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ISIS, Al-Qaeda Contemplate Syrian Militant Merger Amid Russian Advance: Kremlin
If you’re looking to close on an M&A deal, now might be the time to do it before the cost of capital starts to rise. Sure, “liftoff” might have been delayed by a month (or 12) but you have to do your due diligence and make sure there are enough synergies to make it worth everyone’s time and effort.
Critically, you’d hate to miss an opportunity to strike a potentially accretive deal while capital markets are still favorable, especially if you’ve recently found yourself in a compromising position vis-a-vis competitors.
We suppose the above helps to explain why, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, ISIS and al-Qaeda are contemplating a merger in the face of, how shall we say, “new entrants” in the race for Syrian market share.
Here’s more from RT:
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday its intelligence had overheard Islamic State commanders talking to Al-Nusra Front about uniting forces against the Syrian Army.
And that’s just fine with Moscow because unlike Washington, Riyadh, and Doha, The Kremlin is an equal opportunity extremist eliminator. Here’s the latest on Russia’s airstrikes:
In the course of the last 24 hours, aircraft of the Russian air group in the Syrian Arab Republic have performed 46 combat sorties engaging 83 terrorist facilities in the Hama, Idlib, Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor provinces.
Near Aleppo, a facility of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist grouping with workshop for manufacturing of radio-controlled bombs as well as a depot with explosives were destroyed.
After a pinpoint strike with guided air bombs and further detonation of explosives, the facility and 2 trucks, which had delivered tens of tons of explosives, were destroyed.
Near Khan Shaykhun settlement located in the al-Ghab plain, a large field camp of the Jabhat al-Nusra grouping was detected by the air reconnaissance. An airstrike conducted by a Su-25 attack aircraft eliminated the terrorist object with all its facilities: accommodation and training areas of militants, as well as depots, automobile vehicles.
In the Idlib province, a command-surveillance centre of the ISIS militants located on the Seryatel mountain was uncovered by reconnaissance UAVs. It used to carry out the control over the illegal armed groups at the battlefield as well as fire adjustment for mortar crews of militants. A strike of a Su-24M bomber aircraft hit the target.
Yes, "it used to", but not anymore. Here are the visuals.
The question we have is this: will Washington (and the US media) still classify al-Nusra as "moderate" if they ally themselves with ISIS in the battle against the Russian "infidels?" And further, to the extent Riyadh and Doha (and perhaps Ankara) may be aiding al-Nusra, will that assistance continue in the event the group pulls off a militant merger with Islamic State?
Of course perhaps the most critical question of all is this: if al-Nusra and ISIS merge, how many people will be laid off after the deal?
And further, is the job market in Langley, Virginia robust enough to accommodate the new job seekers?
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Synergy, bitchez.
CIA funded ISIS joins the USA state dept funded Al Queda. Now the budgets will be quadrupled...
Restructuring is very "in" right now.
However, the layoffs can be painful, esp at the top.
Ready the torture chambers for congress, the prez, the top brass in the pentagram, and the 'brains' in the cia. It's time to extract some information from the terrorist leaders in dc.
Nah, let's be humane and simply throw 'em to the lions.
It's like a non-hostile, LLP, Dutch auction, Carl Icahn, friendly takeover kinda thingy.
The IPO comes out next week, stawk ticker BLUD ;-)
The question we have is this: will Washington (and the US media) still classify al-Nusra as "moderate" if they ally themselves with ISIS in the battle against the Russian "infidels?"
The real question is for how long can the USSA MSM pressitudes claim there is a distinction between ISIS and Al Queda/Al Nustra without being laughed out of the room? Moderate terrorists versus radical terrorists, ROTLMAO!
" A group thought linked to al-Qaeda and calling itself the al-Nusra Front claimed for a suicide bomb attack on 6 January 2012 in the central Damascus neighbourhood of al-Midan killed 26 people, most of whom were civilians, as well as for truck bombs that killed 55 people and injured 370."
And these are the "moderates" our government has been backing? I am beyond words...
"
New classification category: moderately mischievous.
A concise summary of the moderate versus non-moderate 'rebels'
https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/10/11/identifying-fsa/
[Warning - graphic pictures]
ISIS members can fly - 0:06 into
https://twitter.com/Ibra_Joudeh/status/656488872445149184
Reminds me of a circus clown fired out of a cannon, LOL>
sounds like a plan...put them all in the same barrell.
