You Can’t Fight a War Without a Scorecard (Syrian Geopolitics)

Patriot Rising ^ | 4/10/2017 | Jack Perry

[Tours]

Okay, folks, you won’t be able to know who’s who in this Syrian War without a program! So, without further ado, enjoy!

First off, there’s several different factions over there and not all of them willingly get along. Syria has: Shi’ite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Syrian Orthodox Christians, a small number of Catholics, Kurds, Alawite Muslims, Druze, Yazidis, and the current imported Wahhabis called ISIS and al-Nusra. The surrounding nations do not all appreciate this mix of diversity. See, Assad is an Alawite Muslim, which is how he could walk the tightrope between these various factions, since the Alawite are a tiny minority themselves.

So…neighboring Iran is Shi’ite and controls the paramilitary militias of Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guard who have fought in Iraq and Syria. They back Assad and hate ISIS. Iran does not want to see another Sunni nation pop up on its border, which they fear will happen if we topple Assad. The United States always backs Sunni Muslims and so this fear is not without foundation. The animosity between Sunni and Shi’ite is well known. So, Iran can be counted on to supply Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guard martyr brigades to any war in Syria that a would-be Sunni government is seeking to win.

Then we have neighboring Turkey, who hates Assad and ISIS, but also hates the Kurds who are one of our anti-ISIS allies. Turkey would like nothing more than to see Assad toppled and ISIS gone, but after that, the Kurds better not try to create an autonomous republic which is one of their stated goals. In fact, Turkey is engaged in a guerilla war against Kurdish separatists who hit Turkish security forces in Turkey and then run across the border into Syria to escape. The Kurdish militias themselves are mostly quasi-Marxist pseudo-socialists, but all of them are agreed that they will create an autonomous Kurdish republic once this is over. Which the Turks, our NATO ally, will not accept.

There are several minority groups within Syria that stand to suffer persecution if a hardline Sunni government (as in one our Saudi “ally” would “help” us install once Assad is gone) comes to power. There are the Alawite Muslims, because they’re associated with Assad. Also, the Syrian Orthodox Christians who date back to Paul the Apostle. They see themselves as Syrian, so they’ve got lives built there over several centuries. There are a few Catholics there also who trace their lineage back longer than the discovery of the New World. There are the Yazidi, a minority religion that worships an entity known as the Peacock Angel. There are possibly Mandeans who consider themselves John the Baptist’s disciples. And we have the Druze, a sect of Islam you have to be born into. Maybe a handful of Sufi. None of these folks are particularly cherished by the Sunni. Assad has never bothered them so long as they behaved.

All of these groups, with only a few exceptions, create their own militias for self-protection. Enter into this fray ISIS, who we all know. Also is al-Nusra, which is the local generic brand of al-Qaida. The rivalry between ISIS and al-Qaida is like the rivalry between two major soda pops. They’re both selling the same product, but each wants to be the only one selling it. Therefore, these two factions fight the militias of the minority groups, the Shi’ites, Iranian paramilitaries, Assad’s men, Iraq, the Russians, and the Western forces that enter the fray. Plus, they fight each other over internecine local power squabbles.

Of course, we know the Russians are there also. And we know the government of Iran could commit actual military forces beyond their paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. So, there are two conventional armies with mechanized troops, air forces, surface-to-surface missiles, submarines, and naval assets that can enter into a war with little notice. Iran has at least five Kilo-class submarines and possible “carrier killer” cruise missiles obtained from China.

Thus, who will be the possible combatants the United States will face if it enters into this war? First, the military of Assad, of course. Possibly the conventional forces of Russia and Iran. Definitely ISIS and al-Nusra. Definitely Hezbollah and other Shi’ite militias. In time, if the United States looks the other way while NATO ally Turkey uses the cover of this war to do to the Kurds what they used the cover of World War One to do to the Armenians, the U.S. can count on the Kurds becoming a combatant. Probably allied with Shi’ite militias backed by Iran.

Down the road, if Assad is toppled and a U.S.-backed regime is installed, the Kurds will demand that autonomous republic. Which Turkey will never accept, because they don’t want a base for hit-and-run raids over the border into Turkey. So, Turkey will pressure the U.S. into saying no. Which will lead to the Second Syrian Civil War when the Kurds revolt and say, “Hey, we bled for this and we’ll have our share of the pie whether you like it or not!” And, of course, the Shi’ite militias will be more than happy to back the Kurds. Plus, the American occupation will lead up to the creation of Syrian resistance groups to target American troops as happened with Iraq.

