dagblog - Comments for "Combat Troops in Syria - On The Table"

Well, that is a reasonable

moat — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 00:47:07 +0000

In reply to There is near zero support in

Well, that is a reasonable account of the situation. Not the only one but reasonable.
Not much room for "Russia phobia" or blaming the situation entirely on partisan politics within its scope, however.
What connects the diametrically opposed set of assumptions in your two statements?

There is near zero support in

Peter — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 17:05:56 +0000

In reply to You are looking at the object

There is near zero support in the public or the government for sending an army into anywhere in the ME, we've done that and we know what happens. The military planners have to include that option in their planning to be comprehensive also knowing there is no support for it.

The US is already indirectly assisting the Assad regime by attacking the IS and pulling some rebel fighters away from attacking Assad to join the Kurds against the IS. There isn't much chance for anything significant happening against the IS until there is some kind of settlement of the civil war which still faces huge hurdles.

You are looking at the object

moat — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:19:45 +0000

In reply to I suppose none of you wise

You are looking at the object through the wrong end of the telescope.
If US troops are sent to Syria to fight ISIS, they will also be fighting to prop up Assad's regime. This would not be a failure to work with the Russians but exactly the living flesh of such cooperation.

Thanks for the definitive

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 08:24:54 +0000

In reply to I agreed with NoFly Zone many

Thanks for the definitive reply. No, There is no attempt to play "gotcha", just an effort to establish a starting point.

I agreed with NoFly Zone many

PeraclesPlease — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 08:16:37 +0000

In reply to Yeah, but at some point, if

I agreed with NoFly Zone many times, hasn't changed in years.

Haven't seen a good reason to support boots on the ground or other unstated option. No idea where we're going with this, but probably some new & improved game of gotcha.

During Obama's presidency I

ocean-kat — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 07:34:20 +0000

In reply to Yeah, but at some point, if

During Obama's presidency I learned much about the flaws of inaction which was a large part of his foreign policy. Don't do stupid stuff usually translated into don't do anything. I wanted to see a more active engagement. I hoped to see decisions made by someone with a deep understanding of the situation. That person is not in the WH. Rhetoric on the campaign trail is usually dumbed down for the uneducated. I have little interest in discussing hypotheticals of what Hillary might have done if elected. If she had been elected I'd have happily critiqued what she actually did if I disagreed. Just as I happily critiqued Obama when I disagreed even though I supported him and voted for him twice. I'm much more interested in discussing what is actually happening now

Yeah, but at some point, if

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 07:29:04 +0000

In reply to In a situation as chaotic as

Yeah, but at some point, if you are going to be intellectually honest or, if because of whatever circumstance you are in the actual deciding position, you are going to need to say either "yes" or "no".

edited to change academically to intellectually. Duh.

In a situation as chaotic as

ocean-kat — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 07:04:01 +0000

In reply to No, I was asking PP if he was

In a situation as chaotic as the warring middle east nations there are no unequivocally good options. There is always the danger that some action could make things worse. Withdrawal only creates a vacuum that others will fill as Putin did when Obama took no meaningful action. I believe that made things worse. A no fly zone before Putin entered might have kept him out or at least minimized his actions. Your question is simplistic. It's just so much more complex than that. Sometimes the answer is Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

No, I was asking PP if he was

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 06:37:02 +0000

In reply to The idea behind a no fly zone

No, I was asking PP if he was suggesting that a no-fly zone was a good idea. You of course could answer that question yourself if you choose to.

The idea behind a no fly zone

ocean-kat — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 06:33:51 +0000

In reply to Were you suggesting that

The idea behind a no fly zone is to protect the civilian population from the cluster bombs and other munitions Assad was dropping. Are you suggesting we should do nothing to protect the civilians?