Quote:

---

The latest developments in Syria are not, I believe, the result of some deliberate plan of the USA to help their “moderate terrorist” allies on the ground, but they are the symptom of something even worse: the complete loss of control of the USA over the situation in Syria and, possibly, elsewhere. Let me just re-state what just happened:

First, after days and days of intensive negotiations, Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov finally reached a deal on a cease-fire in Syria which had the potential to at least “freeze” the situation on the ground until the Presidential election in the USA and a change in administration (this is now the single most important event in the near future, therefore no plans of any kind can extend beyond that date).

Then the USAF, along with a few others, bombed a Syrian Army unit which was not on the move or engaged in intense operations, but which was simply holding a key sector of the front. The US strike was followed by a massive offensive of the “moderate terrorists” which was barely contained by the Syrian military and the Russian Aerospace forces. Needless to say, following such a brazen provocation the cease-fire was dead.

The Russians expressed their total disgust and outrage at this attack and openly began saying that the Americans were “??????????????????”. What that word means is literally “not-agreement-capable” or unable to make and then abide by an agreement. While polite, this expression is also extremely strong as it implies not so much a deliberate deception as the lack of the very ability to make a deal and abide by it. For example, the Russians have often said that the Kiev regime is “not-agreement-capable”, and that makes sense considering that the Nazi occupied Ukraine is essentially a failed state.

But to say that a nuclear world superpower is “not-agreement-capable” is a terrible and extreme diagnostic. It basically means that the Americans have gone crazy and lost the very ability to make any kind of deal. Again, a government which breaks its promises or tries to deceive but who, at least in theory, remains capable of sticking to an agreement would not be described as “not-agreement-capable”. That expression is only used to describe an entity which does not even have the skillset needed to negotiate and stick to an agreement in its political toolkit. This is an absolutely devastating diagnostic.

---

Quote:

---

Next came the pathetic and absolutely unprofessional scene of US Ambassador Samantha Powers simply walking out of a UNSC meeting when the Russian representative was speaking. Again, the Russians were simply blown away, not by the infantile attempt at offending, but at the total lack of diplomatic professionalism shown the Powers. From a Russian point of view, for one superpower to simply walk out at the very moment the other superpower is making a crucial statement is simply irresponsible and, again, the sign that their American counterparts have totally “lost it”.

Finally, there came the crowning moment: the attack of the humanitarian convey in Syria which the USA blamed, of course, on Russia. The Russians, again, could barely believe their own eyes. First, this was such a blatant and, frankly, Kindergarten-level attempt to show that “the Russians make mistakes too” and that “the Russians killed the cease-fire”. Second, there was this amazing statement of the Americans who said there are only two air forces which could have done that – either the Russians or the Syrians (how the Americans hoped to get away with this in an airspace thoroughly controlled by Russian radars is beyond me!). Somehow, the Americans “forgot” to mention that their own air force was also present in the region, along with the air forces of many US allies. Most importantly, they forgot to mention that that night armed US Predator drones were flying right over that convoy.

What happened in Syria is painfully obvious: the Pentagon sabotaged the deal made between Kerry and Lavrov and when the Pentagon was accused of being responsible, it mounted a rather crude false flag attack and tried to blame it on the Russians.

All this simply goes to show that the Obama Administration is in a state of confused agony. The White House apparently is so freaked out at the prospects of a Trump victory in November that it has basically lost control of its foreign policy in general and, especially, in Syria. The Russians are quite literally right: the Obama Administration is truly “not-agreement-capable”.

