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The End Draws Near For Syria's Assad As Putin's Patience "Wears Thin"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Early last month in, "The Noose Around Syria’s Assad Tightens" we outlined the latest developments in the country’s prolonged civil war. Here’s what we said then: 

The US-led alliance realizes very well that as long as Assad has to fight three fronts: i.e., the Nusra Front in the northwestern province of Idlib and ever closer proximity to Syria's main infrastructure hub of Latakia, ISIS in the central part of the nation where militants recently took over the historic town of Palmyra, and the official "rebel" force in close proximity to Damascus, Assad's army will either eventually be obliterated or, more likely, mutiny and overthrow the president, putting the Ukraine scenario in play.

In short, the US and its Middle Eastern allies are simply playing the waiting game; watching for the opportune time to charge in and "liberate" Syria from whatever army manages to take Damascus first, at which point a puppet government will be promptly installed. 

And make no mistake, the new, U.S.-backed regime will present itself as fiercely anti-militant and will be trotted out as Washington’s newest "partner" in the global war on terror. Of course behind the scenes the situation will likely resemble what happened in Yemen (Obama’s "model of success") where, according to one account, Abdullah Saleh and his lieutenants not only turned a blind eye to AQAP operations, but in fact played a direct role in facilitating al-Qaeda attacks even as the government accepted anti-terrorism financing from the US government. 

Of course no one in Washington will care to know the details, as long as the new regime in Syria is receptive to things like piping Qatari natural gas to Europe via a long-stalled pipeline, a project which will do wonders for breaking Gazprom’s energy stranglehold and robbing Vladimir Putin of quite a bit of leverage in what is becoming an increasingly tense standoff with the EU over Ukraine.

On Sunday, Assad gave a speech in which he attempted to address concerns about the recent setbacks his army has suffered at the hands of the various groups fighting for control of the country. Here’s more from the LA Times’ Special correspondent Nabih Bulos reporting from Beirut

Syrian President Bashar Assad delivered a sober assessment of the state of his forces on Sunday, acknowledging a manpower shortage and conceding troop withdrawals from some areas, but asserting that the military was not facing collapse.

 

"Are we giving up areas?" Assad asked as he posed a series of questions about the government's strategy. "Why do we lose other areas? ... And where is the army in some of the areas?"

 

The Syrian president endeavored to provide answers. But it was an open question whether his responses would reassure loyalists worried that the government could be losing its hold on the embattled country.

 

The president also thanked his allies — notably Iran — while taking the West to task for supporting “terrorists," the Syrian government's standard term for the armed opposition fighting to wrest control of the country.

 

The core areas under government control include the capital, Damascus, and the strategic corridor north to the cities of Homs and Hama and west to the Mediterranean coast, a pro-government stronghold.

 

Syrian authorities have been actively seeking to increase military recruitment in recent months, a sign of the shortage of fighters across a sprawling battlefield that stretches from the country’s northern fringes to its southern tip, and from its western borders to its eastern frontier.

 

In Damascus and other cities, prominent recruiting billboards depict stern-looking young men and women in full military gear exhorting others to enlist.

 

"Our army means all of us," declares one billboard.

 

Other signs posted prominently depict soldiers providing vital security for children and families.

 

Another billboard takes a more confrontational approach, asking a man who is watching a computer screen: "Sitting there and looking? What are you waiting for?"

 

The presidential speech comes as the thinly stretched Syrian army has suffered a string of setbacks in the last few months, squeezing government forces into defensive positions in Syria’s northwest and in the south.

 

Assad blamed the retreats on a lack of manpower, asserting that steps would need to be taken "to raise the [capacity] of the armed forces... primarily through calling the reserves in addition to recruits and volunteers."

 

One such step, Assad said, was the granting of an amnesty on Saturday to soldiers who had defected, so long as they had not joined armed opposition groups. The amnesty was also extended to draft dodgers, many of whom have left Syria to escape military service.