Wonder what snappy name the Pure Evil Psychopathic CIA Marketing Dept. is coming up with to call this new terror organization. Fuck it! Go back to calling it by its original name Mujahideen. It's not like any of the brain dead Sheep would notice anyway.
We nominate "MoCIAdeen".
Call it Mujahideen II and then the Sheeple will remember the Teevee show.
Mujahideen II The Revenge of OBL. Nothing better than going full retard Presstitute Media Mainstream to put fear into the Souls of the Sheep.
Movie: Bibi's Heroes
TV show: Baa Baa Black Goat
Abdul and His McCain-iacs.
"Ali Baba was indeed a fortunate man, for he only had to deal with forty thieves!"
My comment (from page 3, at this time) might help you decide on the proper nomenclature choices.
Personally I see this 'newest, most evilistic' terrorrorroristical threat being named 'I-queda' (much like the 'I-pad' or 'I-pod):
"And further, is the job market in Langley, Virginia robust enough to accommodate the new job seekers? "
OH, FUCK YEAH!!!
Haifa is also gonna get some newly-unemployed as well!
MURDOCH, I'm coming to get YOU!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwlQ0qJxaGo
Micosoft and Apple and Cisco and Sun Systems and AMDOCS and Google Partners (in affiliation with PMSNBCBSFOX) are teaming up to bring you the NEW 'I-Queda'! NEW uniforms, NEW Toyotas (not the ones with Takata airbags!), NEW 'WMDs', NEW IEDs, and a NEW, CLEAN-SHAVEN FACE (and curcumsized penis)! Available NOW for pre-sale!
Destabilizing the World
When it comes to Syria, the refugees who have already fled mostly came from opposition or contested areas that have been devastated by fighting. But most of the 17 million Syrians still in the country live in government-controlled areas, which are now increasingly threatened by ISIS. If these people find themselves more exposed to ISIS’s notorious brutality, they will likely swell the ranks of refugees beyond anything we have seen to date.
And this is only Syria. It should be kept in mind that another U.S.-fueled war in nearby Yemen – the poorest country in the Middle East – could contribute to yet another wave of refugees attempting the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean into Europe.
In a recent report, Amnesty International described the situation in Yemen as dire. “Prior to the conflict, more than half of Yemen’s population was in need of some humanitarian assistance,” according to Amnesty. “That number has now increased to more than 80 percent, while a coalition-imposed blockade on commercial imports remains in place in much of the country and the ability of international aid agencies to deliver desperately needed supplies continues to be hindered by the conflict.”
The human rights group points out that although the United States is not formally part of the Saudi-led coalition, “it is assisting the coalition air campaign by providing intelligence and aerial refueling facilities to coalition bomber jets,” as well as weapons including banned cluster munitions being used against Yemeni civilians.
Its assistance “makes the United States partly responsible for civilian casualties resulting from unlawful attacks,” says Amnesty, noting that “the countries that supplied the weapons have a responsibility to ensure that they are not used to commit violations of international law.”
In another recent report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute documented that the U.S. has become further entrenched as the world’s top exporter of weapons, now accounting for 31 percent of all arms sales around the world. SIPRI noted that the volume of U.S. arms exports rose by 23 percent since 2005, with the biggest increase in transfers going to the Middle East.
Besides flooding the planet with small arms and light weapons, heavy artillery, armored vehicles, and warships, the U.S. has also increased its military assistance to various countries through joint exercises and training missions.
Nick Turse reported at the Intercept on Wednesday that “from 2012 to 2014 some of America’s most elite troops — including Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets — carried out 500 Joint Combined Exchange Training missions around the world.”
Many of these missions are contributing to rising tensions everywhere from Eastern Europe to the Korean Peninsula. Taken together, they are certainly cause for concern for anyone hoping to live in a world at peace and security. Indeed, the fallout from the Freedom Agenda playing out now in Syria could be just the beginning unless U.S. policymakers take a step back and reassess their actions across the globe.
Nat Parry
It won't make a shred of difference to the Ruskies. They seem to be "equal opportunity" terminators...
Foreign Policy Diary – The Middle East Big Game: Forecasting the conflicthttp://thesaker.is/foreign-policy-diary-the-middle-east-big-game-forecas...
Yeah, that's a good question. The next good question is whether we can have the US Congress and President detained without charge under sections 1121 and 1122 of the NDAA for assisting terrrorists? Why the fuck isn't this relevant and being qsked by the media, like I need to ask.
'Cause the guys doing this shit OWN the media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gORu-68SHpE
"But but but Western media free and independent, not propaganda evil Putin regime like RT!" - © some Latvian for potato hiretroll.
