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The mess in Syria

June 19, 2017 by Jeff (ILoveCapitalism)

U.S. Shoots Down Syrian Aircraft for First Time.

The U.S. military on Sunday shot down a Syrian Air Force fighter jet that bombed local forces aligned with the Americans in the fight against Islamic State militants…

According to a statement from the Pentagon, pro-Syrian regime forces attacked the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces-held town of Ja’Din, south of Tabqah in northern Syria, wounding a number of SDF fighters and driving the SDF from the town.

Coalition aircraft conducted a show of force and stopped the initial pro-regime advance toward the town, the Pentagon said…

A few hours later, the Syrian SU-22 dropped bombs near SDF fighters and, “in collective self-defense of coalition-partnered forces,” was immediately shot down by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet, the Pentagon said.

“The coalition’s mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” the Pentagon said, using an abbreviation for the Islamic State group. “The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them…”

And that’s what doesn’t make sense. ISIS and the so-called “moderate, democratic” opposition to the Syrian government are much the same people. There is a flow of people, weapons and training between them.

Just as no one can “have their cake and eat it, too”, the U.S. must choose between defeating Syria’s Assad regime and defeating ISIS. To attempt both, is to stick with a losing position.

UPDATE: Krauthammer tries to explain it. According to him:

  • ISIS is doomed – will be gone within 6-12 months.
  • Russia, Iran and Syria are working to “inherit” northern Iraq for Iran (the new Persian Empire), and likewise to have all of Syria in the hands of Assad-Russia-Iran-Shiites.
  • Meanwhile, the U.S. is working to defeat all that; especially to have a de facto division of Syria along ethnic lines, in which the western half of Syria will be Sunni-dominated and Saudi-friendly. (And northern Iraq, ??? Not sure.)

It still sounds hokey to me, with too much danger of an accidental war with Russia. But I wanted to acknowledge that the side favoring U.S. involvement in Syria might have a strategy in mind.

We’ve been hearing a long time that energy pipelines (especially liquid natural gas) might be involved in all this. Pipelines to Europe, that need to run through Syria. The Russia-Iran version would tend to make Europe more dependent on them, while the U.S.-Saudi version would do the reverse (or preserve Europe’s dependence on the U.S. and Saudi Arabia).

Filed Under: National Security, Syria war, War On Terror, World War III Tagged With: syria

Comments

  1. Tom says

    June 19, 2017 at 2:27 pm - June 19, 2017

    Because regime change worked out so well in Iraq and Libya.

    Syria is not our circus and its warring factions are not our monkeys.

  2. Matthew the Oilman! says

    June 19, 2017 at 9:56 pm - June 19, 2017

    This Syrian thing has me gravely concerned. The S.D.F. are these non Islamic forces that don’t like Assad, okay got it. Who are they? According to Wikipedia they are Marxist Kurds, and secularist college types. I would have told them to make their best deal with Assad and fight Isis with him. This Syrian policy is too much like John McCain’s, let’s get into a REALLY BIG WAR WITH RUSSIA, policy. Not a good thing.

  3. dvillebill says

    June 20, 2017 at 8:57 am - June 20, 2017

    i wonder if the pilot of the Syrian jet was Russian.

  4. ILoveCapitalism says

    June 20, 2017 at 8:06 pm - June 20, 2017

    You guys might find the Update interesting.

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