be talking about it already. The conditions were revealed by the Turkish side, and I don't know them well enough to judge how plausible this is. Not a whisper of course from the Russian side - one of their most admirable traits is keeping their military plans secret.
There are many things we'll know over time regarding the statements people have made, and it will tell us once again whom to trust and whom to dismiss. But the plan as Vasilescu sets it forth feels very, very Russian in its specificity, and in the specifics. It makes vastly more sense to think that there are actual metrics placed on Turkey's entry into Syria, than it has so far to try to weigh it all in a vacuum. Thanks for the nudge.
Posted by: Grieved | Sep 5 2016 1:15 utc | 48
@ James #43: Just because Reuters of Der Spiegel say something, it doesn't mean it's true. 'B' knows that well, and I hope that you know that well too. More often than not, you should not believe mere hearsay printed in newspapers. You need concrete evidence. 'B' choses to believe that Reuters' report about rebels training in Jordan is true, because it jibes well with his prejudices, but I believe he's never seen any concrete evidence for it. Such as verified statements by named Jordanian officials on the record, or videos from verified traing camps in Jordan, or non-small numbers of rebels in Syria saying they were trained in Jordan, or other actual evidence.
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Sep 5 2016 2:00 utc | 50
Commentator IhaveLittleToAdd at #25 said:
"Seems soft diplomacy might have been a better tactic to bring Syria into the Western orbit, and the next best tactic being to just leave them alone. How is this gamble possibly worth it? I have no way of calculating the gains that could be had in relation to the absurd discrediting that is underway."
It's a good question. A lot of commentators have tried to answer it. A good answer calls for a lot of paragraphs. I will say in passing that I don't agree with the opinion that the Western policy actors know what they're doing and they're fiendish. I'm of the school that says that misreading of the situation and bad prejudice is at the root. Bad prejudice can be taken to the point where it's fiendishness. However, misreading of the situation is now being exposed to the people who misread it, which puts a break on fiendishness. From my point of view the Russians are beacon of good intelligence and good sense, all alone in Europe (but my thanks to China and India). In the end I don't really understand why the West is so benighted and prejudiced, so I have more-or-less the same unsolved puzzle that IhaveLittleToAdd has. It's also true that the Arab League is equally as bad or worse than the West.
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Sep 5 2016 2:07 utc | 51
Katehon is unconcerned about US 'betrayal' of Kurds. In fact, with this 'reporting' US can make the case that ordering the Kurds to move back was helpful. Subsequently urging Kurds to move on Raqqa - as US had wanted months ago - instead of fighting for contiguous Kurdish lands is also unmentioned.
Katehon also not very concerned with consistency (or lack thereof). Putin/Russians are big proponents of sovereignty and international law. Turkish intervention has some legal merit if attacking ISIS but NOT if attacking on Kurds. Yet Katehon's unamed sources tell us that Russia/"Resistance" approves of Turkey's illegal attacks on Kurds.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 5 2016 2:11 utc | 52
@45 ISIS training
From the earliest ISIS showed up on the battlefield in Syria in 2012, it was being reported that the Chechen fighters from the 2008 Georgia War were leading the units. They were trained by the CIA to fight the Russians then, and they were trained by the CIA for combat in Syria.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article35322882.html
Posted by: Les | Sep 5 2016 2:12 utc | 53
Ghubar Shabih @49
US trained "anti-ISIS fighters" under the $500 million program authorized by Congress in Jordan.
Less than 100 fighters "graduated" from the program and most of them promptly defected to anti-ISIS/al Nusra side.
But hundreds of others dropped out of the program to fight ISIS (as reported by CBS News). Thus, this really / effectively an anti-Assad training program.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 5 2016 2:20 utc | 54
I find your confusion strange. But you might find Sy Hersh's The Redirection helpful.
Summary: US-Saudi Arabia-Israel decided to use extremists as a weapon to destabilize Syria and topple Assad as part of a strategic policy to counter Iranian influence. Saudi Arabia agreed to fund most of it.
Obviously Turkey was also drawn into the plot and Western European governments went along (probably due to arms deals and future reconstruction contracts).
