“I will not put US boots on the ground in Syria.” That was President Obama’s unequivocal statement to the American people just two years ago when he first planned to bomb Syria. He has repeated the statement several times, as he has also repeated his promise that he “will not pursue a long air campaign” in Syria and Iraq.
Obama lied. And he lied again. And he lied again yesterday, when it was announced that he was putting US boots on the ground in Syria.
This move encapsulates neocon-occupied Washington’s response to foreign policy failure: if an intervention is failing, escalate.
The year-long US bombing campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS” has produced little result; the “train and equip” program produced a handful of fighters who immediately were captured by or defected to al-Qaeda and/or ISIS; US airdrops of weapons ended up in the hands of ISIS eight times out of ten, according to University of Oklahoma Syria expert Joshua Landis.
The solution to this failed policy is not to abandon the US regime change plans for Syria and let the Russians take care of the ISIS and al-Qaeda problem for us. No! For this administration the answer is US boots on the ground!
President Obama, according to senior administration officials, will start by infiltrating some 50 special forces troops into parts of Syria controlled by the Kurds and the “Syrian Democratic Forces.” These “Syrian Democratic Forces” are a mysterious new group created and marketed by the US administration. They seem as dubious as the similarly US-touted “Khorasan Group” a made-up organization that provided the pretext for the expansion of US bombing to Syria just over a year ago.
According to Obama’s new strategy, the US military will be on the ground in Syria fighting alongside Kurdish fighters who are being bombed by America’s NATO ally, Turkey. What are these US forces to do when they look overhead and see Turkish fighter jets about to bomb them? Will they shoot down American-made F-16s flown by NATO ally Turkey into Syria? How will the Turks take to the US shooting down its fighters in that case?
And what about Russian bombs falling on Syria? As the US refuses to give the Russian government coordinates for the rebels it considers “moderate,” there is little way for the Russians to know which fighting group will contain embedded US special forces. Is this not starting to look really foolish and dangerous?
Last March, Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the Russian military presence in Crimea after a coup overthrew the Ukrainian government with memorable words: “You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pre-text.”
Yet sending the US military into Syria against the wishes of the sovereign and legal Syrian government is orders of magnitude more illegal than even the Russian presence in Crimea, which was after all the result of a long-standing treaty between Russia and Ukraine.
Just last month at the United Nations, President Obama condemned those “major powers [who] assert themselves in ways that contravene international law.” But there is no UN Security Council resolution permitting the United States to conduct military operations in Syria, which means the whole operation is in gross violation of international law.
More importantly, President Obama has today embarked on another hot war in the Middle East with no Congressional declaration, no Congressional authorization, and not even a proper notification. Congress lays down and rolls over, the Constitution in flames.
Remember this when you think of President Obama’s new war on Syria:
Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.
Obama, being more honest but also more dangerous than Flip Wilson says, "The Empire made me do it"
Bernie, having "reservations" about what Obama has done, says nothing against Empire, but continues to pretend, against all evidence, that this is a democracy.
Hillary, delighting in more war, says "We came, we bombed, they all died, but the Empire won."
Talk about an issue to debate for the candidates in 2016?
"What's your position on the Empire?" "Oh, what Empire, you ask?" "The friggin Empire that you are auditioning to pose as the president of — you lying tools of both the neocon 'R' Vichy party and you smoother lying neoliberal-cons of the 'D' Vichy party!"
Obama's decision to officially invade Syria is an act of desperation. Both the Russians and Assad's coalition have made major inroads with the YPG and even elements of the Free Syrian Army allied with the Kurds. If they can unite and come to an understanding then they could have ISIS and Al-Nusra fully surrounded and cut off from there sugar daddies operating on the Turkish border. All it would take is Russia providing the YPG with the kind of heavy weaponry denied them by the US plus air support for a final putsch to seal off the border. This would mean game over for America's war against Assad and Obomba knows it. So he's trying once again to court the Kurds.