 

Despite conceding setbacks, Assad maintained a confident tone, insisting that Army recruitment numbers had increased in the last few months and that "there is no collapse... and we will be steadfast and will achieve the missions."

 

"Defeat ... does not exist in the dictionaries of the Syrian Arab army," he insisted.

Maybe not yet, but that could change quickly, especially if Assad were to lose the support of his most important ally, Vladimir Putin.

As we noted last month, the key outstanding question is this: what is the maximum pain level for Russia, which has the greatest vested interest in preserving the Assad regime?

We could have an answer to that very soon, as slumping commodities prices, falling demand from China (which was recently cited as the reason for "indefinite" delays to the Altai pipeline joint venture which would have delivered 30 bcm/y of Siberian gas to China), and economic sanctions from the West are squeezing Moscow and may ultimately prompt Putin to "consider the acceptability of other candidates" for the Syrian Presidency. Here’s WSJ with more:

And with Russia’s economy battered by a plunge in oil prices and Western sanctions, the government may be considering both the strategic and economic benefits of changing its stance on Mr. Assad.

 

But Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of a Kremlin foreign-policy advisory council, said Russian policy makers are likely considering possible alternatives to the Syrian president.

 

"They are looking at the acceptability of other candidates at this point," he said, adding that he had not heard any names.

 

If Moscow does provide an opening to broker a negotiated exit for Mr. Assad, it would be a dramatic turn in the conflict.

 

Mr. Assad’s other major international backer, Iran, shows no signs of wavering in its crucial military and financial support for the Syrian regime. But the long-sought nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers reached earlier this month has also opened up the possibility of broader political cooperation between Tehran and the West on other regional issues such as the war in Syria.

 

Hadi al-Bahra, a senior member of the Turkey-based opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Coalition, said his alliance discussed Mr. Assad’s political fate with Russian officials for the first time in a meeting last month led by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Ahmed Ramadan, another senior coalition member, also attended that meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara.

 

“We have been speaking with the Russians from the very beginning and we have not heard one word of criticism of Assad," Mr. Ramadan said. "But now, the Russians are discussing the alternatives with us."

 

In addition to the Syrian opposition, Mr. Assad’s regional adversaries such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey have argued his ouster is essential to resolve the Syrian conflict and halt the spread of Islamic State militants.

 

The Obama administration recently has pursued Russian cooperation on its goal of ousting the Assad regime based on intelligence assessments that the Syrian president is weakening. President Barack Obama spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 25 and July 15 on an array of issues including Syria.

 

An exchange in a meeting last month between Mr. Putin and Syrian Foreign MinisterWalid al-Moallem suggested Moscow’s patience with Damascus might be running thin.

 

According to an official Russian transcript carried on the Kremlin’s website, Mr. Putin pointed out the regime’s recent military setbacks and suggested Mr. Assad join forces with regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Mr. Moallem said the idea was farfetched.

 

Russia has financial and political incentives to change course on backing Mr. Assad. The country has been politically isolated by Western sanctions. Lower oil prices and sanctions have taken a toll on the economy.

So, as the Assad regime weakens in the face of dwindling manpower and is forced to resort to a military recrutiment drive complete with billboards designed to shame men into taking up arms against the various armies competing to conquer Damascus, Russia has not only seen the writing on the wall, but may be prepared to finally cut Assad loose. As for what happens next, see here

*  *  *

Full Assad speech from Sunday

 

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Tue, 07/28/2015 - 21:05 | 6365347 Omega_Man
Omega_Man's picture

yes, you may be right, but most of us will dance when IDF is defeated... man they are going to get a beating....and so is the US... if your kid or friends are in the army, best to quit now and do not die for zion

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 20:24 | 6365193 Bankster Kibble
Bankster Kibble's picture

Perhaps Assad is in trouble, and perhaps Putin is thinking of his options concerning Syria (and Turkey, and Iran, etc. etc.).  But I do not trust either LA Times or Wall Street Journal, especially the latter.  They very often start a story about Putin with a prediction "any day now" and follow that with economic collapse, political overthrow, or whatever.  Now evidently the sanctions will "force" Putin to abandon Assad to his well-deserved fate.   Uhm, don't think so.  Do we have quotes with reliable government officials?  No?  And the WSJ is quoting people from think tanks and something called the Syrian National Coalition which is based in Turkey, of all places.  Nope, I think we better take this story with a big pinch of salt.

