This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
US Syria Strategy Officially Unravels: Kerry Admits Timetable For Assad Exit Is Completely Unknown
On Saturday we brought you the latest from Syria where the Assad regime’s rejuvenated forces carried out aggressive air raids on ISIS positions for a second consecutive day on Friday, striking targets in Idlib and Palmyra, the UNESCO heritage site that fell to Islamic State in May.
The latest round of bombing came just 24 hours after regime planes hit the de facto ISIS capital at Raqqa, and served notice not only to the multifarious anti-government fighters operating in Syria, but also to the US, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, that Russia’s stepped up logistical and technical support is already paying dividends.
The arrival of four Sukhoi "Flanker" jets and presence of eight Russian military helicopters further underscored the extent to which Moscow is now preparing to play a pivotal combat role and by Friday, Washington was left with little choice but to put Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on the phone with his Russian counterpart. Here’s how we described the situation currently facing the US:
Moscow, realizing that instead of undertaking an earnest effort to fight terror in Syria, the US had simply adopted a containment strategy for ISIS while holding the group up to the public as the boogeyman par excellence, publicly invited Washington to join Russia in a once-and-for-all push to wipe Islamic State from the face of the earth. Of course The Kremlin knew the US wanted no such thing until Assad was gone, but by extending the invitation, Putin had literally called Washington’s bluff, forcing The White House to either admit that this isn’t about ISIS at all, or else join Russia in fighting them. The genius of that move is that if Washington does indeed coordinate its efforts to fight ISIS with Moscow, the US will be fighting to stabilize the very regime it sought to oust.
The game, as they say, is officially up for Washington. Toppling Assad will now mean ISIS, al-Nusra, YPG, and the various and sundry other groups operating throughout the country will need to first defeat Russia, an exceptionally unlikely outcome and one that the Pentagon certainly cannot afford to wait out.
All that’s left now is for Washington to try and save face by negotiating for some manner of deal that removes Assad from power, but even that now looks less than likely. Speaking from London on Saturday, John Kerry attempted to hang on to the “Assad must go” narrative, but in what might fairly be described as the most conciliatory language yet, Washington’s top diplomat essentially admitted that the timetable for Assad’s exit is now completely indeterminate. Here’s Reuters:
Speaking after talks with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in London, Kerry called on Russia and Iran to use their influence over Assad to convince him to negotiate a political transition.
Kerry said the United States welcomed Russia's involvement in tackling the Islamic State in Syria but a worsening refugee crisis underscored the need to find a compromise that could also lead to political change in the country.
"We need to get to the negotiation. That is what we're looking for and we hope Russia and Iran, and any other countries with influence, will help to bring about that, because that's what is preventing this crisis from ending," said Kerry.
"For the last year and a half we have said Assad has to go, but how long and what the modality is ...that's a decision that has to be made in the context of the Geneva process and negotiation."
Kerry added: "It doesn't have to be on day one or month one ... there is a process by which all the parties have to come together and reach an understanding of how this can best be achieved."
Note that this a far, far cry from the hardline rhetoric the US was still clinging to just months ago and it marks a tacit recognition of what should have been obvious from the very beginning. That is, the US backed effort to assist Qatar and the Saudis in destabilizing the Assad regime was doomed from the start.
In retrospect, the idea was ludicrous to the point that one wonders how it’s possible that US intelligence officials ever seriously considered it. The notion that Washington and its regional allies could effectively engineer a popular rebellion in Syria by providing support to a multitude of ragtag Sunni extremist groups without plunging the country headlong into chaos is laughable.
The Assad regime is a pillar (if not the pillar) of Iran’s efforts to expand its regional influence and Syria serves as a critical link between Tehran and Hezbollah. Quds Force and its spymaster general Qassem Soleimani have supported the Assad regime both financially and militarily for years and that support hasn't and probably will never will wane. “I don’t think the Iranians are calculating this in terms of dollars. They regard the loss of Assad as an existential threat,” a Mid-East security official told The New Yorker in 2013. “Suleimani told us the Iranians would do whatever was necessary, he said ‘We’re not like the Americans. We don’t abandon our friends’”, an Iraqi politician added. And here is Assad last week: "The relationship between Syria and Iran is an old one. It is over three-and-a-half decades old. There is an alliance based on a great degree of trust. That’s why we believe that the Iranian role is important.”
And let’s not forget that the flip side to the now well-known Qatar-Turkey natural gas pipeline (i.e. the pipeline that would have served to undercut Gazprom’s stranglehold over Europe’s energy needs and that Assad refused to sign off on, triggering the all-out effort to destabilize his regime) is the Islamic Pipeline which, you’ll note on the map below, goes from Iran through Iraq (where Suleimani’s influence is legendary both in government and militarily through the various Shiite militias battling ISIS) to Syria and, conveniently, through Lebanon which works out very nicely for Hezbollah.
What Putin’s role ultimately would be in the Iran-Iraq-Syria line isn’t entirely clear but the project would compete with the Southern Gas Corridor, which is obviously good for Russia and it seems likely that in one way or another, Moscow, via its influence in Tehran and Damscus, would end up benefiting. Indeed, the fact that Assad signed an MOU for the Islamic Pipeline shortly after citing Gazprom's interests in rejecting the Qatar-Turkey line certainly seems to suggest that Russia had already negotiated for a piece of the pie. As a refresher, recall the following from The Guardian ca. 2013:
In 2009 - the same year former French foreign minister Dumas alleges the British began planning operations in Syria - Assad refused to sign a proposed agreement with Qatar that would run a pipeline from the latter's North field, contiguous with Iran's South Pars field, through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and on to Turkey, with a view to supply European markets - albeit crucially bypassing Russia. Assad's rationale was "to protect the interests of [his] Russian ally, which is Europe's top supplier of natural gas."
Instead, the following year, Assad pursued negotiations for an alternative $10 billion pipeline plan with Iran, across Iraq to Syria, that would also potentially allow Iran to supply gas to Europe from its South Pars field shared with Qatar. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project was signed in July 2012 - just as Syria's civil war was spreading to Damascus and Aleppo - and earlier this year Iraq signed a framework agreement for construction of the gas pipelines.
The Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline plan was a "direct slap in the face" to Qatar's plans. No wonder Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, in a failed attempt to bribe Russia to switch sides, told President Vladmir Putin that "whatever regime comes after" Assad, it will be "completely" in Saudi Arabia's hands and will "not sign any agreement allowing any Gulf country to transport its gas across Syria to Europe and compete with Russian gas exports", according to diplomatic sources. When Putin refused, the Prince vowed military action.
