"Do it yourself" realities in the policy world

"... divisions and obstacles remain.  Islamist delegates objected to using the word “democracy” in the final statement, so the term “democratic mechanism” was used instead, according to a member of one such group who attended the meeting.  And one powerful Islamist rebel brigade, Ahrar al-Sham, announced that it was withdrawing from the conference, accusing other delegates of being too close to the Syrian government and saying that conference failed to “confirm the Muslim identity of our people.”  But Abdulaziz Sager, the Saudi academic who moderated the meetings, said afterward that the representative of the group had not known about the statement and had signed the final agreement anyway — suggesting a split between the group’s political officials and its hard-line base."  NY Times

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The minions of the foreign policy sector of the US branch of the Borg are hard at work seeking to sculpt a reality in which the current R+6 offensives in Syria are said to be ineffective, bogged down and doomed to failure because no military solution to the Syrian Civil War is possible according to Obama and the Harpies.  The Russians are said have been taught a severe lesson by the death of two soldiers and are supposedly having a bad case of "buyer's remorse" over their intervention in Syria.  This is an amusing idea if you know anything about Russian national character as displayed at places like Stalingrad and Leningrad in WW2.  It is also said that the Iranians are withdrawing from the war having been disheartened by the death of several senior leaders of the IRGC in combat.  This, too, is amusing if you were around during the Iran-Iraq War when IRGC and Baseej men lay down their lives by the tens of thousands in massed frontal attacks against the Iraqis. 

The rebels have recently evacuated what they held of Homs.  They are the people who left, not the government.  In the end the rebels were defeated at Homs but you would never know that from the BS flowing in Washington and New York where the surrender agreement (truce) is said to be a sign of crumbling of resolve on the R+6 side.  R+6 troops are steadily chewing up rebel forces in Lattakia and Aleppo Provinces in the process of preparing the battlefield for a great action soon to come.  Numerous airfields have been re-captured and Syrian/Russian air assets are being moved forward onto these airfields.  Russian sortie rates continue to rise, but the Borg insists that Russia will soon withdraw from Syria in exhaustion.

This thematic IO campaign in the think-tanks and media may well have some effect on Western populations but the Russians, Syrians, Iranians, Hizbullah and associated militias are unlikely to be impressed.

John Kerry said today that there are "kinks" in the Riyadh agreement stitched together by Adil (the Chihuahua) al-Jubair.  Well, yes, the obvious intention of the Saudis and the jihadis among the rebels to make Syria a Sunni sharia law state might be considered a "kink."

Does Obama really not care about that?  Does he not care?  Does he not care about his brothers and sisters in Christ who would be reduced to dhimmitude by a "kinky" Islamist government in Syria?  And what of the others; the non-Islamist Sunni Arabs, the Yazidis, the Alawis, the Shia, etc?  Does he not notice that these people are all sheltering behind R+6?

Daniel Patrick Moynihan is reputed to have remarked that while "you are entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to your own facts."

Evidently Obama and the Harpies do not agree with Moynihan.  pl 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-form-bloc-for-new-round-of-peace-talks.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=world/middleeast&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East&pgtype=article

Comments

[Aka]

sir,
"you are entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to your own facts"

Facts are needed when you are dealing with the reality. Don't the foreign policy "borgists" create their own reality?

[turcopolier]

Aka

No. Carl Rove found that out the hard way. No amount of bullshit creates reality in the face of objective truth. Of course Rove was talking about creating actual reality not BS reality in which you don't recognize that you adversaries just think you are funny. pl

[Babak Makkinejad]

Col. Lang:

To answer your questions at the end: "No he does not care."

But I have another question: Does the Vatican care about those Christians? Do you know?

[turcopolier]

Babak

It was a rhetorical question. Yes, the Vatican cares. pl

[Balint Somkuti]

Sir, what is true about the alleged deployment if 90 000 gulf troops into Iraq with US logistical support?

[Valissa]

The problem is that they think (imagine, fantasize) that they can create a reality that fits their grandiose dreams. As long as they keep their jobs (and status) and suffer no personal setbacks for their delusions, and they belong to a group that shares their delusions, what is the incentive to be more realistic?

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
-- Philip K. Dick

"We can avoid reality, but we cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
-– Ayn Rand

[turcopolier]

Balint

The Borgists in Washington would love to see that. I will believe it when I see it. What countries would they come from? Saudi Arabia? What a joke! pl

[Babak Makkinejad]

Tyler:

This is for you - from the font of Liberals:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/world/europe/finland-islamic-state-iraq-arrests.html?_r=0

[Tyler]

Obama is a Christian as far as it furthered his goals in Chicago. I would not call him my brother in Christ by any stretch of the term

[FB Ali]

Col Lang,

It is not only the Christians, the Yazidis, the Alawis, the Shia, etc who would be 'inferior' members of the population in a Syrian Sharia state. Large numbers of Syrian Sunnis would also feel the same way.

