The guided missile cruiser USS Monterey fires a Tomahawk missile in the Red Sea, April 14, 2018, while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew Daniels
Written by Dr.Leon Tressell, co-authorted by Rosa Tressell exclusively for SouthFront
The cruise missile attacks launched by America and its allies France and Britain have escalated the Syrian conflict to dangerously high new levels. Trump has declared “mission accomplished’’ with the missile strikes. We can leave the relative failure of the cruise missile strikes, 71 out of 103 were allegedly shot down by Soviet era air defence systems such as the S125, to another discussion.
The missile strikes have not solved any of the military, economic and political consequences of the conflict. They have only served to exacerbate them.
The latest military adventure of American imperialism poses several question: Are we any closer to a resolution of this terrible conflict? How will Putin respond to this massive attack upon a close ally?
On the one hand we have further warnings from Trump and his puppet allies that any further use of chemical weapons by Assad will draw an even stronger response from the West. Meanwhile, the “moderate rebels’’ aka the Heinz 57 variety of Sunni terrorist groups are screaming that the missile attacks were a ‘farce’, while they steadily lose ground on the battlefields of Syria.
The use of chemical weapons in Syria follows a clear and consistent pattern. Whenever, the ‘moderate’ terrorist groups are losing a particular battle they use groups that are propaganda fronts, such as the White Helmets, to scream “Chemical Attack By Assad’s Forces’’.
The Russo phobic mainstream media and their corporate masters in Congress pick this up immediately and start hysterically denouncing Assad and Russia for crimes against humanity. At the same time they insist upon the need for humanitarian bombing to deter any further chemical attacks.
The hysteria builds up and up leading to fruitless debates at the U.N. Security Council where the U.S. and its coalition of the killing can denounce Assad and Putin as different versions of Hitler, monstrous animals etc. After failing to get the sanction of international law, through the auspices of the U.N., the coalition of the killing, believing in their god given mission to police the world, then resort to cruise missile strikes. Which brings us back to our original questions: Will these missile strikes bring peace any closer in Syria? How will Putin respond to these attacks upon a strategic ally?
It is quite clear that with Trump in the saddle the Western imperialist powers are renewing their attempt to overthrow Assad by any means necessary. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has made this clear in recent tweets condemning the U.S. missile attacks upon Syria:
Economic sanctions will no doubt be stepped up, increasing the suffering of civilians, meanwhile the political drums to war will continue to resound while military assets are manoeuvred into place.
The current situation in Syria must be placed into the correct historical and geopolitical context.
The U.S. empire sees the removal of Assad as a stepping stone in its larger scheme of reasserting its control over the resources of Eurasia. This strategy has been outlined by Zbigniew Brzezinski who has been the geopolitical brain of several presidents including Obama. In the introduction to his highly influential book, ‘The Grand Chessboard’, Zbigniew Brzezinski explains how imperative it is that U.S. foreign policy is geared to maintaining U.S. supremacy over Eurasia for this is central to, ‘America’s capacity to exercise global primacy’. Brzezinski reiterates the primacy of this theme again and again:
“Eurasia is thus the chessboard on which the struggle for global primacy continues to be played, and that struggle involves geostrategy—the strategic management of geopolitical interests. …it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus also of challenging America.’’
The U.S. strategy for full spectrum dominance over Eurasia will not be complete until the theocratic regime in Iran has been overthrown and a pro-Western puppet installed in power. Once this has been accomplished then the West can focus upon its ultimate goal of overthrowing the nationalist regime in Moscow and breaking up Russia into a myriad of small puppet states. The gigantic mineral resources and land mass would then be at the disposal of Western imperialism.
American imperialism has made it clear that it will proceed with the partition of Syria through its proxy Kurd forces in Eastern Syria and turn a blind eye to Turkey’s land grab in Northern Syria.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, whose is deliberately using provocative language towards Russia, has made it clear the U.S. has no intention on withdrawing its 2,000 troops from Syria.
Meanwhile, weapons, money, and manpower will find their way to support the jihad terrorist groups in Idlib, Raqaa, Aleppo and other provinces of the country.
The relative failure of the missile strikes must not be interpreted by Moscow as “victory’’ over Western imperialism. The USA and its allies are pressing Russia very strongly, with round after round of economic sanctions and the escalation of NATO’s presence up to its borders.
