Paul Craig Roberts: “The Syrian Cisis Escalates”

Paul Craig Roberts: "The Syrian Cisis Escalates"

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Written by Paul Craig Roberts; Originally appeared on paulcraigroberts.org

As I wrote two weeks ago, the Syrian crisis is only in its beginning stages. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/04/17/crisis-beginning-stages/ The assault on Syrian military positions last night, apparently a US/Israeli operation, is evidence that the crisis continues to develop. https://www.timesofisrael.com/resonant-syria-strike-suggests-coordinated-us-israel-message-to-russia-and-iran/

There are four mutually reinforcing causes of the crisis:

(1) Israel’s ability to use the US government to eliminate foes in the Middle East that are obstacles to Israel’s expansion. Israel has Syria and Iran targeted, because the two governments supply the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which has twice driven Israel out of Israel’s attempted occupation of southern Lebanon, whose water resources Israel covets.

(2) The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony, which fits well with Israel’s Middle East agenda, a fit made even stronger by the strong neoconservative alliance with Israel.

(3) The US military/security complex’s need for justification for its massive budget and power.

(4) The inability of the Russian government to understand the first three reasons.

From the way the Russian government speaks, the Russians believe that Washington’s military actions in the Middle East for the past 17 years dating from the US invasion of Afghanistan, a still unresolved war, have to do with fighting terrorism. The Russians keep expressing the view that Russia and the US should join in a common effort to fight terrorism. Apparently, the Russian government does not understand that terrorism is Washington’s creation. The long wars with unfavorable outcomes that were the results of Washington’s invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq led to Washington recruiting and supplying terrorists to overthrow Libya and Syria. Clearly, Washington is not going to fight against the weapon it created with which to achieve its agenda.

The Russian government’s confusion about Washington’s relationship to terrorism is the fourth cause of the ongoing Syrian crisis. Washington was caught completely offguard in 2015 by Russia’s surprise intervention in Syria on the side of the Syrian government against Washington’s jihadist “rebels.” Russia was in complete control and could have ended the war in 2016. Instead, apparently hoping to appease Washington and show a reasonable face to Europe, the Russian government announced in March 2016 a premature victory and withdrawal. This mistake was repeated, and each time Russia made this mistake gave Washington opportunity to introduce its own troops and aircraft, to resupply and train its jihadist mercenaries, and to organize Israeli, Saudi, French, and British participation in the military assaults on Syria. Now the problem is that US troops are mixed in with the jihadist mercenaries, making it difficult for the Syrian/Russian alliance to clear Syrian territory of foreign invaders without killing Americans, something the Russians and Syrians have so far avoided doing. The Russian Foreign Minister, Lavrov, now accuses Washington of trying to partition Syria, but it was Russian indecisiveness that led to Syria’s partition.

The inability of the Russian government to comprehend the US/Israeli/neoconservative alliance and what this means for the Middle East, together with the indecisiveness of the Russian government about supplying Syria with the S-300 air defense system, has enabled the crisis to escalate with last night’s as of yet unclaimed attack on Syrian military positions with what appears to have been “bunker buster” bombs, an escalation.

The attacks last night killed Iranians, and the next attack might kill Russian military personnel. At some point the Russian government might tire of its humiliation, in which case Israeli and US aircraft will begin falling from the sky and attacks on “rebel” positions will claim US lives.

The Russian government’s inability to comprehend that peace is not the Israeli/American agenda and that neither in the US nor Israel is there any good will on which Russia can build an agreement to bring peace to Syria and the Middle East means the crisis will continue to build until war is upon us.

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headhunter888

Very well written article. There is only so much you can do to appease the aggressors, then after that you’ve got to put your foot down (anyone who has raised several children know this well). Russia has to stand up and stand down the aggressors NOW, before the odds are stacked against them in some future time. Putin being a vacillating Libra doesn’t help things either.

Rob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zCn96FJflo
SYRIA Military Power – Syria Military Strength – Syrian Armed Forces | 2017

Syria active military power: 180,000 and reserves: 570,000
Syria has the most effective air defense missile systems 9K37 BUCK, 9K35 Strela-10, Pantsir-S1, S-300, including short range, medium range and long range. In air power Mig-21, Mig-23, Mig-24, Mig-29 fighter jets total: 165.
Helicopter strength is MI-8, MI-17, MI-25, total: 168,
Tanks T-155, T-62, T-72, T-90 total: 4,500,
Armoured fighting Vehicles BMP-1, BMP-2, BTR-60: 4,510, Self propelled guns: 436, Towed artillery guns: 2,150,
Multiple Launch Rocket Systems RAK-12, BM-21, TOS-1, total: 650. Syria total frigates (warships): 2 and Coastal defense crafts: 66
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Syria produces their own missiles and artillery rockets, multi launch rocket systems (MLRSs), unguided bombs and ammunitions. Syria also undertakes overhauling of military and civilians aircrafts, helicopters, tanks and other military hardware.

christianblood

These numbers must be before from 2011, before the start of the war?

Rob

God is with Muslims not with non-Muslims. See God have given plenty of petroleum oil, gas, gold and diamond to Muslims and non-Muslims stealing from them and that is still not finishing. The world most precious stones and metals produced in Muslim states. The world most beautiful delicious fruits, vegetables produced in Muslim states. The world most beautiful, intelligent, tallest, and brave people are from Muslims. The food prepared by Muslims is the most delicious food in the whole world.

Now look to non-Muslims and Zionists
The Zionist atheists will never have their own land they will always sneak to steal lands from others.
They are completely deprived of all these benefits that God have given to Muslims that is why the most corrupt, fraudulent, bully, Scarry, idiot, dull, lazy, weak, people are from non-Muslims. The most smokers, drinkers, thugs, robbers, butchers, brutal and evil are from non-Muslims because God is not with them.

The evil behaviour of non-Muslims pushing all Muslim nations to be united.

Garga

Rob that is dangerous and irresponsible thinking.

So we are special and chosen? Just like another group claims to be? You see how that sounds, don’t you?

Just remember that oil and jewels don’t worth a dime if you’re thirsty. The same god gave us very little fresh water and gave thousands-fold the “heathens” in Amazones. We’ll die of thirst while they laugh!

Rob

Water is cheaper than oil. Why you are afraid.

telefonkabel

Only as long they are kind to sell it to you…

Ronald

Syria has 23 different ethnic varieties . Like Syria, the world has many religions , races and nations. Each has its own beauty and glory.
“All men are created equal”.
Sovereign individuals , nations and religions.
Learn from the mistakes of the zionists.

Ace

Water is cheap unless you have limited water resources. Then it’s expensive. Even you amazing, lucky Muslims can’t make water out of sand.

Rob

If they make rivers and canals from the sea then there will be plenty of water. In many place there are tubewells from which sweet waters come out. They can also purify sea water by using nuclear power plants. They have lots of money if they spent just 1% of their money then they can meet the needs of whole Muslim world.

Thomas Wolsey

Indeed god give a lot for muslims but they sell out everything for gold.
Saudi Arabia is the example how muslims leaders behave especially arab ones.

Feudalism Victory

Ridiculous. Do you get out much? People are very similar everywhere.

The Latin Mass

The Semitic people of the Middle East hallowed Islam, a Hamatic religion from Southern Arabia. Islam did not hallow the sons of God.

To be a jew is to be a child of the Devil, there is no hallowing that religion.

Rob

God has never mentioned in any holy scriptures that He has parents and children. It means that God has no parents and no children. That is why he is not like humans. He is unique and that is why he is powerful. If he had children then he could laydown his power infront of his children and then the world population would suffer a lot that is why God cannot give his power to any other body.

Ed

Wow. You do talk some absolute crap don’t you? I feel sorry for your family and friends (if by some miracle you have any)

Java Ape Timelord

He has no father nor mother nor children, he must be god.

Jim Bim

The Russians are like a gentleman boxer in the ring, against a streetfighter bully. The gentleman boxer stubborn insist to box by the rules, the streetfighter bully does not give a damn about that and uses al the dirty tricks.

Sinbad2

The Russians are playing the gentleman boxer, but if you think they can’t do the dirty stuff you would be mistaken.
Russia is playing to a global audience, they always act the gentleman, whereas the US/Israel plays the Khmer Rouge, which is appropriate, because the US put Pol Pot into power.
Anyway countries that are not controlled by the US are starting to realize how depraved and vicious the US really is. Those countries are slowly but surely leaving the American block, repulsed at the sickening violence the US inflicts on those who won’t kneel before it.