You cannot win this war. It is as simple as that. And this Pollyanna notion that these folks are itching for democracy, fast food chains, Big Box stores, and stupid American movies and music is naïve at best. You will have to airlift the Christians, Mandeans, Sufis, and Yazidis, out of there, more than likely, or they’ll be killed. The Saudis have a big interest in Assad being gone for two reasons: Number One, it isolates Iran. Who they hate because their are Shi’ite. Number Two, they can “helpfully” assist the U.S. in installing a Sunni government that, over time, will become Wahhabi and help export that sect across the Middle East. And the United States is blundering into this nest of multi-headed Hydras eyes wide open.

[gibsosa]

Bump

[DJ Taylor]

Excellent overview of the activities and factions involved in the past few years in Syria.

https://www.someecards.com/news/politics/syria-vox-video/

[Canedawg]

bttt

[T-Bone Texan]

Best synopsis I’ve read so far.

[Tours]

“And this Pollyanna notion that these folks are itching for democracy, fast food chains, Big Box stores, and stupid American movies and music is naïve at best.”

My favorite quote from the article.

[OrangeHoof]

You mean, the Syrians don’t claim “Diversity is our strength”??

[Jeff Chandler]

“In most of these savageries around the world, we’re just coming in at one moment in an ongoing bar fight. And picking the guy who’se on the bottom now. Wait a few years and the other group will be on top savaging the other group.”
-Ann Coulter

[Tours]

“Diversity is our strength”...

Great point. We should learn about the “benefits” of “Diversity” by simply observing the many conflicts arising from diverse populations.

[Tours]

“In most of these savageries around the world, we’re just coming in at one moment in an ongoing bar fight. And picking the guy who’se on the bottom now. Wait a few years and the other group will be on top savaging the other group.”

And...sometimes, we’re the drunk walking into a bar looking for a fight..

“Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business.”
- Michael Ledeen, Neocon

[TigersEye]

Who said they were? I guess that’s a rhetorical question since you can’t answer it now.

[mrsmith]

“blundering” bull!
We’re very lightly invested in Syria. Jordanian and Israeli interests- and Kurds. True, Kurds are a difficulty. But there are many options for them.
And the next time the world cries about an atrocity we can now say “That’s horrible- what are YOU going to do about it?”

Good ‘scorecard’ though.

[Yosemitest]

Don't forget about ALL those pipelines that go through Syria.
Follow the MONEY !


It's about oil and gas.
Obama wanted to trade American blood for Muslim Terrorist to have access to the Leviathan Natural Gas Field.
It's already been verified by several sources that Saudi Prince Bandar provided chemical weapons for an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group which they blame for the August 21 chemical attack in the region.
Why?
Because the Muslims don't want Christians in their area, and they certainly don't want them to have the oil and gas, and the wealth that comes from that.

That source said:

" As per the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates, the entire Leviathan Basin holds a mean approximation of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.

The Leviathan gas field's natural gas reserves are estimated to be about 17 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Besides natural gas, the field is said to contain 600 million barrels of oil beneath the gas layer. "

Another source said 2013:

" Two years ago, in June 2010, the Leviathan, the largest gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean that stretches from Egypt to Syria was discovered by Houston Texas based Noble Energy. The natural gas reserves in that find that are in Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territorial watersM are estimated to be something in the range of 25 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Some experts are estimating that there might also be up to 600 million barrels of oil. And that is not all. Preliminary exploration has confirmed similarly impressive reserves of gas and oil in the waters off Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Syria.

That discovery is now causing enormous political, geopolitical as well as economic consequences. "

The ILLEGAL ALIEN IN CHIEF told us something that HE KNEW was ENTIRELY FALSE,
because he wanted the oil and gas to be controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood
and he wanted to take out the competition that Saudi Arabia has from Syria in oil revenues.

Again, Putin is VERY CONCERNED about WHO will sell oil and gas to Europe and had a deal with Assad about his oil pipe line.

The United Nations wants to "Rise In Power".
I'm not saying it's about U.S. oil and gas concerns.
It's about RUSSIA's concerns, China's concerns, Saudi Arabia's concerns, Iran's concerns, Iraq's concerns, and Jordan's concerns.
But Russia will be the main player, and it's submarines, aircraft, and weapons will put the ILLEGAL ALIEN IN CHIEF to shame.
This is none of our business.
The Kenyan Turd has no U.S. National Security Interest there AT ALL !
But Satan's servant, Obama, did't care about the law, or our precious resources and Nation Treasure of American blood.
DAMN HIM.
DAMN HIM TO HELL!

[Rashputin]

". . . will face if it enters into this war?"

How realistic is that? Seems to me a lot more likely we end up with little groups here and there, false flag chemical attacks, and so on, leading to one little crisis after another.

That would tie Trump down and keep him focused on those instead of his own agenda. The Neocons and democrat fascists running out the clock so to speak. That's what I'm concerned about, a hundred little cuts, not one big brutal fight.