Russian jets began airstrikes in Syria earlier this week and Moscow's intervention has added another dimension to the already complex web of countries involved in the conflict, now four and a half years old. Listening to western press, it would seem as if America was having an exclusive party and Russia had decided to crash it. Of course, let’s not forget that France also decided to begin bombing Syria last week and pundits didn’t have much to say about that, and even more so, if we look closer, we can see that there are other countries bombing Syria as well. 12 other countries to be exact. But who are they? Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Jordan, Australia, Canada, Israel, Turkey, France, the U.K., the U.S., and Russia. That’s right. 11 other countries are illegally conducting airstrikes in a sovereign country and media remains silent while talking heads throw a hissy fit over Russia’s legal involvement. Let’s take a closer look.
The Wall Street Journal took the lead when it reported that — “Russia launched airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday, catching U.S. and Western officials off guard and drawing new condemnation as evidence suggested Moscow wasn’t targeting the extremist group Islamic State, but rather other opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.” And while that ambiguous phrase “opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime” sounds good if you haven’t been paying attention, it really deserves further attention. Who are these “opponents”? Further on in the article, the WSJ explains that — “They are relatively moderate rebel factions and Islamist groups like Ahrar al-Sham and the al Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front.“ Wait, did you get that? It is like buzzword bingo mixed with a clever sleight-hand-linguistic trick best read from left-to-right. We can read “relatively“, as in, compared to something, but compared to what? We don’t know yet. Moderate — that sounds good, everyone loves moderation. The Greeks were big lovers of moderation. Rebel — a small fighting group, usually on the correct side of the battle against a larger, more oppressive force. Faction — a smaller part of a main group. Islamist group, this pretty much speaks for itself, a group a fighters that gather around the Muslim faith and the last one — Al Qaeda affiliate. wait, Really? Is that right? Did the Wall Street Journal just say Russia was a bad guy because it bombed “moderate al Qaeda affiliates“? Haven’t we been told for more than a decade that al Qaeda were the bad guys? and now WSJ is arguing that they aren’t so bad (compared to the real crazies)?
Then Reuters jumped on the bandwagon, saying that based on a Skype interview with rebel commanders, it was clear that Russian warplanes were deliberately targeting anti-regime forces other than ISIL. U.S. officials even said that one of the airstrikes hit an area primarily held by rebels backed by the Central Intelligence Agency and allied spy services. Of course, to understand who the CIA was backing, we have to go back a few years to an article in the Washington Post when they wrote — “Abu Yusaf, a high-level security commander of the Islamic State said — “In the East of Syria, there is no Free Syrian Army any longer. All Free Syrian Army people there have joined the Islamic State.” That’s right. The Islamic State is the main player in all of this, and that inevitably is who the fighters tend to gravitate towards. As proof of this, further on in that article one fighter told his story- “Abu Saleh left Libya in 2012 for Turkey and then crossed into Syria. “First I fought under what people call the ‘Free Syrian Army’ but then switched to Al Nusra. And I have already decided I will join the Islamic State when my wounds are healed”.
And how have politicians in America responded? As expected, John “wacko-bird“ McCain took the frontline when he said on Fox — “I might do what we did in Afghanistan many years ago, to give those guys the ability to shoot down those planes, that equipment is available.” He went on to say that the Free Syrian Army would shoot down the planes, “just like the Afghans shot down Russian planes after Russia invaded Afghanistan.” Of course, let’s not forget that “McCain was referring to how the United States armed Islamic militants in the 1970s, a policy that led to the rise of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and Osama Bin Laden."
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina took it one step further when she argued on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel that "the US should “secure a no-fly zone around anti-Assad rebel forces that America is supporting” and “be prepared” to use force against Russia if need be." But she wasn’t the only one. Hillary Clinton has also come forward saying the same thing. That’s right. Two presidential candidates are suggesting that America become the rebels’ Air Force. Once again, just as a reminder, “Although the rebels have fought against ISIL, there are numerous accounts of the FSA and other jihadist groups handing over their weapons to Al-Qaeda affiliates and in some cases defecting outright to join ISIL. The FSA has also been accused of a number of war crimes, some of which are on a par with ISIL. "Maybe this is why, according to CNN, when pushed to define terrorists and terrorism, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said — "If it looks like a terrorist, if it acts like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist, right?"
As a parting shot, Andrew Weiss, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said — "Mr. Putin’s decision-making in Syria mirrors the way he has approached Ukraine. He deliberately tries to do things to throw opponents off balance and he’s always trying to get some sort of element of surprise and tactical advantage over people, that’s sort of what keeps him going is this constant springing surprises and flipping events in his favor." Apparently Mr. Weiss feels that Russia should follow America’s 15 year example in the Middle East, because that has worked out so well. His comments remind us of that old joke — "Discussing foreign policy with America is like playing chess with a pigeon. He will jump up on the board, knock over all the pieces, poop everywhere and then strut around loudly proclaiming that he has won."
So, what do you think dear listeners, "Will Russia’s foreign policy in the Middle East succeed?"
