How Obama gave Syria to Putin
Russia takes control of Syrian airspace, amid Obama administration’s retreat
As President Obama told the UN General Assembly that the principle of “might is right” was not the answer to the world’s problems and then went on raising a toast to President Putin at a luncheon on Wednesday, September 28, Russian Armed forces where busy installing long-range air-defenses, claiming air superiority over area well beyond Syrian air space, denying access to US and NATO already conducting airstrikes against ISIS positions.
Jerusalem Post quoted NATO’s top commander, General Philip Breedlove saying Russia’s move to deny access to US and NATO forces in the Eastern Mediterranean was a “a growing problem.”
Russia’s first airstrike targeted non-ISIS Syria rebels rather than the dreaded Islamic State. BBC reports:
[Russia] launched air strikes in Syria for a second day. [Russian air-]strikes reportedly targeted positions in the north-west held by the Army of Conquest rebel alliance.
Russia said it had struck four Islamic State (IS) facilities overnight, and destroyed a “terrorist HQ” outside Idlib and a command post near Hama. (…)
Russia carried out about 20 missions on Wednesday. The US fears they targeted non-IS opponents of Russia’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Obama administration’s response was prompt and swift, issuing a ‘strong statement’ reminding Russia that by resorting to violence, it was ‘throwing gasoline on fire.’ Only thing those generals on Kremlin fear more, is a sternly worded letter from John Kerry.
By using force in Syria, Putin’s Russia isn’t merely coming to the aid of an ally in distress, it is instead rushing in to fill the vacuum created by President Obama’s policy of abandonment and retreat in the Middle-East. Russia, in tandem with Iranian Regime, is back again playing the ‘Great Game’, it was forced to give up in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Empire. .
And remember the signing amount of $100 billion Obama administration released to Iran for agreeing to the Nuclear Deal? Russia is getting a big chuck of that money. Tehran is ordering missile equipment as well as satellite and space technology worth $21 billion from Moscow.
This week, when Obama told the UN General Assembly that he led “the strongest military that the world has ever known,” he was stating a fact. But it is Russia’s Putin who has shown more fortitude throughout the Syrian conflict. Obama refused to act when Syrian Dictator Assad used deadly chemical weapons against his own people –- a ‘redline’ Obama previously claimed, he won’t let the Syrian tyrant cross. He underestimated ISIS at the onset, comparing it to a JV team, and even to this day refuses to acknowledge the Islamist ideology driving the Islamic State.
The Obama administration has single-handedly reduced America’s geopolitical footprint and diminishing its prestige at the world stage. Russia’s shutting out of U.S. from Syria is the biggest foreign policy disaster in the region since President Jimmy Carter lost Iran 36 years ago.
Video: raw footage of Russian Airstrike hitting the Syrian town of Homs (courtesy Haaretz):
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Comments
Oooooh. A “strong statement.” That’ll surely send Putin fleeing back to Mother Russia.
Yeah, that Putin fellow better watch out. It’s a hashtag next, for sure!
It’s impressive to see a world leader stepping up to support a foreign policy that aligns with their beliefs.
Wish it was one of ours.
Obama told Putin he other day what Putin wanted to hear: That the Unitd states was really anxious to avoid a military clash between U.S. and Russian forces.
Putin is too, actually, but this way, Obama blinked first.
Obama should have left things the way Benjamin Netanyahu negotiated it.
Obama probably failed to mention Benjamin Netanyahu when he sppoke to Putin on Monday.
“How Obama gave Syria to Putin”
All I know is that a silver platter was involved…
Obama does not understand why his tactics are not working. They work on the Republicans who surrender as early as they can — when the game is scheduled.
The Republicans are afraid of public opinion, and are not interested in doing something wrong, or that even looks wrong – but that’s not the case with Putin, although he pretends to be interested in not doing wrong, and hile he has some interest in public opinion, it is more specialized.
If you took a poll, Putin would definitely be the loser. But that doesn’t do anybody any good.
Even the support for what Putin is doing (i.e. we need to fight ISIS) takes it for granted that Assad (and Putin) are evil figures.
It’s just unfortunate that so many people are being harmed in order to prove a point.
