Putin's deft Syria moves checkmate Obama

[Don1]

As Syria Talks Flop, Obama Is Painted Into a Corner
JONATHAN ERNST
By Patrick Smith

February 8, 2016


So much for the Syrian peace process. With the opening of talks in Geneva last Monday, their collapse two days later, and little hope their resumption February 25th will bear much more fruit, the four-year war in Syria takes a new turn.

New reality No 1: The global community is not equipped—not yet, anyway—with the institutions and mechanisms needed to address 21st century conflicts. Astonishing as it is to say, we don’t know what to do as a nation of 23 million turns into a killing field. We need the kind of large minds our political systems no longer produce.

Related: Has Putin Turned the Tide in Syria?

New reality No. 2: The Obama administration has painted itself into a tight little corner on this one and left itself few paths, if any, out of it. Of all the mistakes Obama and his policy people have made on the foreign side, this one will go down as one of the worst.

[Sir X]

The truth is,that's the card Obama knew was going to be played.Iran backing Assad was always going to be a stalemate,Russia wasn't going to lose its base in Syria and Obama sure as hell was not going to send troops into a civil war, Isis was going to be defeated by attrition or the Russians. The neo cons would declare Obama as weak.

I think he played the right cards.

[Don1]

The mistake Obama made was PUBLICLY doubling down on the "Assad must go" neo-con foolishness. The main goal of US policy was/is regime change NOT fighting terrorism. The US has wanted a regime in Syria it could control for 50+ years

Now that Putin has blocked that by rescuing Assad...America looks weak and feckless. This is a big blow to the "we are exceptional" narrative that America propagates worldwide

Huge lick to the Babylon psyche & image dat

[Sir X]

Did he have a choice with the repugs - neo cons demanding him to get more involved with a no fly zone? He called their card when he threw it back to Congress to give the green light for more aggressive action,they didn't ! Because they new it would be helping Isis if they moved against Assad.

Babylon was divided amongst itself and Obama played them,nothing's changed Russia has its sphere of influence,Syria is in tatters ,America has them encircled with its Gulf allies.

It makes a good spin for some neo con journalist though.

[Don1]

Obama has a say....but neither he nor Congress run the show...The Military Industrial Complex and the oligarchs largely do. It's not really about this or that party.

America is not a true democracy

[Sir X]

I think Obama factored that in,when he threw it to Congress and the media,that if they want more aggressive action from me,let your sell out Congress authorize it.

As you see they didn't,checkmate.