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 5 2016 2:27 utc | 55
I believe it is in the interests of Russia to keep the US negotiating, because as long as the jihadi project stays primarily in Syria and Iraq it can be dealt with. However if it were to relocate to Libya for example, Russia does not have the reach nor the local backing to contain it like it can in Syria. The longer the fight stays in the cauldron of Syraq the better for everyone. Think of all the fucktards that are fertilizing the desert now, when they could have stayed home living next to you and planning devious schemes against your grandmas old age home...We are witnessing a great and glorious cleanse of the collective consciousness by the elimination of this toxic ideological virus of Wahabism. Look for signs of weakness in other belief systems of the same shade as this ideology wanes. Piscean age comes to end and so does the old testament god
Posted by: evolooshin | Sep 5 2016 2:47 utc | 56
@49 Ghubar Shabih.. that is correct - i don't believe everything i read in the news.. however, i never read how the usa/cia is either supporting jihadi's/isis/al qaeda and the like either, but i am quite sure they do.. the amount of aid the usa has given jordan and the close relationship between the gid and the cia lead me to believe the stories are probably true about the cia/usa training ''moderates'' in jordan.. without a doubt the usa is contributing militarily to the murder and mayhem in syria and beyond.. to me that is beyond a shadow of a doubt.. using jordan where many syrian refugees are located is verified in read this article which includes an embedded video inside with ash carter speaking directly about this.. they '''label''' it training anti-isis military groups... if you believe that, i can't help you further..
@52 les... your story on the isis trained by usa is repeated here today with another example of the same..y
Posted by: james | Sep 5 2016 3:45 utc | 57
@7 Grieved
I can't find even a microscopic trace of evidence to suggest that the formal nation, its deep state, or popular culture attempts in any sense to operate as "enforcer" for the USA.
Thanks for your comment.
It would be a reprise of Iran's role from 1953 to 1979, under the Shah, as US enforcer in the MER. Thierry Meyssan, who has close connections inside Iran and is generally reliable on matters concerning the Islamic Republic, makes a big statement in the very last paragraph of an important article called The nuclear Near East! -- March 7, 2016
Please read:
Finally, everything leads us to believe that the Saudis acted within the framework of US policy, but that they overstepped themselves by violating the NPT. By doing so, they have laid the foundation for a nuclearised Near East in which Iran could no longer play the role that Sheikh Rohani had hoped to recover, that of «regional police force» for the benefit of his Anglo-Saxon friends.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article190635.html
The Rouhani-Rafsanjani gangster clique are seriously compromised, as Meyssan would put it, by links to 'Anglo-Saxon' finance. They are specifically implicated in secret dealings with Great Satan, as a group enriching themselves immensely, their relations beginning in the days of the 1979 Hostage Crisis and holding true throughout the Contra Affair and Iran-Iraq War. They made bags of money as smugglers during various rounds of sanctions.
Do you know how the CIA works? They bribe you relentlessly. Eventually they get through or replace you with someone more cooperative. The current Iran political leadership group made their greatest fortunes during the Iran-Iraq War. I would not be surprised if Rafsanjani was the high level Rothschild System Partner in Iran, as were Rockefeller's in the USA. Note the headline and letter below to get a flavour for their dealings in Canada:
RE: Mullah Rafsanjani and his family’s foreign investment in Canada
http://iranzamin2500.blogspot.ca/2007/01/re-mullah-rafsanjani-and-his-familys.html
As for Putin's generous attitude towards Iran, of course he is happy. Overjoyed. Middle east oil is Russia's major competiton. Israel has gas gas gas. They'll be OK and big energy deals make for big bribes to Israeli politicians. Europeans, Germans specifically, are not without plans of their own. Nordstream is many times necessary capacity while Nordstream II is easily doable. I believe Rothschild-Israel will likely postpone their coming war on Hezbollah and Syria until a more opportune moment, perhaps with Killary as President.
Note the scenario I describe paints a landscape in which the wolves turn not on Russia, as alternate media tends to speculate, but southward onto Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In the short to medium term, everyone has something to gain from the biggest repo project in human history.
