And the editors of the Wall Street Journal are on the same page as David Ignatius:
Mr. Obama could make Mr. Putin pay a price if he reversed his Middle East policy and revived American leadership. In Syria the U.S. could set up a no-fly zone to create a haven for refugees against Islamic State and Mr. Assad’s barrel bombs. He could say U.S. planes will fly wherever they want, and if one is attacked the U.S. will respond in kind.
In Iraq the U.S. could directly arm the Kurds. And the U.S. could rev up the campaign against Islamic State from more than 11 or so strike sorties a day. This would show a new commitment that might convince the Sunni Arabs that the U.S. is finally serious about defeating the caliphate.
By now we know Mr. Obama will do none of this. He wants America out of the Middle East, so he will gradually find a way to accommodate Russia’s presence in the Middle East and Mr. Putin’s demands. U.S. allies in the region will get the message and make their accommodations with Russia and Iran. The next President will inherit a bigger terror threat and diminished U.S. influence, if not worse.
Does that sound like a call to war to you? It does to me. The reason that Putin has moved fighters into the Syrian theater is because he has anticipated the possibility of a U. S.-created “no-fly zone”. It’s an unambiguous message to the U. S. to do no such thing. Arming the Kurds is a very good way of provoking our notional allies, the Turks. In support of whom in Syria? Al Qaeda? DAESH? I think the Kurds have been very much over-sold in this country but that’s a subject for another post.
Has everyone lost their ever-loving minds?
It would be interesting if Turkey invoked NATO support against the Kurds. The US supporting the Kurds on one side of the border, and the US supporting NATO on the other side. You could have US Forward Air Controllers calling air strikes on each other.
What a wonderful world.
Putin moved his fighters in because Assad’s military is falling apart. He doesn’t want to put boots on the ground any more than we do. I doubt very much this was done to stop a no-fly zone. Not like the Syrian Air Force was winning the war for Assad.
The editors of the WSJ, guess we know which political party they support, want us more involved in this mess. So do their candidates. They actually want us challenging Putin in Syria, as well as re-invading Iraq.
Steve