Following up on Colonel Lang's post regarding the Saudi Arabian/Egyptian debacle in trying to bully Qatar (please see Little Qatar has bested the GCC and Egypt. Mufaja'a!), there are two other major developments. First, Donald Trump reportedly has ordered the CIA to pull the plug on arming and training Islamic radicals bent on overthrowing Bashar Al Assad:
The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy once Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later. Preceding the CIA program was a Pentagon-led effort which was criticized by Foreign Policy for costing $500 million without yielding tangible results.
Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia after Trump's July 7 meeting with Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. It may also signal a lack of capability as well as desire in Washington to take steps to remove Assad from power in Syria. Officials told the Washington Post that Trump made the decision to scrap the CIA program nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.
After the Trump-Putin meeting, the United States and Russia announced an agreement to back a new cease-fire in southwest Syria, along the Jordanian border and adjoining the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights, where many of the CIA-backed rebels have long operated. Trump described the limited cease-fire deal as one of the benefits of a constructive working relationship with Moscow. The ending of the CIA program was not a condition of the cease-fire negotiations according to officials.
Second, our "ally" Turkey has ratted out the location of US secret military bases in Syria and Iraq:
In a move that has angered the U.S. for obvious reason, Turkey’s state-run news agency, Anadolu Agency, has leaked the precise locations of U.S. bases in northern Syria. The move - which exposes the exact locations of American soldiers on the front lines in the war-torn nation has sent the ongoing feud between the two NATO allies to new lows. As Bloomberg details, in reports published in both Turkish and English on Tuesday, Anadolu provided detailed information about 10 U.S. bases in northern Syria, including troop counts and a map of the U.S. force presence in the Turkish version.
Without citing specific sources, the state-run news agency unveiled the ten US outposts located in areas controlled by “terrorist” Kurdish militias in the provinces of Aleppo, Hasakah and Raqqa. The reports said that the military outposts are “usually hidden for security reasons, making it hard to be detected.” It said they were located “in the terrorist PKK/PYD-held Syrian territories,” a reference to Kurdish groups that Turkey’s government considers terrorist organizations.
Personally I am happy that Trump is putting an end to the CIA covert program to provoke and promote war in Syria. The human cost of this idiotic policy alone justifies killing it. I am pleasantly surprised by Trump's decision. This clearly pokes a finger in the eyes of the Saudis and the Israelis, who each had a vested interest in backing the rebels against Assad.
I would like to tell you that I have tremendous insight into what Trump is thinking. I don't. Let me give you one possibility--Putin provided Trump positive steps to promote an Israeli/Palestinian peace process if the United States backs off of Syria. Here's another possibility (suggested by Colonel Lang)--Putin and French President Macron have delivered a coordinated message to Trump and have succeeded in getting him to understand some of the key dynamics in the Middle East.
Here's the bottomline. I really do not know. What do you think? Think of this as an open seminar. Put on your thinking caps.
> Melania was seated next to Putin. Did she learn Russian in school? Likely.
even if she did it was so far ago.
i'd rather think about German
wiki: When she began working as a model, she changed the Slovene form of her last name Knavs to the German Knauss
Posted by: Arioch The | 20 July 2017 at 01:02 PM
you speak Putin is Trump's adversary, but if you believe in Borg, than the men are allies and tomahawk story hints at it
Posted by: Arioch The | 20 July 2017 at 01:11 PM
Arioch the
Go look in the archive. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 20 July 2017 at 01:28 PM
Less than Washington deserves: a good horse whipping and war crime charges.
Posted by: DH | 20 July 2017 at 01:57 PM
on which date?
There is 12 years without one month of everyday posts.
It is hardly feasible to reread them all just for one abbreviation
Posted by: The-arioch | 20 July 2017 at 02:09 PM
russia plus
saa
ndf
iran
hzb
palestinian factions
shia militias from iraq, afg, pak
Posted by: LG | 20 July 2017 at 02:21 PM
sid Finster,
Trumps decision either 1. Shuts the program down (I think so - who wants to take career risks on a losing program), or 2. makes it much less effective (and its effectiveness was near zero).
Why do the Saudi's need our weapons and money to funnel? They can and do get weapons from all over the place. If we funnel or not, the Saudi's will continue to double down on their failing policy as fast as they can find committed jihadis to take the weapons. At least until the Yemen debacle leads to a palace coup or worse.
False flag - done that - no effect. why would next one be more effective? Again, why take a career risk on a losing option.
I presume the leaks are occurring at the maximum rate the DC media can ingest them. So far no effect.
Posted by: ISL | 20 July 2017 at 03:11 PM
steve,
So Trumps dad was rich and Donald turned his starting money into a $billion. His political opponent did not have rich parents or a spouse with rich parents. How did they get so wealthy? "good political connections trump everything". That seems to work for far too many of our politicians.
Posted by: Fred | 20 July 2017 at 03:25 PM
I am glad to see that a few people are waking up to the fact that Trump is anything but a buffon, but rather is five moves ahead of his clumsy and to lazy to think blind mice opponents (or victims?).
Posted by: Kutte | 20 July 2017 at 03:48 PM
So we now require the formal assistance of Syria and Russia to "disentangle" ourselves? Maybe we wanted to secure some guarantees for the safety of our Kurdish friends? Are the guarantees in the peace agreement and did Turkey sign it?
And who on the American side was responsible for agreeing with the idea of Russian police keeping the peace on the southern border? Since the armed forces of Syria and Russia are having the devil's own job of clearing the head-choppers, not sure what security the Russian police will provide to the Israelis, who, of course after reading the fine print are now rejecting the whole peace plan.
So, if by "we manage to disentangle" you mean "a Trump face-saving measure", I would agree.
Posted by: wisedupearly | 20 July 2017 at 05:06 PM
His political instincts, and his instincts for self defense are about to put to the supreme test. The jumping of the Firewall, referenced by Trump today in his Times' interview, i.e. the move to investigate FINANCIAL transactions conducted in many cases before he ran for President, is HUGE, HUGE, trouble. People on the lower level are gonna start flipping. Manafort first in line. But bank types, M&A guys, Real Estate Lawyers, careers are gonna be on the line. The prosecutors will be like Red Ants.
And unlike Nixon, or, even Reagan, if it came to it in IranContra, Trump can't walk away from this,as the price to end the investigation. Because they are coming after his family too. They are ALL gonna be tied up defending themselves. We've all seen this game before. Bank accounts will be frozen. Tax returns double checked...who the hell is confident he or she could come out clean in this kind of proctology examine? This is going to sideline all other issues.
Posted by: jonst | 20 July 2017 at 05:19 PM
Jonst,
Russia "hacking the election" will be long forgotten as Mueller justifies his growing team of prosecutors. I think you're right the investigation will likely be about financial transactions well before he was a candidate for president.
Posted by: Jack | 20 July 2017 at 05:47 PM
Mayb it would be interesting to moderators of this blog, that mobile (for phones and tablets verison of thsi blog does not allow to log in with Google account
Posted by: Arioch The | 20 July 2017 at 05:55 PM
Thanks, LG
(alignment joke skipped)
Posted by: Arioch The | 20 July 2017 at 05:57 PM
> ...by Trump today in his Times' interview, i.e. the move to investigate FINANCIAL transactions conducted in many cases before he ran for President
It would be international, not USA-domestic though
See here: http://redstatewatcher.com/article.asp?id=86411
Imagine Kremlin would say something like that: US Government stole Russian dyplomatic real estate, because US finances are in so desperate state that even as shameful and little profit as those houses is crucial. And then would follow, that all Bill Clinton tenure time purchases of Russian property by American power players is from this day considered fraudulent and are summarilly rolled back, until new owners would prove legal cleanless of those deals.
Clintons attack Trump, Clintons attack Russia.
Well, that very collusion would become a self-fulfilling prophecy in the end.
Posted by: Arioch The | 20 July 2017 at 06:18 PM
jonst,
Re; The "firewall". I don't think it will get to that point. Everyone in Congress has a lot of dirty financial dealings. Trump is no doubt aware of details of at least some of these. He liked to mention during the debates how the other candidates used to come beg him for money. I saw that as a warning as much as anything else. He has contempt for these people because he knows their extracurricular business.
He has also begun to heat things up on the Clinton front. He'll go after them ("Lock her up"). Trump will go nuclear if he thinks he's going down. While he still has the power and the access, he will take the whole establishment down with him. Certainly, no one wants that.
If they want to get rid of Trump, they'd better start looking for a wacko that can be programmed to be "a lone gunman", a mechanic that can cause a tragic crash of Air Force 1, a cook that can introduce botulism into the taco bowl, etc. They probably began that search in earnest early in November.
Posted by: Eric Newhill | 20 July 2017 at 06:44 PM
Jonst,
Did you get this from Louise Mensch? Did Steve Bannon nearly end up executed by the Marshall of SCOTUS?
Posted by: Tyler | 20 July 2017 at 08:19 PM
Rick,
Yeah, that's all it was. Not a move that aligned the neocons, the Dems, and the media (but I repeat myself thrice) behind him, even if temporarily. Not a move that underlined to China something had to be done.
Yeah, you keep playing those checkers.
Posted by: Tyler | 20 July 2017 at 08:22 PM
steve,
"Political connections" LMBO right.
He was certainly less connected than scion of the Deep State Barack Obama. Any port in a storm tho.
Posted by: Tyler | 20 July 2017 at 08:23 PM
Nothing brilliant happened, he just saw what any average Joe could see but the Borg apparently can't. In the land of the blind (Borg) the one-eyed man (Trump) is king. But the Borg is adept at presenting their blindness as some special insight until they do something with unavoidably bad consequences such as the Iraq War or their little dance with Al Qaeda throughout MENA descending into uncontrollable chaos. The big test for Trump would be whether he can see through Borgist manipulation enough foresee the consequences of their machinations and head them off, rather than recognize them after they've already hit everybody over the head. I would be impressed, but his stances towards Israel, KSA, and Iran do not make me optimistic.
Posted by: Thirdeye | 20 July 2017 at 09:24 PM
Israel's concern over the ceasefire is not security against the headchoppers. Israel sees the headchoppers as the agents of their own interests.
Posted by: Thirdeye | 20 July 2017 at 09:29 PM
jonst,
"Their bank accounts will be frozen?" "Tax returns double checked"
What is the probable cause for investigating all those financial transactions? What evidence does the FBI have after 7 months? Now they'll do all this because Mueller says so?
Did you notice we have heard a word about Huma Abedi, her crooked sexual predator husband or any of the Clinton staffers who recieved immunity? "Russia, Russia, Russia" sure seems to have done the trick.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/20/fbi-turns-over-7000-documents-from-weiner-laptop-in-clinton-tied-case.html
Posted by: Fred | 20 July 2017 at 10:05 PM
Trump gets to start 'resolving' a crisis his ineffective predecessor never could.
The borg considers this an unmitigated disaster, but not the American public.
Posted by: Lemur | 20 July 2017 at 10:11 PM
Publius,
It seems President Macron accepted the resignation of the General Pierre de Villiers, Général d'armée of the French Army. Any idea if there is more to this than the public dispute over the budget?
http://www.france24.com/en/20170719-france-military-chief-upbraided-macron-resigns
Posted by: Fred | 20 July 2017 at 10:23 PM
The left by definition believes in a notion of progress which sets up an opposition between an abstract notion of the good and the historical foundations of the West. Therefore it follows the left is the enemy within.
Posted by: Lemur | 20 July 2017 at 10:29 PM