For the first time since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, President Bashar al-Assad has made an overseas visit, arriving in Moscow Tuesday evening to discuss the ongoing Russian aid in the battle against ISIS.
US officials expressed outrage at the visit, saying Russia was “emboldening” Assad by allowing him to visit, and claiming it was at odds with Russia’s previous support for a transitional government. They went on to say that the war would be lengthened by the visit.
From Russia’s perspective, however, Assad’s visit is likely not particularly controversial, as the nations have been allies for decades and are allied in the ISIS war. Indeed, Russian officials presented it as hope for a long-term solution in the ongoing conflict, and briefed Saudi, Jordanian and Turkish leaders after the visit.
Russia has previously suggested a transitional unity government, but one that includes Assad and his faction. Assad’s allies have expressed openness at this, but pro-US rebels which were expected to be included have not, and indeed with those factions vowing war against Russia the plan is probably dead.
As long as Syrian people concerned, Assad is the president of Syria with a legitimate government in place working under the Syrian constitutional forms. If USG can not respect head of a country visiting Russia, well tuf luck.
If Putin is so strong on respecting legitimate governments, he could give good example by respecting the legitimate government of Ukraine and evacuate the territory he is occupying in that country. You can't have it both ways. If Assad is legitimate, so is Proshenko. If the latter is somehow "illegitimate", so is Assad.
The legitimate government being Viktor Yanukovych?
The US reduced to the peanut gallery on the world stage by Putin.
Famous last words! Abraham Lincoln once said that the hen is the wisest of all the animal kingdom. It doesn't cackle until the egg is laid!
And as a US citizen I hereby express my outrage at my Government's continued support and praise of a "moderate friendly" Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which contributed 15 of the 19 terrorists who attacked our homeland on 9/11, which has been the primary source of the Sunni extremist doctrines adopted by those and other Sunni terrorists our Government has supposedly been fighting against for the past two decades, and which continues to engage in "moderate" activities such as forbidding women to travel without a male escort and punishing criminals by cutting off their hands, beheading and crucifying them.
The US is obviously trying to provoke Putin into making even more mistakes than he has already made. By challenging him, he is forced to defy them because that's what European populists have to do to impress their supporters. Essentially, Putin is cornered. If Assad falls, he loses his precious (but militarily useless!) naval base and is thereby discredited with his elderly "Soviet generation" supporters back home. But if he wins and maintains Assad in power, he's bogged down eternally in Syria trying to keep his vassal in power. Heads Ukraine wins, tails Putin loses.
The arrogance of those in power within US knows no bounds and while in US they no longer have legal restraints upon their ambitions it seems there are no restraining influences outside our borders as well.
What US mouthpieces say is written as if it is an Edict from an Emporer to its subjects and no one actually questions those edicts no matter the absurdity or just plain demented orderings.
Today the stupidity of both US and Especially of Euopean nations who see their national cultures being destroyed by invaders who do not give a fly’n duck turd what the present residences believe or for that matter own and still those elite leaders do not control those foreign elements in fear they will incite those primative tribals to violence , expend their powers by impressing their citizens resources and livestyles to conform without complaint or be jailed.
And to think those self same US and Euros while they dare not crack an illegal immigrants skull are practicing war games in fear of Russian and or Chinese invaders.
Fascism’s power lays in a militant policed society and US is already there and Europes soft baby benogn has begun to take the gloves off revealing coarse brittle hands.
Apparently the visit isn't as 'shocking' as was finding out that Assad was out and back before US intelligence knew he was gone. Flying over US-controlled air space to do it. So much for Mr. Obama's 'isolating' Assad, or Putin.
Unfortunately for “US officials” Russia doesn’t recognize Homeland Security’s no-fly list
Saudi Arabia porky criminals come to the US daily and no one cares.
US, check your crappy actions and stop your massmurdering/torturing/raping all over the world. You became a nasty cancer on our world and a fascist dump.
Moscow has probably given up hope of ever seeing any sign of rationality from the crazies in the USraeli government.
The most rational response when dealing with an abusive and belligerent drunk, who is armed to the teeth, is to try to avoid direct confrontation while building up defensive capabilities and developing good relations with others threatened by the bully. Seek to avoid direct conflict, but be prepared to crush the bully if necessary.
It seems to me that this is precisely what Putin is doing with respect to USrael and its vassal states. Don’t bluster and threaten, but be prepared and then act.
US sulks, whimpers, cleans the snot off its collective face and SLAMS the door.