Of course, the fact that the Americans are acting like clueless frustrated children does not mean that Russia will reciprocate in kind. We have already seen Lavrov go back and further negotiate with Kerry. Not because the Russians are naive, but precisely because, unlike their US colleagues, the Russians are professionals who know that negotiations and open lines of communications are always, and by definition, preferable to a walk-away, especially when dealing with a superpower. Those observers who criticize Russia for being “weak” or “naive” simply project their own, mostly American, “reaction set” on the Russians and fail to realize the simply truth that Russians are not Americans, they think differently and they act differently. For one thing, the Russians don’t care if they are perceived as “weak” or “naive”. In fact, they would prefer to be perceived as such if that furthers their goals and confuses the opponent about their real intentions and capabilities. The Russians know that they did not build the biggest country on the planet by being “weak” or “naive” and they won’t be take lessons from a country which is younger that many Russian buildings. The western paradigm is usually like this: a crises leads to a breakdown in negotiations and conflict follows. The Russian paradigm is completely different: a crisis leads to negotiations which are conducted up the the last second before a conflict erupts. There are two reasons for that: first, continuing to negotiate up to the last second makes it possible to seek a way out of the confrontation up to the last second and, second, negotiations up to the last second make it possible to come as close as possible to achieving strategic surprise for an attack. This is exactly how Russia acted in Crimea and in Syria – with absolutely no warning signs or, even less so, a well-publicized display of power to attempt to intimidate somebody (intimidation is also a western political strategy the Russians don’t use).

So Lavrov will continue to negotiate, no matter how ridiculous and useless such negotiations will appear. And Lavrov himself will probably never officially utter the word “??????????????????”, but the message to the Russian people and to the Syrian, Iranian and Chinese allies of Russia will be that at this point Russia has lost any hope of dealing with the current US Administration.

Obama and Co. now have their hands full with trying to hide Hillary’s health and character problems and right now they probably can think of only one thing: how to survive the upcoming Hillary-Trump debate. The Pentagon and the Department of State are mostly busy fighting each other over Syria, Turkey, the Kurds and Russia. The CIA seems to be fighting itself, though this is hard to ascertain.

It is likely that some kind of deal with still be announced by Kerry and Lavrov, if not today, then tomorrow or the day after. But, frankly, I completely agree with the Russians: the American are truly “not-agreement-capable” and at this point in time, both the conflict in Syria and the one in the Ukraine are frozen. I don’t mean “frozen” in the sense of “no fighting”, not at all, but I do mean “frozen” in the same of “no major developments possible”. There will still be combats, especially now that the Wahabi and Nazi allies of the USA feel that their boss is not in charge because he is busy with elections and race riots, but since there is no quick military solution possible in either one of these wars, the tactical clashes and offensives will not yield any strategic result.

Barring an election-canceling false flag inside the USA, like the murder of either Hillary or Trump by a “lone gunman”, the wars in the Ukraine and Syria will go on with no prospects of any kind of meaningful negotiations. And whether Trump or Hillary get into the White House next, a major “reset” will take place in early 2017. Trump will probably want to meet Putin for a major negotiations session involving all the key outstanding issues between the USA and Russia. If Hillary and her Neocons make it into the White House then some kind of war between Russia and the USA will become almost impossible to prevent.

The Saker

PS: some Russian military experts are saying that the kind of damage shown in the footage of the attack on the humanitarian convey is not consistent with an airstrike or even an artillery strike and that it looks much more like the result of a blast of several IEDs. If so, then that would still not point at Russia, but at the “moderate terrorist” forces in control of that location. This could still be a US ordered-false flag attack or, alternatively, the proof that the US has lost control over its Wahabi allies on the ground.

---

Quote:

---

"Depriving children of water puts them at risk of catastrophic outbreaks of waterborne diseases and adds to the suffering, fear and horror that children in Aleppo live through every day."

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

So, will the "rebels" allow UN-monitored aid, including deliveries of water? Or will they once again refuse to accept aid from the "wrong" routes, and then burn it up once it arrives?

---

Quote:

---

So, will the "rebels" allow UN-monitored aid, including deliveries of water? Or will they once again refuse to accept aid from the "wrong" routes, and then burn it up once it arrives?- SIGNY
Sorry, I had to preserve this because it is beyond stupid. - THUGR

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

---

So, will the "rebels" allow UN-monitored aid, including deliveries of water? Or will they once again refuse to accept aid from the "wrong" routes, and then burn it up once it arrives?- SIGNY
Sorry, I had to preserve this because it is beyond stupid. - THUGR

---

----

And I had to preserve THIS, because it is beyond stupid. At some point, you're going to feel as stupid about this as you did about Iraq's phantom WMD.