It is quite clear that Washington will continue to play the “Russia-gate’’ election meddling card as a diversion for the debt ridden populace whose total household debt has risen past the $13 trillion mark. Alongside this, it may well step up its propaganda offensive over the low level civil war in Ukraine as a further means of demonising Russia.
In many respects Trump and his coalition of the killing have put the ball in back Putin’s court.
Putin can continue to patiently play the diplomacy card while trying to build up Russia’s trade in non dollar terms, and acquiring more and more gold, while building ever closer economic, military and political links to China. Will this be enough to stave off further Western encroachments upon Russia’s economy and its geopolitical position in Syria and Eastern Ukraine?
The history of the Cold War and the appeasement period of the 1930s show that trying to negotiate while building up your economic/military resources is not enough to stop a “Terminator’’ like aggressor who just will not stop their aggressive actions towards you. During the Cold War there were times such as the Cuban Missile Crisis where U.S. imperialism was prepared to see nuclear armageddon rather than negotiate a compromise solution to the situation. It was only Kruschev’s willingness to back down, which cost him his position a year later, that averted World War 3.
Cuba was thousands of miles away from Russia so Khrushchev could afford to make such a climbdown. However, if he had been faced with U.S. aggression on Russia’s border then that would have been a completely different and much more difficult situation.
During the Cold War American imperialism was the dominant economic power on the planet which led to its aggressive foreign policy in defence of that economic position. Now the American empire is in decline it has become even more aggressive in a desperate effort to maintain its hegemony over the global economy. This imperial overreach is driven by several interlinked processes. Central to these processes has been the qualitative change to the nature of capitalism itself.
Global capitalism, whose epicentre remains the United States has been suffering from a general tendency towards stagnation since the 1970s. This has been partially solved for short periods of time by the financialization of the world economy that has provided an outlet for the development of a huge orgy of speculative capital to produce massive returns. This greater financialization of the global economy has increased the rate of wealth transfer to the super rich built upon a gigantic explosion of debt that has built instability into the foundations of capitalism. The dangers of this for the imperial centre of capitalism in Washington are clearly defined by the economic historians John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff:
“The financialization of capitalism has resulted in a more uncontrollable system. [They observe -Saltycat] … a clear sense of the growing volatility and instability of the system. It is characteristic of speculative bubbles that once they stop expanding they burst. Continual increase of risk and more and more cash infusions into the financial system therefore become stronger imperatives the more fragile the financial structure becomes. The whole context is that of a financialization so out of control that unexpected and severe shocks to the system and resulting financial contagion are looked upon as inevitable’’.
U.S. imperialism has increasingly relied upon ever greater infusions of debt into the capitalist system to maintain profitable outlets for finance capital. Finance capital must have free rein over the global economy to do as it pleases. It cannot afford to let upstarts such as Russia and China challenge its position of dominance over the resources and people of Eurasia. It is forced to take economic. political and military action to defend its interests. At the moment those interests are focused upon preserving its position in the Middle East. After “victories’’ in Iraq and Libya the U.S. feels threatened by Assad’s regime in Syria that is trying to pursue an alliance with a newly resurgent Russia under Putin. The logic of this policy means that U.S. imperialism cannot even countenance a compromise deal over Syria with Russia. Nothing less than the overthrow of Assad and the installation of a pro-Western puppet government will do.
This brings us back to Putin’s dilemma in Syria. The relative failure of the recent missile strikes in Syria has been celebrated by some in the alternative media as a ‘victory’ for Putin/Assad and that the U.S. will now refrain from any more attacks. Such a view fails to understand that U.S. imperialism, which is an empire decline, cannot afford to let its rivals such as Russia challenge its supremacy over the economic resources and politics of the Middle East. Putin understands this but is caught in a dilemma.
Putin represents the interests of the billionaire oligarchs, who emerged after the collapse of Stalinism and the reintroduction of capitalism in the 1990s. In the 1990s Putin was part of Yeltsin’s inner circle known affectionately as the “Family’’. Was their major concern the well being of ordinary Russian citizens? Of course not. It was the re-establishment of capitalism in Russia under the control of the oligarchs. Once firmly in power Putin has taken a more nationalist position than Yeltsin but still his foreign policy has followed the same lines of trying to maintain friendly, conciliatory relations with Western imperialism.
