Posted on 02/11/2016 2:49:13 PM PST by Trumpinator
At the core of the American strategic dilemma is that the Russian military adventure, which Mr. Obama dismissed last year as ill-thought-out muscle flexing, has been surprising effective...
Testifying on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper, offered a sobering picture of Russiaâs success, even if it proves a temporary one.
âPutin is the first leader since Stalin to expand Russiaâs territory,â he told a Senate committee. In Russiaâs first major overseas military effort since its humiliation in Afghanistan 35 years ago, he said, âIts interventions demonstrate the improvements in Russian military capabilities and the Kremlinâs confidence in using them.â
Mr. Obama has been cautious, rejecting a plan, for example, from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the C.I.A. director at the time, David H. Petraeus, to start a large-scale arming of the rebel groups.
While the official position of the United States remains that Mr. Assad must leave office, Mr. Kerry and his aides will not say when he must leave, or whether he could participate in the process of selecting a new government. Their talk about finding a quiet exile for the Syrian leader has largely ceased.
Mr. Kerry is turning to the more immediate questions of cease-fire and humanitarian access. That did not impress Abu Youssef, whose farm in Aleppo Province has been hosting dozens of Syrians displaced by the recent fighting nearby. He asked to be identified only by a nickname for his safety.
âYes, they will have a cease-fire, but after Aleppo it is finished,â he said in an online chat. âThey will close off all of Aleppo, destroy the whole area, and then the Russians will negotiate a cease-fire,â he added. âAfter winning victory they will negotiate.â
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yes, I am A Jew for Jesus.
I thought so. When I was in school, if I heard a blasphemer, it was almost always a Jew.
And, by the way, you aren’t for Jesus. You can look forward to a warm eternity.
I thought it was because I admitted I was in marketing you thought I was a Jew since you can’t see my nose.
I can see your writing. That apparently was good enough.
I am glad it was not my big Jew Schnoz that clued you in - I am sensitive about it.
It's quite impressive what Putin did in Russia, he singlehandily saved the nation from oblivion and returned the nation to its "great power" status after a 20 years hibernation.
It has been an unmitigated disaster.
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