I support Kurdish independence but the Kurds will never get it from the Americans. The US will always Acquiesces to the Turks because of there proximity to both Russia and Europe. The Americans have routinely used the Kurds to do there dirty work and they have also routinely f**ked them over, leaving them holding the bag when they've outlived there usefulness. The Kurds would be wise to learn from there own history. Syria has screwed the Kurds themselves but they have also worked with them, for decades, before making the mistake of throwing out the PKK in a failed attempt to curry favor with Turkey, who perpetually view Syria as stolen property, good for nothing but rape and plunder much like Kurdistan.
Russia has always been on shaky terms with Turkey and there need to maintain Assad's Syria far out Weighs any hollow hope of reconciliation with Sultan Erdogan. To put a rambling diatribe short, Russia and Syria need the Kurds far more then the serially duplicitous Americans ever will, even now in Obomba's hour of need and Putin has more then proved himself to be a reliable patron of downtrodden independence movements, just ask Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Very sorry to hear you say that you support Kurdish independence. After all, they were the proven bad guys until your country had to make them the good guys for some justification to go to war with Saddam. (killing his own people, etc., blah, blah, blah)
Fact is comrade, they're still the bad guys and you should maybe rethink your praise of them because of the part those bas-ards played in the destruction of Iraq at the hands of Bush2.
If your talking about the corrupt Barzani clan, now in charge of most of Iraqi Kurdistan, then you have a point but the PKK, the PUK and the YPG had nothing to do with that and had nothing to do with Iraq.
Regardless of your opinions on specific government's and organizations, you shouldn't let that prejudice you against an entire race of people. The largest ethnic group without a sovereign nation. A people who were in fact slaughtered in mass by Saddam, mostly with our support during there war with Iran. They have as much right to independence as Palestine or Scotland.
BTW for someone so keen on accusing others of racism you should know that describing an entire race as "bas-ards" is about as racist as it gets.
"60 to 80 percent" is not "8 out of 10." It's "from 6 to 8 out of 10." What's gained by exaggerating? Why not quote the source accurately? How is this any different from when mainstream news sources or politicians spin the facts?
I don't buy that the russians don't know where the moderat rebels are. They are bombing any one fighting the Assad regim.
The only real moderate rebels are the Kurds and Russia has left them alone in hopes of some sort of cooperation. The rest are basically all Jihadi mercenaries who have more then earned the privilege of being blown to smithereens by fine Russian military technology.
Just go to YouTube and you'll find an endless stream of videos showing "moderat rebels" eating human hearts and literally crucifying Christians. Assad's no angel but those animals trying to replace him make him look like f**king Gandhi.
I wouldn't be too hasty in saying that Assad is no angel. After all, it's only US propaganda that has demonized him and we being antiwar advocates, we are supposed to reject that crap out of hand and immediately.
Find out for sure. Ask some Syrians. Or ask some of their allies, the Russians.
Assad is the best option in a bad situation, and I commend his support for minorities like the Druze, the Assyrians, the Christians and, until the late nineties and hopefully once again, the Kurds but a benevolent dictator is still a dictator and as a libertarian Marxist, I can't get down with that.
Mark my words, the Russians won't either once the dust settles, which is why there pushing for a democratic transition government to let the Syrians decide for themselves.
Most likely true Cathrin. Join me in saying that Russia needs to bomb all the terrorists including the "moderate" terrorists to hell. And if US special forces get in the way purposely then they had it coming for getting in the way. Nothing should be getting in the way of the war on terror and finally defeating them by sending them to see their 72 virgins! Keeping in mind that the 72 virgins are far preferable to a pair of useless wings on your back?
Ya with me honey?
The whole point is, where is congress, as the title says?
Well, congress is still there and in fact by their silence are demonstrating that they are onside with the evil black demon president. LOL
If that congress was opposed then you would hear them kicking and screaming all the way to Canada! They're not obviously but that's an inconvenient truth for comrade and a few others on this board. It's just that I keep getting this feeling that your pres is a reluctant hawk and would actually like to be stopped by that thar congress!
And luv from Canada
helal olsun adamlara
It’s a great blow for humanity. Hope the love of Allah can unite us all in peace be a humble muslim , Keep istiqomah. ^^ Thanks for sharing.