So, did you read my post (several up) where I extensively quoted "rebel friendly" media about how they rejected aid and safe passage routes for "their" population? You can hardly call it "Russian propaganda" since it is US-funded, staffed with anti-Assad Syrians, and based in Jordan.

Or are you going to plug your ears and hum "RussianpropagandaRussianpropagandaRussianpropaganda" to drown out the sound of reality? Again? The situation is more complex than you seem to realize.

---

Quote:

---

Brita Hagi Hassan, head of the local council told Reuters he had received an aid plan but that it did not contain any details about how the operation would be carried out. He said, “The presence of the Russian side on the Castello Road [for aid delivery is not acceptable due to its lack of neutrality.”

He added that the party supervising the road must not open the shipments [for inspection], which should include fuel, medicine and flour.

It is expected that Aleppo — which is divided between areas under opposition control in the eastern part and the regime in the western part — will receive aid within the framework of the recently brokered Russian-American deal.

---

Quote:

---

The United Nations is calling for a 48-hour ceasefire to allow food and medicine to enter the embattled city of Aleppo, but a row over which route the aid convoys are to use has brought the plan to a halt.

The UN wants to use Castello Road, the road north of Aleppo that after weeks of bombing the regime captured last month to complete its encirclement of east Aleppo.

“If Castello Road becomes an aid corridor, the regime will make it impossible for us, as the opposition, to take it back,” Muhammad Fadila, the head of the Provincial Council of Aleppo, tells Syria Direct’s Bahira al-Zarier.

---

Quote:

---

“The regime taking control of Castello is a disaster for the people terrorists and their hostages in Aleppo,” Ammar al-Halabi, an embedded reporter with rebel brigades witnessing the battle for the access road, told Syria Direct on Wednesday. “There’s no longer anywhere to move the wounded outside of Aleppo or to bring anything to the city.”

---

Quote:

---

On Thursday, the Syrian regime launched a campaign dropping leaflets into east Aleppo, claiming safe passage out of the 62 encircled districts, a move that local residents armed groups called an attempt to “pull the wool over the eyes of the international community.”

Helicopters dropped pamphlets over east Aleppo city—one day after at least seven airstrikes—advertising four “safe passages” for any east Aleppo resident looking to leave. Three lead in the direction of the regime-controlled portion of the provincial capital and one towards the regime-held southern countryside. Several sources on the ground told Syria Direct that not one of the four proposed passages is in fact open.

... “We’ll never leave our city [or allow anyone else to leave? -SIGNY] no matter the dozens of airstrikes nor the continuous bombings that we face,” Murad al-Halabi, an Aleppo resident in the Saladin district, told Syria Direct’s partner website The Syrian Voice.

---

Quote:

---

After its [Syrian govt army] victory in Darayya’s southwest farms, regime authorities offered rebels safe passage to another rebel-held Damascus area if they surrendered, al-Masdar news reported the following day.
“We refused the offer,” said a-Deirani, without elaborating further.

---

Quote:

---

The impossible to ignore context here naturally is the ceasefire ending US joint attack alongside ISIS upon the Syrian Arab Army position at Deir ez-Zor which was sustained and lasted over an hour, despite calls from the Russian coordinating hotline which existed pursuant to standing agreements on deconfliction.

---

Quote:

---

Syria Direct is a non-profit journalism organization that produces timely, credible coverage of Syria while training highly talented, aspiring Syrian and American journalists in professional news-gathering and accurate, in-depth reporting. Founded in 2013, Syria Direct publishes original news reports, interviews with key players, and newsworthy photographs and videos from inside Syria along with a daily newsletter....

Syria Direct does not accept advertising. Syria Direct’s newsroom operations are funded by:

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by 1kiki:
Hmm .. what sources did Signy quote when posting facts about the times and places Syrian terrorists rejected or blocked civilian aid?

