Posted on 10/03/2015 8:15:27 AM PDT by semantic
We attempted to cut through all of the Western and Russian media propaganda on the way to describing what Moscow’s involvement in Syria actually portends for the global balance of power. Here are a few excerpts that summarize what’s taking shape in the Middle East:
Putin looks to have viewed this as the ultimate geopolitical win-win. That is, Russia gets to i) expand its influence in the Middle East in defiance of Washington and its allies, a move that also helps to protect Russian energy interests and preserves the Mediterranean port at Tartus, and ii) support its allies in Tehran and Damascus thus preserving the counterbalance to the US-Saudi-Qatar alliance.
Meanwhile, Iran gets to enjoy the support of the Russian military juggernaut on the way to protecting the delicate regional nexus that is the source of Tehran’s Mid-East influence. It is absolutely critical for Iran to keep Assad in power, as the loss of Syria to the West would effectively cut the supply line between Iran and Hezbollah.
It would be difficult to overstate the significance of what appears to be going on here. This is nothing short of a Middle Eastern coup, as Iran looks to displace Saudi Arabia as the regional power broker and as Russia looks to supplant the US as the superpower puppet master.
In short, the Pentagon’s contention that Russia and Iran have formed a Mid-East “nexus” isn’t akin to the Bush administration’s hollow, largely bogus attempt to demonize America’s foreign policy critics in the eyes of the public by identifying an “axis of evil.” Rather, the Pentagon’s assessment was an attempt to come to grips with a very real effort on the part of Moscow and Tehran to tip the scales in the Mid-East away from Riyadh and Washington.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
A Republican president had to fix Vietnam, .....Viet Nam was awin. Democrat Congress snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Exactly, good post!
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, except they are not.
Geesh!
What a strategy. McCain likes it.
That WAS the US doctrine. Within the last year, pentagon officials are on record that they are no longer confident of winning in two theaters simultaneously. It was covered here on FR.
Yes.
That WAS the US doctrine. Within the last year, pentagon officials are on record that they are no longer confident of winning in two theaters simultaneously. It was covered here on FR.
Let them have some beginning tussles to thin the herd and let the state of battle reveal itself
Strategy and Tactics Baby...
Then we can punch in as needed and set things right...
Light the Light (Copyright 2015 The Refreshments)
Its time to set things right
Time to Fight the Fight
Scratch the Match
Time to light the Light!
Watch and See!
Probably not, but the point remains, Nixon deliberately dragged the war in Vietnam on into the election season, then abandoned our allies to the mercies of the vietcong, and rode the “victory” to re-election.
He abandoned all of Southeast Asia, set the stage for Pol Pot’s killing fields, and any number of other atrocities.
Maybe that’s “fixing it” in your book, but certainly not in mine.
“Our largest foreign policy blunder was the 1965 Immigration Act.”
Roger that. The Swimmer managed to gift us with both “chain migration” and “anchor babies” from the Turd world through our back door.
After we see Obamagumbe to the door, we need a total moratorium on new immigration, until we get our house in order.
We could’ve kept the 1972 status quo forever in Vietnam if the Congress hadn’t cut off funding and air support.
I don’t blame Nixon for that.
What is the threat to our homeland if the Russians are in Syria?
I’m struggling with finding a critically-thought out, logical answer to this question.
Syria is a side show. The real threat is the alliance between Damascus and Tehran..and the threat to Israel. Then there is the oil...
I noticed that too.
Good question you ask.
And don’t forget that China is now the big hog at the mideast oil trough.
Those lovable folks with mafia business practices and 1.4 billion expendable people to enforce them.
Agreed. We are suffering from immigrant indigestion.
The solution isn't to take in more immigrants, it's wait and slowly digest the ones we have, to absorb them and incorporate the useful and desirable bits into our body politic.
The useless and undesirable bits? Follow the analogy to the end (so to speak...).
It isn’t a blunder if it’s been done deliberately.
That's "fixing" it? HOW?
Our largest blunder of any kind was the immigration act of 1965.
“I don’t know what they are smoking over at zero hedge but it must be some good stuff. Syria is in no danger of falling to the west. The choice is ISIS or Assad.”
Good point- it’s hard for the West to ‘lose’ Syria when the Assads have been Russian allies for 60 years.
And if parts of this article are correct, it looks like Barky’s ‘overthrow Assad plan’ had him supporting the very people who became ISIS.
What did the fool Obama think that the Russians were going to do when he cooked up the idea of overthrowing Assad? Did he think that Putin was going to roll over for him like the GOP establishment?
The idiot may have lit the fuse of a major war.
EVERYTHING obama does either:
a) Weakens America/AmericansThere are NO counter examples.
b) Distances America's allies
c) Strengthens America's enemies
d) Attacks Christianity
e) Serves Islam
f) Harms Israel
Or some combination of the above.
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