Posted on 01/23/2016 9:32:43 PM PST by rickmichaels
As those who follow Syria's seemingly intractable civil war are no doubt aware, Washington is a big part of why the conflict is now going into its sixth year.
What began as a plan to destabilize the Alawite government by "playing on Sunni fears of Iranian influence" (to quote a leaked diplomatic cable from then-Deputy Chief of Mission in Syria William Roebuck) gradually metamorphosed into a overt and at times absurd effort to arm and train a series of rebel groups in an attempt to bring about regime change in Damascus.
Those efforts have thus far failed, in part because of how poorly the programs were orchestrated and implemented and in part due to Russian and Iranian intervention on behalf of the SAA.
But even as the US hasn't succeeded in overthrowing Assad (which, incidentally, may mean that Washington has finally met its Waterloo when it comes to meddling in the affairs of Mid-East politics), America has done an admirable job of exacerbating an already hopeless situation by funneling billions in funding and arms to the mishmash of Sunni rebels battling for control of the country.
You'll recall that the US effort to supply Syrian rebels with weapons went full-metal-retard in October when the Pentagon resorted to dropping 50 tons of ammo into the middle of the desert on 112 pallets.
As Vladimir Putin dryly noted at the time, that's probably not the best idea considering there's really no way of knowing who is going to pick the arms up.
On Friday, in a hilarious example of Washington and Riyadh's penchant for blatant hypocrisy, John Kerry and Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters after a meeting with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council that they are concerned about Iran's support for "terror groups" and specifically about Tehran supplying Hezbollah with rockets.
"The United States remains concerned about some of the activities that Iran is engaged in in other countries," Kerry said, with a straight face.
"Iran remains the world's chief sponsor of terrorism," Jubeir said. "Overall I think the United States is very aware of the danger of Iran's mischief and nefarious activities... I don't believe the United States is under any illusion as to what type of government Iran is."
It's difficult to overstate how absolutely ridiculous that is. Jubeir is the top diplomat for a state that just beheaded 47 people not three weeks ago and which has a human rights record so abysmal that it's become something of a standing joke in foreign policy circles.
Worse still, the sponsorship of terror isn't just an explicit foreign policy aim in Riyadh, it's actually enshrined into the country's collective psyche via the promotion of Wahhabism. Remember, ISIS and al-Qaeda follow Riyadh's brand of Islam, not Tehran's.
But the real kicker came when Kerry decided to comment on the supply of weapons to Hezbollah through Syria.
"These are concerns that we share, which is why the arms component, the missile component, the human rights component, the state sponsor of terror component are all part of the continued sanctions of the United States and the agreement," Kerry remarked before posing the following question: "I mean, Hezbollah has 70-, 80,000 rockets. What do they need that for?"
Well John, for one thing they are mired in a prolonged war of attrition with the Israelis who possess one of the most efficient militaries on the face of the planet. That conflict had quieted down since 2006 but when the IAF assassinated Samir Qantar late last month, hostilities escalated anew.
But on top of that, Hezbollah is also fighting to stabilize a country the US and its regional allies thrust into chaos. Thanks to the fact that the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar are sending weapons to the rebels, Iran has to send weapons to Hezbollah. Why arming Sunni extremists counts as "supporting the democratic resistance" while sending rockets to Hezbollah is "mischievous and nefarious" is a complete mystery.
Indeed, we might ask Kerry the very same question he's asking us.
"I mean come on John, Sunni militants in Syria have thousands of TOWs. What do they need that for?"
Oh, that's right.
They need them to destroy Russian search and rescue helicopters.
I imagine there are lots if things he can’t understand
He also doesn’t understand why we need the second amendment.
For New Year’s, of course. You can’t commit multiple rape and assault without rockets.
Why do we need so many rockets? Mr. Kerry, they are...not ‘Rockets’ in the way you Americans expect to see them, these pieces are being reimaged, reutilized, as clocks and sculptures of clocks. In fact, we may change the capitol city into a Clock Museum, open by appointment only.
Hezbollah “ignorance” equals hate for Israel and general Islamo-fascist pandering.
It’s a certainty that no one could overestimate the dumbass component
when it comes to Tehran John.
John Kerry never was the sharpest bowling ball on the rack.
The 10th Amendment looms large when considering any Democrat (and too many Republicans).
One man’s perceived stupidity is another man’s agenda!
Dear John Kerry:
Just like their state sponsor, Iran and its need for nukes, Hezbollah needs 80,000 rockets for peaceful purposes. Is that clear enough?
I don’t mean to be rude, but your headline is five words too long.
Let’s face fact. Lurch is just plain stupid.
For a guy who survived in Vietnam (for a while), he sure didn’t learn anything about military tactics, even after the Tet Offensive, and later the Easter Offensive where rockets, mortars and long range artillery played a major role in those offensives.
In fact, for the Easter Offensive, I’ve seen a claim that the No. Vietnamese had 1,000 long range artillery pieces that they used to open up their offensive before NVA regulars crossed the DMZ to attack Quang Tri Province.
This number is very similar to the number of guns the Red Army used in their counteroffensive against the Germans in 1944. 1,000 artillery pieces can punch a helluva lot of holes in an Army that is massed.
Now, add Hezbollah’s reported 80,000 rockets to that of Hamas (around 100,000 estimate) and any that Fatah/other factions have, and they can hit Israel from two directions with saturation fire against both military and civilian targets (including cities).
Now, Kerry served in Vietnam (forget his non-existent secret mission to Cambodia in Christmas 1968), has been a member of the Senate for too long, ran for the presidency, and is now the Secy of State, and yet he remains the stupidest man to ever hold the congressional and SecyState positions (even worst than Warren Christopher, Cyrus Vance, and the Carter clowns, as well as some of Bill Clinton’s idiots).
Where I come from, in a war or preparation for a war, “you do the math” regarding enemy capabilities, those capabilities which reveal their overall attack strategies.
To Kerry, 80,000 plus 100,000 equals “Duh, I don’t know what they need that many rockets”.
Some stupidity can never be unstuck!
A couple of things:
1. Yes, John Kerry is in over his head, but the man is not without talent. Some of his talents include: stabbing the US in the back for personal gain, marrying rich women, having a commanding voice, and having the hair of a 20-year old. However, its clear that none of his talents are intellectual in nature.
2. This article seems to imply that it’s a good thing for Hezbollah to possess 80K rockets. It is not—at least from the perspective of anyone who opposes Islamic terrorism. We could argue which is worse (Hezbollah or ISIS); ISIS is probably technically worse, but they both suck and are extremely dangerous. In a perfect world, they would be armed with nothing but water guns.
3. Assad sucks too, but (in hindsight) he is probably better than ISIS.
4. While the author seems to “understand” why Hezbollah has 80K rockets, he seems hostile to the fact that Israel has an efficient military. I suspect he is playing to the Jew haters, which many people on Zero Hedge seem to be.
It’s just a little quirk of theirs, John. They like firworks; it’s part of their culture. Otherwise, they are OK, and equal partners in the Peace Process. /S
One thing about GWB—he started down the Peace Process path, too, as they all do, but quickly saw what impossible a-holes the Palis were and modified his stance.
Ping
They need 80,000 rockets to fight hate speech, islamophobia and intolerance, John - try that, it’ll certainly work for the WaPo and NYT readers up in the Beltway
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