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 20:52 | 6365303 Laddie
Laddie's picture

I would hope that Mr Putin will not betray his faithful ally, Mr Assad. I realize that Putin is a practical politician, however there is nothing to be gained by such an action.

Sadly the world has little hope. Without men of honor there can be no righteousness.

Assad's father was a bad guy. His son, is a good and decent man. Well in the end God decides but woe unto those by whom evil comes...

Back in October David Stockman wrote about Syria and ISIS but he left out that this is about REGIME CHANGE in Syria not about ISIS. The USAF bombed a Syrian gas plant the week before he penned the article and has attacked targets not related to ISIS but rather to the government of Assad.

ISIS had been trained and armed by .gov to overthrow Assad in Syria.

Syria was slated to undergo what Libya and Iraq did, destabilization. This was the primary aim of the Jewish lobby and so the government of the USA, the slave of the Jewish lobby, went ahead and trained and armed ISIS to overthrow Assad. Who is an ophthalmologist. He and his lovely wife and children are WHITE people. They celebrate CHRISTMAS!

The lemmings may be fooled, if they even are watching or reading anything about it, which I doubt, but not informed observers who read media that are not owned by the 5th column in this nation of America.

As of June 2003 Israel has cost the US taxpayers over $3 Trillion. Probably double that by now.
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/june2003/0306020.html

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 15:40 | 6368308 Martian Moon
Martian Moon's picture

Ophthamologist that drops barrel bombs on his own civilians like it is going out of style

Assad is a butcher like his father before him

 

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 20:57 | 6365320 TeraByte
TeraByte's picture

Another Libya is the last thing the West needed, having already meddled with too much of everything to be able to control it. The policy may end up to a single catastrophe zone from Morocco to Pakistan and down to Sub Sahara. Well done boys, well done.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:09 | 6366028 Johnny Websters
Johnny Websters's picture

The last thing the west needs for sure, but it suits zion nicely. How many refugees are Israel taking in I wonder?

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 21:01 | 6365333 Omega_Man
Omega_Man's picture

Any American who supports the actions of Nuland and her neo cons friends and relatives and the CIA - needs their head examined... they are the traitors of America. 

Do you really think their geo-political games are good for the USA??

Is that what it means for US to 'numba #1', do anything, kill anyone, destroy any nation for Israel? 

Just because these people work for the US government doesn't mean they belong in the hangman's noose any less... 

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 21:01 | 6365336 PrayingMantis
PrayingMantis's picture

 

 

... there's still hope ... >>> "Russia may resume $1.6bn oil and gas projects in Syria" >>> http://www.rt.com/business/310841-russia-oil-gas-syria/ 

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 21:06 | 6365355 nah
nah's picture


Minority Support is Not Enough

In the final analysis, the problem is simply that the rebels have far more men. Syria’s population is 70 percent Sunni Muslim, and within this group most are overwhelmingly hostile to the regime. Alawites, the backbone of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, make up just over one-tenth of the population, though the regime can rely on some support from the Christian and Druze communities as well. In a war of attrition—which is what his siege tactics amount to—Assad is bound to be the loser in the long run.

.

guess he should have caved and allowed an election for tyrant to begin with, now war is not the only option for the future dictator.