Syrian observer ...
http://www.syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31639/Aleppo_Local_Council_Rejec
ts_Presence_Russian_Forces_Castello_Road
Syria Direct ...
http://syriadirect.org/news/which-road-to-aleppo-opposition-refuses-ai
d-delivery-via-castello-road/
Syria Direct, again ...
http://syriadirect.org/news/with-fewer-than-1000-remaining-darayya-reb
els-%E2%80%98abandoned%E2%80%99-as-regime-advances/
and information about Syria Direct ...
http://syriadirect.org/

So what 'sources' are you babbling about, nutjob? Do you think you could stop fantasizing about 'sources' and address the facts? Or is that completely beyond you?

Don't answer that. I already know that your brain is nothing except a pit of writhing snakes that will never, EVER be able to deal with facts.

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by 1kiki:
"Just because SIG claims she is quoting the source she lists doesn't mean she is."

Nutjob - AND STUPID! It's easy enough to verify for yourself. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE POST LINKS, asshole.

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by 1kiki:

MEANWHILE - The magic disappearing 'news' about Russian/ Syrian airstrikes on the aid convoy.

Airstrkes' phrasing deleted.

The United Nations on Tuesday has backtracked and amended its language when it said that the aid convoy in Syria’s Aleppo was “attacked” instead of it being targeted through “air strikes,” a spokesman said. “We are not in position to determine whether these were in fact air strikes,” the spokesman added.

---

Quote:

---

In a stunning allegation, one which would lead to dramatic gepolitical implications, the speaker of the People's Council of Syria said on Monday that the Syrian intelligence possesses an audio recording of conversation between Islamic State terrorists and the US military taken just prior to the Washington-led coalition's airstrikes on the government troops near Deir ez-Zor on September 17 which left over 60 Syrian troops dead.

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

---

In a stunning allegation, one which would lead to dramatic gepolitical implications, the speaker of the People's Council of Syria said on Monday that the Syrian intelligence possesses an audio recording of conversation between Islamic State terrorists and the US military taken just prior to the Washington-led coalition's airstrikes on the government troops near Deir ez-Zor on September 17 which left over 60 Syrian troops dead.

---

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-26/syria-claims-have-recording-c
onversation-between-isis-and-us-military-strike-syrian-

---

First, news from zerohedge means anonymous ( without any name )source. Second,

____________________________________________

Russia trolls get contract extension
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=60719

Quote:

---

And while western press constantly claims that Russia and Syria have bombed (yet another) hospital,

---

Quote:

---

I doubt that there are that many hospitals in existence.

---

Quote:

---

I suspect that MANY of these "hospitals" are informal clinics which are not identified to either Syria or Russia or marked for easy identification from the air.

---

Quote:

---

And while western press constantly claims that Russia and Syria have bombed (yet another) hospital,- SIGNY
Not just Western media - the UN, and international charities/aid organisations WHO RUN THE HOSPITALS.

---

Quote:

---

I doubt that there are that many hospitals in existence.- SIGNY
Can your imagination not stretch to the idea that the same hospitals are being bombed multiple times?- KOP

---

Quote:

---

I suspect that MANY of these "hospitals" are informal clinics which are not identified to either Syria or Russia or marked for easy identification from the air.- SIGNY
Yes, if by "informal" you mean hospitals setting up wards/clinics underground, and withholding their locations and GPS from the regime and Russia due to their being deliberately targeted.- KPO

---

Quote:

---

"Objective truths are established by evidence. Personal truths by faith. Political truths by incessant repetition."

---

Quote:

---

The UN has accused armed groups in Syria of blocking the delivery of aid to the besieged city of Aleppo for “political gain” - including rebel factions inside Aleppo itself who say they will reject aid that comes through regime territory.

Two days after the Syria ceasefire agreement went into effect, bombs have stopped falling on the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo but the 275,000 people living there are still desperately short of food and medical supplies. A convoy of 20 UN trucks carrying enough aid for 40,000 people is languishing at the Turkish border as diplomats try to secure agreement from both rebels and regime forces to allow the vehicles through.

“Some parties to the conflict are trying to use this for political gain,” said David Swanson, a UN spokesman. “The challenge for us is ensuring that all parties to the conflict are on the same page. If one element of the chain is not there we cannot proceed.”

The UN would not say if the hold was up was being caused by the Assad regime or its rebel opponents but at least part of the problem appeared to be inside east Aleppo itself.