If you live in the US, or one of its many compliant colonies like Britain you won’t notice the sea change. But even long held colonies like Germany Korea and Japan are starting to turn against America the killer.

Syria is only one battle in the war for empire.

Ilya

I’m in Britain and it’s being noticed – 1/3 of the population follow RT for news, the propaganda construct here is pretty weak, but sadly so is the ‘democracy’, so really whether the electorate matters outside of pure revolution is questionable! Overall the hope remains that leaders stop acting dumb because they lose their jobs, rather than because they lost the rational/moral high ground.

Ace

I read yesterday on Occidental Observer about a Labour MP who said if he’d paid attention to the wishes of his constituents he would have spend the first ten (or twenty?) years of his time in office opposing Commonwealth immigration and the rest of his time opposing the EU. He was quite proud of the fact that he’d completely ignored their wishes. An amazing admission and I’m still at a loss to understand why his constituents voted him back in, treacherous scum that he is.

John McCain, Paul Ryan, and Lindsey Graham are in the same category here. Say what you want about money controlling politics but there still are elections. Nothing stops people from voting no with respect to certain officials but it’s rare that voters rise up en masse. Trump is an example of that though it was hardly en masse. Well, maybe it was when you consider what had to happen by way of overcoming minority block voting for Dems, vote fraud, and a massively hostile media. Europe just refuses to support nationalists. Time after time they hang them out to dry. Look at Macron. On second thought, don’t.

Sinbad2

The British parliamentary system was created to placate the British business community, not the people.
All non rich Britons are serfs, few own their own home.

Ace

The institution of the English parliament developed over a long time. I think it initially served the interests of the English aristocracy, there being no appreciable business community as we understand that term in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Britons act like serfs, it’s true. They watch their own country being given away without a fight to Africans and Muslims. It’s pathetic. Virtually the whole Western world is the same way.

It does seem from afar that Britons will be more likely to vote their “class” interest than support nationalists and patriots or not support treasonous upper-class scum.

Sinbad2

The House of Lords represents the aristocracy.
The House of Commons was created for the business community who complained about the way the King would tax them, back then the business community were things like food suppliers shipping companies, even London Stables was a big company.
There has always been a business class, who do you think shipped and sold the grain that serfs grew for their lords?

Ace

The website of the British Parliament has this interesting passage on the origins of Parliament:

Rise of the Commons

Edward III came to the throne in 1327, and from that point the representatives of the counties (knights of the shire) and of the towns (burgesses) became a permanent part of Parliament. After 1332 they sat together in one chamber and were known as the House of Commons. After 1341 these Commons deliberated separately from the King and his nobles.

* * * *

With increasing regularity during the 14th century, the Lords and particularly the Commons acted on a sense that they should have an active say in government, instead of merely consenting to the taxation decisions of the King.

I don’t see in that anything suggesting that the House of Commons represented commercial interests.

In Plucknett’s A Concise History of the Common Law he’s a little more vague on the issue of who comprised the House of Commons initially. At least, I didn’t find anything specific from a quick scan of that book. He describes the initial preeminent position of the king who legislated by charters or grants, in part, I think after consultation with his advisers, the lords, and the clergy. How a separate body formed he does not make clear but it appears that gradually a separate group of notables formed to request legislation from the king and then increasingly to draft actual language to keep the king from going off on what they thought was an undesirable tangent. By the time of Lord Coke I know that it was his and Parliament’s purpose to establish the principle that the king was not above the common law, which was the expression of the “brooding omnipresence” of the natural law.

According to Plucknett, in the Tudor period the regulation of commercial life and the professions was transferred from the guilds and ecclesiastical authorities to the king. I surmise that commercial life was also not only regulated by the guilds but also according to the Law Merchant, which grew up around trading centers and around the Mediterranean. Merchants found it useful to develop their own practices and rules.

I don’t pretend to be a scholar in this area but this cursory look does not support your view that the Commons developed crisply and cleanly as a body concerned with the interests of the commercial class. Your mileage may vary.

Sinbad2

I never said it happened quickly or cleanly.
When a King wanted money, he collected taxes.
The serfs had no money, so the King taxed the Lords and affluent commoners. Affluent commoners ranged from stable owners to Jewish money lenders, all were targets when the King needed money.
So they complained and eventually got parliament.
The Parliamentarians tried to shift the taxation on to the peasants.

Try reading this about the peasants revolt,
https://www.britannica.com/event/Peasants-Revolt

Britain has never been controlled by the people, control went from the lords to the oligarchs, but never to the people.

truthnews

There was and is a business class, but they’re still (partly) owned ‘the golden share of King Elisabeth II’ with a special veto right. See SERCO and her Crown Agents. There is a lot of totally new stuff on youtube about this issue. Monarchy power isn’t over yet. Newer was. The Britons are specialized in supporting their imperial past.

Ewan

” They watch their own country being given away without a fight to Africans and Muslims.” – yeah , Karma’s a bitch -Brits are the same people that benefitted from their “british empire’s” racist, genocidal colonisation, theft and rape by British colonists in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Fck them. They deserve it.Soon it will be Israelis turn and hopefully one day, the Americans, French, Italians, Germans and every European race that slaughtered 3rd world peoples for their resources.

Merijn

They should lose their lives… they should be convicted for war crimes with Capital Punishment….Jail will cost tax-payers too much money…

outsider

I’m British & surprised by your statement that a third of the British population follow RT for news. I would estimate that no more than 5% follow RT for news.
Where did you hear or read that it was a third of the population ?
I would say that the ‘propaganda construct’ in the UK is extremely strong, not ‘pretty weak’.

Ilya

You’re right, read it somewhere but on further research closer to 5-10% for EU as a whole is more accurate!

P.R.

The aim of Russia is not any empire (neither for having an empire nor for destroying any empire) the aim of Russia, playing the gentleman boxer is to provoque the civilised people, all arround the world, in order for them to take the lead of their country and to resurect their country. Then they will have won, not a military or commercial empire, but the empire of wisdom!

Ace

You see that in Putin, Lavrov, Shulgin and that lovely spokeswoman for the FM, Zakharova. Intelligent and decent people obviously. As is Assad. Western officials and “journalists” have turned character assassination into an art form.

This portrayal of such people as full-blown fascists is disgusting. Even now some Israeli referred to Assad as the Butcher of Damascus. Some people have no shame.

headhunter888

Why don’t we Southfront readers develop some common terms for the opposition? Something like “Liberman the killer” and “Netanyahu the thug” etc etc. say it online often enough and it will gain traction, a little like the cartoons of Bush senior always carrying a purse, only with him he was not at all effeminate, rather the opposite .

Ace

That’s a very good idea. The left gets instant traction by talking about “racism,” “white privilege,” “the 1%,” and “homophobia.” Jews love “anti-Semitism” as the one-size-fits-all rejoinder to any criticism that any brave soul wants to level at actual, say, Israeli behavior. The most factual, dispassionate propositions can be obfuscated by any of the above bogus mechanism.

I find it useful to point to videos of Assad, Lavrov, Putin, etc. as just seeing how they handle themselves and their temperament is worth ten tons of epithets we might devise for Netanyahu. Maybe it’s unnecessary to be particularly creative here. The videos of the IDF snipers executing kids far, far from the border fence and moving AWAY from it just makes the IDF claim that it’s one of the most moral armies on the planet just ridiculous. I am of the opinion that whatever moral authority Israel had as a haven for Jews who survived in Europe during WWII, it has gradually dissipated over the decades, not least because of the said videos but also because of Israel’s deliberate attack on the Liberty. No way can that be spun as something that was done by one of our BFFs.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has squandered its own moral authority and respect in the immediate aftermath of WWII. It did not have to be but here we are. The aggressive, unconstitutional war against Syrian has had us aiding and training the worst kind of jihadi scum and operating behind a thick cloud of greasy lies.

Boris Kazlov

Too much wishful thinking, the aim of Russia should be a multipolar world, hence the destruction of the empire, or rather downsizing it so it will no longer be an empire. Russia + China can do the job.

Sinbad2

My apologies, I didn’t mean to infer that Russia wanted an empire.
I meant that Russia is fighting the empire, but Russia does want to destroy the American empire. Russians like most people want to determine their own future, and Russia is prepared to fight for its freedom from the American jackboot.