.

kinda sux

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 22:02 | 6365526 Anunnaki
Anunnaki's picture

I'm not surprised that Putin is keeping his powder dry. He seems to think that will get him brownie points somewhere. someday

But is Iran gonna let Assad go down? First battle lost in the Sunni Shia Holy War

Tue, 07/28/2015 - 23:28 | 6365732 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

of course you're not

I'm not surprised that Putin is keeping his powder dry.

That's probably because you know as much as he does and the FSB, too.  And then all your years as chief strategist for Alexander the Great.

Brownie points are better than even more sanctions.  And infinitely better than cruise missiles coming over the border to invite you to world war 3

As von Clausewitz says "Always go to war when the enemy is ready and you're not.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 00:39 | 6365863 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

No bid i'd rather die in a pit of vipers that betray my friends. FUCK TURKEY the slimy 3 headed shirt-lifters. This is the time to show the WORLD and ANY betrayal is the END of TIMES.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 16:02 | 6368418 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

This is the 21st century, my friend, and these skirmishes between the West and Russia could lead to World War 3 and the mutation/destruction of life on Earth.

Is that what you are arguing for?

Do you want to see Russia's loyalty to Syria cause a defeat for Putin and Russia?

And as far as "FUCK TURKEY" goes, Turkey is possessed of the heights on BOTH sides of the Bosphorus and is the ABSOLUTE authority on the number of war ships that can enter the Black Sea, their tonnage and the length of their stay.

Putin has correctly determined that a flotilla of NATO war ships and missile carriers surrounding Crimea would be counterproductive.

Aside from all that, you make some good points as usual.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 20:59 | 6369490 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

And what do you think?  Will the Syrian People hold out?

The Second Coming

 

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of “Spiritus Mundi”
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?


Tue, 07/28/2015 - 23:02 | 6365684 asfffasfff
asfffasfff's picture

what idiot designed the background? purpose?

 

 

http://s13.postimg.org/knounriyv/ouighoiugiug.png

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 00:12 | 6365813 directaction
directaction's picture

No kidding.

Stars of David in the center and slightly modified swastikas on the sides. Crazy art work.  

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 00:25 | 6365836 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

Rupert Murdoch WSJ , YES i believe this SHIT. (heavy duty sarc )

My only concern is volkodav has gone AWOL.

Syria is bigger than Putin with Iran left surrounded by JACKALS.

tarabel once asked me to say something derogatory about Putin and i laughed.

Let me tell you this tarabel ( you're ok for the most part ) but the OTHER FILTHY PIKER NEOCON LOVING SCUM ON Z/H,
If Putin FUCKS Syria I'll PERSONALLY BLOW UP ANY PIPELINE HE BUILDS WITH SCUM INFESTED TURKEY.

I'd turn on a fucking sixpence and consider it the Ultimate Treason to GIVE ANY FUCKING QUARTER TO SATANIC UK/US.

In fact i'll work for M16 for FREE if this shit was REAL.

. . . . however i smell BULLSHIT.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:07 | 6366239 BigJim
BigJim's picture

Mighty keyboard warrior is mighty!

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 00:38 | 6365864 onmail
onmail's picture

Attack on Syria

is

Start of World war

----

Go clean your basement

& keep enough food there 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 00:53 | 6365884 JC-BI
JC-BI's picture

They've been calling his demise for how long now> And coming from the LA Times, Pfffff!

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 01:46 | 6365947 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

I don't understand the West's obsession with a Qatar pipeline that has to run through Syria.

piping Qatari natural gas to Europe via a long-stalled pipeline.

Now that Israel is the best friend forever (BFF) of the rich Arab states, the pipe, after passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, could easily pass through Israel and drop into the Eastern Mediterranean near downtown Tel Aviv (no pumping on Saturday, of course).

If The Syrian route had been available, the Qatari pipe would have dropped into the Med 500 miles to the north at the Syrian, Turkish costal border.

But whether passing through Israel or Syria, the pipeline is certainly not going to be laid into Turkey and compete with the Turkish Stream.  

