"U.S. Air Force Central Command has started deploying search and rescue helicopters and airmen at Turkey's southeastern DiyarbakÄ ±r Air Base in order to help with recovery operations in neighboring Iraq and Syria, it has announced...
"NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and the commander of U.S. European Command, Gen. Phillip Breedlove, has said the mission will be temporary.
"'We will be guests of the government of Turkey at Diyarbakir Air Base. There are no plans for a permanent U.S. presence at this location ... This marks yet another successful cooperative effort between the Turkish and U.S. militaries,' Breedlove said." ("US deploys recovery aircraft in Turkey's southeast," Hurriyet)
"US Search and rescue helicopters" just a couple miles from Turkey's southeastern border?
Yep. In other words, if an F-16 is shot down somewhere over Syria while trying to impose an illegal no-fly zone, then -- Presto -- the search and rescue helicopters are just 20 minutes away.
How convenient.
So you can see that -- even though Putin has thrown a wrench in the works-- the Obama team is still moving ahead with its "Topple Assad" plan. Nothing has changed, the Russian intervention just makes the future much more uncertain, which is why frustrated geopolitical strategists, like Zbigniew Brzezinski, have begun to pop-up in the op-ed pages of leading newspapers blasting Putin for sabotaging their plans for regional hegemony. It's worth noting that Brzezinski is the spiritual godfather of Islamic extremism, the man who figured out how religious nutcases could be used to foment hysteria and advance US geopolitical objectives around the world. Thus, it's only natural that Brzezinski would want to offer his advice now in a desperate effort to avoid a legacy of failure and disgrace. Check out this clip from Politico:
"The United States should threaten to retaliate if Russia does not stop attacking U.S. assets in Syria, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in a Financial Times op-ed published Sunday, urging 'strategic boldness,' with American credibility in the Middle East and the region itself at stake...And if Russia continues to pursue non-ISIL targets, the U.S. should retaliate, he added.
"'In these rapidly unfolding circumstances the U.S. has only one real option if it is to protect its wider stakes in the region: to convey to Moscow the demand that it cease and desist from military actions that directly affect American assets,' he said." ("Brzezinski: Obama should retaliate if Russia doesn't stop attacking U.S. assets," Politico)
The people who Brzezinski breezily refers to as "American assets" in Syria are terrorists. It's that simple. Putin doesn't distinguish between the "moderate" terrorists and the "radical" terrorists, the good terrorists and the bad terrorists. It's a joke. They're all in the same pool and they're all going to meet the same fate. They all have to be rooted out, apprehended or killed. End of story.
By tweaking the war on terror narrative in a way that supports some, but condemns others, the Obama administration has backed themselves into an ideological cul de sac from which there is no way out. What they are doing is wrong and they know it is wrong. And that's why it's going to be so difficult to make the case for war. In a recent "must see" interview, Putin called out Obama on this very point. Here's what he said:
"President Obama frequently mentions the threat of ISIS. Well, who on earth armed them? And who created the political climate that facilitated the current situation? Who delivered arms to the area? Do you really not know who is fighting in Syria? They're mercenaries mostly. They are paid money. Mercenaries work for whatever side pays more. We even know how much they are paid. We know they fight for awhile and then see that someone else pays a little more, so they go there...
"The US says 'We must support the civilized, democratic opposition in Syria.' So they support them, arm them, and then they join ISIS. Is it impossible for the US to think one step ahead? We do not support this kind of policy at all. We think it's wrong." (Putin explains who started ISIS, you tube, 1:38 to 4:03)
See? Everyone knows what's going on. Barack Obama is not going to initiate a confrontation with Russia to defend a fundamentally immoral CIA program that has gone south. He will, however, do what the US always does when dealing with an adversary that can actually defend itself. He's going to hector, harass, threaten, demean, demonize, ridicule, and bully. He might launch another attack on the ruble, or fiddle with oil prices or impose more economic sanctions. But he's not going to start a war with Russia, that's just not going to happen.
But don't give up hope just yet, after all, there is a silver lining to this fiasco, and all of the main players know exactly what it is.
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