Posts by bohm

LUHE: Let's see how far we can agree. The west had one strategy in Syria, Russia had pre-existing strategic goals and pursued a strategy that opposed that of the US. Agree so far?

Your basic claim is that the US was wrong and Russia knew best, therefore we should follow Russias strategy?

in arriving at your views, have you read anything on this topic from official sources (thinktanks, academia, military)?

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

LUHE, you still haven't explained what the alliance with Russia would consist of...

Just to clarify: Russia intervene in Syria with a bombing campaign against the western-backed rebels with the goal of helping Assad, a pro-putin anti-democratic war criminal politically alligned with Iran and a terror organization. This campaign explicitly target civilians thereby deeping the humanitarian crisis.

your response: let's stand aside and let Assad wipe out the last pro-western anti-Islamic forces!

putins response: trollollollolol.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

LUHE: just as a small quiz re. Assad. Which Islamic regime and which Islamic terrorist organization is Assad aligned with?

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

Simon:

Are the majority of the populations Iranian?

Let's assume not, though in terms of international law I don't think this is the kind of thing that should give you the right to stage an invasion/occupation of little green men/whatever we call it.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

The West can bomb terrorists in Iraq; Russia can bomb terrorists in Syria.

Can Russia also bomb hospitals? That's what they are doing.

The ones that refuse to accept the Syrian regime can be wiped out along with the various terrorist groups.

Great plan. Putin approves. Bombs and mass graves. Chechnya v. 2.0.

Then in the future Russia and allies can look into a softening of the Syrian regime or some kind of transition to secular democracy.

Now you are saying "allies", that is presumably by giving Putin Crimea and assume this will lead to a stable alliance; no past experience suggest this will be the case as the current situation has grown out of exactly seeking a stable alliance with Putin (you recall the various talks between NATO and Russia 2004-2014?).

Can you explain what interest Putin or Assad should have in a secular democracy in Syria? He is currently well under way to destroy the democratic institutions in Russia and is working on undermining two democratic government in two European countries; in addition to this we had invasions of two European countries in 7 years and ongoing attacks against infrastructure.

Let me ask like this: Suppose Iran attacked two European countries in 7 years, as in actual attacks where tanks roll in and land is taken. Would your response be: Let's work with Iran?

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

Simon: I don't quite see the contradiction. My understanding is this:

The mass immigration to Europe and other countries is currently creating a strain on the affected countries and is dominating the political discourse. Asides the obvious humanitarian ramifications, this instability is bad and something that (according to all analysis I have read) benefits Russias interests.
In addition to this, the crisis in Syria has allowed Russia to obtain a close alignment with the Assad regime (the likely victor) and various strategic benefits (such as expanded regional military presence).
The internal optics of Russia as a strong military presence who fix problems others won't touch is being used for internal propaganda purposes, even though Russias bombing campaign is pretty poorly organized and involves bombing civilians.
This would mean that the immigration crisis is currently in Russias interests
There is evidence Russia is aiding ISIS while fighting ISIS in Syria, for instance by letting ISIS sympathizers leave for Syria.

I don't see the contradiction. nobody on the left I know of claims the refugee crisis is good... if this is a widely held view I would like to see links.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

I accept Putin is at fault. What I actually said was the EU must share some blame, due to lax borders and mass immigration policies (cf. Merkel's Germany).

1) The person who creates a problem is at fault, not the person who poorly mitigates the problem

2) Germany determines it's immigration policy. That's why it is "Germany's" immigration policy.

3) why the heck does every discussion about Putin converge to a discussion about Sweedish internal politics?!

The guy in the tent (EU) has opened the tent's door and invited Putin in - "piss where you like ..."

that makes no sense at all. EU did not create the refugee problem, EU (and in particular, the European countries who has a very, very high degree of autonomy in handling their immigration policy) tries to handle the stream of refugees created by the disaster in Syria, a disaster Putin is contributing to.

Once again let's return to your original statement: How do you propose, concretely, that the western world "works" with Putin in Syria?

I have seen this line pushed by pro-kremlin news outlets many times and it never comes with any real context. If you are not simply repeating the line I would like to know what that corporation should consist of? Russia, insofar as I can see, can easily continue to drop gravity-guided planes on Aleppos civilians without western help?

I just can't see this kind of faux tough talk and the policies that result from it dissuading Putin from his future plans.

Perhaps not, but many analysts who understand the situation better than either of us can. Russia has for the past 70 years been testing the west and always required pushback and clear limits; this is not my view but the view of American IC experts with experience with Russian diplomacy: "they push you until you push back".

This approach worked during the cold war when Russia was a military force to be reckoned with. Today Russian military is a strong regional force but it is a shadow of its former self, even Georgia wasn't a completely smooth ride.

491

What is your opinion of the news media?

by minimus in

to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

bohm

Someone else is also pushing the "mainstream media is fake news" angle:
http://www.mid.ru/en/nedostovernie-publikacii

Remember kids, in the 4D model of Russian propaganda the first D is for "Dismiss".