This applies to all Muslim countries outside the Wahhabi belt in the ME; in that area they are compelled to become 'hypocrites', who act one way in public and another in private. Not least among them are many members of the ruling class in these states.

[The Beaver]

Colonel,
"What countries would they come from?"

Most probably: Hired guns from poorer countries from Africa or Pakistan - the middlemen ( aka politicians) will make $$$$, or the resources from R2 in Abu Dhabi.

[bell]

john kerry could just as easily said there are 'kinks' in the relationship between the usa and saudi arabia... but planning for regime change isn't one of them..

[mbrenner]

Pn the Riyadh meeting. it is noteworthy that the Ahrar al-Sham leadership disavowed the agreement and proclaimed their true identity. That should complicate KSA efforts to shoe-horn into some Vienna/Geneva conference

[Trey N]

An even bigger joke was the inclusion of Jordan in that delusional list of unicorns. King Abdullah clearly saw the writing on the wall when Russia deployed in Syria, and he wisely retreated to the sidelines as fast he could run. The man is one of the few ME leaders who is firmly grounded in reality. He wants to keep the crown on his head, and his head on his shoulders, and most assuredly will not be participating in any further "adventures" in neighboring countries.

[alba etie]

All
Karl Rove aka turdblossom is now talking up his new book on President Garfield and still spinning the Bushcheney debacle -which left us many problems chief amongst them ISIL . Of course Barry and his Best Girls have only made the MENA more dangerous .

[Matthew]

Col. or BH: Have there been any reports of the rebels fleeing positions in numbers where they have columns that are being attacked?

[oofda]

Do the Gulfies even HAVE 90,000 troops, much less be able to spare that number?

[FB Ali]

Whatever "hired guns" the Wahhabis have been able to get have been sent to Yemen to try and save the young Prince's bacon. They're not having much success.

There are none from Pakistan in this lot. The Saudis asked for troops from Pakistan to go into Yemen but were politely told to go take a hike. As far as hiring retired soldiers from Pakistan, I think whatever numbers were available have been taken by Bahrain and Oman (possibly Qatar, as well) to prop up their rulers.

As for R2, I don't think many Colombian mercenaries would be available after meeting the minimum requirement for 'regime protection'.

[Matthew]

AE: They are working very hard to create their own facts.
And they will have a lot of help. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/12/11/putins-syrian-folly/?postshare=2331449850164997&tid=ss_tw

The Serious People will look very silly if Putin doesn't fail.

[Kooshy]

US has 3 large Sunni Muslim majority allied countries in the ME area, all three have a very poor and resourceless economies, so they are available to be rented, all three have large armies which haven't won any wars, and are mostly paid by American tax payers, all three are mostly run by their militaries. Non is helping US with boots on the ground to fight ISIL, anyone wonders why? Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan are currently rented to Saudis and Qatar.

[Amir]

Would occupation of Mosul in the North be part of an adjunct plan to the use of the 90k troops, to occupy areas to the West, NW of Baghdad by "Arab forces" and Mosul by Turks?

[Ken Roberts]

Driving past a church this morning, saw a billboard outside with quote: "Mercy is more important than Judgement -- Pope Francis". This guy is amazing. I watched his talk in Florence on TV -- my Italian is almost nil, so I didn't follow the words, but he seems a genuine person. Just about the only world figure speaking truth about higher ideals -- and meaning it. I wish him well. We need him.

[alba etie]

correction
..book on President McKinley

[alba etie]

Trey N
Do you think the Jordanian military might participate later in peace keeping after the Russians et al defeat the Liver Eaters in Syria?

[Babak Makkinejad]

I think the Wahhabi belt pretty much has spread to all Muslim countries outside of the Old Seljuk Empire.

Organization of Islamic Conference acts as the Branch Office of the Saudi Foreign Ministry and as far as the rest of Muslim world - outside of the Shia Crescent - is concerned there is nothing wrong with bombing the thousands of Yemenis to smithereens.

Nevertheless, US, is the Enemy of Islam for these people because she kills a few Muslims here and there with drones?

I guess this is the Muslim version of "Black Lives Matter" writ large on the planetary scale: if non-Muslim kill Muslims, they are Enemies of Islam and the effigies of their leaders are burnt and the flags of those countries are trampled upon.

But it is all well when Muslims are killed by other Muslims by their hundred - as long as those killed belonged to the Apostate Sects and Governments.

Regrettably, I do not believe that going to the KSA is going to help any longer.