Activists there said they intended to reject the UN aid in protest at the ceasefire agreement which was brokered between the US and Russia without input from the Syrian opposition. Video from Aleppo showed a large demonstration against the UN [including many black flags- SIGNY] had gathered at Castello Road, the key supply route that the aid convoy would have to travel down.

At least some of the demonstrators were waving the black flags of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), an al-Qaeda linked jihadist group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.

---

Quote:

---

A Few Links On Syria And Other Issues

Just a few links ...

The White House and State Department are miffed that Syria and Russia are cleaning up their Jihadis in Aleppo city.

There is a false claims evolving in western "news" that the current Aleppo operation led to the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement. Two points on this: 1. The ceasefire did not "break down". It expired after a previously agreed period. Both sides did not agree to a prolongation. 2. The most important ceasefire point was the physical separation of al-Qaida and other U.S. proxy rebels. The U.S. was unable (or unwilling) to fulfill that point.

See: Moscow Makes Public Full Text of Russia-US Deal on Syria

The main priority in Syria, according to the document, is the demarcation of territory controlled by Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups and territories controlled by Syrian rebels.

After the end of the ceasefire the U.S. and its subaltern allies are flooding Syria with new weapons:

US-backed rebels now equipped with advanced rocket launchers The BM-21 truck mounted Grad multiple rocket launcher have a range of up to 40 kilometers. At least three new ones have been photographed over the last two days.

'Aleppo must not fall': US allies to flood [Aleppo] with anti-aircraft missiles
"The US confirmed the green light to begin sending them to rebels through supply routes still open through Jordan and Turkey," the source said. "Rebels are being told only to target Syrian helicopters, not Russian - but it's not clear they will abide by this."

Both rockets and MANPADs are part of a "Plan-B" the CIA had already developed in May 2015 but which was held back until now.

---

Quote:

---

There are likely additional military elements to this plan. On the diplomatic side the U.S. (and its stooges) -obviously unable to act rationally- now imitate defiant children. "If we can't get exactly what we want we will never again talk to you."

US Threatens to Suspend Engagement With Russia in Syria Over Aleppo Situation
Unrelated EU Sanctions linked to Ukraine now suddenly get linked to Russia's stipulated official support for the Syrian government: Syria Attacks May Complicate EU Decision on Russia Sanctions

A very major issue for Syria (and one reason why many Syrians flee the country) are U.S. and EU sanctions. Their consequences were so far hardly ever reported. Here is the first major piece in U.S. media about them: U.S. and EU Sanctions Are Punishing Ordinary Syrians and Crippling Aid Work, U.N. Report Reveals

In a 40-page internal assessment commissioned to analyze the humanitarian impact of the sanctions, the U.N. describes the U.S. and EU measures as “some of the most complicated and far-reaching sanctions regimes ever imposed.” Detailing a complex system of “unpredictable and time-consuming” financial restrictions and licensing requirements, the report finds that U.S. sanctions are exceptionally harsh “regarding provision of humanitarian aid.”
...
An internal U.N. email obtained by The Intercept also faults U.S. and EU sanctions for contributing to food shortages and deteriorations in health care.
...
The email went on to cite sanctions as a “principal factor” in the erosion of Syria’s health care system.

The piece also explains that the Syrian and Russian behavior towards insurgent occupied cities is in no way more severe than the usual U.S. procedures:

Meanwhile, in cities controlled by ISIS, the U.S. has employed some of the same tactics it condemns. For example, U.S.-backed ground forces laid siege to Manbij, a city in northern Syria not far from Aleppo that is home to tens of thousands of civilians. U.S. airstrikes pounded the city over the summer, killing up to 125 civilians in a single attack. The U.S. replicated this strategy to drive ISIS out of Kobane, Ramadi, and Fallujah, leaving behind flattened neighborhoods. In Fallujah, residents resorted to eating soup made from grass and 140 people reportedly died from lack of food and medicine during the siege.

To help with the sanctions and other issues China had recently agreed with Syria to provide medical support. But just like Russia, China is now considered a U.S. enemy and the CIA and Pentagon are eager to fight it.