Concerning watching paint dry, it will be very expensive paint, I would surmise. Cui bono at $160 per barrel of oil?
Posted by: C I eh? | Sep 5 2016 4:43 utc | 58
@55 Yeah I've posited that there's a backchannel possibility that the kill switch for the whole enterprise has been flicked. All the major parties might just want to take out jihadists and retreat to their compounds to scheme for future meddling
Posted by: bbbb | Sep 5 2016 4:59 utc | 59
@9 James
I agree the comparison is unflattering to wolves.
Posted by: C I eh? | Sep 5 2016 5:13 utc | 60
Ghubar Shabih, one of many reports on anti-Assad fighters being trained in Syria by the US:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-rebels-usa-idUSBRE9290FI20130310
Posted by: RudyM | Sep 5 2016 5:27 utc | 61
here is a good example of the type of losers the west likes to peddle as 'moderates'... from the intercept which is unusual...
Posted by: james | Sep 5 2016 7:06 utc | 62
@ Jackrabbit 51 "approves of Turkey's illegal attacks on Kurds"
A week or two ago Elijah J. Magnier mentioned something on twitter about some "hot pursuit" type agreement between Turkey and Syria dating back to I think 2009 possibly earlier. He thought this may have been used by all parties as the legal mechanism for Turkey's move into Syria.
Posted by: Peter AU | Sep 5 2016 7:25 utc | 63
The Americans are acting all offended that their "moderate" terrorist-supporting ruler, Barack Obama, was snubbed upon arriving in China for the G-20 summit.
It's always amusing to watch the Americans react when their delusions as the "Exceptionalist" nation/people are symbolically given the finger.
China Snubs Obama on Arrival for G-20 Summit
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2016/09/china-snubs-obama-on-arrival-for-g-20.html
Posted by: Kalashinov | Sep 5 2016 7:33 utc | 64
Hey rg the Ig,
It is understandable to fear that we or our children are destined for nuclear and environmental annihilation.
The evil of the 0.001% knows no bounds and is seemingly in a homicidal-suicidal quest with regard to all humanity and Gaia (the biosphere) herself. It is more than an Empire of Chaos - something much more bizarre and evil - although at a geopolitical level there is method in the madness in terms of pipelines, petrodollars and profits for the MIC.
I have found large amounts of info that leads to a nefarious exopolitical agenda - David Icke and others aren't completely nuts. There is solid evidence of a UFO/alien presence. There is rock solid evidence of a coverup. There appears to be competing agendas which without wishing to sound corny boil down to good versus evil. Evil aliens behind the top echelons of the Cabal/Empire and benevolent ETs making contact with meditation groups of average people and also possibly advising the top echelons of the resistance including Russia.
A key link in this is the Nazis and the years from 1944 - 1952.
Watch the Russian made documentary on this page: http://exopolitics.org/sekret-machines-the-secret-space-programs-onion/
The Pavlovian response to this information is ridicule. Indeed the Disclosure Project obtained a 1950s CIA document by FOIA that dictates the strategy to maintain the coverup by ridicule - a mass psyop guaranteed to make people- especially the educated professional classes self censor on the UFO question.
But now with the Internet a serious analysis of the vast amount of whistleblower testimonies from credible retired military personnel, astronauts, cosmonauts, pilots, former MIC scientists and a bevy of diligent investigators leaves no doubt this matter is real.
http://www.siriusdisclosure.com
http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/main.html
http://exopolitics.org
And the only hope I hold to that we can avoid ending up as nuclear toast relates to this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B__akc_6710
So there is hope. The evidence is beings from those enlightened planets that you speculate may exist - are not so far away. But engaged in a careful campaign of protection/liberation. The military whistleblowers describe ET craft have been shot down over the decades.
Why don't they just land and rescue us? Evidence suggests not only the risk to them but that all humanity are being used as "human shields" in a hybrid WW3 that is not just geopolitical but exopolitical. And some say it is a war that dissects nations like the USA behind the scenes.