Into the water it must go, around Turkey's impressive bulge.  If Greece has a piece of the Turkish Stream, the Qatari pipe will be refused entry there and forced up the Adriatic Sea, with an option to return to land in Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia or Slovenia.

Trouble is that if the Turkish Stream from Russia doesn't travel through Bulgaria and Serbia because of the EU, it will also come up through the Adriatic, but a couple of years before the Qatari line.

No doubt, Russia will try get get a deal with Slovenia and avoid all the crazies in the Western Balkans.

Which means the Qataris won't avoid them. 

 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 02:11 | 6365972 WTFUD
WTFUD's picture

Ok bid

Will have to look at the map but the 'isolation of Iran' was my personal number one reason for the war crimes committed by US/Turkey/UK/Sodomy Arabia/Gulf Puppets/Israel against Syria.

Now i refuse to believe Iran can watch Syria perish as they'd be surrounded by Sunni extremists.

If Putin ( or the Russian Oligarchs pressure him to ) chooses Turkey for the economics then it would be one giant clusterfuck of a mistake as ANY sweeteners offered by Obama would be temporary.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 13:06 | 6367459 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

okay

'isolation of Iran'

and a sharp stick in the eye of Russia, who would have to hustle to replace their naval base at Tartus (although Greece is now waiting in the wings).  And the continuation of the Israeli incursion into Syria from Golan.

When Obama approved the the protest movement in Syria in 2011, like Bush, he condemned hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths and the ruination of a country thousands of years old.

The enmity between Turkey and the Assad family predates the trouble we've seen in the last 10 years and may have no other resolution for Russia except to  back the strongest, most useful ally at the expense of the other.

Then if Assad announces elections and steps down, it will be up to the Syrian people to reward Iran and Russian support for the last 4 years and conversely kick the West out for the destruction of their country 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:13 | 6366031 Victor999
Victor999's picture

There is nothing to prevent the pipeline running through Turkey.  Turkey wants to be the prime gas hub for Europe.  They could well handle both pipelines and make loads of money.  Greece wouldn't object either since it needs money so badly.  Whatever happens, the Qatar pipeline can not completely replace Russian supplies.  The most feasible assessment has been around 20 billion m3 per annum, and up to 30 billion m3.  And it is expected that European demand will increase some 17% by 2030.  So there is plenty of room for Russian gas in that scenario.  Also, Russia will become China and the East's primary source of gas over time, so any gas lost to Europe will likely be more than replaced by the Eastern markets.  The Kremlin has just spoken of the likelihood of the Western pipeline to China being agreed by the time Putin next visits China in the autumn.  China needs that gas even with a downturn in its economy - so an agreement WILL be reached eventually.

 

Russia has nothing to fear from the gas markets, Qatar or no.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 13:32 | 6367582 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

I may have only gone to business school for a year, vic, but I do remember that while competition is good for the consumer, it can be a major annoyance to the producer/provider.

The EU has already insisted that Bulgaria and Serbia NOT grant the South /Turkish Stream passage through their countries.

Fuck the EU's big black ass.

The name of the game now is Eastern Europe, but can Algerian and North Sea oil provide enough gas to move their pipes further East?

So the most profitable gas will come through Turkey and Greece to get to its destination.  And both Turkey and Greece have issues with the West.

It makes much more sense for Qatari gas to transit through Israel, hook up with Israel's s large Leviathan gas field,  and continue on to the Tunisian pipeline to Italy and the Algerian one to Spain.

But guess what, victor, the North Sea and Algerian/Tunisian producers don't want the competition either.

 

Thu, 07/30/2015 - 18:25 | 6373021 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

Look at what Tass is reporting toay:

MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. Turkey is ready to distribute gas not only from Russia but also from Azerbaijan and Iran in Europe, general director of Russia's National Energy Security Fund Konstantin Simonov said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on Thursday.