With all of that in mind, it’s incomprehensible that the US ever believed its strategy in Syria had a chance of succeeding. Washington and Riyadh were attempting to simultaneously subvert Tehran’s regional ambitions, tip the Sunni/Shiite divide in favor of Sunni extremists against the Quds even as the US literally attempted to do the exact opposite in neighboring Iraq, and jeopardize Russia’s energy leverage over Europe at a time when that leverage was key to Russia’s bargaining position over Ukraine. To call that a fool’s errand is to be exceptionally generous.
So now, with the US strategy in tatters, Syria's fate will be decided essentially without Washington's input. Consider the following from Al-Monitor:
High-level talks are due to take place on Sept. 21 between Iran and Russia to discuss Iran’s “four-point plan” for Syria. A senior Iranian official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor that while the details of the plan were still a work in progress, the first stage aimed to contain and deplete IS, with the second stage focused on reaching consensus over the type of government in control of Damascus and Assad’s future role.
In other words, while President Rouhani keeps Obama and Kerry busy with the Mickey Mouse Iran Nuclear Deal, the Ayatollah and Soleimani will be hard at work with Putin and Assad designing Syria's future.
And finally, lest we should forget that this entire debacle has created a refugee crisis of historic proportions, we leave you with the following quote from John Kerry, who once again refuses to acknowledge that while Bashar al-Assad may not be the most benevolent leader history as ever known, and while regime forces have certainly contributed to human suffering on a massive scale (see Yarmouk), the bottom line is that Syrians are not running from Assad, they are running from the civil war that the US and its allies helped to engineer:
John Kerry: "I just know that the people of Syria have already spoken with their feet. They're leaving Syria."
»
- 38389 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Europe should be grateful Putin's military action is helping to solve the refugee problem for them.
I'm pretty certain Europe was begging Russia to go in and gave the green light if not proposing the idea originally so yes they are grateful. Remember just last week Hollande was going to bomb Syria to stop refugees?
Lol,
Wait until they get a load of ISIS fleeing Syria and Iraq for Germany and Sweden.
They're gonna wish they had MORE Syrians instead.
How could something be more fucked up? When are Americans going to take their government to task?
Obama has not responded to my e-mails.
The negotiation is just beginning, weakend tyler.
Nice pastel pipeline graphic, got a citation and provenience to go with it?
No?
Why am I not surprised.
not too hard to find the source... simply, you have to want to find it
Oh, another load of useless utter bullcrap with fanciful speculative claims minus even a single citation source from a Qatari project, or a company proposing the pipeline, or an official plan. But you want planet earth to pretend this is THE SOURCE for the claims that weakend tyler is making above?
Don't give up your day job moron ... whatever it is.
hey you lazy troll dipshit, i gave you the source but made absolutely zero reference to content.
now fuck off.
You didn't give a 'source' to anything. You gave a link to a steaming pile of unsourced speculative bullcrap, like all the other dimwits. And you have no shame doing it (nor even apparently grasp what a source is lol).
Expected to not get called doing that stuff, did ya?
no please, fuck off troll.
Only if you promise to do some research into what a source is, so you can rely with something actually helpful and not just horrendously stupid next time. :D
What was stupid about his source?
NO EVIDENCE
O Great Wise One
Please enlighten us Gentiles.
Sorry dumb-dumb, but the onus is always on the claimant to provide evidence of their claim, it is not on the person or persons pointing out the total lack of evidence supporting the claims being made.
Recommend you do a short course on epistemology.
Such large words, how am I supposed to understand?
I don't read you offering an alternative theory so you're also a hypocrite?
"onus is always on the claimant to provide evidence of their claim"
Works both ways dontcha think?
I don't 'believe' in making theories, I'm not even a fan of the the whole concept of theorising, theories are always imaginary constructs and verifiable evidence isn't imaginary. Hence I do tend to like verifiable evidence of action or event more, as it does away with the works of time-wasting morons, who habitually talk shit - such as yourself for instance.
I assure you though, I'm absolutely satisfied with having no explanation at all for real events and actions which I don't understand, when no actual verifiable evidence is available for me to test, to understand it, and reality check it.
I, unlike you, do not have that same self-deluding trait of grasping at the next pile of attractive steaming verbal crap, called a 'theory', that some dumb monkey twat can dreamed up, and is making noises about. That, my monkey friend, is your unnecessary preference, and your wish to entertain delusion making tendencies.
I'm just not interested in that practice at all.
Thus I'm never going to be offering 'alternative' explanations to anyone when the actual ability to do so does not exist, because there is no data or evidence to do that with. And if actually you do have testable data/evidence you don't have to explain any thing to anyone, as the evidence does all the talking for itself. Theories are then quite redundant. That I can work with.
I'm quite content to not know, nor pretend to know what is actually unknown, and possibly unknowable for a time, or even permanently. It does not bother me at all if it is unknowable and remains so.
But it does bother me if someone keeps trying to feeding me total bullshit, and keeps pretending it is known and knowable, when zero verifiable evidence is provided to make it so.
And it should bother everyone reading it, who pretends to want to learn something.
So you go ponder the 'alternatives', they will take you on a nice little jaunt to nowhere.
But at least you'll have a strong compulsive impression that you know something ... that you don't.
Cheerio!
(PS: get your foreskin lopped you dirty genital bastard)
I'd be scared too if I were you .gov troll.
Even you must know deep down inside that in the long term your team has already lost. It's all over, and the hang men cometh...even for the little traitors like you. Think you'll make it out?
Oh, here we are, another irked twat who can't deal with facts, and is not interested in examining the 100% lack of substantiation of the Qatari pipeline fantasy being pedaled as 'factual'. But would still like to have little verbal farty moment, aside from the topic of comment, to try and shoot the messenger with the trusty .gov troll distraction.
Nice! Always handy when you've got nuffin else. :D
Were your hands shaking ... when you typed that? Hope so.
Yes, it was quite terrifying to be confronted with accusations by an idiot with nothing loaded into his little cerebral pop-gun. I was quite devastated.
just shows that even a little resistance to these Washngton bullies and they back off like the cowards they are
If what I've been reading is true, Russian weaponry is generations ahead of American weaponry. In the larger picture, this gave the Russians the chance to prove it.
The nutty superiority cult on the Med, otherwise known as 'Israel' but henceforth called "Nutty State", has isolated and doomed itself by it's own hubris and evilness. It's led by Nuttyahoo who has helped create the crisis in a winner take all gample, sort of a 'six day war on steroids'.
The MSM in the US which lied to us for decades resutling in endless wars and loss of treasure (WWI, WWII, Bay of Pigs, false flag 911) is now replaced by the Internet, alllowing Americans access to the original and alternative sources of news.