Check out crop circle research- for one area that has supposedly been "debunked". Documentaries showing how in the genuine ones the stalks of grain are all bent at exactly same height by some heat process and not broken by stamping boards.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ambf91X_yX0
http://www.cropcirclesecrets.org/education.html
Or just go to the debunking sites (some CIA or similar alphabet agency sponsored, others just rigidly immersed in the dominant paradigm) and reassure yourselves it is all "swamp gas or ball lightening". But then you have to look at geopolitics and contemplate we're on the eve of destruction.
Posted by: Anon5Sep | Sep 5 2016 8:23 utc | 65
@Grieved | 17
Thanks for posting. very interesting comments.
don't agree that kuridsh ambitions are dead - a full blown Kurdistan was highly unlikely anyway - we have yet to see how regional governance will form in Syria - federalism is an appealing compromise and one that could influence resolution of Turkey's kurdish problem later on.
Having said that, there have been announecements of massive investment in Turkey's Kurdish areas no doubt intended to appease. Atrocious that UK MSM utterly ignore the plight of SE Turkey and the horrendous killing of civilians in the name of terrorism!
Posted by: Atabrit | Sep 5 2016 12:37 utc | 67
@50 GS, '... the Western policy actors know what they're doing and they're fiendish'
They do know exactly what they are doing, but they are not fiendish, according to their own rose-colored lights. Fiends never are. I've just been reading about the American slavers and the, chiefly, American slave trade. Those folks had no compunction about what they did, murdering hundreds of thousands of Africans, dehumanizing and enslaving those who survived - and, of course, dehumanizing themselves in the the process. The slaves were in the South, but the slave trade was run out of Maine, Massachusets, New York, and Rhode Island. I grew up thinking slavery was bad, but long behind us. That the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified acts. I didn't think the US was a nation of fiends. A good number of Americans - a majority? I don't know, looks so from the inaction on the antiwar front at home - don't view the US as a rogue aggressor nation even now, fifteen years into the war of death, devastation, destruction and deceit - and self-deceit is paramont. The NAZI Germans didn't think of themselves as genocidal seventy years ago. The Israelis don't think of themselves as genocidal now.
The fiends are deaf, dumb, and blind to their fiendishness. The know what they are doing but, as so many say here ... it's just business. Get over it.
Look at what the US has done since the turn of the millennium. It has laid waste to Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, the Ukraine and is gearing up for Iran, says Paveway. And Russia, says the brass at NATO. Laid waste to : devastated and destroyed at least six countries and is beating the drum for more. Fiendish is not an inappropriate description of the USA, but we USAians are quite capable of ignoring reality ... we have that 'exceptional' quality. We're the 'good guys'.
If it looks like a fiend, quacks like a fiend, walks like a fiend, acts like a fiend ... it's a fiend. No matter it thinks it's a lamb, it's just a lyin' ... to itself. Has elevated self-delusion to an art form, as Germany and Japan did before it, as Israel does now in concert with it. No emotions involved ... it's just business, get over it.
I'm open to other explanations. The above seems the most obvious.
The US has been the victor 'over there' for 100 years. More. But for a solid century. War is the cure for capitalist busts. All Americans 'know' that, just under their skin. It's OK though, no wars in America. Wars 'over there'. Not against 'real' people, against 'them' : the Hun, the Jap, the Gook, the Haji. It's OK to kill 'em when they need killin'. As they do when the American economy is in a real jam. FDR put the Imprimatur, the Nihil Obstat on it. There's some unpleasantness for awhile, but when the dust clears everyone else has been leveled and the USA is at the top of its form. Things are reordered as they are supposed to be. That's the reality of our American consciousness. Deaf, dumb, and blind to all the death, devastation, and destruction brought about in order to keep things on track for America and Americans.
That's what we're up against. Has any nation ever come to grips with it's real nature, seen itself as others see it, without being beaten in warfare, or having collapsed and gone bankrupt? I don't know. We ought to try. Perhaps ought to have tried ... but still, even at this late date, ought to try.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 5 2016 12:57 utc | 68
@ tom | 16
Turkey has been the biggest threat to Syria for yeats now. And RF did step in last year to bomb Turkey's assets.