The Russians weren't accurate with their cruise missile strikes... where is the oversight on this Kremlin-backed propaganda?
Your evidence is compelling! After all, who can argue with such well reasoned and evidence based posting.
Indeed, who will oversee this Kremlin propaganda. Who will tell us what we need to think. Someone please help us.
You clearly misunderstand the difference between oversight and 'oversee'. Forgive my transgression, my lord, your counterargument is far more substantive and compelling.
Comic book warfare
The stupidity of Ukie Trolls lie P3likan cannot be underestimated. The joke, however, is on us, the USSA tax slaves, since we indirectly subsidize them.
NO.
There IS another way.
http://federalbudget.com/fed.html
http://www.save-a-patriot.org/files/view/whofed.html
http://www.truth-attack.com/jml/index.php
The truth really HURTS those who would attempt to obfuscate the TRUTH. 'P3likan'; are you here, XKEYscoring us right now?
FUCK THIS 'P3likan' GOVERNMENT PLANT!
'...and, in other news, the Indianapolis Colts just signed Samiqual Levar Hussein Washington With Dreadlocks to be a first-starter in the upcoming NFL showdown series; straight from some little school in Baltimore, Maryland. Here's Some White Bitch With Blonde Hair to fill you in (as she reveals her pussy and nipples); Some White?'
NICE avatar pic, LL.
Mine is of a big one, going down/penetrating the waters/slipping slowly in and filling the void.
This is how to scare a hedgehog with your bare ass?
it's pretty much like picking stocks or asset classes. you wait and see what happens.
they should watch out for the 13 year old,
one handed, pot smoking hacker else all their
precious personal accounts and contacts be made
public.
.
Phish 2014 10 31 HALLOWEEN SET 2 - Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yKaZVKeF2A
.
bonus track.
Umbrella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8fo8Wv49Iw
.
John Prine : Blue Umbrella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af6_XP1IxNM
.
....
john prine : You've Never Even Called Me By My Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ap-GLcEixs
.
"money".
john Prine & Nanci Griffith : Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2e9wWFg-pI
"Contemplating a merger?" Is that like a round table discussion at CIA?
From the very beginning of ISIS over a year ago, MSM spent alot of time talking about them applying corporate governance to their operations. Litteratly talking about financial statements, supply chain management, "the brand" and yes mergers and aquistions. Then they next day they'd show a beheading video and say they are pure, abject, occult evil...
isis needs to nominate one of their
own to a world bank position,
someone like wolfowits. then they
will have some freakin' global respectability,
man. cumon', get a clue isis, isil, is etc...
Word on the street is that General Al-Suq Akweer of ISIS and the top Al-Qaeda field commander, General Apul Ma-diq Auod, are getting the band back together. I am popping some corn right now. This is going to be fun to watch.
"The band!" -- Jake Blues
I'll bet the show is a real blow out.
And this is fun to watch
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ne7DnmdilEg
John Prine : Jesus The Missing Years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9BRia7J9P4
.
"..cause we all reside down the block
inside of twenty three scadoo." ..j.p.
Good move by Russia. All "moderate terrorists" just became "extreme terrorists".
Say wasn't there some sort of legislation in the US to say that helping (any) terrorists was illegal? Something to do with Patriots? You'd imagine these kinds of laws would apply to everyone, especially people who have the money and power to really make a difference when funding and arming terrorists.
Only hard working middle class Americans trying to save and be frugal are "tearrists" these days.
Wasn't it G.W.Bush who said you are either with us or your with the te. rror i s ts?
Maybe he meant to say you are with us the ter.ror.i.sts.
The beard shavers are on the run. Perhaps a united command will allow them to make a stand. Consult with the CIA who, along with Saudi intelligence, arm, fund and train the whole lot of them.
As if ISIS could appear from nowhere all of a sudden like switching on a lightbulb. Nobody saw it coming, nobody knew who they were. Nobody knew where their arms came from. Nobody knew who transported all these different nationals to Syria. Certainly not CNN.
Don't forget the high quality glossy travel brochures.
And the classy films by Rita.
Or the brand new Toyotas, courtesy of the USSA State Department.
This will certanly make those CIA supply-drop flights easier on the pilots...
It's really just about logistics.
next up: US govt supporting "moderate ISIS" against "extreme ISIS"
Canada is leaving...................Ack!
We should do a benedict and join the Russians.
(Still more) damning proof that BOTH organizations are US-trained, funded, and supplied "assets."
