Syria has been at war now for more than five years. Those who supported the conflict first explained it as an extension of the «Arab Spring». But no-one today uses this explanation. Simply because the governments which developed from these «Springs» have already been overthrown. Far from being a struggle for democracy, these events were no more than a tactic for changing secular régimes to the profit of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is now alleged that the Syrian «Spring» was hijacked by other forces, and that the «revolution » – which never existed – has been devoured by jihadists who are all too real.
As President Vladimir Putin pointed out, primarily, the behaviour of the Western and Gulf powers is incoherent. It is impossible on a battlefield to combat both jihadists and the Republic at the same time as pretending to take a third position. But no-one has publicly taken sides, and so the war continues.
The truth is that this war has no interior cause. It is the fruit of an environment which is not regional, but global. When war was declared by the US Congress in 2003 with the vote on the Syrian Accountability Act, Dick Cheney’s objective was to steal the gigantic reserves of Syrian gas. We know today that the «Peak Oil» scare did not signal the end of oil reserves, and that Washington will soon be exploiting other forms of hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico. The strategic objectives of the United States have thus changed. As from now, their objective is to contain the economic and political development of China and Russia by forcing them to engage in commerce exclusively by maritime routes which are controlled by their aircraft-carriers.
As soon as he arrived in power in 2012, President Xi Jinping announced his country’s intention to free itself from these constraints and to build two new continental commercial routes to the European Union. The first route would build on the antique traces of the Silk Road, the second would pass via Russia and on to Germany. Immediately, two conflicts appeared – first of all, the war in Syria was no longer directed at régime change, but at creating chaos, while the same chaos broke out, for no better reason, in Ukraine. Then, Belarus contacted Turkey and the United States, expanding the Northern barricade which splits Europe in two. Thus, two endless conflicts block both routes.
The good news is that no-one can negotiate victory in Ukraine against defeat in Syria, since both wars have the same objective. The bad news is that the chaos will continue on both fronts as long as China and Russia have been unable to build another route.
Consequently, there is nothing to be gained by negotiation with people who are being paid to maintain the conflict. It would be better to think pragmatically and accept that these are simply the means for Washington to cut the Silk Roads. Only then will it be possible to untangle the numerous competing interests and stabilise all the inhabited areas.
makati1 on Sun, 15th May 2016 6:21 am
America, the Chaos Virus Plague* Vector**.
For the low IQ types here:
*Plague is an infectious disease.
**In epidemiology, a Vector is any agent (person, animal, or microorganism)(OR COUNTRY) that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism.
The new American Dream: If you cannot win, create chaos so no one else can.
onlooker on Sun, 15th May 2016 6:42 am
Here Mak, is some of the exploitation chaos which the Empire has been fostering and championing since at least Reagan. “Lower and Middle class taxes at zero –
That activity is worth far more to us then letting an incompetent bureaucracy squander it.”
Both of you if you could would totally eviscerate Govt. You hold that notion which all disciples of Capitalism hold that somehow the markets will solve all economic issues for all. In reality, unfettered markets is what we have had since Reagan here and in much of the free world. Your biases do not allow you to see the results. Take for instance the Glass Steagall legislation repealing the Glass Steagall Act of the 1930’s. Basically, by doing so allowing Commercial and investment banking to seamlessly merge thus opening the flood gates for the irresponsible investing of entrusted money. The overall thrust though was and continues to be about Globalization and how it was portrayed as a Great benefit to all people of the world. Nothing could be further from the truth. This phenomenon has totally weaken the natural sovereignty of national governments. In place you have opaque and totally unaccountable institutions like the WTO, IMF, World Bank and others basically dictating to countries how to run their economies and what they should prioritize. SAP an acronym for Structural Adjustment Program is a method by which loans are given to countries but with highly specific and restrictive conditions. The conditions include reducing govt spending especially social spending, cutting wages, gearing economies to import/export rather than internal development, opening markets and reducing protections of local industry, privatization of certain industries etc. These and other policies like those imposed by the WTO making countries roll back whatever environmental regulations they may have had, have had the effect of “contributing to “the greatest peacetime transfer of wealth from the periphery to the imperial center in history”. That is the effects of your Free Trade, weakened national Govts. and Globalization. It has impoverished masses of people and weaken already weak national economies. Basically, it has installed the rule of Transnational Corporations and Institutions and benefited them along with the elites and wealthy of most countries. Everyone else and everything else (Earth) has been dealt a severe blow.