The situation now is very different now. Whereas Turkey was cautious before always wanting yo drag NATO into any dorect action, now it is weak economically and militarily with great threats on its doorstep and in its south.
The 'invasion' is being painted as such as a face saving exercise for Erdogan. But, I doubt very much that he is givimg rather than taking orders.
Posted by: Atabrit | Sep 5 2016 13:17 utc | 69
@Jackrabbit | 51
Tutkish actions have always been against Kurds. That much is clear from its 'coalition' strikes across Turkey's south, north Iraq and north Syria and from its ongoing militaristic reaction to the Turkish Kurds success in the general elections last year. It is apparent again now in its invasion of Syria.
Given that Syria and Turkey have been in secret talks for moths now and that the reason for Turkey instigating those talks was precisely its Kurdish problem, could it not be that what we are seeing now is the fruit of those talks - stop demanding Assad's demise and you can have a pop at the Kurds. And if so, would the activity then be legal?
We really have to see what the Turks are up to in the area to fully appreciate the situation.
As I have said before, if this action had taken place two years ago or more, I would be far more fearful than I am now. Additionally, I can not get over the impression that the initial 'invasion' at least, was so carefully staged was the 'coup' just a month or so beforr. There is something of the illusionist about it. As is so very often the case with Turkey, everyhing is not what it seems!
Posted by: Atabrit | Sep 5 2016 14:08 utc | 70
Does anyone know of any real evidence that US produced MANPADS have been used in Syria? Any use of AA missiles by the rebels has been traced to stocks of old unreliable Chinese and Russian systems but they have managed to down a few Axis aircraft with them. Putin threatened to attack any country in the region who supplied advanced AA weapons to the rebels because they could threaten his aircraft.
The introduction of advanced US MANPAD systems would change the balance of power in this conflict where the SAA and its allies would be helpless without their and Russia's air power. The MANPAD rumor does help to cover this weakness when SAA forces are routed even with their air support.
The truck bombs used effectively by some of the rebels produce the same effects as aerial bombing, breaching defensive positions, which is a clever if dramatic substitution for the missing air power component in the rebel arsenal.
Posted by: wayoutwest | Sep 5 2016 14:40 utc | 71
@70, You loose all credibility when you start making statements like "unrealiable Chinese and Russian systems". So what rocket system is reliable? I guess only the ones made in the west? I think you ought to pick up a book once in a while. Btw, your so called advanced US MANPADS won't change the balance of power, aircraft power in only one element of war, besides, supplying your so called advanced US MANPADS without supplying a US crew to operate it won't do squat. Advanced weapons only work efficiently in the hands of well trained operators. Just so you know, one thing the Russians are known for is their mastering of aerial weaponry so stop leaving in your fantasy world.
Posted by: Blk | Sep 5 2016 15:10 utc | 72
@ 6: Thanks for the Panama video. Just another brick, in the wall of truth, about the evil Empire and their minions, who enable it.
jfl @ 67: Nice rant, and true.
b, thanks for the Syrian updates. Priceless info, and debates, not found in too many places, if, you live here in the U$A.
Let's all hope the coalition opposed to the evil Empire, is doing so for the right motives.
Posted by: ben | Sep 5 2016 15:46 utc | 73
@70
The introduction of advanced US MANPAD systems would change the balance of power in this conflict where the SAA and its allies would be helpless without their and Russia's air power. The MANPAD rumor does help to cover this weakness when SAA forces are routed even with their air support.
You are partially right. The anti-tank missiles wchich Uncle Sam has gave to terrorists in Syria changed everything in battlefied. Syrian Army has weapons from 1970s. But what about advanced MANPAD and TOW missiles for Palestinians? What about MANPADs for Yemeni forces? What about S-400 for Iran? This is a risk for the US to do such things. Russia also can bite.
Posted by: yeswecan | Sep 5 2016 16:00 utc | 74
Another fiction is that the Kurds have been effective in fighting ISIS
- Diana @ 4 discussing Sleboda.