Circa 2018 Putin is subject to a number of major problems. Despite his election victory Putin is acutely aware that sections of the population, particularly the youth feel disenfranchised both economically and politically. Meanwhile, older generations still harken back to the stability and certainties of the Soviet period. Putin has played the nationalist card rather skilfully in an attempt to bolster support for himself while large sections of the public are critical of public institutions in general due to widespread corruption and poverty.
The Russian intervention in Syria has been used by Putin to appeal to nationalist sentiment amongst the population while also being motivated by military and geopolitical concerns.
Putin is no doubt happy with the progress of the Syrian Armed Forces and their shia allies, with the help of Russian air support, in gradually liberating region after region from jihadi control. However, he still has major problems with regard to his Syrian strategy.
There are the Kurds protected in Eastern Syria by the U.S. which is actively building military bases in that area. Just as big a problem is the wild card of Turkey. Putin has successfully pulled President Erodgan of Turkey in to the Russian sphere of influence by the oil pipeline and nuclear power plant deals they have signed. However, Erdogan is an unstable and unreliable ally who is trying to play off the U.S., its ally for many decades, against his new found ally in the form of Russia.
Putin now has the added complication of Western imperialism resorting to open military intervention, after the failure of their jihadi allies to overthrow Assad’s government. The U.S. has made it clear that any more chemical attacks and the next missile strike will be much more formidable. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has warned Russia and Assad that President Trump has:
“made clear that the United States of America is prepared to sustain this effort to re-establish the deterrent framework that exists in order that the Syrian regime and its patrons know there will be a price to pay if chemicals weapons are used again against men, women and children,”
Recent history has show that as sure as night follows day the genocidal jihadi groups will try and repeat their tired old trick of screaming “chemical weapons’’ if they keep losing ground on the battlefield. The Russian Foreign Ministry have warned of these tactics repeatedly in recent months.
Now Putin has to face up to the fact that Western imperialism will continue using this propaganda ruse as an excuse for much greater missile attacks against Assad and his military over the next period. What are his options?
He can simply try and wait it out until the jihadi groups have all been defeated by the SAA and its allies. A dangerous tactic as this may take some time yet, particularly the jihadi bastions in Idlib province.
Putin could try once again the diplomatic card and try to stall further U.S. military action. Yet he is aware the U.S. has no intention of leaving Syria over the next period and is waiting like a hawk for further excuses to attack/overthrow his ally President Assad.
Putin could send the latest military hardware to Assad such as the S300 and S400 with which to defend Syria from future attacks. A recent report on RT quoted General Staff Spokesman General Sergey Rudskoy lent some credence to this prospect:
“I would like to note that a few years ago, taking into account a pressing request of some of our Western partners, we stopped supplying S-300 air defence systems to Syria’’. But given the recent missile strikes Moscow believes it is “possible to return to mulling over the issue, and not only with regard to Syria but also to other states as well.”
The problem with this approach is that Russia is continuing with its appeasement of Western imperialism. The general notes how Moscow has not armed Syria with S300 systems out of deference to its “Western partners’’. Has concern for Russia’s feelings stopped the U.S. from installing its Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System in Poland and Rumania? Of course not.
Putin could of course, promise Assad that Russia will shoot down any future missile strikes entailing the risk of course of open military confrontation with the U.S. and its allies. This is something he is loathe to do as ultimately he just wants peaceful cohabitation with the West not war.
Conclusion
Russia under Putin’s leadership faces some major geopolitical and military dilemmas in Syria and Ukraine over the next period. Is Putin going to carry on letting Western imperialism box him into a corner where a future conflict is on ground chosen by his enemy? He must be aware of the potential for NATO to use the civil war in Ukraine as an excuse for military provocations upon Russia’s borders. Even worse, use Ukraine as a springboard from which to foment a colour revolution within Russia itself.
He does of course, have the other courses of action open to him. First, of all Russia must recognise that Western imperialism cannot be negotiated with. This does not mean that diplomacy is abandoned but recognise its role as a delaying tactic. Instead, Russia has to be far more assertive making its enemies think twice about the potential costs of military action against Syria or in Ukraine.
Putin should not hesitate in sending S300 systems to Syria and other military equipment that would helps its air defences. To cement the position of its Syrian ally and deter future unilateral action by U.S. imperialism Putin must up the stakes and make it clear that Russia’s armed forces would shoot down any future missile attack upon Syria. This would echo the military guarantees that the U.S. has given dozens of countries that are part of its military alliance know as NATO.