Finally a sizable fraction of adult Americans, perhaps 30%, can now connect the dots between the banksters and the Federal Reserve, USS Liberty incident, PNAC's grand stategy of destroying the ME, Chesed gomel cemetary incident, Lucky Larry's insurance scam, and 911. These Americans now regard Nutty State as their greatest existential threat.
90% of Russian adults have already connected the dots between the murder of Czar Nicholas, Communism, the destruction and pillage of the former USSR, straight to the same banksters that began our Federal Reserve and they regard Nutty State too as their greatest existential threat since they know the US gov is controlled completey by the banksters who hold the purse strings. The placement of Russian troops right across the border from Nutty State is the final nail in the coffin; from this point on, Russia has declared that Israel is their primary adversary. Putin knows that Nuttyahoo who leads the NuttyState
90% of Europeans have conneced the dots as well, even more so after this Nutty State's dual citizens who control US foreign policy created this chaotic situation in Africa and the ME. They know our government and banks are completely controlled by Nutty State
Who will be Nutty States last friends? Only the DC cabal, and Saudi and Gulf monarchies. And they will go down together. Israel has squandered any goodwill it had among the educated citizens of the world and has instead created enemies all over the globe.
The nutty superiority cult on the Med, otherwise known as 'Israel' has isolated and doomed itself by it's own hubris and evilness.
Yep. It was the dumbest thing zionists could do to terrorize their way into enemy territory. There will be no peace in the ME until Israel is no more. If I was living there, I would at least be thinking about an exit plan. That might be reason why so many Israelis have dual citizenship and an American passport.
There will certainly be no chance for peace anywhere in the world until Nutty State is no more. Only total defeat can do that as only total defeat could eliminate those two other recent famous nutty superiority cults, namely Naziism and the Japanese Shinto fascism (which unfortunately was never really eliminated, only subsumed by the banksters)
Total defeat of Israel will not look pretty; it will be a military defeat. It will call on the US for help and that will trigger a huge crisis in the US
I wouldn't be surprised if it all plays out like this: The Russians continue to build up forces in Syria, exterminating ISIS and pushing the jihadis into Jordan. The Jordanian monarchy falls shortly thereafter. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf sheikdoms collapse as a result of blowback from their attack on Yemen. The Egyptians decide that their bread is buttered with the Russians and move away from US toward alliance with Moscow. Turkey collapses into civil war as a result of Erdogan's power plays. Israel is then left completlely alone in the region.
Israel will then begin acting like a mad dog in desperation, resorting to a stream of false flags to destabilize Russia and its alliance. At that point, the Russians, Iranians, Syrians and Iraqis push into occupied Palestine to end the Zionist menace. Hezbollah comes in from the north, and Hamas breaks through tunnels in the south.
Finally, the US faces a choice -- save Israel by nuking the Russians and then face nuclear annihilation in return, or sit back and let the Zionist regime fall. I expect the latter, as by then too many Americans will have woken up to the truth of the Zionist regime (and our ties to Iran will have been strengthened after the nuclear deal).
When the US lets Israel collapse, I think we will see civil insurrection break out in the US, as vengeful Zios and their Christian Zionist brainwashed masses retaliate internally. But as time goes by, and Jesus does not return to magically save Israel after the fall, the Christian Zionists will lose heart, and will then turn against their Zionist allies in a fury of betrayal. The final result will be that the Jewish people will have lost their last supporters in the whole world. With nowhere to run anymore, the ugliness really begins.
I'd give it about 7 years, so 2022 to the fall of Israel. Let's see if I'm right.
Agree that if Russia is doing what I think they have planned for at least 10 years, and that is to surround Israel and quarantine it with the help of Iran and China. Russia is playing to the death here; they have moved into Syria only after exhausting eveyr manner of diplomacy in the Ukraine, but the continued rape, pillage, and death of slavic Russian speakers over the last 2 years has steeled their population for what's next. They have made the spiritual decision to face war as a nation, not like the fat ass americans who only care about football and the kardashians.
The weak link is Syria; once Syria becomes a Russian stronghold, then the Banksters who control the US cannot risk any nuclear attack for concern that a nuclear attack on Russian forces in Syria will spread to Israel, which is their only concern.
Since nuclear blackmail is out against Russia since Israel will be obliterated if a Russia US war occurs (note that the survival of the US is not important to the banksters, only that of Israel), it means that Israel will have to use only conventional forces, either it's own or that of the US. But using US forces directly against Iran or Russia is against the desire of Americans and will lead to a revolution within the US.
With Russia in Syria, then when, not if, Nuttyahoo kills a few thousand palestinians and this time Hezboallah starts launching rockets, Israel will face a war for it's survival. At least 30% of Americans regard ISrael as a parasite or as an enemy and will in no way join with the Nutty state in attacking palestinians and lebanese
Putin has played this brilliantly, but if he had moved to Syria years ago, the checkmate would have occured sooner. Bit I guess he had to have the alliance with China in his pocket first.
That and weapons upgrades, building up national solidarity, heading off Soros color revolutions, etc.
"If I was living there, I would at least be thinking about an exit plan."
I suspect that involved Ukraine - nicely placed to control energy supplies from Russia to Europe. That seems not to be working out too well.
Only problem with that plan is that most Ukrainiansdon't like the Jews either. There is a historical reason for it.
the rabbis will fight to the very last Israeli jew to maintain the nutty superiority state they have created
Max, not all rabbis are Zionists. Anti-Zionist Rabbis.
For all the US's military might it has an Achilles heel.
It's crock of shit financial system.
The Western, crock of shit, financial system nearly brought down the West in 2008, all by itself.
Russia has probably noticed Western markets are teetering nervously and the FX markets are looking shaky.
Now is the time for Russia to play its hand.
We could have fixed it in 2008.
Well connected bankers made that not happen.
The US and it's western military relies on mercenaries (either 'volunteer' which are really not volunteers since they are PAID to do the job, or Blackwater mercenaries, or crazies that are still paid a salary such as ISIS) to do the fighting; there is no way the regular US army is going to take on any fighting force. The loss of a carrier is 5000 sailors dead and the loss of the US Navy as a fighting force forever (absent the nuclear subs but a war can't go nuclear...the banksters have the most palaces and perks to lose and hence don't want that); any attack on military bases with Russian rockets will kill hundreds since US bases are built with above ground structures and are not hardened
The Russians it is said are 'slow to mount but once mounted they don't stop unti the war is over'. When the USSR tried to resupply the Arabs in the 1973 war, Kissenger threatened them with a nuclear war and they backed down. Now the Russians don't give a shit; they are calling the neocon bluff. And as the ZH articles pointed out, DC is backed into a corner and cannot appear to threaten Russia without giving away that ISI is it's stepchild
MD, russia and china have recognized that for years...it's why Mao called the USSA a paper tiger.