Floyd Hazzard

More likely that Russia is trying to fool people over its actual position. Why would it keep denying it’s allies weapons and giving them no protection while their enemies continue to batter them? Why would it buy the Iraqi-Kurdisk oil pipeline to Turkey without involving Baghdad?

john walker

So very correct. Others on this comment section are suffering from
“cognitive dissonance” Thinking Russia is just “playing fair” while
those naughty amerikkans keep breaking the rules waaa-waaaa
Like little whiners that they are. You must first understand who
REALLY controls the Ruskies. If I need to tell you that, it probably would
be useless anyway

Merijn

HASBARA-TROLLS :
(name & shame shit-list)

Roger Smellyman
Frank Behrenstein
Baron Von MuleBanger
Joe
Jens Holm
Matt
Joe Dirt
Smaug
Mountains
Lord of the Wankers
DutchNational
Just Watching
John Walker

Beware! These Folks get paid in $hekels to manipulate & speak with Crooked Tongue…
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/jonathon-blakeley-a-guide-to-hasbara-trolls.html

Copyright Free Edition

john walker

HOW ! Me honest “paleface” You…on the other hand…….Belong to a “tribe” but it happens to be in the Middle East

Merijn

Ok… I believe you, will take you of the list again hehehe

john walker

Dank, for that I will give you my favorite matzah ball er…uh…I mean my favorite
meatball recipe if you would like

Merijn

Thanks mate… never had me a Matzahmeatball…. always in for good recipes…

john walker

Ha ha ….you haven`t lived unless you have tried one of these. Of
course I can`t guarantee what might happen afterwards, but what
the hell

FlorianGeyer

You forgot Velorapter :)

Merijn

Not really… them Retardaraptor doesn’t pose a serious threat… murmbling innocent Jibberish here & there if he becomes a bit more intelligent… sure he’ll deserve perhaps a top 20 position….them little funny snakeface…

Ace

Au contraire. Russia and co must deal with an arrogant but dangerous spoiled child with mental problems. Caution and restraint are in order but Gen. Gerasimov made it quite clear where the red line for Russia is. And the U.S. took notice.

Russia is not spending $32,000,000 an hour for its overseas military activities and nothing will stop Assad from wrapping things up internally now. The air defenses that are there — and other assets available from the Black Sea — are enough to deter more serious operations from the U.S. and Israel. A few strikes now and then can be absorbed while Russia and Syria watch the economic and political pressure building on the U.S.

Hisham Saber

Syria, Iran, Iraq and Russia, along with rich China, are drawing the U.S./Israel/U.K./France/GCC/Kurds right into a trap.

The Shia crescent and Arab tribes will supply the manpower, Russia keeps the skies clear with use of sophisticated electronic warfare systems, S-400’s and Pantsir etc. Russia already has two full special forces battalions , the Chechens, working for the Russian MoD (these are the same guys who routed the Ukrainian Army in the Donbass in 2015, now they are embedded with the Syrian Tiger Forces and Republican Guard 4th Division. Russia can and will also supply, free of charge, China is picking up any bills the Syrian government acquires in any shape or form, tanks, artillery systems, personnel carriers also many high tech weapons. Sooner or later, China will throw in the gauntlet. . China is the major player in the background who has up till now played the role as silent partner. But China, as do Russia and Iran know that the Battle of Syria IS THE battle to determine the future of the world in the 21st century and beyond.

Unipolar hegemony vs. Multi-polar free trade, peace and justice. The powers are making their moves, things are moving ever so quickly to the point of no return. It will be strictly conventional, and the Achilles heel of the U.S./Israeli coalition is that their entire doctrine is one revolving around ‘shock and awe’, to inflict a devastating blow in quick fashion. Well, this battle, on the ground will be a war of attrition that heavily favors the Syrians, Iranians, Hezbollah, Russia and ultimately China. When all is said and done, the Middle East will be redrawn and the U.S./U.K./France will be kicked out of Iraq and the Levant for good. Israel will be in a very bad place, with its very existence in question.

Ace

That is an excellent comment and I see you have given this situation much thought. I agree that great change is in the offing and I am afraid that the U.S. is not acting wisely. I understand we are spending $32,000,000 every HOUR on our worldwide military activities (or maybe just on actual operations in Afghanistan and the M.E.?). That’s an enormous sum and what we are doing in Syria is clearly not to advance or protect any U.S. interest and we are clearly waging an aggressive war against Syria that is also unconstitutional. We have aided and trained scum of the earth ISIS and al-Qaida fighters and lied to the heavens about what we are doing. Worse, we have tens of thousands of troops overseas but not one federal troop on our OWN border and the Europeans laugh at us for allowing them to milk us dry by free riding off of our military expenditures.

Trump has some good instincts but he’s under attack from Deep State scum in the U.S. and, anyway, he has no deep understanding of history or geopolitics. We are adrift in short and wandering into economic, military, political and social destruction. Other actors with more maturity and understanding will dictate the final result and, with luck, Israel will lose its power over U.S. politicians once and for all.

Merijn

If Americans wake up that is… otherwise the Majority will just drive their families towards their FEMA-Camp Holiday Resorts, whenever the Government invites them to do so…

Ace

Westerners are in a deep slumber of indifference or denial. I can find no explanation for it. Reason is useless in all public debate now. Satanic is the best word to describe it and I am not religious at all. But it makes the most sense to believe that a powerful, malevolent intelligent force has absolute power over the Western mind. Tell a feminist that FGM is a big problem in (some) Muslim countries? Zzzzz.

Merijn

The Elite is using people’s religions to play their game… so in that way All peoples are more or less forced to look at things from a religious perspective… even if you are Atheist… to understand what is going on you got to understand religions… I myself prefer Respect to my fellow Human Bein’s… whatever their believes are… it’s either a nice Person or an Asshole… this has got very little to do with his believes… Divide & Conquer

Ace

I am mystified by the course of Western civilization. I know Jewish belief includes a supremacist aspect as well as an ardent belief in revolution. Institutional Jewry is just fanatical about open borders, diversity, and the inundation of white, Christian nations by immigration. This while they cheer Israel’s monocultural policies. Christian Zionists seem to have a stupid allegiance to Israel and not a few generic Christians are just moronic on compassion for the entire world. Muslims are another danger entirely and have no place in any Western nation. Sikhs are amazing and should be welcome anywhere. So I’ll say it’s not so much religion per se that divides people but how much each of our brains are filled with lunatic notions.

Merijn

That’s why I said I rather look at the person… each individual is responsible for his or her choices.

Hisham Saber

Sooner or later the American people are going to get sick of the Israeli subversion of their country, blood and treasure (the U.S having spent 7 trillion already in the Middle East since 2001) and are going to gather up all these scum bags who are treasonous, I’m talking the whole of Congress, and Senate, who answer to AIPAC and other influential Jewish lobby groups, and hunt them down and make use of city street lamps. It will look kind of like the French Revolution.

FlorianGeyer

I hope your detailed assessment comes to pass Hisham.
For the Syrian people , I hope that day is not too far away.

Merijn

This is how I see things too…since a couple of years… Always described it as a Smart Game of Chess…intelligent & excellent performed…against an Evil System that Deserves to lose their Leadership, for they have Failed Big Time… Time for some other People to have a Leading role… and I truly hope that they are capable Leaders… that will be Righteous & a bit Honest… China skip your Social Credit Points because they Suck…it’s the same thing the Elite is doing…

Hisham Saber

The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th to the U.S., the 21st to China-Russia -and Iran.

Theres a big paradigm shift taking place. Hence all the destruction and wars, all out of desperation for the west.

Merijn

The Western Arrogance should Fall, a bit more Modesty would be nice…Sure give China, Russia & Iran a Fair Chance, to put things into a different perspective, why not…? But if Leaders start to abuse their Power, Peoples of the world should be able to take that power away… Otherwise the World will End up with the same problems we face today and the 21st Century will be the Last One for us Human Bein’s for in our Greed we are Scraping the Earth into a Desert Wasteland… All Kids in the world should have good education for instance to create equal opportunities… what they’ll do with it when they are adults will be their own responsibility…

Sinbad2

The problem Russia has with supplying weapons is demand far outstrips supply.
Ever since this war started, it has been obvious Russian weapons are far superior to American weapons, quite a few American generals would like to buy Russian weapons if they could.
Russia should sublet manufacturing to China, they would pump out S300’s like iPhones.

