“The US has exactly NO legitimate interests in a country that poses no threat to the US or our allies.”
Well, if a country does pose a threat to the US or our allies, we do have legitimate interests? The Syrian regime does threaten Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan - as it has for decades. Is that of interest?
Syria allows the Russians their only warm water port, as well as airbases. Russia threatens the US and our allies - they are in fact the main reason for NATO. Russian presence and influence in Syria is growing. Interest?
But most importantly, Iran and Iranian surrogates like Hizbollah (which has already effectively taken over former US ally Lebanon with Iranian support) have large military forces (50,000 to 100,000) in Syria, and are preparing to stay in perpetuity (likely to eventually take over like Lebanon, without the US stopping them).
The same Iran whose catchphrase is Death to America! The same Iran which is on the cusp of becoming a nuclear power. The same Iran who is officially considered the world’s largest State supporter of terrorism by the US Government. What the hell more must one do to be considered a “legitimate interest”? What more could one do?
Iran has directed and supported the killing of THOUSANDS of Americans, from the Marine Barracks bombing in 1983, through the explosively formed penetrators they manufactured and provided to their militias in Iraq (specifically to kill American soldiers - the single largest cause of our casualties in Iraq). They still chant Death to America, they still mean it, and they are actively teaching that policy to the militias that they raise in other countries (Syria is now by far their biggest project).
Syria is also now al Queda’s largest base on this planet. ISIS is headquartered in Syria. Any of this ring a bell? Legitimate interest? Anyone? Buehler?
Most of what you listed here came about because John McCain and Barack Obama decided to destabilize Syria after Syria refused to allow Qatar to build a natural gas pipeline to Europe across Syrian territory.
Russia having a naval base in a country that’s friendly to them is none of our business.
If Russia were to attack and invade Japan because we have naval bases there that pose a threat to the east coast of Russia how would you expect the US to respond?
Does Russia have a right to protect their ally?
Are you willing to go to war with Russia when they eventually shoot down US warplanes that bomb Syrian soldiers on Syrian territory like the US did last week?
Is a Qatari gas pipeline worth starting a nuclear war?
Russia has had a base in Syria for 40 years. We have a base in Turkey. By your logic that means Russia is justified in attacking Turkey.
Isis is in Syria? Yes, largely because the Obama adminstration helped create a power vacume by supporting they anti-Assad groups allied with ISIS. And Assad and Russia have been fighting them.
Now if being allied with Iran is reason to topple Assad, when to we go after Iraq? The government we put in place there is a defacto ally of Iran now. The way to deal with Iran is not to support jihadists against Assad, but to confront Iran directly.
As for NATO, we already have one Islamic member, who have been instrumental in getting us involved, because they want to be the new caliphate, starting with controlling Syria. Within a generation countries in Europe will become majority Muslim. That’s not speculation, just fact. Half the kidegarten children in France RIGHT NOW are Muslim.
I don’t know where your info about Syria being the largest AQ base in the world, but if so it’s because we allowed them to become so. There was no AQ presence when Assad had control. We allied with AQ affiliated jihadis to overthrow Assad. Assad may have been strategically opposed to Isreal, and therefore us, but the regime was relatively sane and restrained, until the Obama/Hillary/McCain crowd decided to overthrow him by backing jihadists. We have no interest in Syria that’s worth US lives and treasure.