There may be a couple of other shoes yet still to drop.
I can’t figure out how war with Israel helps Assad (Purin argued it didn’t make sense for Syria to open up a second front, as if that settled the question!) but it seems to be in the cards, too.
Iran wants it. Or it did, anyway, earlier in 2015.
Of course, this could be Assad’s undoing.
When Israel goes after Iran because they will not allow them to have a nuclear bomb, what will Putin and his 150,000 troops plus the Iranians do?And what will the US do?
Is that why Putin is there, to protect Iran?
Putin doesn’t have to protect Iran from Israel.
Under the terms of Barry’s great Iran “deal,” we’re obligated to do that.
Well, if you believe ancient prophecies, Russia and a number of ME nations will attack Israel and the US will not come to defend them. Israel will be victorious, but it eventually leads to Armageddon.
First, though, according to prophecy, Russia will defeat Turkey. So if you see Russia directly, or indirectly (coup), take out Turkey, you might want to start worrying…
Unmentioned is Russia establishing naval bases on the Mediterranean for the first time in human history.
Maybe Obama should order up some more of that military intelligence that has been specifically tailored to tell him what he wants to hear.
Then he can announce that he’s been right all along! You h8ters just don’t understand the man’s strategic brilliance and natural moral superiority!
The depths of the Obama Administration’s incompetence in all phases of governance is simply astounding. Their comprehension of the world around them is so very fundamentally flawed that arriving at rational conclusions on which to base policy decisions is nearly impossible. They seem to possess the cognitive abilities of preschoolers.
Not sure its incompetence. An incompetent leader would at least get something right on occasion. Obama is wrong nearly 100% of the time which leads me to believe its intentional.
He never fails to stick it to Christians or Israel. He never fails to apologize for the excesses of Islam. He hates the US. He’s got a plan and it appears to be going quite well. And that plan involves bringing this country to its knees and Israel too.
Yeeeeeeup. The man has a plan. He works it.
Clearly.
I think that’s mostly true. But I also think he actually believed that the world would be a more peaceful place if only the United States wouldn’t be so mean and “arrogant,” and if we had a president who kept telling the Islamic world that he respects and understands them and is offended when people slander their prophet, etc.– ‘cuz he lived in Indonesia as a small child and therefore he understands the world much better than that cowboy Bush and Darth Vader Cheney.
Of course, much of what Obama does is motivated by resentment and malice. But I don’t rule out a big dose of stupidity too.
No one respects Obama. It won’t be long before Putin shows up to a podium wearing a gi and says that he’ll depart Syria if Obama can last three minutes without being submitted or having a joint broken and stays conscious the whole time. He’ll lampoon Obama and if Obama acts professional he’ll be labeled a coward – because he’s already set that precedent. If Obama accepts, the secret service will have to intervene because Putin is a judo master. Either way, people will just point and laugh at Obama.
Putin is loyal to his nation. He wants power and he wants to increase the power of Russia. He is not Hitler and he is not looking to kill Americans. However, he will not shed a tear for us if the US falls as a consequence of Russia’s rise. He respects the US military, and not just for its capability. Absent that respect, he would not have sent official diplomatic traffic asking US commanders to vacate the area of operations in Syria. Thanks to Obama’s cowardice, Putin has now filled in the vacuum. The US has no legitimate claim to keep personnel and assets in place in Syria. Weapons are being handed over to the enemy, after spending $500 million or so there were only 5 trained opposition members and they’re probably having tea with Assad or ISIS and telling jokes about now, the red line ultimatum was not back up, and Obama’s had zero success in Syria. In a foolish attempt to look like a tough guy, Obama will direct the DoD to keep boots on the ground, in the area. There will be an incident where Russians injure or kill Americans on the ground there, and it’ll most likely be unintentional. But the conditions for that have been set by Obama. The blood will be on his hands.
And, it won’t be long before Russia and Iran own and control almost all of the ME – signed, sealed, and delivered by the combination of cowardice and incompetence. Obama has surrendered an entire region of the planet, the most volatile region of the planet, without a shot fired.