Hisham Saber

Russia has actually sold S-400’s to China already. I’m sure they are making enormous amounts of copies that will mysteriously find their way to Syria and Yemen, via Iran of course. Iran doesn’t want to buy the S-400’s from Russia because they are waiting for the cheaper Chinese variant.

Its beautiful actually, the fact the Israeli Air Force has but a few more months at most to fly around as they do now. Neutralize their Air Force, and the IDF ‘soyboys’ would be a mere speedbump for the Shia masses headed to Jerusalem and rolling up the acres all the way to Tel Aviv.

Ace

I agree with you but think the Khmer Rouge analogy is a bit too much. Oops. Wait. The U.S. funded, supported, and trained ISIS who are just as inhuman as the KR (immolation, roasting, drowning, beheading, sex slavery, hostage taking, chemical weapons, torture) and if we didn’t kill peasants in the fields with plastic bags and hoes we have been directly responsible for over 500,000 civilian deaths from bombing and urban warfare. Maybe there might have been 500 deaths in 2011 as a result of some kind of a revolt on the part of native Syrians until the government got control again but the war in Syria came to be because of an international attack on Syria with billions flowing to ISIS and tens of thousands of foreign jihadi animals flooding in to help bring down the government.

Still, I think it’s a bit much to say the U.S. “put Pol Pot into power.” We withdrew support as part of our abandonment of SVN and, unfortunately, the KR were who were waiting to take over. The Chinese supported the KR so I think the horror of that regime needs to be laid at their feet.

Derapage

US was main sponsor of Pinochet, the Chilean butcher, too.

Ace

Pinochet, so far as I know, used tactics on the communists that communists love to use on others. Then they wept such sad tears.

Pinochet’s convoy was ambushed by communists one time, which he seemed to take personally for some reason. He saved Chile from the usual communist hell and then relinquished power voluntarily.

I’ll get interested in claims that such and such a non-communist was a butcher when those who use such a term apply it in all cases. Castro killed thousands, way more than any commies who died in Chile, but he is never, for example, referred to as “Castro the Cuban butcher.” Mao killed millions. Stalin the same. Pol Pot and Kim Il-sung the same. All butchers but it’s only Pinochet who’s singled out. Boo hoo for some of the leftists who disappeared and, again, I’ll cry real tears when commie sympathizers acknowledge the killing of millions of civilians. They won’t, so forgive me if I don’t care about leftist crocodile tears about innocent civilians. Commies don’t care about who dies to achieve their goals. They just tear their hair of “human rights” and “genocide” when they can use these terms as clubs against decent people.

I’m not sure all of this applies to you but you certainly are willing to loosely throw around nonsense phrases like “Pinochet the Chilean butcher.” GMAB.

Nor is it clear that the U.S. was the “chief sponsor” of Pinochet.

May the general rest in peace.

Derapage
Ace

Killed, Pinochet Safe in Attack on Motorcade : State of Siege Imposed

in Chile After Military Escorts Are Slain in Ambush; Leftists Blamed

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-08/news/mn-12923_1_military-escorts

Hisham Saber

How about in 1953, when the

Ace

I admit that I used to see things through the lens of an ardent cold warrior and tended to be favorable to actions that frustrated any advancement of Soviet power. You might say there was a presumption of desirability in all that the West did. The Soviets seemed obviously set on expansion directly or by means of surrogates and given the hideous nature of the Soviet Union I was not inclined to second guess American or Free World actions.

That said, now that the Soviet Union has disappeared things look a lot like a fishing fleet whose boats are resting on the mud of the harbor after the tide has gone out. I see things with a new perspective and, while the Iranian behavior in taking over the U.S. embassy and the clearly evil nature of the mullahs and their Islamic fanaticism repulsed me at the time, I do see Iran as a different country now though I am hardly well informed on this score. Still their prisons are deplorable I understand and the practice of hanging homosexuals from cranes is inhuman. However, I have to say that I can see the overthrow of Mossadegh from their point of view and, like the fishing boats and the tide, I can see that “noble” Cold War policies in fact served to advance Western economic interests quite nicely. Pipeline politics drive our disgusting war against Syria according to some though I don’t see that at all. Doing the bidding of our Israeli masters seems closer to the truth to me.

I don’t have any animus toward the Shah. Yes he was repressive to some extent but it is not sufficient merely to utter the word “Savak” and forever make the case that the Shah was the handmaiden of Satan. In fact, he also instituted a White Revolution in which he sought to reform the most backward aspects of his Islamic country for which I respect him. On balance, I think he was by far less savage and evil than what replaced him.

I hope that we were successful in recruiting some future spies among the ranks of foreign students who came to the U.S. All nations spot and recruit agents wherever they can find them. The world is awash with espionage activities and all I can say to that is “boo hoo.”

I think you give too much credence to the CIA. Falun Gong seems to me to be a sui generis Chinese movement that upsets the Communist Party because they seem to march to a different drummer, which you should not do in their view. The FG also appear to be a rich source of organs to be harvested by the Chinese government, so that and other aspect of China are less than admirable I say with some understatement.

The Chinese too have reason to be angry or suspicious about foreign governments though I have to ask How angry can you honestly be over events that happened during the Opium Wars or in 1898? I mean really? Cry me a river, I say. Bravo to the Chinese for making the most of their new wealth. Wealth, I hasten to say, that we needlessly gifted them with at the expense of our own economy and citizens. But that’s what happens when we have our own treasonous, moronic elites.

Amen to Russia tossing the NGOs and limiting the power of the Jews. We should do the same here in the U.S. but we are apparently controlled by AIPAC, the AJC, BB, the SPLC, the HIAS, and the deleterious effects of the Immigration Act of 1965 for which the Jews worked so hard.

Hisham Saber

I here you. My own father was a high placed student from Libya who had direct ties to Gaddafi’s inner circle. He was one of the principal actors of the 1969 overthrow of King Idrees, who was actually a British stooge at the time. After the revolution, My dad and mom came to the U.S. so my father could obtain a Ph.D.

For a period in the 80’s, he had to put down his studies as he was called up from very high up in Tripoli to be the new Libyan Ambassador to Spain. One of the 5 main Libyan Embassies in the entire world that Libya held as strategically important. One of his close buddies was sent to be the Ambassador in London, he was actually the Ambassador there when the British police woman got killed by AK-47 fire originating from the Libyan Embassy, as radicals inside the Embassy fired into a crowd of Libyan anti-Gaddafi protesters outside. There was the big stand-off, and my dad’s friend was returned to Tripoli a hero’s welcome, and for the rest of his career was an intimate confidant of Gaddafi’s. After the revolution and NATO bombing Libya, this confidant was smuggled out of Libya, to Tunisia, where a private British Government plane was waiting to fly him to London, where he was de-briefed by Mi6. He turned out to be a very well placed British spy that was recruited in early 1980. And he was head of Libyan Foreign Intelligence for many years, before becoming Foreign Minister right before the revolution of 2011.

My Dad, was approached in Madrid by the CIA, and some initial talks took place with Tripoli’s tacit agreement. It was an attempt to bring down the Reagan-Gaddafi tension in the 80’s. However, my dad detested politics, especially at the time, and had to lobby hard, I mean get Gaddafi’s own permission to leave the Ambassadorship and return to turn in his thesis/dissertation.

Fast forward to the 90’s, my dad, while we were living yet again in Spain, don’t ask me what kind of work my dad did exactly, but he told the Libyan Ambassador what to do. Anyways, he had grown tired of the excesses, crimes and outright corruption of the Gaddafi regime. He decided to join the Libyan opposition, who were at the time financed and assisted by the CIA.

Well, all this remained top secret of course, as I had a uncle who was also a opposition main figure in Libya under extreme secrecy.

In 1993, units of the Libyan Military left their barracks in an attempt to take over the capital and basically a coup de eta. There were civilians involved as well, with my dad being one of the main ones. Gaddafi was tipped off about the plan and used bombers to neutralize the military threat. The CIA, Mi6 and the Libyan opposition, mainly abroad were behind the ill-fated bid on Gaddafi.

At the time, my dad, and the rest of my family, including the high ranking uncle officer were in Libya. I was in the U.S. , where I was born.