Risky business: Is US supporting anti-Chinese militants in Syria?

With war hawks in US/Turkey/Qatar/Saudi arming and funding anti-Chinese militants in Syria that are planning more attacks on Chinese embassies and interests abroad, coupled with US gunboat diplomacy in the South China Sea, this dangerous “deterring the dragon” combination risks turning into a “provoking the dragon” scenario, and may escalate into a military conflict between two nuclear powers.

(The piece also includes this vignette about the anti-Chinese TIP Uighurs in Syria:

Later videos emerged of US/UK-funded White Helmet members with two captured young Syrian soldiers in Kahn Touman, and taunting “Assad, Russia, Iran and China, are they stronger than god?” The two soldiers were later executed by TIP militants.)

A lot of hype is made today about two hospitals in east-Aleppo that were allegedly bombed:

Two hospitals bombed in eastern Aleppo, Syria
Two hospitals bombed in rebel-held Aleppo amid government assault

The second piece, in the Washington Post, originally included this sentence:

Neither hospital was seriously damaged and both are expected soon to function again, ...
I pointed that out several times today to "bombing" hypers including to Washington Post writers. Soon after that the piece was "updated" and the sentence changed to:

Both hospitals are expected to be repaired, but they are badly damaged.

Still, according to the piece, only two people were killed in the relevant strikes and three injured. Had the attacks actually targeted the crowded hospitals both would have been destroyed and many more people would be dead. Instead the hospitals seem to have received only collateral damage from strikes on nearby military targets. But pointing that out does not fit the U.S. propaganda line.

Meanwhile the U.S. and its allies continue their daily business of killing people in Syria and elsewhere.

Afghan official: 13 civilians killed in airstrike on house
Erdogan’s forces kill nine Syrian civilians near borders in Hasaka countryside
Suspected US airstrikes hit Somali army base near Galkacyo town,killing at least 10 soldiers according to officials and local media.

I somewhat agree with this election take by Peter Hitchens:
The world's fixated on Trump. But Hillary could drag us ALL into a catastrophic war

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
More about the "WHITE HELMETS



FROM BRITAIN ON THE WHITE HELMETS

---

Again SIG posts propaganda that represents Russia and Assad's point of view. Her post was created by a group known as "Hands off Syria". What they have posted on their facebook page says it all.

The claim people who are eating grass don't want food and medicine because it is coming from the UN is preposterous. Her even suggesting that shows how stupid SIG thinks everyone here is. There are many groups active within the Syrian mess and because there are problems with some of the incoming routes for supplies doesn't mean they don't want the assistance. It just means things are a complete mess. Just take Russia. They agree to a cease fire and then destroy a UN food and medicine convey while continuing to bomb hospitals.

At least SIG quotes a reputable source for the aid conveys post. I will have to see how much she changed the premise of what the actual article says.

Sorry comrade SIG but you need a keeper. Opps I forgot, you have one and his name is Putin.

____________________________________________

Russia trolls get contract extension
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=60719

Quote:

---

Direct aggression" by the United States toward the Syrian government and armed forces would lead to "frightening, tectonic shifts" in the Middle East, RIA news agency cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Saturday.

Russia and the United States back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict.

---

Quote:

---

WASHINGTON — The United States threatened on Wednesday to halt talks with Russia on the war in Syria and scrap plans for joint military targeting of jihadists unless the Russian and Syrian militaries stopped bombing Aleppo.

The threat, conveyed via telephone by Secretary of State John Kerry to his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, was the sharpest warning the Americans have made to the Russians over Syria since their Sept. 9 collaboration on a cease-fire collapsed last week.

But the Obama administration did not say what steps it would take if diplomatic efforts failed entirely or how it hoped to deter Russian and Syrian forces from their offensive against rebels in Aleppo, the divided northern Syria city that has become a focal point of the war.

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:


Russia and the United States back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict.