Putin could of course, take action to hasten the demise of the Petro-dollar and U.S. treasury debt that have been used for decades to fund the American war machine. Of course, such a course of action is fraught with risk as the global capitalist economy is more interconnected than ever before.
Putin can take some comfort from the impending economic crash coming to the U.S. economy due to the unsustainable mountain of public and private debt that it has accumulated. As the Fed and its allies in the ECB, BoE and BoJ stop money printing and raise interest rates then the subsequent crash in stock and bond markets will strike hard into the achilles heel of the U.S. war machine. How will the United States continue to pay for such a massively over bloated military when its bond market crashes? I suppose it could resort to the printing presses and QE4 which will finally bring about the long delayed reckoning with hyperinflation which will destroy the U.S. dollar.
Putin will have his own hands full when the next global economic crisis hits but can take some comfort from the impending bankruptcy of his American rival. The history of the British Empire shows that once its economic foundations have gone then military decline inevitably ensues.
With China and Iran wiping out petrodollar? It’s more devastating for Empire than sinking down whole US Navy.
True. But it takes time for the full effect to happen. Hopefully, they won’t decide to launch. You never know with these psychopaths.
Now that the Americans know that Russia can stop their missiles, it’s unlikely that they will attack, especially knowing that they would be lucky to intercept a single Russian missile.
Notice how they have gone back to economic warfare, they will lose that war as well, but it will be more drawn out.
Israhell is plotting the destruction of Syrian air defenses as we speak. The strike will be far more elaborate than anything the tripartite trio of stooges launched on the 14th.
Yeah ive got a horrible feeling that this is the case.
Israel has no better technology, than the stooges you referring too and another fact is well with range of Syria’s guns.
Aaahh but they do have the experience though, 50 years of breeching the very systems Syria depends on. The difference now is those complexes are networked into a more modern system, and can use that modern system’s data for tracking instead of their own radar’s output (admittedly, a huge upgrade). The Israelis anounced their next attack based on the news of a Syrian owned s300 alone, and even broadcast a fake signal into Syria that spoofed Syrian defenses into firing at a group of ghost missiles 2 days after the strike (the Syrian gov. said they were fake). What does all this mean? It means the jamming tracks recorded by the US missiles before impact are something the Israelis have access to, they can study and choose which frequencies worked best, which means they will.
The israelis lost badly in the last two raids but a full-scale israeli attack would get Turkey involved as well and viser versa.
I agree that Israeli losses are more substantial than they let on. Is Syria gets hold of an s300, it won’t just be the tracking radar their network will have access to, it will be the phased array targeting radar as well.
I think they will because its all they have got, a hail mary pass now or look forward to and inexorable strangulation as the world slowly yet surely frees itself, this is why the Russians have been so careful in nott directly confronting them, they know time and the tides of history are on their side if they can just make it through.
Or they don’t actually oppose them. That is another possibility.
@sinbad2; disturbing to hear Trump yesterday (18/Apr/’08) look directly into the camera and bare-faced lie with the comment: every missile they fired hit their target and not one…NOT ONE was intercepted by Syria defenses.
Why, did you think he was an honest man?
Exactly, all wars are about money, destroy the dollar and they are nothing.
I dont think this wars we witnessing the last 2 centuries is about money. Money is just a tool to control the mass populations. The wars is all about who controls earth and all her resources, including the global work force.
We have two globalization movements the western globalization they call NWO and is go is to enslave all nations globally to do their beating, as their slaves and then the eastern globalization, who want intact countries with their own economy standing on their feet and be masters of their future in a peaceful cooperation between nations.
Imagine instead of west spending trillions destroying countries if they use a fraction of that money to make better life first for their own people and also for the rest of the world, how popular they be globally. Instead this perverted psychopaths, doing what they do and we all seen what they do.
“We have two globalization movements the western globalization they call NWO and is go is to enslave all nations globally to do their beating”
And why are they going to all that trouble to enslave people, for kicks? Why did Americans buy slaves, for kicks? All wars are about money. And if you come back about power, well power comes from money, just ask Soros, or Prince Zalman.
that is your understanding, based on what your target in life is my friend and the ones who want to dominate the world and buy you with monopoly money that make it to be the ultimate go of the tax slaves around the world.