Upon people being rounded up and interrogated, soon my father and uncles names were disclosed through torture of course. My dad waqs picked up while he was lecturing at the Tripoli University, right from class. My uncle tried to make a run for it and was apprehended at the border with Tunisia.

My uncle and 5 other officers were given the death sentence, which was carried out a year later. My dad avoided the shooting squad because all the top guys around Gaddafi vouched for him and for clemency, which Gaddafi allowed. He served 7.5 years in a Tripoli Prison for political prisoners and had no contact with the outside world. We would just get whispers and rumors of his well being. He was one of 70 prisoners who survived when Gad

Ewan

British policewoman was not murdered by Gadaffi – if you claim that, you know nothing. I hope you idiots in Libya who opposed Gadaffi are happy now – are Libyans still getting free education, healthcare and the best living standards in the 3d World? The rats in Libya are killing each other and will be doing so for decades – exactly like the US planned, whilst stealing your resources – exactly like gadaffi warned.

Ace

Goodness gracious not boring at all! A most interesting account. Thank you for taking so much time to write your comment.

As I indicated earlier, the end of the Cold War brought many things into the light, not the least of which is the evidence of U.S. strategic stupidity and arrogance. This urge to right all wrongs, spread “democracy,” “nation build,” and further the aims of the Saudis and the Muslim Brotherhood and/or CAIR is bewildering and completely (sic) divorced from a rational assessment of America’s national interests. In internal social and economic affairs there is positive lunacy at work. It’s truly satanic. Mere human stupidity does not explain it.

I look at videos of actual interaction with others of Putin, Lavrov, Assad, Haley, Alexander Shulgin, and Maria Zhakharova and see cultured, reasonable people, quite unlike (in the case of Putin and Assad) the bloodthirsty revanchist and stupid killer of civilians the propaganda organs would have you believe them to be. LTC Ralph Peters once referred to Putin as a racist and a thug. Rational conduct of national affairs is not a priority as you can see. The propaganda is so thick you can cut it with a chain saw and copious tears are shed over supposed chemical weapons victims but no discussion will ever be heard of the U.S. and Coalition responsibility for over 500,000 civilian deaths in Syria or the unconstitutional, aggressive war we are waging on Syria.

I was extraordinarily hostile to Iran over the embassy takeover and the backwardness of Khomeini. That has lessened over the years and I have more sympathy for the Iranian position in recent years. I no longer give U.S. policies the benefit of the doubt and assume rather than Iran, like Serbia and Syria, is the target of some serious American arrogance and stupidity. Clearly Iran is being unfairly demonized pursuant to a massive propaganda campaign and it serves no one’s interest except Israel, that assumes that is has an absolute right to designate who is an enemy and decide what military measures to take against such an “enemy.”

America’s fixation on a “unipolar” world instead of a live-and-let-live policy toward the world is dangerous to the world and ruinously expensive for us. And pointless. An exemplary nation might indeed have something to show the world but that is not us, being in the grip of a particular kind of lunacy as we are (along with almost all European nations). It’s really sick stuff.

Everything being done by Western nations in the M.E. (and inside their own borders) is without rhyme or reason. We invaded Libya and ended up creating jihadi heaven. We want to do exactly the same thing in Syria. Is rule by jihadis the West’s gift to the M.E.?

Boris Kazlov

May your fucking general roast in hell, U$AIPAC fostered dictatorial military regimes in all of South America, to disappear, rape, abduct babies, throw people down from planes, clearly U$AIPAC was behind all this, using the word “commies” to demonize all its victims, this plan was called “Operation Condor”.

Ace

There really were commies in the Western Hemisphere, right here in the U.S. as Sen. McCarthy so bravely tried to bring to the attention of his fellow citizens.

The Cuban commies were into imprisoning, torturing, and executing people on a whim. Che was into the whimsical execution deal. Some dissidents had sewage pour over them while being held in pits in the prisons.

The Sandinistas were pretty unpleasant to some of the population on the east coast as I recall but the details escape me now. Does this contemporary account of Sandinista government there meet your exacting standards? At a minimum you can see that “good government” is an elusive animal south of El Paso. But, of course, to you it was those mean anti-communist U$AIPACers who cause all the grief.

Autocratic or totalitarian governments sustained by thuggery, soldiers, and secret policemen are the enemy of us all but with the communist variety of that form of government there is never any graceful handing over of power and a movement toward liberty and the rule of law. You can look it up.

I’m not familiar with Operation Condor but I am not surprised that there were excesses in the long Cold War. Communism really is a disgusting, anti-human system that created its own eternal aristocracy maintained by privileged bureaucrats and secret police. It is really something new on the planet with its powers of control vastly augmented by modern technology. If you want to pick out and highlight the crimes of people who fought that ghastly system, more power to you, but your language above suggests that your incapable of a balanced, informed view of events.

Ewan

You’re an idiot

Ace

Long on brevity but short on specifics.

Ewan

Funny how Westerners always believed that Communist countries indoctrinated their masses and the West was free from that – it turned out to be the ULTIMATE CON – The West made their masses believe they were free when in fact they were made ignorant and enslaved in debt beholden to an corporate elite that ruled the West. What is more surprising is that idiots like ACE haven’t figured it out despite years of alternate media and the internet.

Any Leftist/Socialist is a Commie, now replaced by “Muslim” as a swearword.
The US has had a focussed campaign for all the decades since WW2 to undermine, overthrow and replace any left leaning government with a socialist agenda that threatened US corporate interests – they gave birth to every butcher in the 3rd world, trained, armed and protected him until they discarded him for a new thug.

Ace

Now you’ve done it. You’ve gone and hurt my feelings!

Ewan

“communist hell” – WTF is that? – a better hell than Capitalist wage slavery where everyone THINKS they are free but nobody really is?

Hisham Saber

The U.S. runs an institution called ‘ The School of the Americas’, where tyrants are chosen, indoctrinated, trained and sent to Latin and South American countries to commit atrocities. All in the name of supposed ‘democracy’, ‘freedom’…….

Hisham Saber

Syria IS THE BATTLE. On whether there is going to be hegemony and a unipolar axis ruled from Washington and Tel Aviv, or whether there will be a multi-polar world with free trade, peace and justice. Syria is where the line in the sand has been drawn, the coming regional war will determine the state of global affairs in the 21st century and beyond.

Think about it, all the players are making their moves for the coming regional war in the wider Middle East, and thus China is a major player, albeit with an open checkbook for Syria, Iran, Russia , its still choosing to be a silent but rich partner. A time will come when they throw down the gauntlet. That’s why China and Russia have been buying up the worlds gold reserves, because when this regional war breaks out, Middle Eastern oil and gas infrastructure will be taken out by Irans extensive, enormous variety and amount of ballistic missiles that are numbered in the hundreds of thousands. That would put 60-70% of the worlds oil supply out of business, spelling the end of the Petro-dollar. A complete collapse, and the GCC, U.K., E.U.,U.S. are going to be shit out of luck. This is Irans ‘alternative to nukes’ option. In one massive, sustained barrage, the international Jewish money scheme will be no more. History, poof. That’s one of the reasons they haven’t attacked Iran yet.

Boris Kazlov

“Russia is playing to a global sudience”.
Only problem with this is that the global audience gives a flying fuck.

algrab

China put Pol Pot into power in 1975 , it was Mao-Ze-Dong’s created experiment. Short time after Pol Pot and Yeng Sary were defeated in1978, through invasion of Vietnamese army, China started war again Vietnam in February 1979. War lastet only 6 week and China lost more than 600 000 soldiers because of insane tactic in form of waves atacs.

paul ( original )

You are correct in your analogy. However, I think very slowly Russia is
moving towards its objectives and infinitesimally hardening its
position. Now I am going to speculate. Putin does seem very much
less that confrontational, but he must have around him military men
who view the situation very differently. They will be thinking in
terms of real threats and how they might have to confront an
encroaching enemy. They will not want to repeat the errors of the
past. I think the military opinion will be much stronger than that of
Putin, but for now they will tolerate the current direction.

Hisham Saber

I mean you are right. After all, after the recent election, Putin has the mandate, any mandate he so chooses. The Russian people have spoke. Loudly , that they are behind Mr. Putin no matter where he takes them, even to war, whether that be in Syria, Ukraine or anywhere else.

A very powerful country, with an awesomely led administration, who have near total and overwhelming support of the population is not a country you want to tangle with.

