Putin and Assad Are Ahead of Us Again
The Russians are busy building what looks like a major airbase inside Syria. The claim it's "strictly for defensive purposes", which is about as credible as our assurance that Nebraska would always be Indian land. But what exactly is it for? Fighter aircraft with air-to-air missiles mounted have been spotted going there, and now there are anti-aircraft missiles being set up. But nobody save the Syrian regime has an air force, and the Russians are friends of Assad.
My guess is the base is not for a current problem, but to head off a future one. A number of countries are getting tired of the stonewalling at the U.N. and are proposing to establish "no-fly" zones, where thoses Syrians opposed to the Assad regime would be protected from barrel bombs and other aerial attacks by the Syrian government. Now, should there be such an attempt, the Russians can shoot down Western airplanes enforcing such a zone, and claim they are acting defensively to protect the sovereign airspace of a friendly nation. (It would also make things like the Israeli airstrike against the Syrian nuclear reactor much more difficult.)
I yield to few people in my detestation of Assad and his regime. But it is time to abandon the demand that he relenquish power. He has proved he is willing to cross any line he can get away with to maintain his rule -- and let's face it, we are not. When a madman has drenched your living room in gasoline and is holding a cigarette lighter, you back down, at least for the moment.
My guess is the base is not for a current problem, but to head off a future one. A number of countries are getting tired of the stonewalling at the U.N. and are proposing to establish "no-fly" zones, where thoses Syrians opposed to the Assad regime would be protected from barrel bombs and other aerial attacks by the Syrian government. Now, should there be such an attempt, the Russians can shoot down Western airplanes enforcing such a zone, and claim they are acting defensively to protect the sovereign airspace of a friendly nation. (It would also make things like the Israeli airstrike against the Syrian nuclear reactor much more difficult.)
I yield to few people in my detestation of Assad and his regime. But it is time to abandon the demand that he relenquish power. He has proved he is willing to cross any line he can get away with to maintain his rule -- and let's face it, we are not. When a madman has drenched your living room in gasoline and is holding a cigarette lighter, you back down, at least for the moment.