The publication of the memo by The New York Times coincided with the release of a report by a Washington think tank with close ties to Hillary Clinton, Porter said. The Center for New American Security (CNAS) report called for a U.S. policy to 'threaten and execute limited strikes against the Assad regime' and for dispatching 'several thousand' U.S. troops to Syria.
The CNAS study group that wrote the report was co-chaired by CNAS co-founder Michele Flournoy, a former high-ranking Defense Department official. According to Porter, Fournoy "is now regarded as the most likely choice for Defense Secretary in a Hillary Clinton administration."
Any further involvement by the U.S. in terms of bombing Assad's forces carries the obvious risk of sparking a confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
But the possibility of creating a wider war with Russia --- with its catastrophic implications --- doesn't seem to faze many foreign policy officials in Washington.
Parry said of State Department officers: "These hawks are so eager for more war that they don't mind risking a direct conflict with Russia, breezily dismissing the possibility of a clash with the nuclear power by saying that they are 'not advocating for a slippery slope that ends in a military confrontation with Russia.' That's reassuring to hear."
The possibility for more war also exists in another theatre --- in eastern Europe near Russia's border.
American leaders and their colleagues in NATO --- the anachronistic military alliance dating from the years of the Iron Curtain --- seem to be itching for a fight with Russia.
Declaring that Russia represents some new kind of menace in Europe based on cooked-up charges of "aggression" in Crimea, U.S. and NATO military leaders have taken some unusual and highly provocative actions this year. In June, NATO undertook its largest military exercises since the end of the Cold War, with tens of thousands of soldiers from 24 countries taking part in war games in northern Poland and the Baltics. NATO officials said member countries were "alarmed" by Russian military maneuvers within Russia and had to prepare for a possible attack.
Russian officials said their nation had no choice but to build up its forces near its border, due to NATO provocations.
In Romania, the U.S. and NATO recently set up an $800 million missile defense shield, which can intercept incoming missiles. NATO officials claimed the system was designed as protection against missiles from "rogue states" like Iran, but the system is really aimed at Russia, and the Russians took it as such. Russian officials said that NATO was trying to achieve "military and political containment" of their nation.
Romania is a particularly sensitive area for Russia, since it borders the Black Sea, where the Russian naval fleet is based.
************************************************
Many of the people who are driving the current foreign policy related to the Middle East, Russia and China as well are "neo-conservatives." This group believes that the U.S. must use its power aggressively to protect its interests around the world and maintain U.S. dominance. This may include the use of "preventive" force, to overthrow a regime deemed as a problem.
Such was the case with the invasion of Iraq, where Saddam Hussein was seen as an unstable and uncontrollable leader who threatened U.S. and Israeli objectives in the region.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
1
1