Russia is like a rattlesnake, right now its just making rattling noises, but push comes to shove, it will strike, hard, fast and lethal. Usually by then its too late. And in the coming regional war , it will remain conventional.

Paulskiy

Sometimes I think along the same lines as PCR, but then I remind myself that Putin is the only adult in the room (among the leaders of nations). He is also surrounded by high quality, competent people, including his military. So in the end I come to the conclusion that Russia is playing for time. Last year Russia had a war rehearsal involving 40 million people going to their nuclear shelters. Putin also spoke to his industrial leaders ordering them to go to war production. The latter was glossed over, as I recall, but I still think it one of the most significant statements of 2017. The Russians know where this is going; they also know they’re not ready yet. However, as Putin also stated previously, from growing up in St. Petersburg, if the fight is inevitable, punch first and punch hard. This, in my opinion, is why Russia is pussyfooting around the increasingly provocative attacks and threats from the West. The fight is coming, but not yet. It will, and when it does it’ll be a one-time knock-out blow.

paul ( original )

I think you have a very intelligent assessment of the situation. I can not believe in certainties as we are all too far removed from any centre of power ( I am anyway), but that said I think you have a good probability of being correct.

Merijn

Well… I can Tell you.. our bloody Governments only have built Nuclear Bunkers for themselves.. we are Not invited… so after a Nuclear war there will be a lot more Russians that Survived…. and believe me they are Really pissed by that time… and our pathetic Elite will be obliterated… (just a personal thought in a worse case scenario.. because there won’t be a Nuclear War anyway)

Paulskiy

Not sure about that. They want the showdown, and if you look at some of the neocon think tanks in the US they actually believe that they can win this. They have also built those anti-missile systems in Poland and Romania, ostensibly to protect against Iran, but after the 2015 JCPOA there was no need: but the installations remain.
And in 2018 we have super-sized exercises in Europe, with something like 100,000 soldiers participating from NATO. The US is also sending one of its attack brigades as well. Whether or not it comes to a real shooting match this year, or next, it’s just a question of when, because, as I said, they want the showdown.

Merijn

Sure because they are about to lose everything and they don’t like it…. but the Western Armies are only built to loot Small & Weak armies…. this time there are Formidable Opponents that will not Bow for the Emperor… And times are good for refusing to Bow for this Emperor for he is an Evil One…Russia will obliterate NATO Troops… in the blink of an Eye… poor NATO-Soldiers they have No idea what they are up against

Jim Prendergast

Who do you want to represent your world? Evander Hollyfield or Mike Tyson?

Odin's Raven

The Russians can take the long view. They see that time favours them as America slowly weakens, absolutely and relatively. The Americans are now like a rabid dog, snapping and snarling in all directions, but if the Russians and Chinese can simply fend them off for another generation, avoiding a nuclear war, America is likely to be much less formidable after the middle of this century. It is appropriate that the American Secretary of Defence has nicknamed himself ‘Mad Dog’, but before very long the mad American dog is likely to fall into convulsions and keel over, much to the relief of the rest of the world.

Ace

I believe the nickname was bestowed by others but perhaps I am wrong.

Hisham Saber

Its going to get to a point where Russia and China simply cant brush things off anymore. The U.S./NATO/Israel will/are seeing to it. Time is not on their side, so they will bring things to the boiling point. Wars coming, only I do believe it will stay conventional.

Syria is where the battle lines have been drawn, and at the end of this coming war, will the 21st century be a hegemonic, belligerent unipolar world led by Washington and Tel Aviv, or a multi-pollard world of free trade, peace and justice.

You can call me Al

I keep on stating this but to no avail; every day that goes by, Russia gets stronger in all areas, military equipment is coming from their factories, war infrastructure is put in place or enhanced, troops are trained, opposition groups infiltrated, the imminent dumping of US bonds continues, the dumping of the dollar continues – all whilst the opposite is happening in the US, European and ME allies; one other point worth noting is that new Russia supplies arrived yesterday.

It is ignorant to think that the war in Syria will not expand, Europe comes to mind – the last thing you do hen you are fighting for your life is push the fight forward if you are not ready.

My view only, my biggest question is when the h3ll is China joining ?.

PS Without cleaning these little pockets up as they are doing, they’ll be stabbed from behind whilst fighting at the front.

PPS Looks like Turkey has sold it’s soul back to the Yankers as well – https://journal-neo.org/2018/04/30/turkey-the-us-re-discovering-their-lost-love/

Hisham Saber

China is a major player Al. China has been bankrolling, free of charge, Syria’s financial needs since 2012. Open checkbook. Its also picking up the tab on military equipment the Syrians receive from Russia.

Iran is pivotal to the coming regional war in the wider Middle East. And China is also backing Iran up financially in not so direct ways. China is such a financial powerhouse
it can assist Russia in offsetting sanctions from the U.S./West.

You see, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon are all enormously important to China’s grand One Road-One Belt initiative. An initiative that’s being said to cost as much as the equivalent of 25 trillion in the first 10 years. And hell or high water, nothing, nothing is going to stop the proposed OR-OB. It bypasses India, a western stooge dysfunctional state, from China to Pakistan ( the 50 billion dollar Chins-Pakistan Economic Corridor) thru Kashmir. India is very unhappy, but if they step out of line, the Chinese PLA is ready to deliver India a crushing defeat in the Himalayas, again.

Interesting times coming up. Btw, China is buying up, giving away untold sums to African countries to join the OR-OB initiative. They come in, with grants, easy term loans, and build up a countries infrastructure, now who would say no to that. Except African leaders, like many other leaders around the world are afraid that if they sign on with China, that would mean a coup de eta, or worse, civil war or outright military aggression like Iraq , Afghanistan and Libya. But its happening. Slowly but surely countries are peeling away as and when they can. Brazil was lost, but oh well.

Trump, the buffoon, imposed taxes on cars coming from Mexico, causing Ford and Chevrolet and Toyota to cancel building and even closing plants there. In come in the Chinese. They came in with a high powered delegation of top officials and signed Mexico as a ‘strategic part’ of the OR-OB. China instantly announced it was building a 500 million dollar car manufacturing plant for Great Wall Motors of China, that will bring many jobs and offset Trumps damage. Massive, major deals were also announced.

So it would be silly to think China isn’t somehow keeping the Taliban alive, Afghanistan is rich in minerals. They are the key to North Korea, the South China Sea is China’s for good now, no matter who cries about it.

Its enormous fleets of commercial shipping armada’s zig-zaging the globe, bringing free trade, while the U.S. (twelve Carrier Strike Groups) massive armada of war vessels and web of bases, intrusive NGO’s etc exploit and bring vassalage. The world is waking up, and time is not on the U.S./Israel/Western side. That’s why they will bring war, its their only option.

FlorianGeyer

I agree with all that you say but I have a question. For China’s One Belt One Road to be successful in Europe and in the US for that matter, it will be necessary for the populations of those countries to have the ability to buy Chinese goods and do that the citizens of Europe and the US need to have productive work.

I am in the UK and am sickened at the destruction of the Middle East and elsewhere for the shyster nation of Israel.

You can call me Al

I totally agree, to a certain extent it is beautiful to watch China, Russia and even Iran + Venezuela, Pakistan and others come together ….until I remember I am pure English and proud of the people up North and a true Brit (UK)…..

I actually believe that either / all Russia + China + Iran are already in Afghanistan.

Hisham Saber

In boxing, its called ‘the rope-a-dope’, where you let your opponent box himself out, where upon then you proceed to knock him out, due to him being exhausted, its a tricky, risky strategy, but one that pays off big if deployed smartly and successfully.

And no, the Russians are not naïve. They and Iran and China have a strategy. And the U.S./Israel/Turkey/U.K./France/Saudi’s and the Kurds are walking right into a trap sprung on them by the whole Shia crescent, Sunni Arabs of Syria, Iraq, Russian Chechen battalion under the Russian MoD, Afghan volunteers, the Houthi’s et al and auxiliaries.

The U.S./Israeli coalition needs, must deal a quick knock-out, as this is their entire war doctrine, ‘shock and awe’, then ugly politics at the talk-shop , the U.N.