onlooker on Sun, 15th May 2016 6:44 am
If you want Mak, a detailed analysis read Naomo Klein “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism “
makati1 on Sun, 15th May 2016 7:02 am
onlooker, the things in your post are not new to me. I have experienced them first hand over the last 71 years. Today’s conditions are far worse than those that preceded the Great Depression. The same lack of controls. The same elite faction is in control. THAT is why I don’t see America existing for much longer.
The world is different today. The Us is worn out and disintegrating, not growing. 96% of Americans depend on 4% to feed them and that system is breaking down. Mother Nature is using our thoughtless pollution to change the world, literally, into something that will not sustain us for much longer. I have resigned myself to just be an interested observer in these last days of humanity.
As long as the internet remains, I will continue to educate myself and share my thoughts with interested parties. It was the best thing to happen to humans that wanted to learn and share. But it shares too much truth and can not be tolerated by most governments for much longer. I would not be surprised if we woke up someday and it was gone. No great loss. I have seen many new things come and go in mt life. This one will go also. Have a great day!
onlooker on Sun, 15th May 2016 7:12 am
Yes Mak, the internet may be one of the best things this modern world has created. We all are being instructed as the the true nature of things, some are ready, willing and able to digest the truth and others not quite. I feel fortunate to interact with you guys and share information and communicate to you Mak and others my sincere wish that despite what is coming, never let any of that disturb the deep Peace that I feel is most critical at this time. Peace be with you guys.
joe on Sun, 15th May 2016 7:49 am
The theory is ok, but it doesnt pan out. Its better than the climate change theory but it fails in one particular area. Europe has nothing the seriously gain by sending its freight via Central Asia. The silk road worked, because nobody had yet resolved the issues of sea transit to China until the British and French completed the New Suez Canal and used steam ships to trade significant cargo loads, primarily Britian used Central Asia as a way to keep Russia out of India. Americas gambit in the middle east is no gambit, its simply a tool to justify so much military spending. This has more or less been the case since the invention of nukes.
War is a total fraud. Are we seriously saying that if the EU was left on its own it would totally collapse. Europe had Russia on the ropes in ww2 but couldnt finish the job. Nukes made such mass military manoeuvres obselete. So do we need a fleet of ships and stealth planes to stop us all bending to Allah? No. America has freedom of religion, if Americans want to embrace islam and bring a out a global isis, then that is a right. But thats not whats really going on. We are really talking about who bends the knee and who benefits. America has adopted the Athenians model of Empire, one that the British initially tried to start but failed so badly when English people many of whom were from actual England simply took the name ‘American’ and removed themselves from English sovereignty. England then had to enforce its grip on the rest of the world for 200 years to prevent this scenario playing out again in other nations. To do this elites invested in ideas of race, nationality etc, which did not exist until they were invented. In places outside of both American and British/European influence the old rules apply and are growing. Race matters less than religion and status (both economic and birth) ISIS accepts everyone no matter what the color or wealth condition, this gives it a very modern and liberl appeal, sadly its not socialist, so its true form is a greed machine, reflecting rather than challanging the west, its why the end of that war will be hard to carry out but easy to enforce.
Russia is a direct challange to America and American military spending is justified only in the sense that it matches with money the geographical advantages of Russia. America has to buy off and defend countries on Russias border because they have to, if they didnt half the world would host Russian bases within a decade. So the World is using America, but Americans are too stupid to understand, when the money goes so does loyalty. Europe wont spend on defending itself because its got stupid Americans more than happy to do it, and even pay Europeans for the privledge.
makati1 on Sun, 15th May 2016 8:30 am
joe, you are full of American bullshit.
