The United States, Russia, The Skunk and the Weasel

Russia and Turkey Drag U.S. Into the Middle of Conflict

Russia recently began running bombing sorties into Syria to take out ISIS installations and oil shipping convoys. Obama is very unhappy with that scenario because it shows just how weak and ineffective he has been in controlling the Islamic terrorist organization.

Or, he may simply be unhappy because someone, even the Russians, actually are damaging ISIS, so he is trying to mitigate the damage by supporting Turkey as proxie.

But Russia also seems more than willing to “wander” over other areas that may be of interest. This past week, Russian fighter jets apparently flew over Turkish airspace, purportedly to reach ISIS targets in Syria. The Turkish military responded by shooting down two Russian aircraft, with one pilot killed in the fracas.

Now there are denials, counter-denials, and lots and lots of posturing. Russia claims it did not violate Turkish airspace, and also that the U.S. knew their flight pattern and time and alerted Turkey about the fly by, which apparently was not over Turkish airspace.

The arguments are flying, and there is a serious question about where it will lead, with the area becoming more and more destabilized.

In other developments, Putin’s dreaded S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems – mobilized in the wake of the jet’s destruction – were photographed being unloaded from military transports in Syria.

He also vowed to join France in coordinating bombing campaigns against ISIS forces and agreed to share intelligence information.

He told a press conference yesterday: ‘The American side, which leads the coalition that Turkey belongs to, knew about the location and time of our planes’ flights, and we were hit exactly there and at that time.

‘Why did we pass this information to the Americans? Either they were not controlling what their allies were doing, or they are leaking this information all over the place.’

Ahead of the conference, Putin and Erdogan traded barbs, with the Russian leader saying he was waiting for an apology and Erdogan ruling out any such move.

Putin has dismissed as ‘rubbish’ Turkey’s claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian.

There is no question that Putin is saber rattling and accusing to see how far he can push the conflict. It is likely he is looking for an opening, or several openings, that will justify his push into the area and his move to diminish NATO control of the area.

Sadly, the ineptitude and misreading of Russia and her global objectives by Hillary Clinton, the woman who would be president, has made the problem much worse than it might have been. And as the situation escalates, the Obama administration sits idly by and ruminates on the preposterous and juvenile demands of overindulged, whiny brats on college campuses.

He may also be worried that Russia will actually control and even defeat ISIS, which may not be to Obama’s liking. He is truly leading from behind, or perhaps on his behind, but in any case, the whole blowup could have been avoided by someone with better skills and foresight and a clear commitment to defeating ISIS.

Instead, here we are, between the skunk and the weasel, hoping that the community organizer will find a way to keep the peace.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk