The ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib Province took effect on Friday, and has been holding so far. With every other nation on board, the US blocked a joint UN statement backing the ceasefire, saying it was “premature” to do so.
The ceasefire was brokered by Turkey and Russia, and that’s almost certainly the problem from the US perspective. The US broadly refuses to back any Syria agreements Russia is involved in.
US officials had also been loudly backing Turkey’s military offensive in Idlib, and probably aren’t happy that Turkey has made a deal not to go to war. US officials weren’t super on board with directly participating in a Turkey-instigated war, but were only too happy to give lip-service to it.
Having the UN back a ceasefire, even if it is one not expected to necessarily survive, is usually the norm, though the US may find, in seeking backing for its Afghan deal, they may face similar resistance.
Washington needs to oppose Russia: but also needs to avoid escalation. The strategy, ultimately, can only lead to one thing – escalation.
https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
Are you saying that Washington irrationally feels the need to oppose Russia, or that there actually is a substantive reason why they should?
US policy towards Russia reflects a clash of interests on Syria. Historically, when the core interests of Big Powers collide the result is war – even if not the intention.
The fact is.
The US is a occupying power, it has no legal right to be in Syria.
it is not invited by the UN recognized Syrian government, nor has the US a UN mandate to have it`s forces in Syria.
The US has and still funds terrorist groups.
Russia is invited by Syrian government, so is iran, together they help the Syrian government to exterminate the terrorist groups.
What business is it if Russia supports its ally, Syria, led by the only legal president in Syria? Stop supporting terrorists, USA.
Russia will pursue its own legitimate national interests. But we must all support avoiding world war three, because that’s where we are heading.
https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
they don’t call NATO the Noth America terrorist Oganization for nothing
Good one
Could you please explain exactly why the US “needs to oppose Russia”? Personally I think it is to make sure there’s an enemy to justify $1 trillion a year ‘defense’ spending?
US governments oppose Russia because it is seen as a threat to American national interests. I agree with you, it can be useful to have an “enemy” when there are valuable commercial benefits to be had.
I’m not sure what Ghosts of History is even about. He keeps pushing that site, but never explains it.
The real reason – Mackinderan geopolitical theory.
In 1904 Halford Mackinder, a British imperialist and founder of modern geopolitics, identified the centre of the Eurasian landmass, the Eurasian central plains, as the World Heartland and natural seat of any enduring World Empire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geographical_Pivot_of_History
A world heartland is a continent-sized natural fortress, whose plains are its bailey, walls are mountains, and moats are oceans. From a place of ultimate geographical security, the Heartland nation can preserve and project its identity and polity at will magnitudes beyond any national heartland based upon a mere riverine-and-valley civilization, whether Rhine or Thames or Huang He. (Though China is a special hybrid case…)
Since that time, every nation that has aspired to world hegemony has opposed Russia, because Russia is squatting their throne.
Many great aspirants to world conquest allied with Russia opportunistically, but were always ready to betray Russia for the chance to dominate Russia.
Wars in the Old World have always ended at Russia’s feet, even before Russia was Russia. Mackinder kind of put all that history into perspective.
Russia must fall, be permanently, securely, contained or broken up, or Russia will eventually grow into the one true world empire as her natural birthright by blessing of geography.
The United States sits on a second world heartland, the North American Great Plains. Mackinder never formally said this, but did note that the U.S. has a special place in the world.
Mackinder’s student John Spykman redefined the lands surrounding the World Heartland as the Rimlands. From his interpretation, if the Heartland could not be directly conquered, the Rimlands could be, and through the Rimands, control of the World Heartland could be had instead, hence the importance of countries like Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
Of course Russia knows all this; the Syrian intervention was not pure altruism but long-term self-preservation. All warpaths lead to Russia; the more buffer states, the less able Russia’s enemies can aggress her directly.
US opposes Russia, because they realize that a real and substantial normalization of relations between Russia and Europe will short circuit the status quo of financial transactions being routed through NY and London. Russia is a natural source for energy and raw material and a land-bridge between Europe and China. If Russia succeeds in providing and expanding those two critical roles, US will be left sadly on the outside looking in.
This scenario is an existential threat to the present order and is why USA so vociferously opposes such projects as the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany
Face it, Russia does not need territorial expansion for either “lebensraum” or natural resources, in fact, Russia, given its expanse, has a shortage of people.