Azerbaijan and Iranian gas but not a word about Qatari gas.

http://tass.ru/en/economy/811755

the Qataris and a few commenters here will be Whistling Saudi for a competitive pipeline to be built in Turkey.

'Oh I wish I was in the Land of Saudi 

Old times there were pretty shoddy'

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 02:18 | 6365984 PoasterToaster
PoasterToaster's picture

Given the manifest incomptence of the US Oligarchy, this shit should be hilarious when it hits.  In fact, we should probably stop worrying so much and prepare to laugh our asses off for the next few years while the idiotic "elite" of the US continues to foul up in larger and more amusing ways.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:19 | 6366034 Victor999
Victor999's picture

Russia might turn on Assad, but not likely.  Too much at stake - Russia's naval port for instance.  Also, Iran was not really mentioned as a major factor, but they are.  And nothing will cause Iran to abandon Assad - nothing.  Thus, if push comes to shove, Iran will likely enter the conflict directly against the major power proxies (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, esp).  Thus the war will vstly spread throughout the region.  The US has to be extremely careful here.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:26 | 6366037 Maestro Maestro
Maestro Maestro's picture

Putin is a gutless idiot at best.

 

He could stop the western bankers without firing a bullet and save the human race from MAD but he won't.  All he has to do is, ask for gold or rubles for his oil and gas.  That would effectively disable the western bankers' ability to print currencies and finance mischief throughout the world with fiat.

 

But Putin won't because he's a moron and probably sucking banker dick in secret.

 

Why concede tangible goods like oil and gas against electronic digits, in the first place?  Only a moron would do that.

 

Hence,

 

Putin is a pussy and a moron. 

 

And Russians are drunk faggots for going along with it.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 05:36 | 6366133 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

I personally believe Putin's ex-wife who says that the original Putin is long dead (the current Putin looks very little like the pictures of Putin years ago). The current entity playing Putin is in league with the powers looking to control the entire world ... in their "great work".

Some say that the power is controlled by the Illuminati or Jews or Freemasons or Jesuits or international banks etc. But it truly is a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.... figuratively speaking of course.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:26 | 6366038 Maestro Maestro
Maestro Maestro's picture

Putin is a gutless idiot at best.

 

He could stop the western bankers without firing a bullet and save the human race from MAD but he won't.  All he has to do is, ask for gold or rubles for his oil and gas.  That would effectively disable the western bankers' ability to print currencies and finance mischief throughout the world with fiat.

 

But Putin won't because he's a moron and probably sucking banker dick in secret.

 

Why concede tangible goods like oil and gas against electronic digits, in the first place?  Only a moron would do that.

 

Hence,

 

Putin is a pussy and a moron. 

 

And Russians are drunk faggots for going along with it.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:53 | 6366062 intelectualForeigner
intelectualForeigner's picture

Has anyone on ZH actually looked on the MAP before accepting the Qatar narrative? Because it doesn't make one bit of sense. 

So the idea is piping gas from Qatar to Europe through Turkey right? If so, please someone tell me why the heck wouldn't the pipe just go through Iraq ?! ( you know, the other US puppet government country ). Wouldn't passing it through kurdish controlled northern Iraq be much easier? Heck, I bet the kurds would be delighted with the the transitory fees they could apply for the whole thing. 

So instead the US would sponsor militant factions that make this unrealistic, fight said factions while also fighting Assad, then also fighting against these factions once they do take Syria, just because? 

I'm a tinfoil wearer myself but common guys, this is just plain old stupid. 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 05:25 | 6366126 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

They are still playing the "which path to Persia" game. It has little to do with oil.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 14:03 | 6367752 libertysghost
libertysghost's picture

I couldn't agree more...though just because it's a dumb idea doesn't mean it's not the one the "leadership" of the west (whoever that really is) thinks is great.

 

jajjajjajaja  But to add to your point, even if some rational reason made Syria geographicall more conducive, how soon can you get this clusterfuck of a crew fighting in there together so that your pipeline can get laid...and then not get blown up by the other guys who thought they should have been installed.  