# "And as the ZH articles pointed out, DC is backed into a corner and cannot appear to threaten Russia without giving away that ISIS is it's stepchild"
I know. Its freakin beautiful, isn't it. Well played Team Russia. Zionists the world over are having a collective coronary thrombosus even as we speak.
Weakend tyler,
Your linked Guardian reference cites four other links, thus:
And one of them actually works.
But It refers to an article by an extremist propagandist called "Pepe Escobar", you may have heard of him, and Pepe was one of the original claimants for the imaginary and completely unsubstantiated Qatari pipeline non-project, and non-proposal.
Pepe Escobar may even be the original source of the claim, as the trail always seems to go cold with him, for some curious reason.
So, I'm sorry tyler, but you actually have nothing whatsoever to back up these endless Qatari pipeline project claims, and your associated grand claim, that it's the whole raison-d'être for the entire Syrian conflict.
No substantiation at all there mate.
But perhaps you can get on the blower to your mate Pepe, in whom you have such unflinching trust, and ask him why Assad has never claimed or offered any substance or confirmation, nor even denial that such a pipeline project proposition through Syria from Qatar was ever put to him, prior to the commencement of the present conflict?
I mean, if it had actually been propositioned, and was such an overwhelmingly damning tale, don't you think he would have said so, multiple times by now? And yet he hasn't! ... oh dear ... it's rather curious, no?
Oh well, I'm sure you know all things, and your unconfirmed opinion is more than enough to bridge any gap with reality, even when it has been pointed out to you well over twenty times now. Just keep re-hashing your baseless fantasy, that'll be good enough.
It's really all about the Syrian loyalists having Goats of Mass Destruction.
We have to prevent them from loosing the herd on innocent civilians.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJUQ12y_q1bJHSs93U...
That does seem more credible. +1
It looks to be more intelligent than the US Horse of State.
You also get a gold star. +1
"So, I'm sorry tyler, but you actually have nothing whatsoever to back up these endless Qatari pipeline project claims, and your associated grand claim, that it's the whole raison-d'être for the entire Syrian conflict.
No substantiation at all there mate."
http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/pipeline-politics-in-syria/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-geopolitics-of-gas-and-the-syrian-crisi...
http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/is-this-what-syria-war-really-about/
... and I'll stop there. A google search with Qatar+Syria+Pipeline yields something like 547,000 results. So much for "no substantiation", er... mate.
Rather than providing more bullcrap links, Lea, why don't you just cite the exact the concise evidence from an original source within your links, because I'm actually not the slightest bit interested in reading through the stupid words and claims of mentally-ill people who do not even know how to think straight, or parse mere claims of morons who only talk about an imaginary meme which they have axiomatically adopted, without basis.
I'll just add that I assess there's an extremely high probability that anything you ever cite will be more morons talking about imaginary blather, with no actual testable verifiable evidence ever offered. Prove me wrong, I'd be delighted.
For instance, like providing an actual Qatari pipeline project source proposal, that can be checked and verified or discarded directly with a phone call or email. Or a company proposing to build said imaginary pipeline. Or an official Qatari .gov plan document that can also be checked to see if it is a fake or not.
That sort of thing.
Internet links are not evidence. I know very poorly educated and rather moronic people imagine they are, but unfortunately evidence is entirely unlike a mere internet page.
# because I'm actually not the slightest bit interested in reading through ...
Element, nobody likes a lazy Zionist. Now get back to work.
So you kindly piped-in to tell us all about your significant concerns?
Well that was very considerate, thank you.
No other content? ... just that then?
The content was me highlighting your pretentious additude.
For a guy not interested in reading my words, you seem inordinately attentive. I just want you to know I'm in a relationship. ;-)
"Guilt by association", isn't that a propaganda tool ?
False claims sure are.
(and btw, you are making an unsubstantiated insinuation there too)
Qatar seeks gas pipeline to Turkey
http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/qatar-seeks-gas-pipeline-to-tu...
or Pipeline Projects...
http://pipelinesinternational.com/news/pipeline_projects_in_the_middle_e...
And just because President Assad has never mentioned this pipeline does not mean it hasn't been considered by him or others and there is strong evidence that it has.
When googling Qatar pipeline one gets 1,600,000 hits with several from the Qatari regime itself. I would venture to say there's enough evidence of this pipeline for a discussion. Insulting and telling others to basically STFU does not exactly lend credibility to your assertions.
Read this moron:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-20/us-syria-strategy-officially-un...
Put up actual official evidence please. Come on, you want to go all foot-in-mouth with me, so let's see what you think you have to base your fantasy world on.
But of course you don't have anything at all, or else you would have provided it the first time, with no bluster whatsoever. And I would not have to keep asking for it for about the past 18 months either. And tyler also would have provided the details ~18 months ago, when I asked him the first time.
You see, no one at all has any proof what so ever that such a Qatari pipeline project ever existed , or ever was planned., let alone proposed to Assad and rejected like all you morons want to believe.
But apparently many people - not by any means all - but many zheep think it's OK to just have tyler make stuff up and provide zero evidence for it when asked. Just more bullshit links, never an substance of any kind.
Re: Element
Element you seem to bash ZH for not proving evidence that pipepline thesis is real, and you seem to state that you know the unknow reason for the mess in Syria. However you haven't stated what your point of view is on the origins of the Syrian conflic nor provided evidential support for your opinion.
It would be helpfull to let us know what you think are the reasons for the Syrian conflict instead of bashing ZH and its readers for being dumb, yet not posting your opinion and your facts.
Ah, I'm not a fan of stampeding the herd with speculations and opinions about a topic where millions of peoples lives are affected by perceptions and lies, and reactions to perceptions and lies. But I'm even less in favor of people deliberately doing that, when they know perfectly well they have no actual evidence to support their positions and claims (that is bullshit ... at best). Quaint, I know.
There are many reasons for why this is occurring, but I am satisfied pipelines to Europe is not one of them. So what I would suggest (as opposed to just pointlessly erecting another fictional apparatus for bloggers) that people simply put aside, entirely, the presumption and assertion that it is due to pipelines at all. And to get right back to the beginning of the events surrounding the onset of the conflict, and re-vision (i.e. revise) the development of events as being driven by processes, linkages and relations that have zero to do with any pipeline.
Do that and you'll have a much clearer less clouded view of how we've ended up here.
Maybe I'd contribute around the edges to such a discussion, but if I wanted to write an alternative reality to the one that's spun already I could just apply to zh for posting rights and write up a speculative series of posts about it.