My impression too. Sleboda appears to get his news like me, aka vague perusal of the MSM, so big deal. > From watching a few Cross-Talks, Lavelle RT.
The Syria ‘war’ is now a distilled to the essence proxy war, the US against Russia. With Ankara swaying on the side-lines, opportunistically in the middle, on the side, etc. and embroiled in Ottoman conspiracies and plots and other-issues, important for them of course, Kurds vital, Gulen, Kemalists, etc. Neither the US or R are willing to go all out, both are temporising, avoiding a head-on confrontation.
Obama-Kerry insist on the US’ power and prerogatives to DEFINE the agenda and to lay down the law about what group is of what type on what side how all should be treated. Even at the UN.. Endless rounds of lying acrimonious supposed diplomacy follow, etc.
Russia (low man on the pole) is both wary of escalation and correctly judges that time is on its side and that pursuing some kind of steadfast policy, defending a ‘unitary’ Syria and ‘Assad’ though the person of Assad is not key.
Ossetia, Abkahzia, Georgia (footnotes missing) were basically R victories - small potatoes not treated in the MSM or generally mis-represented.
Russia held back on invading Ukie-land while supporting LPR-DPR minimally or solidly, c’est selon, -> took over Crimea. Which the US cannot *EVER* forgive or forget, but can’t mention openly (in a serious way), as the surpise of that defeat is a total crusher. Moscow regrets its lay-low on Lybia (Putin), or perhaps Lybia provided a tipping point.
The Syrians are caught in the middle and millions die or are displaced.
Posted by: Noirette | Sep 5 2016 16:37 utc | 75
Since many here have made sweeping generalizations about we Americans being in denial about, blind of and obedient to the MIC cabal that has taken root in D.C., I'd like to go on record by saying bullshit.
After eight years of zero's devious rule, trust a growing majority of American's are awakening to the duplicitous nature by those elected to serve. For anecdotal evidence, simply compare and contrast comments made on any political/policy oriented American blog from eight years ago to today. Americans awareness of the warmongers/hawks/neocons/neoliberals nefarious hegemonic agenda has grown exponentially, and I would add, in the West as a whole.
Hell, eight years ago even talking about the New World Order, U.S. hegemony or U.S. imperialism was taboo. One was called a kook, a conspiracy theorist, or whatever, but those words are everywhere today and accepted.
And don't be foolish enough to believe these rats who have usurped the mantle of power in DC represent the American people. They don't. They represent their agenda and only their agenda. Yes. A majority of the American electorate gets this.
Not long ago, American elections were premised on education platforms, crime prevention, infrastructure etc. Today, they run on who can kill more 'terrists' and keep the 'homeland' safe (hell, even the word homeland isn't American).
Like you, many of us are learning about this dark cabal's agenda right along side of you and in many cases from you. As I see it, we're all in this muck together b/c every single one of us 'global' citizens are intimately affected by their actions.
We've all been swindled by the permanent political class currently rooted in the West. Every single one of us at some level and at some time. But that doesn't make us stupid, naive, blind, in denial or ill informed. Schnookered, yes. Stupid. no.
By making such sweeping generalizations about we know nothing Americans is offensive, it's
old and it's simply not true.
Peace...
Posted by: ALberto | Sep 4, 2016 7:31:43 PM | 33
'neolithic"?
Posted by: brian | Sep 5 2016 17:51 utc | 77
Posted by: evolooshin | Sep 4, 2016 10:47:16 PM | 56
'everyone'? ....syrians?
Posted by: brian | Sep 5 2016 17:55 utc | 78
@h- peace to our arses...we're the most brain washed of all the masses.
Posted by: hocus crocus | Sep 5 2016 18:01 utc | 79
hocus crocus @79 - by what measure? If that is true then why are you and I here at MoA learning what we can from all who post and offer links focusing primarily on foreign policy? And we're not the only Americans who post and lurk here, I'm sure. Now take you + me + all others just here at MoA multiply it by the hundreds of other political/policy sites/blogs = Americans working to seek the facts from fairy tale
The meme of ALL Americans being brainwashed has seen its day. It's old and no longer applies.