What the Shia and Sunni tribes have in store is a ‘on the ground, nasty wrestling match’ which will be one of attrition the U.S./Israeli coalition cannot sustain nor fight. Especially against the Syrian Arab Army , NDF, Hezbollah and IRGC corps, that have now 7 years of live hardcore combat experience. Who’s going to stop them when things go south for the coalition and the Americans and French are garrisoned in their bulls-eyed bases and the Shia et al are rolling up the acres all the way to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv? The IDF ‘soyboys’? Not a chance, they will be merely a speedbump.

FlorianGeyer

No.

Val Shadowhawk

Agreed. Dr Roberts is missing some very key points here.

Sadde

Finally someone pointing to the big elephant instead of talking about Israel here and Israel there!

1691

Once again PCR demonstrates his inability to comprehend the Russian government.

Sinbad2

An American reporter once asked Gandhi what he thought about western civilization.
Gandhi replied that he thought it would be a good idea.

Feudalism Victory

The west is best nuke the rest

Feudalism Victory

He wants america liberated from its out of control federal government. He cant see anything else.

John Mason

Tend to agree with PCR and when one goes back to when Russia first came on the scene and how they were fooled by Kerry, Obama by going along with their every wish and demand. What is strange is that Putin has denounced the US as the author and patron of ISIS and the others. Difficult to follow what Russia is playing at but recently they have been on another planet.

AJ

Yes & they keep referring to the US as our partners – nothing of the sort

Ace

They are just saying “nice doggy.” Being polite but still a force the U.S. attacks at its peril.

Sinbad2

Do you think that Paul Craig Roberts might work for the CIA, or Mossad?

velociraptor

For ASIS.
:P

The Latin Mass

you mean controlled op. like Ron Paul. Yes.

Joe

Most likely Russia dare not take on US as it’s force is too small in Syria plus other consequences like sanctions.

So we note Russia is equipineq Syria with systems able to shoot down US planes without risk of ww3

javier

Not to mention the military build up in eastern europe.

Sinbad2

All the more reason to keep the US focused on Syria and North Korea.

alejoeisabel

When the secular government of Syria is a greater enemy than Al Qaeda in Syria, and when US/Nato/Saudi Arabian arms go to Al Qaeda in Syria, 911 looks more and more like a false flag operation.

northerntruthseeker .

9-11 was a false flag operation… Run by Mossad and Sayanim agents in America!

Hisham Saber

Dude, it was a false flag operation.

Blaine

Patience is a strong weapon against the US currently. It is only a matter of time before the debt reaches levels that will make FRN undesirable in international trade – if interest rates were to go up even 4% the Federal govt would be unable to service its debt. The US is a violent psychopath on the way to hospice.

paul ( original )

All that you say is very plausible. However, according to those who
say ‘demographics is destiny’ we don’t have much of a future either.

Merijn

The Russian government announced in March 2016 a premature victory and withdrawal. This mistake was repeated, and each time Russia made this mistake gave Washington opportunity to introduce its own troops and aircraft, to resupply and train its jihadist mercenaries, and to organize Israeli, Saudi, French, and British participation in the military assaults on Syria. Now the problem is that US troops are mixed in with the jihadist mercenaries….

Paul Roberts statement is wrong in my vision… The Russians Showed Many Many people Direct Involvement of U.S. War Criminals in the mean time… the Gringos will have very Difficult times ahead… and the way the World looks at the Great Empire will change Drastically in the next Decade… This is What Russia’s Plan was all along in my opinion… To Show America’s True Colours & Bring down Israhell and it’s Power….and even if it happened by accident… the End Result is Great…Israhell will be History soon… start your War Israhell.. Your Kid-Killing Psychopath warriors will scream as piggies

Baljeet Singh

I don’t agree on one point that Israel will soon be history until china steps in . Recently Israel’s bomb has caused a M2.6 earthquake as per boforeitsnews.com and is said to be tactical Nuke. So Israel needs a response with a higher magnitude. But Israel seems to be ready to use even higher and is planning to directly hit Iran the trio US, Israel, UK want escalation to disintegrate, Syria and Iran. Thats why US is not leaving Afghanistan as Iran’s eastern border is reachable. We see every where bundle of lies of these trio come to fore.

Merijn

China is waitin’ on the Background I suppose… I only wonder why U.S. Soldiers love dying for Israhell so much

Hisham Saber

U.S. soldiers don’t know much about world affairs. they are kept dumbed down.

Watch, the U.S./Isreal/U.K./France/Saudi’s are walking right into a trap sprung for them from the whole Shia crescent. Also all Arab tribes of Syria, Iraq, of any and all religious background will be waiting to get their hands on the U.S./Israeli et al soldiers and their lackeys.

Iran is pivotal. Even the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces answer directly to Khamenei. When called up, they can number in the hundreds of thousands. Iran has about 5 million Basij volunteers just itching for a chance to fight. That’s where the manpower comes, from a pool of millions. Iran has enough ballistic missiles at its disposal (2000 km range) to wipe out Israel completely should Israel decide to g unconventional. Iran also has enough missiles to take out every oil and gas infrastructure of the entire Middle-East, in effect stopping full stop 60-70% of the worlds supply, thus the compete destruction of the Petro-dollar scheme.

Russia and China have been hording lots and lots of gold just for this reason. They will wither the storm, but the U.S., GCC, E.U. are screwed.

At the end of this regional war that’s coming, it will be the end of Israel, as we know it, and the kicking out of the Middle East of the U.S./Britian /France, for good.

Russia supplies the high tech, jam the skies, China supplies the open checkbook for the entire war effort. China is there, in the background, as a major silent player.

James Willy

sure do hope you are right. What a great scenario what you envisioned. I would LOVE to see that happening in real time if they would just fight back FINALLY.

pepa65

Sounds half plausible, but do you have any indication about China bankrolling all of this? Sites, links??

MichaH

1. I think the tactical-nuke-thing is an absolute exaggeration. No need for them to use such options, which would be easily used against them to change world opinions.
2. why America does not leave Afghanistan? Easy answer: They never ever leave a country/territory where they once sat boots on… such scumbags… hehe

Java Ape Timelord

That is true, USA ‘invaded’ Australia in 1943 and have never left.

S Melanson

The tactical nuke bunker buster is not an exaggeration and tac nukes have been used in Yemen although be warned many false videos out there claiming nuke when really thermobaric. What is more interesting to me is what was the mystery target that justified use of such a weapon. I do not buy into the ammo or missile depot argument.

Hisham Saber

agree. when average joe American finds out what the jews have done to the .U.S., there will be a very nasty, bloody revolt and revolution.

FlorianGeyer

In Europe also I would think :)

Boris Kazlov

In the meantime those who are getting killed and maimed are Syrian Arab soldiers, just saw a documentary on RT about that.

Merijn

For that matter it would be fair if the War spilled over to Europe….

Hisham Saber

perhaps Russia needs to put a bullet into the violent psychopath’s head. the whole world will breath a collective sigh of relief.

Luis

Russian inability? The Russian are full aware of the neocon Plans since the Chechnyan war. They play by international law gaining lots of credibility and buying precious time. Why the hell go on full confrontation if the house of cards is already crumbling?

javier

Specifically he is stating the russians could have wrapped up the war a while ago, rather than leave the door open for the americans. The americans are not crumbling in syria sadly. In a larger and more general sense perhaps the west is crumbling, but not militarily as it is still quite potent. I don’t know as so much in the world today is kabuki.

Jim Prendergast

You make a good point. There is always variance between reality and imagination. Perhaps we can trust the Syrian people ti act for themselves.

velociraptor

correct!

Douglas Houck

The author is flatly wrong when he states: “Russia was in complete control and could have ended the war in 2016.” The annoucement in March 2016 of victory and a partial withdrawal was a PR stunt and everyone knew it. It was to pressure President Obama to seperate the “moderates” from the jihadist. Something that never happened.

The Syrian war didn’t turn until after the coup on President Erdogan, when Turkey began shutting down its border with Syria and resupplying men and materials to Syria. Befor then, more men were coming into Syria than were being killed. It was a war on attrition that was beating down the Syrians.

Sorry, but this article is a rewrite of history and is wrong from the start to the finish.

Merijn

Militarily? The Conventional Stuff you mean..? This WWIII will be The Nuclear One… that is why there will be no War… but they are desperate to save the Dollar & Israhell… but it will NOT work… Putin Knows He Already Won…

Hisham Saber

Ya, but the Americans, French and Turks will be garrisoned in their bases, really unable to commit to any serious engagements, lest the Shia crescent get their hungry hands on them. And those bases. They have bulls-eyes on them. Soon, you will hear of attcks on U.S. ,French bases.

