Posted on 09/22/2015 1:29:18 PM PDT by Trumpinator
this is good news
You're right. And the State Department is always in a state of confusion regards differences in factions in the Middle East. Not just the U.S.A., this has been the case for many decades in the thinking of Western powers. Those national borders inflicted on Middle Eastern nations by Western powers make little sense to factions living there. Iraq, Syria and other nations were artificially held together, and Obama is the trigger on blowing it all apart. Like Humpty Dumpty falling and breaking, our State Department is in confusion and thinks they can put Humpty Dumpty back together again - won't happen. Russia is smarter, yet to be seen what their goals are.
I often wonder WHY we are so buddy buddy with England. We need to be more practical about who are our allies.
Yes, the Crimea war was a disgrace, and it was the first of a series of events leading to the Armenian genocide.
We pay our government to stay on top of these things and for some reason, the government isn’t bothering to learn and remember these things.
I don’t think Israel wants Russia there, but doesn’t want to tangle with them directly.
Israel and Russia have opposite policies in Syria. Russia wants to support the Assad regime and crush ISIS in the north, and Israel wants to bring down the Assad regime, and support the Al-Nusra front in southern Syria.
Fascinating
And I heard several Chinese ships transited the Suez and are on the way
You are wise grasshopper
Neither Israel nor Russian interests are served by the ayatollahs having a functional nuclear weapon
Iranians are not friends of Russia, they are only customers
Excellent
Assad the elder owed Iran many favors for their financial support of his regime over the decades - all he really had to offer was geography
It sure seems like Assad and Israel could live with each other, albeit with mutual distrust and occasional drama
Bashir Assad has only been in office since 2000 ( elected 3 times now) so many people use the name Assad as if he was his father and guilty of his father's repressions, notably against Palestinian camps
He is not - check his education ... Western educated doctor,, was not raised to be the Assad heir but his older brother died
After all, just 10 years ago both Pelosi and Kerry were wining and dining with Mr and Mrs Bashir Assad
Especially with US facilities in turkey , southern NATO flank, and US ties to Israel
Look at the region like a chessboard
Russians play great chess
Obama plays putt putt golf
I’ve no doubt the Israelis trust Putin more than they do Obama.
Who turned ISIS loose on the middle east in the first place?
It wasn’t Putin.
= :^(
I agree with your thoughts there.
I agree. Those are reasoned thoughts and questions.
I have viewed the current Assad to be a reserved individual, more or less. He hasn’t been flamboyant, with regard to being an oppressive guy.
The insurgents have brought that out of him IMO. The reports of gas use are quite troubling, but I’m not exactly sure what did transpire over there.
Governments will do what they think they must to remain in power. That doesn’t always mean they are evil.
As you said, elections have been held and the results were favorable to the government. I have no idea how fair they are.
Oh I agree. They’re five moves ahead of this guy.
:@)
I don’t think the Russians would have went more south than Anatolia or Greece. But who knows. It’s a what if.
A part of me does not even know if this is viewed as a mistake by Washington or it is exactly what they want.
I think it is a disaster and it is a disaster firmly in the lap of Washington, London and Paris just as much as it is the fault of the gulf Arabs.
That Putin looks like the sane one shows how badly our Western leaders have done. Putin is not or should not be the good guy but Putin is pushing for the firm hand of order over the free hand of democracy in regions that can't handle it.
And that is another thing that has to be forced down reluctant throats - this notion that democracy is for everybody. We hear plenty of liberals and even conservatives push that idea but for nations that are split along ethnic/religious lines it is almost an unworkable system.
Some one or group (there has to be a clique of these similar minded people) has to be made to account for these foreign policy failures that are spanning almost 2 decades now.
By the way, I notice the same people hot to push out Saddam or Assad could care less about Middle Eastern Christians as long as their policy goals are met. Hell, maybe the powers that be in Washington of the gulf states or wherever want the eastern Christians dead and gone because they were the base of the Ba'athist movements and need to be genocided to clear the way for whatever they have planned.
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