All those who reflexively claim that Russia has nefarious plans fail to provide a coherent motive for those plans.. They want us to just believe that Putin is a “Dr Evil” who does things just because they are “evil”.
While Russia has cut their military spending to only about !/15 th of our spending .
So Trump loves the deal his people negotiated, the one that isn’t working, but opposes the deal the others negotiated, the one that is working. Pathological narcissism strikes again…
Change “is working” to was working. King Donald made sure of that.
If you’re referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that never covered Iran’s ballistic missile program.
The highly successful Iranian missile strikes in Iraq suggest, that was quite an oversight. Had Iran’s economy recovered, they would have further advanced and refined that capability well past what North Korea ever gave them.
Just sayin’, for the sake of balanced criticism. The Iran Nuclear Deal wasn’t great, and maybe shouldn’t have been cancelled. Iran does have the right to self-defense. Iran’s fair return to the international community is long overdue.
However, from a certain point of view, the JCPOA did not ‘work’.
Iranian negotiators were able to focus talks soley on their nuclear weapons capability, which they really weren’t interested in pursuing, and gave their ballistic missile program a free pass.
There never was any reason tied to US security for the US to consider Iran and enemy. Iran is designated as an enemy of the US by the US foreign policy wonks only because Israel demands it of the US. Israel’s interest is to be top dog in the ME, and Iran is the only challenger.
Perhaps, but Iran has been unfinished business since the 1978 Revolution, Israel or not. Losing Iran to the Iranians has never sat well with U.S. or globalist imperialists.
Losing big whales like Russia and China to indigenous independence is sort-of acceptable insofar as these are very big, nuclear-armed players and the core of the much-feared Mackinderan united Eurasia.
The two core Eurasians were always unattainable, although America’s unipolar moment obscures somewhat that reality even now; history’s longest enduring moment.
Losing a militarily weak country like Iran (in relative terms) that is also a critical Eurasian lynchpin nation of the Mackinderan/Spykeman Rimlands is totally unacceptable to Western, let alone U.S., imperialism.
The U.S., as far as U.S. and Western globalist imperialism is concerned, NEEDS Iran to be captured back into Western orbit. To many of us, Halford Mackinder is an interesting artifact of political science; to the War Elites, Mackinder is ideology and religion and raison d’etre.
This would be true, Israel or not.
Israel is responsible for a lot of mischief in the world, but keep them in perspective. They may intensely dislike Iran, but we have our own reasons to as well.
(‘We’ being another relative term; we are still responsible for our ‘democratic’ government’s antisocial actions even if many of us hardly support such actions).
“The ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib Province took effect on Friday, and has been holding so far. With every other nation on board, the US blocked a joint UN statement backing the ceasefire, saying it was “premature” to do so.”
And when will it go beyond the “premature” phase? When it doesn’t benefit the Assad government(yes, government)?
Besides the US blocking a joint UN statement backing the ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib Province.
Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has officially rejected the recent Russian-Turkish agreement.
The terrorist group also thanked the Turkish government for directly engaging in the recent battle against the SAA and its allies in Greater Idlib.
I don’t understand why the US is supporting terrorist groups. Oh wait, maybe I do.
When have we not backed the Muslim terrorist organizations ? In Yugoslavia it was said the USA furnished the air force for Al Qaida . In Libya we again furnish the air force to topple Goddafi and supported the same international terrorists Then the USA using the same weapons and head chopping terrorists were sent to Syria to take out Assad Where Russia stopped us .
Nitwit jeffrey no doubt responding to niten yaahoo directive. maybe it was premature to meet with the terrorist prop team the white helmuts as well.
The USA cannot bear to have any sort of ceasefire or even talks of peace anywhere, any time. Here they have NO RIGHTS yet are meddling in Syria, half-supporting Turkey and refusing to let the main parties solve the situation as best they can, starting with a ceasefire.
The crucible of America’s shenanigans in the ME region is the tail that wags the dog–Israel.
Usual juvenile US behaviour.
Translation: We want Turkey’s feet warming by Russia’s roasting fire for just a wee bit longer. Just. Because.
Its always tempting to think there’s some Russian angle, but Russia’s already not going anywhere.
Syria and Russia gaining southern Idlib and the highway are tactically important, but strategically still in play. Its not like the roads can be freely used and Southern Idlib freely rebuilt.
Turkey’s artillery can leave fair-sized craters and that don’t require troops to engage.
I can hear Putin asking his friend President Trump . Why do think it is premature to end the war in Syria sooner than 18 years ?