By Patrick J. Buchanan
* * *
Turkey’s decision to shoot down a Russian warplane was a
provocative and portentous act.
That Sukhoi Su-24, which the Turks say intruded into
their air space, crashed and burned — in Syria.
* FOR THOSE UNSURE OF GEOGRAPHY... SYRIA IS NOT TURKEY.
One of the Russian pilots was executed while parachuting
to safety.
* A BLATANT WAR CRIME...
A Russian rescue helicopter was destroyed by rebels using
a U.S. TOW missile. A Russian marine was killed.
“A stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists,” said Vladimir Putin of the first downing of a Russian warplane by a NATO nation in half a century.
Putin has a point, as the Russians are bombing rebels in
northwest Syria, some of which are linked to al-Qaida.
As it is impossible to believe Turkish F-16 pilots would
fire missiles at a Russian plane without authorization from President Tayyip
Recep Erdogan, we must ask: Why did the Turkish autocrat do it?
* YES, INDEED, FOLKS; ERDOGAN IS AN AUTOCRAT.
Why is he risking a clash with Russia? Answer: Erdogan is
probably less outraged by intrusions into his air space than by Putin’s success
in securing the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, whom Erdogan detests, and by
relentless Russian air strikes on Turkmen rebels seeking to overthrow Assad.
Imperiled strategic goals and ethnicity may explain
Erdogan. But what does the Turkish president see down at the end of this road?
And what about us?
Was the U.S. government aware Turkey might attack Russian
planes? Did we give Erdogan a green light to shoot them down?
* DID OBAMA?
These are not insignificant questions.
* NO; NO, THEY'RE NOT.
For Turkey is a NATO ally.
* FROM A TIME WHEN TURKEY WAS RUN BY PRO-AMERICAN,
PRO-WESTERN SECULARISTS. (THIS IS NOT THE CASE, TODAY.)
And if Russia strikes back, there is a possibility Ankara
will invoke Article V of NATO and demand that we come in on their side in any
fight with Russia.
* F--K 'EM! THEY MADE THEIR BED; LET 'EM SUFFER THE
CONSEQUENCES!
And Putin was not at all cowed. Twenty-four hours after
that plane went down, his planes, ships and artillery were firing on those same
Turkmen rebels and their jihadist allies.
Politically, the Turkish attack on the Sukhoi Su-24 has
probably aborted plans to have Russia join France and the U.S. in targeting
ISIS, a diplomatic reversal of the first order.
* HOPEFULLY NOT...
(*SIGH*)
Indeed, it now seems clear that in Syria’s civil war,
Turkey is on the rebel-jihadist side, with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah on the
side of the Syrian regime.
But whose side are we on?
* IF THERE'S A WRONG CHOICE TO BE MADE - WE CAN COUNT ON
OBAMA TO MAKE IT! (OR RATHER TO CONTINUE MAKING WRONG CHOICES!)
As for what strategy and solution President Obama offers,
and how exactly he plans to achieve it, it remains an enigma.
Nor is this the end of the alarming news.
(*HEADACHE*)
According to The Times of Israel, Damascus reports that,
on Monday, Israel launched four strikes, killing five Syrian soldiers and eight
Hezbollah fighters, and wounding others. Should Assad or Hezbollah retaliate,
this could bring Israel more openly into the Syrian civil war. And if Israel is
attacked, the pressure on Washington to join her in attacking the Syrian regime
and Hezbollah would become intense. Yet, should we accede to that pressure, it
could bring us into direct conflict with Russia, which is now the fighting ally
of the Assad regime.
* WHAT... A... FRIGGIN'... MESS...
Something U.S. presidents conscientiously avoided through
45 years of Cold War — a military clash with Moscow — could become a real
possibility. Does Obama see what is unfolding here?
* BUT IT GETS WORSE... (READ ON!)
Elsewhere, yet another Russia-NATO clash may be brewing.
In southern Ukraine, pylons supporting the power lines
that deliver electricity to Crimea have been sabotaged, blown up, reportedly by
nationalists, shutting off much of the electric power to the peninsula.
Repair crews have been prevented from fixing the pylons
by Crimean Tatars, angry at the treatment of their kinfolk in Crimea.
In solidarity with the Tatars, Kiev has declared that
trucks carrying goods to Crimea will not be allowed to cross the border.
A state of emergency has been declared in Crimea.
Russia is retaliating, saying it will not buy produce
from Ukraine, and may start cutting off gas and coal as winter begins to set
in.
Ukraine is as dependent upon Russia for fossil fuels as
Crimea is upon Ukraine for electricity. Crimea receives 85% of its water and 80%
of its electricity from Ukraine.
Moreover, Moscow’s hopes for a lifting of U.S. and EU
sanctions, imposed after the annexation of Crimea, appear to be fading. Are
these events coordinated? Has the U.S. government given a go-ahead to Erdogan
to shoot down Russian planes? Has Obama authorized a Ukrainian economic
quarantine of Crimea?
For Vladimir Putin is not without options.
The Russian Army and pro-Russian rebels in southeast
Ukraine could occupy Mariupol on the Black Sea and establish a land bridge to
Crimea in two weeks.
In Syria, the Russians, with 4,000 troops, could escalate
far more rapidly than either us or our French allies.
As of today, Putin supports U.S.-French attacks on ISIS.
But if we follow the Turks and begin aiding the rebels who are attacking the
Syrian army, we could find ourselves eyeball to eyeball in a confrontation with
Russia, where our NATO allies will be nowhere to be found.
Has anyone thought this through?
No comments:
Post a Comment