Are there Americans who refuse to make the effort to learn about the repugnant agenda of the dark cabal slithering around in DC today? You betcha. But that doesn't make ALL Americans brainwashed, in denial, stupid or whatever.
It's the generalization that is offensive. I work my butt off to learn, daily, and then educate those who use my site as a source of propaganda free information. As does hundreds of others who have made it their business to help educate any who make it their business to learn what their country is truly doing in their name.
330M people are not brainwashed...not by a long shot.
it's old and no longer applies
Quite right. Yes we're getting along aren't we...
Posted by: hocus crocus | Sep 5 2016 18:30 utc | 82
I believe we are, aren't we? You are choosing to take an opposing view of which I respect. I am not name calling, insulting you or being dismissive. I'm simply stating the sweeping generalization made in several posts above about ALL Americans being brainwashed, or in denial or stupid is false.
By feeding that trope it makes Americans appear as powerless victims. We're not. There are 330 MILLION of us and a couple of thousand of them. We the people are the ones who hold the power and for the sake of the rest of the world it might be wise for us to stop letting others tell us we're 'fill in the blank', but rather own our strengths, assert our power and put an end to the suffering the DC cabal is doing in our name. Mankind deserves nothing less.
You need to calm down, I stated these systems were unreliable because they are 'old' and I read that the Chinese systems tended to explode occasionally when activated. There are no verified US MANPADS in Syria so who cares who can operate nonexistent rockets. If they were supplied to the rebels I'm certain they could learn to point and shoot these systems just as they learned to shoot TOW missiles.
Air power is the only advantage the Axis forces possess in this conflict where they can neither advance nor retreat without SAA and Russian air cover. The same is true for the Kurds when they attack the IS, they depend on Coalition air power to do its damage then they move but they have also been defeated in battles even with that support.
Posted by: wayoutwest | Sep 5 2016 19:03 utc | 84
Careful you don't hit your head on your coffee table while RAOTFLMFAO
My post @64 was serious.
As many posts on this thread have indicated - there is a Cabal that is utterly evil.
What drives it? What drives such apparent lunacy that risks all life on this planet?
To the level a nuclear holocaust is certain one day.
Well look up the links.
The UFO alien/ET stuff is real.
Bringing it into the open will help the good guys agenda.
As the late Lord Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton, Chief of British Defence said: "There is a coverup about UFOs. There is a serious possibility we are being visited by beings from outer space. It be hooves us to find out who they are, where they're from and what they want." He also said the ridicule needs to stop and the public have a right to know.
Since then as per the links @64 more data related to the Admiral's questions has come forth.
But you keep RAOTFLMFAO - just watch your head ;-)
"
Posted by: Anon5Sep | Sep 5 2016 21:02 utc | 85
@h
I don't know to whom you are referring above, upset as you are about generalizing over Americans, but I'll take you up. I certainly do agree that more Americans are aware of the lay of the land today than ... in the recent past ... but the DDD&D goes on. Most people, now, Americans included, are revolted and repulsed by the American 'leadership' ... but that 'leadership' remains unchanged. It is that 'leadership', the 1% and their droogies, the ones who fancy themselves the 'beneficiaries' of all the DDD&D they have delivered to the world since the turn of the millennium who are the deaf, dumb, and blind in my view.
But the rest of us have not put an end to their machinations and to their reign of terror. There is no magic incantation we can utter, no magic elixir we can drink, no hero(ine) on a white horse who can put things right in the white house. It is only ourselves who can do so. How? I imagine a revolt bottom-up, I imagine our repudiation of the corrupt political class, and our creation of an 'other' political force that will seize power and put things ... much less wrong, if not right. But that is the work of a decade and more.
We have had fifteen years of DDD&D and done absolutely nothing about it. Some of us - many more than 1% - have made 'good money' going along to get along. We have, effectively, remained deaf, dumb, and blind ourselves, regardless what we've learned over the course of those years. History is the record of actions, not of hypothetic intent. So far, no good. We're the only ones here. No one is going to do it but ourselves. Let us start now. Better late than never.