But I'm not interested in providing fodder for speculation, as speculators of these topics almost invariably talk about, promote and spread bizarre utter rot that harms others. And note above I've pointed out that I am happy to not know what can not be known, more the partially, or else not at all, and may in fact never be known.
I think it's pure conceit for anyone, or any side, or any observer, or any think tank, to presume to know what starts, drives and develops any conflict. Humans don't actually have the cognitive ability to do that. these things are never fully understood. Some actually very well informed people may sincerely believe they know (or are just fools) but they sure don't know.
I do know that much.
So I don't have this dippy burning desire that so many exhibit to assert a narrative, that so many feel they can not go without.
I can however clearly see perfectly adequate motives to action, that are highly consistent with a set of points which Occam of Razor fame might consider not too bad. I'm always wary of axioms surrounding conflicts, but some are reasonably strongly supported. I'll give a quick example of one here to illustrate the sort of interpretive problem.
Axiom #1 :
The reason is simple. The essentials of life are pretty cheap and easy to obtain, so the economics of needs is still fairly easy to cover with trade levels degraded by years of warfare. Thus the economic damage of war tends to damage non-essential and unnecessary parts of the national economic base first, and deepest.
So the economy still provides you a capacity to feed yourself and function reasonably normally. Pretty important right? But not as important as this - the same is not true of Strategic factors, and their priorities, as those are the factors that will determine if you remain alive to eat the needs and economic essentials you still have. Strategic relations and support determine if your State and its organizations will even exist after the war fades, and if anyone remains alive.
So strategic needs are always far more important than mere optional economic non-essentials.
In other words;
What Tyler (and others) are constantly assuming here is that an entirely unnecessary economic skim, off of an optional economic project is trumping the geostrategic considerations of all states and proxies involved, including about 50 million people directly, in multiple countries, and the military forces of the US/NATO Alliance, a Russia/Central Asian lose like-minded cohort, plus Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey SA, GCC, Lebanon and Israel. And via those, to just about every other power, elsewhere.
Which is simply utterly ludicrous!
None of those states are ever going to sacrifice their geostrategic needs and priories over some pitiful (and completely imaginary) alleged pipeline project for Qatar to get gas to Europe, via Syria. Or even Iran to EU, via Syria.
Jesus! Europe doesn't even want to be involved in bombing Syria to submission, haven't you all noticed?
Not one of these powers would ever sacrifice their entire geostrategic interests for that pitifully dismal rationale because geostrategic conflicts are all about whether you even are left personally alive, and still have a state, and cities, and military in existence more - let alone a viable economy. So that is just about the most bizarre presumption imaginable.
So no, the causative motives and actions will not be economic, they will be strategic, or else this would not be involving the proxies of the US and Russia, at all. Let alone bringing the proxy's master-powers within spitting distance of each other over a battlefield, where both plan to fight, for limited strategic reasons
And that's definitely not going to be about some dismal bloody pipeline! Especially an imaginary alleged nothing, with zero proof at all that it was ever even proposed! Can you think of anything more ridiculous than this? I probably can, but it would take awhile.
So in my view Russia and Washington are in a standoff over a fighting-ground and are both looking for ways to back-down and defuse and end this phase of an unproductive and too destructive strategic contest, that is harming the interests of both pretty badly at this point (plus there's an election in the US in a year, so sorry to be crass to the suffering people of Syria, but ain't democracy just grand).
And ... it's extremely dangerous to be doing it as well.
So I hope they will do that via successfully combining together, to put an end to the destruction of Syria for its millions of people's sake, and for the sake of not having an insoluble situation of the biggest nuclear powers on earth's forces (but a small subset) facing-off over distances of less than 25 miles.
As for any other inputs I make, thay will be incremental and around the edges. But the first thing to do is to get rid of all this bullcrap that Tyler and others are so unmeritoriously self-satisfied with - for whatever strange purposes.
I found your willingness to admit and be satisfied with knowing that you do not know and may never know the reasons for this conflict refreshing. There is way too much silly speculation.
However your point that Us and Russia are now looking to de-escalate is likely off the mark.
You are right that this is likely geopolitical. US has been trying to take down Russia's allies for a while now.
They got Ukraine which is a major win, but failed to get it completely.
Syria is also an ally so Assad has been targeted.
Also, I would not discount the talk about pipelines. Do not loom at them as economic in a strict business sense but more as geopolitical. It is a way to deprive Russia an income stream thus reducing their ability to offer resistance.
Very possibly, never can tell. I'm hoping for it for the sake of a lot of people's is all, so not well based.
Probably the US will let Assad and Putin flounder on the ground unless Putin wants to take the opportunity now to make an attractive deal to at least give Washington Assad's scalp (i.e he steps down and retires not his actual scalp) as the required face-saver and as impetus to negotiations with 'rebel' factions to get them to knock it off. Plus whatever else the US may want re Iran and Hezbollah issues, to settle this quickly and exit Syrian air space sooner. The longer it takes the more it costs Russia and Iran as well, and neither can readily afford to let it drag on too long.
The point I'm making re the pipelines is they are not causations. They are a natural opportunity like any other commercial operation. As with milk deliveries that will return with a return to a peaceful stable state. So not a causation of the conflict, but a natural consequence of 'recovery' over a decade of more to follow.
And you're quite right about the pipelines having a limited geopolitical dimension once established. But they are also a delivery mechanism with significant sovereign risk, especially in the ME, and especially on that contested dirt in eastern Syria. But the same Sovereign risk is true of Russia's pipelines too, as we have repeatedly seen.
Truth is Europe will want both, for the sake of diversification, rather than to favor one over the other, as that just transfers the strategic vulnerability elsewhere again. Thus a good chunk of the Tyler's logic of big-power armed proxy conflict falls down right there in my view, as that narrative sees it in terms of a way to cutoff and isolate Putin's position and options, when it would really just be another progressive tool to moderate the behavior of Russia, away from recent behaviors. i.e. like the rearming and refocus of the Baltic States will, and several other processes. That's all going to happen via several routes now anyway, regardless of what occurs in Syria.
As to gas from the ME being an economic pain incentive for Moscow, if Russia really wanted to secure its supply to Europe, all Moscow would have to do is stop using gas as a geopolitical stick and stop being unreliable problem-child suppliers. If that really is the logic of Russian gas marketing and domineering it absolutely will end badly for Russia.
In the end Syria is not the huge geopolitical linchpin issue Tyler and others claim. It's not even close to that. The more important issue is Russian naval activity and Hezbollah. If there is give on those fronts the US may play ball and start actually wiping out ISIL, with Russia, and Syrian Army, and Iran, then leave ASAP.
