Wednesday, September 23, 2015

RUSSIANS IN SYRIA FIGHTING ISIS

Were the human element of the ongoing tragedy in Syria not involved, the mess would be more akin to a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, or, perhaps, to a badly written libretto for an 18th century opera by a mediocre composer. Yesterday's freedom fighers are today's enemies, and Russia has had enough and is now actively and openly sending aid and support to the embattled regime of Bashar al Assad. The American response has been all-too-typical, with the usual flannel-mouthed denunciations of the Russian actions as "destabilizing," with no mention, of course, of what the West's actions have been.
But the Russian presence may be disturbing to the ongoing insanity in another sense altogether, one that Western hawks surely have to be contemplating. Consider this story shared by Mr. S.D.:
Reuters: Russian Boots on Ground in Syria Seeking to Destroy Western Created ISIS
Before we even tackle the article itself, note two prominent factors right off the bat: (1) the title of the article: Russian Boots on Ground in Syria Seeking to Destroy Western Created ISIS,(emphasis added) and (2) the fact that it is Reuters which has run the story under this headline. This is not an alternative news source, this is not internet conspiracy theory, this is very much a mainstream western newswire service, and that is indicative, I suggest in one component of my high octane speculation (and as we'll see shortly, fantasy), of growing "dissent in the ranks" within the West itself, or, if one prefers, some major "factional infighting" in the "house that NATO built."
But when one turns to the actual text of the article, the language is even less guarded, and more directly accusatory(and I am citing nearly the entirety of the end of the article here):
This incredible news is the culmination of a string of crises that have taken place as a result of the Syrian conflict. The central problems, of course, being the obviously Western created Migrant Crisis and ISIS terrorist forces.
Russia’s President Putin has been the only world leader to openly name and shame the West for being directly responsible for the crisis and growth of ISIS, with others in the Russian government branding Western interference in the Middle East as ‘social engineering‘.
The military forces deployed to work with Assad in his fight against ISIS will most likely be special forces units with tight objectives, which is in massive contrast to the regular occurrence of Western mission creep.
This development confirms analysis calling out further Western interference as ‘incalculable folly‘, as it would now lead to a potential confrontation with Russia – a situation that would become truly earth shattering.
The difference between this intervention and Western meddling, is that this is an entirely legal and sanctioned act of cooperation between two internationally recognised nation states. Anyone saying anything different should have their motives questioned.
(bold and italics emphases added)
It doesn't take any reading "between the lines" here, because everything is said crystal-clearly right in the lines themselves: (1) Russian "special forces" are involved (and one can only contemplate the results of ISIS what will happen when ISIS beheads its first Russian or meets its first speznaz unit), and (2) the whole refugee/ISIS mess is of the West's own creation (this from Reuter's naming unnamed US sources), and (3) the Russian intervention, unlike the West's, has at least the letter - if not the spirit - of international law behind it.
I suggest that the real news here is between the lines, for Russian on-the-ground forces clearly have "specific mission objectives," even though we don't know what they are. One, of course, is suggested by the title of the article itself: the Russians mean to destroy ISIS (and hence, the deployment of Russian special forces, who will be playing with a very different set of "rules of engagement" than ISIS is used to fighting thus far). The other, however, is one that might have certain lights in a whole lot of places burning late at night with a bit of worry and anxiety, for yet another mission that the Russians might be on is an "evidence-gathering" mission to find out, and perhaps eventually expose, just exactly who is behind ISIS, who long they've been behind it, and where the money and equipment is really coming from, with irrefutable proof.
I can almost see it now... instead of an angry Adlai Stevenson confronting a Sphinx-like Valerian Zorin in the UN Security Council with photos of Soviet missiles in Cuba and insisting he's going to wait for an explanation until hell freezes over, we have Sergei Lavrov in the UN Security Counil, producing photos and documents(perhaps some containing Hillary's emails) to the nameless and amoprhous shapes that fill the chairs of the west's permanent members on that body,or, even better, Zbgnw Brzznsk (could we PLEASE get some vowels, or at least some vowel points?), with the Germans, Chinese, Indians, Brazilians, and Argentines, looking on quietly, scarcely able to contain their smiles, as Mr. Lavrov asks for an explanation, and says he'll be happy to wait until hell freezes over.
Ok ok... I'm dreaming in my high octane speculation run-amock... but still, it's a nice fantasy...
But one thing is clear, once again messages are being sent from within the power structure of the West, from one element, to another. And here the message is being sent without obfuscation, without careful language, and without hesitation.
That should give one pause...

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