That's why I think Putin isn't too concerned in the end as long as he can keep the port for now.  It's a long play I think and all governments have many problems to consider these days.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 05:24 | 6366123 BoPeople
BoPeople's picture

Ultimately Obama, Putin, Netanyahoo and Merkel etc. work for the same power/entity.

They may posture and pretend, but their job is to unite the world under a monolithic slave-state. Assad like Gaddafi and Saddam are/were too independent and were not dependent on the central bank money creation power. In the eyes of the central power that had/has to be changed.

Chaos and conflict to weaken the world and humanity.
Dependence to enslave it.
The result is mastery over the human domain.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 05:38 | 6366136 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

BoPeople, how do you come to this conclusion? If I and my brother fight about a dozen slaves or territories, how is that "working for the same power/entity"?

methinks you have a fervent wish for a great power/entity, be it a good or evil one, or one of each

you see evil, and you conclude that there is one great evil plan. evil does not need a great plan. that's actually the strenght of evil

remember that there is no such thing as slaves without slavers, there is no such thing as oppression without oppressors

but slavers and oppressors did "their job" even in times when they did not even know that there were other slavers and oppressors on the other side of the planet

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:36 | 6366263 Batman11
Batman11's picture

“The death of Lincoln was a disaster for Christendom. There was no man in the United States great enough to wear his boots and the bankers went anew to grab the riches. I fear that foreign bankers with their craftiness and tortuous tricks will entirely control the exuberant riches of America and use it to systematically corrupt civilization.” Otto von Bismark (1815-1898), German Chancellor, after the Lincoln assassination

Wise and prophetic words.

Why was Lincoln so important?

The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and  credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of  consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity. - Abraham  Lincoln

Lincoln was assassinated like Kennedy who had the same idea.

Why is it important to take money creation away from bankers?

When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes… Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.” – Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, 1815

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 06:27 | 6366181 falak pema
falak pema's picture

The biggest geo-political change is the Iran deal done by Obama.

It will change the geo-political balance in the Oil patch.

It is now having deep reverberations in the Sunni regions of the ME. 

And Assad's regime, is now a pain that Putin and Iran DO NOT NEED...

That could be the fall out of Iran's free hand in ME politics : The Syrian dictator is no longer a necessary bulwark against Sunni fundamentalism, built on the Oil for military protection offered to  the petromonarchies by the USA handshake of 70 years--something the Bush Snr/GWB neo-con Crusade has instrumentalised in its 30 year Great Game plays in the region.

And Egypt could become the new secular Sunni pivot in the region, if Erdogan's Turkey now vies with Saud to represent rabid Sunni pre-eminence against Iran's Shia reformist minded theocracy, now reinstated as a regional political force. 

Its all about Oil and Saud is now challenging US dominance by taking the global price war to US/Canadian soil.

OUCH financial USA, if the Saud petrodollar  pegs goes...anything can happen.

And Iran has a say in that equation BIGTIME, not just Saud. 

Its a very complex equation for Pax Americana's hegemony :  to balance BIG stick pre-eminence going sour in terms of COST and PAYBAck  and petrodollar's fiat hegemony teetering on its debt drowning legs of past NWO colossus. 

What if that Colossus is now looking like his ancient legendary icon : that of Rhodes?