---

Quote:

---

Commentary: Putin’s Middle East gamble is paying dividends

By Amir Handjani

Vladimir Putin has made an art of turning weakness into strength. As Russian and Syrian forces pound Aleppo in the biggest assault of Syria’s five-year civil war, the Russian president clearly has emerged as a dominant force in the Middle East. Two years ago Russia had virtually no presence in the region, aside from a naval base in Syria. Today Moscow’s fighter jets and missiles fly over Syrian, Iranian and Iraqi airspace.

Over the last year, Putin has inserted Russia into the Syrian conflict and shored up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad as it was on the verge of collapse. The Russian leader has forged a quasi-military alliance with Iran that has allowed him to project power in the Persian Gulf – something that has evaded Moscow since the end of World War Two.

If that wasn’t enough, Putin’s relationship with Turkey, which seemed to be on a collision course after Ankara downed a Russian fighter jet last year, has now warmed to the point where Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are about to restore full diplomatic relations. All the while Putin has maintained a close and productive relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.

How is Putin able to maneuver the shifting sands of the Middle East so effectively and forge ties with countries that are seemingly at odds with each other? Why has Russia been more effective than the United States in furthering Moscow’s own agenda in the region?

Putin is able to quickly identify Russia’s foreign policy interest in a given conflict and commit resources to it – and then abruptly change course once Moscow’s core interest has either been met or has changed.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the United States has aligned its interest in the Persian Gulf with Sunni monarchies such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. In turn, these countries have invested heavily in the United States – from buying U.S. debt, to investing in real estate and buying billions of dollars in American military hardware.

---

Quote:

---

Arab states have also invested heavily in Washington, buying influence in the corridors of power, funding think tanks and hiring public relations firms to help spread a narrative about why their countries are essential to America’s interest in the Middle East. The relationship between Riyadh and Washington remains particularly strong even as the American public questions the logic behind an alliance with a country whose actions often run counter to Washington’s interests.

These countries feel that Washington is obligated to share their view of the Middle East, which means backing them regardless of whether any conflict they engage in is against the interest of the United States.

---

Quote:

---

They have no such influence in Moscow. Even as Moscow backs Shi’ite powerhouse Iran and the Assad regime in Syria, Sunni Arab leaders continue to court Putin and look for ways to collaborate with him. Saudi Arabia, for example is currently trying to coordinate with Moscow on how best to stabilize oil markets and want Putin to pressure Iran to do the same.

Russia’s partnerships are based on cold, hard realism

---

Quote:

---

Putin’s sole aim is to further Moscow’s interest. He’s unburdened by a legacy of alliances that do not serve Russia’s strategic aims. He supports Damascus, Tehran and the Shi’ite government of Iraq because he views Sunni extremism as a long-term threat that has destabilized countries in the Middle East

---

Quote:

---

and which he fears could wreak havoc in countries close to Russia’s borders. Yet this coordination and collaboration with Shi’ite Iran doesn’t preclude him from working with Sunni Arab states to promote trade for Russian industry and its atomic energy program.

Putin is doing all of this while remaining close to Netanyahu. Even though Putin is working with Syria and Iran – Israel’s mortal enemies – he has convinced Netanyahu that these alliances are not meant to threaten Israel’s existence, but rather serve a larger purpose of defeating Sunni extremism. Russia continues to cooperate with Israel in diverse fields such as energy, agriculture and arms. Russia and Israel also maintain close military contacts and Putin is careful not to transfer offensive weapons to Israel’s foes.

Juxtapose this with how Netanyahu treated Obama and interferes in U.S. domestic politics. In the run-up to the Iran deal, Netanyahu used the influence of AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbying organizations to try and undermine a sitting president and scuttle his signature foreign policy achievement.

If Israel or another U.S. ally tried to interfere or challenge Putin in such a manner, it’s difficult to imagine that he would reward them with $38 billion in aid for ten years, as Obama has done with Israel, or continue to support them militarily with advanced weapons and intelligence – as Washington has done with Saudi Arabia.

Even though the United States is a far greater power and should have more influence on the policies of junior partners such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, the inverse happens: they often work to limit Washington’s strategic options for fear of abandonment or for their own self-interest.

As long as Russia has a more nimble and opportunistic approach to the region, Washington will have a hard time confronting it – and Moscow’s influence will continue to grow.

---