[Beren]

I don't really understand John's position on this, I can only speculate that it has something to do with East Europeans liking for autocrats and dislike of refugees.

He just means to be a calm and dispassionate machiavellist/analyst/strategist here. The devil's advocate if you like.

[Atlantis]

He just means to be a calm and dispassionate machiavellist/analyst/strategist here. The devil's advocate if you like.

Oh, I see. My bad.

[Istanbuller]

SDF cut a deal with Assad. You see how they disloyal to America. Idiots will lose their southern territory to Assad and later Assad will lose to Turkey. US President sees it while other US politicians are still threatening Turkey with severe sanctions. I hope that all these sanctions and counter moves make Turkey speed up opetation brutally.

[Atlantis]

SDF cut a deal with Assad. You see how they disloyal to America.

You are right, they should thank the Americans for betraying them before being slaughtered by the Turks.

Idiots will lose their southern territory to Assad and later Assad will lose to Turkey.

and then Putin will lose Russia to Turkey.

US President sees it while other US politicians are still threatening Turkey with severe sanctions.

Trump is the first to put sanctions on Turkey. If he does something, he likes it biggly.

Trump halting trade negotiations with Turkey, raising its steel tariffs to 50%

And if Trump can betray the Kurds, he can betray the Turks. Rather than handing a Syrian city to his Turkish Nato ally, he hands it to the Russians.

U.S. cedes Syrian city to Russia in battlefield "handover" as Turkey tries to take it

[foxdemon]

Japan isn't going to take the Northern Islands back by force and the resources Russia uses to support the separatists in Ukraine are relatively minor. Putin's greatest price is a geopolitical role in the ME. Since the time of the Czars, the Russians have dreamed about extending their influence into the ME. By a clever combination of limited but effective military missions and intelligent diplomacy, Putin has achieved more than any previous Russian leader.

Russia is still a military superpower. Turkey wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell in a military conflict with Russia. Even Erdogan isn't mad enough to even try. Putin is going soft on Erdogan because easing Turkey out off Nato is even more important to him than helping Assad capture a few more villages.

The point is that Russia has to maintain a decent AirPower presence in the Far East. In international relations, word must be backed with force. They can’t bring those fight jets west.

Ukraine requires more AirPower and it pins down a divisional sized armoured force.

That doesn’t leave enough to beat the Turks, especially given the Russians will have to project power rather than operate on short logistics line as the Turks are.


Turkey has a very strong military. Several hundred advanced jet fighters, they make their own air to air and cruise missiles. They have demonstrated an ability to jam Russian SAMs. They also have a large and determined ground force. Admittedly they aren’t as high tech as the Israelis, but then nor are the Russians.


As to whether or not Erdogan is that much of a gambler, time will tell.

[noemon]

I am not talking about the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus. I am talking about the recent Turkish occupation of all the territorial waters of Cyprus and consequently their occupation of EU territory for which the EU is doing absolutely nothing at all. Erdogan has surrounded the entire island with warships and drills and only France out of the entire EU/west has sent warships there.

[Atlantis]

I am not talking about the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus. I am talking about their recent occupation of all the territorial waters of Cyprus.

Sorry, I misunderstood.

[Stormsmith]

On economic sanctions:

Occassionally, since 1945, the US imposes sanctions. But only those sanctions imposed on Iraq have been comprehensive, meaning that virtually every aspect of the country's imports and exports is controlled, which is particularly damaging to a country recovering from war. Since the program began 1991ish, an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of five have died as a result of the sanctions -- almost three times as many as the number of Japanese killed during the U.S. atomic bomb attack

The sanction were lifted for humanitarian reasons, but I doubt the politicians suffered at all

[jimjam]

over the weekend, State and Energy Department officials were quietly reviewing plans for evacuating roughly 50 tactical nuclear weapons that the United States had long stored, under American control, at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, about 250 miles from the Syrian border, according to two American officials.

Those weapons, one senior official said, were now essentially Erdogan’s hostages. To fly them out of Incirlik would be to mark the de facto end of the Turkish-American alliance. To keep them there, though, is to perpetuate a nuclear vulnerability that should have been eliminated years ago.

“I think this is a first — a country with U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in it literally firing artillery at US forces,” Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies wrote last week.

For his part, Mr. Erdogan claims nuclear ambitions of his own: Only a month ago, speaking to supporters, he said, he said he “cannot accept” rules that keep Turkey from possessing nuclear weapons of its own.

Another Obese Donald mess. I wonder how Jared Kushner's Middle East peace plan is doing . Maybe Donald should name Ivanka Secretary of State …….

[Hindsite]

SDF cut a deal with Assad. You see how they disloyal to America. Idiots will lose their southern territory to Assad and later Assad will lose to Turkey. US President sees it while other US politicians are still threatening Turkey with severe sanctions. I hope that all these sanctions and counter moves make Turkey speed up opetation brutally.

