"It seems like in our dirty little war, we are good at writing angry letters and pointing our fingers. Putin on the other hand, is good at killing people and breaking things..."
Hmmm. I have been told if you live long enough, you will see history repeat itself. I have also been told (like many of us have) that nature abhors a vacuum. Especially in world leadership and power. Why do I bring all that up? It seems that Mother Russia is back. Not the Soviet Union, but the key player in the Soviet Union. And now we have a proxy war with the Russians. Just like the old days, once again.
So what are the Russians up to in Syria? Back in my cold warrior days, we had to try and figure the Soviets out in their motives and methods. But this one is a head scratcher. Why anyone would choose to jump into this shark pond is indeed a mystery. Unless, you peel the onion back just a bit.
Like I said, nature abhors a vacuum. When we choose to sit on the sidelines more than be on the playing field, this became much too tempting for Putin. It has been obvious in the past that Mr. Putin has little to zero respect for our President. And face facts for just a minute. Who is the real enemy over there? ISIS (or ISIL)? The Syrian Army? The rebels? Who is fighting whom? The answer - just about everyone is now fighting just about everyone.
Putin saw this fog of battle as an excellent excuse to accelerate the outcome. It would be he, not the coalition of the few, who would save the day. Not only save the day from the Islamic terrorists, he would also rid the hillside of the rebels who are trying to unseat Assad. Two birds with one stone! Then once everyone was neutralized, his army would be welcomed to stay in Syria to ensure the peace. And presto! Another puppet Soviet (I mean Russian) state.
And what can we do to prevent this? Not much really. Putin just chuckles at our bluster. Even though we know the Russians are targeting rebels instead of Islamic terrorists, there is not much we can do. That is unless, we choose to go after Assad as well as the terrorists. Then we really would have a full fledged proxy (or worse) war.
What is the lesson learned from this? Reagan taught us to practice "peace through strength". Worked pretty darned good. Obama is practicing the bystander theory. The hurry up and wait theory. And we can see what a hot mess the world is right now.
How will this end? Not well for us. And not well for the rebels we support. Possibly very well for the Russians. And excellent for Assad. Hopefully, just hopefully, the Russians will bomb the Islamic terrorists out of Syria for good. That could be the hidden bonus out of this dirty little war.
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