Now, where does that fit with the 9.11 narrative..?
do you think one question in all the debates to come will touch on 9-11? i think trump's limited hang out will help.
not much recent polling but in 2007 ten times as many u.s. citizens thought saddam hussein was seriously involved in 9-11 than thought the u.s. government was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polls_about_9/11_conspiracy_theori...
thank goodness we have a free press.
as was written on the cathedral of notre dame during the french revolution, "important if true."
Fox, Daily Beast Stories on Cubans in Syria Lack One Thing: Evidence of Cubans in Syria
http://thenewsdoctors.com/?p=523681
What is it with that Daily Beast? Fucking wankers. Aren't they just embarrased by their fucking bullshit stories.
Cuba = Bad
This message brought to you by the powers that be.
The Daily Beast propaganda is becoming so laughable that they have to scrub and censor their comments. I'll bet that a Kim Kardasian tweet has 10x the readership.
If Syrians keep immigrating, those tough terrorists will have fewer women, old people, and children against whom to display their manly courage. They might as well follow the Syrian immigrants to Yurp, lest their virility be sapped by an absence of weak and defenseless people on whom to visit the wrath of their God in his war against humanity.
Wait! They've already figured that out. Thankfully for them the heads of state in Yurp, who need fresh blood to drink, are welcoming them with open arms.
you had me at yurp.
"2 trucks, which had delivered tens of tons of explosives, [to al-Nusra] were destroyed."
I don't suppose those trucks had US license plates?
Had to have come across from Turkey. So who holds the border open for turcks with 2 tons of explosive? Turkish Army.
well they were turcks they knew.
The amusing part, Jack, is how easy they are making for the Russians to track the terrorists to their bolt holes. With sats, drones and local intel, they are almost immediately outed and bombed. The ISIS clowns head choppers never expected to be bombed from the air, so their bases are exposed.
Looks like a military disaster for the ISIS opfor. They may have to retreat all the way back to Langley.
NATO is also terrified that all its state-of-the-art C4i software – command, control, communications, computer, intelligence – has been totally jammed by Russian technology, all across Syria and southern Turkey.
Gen. Philip Breedlove “We’re a little worried about another A2/AD bubble being created in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Breedlove will be ok as long as he keeps beating down and restraining his right arm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ihKq34Ozc
Can't get enough of that film! Dr. Fremdliebe with his circular slide rule is the very flower of the German spirit.
Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers both at the top of their game,
Just think of what they would have done with a farce like ISIS,
Maybe the Coen brothers could be persuaded to take ISIS on,
Live by the technology,and then die from it.
Trillions spent on missile defense systems and they can't see didly squat when the target is much bigger
than a missile.Maybe they could bring back those enormous ear trumpets.
The emeperors new clothes are truly splendid.
Breedlove can't say that Putin didn't warn him about Khibiny. which is starting to look more genuine with your quote.
If the story about the USS Donald Cook is true how stupid can NATO and the US be having this huge Punch and Judy show on the Mediterranean Sea?
Sam Stone - John Prine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl9ZkYViEIs
imo the operative john prine line here is "blow up your teevee, throw away your papers"
imo it is
"there's a hole in daddy's arm
where all the money goes.
jesus died for nothing
i suppose.
little pictures have big ears,
don't stop and count the years,
sweet songs never last too long
on, broken radios." j.p.
If you have the same boss, not much point in claiming to be separate.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah told CNN on Wednesday, when asked if he supported Saudi Arabia’s position of not ruling out a military option.
"If a military intervention will protect the Syrian people from the brutality of the regime, we will do it," he added, according to Qatar’s state news agency QNA.
Get that, the cunts in Qatar are gonna enter Syria to aid ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra. Good, I hope those cunts come right on it. Russia's Mediterranean ships have not fired their cruise missiles yet.I'm sure the Caspian boats have been reloaded by now.
JB, the Quatari's are just talking trash. They may send more money and weapons, but they do not have the stones to directly intervene.
Qatar wants to go to war with Russia. My guess is Givi and Motorola and twenty of their miner buddies from Donbass (DPR) could take on Qatar and kick their ass in a day or two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9k05CbXmqE
The Kiev dual shit-i-Zen retards are shelling Givi with MLRS Grads and he does not give a shit.
Drop a few bombs .... and Islamic terror .... will just go away .... like in the West Bank, Gaza, Chechnia etc. .... what have you guys and dolls been smokin' .... mocha te ?
Actually, some of us have been smoking what you're selling.