More likely Europe will import more energy from North America as well. Bulk LNG is flowing from Australia to China by ship now and there's no reason it can't be scaled up in North America as well to go into Europe, if US proven gas volumes are sufficient to sustain that for decades.
Most of the problem with Syria is the warped narratives that have sprung up, and most of that is bum-cakes any way.
If we change these silly narratives and the dynamics of interaction between the parties, and get a bit real about a deal here, this can all be ended within 12 months.
You have made it clear that you think ZH is untrustworthy , basically nothing more than a gossiping site, producing reports that are unsubstantiated yet you direct me to another ZH article?
Why would that article be any more credible than the article(s) referring to the Qatari pipeline you claim are not factual?
It would seem to a sensible person that if a news site was putting out unsupported nonsense than one would avoid it. Yes?
No, I directed you to a comment that I made, that was three comments above yours, in the SAME post.
And I'm quite capable of putting my words in my mouth thanks. I'll call you if I ever need assistance with what I have said.
Consider yourself 'rejected' if it helps. ;-)
You really need to cut back on the caffenated coffee... ;>)
Obviously the pipeline is part of a myriad of possibilities for the absurdity of ameriKa's much sought after regime change. The Russian Navel base is a good reason.
And there is probably very little proof of any of them. Doesn't mean they can't be discussed.
After all,,, there may be an 'Element' of truth in all of them. :))
I haven't been drinking coffee for most of this year.
Ok, go drink RoundUp instead.
You seem upset, is everything OK with you today?
For all practical purposes President Assad is already deposed.
"High-level talks are due to take place on Sept. 21 between Iran and Russia to discuss Iran’s “four-point plan” for Syria."
Assad is completely dependent upon Iran and mostly Russia and therefore is really just a proxy until the matter is settled. Afterwards he can let go with some sort of election to make it look good.
The u.s is slowly losing its credibility among the nations in the world as it has been pretty well neutered by Russia on every front. And I might add,,, Russia has been doing this without direct confrontation and without direct involvement which is far more cost effective than the u.s shoot-em-up gangster style.
The u.s as a uni-power is done,,, cooked,,, over. The only thing that remains is for the u.s to recognize that,,, and disengage. It will be tough to shed the "we're exceptional facade" and return to being just another nation among nations,,, but sadly the present neo con nazis in power will most likely not go silently,,, which spells doom for Americans.
But one can hope,,, yes?
There's one stage of war that hasn't been tried yet, that's the all out hot war.
Assad will stay in power; removing him is exactly what Russia and Iran do not want. Also the Syrians voted him in and his enemies, namely the Israeli's and their bankster backers who run the US, have created the hellish conditions in Syria.
It's all about Israel; what Israel wants is for Assad to go and for Israel to take over the ME by controlling proxies, sowing chaos, ..etc., exactly how England controlled India. It's the same plan run by the same Nutty Superiorty Cult that controlls England, the USA, and sees Israel as the be all and end all of their nutty existence.
Since the only reason we want Assad out is because of Israel, why not have the Israel attack Russia and the Syrian army at the same time? Please put that war on TV. Now that's an American strategy, not a USraeli strategy!
The war has already started. Russian know that Nutty State is their existential threat and to put their troops on it's border means that Nutty States Ukrainian gambit has failed. Putin revered Alexander Solzhenitsyn:
http://truedemocracyparty.net/2012/05/most-banned-book-in-the-world-200-years-together-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/
http://www.judeofascism.com/2013/06/the-wests-blacklisting-of-nobel.html
200 Years Together
Two Hundred Years Together was written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the famous Russian dissident who won a Nobel Prize for Literature. It is about the time of the Russians and the Jews inside the empire. He wrote in Russian of course but various publishers decided they were not going to put out an English version because they were Jews or frightened of them.
The together of the title refers to Russians and Jews. The first volume was Russian-Jewish History 1795-1916. The second was called The Jews in the Soviet Union. So it is clear enough why the Jews were never going to like what he had to say.
Alex knew them close up and personal. Alex tells the truth about Jews so they hate him and his book. Oddly it has been put out in German and French. One might think the Germans would not be allowed access to the truth about the shysters marketing the Holocaust® story. Perhaps they have been brain washed into acceptance. A little of the background is at May Regulations.
The Wikipedia’s article at Two Hundred Years Together – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia is an example of their worst kind of work. The use of words like allege, claim, admit and purports indicate the use of Words as Propaganda Tools. The Wiki was set up by Jews with an agenda. Naturally they do not link to Professor MacDonald as a source. Truth and agenda are out of synch again. But read for yourself. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself.
More chapters are being translated as a private venture and being published on line.
http://truedemocracyparty.net/2012/05/most-banned-book-in-the-world-200-years-together-aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/
You do yourself disservice when you claim that
the holocaust did not happen.
It did and there are lot of people in Europe that do not like the Jews but acknowledge the holocaust.
You do yourself a disservice when you profess to know something that you don't. Of course, everyone believed in the exceptional Jewish Holocaust at one time. Then we discovered that the Zionist media lies about everything. Somehow the lying Zionist media, which lies about everything is telling the truth about this holocaust story? You are naive. Take some time to break out of your chains and look into it.
Yes, Jews of course died. Many people died. It was war. Ok, well you saw the skinny dead bodies. Everyone was hungry to one degree or another at the end of the war. Even in England, on the winning side, rationing remained in effect, long after the war. In Germany, all transport was bombed into nonexistance. Were innocents murdered? Sadly so. It happens a lot in war. Was the number inflated? Looks like it. But even if it wasn't, something like 20 million Russians died in WWII. Their lives don't matter?
any article that doesnt mention "zionists / Israel" when dealing with ME issues is bullcrap from in my op.. The worlds problem start & end with zionist bloody jews (& soem zionist christians & muslims) Deal with them & the world will know peace.
all those decapitations, all those children murdered, and now that the US, using a proxy that will be chased off, are distraught that they won't be able to remove Assad and effect a regime change, is an admission that the US created/funded/instructed ISIS with their brutal rampage
Undeniably Satanic
surely turns over the thought learnt in childhood that We (Western alliance lead by the US) were the force of good and they (target of the moment) were the force of evil
moral low ground
The moral depravity can be traced right back to rabbinal talmudic writings; these writings are still the heart of judaism to this day unfortunately. There has not been any sincere jewish reformation to eliminate their feeling of superiority, paranoia, and destiny to rule all or to be destroyed in the process of attempting to rule over all.