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 10:39 | 6366809 withglee
Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:13 | 6366246 ross81
ross81's picture

You could give Putin a pass for the overthrow of Gaddafi (he wasnt President & fool me once) but if Syria is allowed fall to the Western/Gulf-backed terrorists, there really is no hope, either for the region or the wider world. It is fundamentally a battle for civilisation and the rule of law. Another "uncooperative" , secular ME country will have been torn to pieces for the benefit of the Zionist wolves. If Moscow is dithering, then Iran must intervene with all the resources it can spare, cos guess what? ISIS or some other madey-uppy acronym army will be making a beeline for Tehran.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:27 | 6366271 Infinite QE
Infinite QE's picture

Is anyone keeping a running body count on the murders by the zionists over the past 100 years or so? I would guess it has to be near 500 million or so, counting in the bolshie slaughter in Russia, all the "world wars", the jew backed Mao slaughter, the 9/11-induced middle east slaughter to clear the way for the greater israel atrocity.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 07:33 | 6366283 Infinite QE
Infinite QE's picture

And an excellent, precise analysis.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 08:34 | 6366431 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

If Putin lets this one fall, then certainly Putin is a Zionist/US plant.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 10:32 | 6366785 withglee
withglee's picture

In a defiant speech delivered over the weekend, Syria's Bashar al-Assad insisted that "defeat ... does not exist in the dictionaries of the Syrian Arab army," even as the strongman admitted that his military faced a debilitating shortage of manpower.

"strongman"? There's the marker. The guy's an ophthalmologist.

But for those of you who don't know the script:

http://www.marxists.de/middleast/schoenman/map.htm

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 11:58 | 6367144 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Western societies are horribly divided as always .... that's how democracy works .... but, nothing can compare with the deep hatreds in the suppressed countries .... and that's what the Arab spring and containments of Russia and China .... are all about .... and it is working just brutally .... your friend in Spring .... Monedas !

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 12:08 | 6367198 withglee
withglee's picture

Western societies are horribly divided as always .... that's how democracy works ....

I submit that's exactly when democracy doesn't work.

In fact, our so-called democracy is about dreaming up wedge issues to drive the voters (mob) to exactly that condition ... horribly divided.

The more evenly divided the opinions, the more reason to make no choice at all.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 12:29 | 6367287 Monetas
Monetas's picture

I like to upvote comments .... before I tear into them .... it's my western diplomatic style of confuse and destroy ! LOL  What came first .... evil, primitive hateful animals incapable of organizing democratically .... or suppression induced psychopathy .... which forces people to hate and fester .... moot point .... but it works for we relatively more free people .... to churn their hateful, murderous ways .... the dividends of relatively more freedom are inmeasurable .... don't you just love .... we, the self-righteous .... inflicting pain on the cruel and stupid ? 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 13:55 | 6367717 libertysghost
libertysghost's picture

Holy shit you can't write.  You spend the first half of your nonsense with "...platitude...platitude..." and then say fucking "...moot point..."?

 

Yeah, we figured that out.  All of your drivel is pointless intellectual masterbation.  Do it alone...don't be a flasher and make us all suffer your disgusting figure.  

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 20:03 | 6369347 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

so

I like to upvote comments .... before I tear into them ..

You have that in common with the other eunuchs here.

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 12:17 | 6367223 farflungstar
farflungstar's picture

Again with this neocon song and dance? Every few months we hear of Assad's impending downfall. Where's the picture of him with the Hitler moustache? Everyone AmeriKa says is evil gets a mugshot with the Hitler moustache, so the sheep know just how awfully evil he is.

The source for the latest bout of hopeful wishful thinking that has become the trademark of USSA propaganda organs since Hope 'n change took office is biased and unreliable.

 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 12:34 | 6367308 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Long Putin .... that's good .... he's really in a fix .... trying to play with the big boys .... the pathetic Russians have always been so easy to roll ! 

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 13:56 | 6367723 libertysghost
libertysghost's picture

Why...do you...bother...to write...?

Wed, 07/29/2015 - 19:58 | 6369334 bid the soldier...
bid the soldiers shoot's picture

ho ho ho, geezer brain

 the pathetic Russians have always been so easy to roll 

There's a school of thought in the intellegence community  --  and the jury's still out on it --  that Putin arranged for the defection of Snowden and his million and a half docs.  

Putin is also given credit for incentivizing the Russian military to develop missiles, which if placed in your rectum, would move you at 5 times the speed of sound.

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