We’re all familiar with Obama’s infamous “line in the sand” in Syria. You know, the one that everyone ignored and it didn’t make a difference. The one that Obama created, without realizing that he might have to back up his words with actions. The one that proved to the world that Obama doesn’t have the guts to be the Commander in Chief of the world’s largest military.
But perhaps you don’t know that Obama’s administration has been holding back the efforts of the Air Force against ISIS. While we have planes in the air, supposedly supporting the fighting on the ground, those planes are only allowed to make a couple of sorties per day. Apparently they are there more for show, than for go.
Actually, the coalition is somewhat of a joke. Few of the countries who are supposedly part of it have sent any troops or military equipment to the Middle East.
Most of the fighting that’s being done is being done by the locals, protecting themselves from the onslaught of ISIS. The participation of these coalition nations has been mostly limited to humanitarian aid and speaking out against ISIS. Sorry Barry, that’s not going to win the war.
Now we’ve got a new wrinkle in the war in Syria. Vladimir Putin has sent in Russian forces to support president Assad of Syria. He did this unilaterally, totally separate of any action by the coalition that the United States has put together to battle ISIS. If anything, they are making it clear that they aren’t part of that coalition. Of course, most of the countries that are part of the coalition aren’t part of it either, so that’s no problem.
Reports have it that a Russian three-star general made an appointment with the U.S. Ambassador, in which he bluntly stated that Russian bombers would be taking action and telling the United States to stay out of the way. While he was polite enough to say “please” there was no question in the ambassador’s mind that the general was making a statement, not a request.
This is a first. Not that Russia is supporting some smaller country, but that they are defying the United States so blatantly in the process. The first Russian air strikes happened on Wednesday, September 30th and were aimed at targets in the city of Homs. It is germane to note that Homs is not occupied by ISIS, but by another group that opposes Assad.
That makes it seem that Russia isn’t there to help in the war against ISIS, but rather to support President Assad. Considering that Syria is a client state of Russia, that’s actually not surprising. What is surprising is that Russia is pushing American aside in their efforts to support him.
Who’s Fighting Who in the Middle East?
The fighting going on in the Middle East is complex. We tend to focus on what’s going on with ISIS, but that’s not the whole fight. There’s a four-sided struggle going on, between Assad’s government, groups that oppose Assad’s government, ISIS and those who are trying to defeat ISIS.
Russia has apparently joined the side of supporting Assad, not the side that is trying to defeat ISIS. This can be seen as a slap in the face to the US and to President Obama personally.
Adding to the confusion, it seems that both ISIS and some of the other groups have been provided with arms and munitions by the Obama administration. If that’s the case, then it’s clear that a lot of the mess is actually the fault of the U.S. Department of State, perhaps assisted by the CIA. Or, to make it simpler, it can be placed on Obama’s desk.
Video first seen on TRUTH Stream Media
So, Russia is helping Assad’s embattled government to fight against “freedom fighters” who want to overthrow his government. That actually makes them the only country that is there at the request of the legitimate government. Leaving out the issue of whether Assad should be in power or not, that gives Russia the moral high ground.
This makes for a very interesting situation. Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union was arming and training insurgent groups in Africa and South America, while the United States tried to prop up the government.
Now it seems like we have a role reversal, where the United States is helping the insurgents, while the Russians are supporting the existing government. How did we ever get to this point?
A lot of this can be laid directly at the feet of President Obama. It is clear to the world, that while he is perfectly capable of standing up to his own Congress and make demands of them, shutting down the U.S. government and blaming it on the Republicans, he doesn’t have what it takes to stand up to world leaders.
His rush to get out of Iraq left a power vacuum, which ISIS is filling. His line in the sand showed everyone that his word meant nothing. The world has grown to distrust the word of Obama, which reflects directly on the United States.
On top of that, Obama has been gutting the military, stopping programs to upgrade military equipment, demanding that working systems be taken off line, parking aircraft carriers to avoid the cost of running them, reducing the size of our forces worldwide and turning the military into a social experiment on homosexuality. The once-feared American military might is becoming a joke to the nations of the world.
It has often been said that nature abhors a vacuum and Obama seems to be working overtime to create one. Rather than allow the United States to be the world’s police, a position we’ve held since the end of World War II, he is abdicating that responsibility and leaving the world without any police.
Who’s Hiding the Ace?
So, what happens? Vladimir Putin, a strong leader, steps in. I don’t believe for a minute that Russian bombers have been sent to Syria just to support President Assad, that’s merely the cover for the true purpose. No, Putin is taking the opportunity that Obama has given him and is stepping in to fill the power vacuum that Obama has left.
Vladimir Putin is a strong, bold leader who has already made clear his imperial ambitions. He wants to restore Russia to the greatness of her days as the center of the Soviet Union.
Because of this, he has invaded Ukraine, taken back the Crimea, threatened his neighbors and even threatened the European Union with financial destruction, by the simple expedient of shutting off their natural gas, should they give him any trouble.
Now he’s moved into the Middle East, propping up the Assad regime. Why would he do that? What does he hope to gain by such a military move? Is it pure altruism or does he have a greater goal in mind?
Regardless of Putin’s motive, he’s sending a very strong message to Middle Eastern countries and the world at large. At a time when confidence in the United States is the lowest it has been in a century, he’s stepping onto the world’s stage and saying “We are here.
We are no longer just working on recovering from the breakup of the Soviet Union; we are back on the world’s stage.” Such a move at a time like this, could easily change the balance of power in the Middle East.
Russia’s first moves, attacking groups other than ISIS, makes it clear that they are not there to support the coalition. Their demands (regardless of how politely they were worded) made to our ambassador make it clear that they are operating from a position of strength. They see themselves as the new power broker in the Middle East and they are declaring that message to the world.
This is an unprecedented move and one that could be the foretelling of the end of American power in the Middle East. Our power, like that of any country, is based on the might of our military, the strength of our economy and the fortitude of our leadership.
At a time when our economy is weak, Obama has worked to weaken our military and shown the world that he, the man who represents our nation’s will, has no fortitude. No wonder Putin is stepping up to bat.
Who knows how far this will go or the ultimate impact that it will make. With our allies in the Middle East no longer able to count on U.S. support, we will lose our influence with them as well. Israel already feels abandoned, as dose Egypt, and it won’t be long until our other allies feel the same.
Someone has said that we could be looking at the opening moves of World War III. If so, I can guarantee you that our president won’t take part. It will be up to the next president to pick up the pieces and try to put things back together again, much as Franklin Roosevelt had to do, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.
References:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/04/john-mccain-russia-us-proxy-war-syria-obama-putin
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/09/30/russian-bombs-in-syria-trigger-aftershocks-at-the-united-nations/
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/05/newly-declassified-u-s-government-documents-the-west-supported-the-creation-of-isis.html
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