FlorianGeyer

Yes, it always amused and mystified me when the British garrisoned a Fortified House_in Helmand a few years ago that was deep inside ‘hostile territory’. Resupply convoys had to be heavily guarded and the village was unoccupied by civilians. The Taliban used the village as a training area and the British controlled all that they surveyed, which was a few hundred metres :)

It was all rather pointless and went of for many months. A movie was made about it .

Luis

The Russian military are superior but not in numbers and military projection. The muricans could simply saturate the Syrian and Russian defenses with thousand of missiles. What then? Like Veniamin Popov said yesterday in Yalta: It is better to have ten years of (meaningless n.d.a.) negotiations than one day of war

Feudalism Victory

Yes

You can call me Al

and Georgia.

Ace

Si.

Feudalism Victory

Fighting America on the worlds behalf(and alone you can bet Every ersrwhile ally would step aside if it happend) is not in russias interest. Keeping america focused on syria keeps it attention and resources out of Russia. Why is this so hard to get?

Odin's Raven

Syria is a relatively minor place where the Russians can frustrate the Americans and keep their focus away from possibly more dangerous areas, until the Americans weaken themselves through their internal corruption, and the rest of the world slowly shifts towards Russia and China as the rising powers. ‘Winning’ there too quickly would not serve Russia’s longer term interests as it would enrage the Americans and Israelis into more dangerous actions..

javier

yes although the jews and neocons seem to be on the more dangerous course of action regardless

klove and light

mr. Roberts we had this conversation a couple times already.You are totally right on the development in Syria and the upcoming larger crisis involving Iran and the illegal jewish entity named israel.
Only your conclusion is as always wrong.You are still missing the bigger picture.You again are writing that your CONCLUSION is RUSSIA/PUTIN are STUPID.Sorry brother, maybe its you that is stupid.
The big picture is that the (now people give them loads of names..zionists,anglo-zionists,nato,freemasonhood,illuminati,elite)( how about writing the truth…THE JEWS…..anybody who lives by the TALMUD…..anybod who is not a jews is a GOJIM, all non jewish women are WHORES)
JEWS have the control of the most imporatant system on our planet today,THE MONETARY SYSTEM!!!
They control the us FED, as the UK central bank, as the HERE IT COMES… THE RUSSIAN CENTRAL BANK.
Russia/PUTIN are controlled by the jews, through the monetary system.
Painting the Russians and Putin as stupid, as people who dont understand our planet is seriously making a mockery of yourself.Its not that they do not understand, or could not engage with its modern weapons, no its that they simply are not permitted to do so.By the JEWS.
They are fighting and bombing the various jihadi,takfiri extremists, thats just fine..they got permission to do so, but the red line is the illegal jewish entity named israel.There will be no weapons sold that could change the strategic balance between israel and its neighbors.Period.And if anybody here including yourself believes just for one second that a russian missile would ever ever shoot down an israeli warplane, man you sure took some great weed or LSD.
Unless you accept the total jewish control of the western and northern hemisphere, you just dont understand the big picture and more important the AGENDA they have.A ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT with JERUSALEM as its capital under JEWISH SATANIC CONTROL, where everybody living under this government will have to have the sign of the beast(meaning the barcode) on his/her forehead and handpalm.

Floyd Hazzard

Russia is fully complicit in all of this. Israel’s Defence Minister is Russian.

Jesus

So what if US troops are imbedded with terrorists? They will die the same way the terrorists will die as UK and US found out in E. Ghouta and other places.

Nathan Donaldson

Russia lost in WWI & almost lost, after taking massive casualties, in WWII. In both cases I would argue that this happened because the population was not supportive of the fight. (This was initially true in case of WWII) Putin is in the process of convincing his country that the fight is unavoidable, that he will not waste lives on foreign adventures. Also, time is on Russia’s side. The US gets relatively weaker every day grinding out small conflicts and wasting huge wads of cash on a bloated military budget. Corruption has overpowered caution at the Pentagon.

javier

yes the US might sink into 3rd world cesspool status but with an increasingly unaccountable government will the military be even stronger and more evil/corrupt

Nathan Donaldson

There is an inverse relationship to the might of the American Empire’s power centers and the health of the rest of the country. As someone who lives a hundred miles away from DC in a rustbelt town it is very obvious.

gustavo

Excellent article and clearly exposed. As it was mentioned in this article, I am afraid that Russia government has not the ability to understand that ISrael-USA-NATO has the goal to destroy Syria, Iran and Russia itself using the terrorists as a initial weapon. Russia partial withdraw of Syria has been a BIG RUSSIA MISTAKE, and the results are there now (partition of Syria). Or, one can also might think that all of this was in agreement with USA-Israel.

alejandro casalegno

The “Partial withdrawal” are a joke………..Russia have now more planes, missiles and soldiers than a year ago!!!!

velociraptor

hahaha! look at the numbers.

russia had befor first remove over 100 planes. that was accurate. then around 60, now 35. inclisive ILs and AN.

Brother Thomas

Thus far Russia has successfully thwarted regime change in Syria for five years without a serious escalation or major military confrontation. Russia seems to be playing the long game and quite possibly winning.

Richard M

US does both. They sponsor arm and train terrorists and they also bomb and kill them. It seems counterintuitive but the corporate war machine needs an enemy and that enemy must be perpetual, as Orwell predicted in 1984. The cannon fodder soldiers killed and injured are just a cost of doing business necessary to keep the corporate gravy train rolling. The bought and paid for politicians get their share of the profits and business as usual continues. Once the USSR was no longer an available boogeyman to give the Proles their “Two Minutes Hate” a new boogeyman had to be found or created. The “War on Terror” will never be won because it is not supposed to be won. It IS supposed to keep the Deep Swamp creatures comfortably enjoying unimaginable wealth rolling in while the taxpayers bleed their cash and the soldiers bleed their blood.

Ma_Laoshi

Something like this could have been a perceptive piece had it been written two years ago. Now it’s past its sell-by date. A master strategist Putin may or may not be, but the people in the Kremlin are clearly not dummies. They see what’s in front of them, but they’re playing some double game. Various theories exists why this is so (wait the US out until Dollardaemmerung, can’t get the Israeli monkey of Putin’s back, genuinely afraid that the US is insane and will start WWIII just for the heck of it, appease the US to protect the western assets of the Kremlin elite, take your pick), but it is what it is and at this point Moscow’s statements can no longer be taken at face value.

Does PCR see what’s in front of him? Yes, Russia is to some degree a conservative Christian country, which makes Western conservatives go all soft inside when they see Russia as the last Great White Hope–especially when the Russian leadership makes a show of embracing those values. Charles Bausman of RI is clearly also on this mental track. Why doesn’t it register that politicians have ALWAYS done this since the Republic of Rome, and that Moscow is no different? Yes Putin is unfairly demonized, but why invert that and make him into some savior when the facts don’t back it up?

Terence Silvestre Jr.

Please, who could help that such an accurate analytical article can reach the desk of Putin and Larov as soon as possible? Please.

Miguel Redondo

I think that , if not Putin himself , one of his advisors surely reads PCR articles and then briefs his boss. But one should never forget what are the geoplitical realities and the situation on the ground. I think that Putin and Lavrov are doing a great job increasing every month the controlled territory , stabilising Assad and pushing back the zionazis . Remember that Putin is a Judo-master and so he knows that flexibility in combat sometimes is much better than stiffness and resistence or a all out attack with terrible consecuences. The russian military on the ground is in clear inferiority against US and NATO powers in the region. A false move can drive towards an escalation that ends in a nuclear punch-out that nobody with a clear mind would like.

RichardD

While I agree with a lot of what PCR writes, I’ve also lost a lot of respect for him because of his constant Russia bashing and disinfo peddling. Putin and Lavrov have been saying for years that the US and it’s co criminals have been supporting terrorists.

No competent military commander would agree with a whopper like this:

“Russia was in complete control and could have ended the war in 2016.”

Stephan Williams

Finally – an op ed from Mr. Roberts that I can buy into unequivocally.

Ed

Another day, another article by Paul Craig Roberts about how the world is going to end and how we are all doomed. Stay tuned this time next week folks when he will publish another article saying more or less exactly the same thing.