Posted by: jfl | Sep 5 2016 23:23 utc | 86
@ james | Sep 4, 2016 6:42:56 PM | 29
Jim, you are so right, that was a lousy comment I posted @25. I was trying to multi-task 10 things at once, and you know how that goes. Thank you for dumping on it, it deserved as much.
I was referring to b’s link to the NYT article by Anthony Loyd in which he describes how he was shot in the foot by Hakim Abu Jamal. Smells fishy to me. For instance, look at the NYT photo. It’s of Loyd, his photographer, Jack Hill, and Jamal, but the photo credit is to Hill. Maybe a timed shutter with the camera on a short tripod, but it looks odd, and why would CIA agent/terrorist Jamal be smoozing with a couple of western reporters?
What I was commenting on was how come in a previous post here we jumped all over Snells as surely being a bona fide CIA asset while giving this guy a pass? Seems to me all these English-speaking freelance/solo journalists running around in Syria are about as trustworthy as Shia and Sunni, which is to say: don’t be buying any bridges over the Hudson River from any of them.
My reference to Richard Engel (as you corrected me, thank you) was meant to revist his wacko story about being kidnaped by SAA guys. I carefully waded through various versions of that story at the time and had to conclude it was BS. Now, as you point out, NBC says no not Shia (much less Assad’s guys), but, rather, Sunni kidnaped him. BS.
He more likely used his contacts with John McCain to hook up with a bunch of these Salafist pricks who took him home for a dinner of roasted lamb with figs before dropping him back at the border. Then he wrote a hero story about himself escaping from the clutches of Assad’s evil minions. And the reason I say it is, how many sons of Jewish Wall St. bankers are going to survive for 20 minutes as a bona fide captive of either Shia or Sunni in Syria?
Sorry for any inconvenience my sloppy comment may have caused you.
@jfl 86
I'm in agreement with your observations and your sentiment. And like you suggested, we have to start somewhere because this s^*t show isn't working.
What that is going to look like? I haven't a clue. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later on down the road. If not for the sake of mankind then for the sake of the planet.
Thank you for chiming in.
h @ 76:
Glad to see real Americans aren't as brainwashed or as stupid as they're often made out to be in the British, Australian and western European MSM. True, the US has idiots like Ryan Lochte, his sister Megan and other members of the US Olympic swimming team, and others besides, but unfortunately they're the ones who get the most publicity.
Indeed, I think we in the UK, Australia and so on and so forth who've been led to think of Americans as brainwashed idiots by our MSM might be the most brainwashed idiots of all.
Posted by: Jen | Sep 7 2016 0:15 utc | 89
a great article... it is refreshing to read such clear language:
“The U.S. has no interest in ending the fighting in Syria. […]
These brutes are the people the Obama administration wants to empower to rule that country.
One hopes that Russia has sufficient plans to eliminate them even while the U.S. continues to block any cooperation.”
definitely the right tone. Keep it up!
Posted by: Christophe | Sep 9 2016 16:53 utc | 90
@89 the UK has an absolutely depraved mentality beneath the mainstream facade.
Posted by: bbbb | Sep 9 2016 17:48 utc | 91
@87 denis.. thanks denis! always good to get more clarity from others, as opposed to jumping to conclusions, which i am prone to do from time to time myself! cheers..
Posted by: james | Sep 9 2016 18:34 utc | 92
The comments to this entry are closed.
The Ramouseh meat grinder has been grinding air recently. Perhaps the SAA and Hezbollah closed the gap to provide plenty of fresh jihadi meat to fill it. Will the jihadis rise to the bait and throw more forces at breaking through to eastern Aleppo? The Russians have been keen on fixing their enemy and then chewing him up, perhaps the Russian advisers have persuaded their allies of the efficacy of this approach. So, a few more weeks, another thousand jihadi dead, particularly the 700 who made it out of Darayya and then we might see some movement from the SAA.
BTW, with the siege having been imposed and then broken, the public have moved on so I don't expect to read about calls to lift the reimposed siege. For instance, no headlines demanding the siege be broken from The Guardian yet.
Posted by: blowback | Sep 4 2016 16:21 utc | 1