President Trump says the Kurds are Assad's problem now and anyone including 'Napoleon' is welcome to help protect them. He suspects that the Kurds may have released some ISIS prisoners on purpose, and that one garrison of U.S. forces would remain in Syria but in the south to prevent a resurgence by ISIS.

[skinster]

Good if the U.S. is actually getting out this time.

Good also that the Kurds finally decided to ally with the SAA. They should've done this a couple of years ago.

Anyone claiming it's Turkey or Erdogan that is dealing with terrorists need only to look into how Turkey gave free passage to the same, via Turkey, at the beginning of this war on Syria.

Everyone who isn't invited should gtfo of Syria; the U.S., Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc.

I don't really understand John's position on this

He has a tendency to support all wars by empire, like some weirdo sick fuck.

[Hindsite]

He has a tendency to support all wars by empire, like some weirdo sick fuck.

Vice President Pence announced a request for a seize fire to allow for a negotiated settlement between the two sides.

[Stormsmith]

Thinking of how mad (insane) President Trump's been acting, the thought of him with his pudgy but small fingers on a nuclear button makes me wonder how hard it's going to be getting land in Tasmania or Tierra del Fuego...

Vice President Pence announced a request for a seize fire to allow for a negotiated settlement between the two sides.

Wouldn't that hurt

[Beren]

Maybe Donald should name Ivanka Secretary of State …….

Ivanka has much greater ambitions than that, she doesn't exactly mean to be a secretary in Daddy's cabinet. Her great talents destine her for a lot more.

[annatar1914]

Oh My! A NYT hater. If they see NYT ……………. it's automatically wrong. Stick with the Make America Great Again Tribune my friend. You will be more at ease. And ………….. don't forget to take your meds ……. you seem a tad over excited.

I think in the heat of the moment you have confused me with your blood brothers the followers of Trump... You guys go together like ham and eggs, trust me, you'll all be kissing Trump's orange behind soon enough, it's in the nature of things.

No, I'm not overly excited, I just know what Liberals-and Islamofascists-are all about.

[jimjam]

it's in the nature of things.
I just know what Liberals-and Islamofascists-are all about.

Seriously profound, Way cool …… Looks like you got it all wrapped up sonny.

Now excuse me but I must get on with carrying water for Islamic reactionaries because I want to bring down my own decaying civilization and replace it with their barbarism.

I just cannot wait for my next edition of the flagship Capitalist paper of the Elites and their anonymous network of sources (who are absolutely ( ) counted on to be members of some countries State Intelligence Services and/or Private Intelligence contractors) .

The meds my friend …………. do not forget to take your meds ……...

[Stormsmith]

@annatar1914

Re You guys go together like ham and eggs, trust me, you'll all be kissing Trump's orange behind soon enough


1. Aren't you rushing your poor president into one of those orange jump suits? Or maybe he'said just hurrying himself into one. It is his colour.

2. Couldn't if they all tried. Too many adoring Trumpophiles already cluttering up his bottom.

[Hindsite]

Wouldn't that hurt

Hurt what?

[annatar1914]

Seriously profound, Way cool …… Looks like you got it all wrapped up sonny.

Now excuse me but I must get on with carrying water for Islamic reactionaries because I want to bring down my own decaying civilization and replace it with their barbarism.

I just cannot wait for my next edition of the flagship Capitalist paper of the Elites and their anonymous network of sources (who are absolutely ( ) counted on to be members of some countries State Intelligence Services and/or Private Intelligence contractors) .

The meds my friend …………. do not forget to take your meds ……...

Laughter is not a rational rebuttal, but an attempt to silence someone out of our innate fear of scorn and being made fun of.

But I know what Authoritarian hypocrites and cowards Liberals (but the coddled and addled American Boomer Liberal representative of the type is the worst, actually, never met a war they didn't like as long as they weren't drafted into it to fight...) are in all times and places historically speaking, and I also know how the Islamists operate, quite well.





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@Stormsmith ;

Apparently with this;

@annatar1914

Re You guys go together like ham and eggs, trust me, you'll all be kissing Trump's orange behind soon enough


1. Aren't you rushing your poor president into one of those orange jump suits? Or maybe he'said just hurrying himself into one. It is his colour.

2. Couldn't if they all tried. Too many adoring Trumpophiles already cluttering up his bottom.

...Reaction, You have me confused ideologically with a Trump supporter. I am not, I'm Socialist and he's Capitalist, like the Liberals too by the way. But I also know (am certain of it in fact) that there are types of people out there who are enemies one day and the most servile of flatterers and entryists the next, when a New Order arises and a new ''Rotation of the Elites'', as one might call it

[Stormsmith]

I didn't accuse you. But, as a fellowesse socialist I am frequently accused, by tiresome people, as being a liberal and/or an idiot liberals. May I suggest we agree to agree and carry on?

PS jj is an independent