"When I say “genuine,” I mean one which actually targets the terrorists – as Russia is doing – and not one which targets Syria and effectively protects ISIS, which is the pattern of America’s efforts, "
Putin's bombing campaign isn't focused on Isis, because Isis isn't focused on the Assad regime- they're further east, in keeping with their original raison d'être, wresting control of Iraq from the Shiites.
No, Putin is bombing the moderates because it's the moderates who are actually applying pressure on Assad.
If you think any of Putin's activities are about anything other than monopolizing the flow of natural gas to europe, I have some genuine black sea amphorae to sell you.
"It’s all a dirty business, and the only honest major player is Putin. "
You're a fool if you believe there exists an honest player in this game. A fool.
The irony of your comment is, the second half of your comment is precisely why all of those (otherwise untrustworthy) turkish papers are onto something about Assad and Putin's intentions.
As you note, the Hatay province and the Turkmen Mountain above are problematic for the Alaawite dictatorship. It's only natural to try to change the demographics to consolidate defensible borders.
Indeed, what are 5 million displaced persons but such a demographic shift?
Indeed, the (otherwise saintly) Syrian Kurds have already used this past year's chaos to clear sunni arabs to create a maximal, contiguous kurdish region. Isis, for their part, is cleansing to produce a contiguous Isis part.
The tone of so much western writing about the Syrian conflict is a juvenile search for higher moral ground- and, the reality is, it's utterly insane and disproportionate. Assad kills a half million Syrians, who cares? Turks kill one Russian, and everyone wants to push the shiny red button.
And it is in the light of the above considerations that I can assert the past ten years of Erdogan's leadership have been an unmitigated disaster. The reality is, Russia has had a stated goal of retaking(sic) Constantinople on again off again since the 18th century- Erdogan's "Zero Allies" approach to foreign policy is going to get everyone killed.
"When I say “genuine,” I mean one which actually targets the terrorists – as Russia is doing – and not one which targets Syria and effectively protects ISIS, which is the pattern of America’s efforts, "
Putin's bombing campaign isn't focused on Isis, because Isis isn't focused on the Assad regime- they're further east, in keeping with their original raison d'être, wresting control of Iraq from the Shiites.
No, Putin is bombing the moderates because it's the moderates who are actually applying pressure on Assad.
If you think any of Putin's activities are about anything other than monopolizing the flow of natural gas to europe, I have some genuine black sea amphorae to sell you.
"It’s all a dirty business, and the only honest major player is Putin. "
You're a fool if you believe there exists an honest player in this game. A fool.
The irony of your comment is, the second half of your comment is precisely why all of those (otherwise untrustworthy) turkish papers are onto something about Assad and Putin's intentions.
As you note, the Hatay province and the Turkmen Mountain above are problematic for the Alaawite dictatorship. It's only natural to try to change the demographics to consolidate defensible borders.
Indeed, what are 5 million displaced persons but such a demographic shift?
Indeed, the (otherwise saintly) Syrian Kurds have already used this past year's chaos to clear sunni arabs to create a maximal, contiguous kurdish region. Isis, for their part, is cleansing to produce a contiguous Isis part.
The tone of so much western writing about the Syrian conflict is a juvenile search for higher moral ground- and, the reality is, it's utterly insane and disproportionate. Assad kills a half million Syrians, who cares? Turks kill one Russian, and everyone wants to push the shiny red button.
And it is in the light of the above considerations that I can assert the past ten years of Erdogan's leadership have been an unmitigated disaster. The reality is, Russia has had a stated goal of retaking(sic) Constantinople on again off again since the 18th century- Erdogan's "Zero Allies" approach to foreign policy is going to get everyone killed.