Adventures in Syria!

"So how is Syria going? What are the dynamics? I don't know - ever try and solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded?"

Last week, our Commander-in-Chief decided at long last it was time to put some "boots on the ground" in Syria. These would all be Special Operators and act only in "advisory" capacity. I almost had to chuckle a bit when I heard that. Many of us old timers remember how our involvement in Vietnam started - advisors. As we learned, it is a slippery slope going from advisors to a force of 500,000 on the ground.

But I digress. Back to Syria. When I heard we were going to send in troops, I looked at my wife and asked how that works. I mean, we were not invited in there by Assad. It is after all still a sovereign state. Then this morning in the paper was an article about Syria reacting to having some American troops on their soil. To paraphrase, they will be "persona non grata". I guess Mr. Assad still remembers we are trying to remove him from power.

How is going to work one might ask? We have Russian jets blowing the crap out of Islamic strongholds. Oh, and even though they deny it, and also the rebels we are supporting. We have American jets trying to do some pin prick bombing on the Islamics. We have Assad's troops fighting both the Islamics and the rebels. We have the CIA backed rebels fighting Assad's troops. And we have the Islamics trying kill everyone. Get the picture? It is a hot mess.

Someone who is a blue eyed optimist or incredibly naive might ask, "Gosh, should not the UN be in there instead? Is this not something the UN was set up for?" Yes and yes. This feckless waste of money, space and time which sits in New York City has become only good for one thing - to get up in your business in how you live. As far as being the world's policeman, to keep the peace, well, that idea died shortly after its creation shortly after World War II.

How is the Syrian adventure going to end? Might end poorly. Might be another quagmire like Southeast Asia turned out to be. Or it might end up being a proxy war between us and the resurgent "Bear". I guess the question I would ask is simply this - what is our plan? What is our exit strategy? How do we define what a "win" is? If one drop of American blood is spilled, will it be worth it? 

My guess is the Russians will not stick around very long. They still have bruises from their involvement in Afghanistan. They will unleash their dogs of war, get it over with, and then move on to the next shiny object. We on the other hand, love protected engagements led by politicians. Since the end of World War II, the only time we let our war fighters dictate the battle strategy was during the Gulf War. As we know, that war was over in just a few days. This adventure is once again being led by politicians. 

Buckle up folks. This is about to get very interesting. The fires in Iraq and Syria are far from being over. Our adventures will continue, and could continue for quite some time...