Growing up I think Obama thought the phrase ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’ was actually supposed to be ‘speak softly and carry a dictionary’. He has no understanding or appreciation for the fact that in many parts of the world you have to “man up” whether you win or lose. Being a coward is the worst thing you can do, yet that’s what Obama does continually. Assad has that ‘red line’ framed on his wall and giggles every time he walks by it.
He’s been given a very false set of reinforcements as well that perpetuate his behavior. His only talent is reading prepared comments. Once he’s off script he sounds ordinary, if that. Yet people fawn over him, but it’s never for anything he does. It’s only about things people think he is. Of course, rubbing elbows with the dirty Chicago mafia types and the gullibility of the masses has lifted him this far. And now his main competitors are crybaby Boehner and marble-mouth McConnell and they take a dive in each round, and like Roberto Duran they cry, ‘No mas’. The guy probably thinks he’s Sugar Ray Leonard. Real tough-guys like Putin see through this and view Obama as prey.
Figuratively or literally, guys like Obama think they’re Sugar Ray, but don’t have the guts or strength to even throw a punch. Guys like Putin just pick their moment, then it’s down to the ground, side control, arm bar, game over. Because Obama is the POTUS, it’s not just him in the arm bar – it’s all of us. This is why the hate for Obama is misplaced. His actions affect all of us. We should be wishing him well in the performance of his duties. Many people have. That said, after seven years, some things are self-evident now. Loyalty and support, nested within the best interests of all concerned, is the right thing to do. Blind, uncritical followership is the wrong answer. It’s time to look forward, identify solutions, find the right people to carry them out, and relegate problematic individuals.
We need strong, brave people in government that are there for the Constitution, the People, and our nation, then our allies. Party loyalty comes last. What we have are fools, cowards, and party loyalists. When that happens, it doesn’t matter who’s in the WH, who controls the Senate, who controls the House. It’s all bad news. The People have to take charge again. This deal with Boehner is not enough. People will have to start recalling politicians and finding legal ways to remove them from office immediately when they start going rogue. Calls and emails to offices do nothing. Recalls, removals, reinforcement of priorities and reminders about who the boss is – that’s partly how this gets fixed. I would argue also, however, that retroactive action for those out of politics is also warranted. The next POTUS should pull back all secret service protection, pension, privileges and other items for people like HIllary, Boehner, McConnell, Pelosi, Obama, Jarrett, Paul Ryan, Agency top level bureaucrats with fake email addresses, and others that have willfully gone to the podium and advocated (or voted) for bills that haven’t been read, lied about the implementation of legislation, sulked away from their duties to oppose such activities, and committed gross ethical, legal, and administrative transgressions, violating the tenets expressed in their oaths of office and the spirit of our laws like FOIA.
Doesn’t Vlad know that launching airstrikes doesn’t create jobs? There’s no place for that sort of thing in the twenty-first century. I guess he needs another earnest lecture to make him understand.
Putin is there for three reasons. One, to protect the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria, their only access to the Mediterranean. Two, to snatch up the gift given him by the Obama/Clinton/Kerry clown squad gave – top dog in the Middle East. Three, to try to pry current American Middle East clients/allies away and add them to the Russian list. Russia (Putin) already controls almost all the natural gas going into Europe. Access to cheap oil would be a wonderful addition to the Russian energy portfolio. The political opportunities of an abandoned American region of interest are irresistable.
Obama just made Putin a hero in Russia and has lost the Middle East for America for a long time. Obama early on declared America to be unexceptional and is doing everything he can to make that happen.
That’s mostly true, but Sunnis have little reason to applaud this behavior by Putin. He’s taken the side of heretics against true believers and some of the first people he bombed were Turkey’s pals. The humiliation of the US may be worth a lot more than any friends that might, but probably can’t, be gained.
As apocalyptic events unfold in the Middle East. As Obama and Kerry are made to look like patsies on the world stage. We have finally reached Defcon III. Break out James Taylor to serenade the Russians.
Traitor or idiot. Is there a difference at this point?
But don’t worry: Boehner still has 27 days left as Squeaker. And when he’s gone, Squeaker McCarthy will be Boehner II.