I'm getting the uncomfortable feeling that they will cheefully rather destroy all if they cannot rule all. It is time for people of good will of the USA and Russia to put this whole thing right.
Max - you are right about the hate filled talmud. Not all Jews are Talmudic Jews though.
Worth the 35 minutes, don't bother if your attention span is of a gnat. Still Report #428 Admiral Ace Lyons on Benghazi- YouTube
Stevens was a gun runner which means the entire u.s embassy was involved.
And if the west hadn't freedum bombed Libya into the dysfunctional nation it now is,,, none of that would have happened.
The 35 minute report is a mixture of truths and outright BS. I was surprised when the Admiral brought attention to the Muslims wanting to replace the constitution.... no need to,,, we have already done one better,,, we eliminated it in favor of Executive Orders and Political Correctness.
He is correct about one thing.... we have destroyed ourselves and our nation with our "exceptional" idealism and a give a shit attitude towards the other 90 percent of the planet.
I actually feel sorry for Kerry, he has back trcked so many times making him look weak and foolish. Obama´s foreign policy is a disgrace and he should think more who to ask advice from on what to do, His decisions have not been thought out making the comander in cheif look very foolish, dangerously incompetent and weak.
i worry that that is the objective....trying to draw a punch. Like the day BHO was diddling with a selfie camera in Alaska, just begging the Chinese to come and take a swing. Alaska represents the US claim on the Arctic, so there was more than one Arctic Great Power or Great Power wannabe (Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway/Sweden/Finland, Russia) watching.
This is a direct consequence of appointing politicians as SoS. Kerry and Clinton are both drawn to mics and cameras like flies to shit. They cannot exist wuthout them. Quiet behind the scenes diplomacy can never happen with people like that.
How would the US react if Russia,China,Iran decided on regime change in Israel because of their crimes against humanity against the Palestinians. Does anyone honestly believe that the US,NATO would stand by while Putin ousted Netanyahu?
Yes, I actually think they would. The Western elites don't want to spend the rest of their lives in an underground bunker while the world undergoes nuclear winter for a few hundred years. If the choice comes to it, they will sacrifice Israel to keep their own perks.
The US would not stand for it.
Hate them for it but you have to give them credit
for boldness. They walked right into Russia's backyard and kicked over a hornet's nest and shit in front of their main entrance.
You also have to remember that the US has had always stood by Israel. Not that long ago there were instances where most of
Europe was against Israel and the US was keeping them sanction free at the UN.
..Going back to Ukraine, I think this is one action that the US will regret. It is what has turned Russia from relatively passive to being an active opposition.
There was no reason for it, but Cookie Cuntster's ego was too big and she had to poke the bear.
How would the US react if Russia,China,Iran decided on regime change in Israel because of their crimes against humanity against the Palestinians. Does anyone honestly believe that the US,NATO would stand by while Putin ousted Netanyahu?
Four jets and eight helicopters? Russia sounds as cheap as the US. If they're serious, how about five or ten times that, for as long as it takes.
I don't think they need that much to knock out al-Bagdaddy.
Just the will to do it.
If all we want is a pipeline, why not put it through neighboring Iraq, instead of Syria?? Look at the map in this article. Why not put it through Iraq??
I keep asking the same question on every forum and never get a logical reply. There are several other ways the pipeline could go including via SA/Egypt.
Assda will be blown up or snipered by the CIA mob and blamed on the ISIS.
Because they have a magic cloak of invisibility?
This is not a Xbox game.
This is what happens when you base foreign policy on lies, distortions and form alliances with Islamic terrorist organization in the name of “human rights”, “promoting democracy and freedom”, etc. Over a decade of US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Africa have cost US taxpayers $ trillions and created ISIS/ISIL/ Daesh. These Islamic fundamentalist groups have been supported and trained by NATO and the GCC using weapons captured from the Iraqi military, bought and paid by US taxpayers. These groups have given safe havens in Jordan, Turkey and Israeli occupied Golan Heights, where they have been able to launch attacks on Syria with relative impunity. All of this has been while the US/NATO proclaim that they have formed a coalition to “fight” ISIS. After spending $ billions of US taxpayer money on the “anti ISIS” campaign, little has been accomplished. The only real forces fighting ISIS have been the Syrian Government, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran. It looks like things are going to change with one of big boys (Russia) entering the fray. With Russia’s support, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah should be able to drive ISIS out of Syria. Maybe ISIS will move on the Saudi Arabia. Bottom line- the enemy of my enemy is, in the end, still your enemy.
Excellent analyses.
Why doesn't the news media bring up any of these
facts.
A year ago ISIS would conduct an attack and then run to Turkey for sanctuary. Same thing on the Israel side. Israel actually attacked Syria with missiles on few occasions.
Russia's presence neutralises hostile foreign nation states.
Syria is a war between the Sunnis and the Alawites for the most part.
Don’t the Alawite’s deserve their own state?
How come no one is screaming anti-Alawiteism?
Minorities have rights!
Assimilation is religious and cultural genocide!
Are these not the values America seeks in her most trusted and “special relationship” ally?
If any religion can have their own religious state – why not everyone who is being killed because of their religious beliefs?
Even Saudi Arabia has warned against U.S. action against ISIS arguing that it would be perceived as a pro-Shiite intervention in a Sunni-Shiite conflict.
Basically, the Sunni-Shiite conflict is analogous to the Jewish/Christian conflict. Both supposedly are of the same God/g-d with different interpretations. The Christians would be the Sunni and the Jews the Shiite in terms of population.
There are today only four Shiite-majority countries, two of them non-Arab. Iran is over 90% Shiite, Azerbaijan, is about 75% Shiite. The two Arab countries are Bahrain (60%) and Iraq (65%).
There are large Shiite minorities in Yemen, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and some other Arab countries, and millions in India and Pakistan. The Syrian leadership is mostly Alawites, members of a sect considered a Shiite spin-off.
The Baathists
This party had been formed in the 1940s in Syria by Syrian Christians and Muslims. Zaki al-Arsuzi, an Alawite, was co-founder. The Baathists were committed to secularism, pan-Arabism, and “Arab socialism” (meaning the development of independent national economies). The Alawites of Syria have never been interested in establishing a religious state but rather have used the Baathist party to establish religious inclusiveness and prevent the emergence of a Sunni-dominated religious state. Bashar al-Assad’s father even attempted to change the constitution to remove the stipulation that the Syrian president be a Muslim. (This occasioned a massive Sunni uprising in Homs which he brutally crushed in 1982.)
During the 1950s the U.S. embraced the Baath party as the only alternative to communism (the Iraqi Communist Party was the largest in the Middle East) and Islamism.
After the 1967 war, the US came to see the Middle East through Israel’s eyes and bought the Israeli line that Baghdad was a “sponsor of terrorism.” It is through these “eyes” that we seek “regime change.”
So, if you distill it down to a common conception, the Baathists are supposedly what America stands for. The Sunni are the Gentiles and the Shiites the Jews. When Shiites are put in charge of large populations of Sunni, it is analogous to “the Jews run everything” when they come to great power in Christian countries. As the Jews like to rid themselves of Christian symbols, the Shiites do similar things to the Sunni.
President Bashar Assad must resign:
(Why? Here is a secularist, Baathist, presiding over a country where women dress in Western fashions, go to college, drink beer and listen to rock n’ roll—a country striving for a normalized relationship with the U.S. but spurned by the State Department due to its opposition to Israel, which illegally occupies its Golan Heights, and due to its alliance with Iran). And there is the rub!
While Syria obviously has a very different government system than Iran, it receives support from Tehran in part due to religious solidarity. Both support the Lebanese Shiite party Hizbollah.
The chickens have indeed come home to roost. The neocons ignorant of Islamic divisions, eager to remake the Middle East as they pleased, have let the genie of sectarian strife out of the bottle. But they will never acknowledge it. This mess created by the neocons is sold to the American Public as threats to the Homeland. We are told that Iraq is such a mess, because they squandered the opportunity [for ‘democracy’ etc.] that we gave them. The Iraqis brought this on themselves, and now we, as the responsible adults, have to go in and straighten things out.
(This despite the fact that Iraq’s 270,000-strong army trained by the U.S. at the cost of $ 17 billion buckled when confronted with ISIL and Baghdad has only been saved by Shiite militias that once fought occupation troops.)
How screwed up is that?
America is no different than this mess. We are a nation of non-neocons run by neocons.
Maybe we need an American Spring to restore our own democracy.
It's really not that complicated.
Syria has been a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, and above all harmonious society whose citizens are not even interested in whether their neighbor is Sunni, Shia, Christian or whatever.
Then the US State Dept sent in its Saudi-trained takfiri mercenaries to destalibilize this peaceful sovereign nation by inter-ethnic, inter-faith friction and demolish its democratically elected and popular leadership, as Wesley Clark had long since foretold.
Asaad may want to hold power like his Daddy, but he had a Secular State. Everyone is welcomed.
No, this is naked US-Anglo Aggression. It must be stopped.
Russia is doing One Thing the Amerikaners willl not do: Back up a long-time ally.
Bashir: Vlad, I enjoy these Godfather Movies.
Vlad: Yes they are my favorites, too. Let me show you Al Pacino.
Americans never seem to understand they got Political Freedom from the UK, but NOT financial freedom. American Power is decided in the City of London. End of Story.
That’s true, but the reason it worked is as I have stated.
Matches start fires, they are not the kindling!
The whole purpose of the Yinon Plan was/is to unleash sectarian strife among Israel's Arab neighbours.
Good, maybe Russia is the buffer to STOP the global disease of the CALIPHATES taking over.
Russian intervention will also wrong foot ISIS. They wanted to fight armed contact with USA if their propaganda is to be believed.
What a ruse. Sure, TPTB will allow some of them to shoot up a shopping mall or pop a few car bombs, but destabilizing Russia is the Goal.
"But, Sergey, we have also been attacked."
"Look, Lurch, all your "plots" involve FBI set-ups. Get real. Vlad is ready to go Chuck Norris on you."
"No! Please! Here is Bath House Barry's location. I'm going back into the catsup business."
Hahha, the next videos we'll see are Daesh fighters getting cluster-bombed, beheaded and just plain shot to hell by Russian Special Forces and the Syrian Army.
"But...but...I'm the famous Jihad John from England! I--Urrrk!!"
"You can't put me in this cage and set me on fire! I am Al-Bhagdady!"
"Isreali Flight Leader, this is Control. Russian S400 batteries have targeted each one of your fighters. Get the hell out!"
"Roger, we---------"
"So, Lurch, you wish to fool with Iranian Power in our back yard? I think not."
"But, Mr Ayatollah."
"Is it not time for your feedbag? Leave me."
The thought leaves me with a warm glowing feeing.
Thank christ someone is prepared to clean up that mess. How's about we don't make it any worse in the meantime?
The baton has now unofficially passed from USA to Putin for Syria.
Wait for the coming UN debate to officialise that. The UN has to officially stamp the Russian-Iranian option.
Apparently the deal is Putin in Syria and US in Iraq.
I'm sure they gnash their teeth in Riyadh.
i wonder if putin threatened israel and the usa is folding for them?
in any case, the usa looks foolish again. the zionazis are thwarted for the moment but their mo is to do something crazy when things don't go their way. nutandyahoo has already begun operations to incite the palestinians and hezbollah comes in contact with the idf almost daily. israel is moshe dayan's crazy dog. it is best shot. if putin does it he deserves a nobel peace prize.
Speaking about those refugees, Croatia has declared it will unashamedly commit acts of war against Hungary by dumping them across the border, and Hungary has responded by mobilizing its military.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/hungary-sends-tanks-secure-croat...
The United States State Department needs to be retitled to: United States Asshats Department.....
The incompetence of the US State Department is obvious, what is not obvious to most people is that Putin will treat any US negotiated settlement over Syria as a trap. Putin will put Russia in a position of power before any discussion will ever begin, expect an expansion of a Russian military presence in Syria. Expect that negotiations will only begin after IS is massacred in the battle field and in retreat, only then will Russia begin negotiations. Look at how quickly US policy has failed in Syria after Russia put 6 tanks and a few good fighter jets in Syria. Assad is safe with Russia on his side. It is the twilight of the American empire.
But Robert Kagan says the USA is an exceptional country, so it must be true. And his wife was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs so it must be double-plus true.
Pure cohencidence.
Why would Russia negotiate? If their goal is to secure Assad's position in Syria and they accomplish that,there will be nothing to negotiate.
I don't remember the US negotiating anything with other countries when it came to Iraq, and there the US removed by force the previous government.
The only one that might have to negotiate is Assad with his neighbors, but even that is unlikely since most of his neighbors were helping the effort to overthrow him.
As long as he's protected by the bear the only negotiations he has to worry about are economic and trade related.
Putin may have served up a blesssing for the people of the US. But he may also insert Russia into a nightmare of its own.
And when will Netenyahoo be strung up for his slaughter of millions? Crickets...
Assad is the leader of a sovereign country, Why would he consent to be a part of transition to remove him from power? What arrogance the US has thinking it can decide to transition a sovereign leader and expect the sovereign leader to be railroaded into the discussion.
Psychosis?