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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (618800)	12/16/2016 8:32:55 AM
From: skinowski	1 Recommendation Recommended By John Carragher Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793917

In 2003 I thought that we will "turn" most of Saddam's military and state structures -- hire them and make them work for us. Instead, GWB pushed for "democracy" - which to the Shia majority was nothing more than an opportunity to take power - and to scatter and oppress the Sunnis. Iran was handed what was a de facto victory in the old 1980's war. The world was handed a bunch of radicalized, often displaced, angry Sunnis. Libyan campaign was an absurdity. The entire strategy of embracing the "Arab Spring" was an absurdity. All it did was help set the stage for endless wars. With Iran's nukes on track, it may be that we ain't seen nothing yet. Putin didn't outmaneuver us in Syria. We did it to ourselves.

To: LindyBill who wrote (618800)	12/16/2016 10:10:39 AM
From: Stan	3 Recommendations Recommended By gamesmistress lightshipsailor LindyBill Respond to of 793917

Given Donald Trump's background I can see him defaulting to something like what you suggest - weaponizing our financial clout by both sanctions and cutting off foreign aid to obstructionist countries over there. But, I hope he concentrates his main energies on his "America first" agenda that put him in power. Given also he also knows the USA is weary of wars in the ME. He's also disgusted with us getting nothing but losses, of men and material, out of these excessively expensive adventures over there. And I cannot fathom he's working to repatriate trillions of $ just to have it all lost in another ME war. The way this civil/proxy war stands, I don't see Assad going anywhere, not with Iran's and Russia's support. Because of Iran now, the other huge Shia monster rising to prominence is Hezbollah. Their burgeoning threat will eventually be realized against our ally Israel, especially when (if) Syria "stabilizes" under Assad and ISIS/Al Qaeda lose steam. So that could very well motivate Mr Trump to go after Iran financially, so as to cut the ground out from under Hezbollah. Ay-yi-yi, what a house of horrors this Syria mess is.