And it's pretty shit stuff.
I got outta the biz .... when those legal pot stores opened .... $25 bucks for a cartridge .... of 700 hits ? Sark
Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote "The Merchant of Venice" - so clearly a ray-cyst.
Maybe the Russkies will lob a few missiles at Doha using the doctrine of military poetic license.
Uniting is certainly a Good plan! Now Russia can kill two roaches with one step....
just pour it on vlad. get it done or go home.
Oh Vlad will get it done, that is why the USSA minions like Insane McCain are blowing head gaskets, watching their ISIS pets get destroyed. What self respecting terrorist group will ever trust the USSA after this debacle?
This might answer....
How many terrorist for hire are capable critical thought?
German Media already reported that ISIS is on the brink of total desaster. The Kurds are on their way to Rakka + Russia is bombing them into the dust. A Syrian car dealer who brings them cars from Toyota has told German media that the mood has turned. The fighters are depressed. Syrians turn on foreigners. Money is running out. They are losing.
GOOD JOB RUSSIA!
Germany is headed for total disaster if the Germans do not give Merkel and any other open border German politicians the "Mussolini treatment." F***king Stasi bitch.
It is pretty easy. Get some rope and find a petrol station. Hang traitor by their boots.
If you need a pretty graphic graphic on hanging tips then search "Esso Mussolini."
Ironic that he was hung at a Esso (Rockefeller) petrol station when Rockefeller, Red Shield, Ford , Walker-Bushes and others bankrolled Hitler and the nazis.
So, after secretly eloping a couple of years ago, ISIS and al-Qaeda are going to have a real ceremony in the Rose Garden. (Obama will be Best Man and Maid of Honor.)
They were going to keep it a secret, but nasty old Putin came in and ACTUALLY KILLED some ISIS/MODERATE REBELS.
What could they do but go public?
I ain't gonna believe it until the Paparazzi post some pics!
Well, then don't get your hopes up.
Obama hired the IDF to take care of the media and their equipment.
Mass civillians are fleeing Aleppo! Civillian masses are fleeing Aleppo!
The USAF destroyed the last two power stations providing clean water to the city. People will die of thirst or leave, but in the Western MSM, somehow, its the Russians' fault?
Sounds like a war crime to me.
Only if 'they' do it.
I am sure that the crimes of NATO against Aleppo are being fully documented and broadcast to the arab world via the 'net. But it shames me to be an American, watching our government torture and kill innocent civilians. We truly are the great Satan.
You aren't exceptional.
My taxes paid bomb brownies too.
Maybe one of the terrorist leaders will work his way up to head the CIA. Would that be cool or would he have to arrest himself for tresspassing on Gov. property?
Even I couldn't make this shit up for prime time tv ratings
Irrational exuberance .... I know Obama was helping them .... and not hurting them .... and I´m delighted to see the Russkies killing them .... I just don't think this is over .... over there ?
"I just don't think", spoken like a true Ukie loser,LOL
Now we hear that Qatar may throw down the gauntlet at Assad's pointy slippers.
"Beware, oh Putin, here are the Dog Patch Irregulars."
Gird Your Loins, Russia, for the World Cuppers of 2022.
Finally, videos showing true progress.
god, this all just too stupid to talk about.
did not the bush administration support and
identify al cia-dah as the cause of 9/11 and
then commence to destabilize north africa
and the middle east with this insidious and
incestuous pretext. now millions dead and more
millions of humans displaced, many more millions
living in terror. the plan, more terror to
justify more treasury stealing.
.
the plot.
.
will the usa continue to support the plot of
neocon construction? probably, sick psychopaths
play like that. there is big funny money it man.
This would be good if they unite, they will be easier to defeat however when IS will feel real pain they will likely, on Washington order morph into the "moderate" rebels in eyes of western propaganda is concerned and cut down somewhat on beheading and will openly be supported by US similar situation to Vietnam where rogue south Vietnamese paramilitary gangs were incorporated into officially US supported South Vietnamese army.
Even western media hinted on that calling it proxy war between Russian and US.
Moire on Syrian war:
https://contrarianopinion.wordpress.com/syrian-war-update/
"And further, is the job market in Langley, Virginia robust enough to accommodate the new job seekers? "
OH, FUCK YEAH!!!
Haifa is also gonna get some newly-unemployed as well!
MURDOCH, I'm coming to get YOU!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwlQ0qJxaGo
Micosoft and Apple and Cisco and Sun Systems and AMDOCS and Google Partners (in affiliation with PMSNBCBSFOX) are teaming up to bring you the NEW 'I-Queda'! NEW uniforms, NEW Toyotas (not the ones with Takata airbags!), NEW 'WMDs', NEW IEDs, and a NEW, CLEAN-SHAVEN FACE (and curcumsized penis)! Available NOW for pre-sale!
Duplicate
Since Al Qaida (Al Nusra) and ISIS are bitter rivals, refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the other, their forming an alliance of convenience in order to confront Russia will result in the Russians becoming the target of their shared anger..
There is no doubt that they see a Russian alignment with Shi'a Arabs (Syria, Iraq, and Hizballah) as a threat against the Sunni "umma", but even worse is seeing Shi'a Iranians (Persians) encroaching on Arab territory.
Putin just stuck his head in a hornet's nest that has the potential of unifying the Arabs against them in a way that the US never managed to do.
The question is what stance this US administration will take?
And how will the Turks react? Right now the only game the US has going are the Kurds, and the Turks and ISIS hate the Kurds.
But then again, the Russians are likely to continue wooing the Kurds, as will the Iranians.
Scrutinizer
This kind of reminds me of how easy a time the US had when it first came in to Afghanistan
I smell a trap, wading in to the big muddy I say.
The problem is the US is pretty good at destroying armed opposition but then doesnt know what to do. Troops are ordered to stay in place for years, moving in circles (patrolling), and to provide targets for snipers.
It isnt really that difficult. All it takes is to bribe the general population, the politicians to do your bidding and your clerics of choice.
50 billion dollars a year suffice to cut each iraqi a $150 check each month. Thats $900 for a family of 6. That buys some peace and then you can develop in any way you want.
It isnt done because chaos is the goal.
Even better, and cheaper, why not just publically accept that the US are not able to control the destiny of every person on the planet, and further that even if it were possible it would not be inline with the US governments principles.
A few principles here of respecting other peoples sovereignty to choose their own decisions and the US would be much stronger economically, and ironically much more powerful since it would have both a strong economy that pays its debts, and also a well funded and unentangled military, that would pose a far greater threat to others then one bogged down in endless "peacekeeping" missions.
I suggest that all that money would fund in Iraq would be better funded Jihadi's, because to some people such as many of the Muslims in the middle east, there are more important things then money, the mindset of the truly religious is very different to our secular society.
The US had the same success too going into Afghanistan, because they too were using airpower in support of ground troops (northern alliance).
But there the simularities end, the US put troops on the ground to try and exterminate the last of the taliban and their allies, where all they needed to do was park a few of their jets in Kabul as a warning against anyone dreaming of the Taliban returning, and leave it up to the locals to sort themselves out.
Here the Russians do have an exit strategy, they can leave it up to the Syrians to run the place and just leave their mediterranean base. The major risks for them are losing Assad's regime, in this case they do not get any further blowback though, the factions supporting the various Islamic nutters in Syria mostly hate Russia already (like Saudi arabia) because they have an Islamic agenda they want to pursue in sourthern Russia too, one they have been pursuing now for decades.
Or they are like Turkey, who have regional interests, in this case Russia would profit by being no longer opposing their interests, and in the event of the fall of Assads regime would be free to choose different geopolitical postions.
So far it looks like Assad's government is going to be around for a long time, but even the worst case scenarios do not offer Russia a quagmire, they are not "all in" like the US is, a country too often trapped by its own rhetoric into endless meddling to try and get a result that is just neither realistic or possible.
Let us continue the metaphore: The Russians are just making the American Venture Capital investment of "Moderate Rebel, Inc." fail much faster in a more competitive market. The hostile take over of Moderate Rebel Inc by the much better funded "Header Choppers, Child Rapists and Liver Eaters, Ltd" financed by the angel investors of Saudi Arabia and Qatar was going to happen the minute Assad was pushed out.
Anyone who thinks that once Assad goes, that milk and honey will flow through the streets of Damascus is out of touch. The stone cold facts are that as soon as Assad is gone, ISIS will steamroll into Damascus and every moderate rebel will shit his pants and join them. You either have Assad in Damascus or the Black flag of ISIS flying over Damascus and then the real mass immigration to Europe starts.
Europe needs to wake up to reality.
Magnificient article, thanks for the humour.
As for Russia's involvement, I fear they may reach market saturation soon and start to see declining turnover, unless Saudi Arabia/UAE can inject new human capital into Syria, the main problem here is a diminishing number of customers for the Russian products :D