Not well reported is that SoS met with Putin in Russia yesterday.

 

They were to be talking ISIS and Syria.

 

It seems taking out Assad is more important that defeating ISIS.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/world/middleeast/john-kerry-vladimir-putin-syria-plan.html?_r=0

 

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Thursday that much work remained to be done. “We’ve always made clear that we would welcome a military contribution from Russia, as long as they were focused on ISIL and Al Qaeda’s presence in Syria,” Mr. Earnest said, referring to the Islamic State. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen them devote too much attention to using their military might to prop up the Assad regime.”

 

...One of the great complications of the Syrian civil war is figuring out which groups should be considered rebels focused on ousting the Assad government — a goal the United States supports — and which are aligned with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State, organizations that Washington has designated as terrorist and has vowed to defeat.

 

 

I would say if the rule of engagement was to take out any militant group in Syria that is not regular Syrian force or their allies (Russians are are already there) that ISIS would be diminished - at least on their home turf - in less than a week. Especially if US and Russian forces operated jointly.

 

But our spooks love their clandestine regime overthrow with the fake rebels. Even when it its not so clandestine.

 

Mapped: The 7 Governments the U.S. Has Overthrown | Foreign Policy

[video=youtube;zmEK-Oaht-w]

 

Posted without comment. (it would not be good if where included...)

The Russian position was to prop up Assad. ISIS is and has always been an afterthought.

 

The benefit of hindsight I've received in the last four years is less that Russia was right about Syria and more that Mitt Romney was absolutely right about Russia.

The Russian position was to prop up Assad. ISIS is and has always been an afterthought.

 

The benefit of hindsight I've received in the last four years is less that Russia was right about Syria and more that Mitt Romney was absolutely right about Russia.

 

And yet he was mocked.

 

Honestly he should have run for the nomination this year and said "See? TOLD YOU!!!"

Speaking of Romney, I wish he would have left D&M holdings alone. They used to make excellent equipment.

Not well reported is that SoS met with Putin in Russia yesterday.

 

They were to be talking ISIS and Syria.

 

It seems taking out Assad is more important that defeating ISIS.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/world/middleeast/john-kerry-vladimir-putin-syria-plan.html?_r=0

 

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said Thursday that much work remained to be done. “We’ve always made clear that we would welcome a military contribution from Russia, as long as they were focused on ISIL and Al Qaeda’s presence in Syria,” Mr. Earnest said, referring to the Islamic State. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen them devote too much attention to using their military might to prop up the Assad regime.”

 

...One of the great complications of the Syrian civil war is figuring out which groups should be considered rebels focused on ousting the Assad government — a goal the United States supports — and which are aligned with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State, organizations that Washington has designated as terrorist and has vowed to defeat.

 

 

I would say if the rule of engagement was to take out any militant group in Syria that is not regular Syrian force or their allies (Russians are are already there) that ISIS would be diminished - at least on their home turf - in less than a week. Especially if US and Russian forces operated jointly.

 

But our spooks love their clandestine regime overthrow with the fake rebels. Even when it its not so clandestine.

 

Mapped: The 7 Governments the U.S. Has Overthrown | Foreign Policy

 

Would be an interesting list to see what happened before the advent of the CIA.

The Russian position was to prop up Assad. ISIS is and has always been an afterthought.

 

The benefit of hindsight I've received in the last four years is less that Russia was right about Syria and more that Mitt Romney was absolutely right about Russia.

I forgot what Mitt said. Care to refresh us?

I forgot what Mitt said. Care to refresh us?

 

My response was something of an exaggeration, as was Mr. Romney's. In response to a question during the 2012 presidential debates which asked something to the effecct of "Who is the United States' greatest geopolitical foe in the coming years?", Mr. Romney answered "Russia" and was pretty roundly derided for it in the following days.

 

In some respects his opinion has been vindicated as Putin's deeper slide into authoritarianism has led to threats to cut off gas supplies from uncooperative neighbors, the Crimean crisis, and other such events.

 

Still, they are the acts of a desperate regime trying to hold onto power despite falling commodity prices (on which they depend heavily) and can easily be seen as such from the outside. It's also important to remember that while Russia isn't inclined to use their nuclear weapons, they might be inclined to sell them given the state of their economy and working with Russia to prevent further proliferation should be a top priority of any administration.

 

Nonetheless, President Obama's inability to deal with Russia in the years since he responded to Romney's answer with the quip, "The 1980s called and they want their foreign policy back.", now seems downright foolish.