I’m not even going to point out all of the huge piles you have in your comment. You obviously are totally addicted to the American Koolaid. Beyond redemption or rehab.
Davy on Sun, 15th May 2016 9:43 am
More obsessive anti-American rambling by you know who. We are doing fine here in our complete mess of a country. The obsessive anti-American extremist are embellishing, cherry picking, and leaving out facts IOW propaganda. The rest of the world is as bad or worse than the US.
The US is a mixture of third world and first world and fully in decline and decay. The rest of the world is a mixture and together in an interconnected fall from growth into the same decline and decay. Much of the world is 3rd world and collapsing into failed states or overpopulated ecologically destroyed fail states in waiting.
To come on here daily and excessively and try to tell the audience extreme versions of current events is wrong plain and simple. It is exactly what the propaganda machines in control of the global system are doing. It is the rape of the truth for personal gain or emotional needs. It does not reflect the truth.
This board has greatly radicalized for the worse since I came on here in 2013. It is a pity because this was once a relatively balance board with plenty of diverse subjects traded but today it is a redundant focus on little but anti-American subjects. The pressured nature of this message is a turn off even to people who are American critical. It becomes a redundant boring discourse. How many times can you say I hate you before it loses its significance? Pathetic!
JuanP on Sun, 15th May 2016 11:57 am
There goes Davy once more with his delusional rants about how the USA is equal or better than any other country on Earth. I wouldn’t put the USA in my top 25 list, and I am sure I could find 50 countries that are better than the USA, IMHO, if I went over all the countries in the world.
Corn pone opinions and all that! LOL! I will buy bullshit because it makes great fertilizer, but opinions are worthless, even my own.
JuanP on Sun, 15th May 2016 12:08 pm
The war in Syria will end not too long after the USA and its terrorist allies stop promoting it. I expect the war between the USA and the rest of the world to keep playing out on multiple fronts until the USA finally completely destroys itself to the point it can no longer bully others. I expect this process to last decades.
When one sees what the politicians and economists are doing to the USA, though, there can be no doubt about the final outcome. We are witnessing the slow motion wreck of the American Empire, and I fear it will be horrible when I see what the people in power in the USA are capable of. Hillary Clinton scares me, too. To put a person like her in power is asking for trouble. Will she give the USA eight wars in eight years? That is what I fear.
Davy on Sun, 15th May 2016 12:29 pm
Notice how Juan changed my “As bad or worse” to “equal or better”. That fits my point perfectly. Thanks Juan.
GregT on Sun, 15th May 2016 1:11 pm
“The rest of the world is as bad or worse than the US.”
“the USA is equal or better than any other country on Earth”
Two different ways of saying the exact same thing.
Davy on Sun, 15th May 2016 3:05 pm
Sorry Greg, you forgot to mention attitude and disposition. That same issue of attitude and disposition is why you made a comment on my comment. Peas in a pod have a resemblance.
dissident on Sun, 15th May 2016 7:59 pm
Any country that calls itself exceptional is dangerous and has serious issues. There have been many such “exceptional” regimes in the past and they have all wrecked themselves and produced rivers of blood and misery.
theedrich on Mon, 16th May 2016 12:41 am
There is a kernel of truth in the article. Our government is run by megalomaniacs who are determined to rule the entire planet. They care nothing at all for the U.S. population, whose demographics they are trying to change by swamping it with massive immigration from the low-IQ Third World. Meanwhile narcotics of all kinds are physically destroying the minds, bodies and lives of countless Americans, especially the youth, while Congress debates endlessly about trivialities or about how it can extract more money from everyone at home and abroad. Stealth bribery controls the levers of power, and high crimes and misdemeanors (to say nothing about crony capitalism, which is not capitalism at all) are ignored and swept out of public awareness. The masses are diverted with drivel about how “presidential” candidates for the presidency may sound, while massive corruption by puppeteers with polished speechwriters takes place in D.C.
The U.S. is collapsing internally, but no one cares. The laugh tracks in the sitcoms keep the masses entranced, while “our” government commits mass murder abroad and the society as a whole slips over the edge into the abyss.