Lots of holes in this "explanation." Especially concerning the US dependence on early forms of those Islamic groups to fight the Soviets, as well as our present day insistence that so-called Syrian "moderate" rebels are not part of the same Al-Queda that attacked the US in 2001.
Can I just ask, why do Americans especially always feel the need to insert their own pejorative description of people they don't like when referencing what they have to say? Does it matter that Foreign Minister Muallim is "portly?" What is Assad, "Skeletor?" President William Howard Taft weighed, at one point in his presidency, 340 lbs! Can we just say "FM Muallim" and leave the adjectives out of our quotes? It gives a bit more credibility to what you might be saying.
But it could have been, and that is the point. The "powers" could have come together---Russia, US, Iran, EU, China and Syria, and said "put an end to this, or else THIS is what we will do." Problem, of course, goes back to politics. Iran-Iraq-Syria want to build an oil pipeline, which would benefit Russia. Saudi Arabia and Qatar (and, the US, since these two countries are our "allies") don't want that. Hence the funding of rebels in the civil war. We could have put a stop to this two years ago, but money trumps everything.
Lots of holes in this "explanation." Especially concerning the US dependence on early forms of those Islamic groups to fight the Soviets, as well as our present day insistence that so-called Syrian "moderate" rebels are not part of the same Al-Queda that attacked the US in 2001.
Can I just ask, why do Americans especially always feel the need to insert their own pejorative description of people they don't like when referencing what they have to say? Does it matter that Foreign Minister Muallim is "portly?" What is Assad, "Skeletor?" President William Howard Taft weighed, at one point in his presidency, 340 lbs! Can we just say "FM Muallim" and leave the adjectives out of our quotes? It gives a bit more credibility to what you might be saying.
But it could have been, and that is the point. The "powers" could have come together---Russia, US, Iran, EU, China and Syria, and said "put an end to this, or else THIS is what we will do." Problem, of course, goes back to politics. Iran-Iraq-Syria want to build an oil pipeline, which would benefit Russia. Saudi Arabia and Qatar (and, the US, since these two countries are our "allies") don't want that. Hence the funding of rebels in the civil war. We could have put a stop to this two years ago, but money trumps everything.