We dont have the same opinion. Believe what you like but FIAT money is monopoly money and you confuse games of power to have as target what fool 90% of the populations around the world to be following one or another figure head and vote for them.
The petrodollar wont disappear suddenly but rather be a slow decline over many years. Oil accounts for about 10% of all international settlements using dollars. The dollar as reserve currency is already declining. In 2000 the dollar comprised around 70% of international settlements todays is around 62%. Add in to the mix the various currency swap arrangements that Russia, China have going along with the new gold back yuan oil futures contract, and those countries like Iran who have dropped the dollar then you have big pressure points building up. The petrodollar will fail if China as the world biggest importer of oil can persuade the Saudis to take yuan for payment, the rest of OPEC wil then follow. US empire will crumble if the dollar loses dominance
There’s no way MbS will abandon the US. If he does, I believe the former Crown Prince will take over. Delaying the Aramco IPO was his way to appease both the US and the Chinese, but also to keep the US guessing. If the US gets any wind of MbS switching sides, it’s nighty night for him.
This grand show, then, was no more than a futile gesture. After a quarter of a century of unilateral domination by the West, its three main military powers have just been down-graded. The world has returned to a bipolar situation like that of the Cold War, although the new rules still need to be defined. The Third World War will have to wait. I would consider this scenario http://www.voltairenet.org/article200729.html
Yes,There effort to instill fear on us failed and we all saw how actually ineffective they are.
Just liberate all of Novorossiya! That will put things in oder. Go all the way to Odessa and leave the nazi-infected western Banderastan (west of the Dnepr) to the EU
Putin should have done this long back. Showing constraint, is being taken as weakness by the West.
I don’t know about you, but I live on this planet and would prefer to not escalate the situation. If Putin and Xi’s methods will ensure our survival then so be it. Say this together kiddies, “Escalation is bad”.
Sometimes you have no choice no matter how bad it is. For the west starting a WW3 in their feeble minds, will eliminate their debts and reset their economy. So they will keep coming as proven so obviously by the resent events and decisions they taking as well what they practically do, so wanting to avoid war not always work in your favor when the enemy keep provoking and coming against you.
The West try to avoid nuclear war. Is uncontrolable. To destroy the planet is not business for anyone
yes I noticed it. I think you confusing whose trying to avoid WW3.
Agree with you Ivan. On the flip side, sadly, the US continues to bomb and destroy thousands of people for no rhyme or reason.
Putin will make FUKUS eat horse meat in the end.
They already eat horse meat, I think is horse sh*t they eat this time.
They will eat each other in the end.
I disagree with the premise that Russia needs to respond. FUKUS threw all they had at Syria, and the attack was a total failure. the US pretense that they fired all their missiles at a cancer clinic, because it was a secret WMD lab, is simply not believable.
The press will make up all sorts of stuff, but the generals know that Russia can stop American missiles, but America cannot stop Russian missiles. The US is going back to economic warfare, because they would lose a real battle. I think Russia should give Americas testicles a squeeze, perhaps by creating a no fly zone in Afghanistan.
But…… they already lost the economic war and western economy not only american economy is sinking fast. Since the $ and the euro are same sh*t different name.
Not quite, American banks still make nearly 1 billion dollars a day, in money changing fees, on global trade. But it is heading in the right direction, and they are getting worried, the head of SWIFT was in Moscow swearing that Russia would never be cut out of SWIFT, even though they did cut Iran off.
No matter what people think they are making, in an economy based on debt and not real profit, and on economical bubbles, what people conceive as profit in all reality is just more debt and is a stone around their neck leading them very fast to the bottom of a sea of debt my friend.
What is shinning, not always is gold.
Yes but while America prints money that people will accept for gold, they have a good racket going. They know it will blow up soon, JP Morgan is sitting on a mountain of silver, for when the US dollar becomes worthless.
Do you know in how many countries now, they dont accept $ as trade tool? Also this year, is a decline in asking $ for international trade, more than 50%? Of course none publish this or even speak about it but it is a fact. By next year only some satellites, that have no choice, will be using the $ as their trading tool.
Well Russia chased the UK subs and 2 French Frigates failed to launch!! Now have to worry about Harry Truman group which is a few days away that will cause some problems.
Let them stew in that bitter sauce they made
https://walizahid.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/world-debt-by-country-map.jpg
Trouble is just counting public(Government) debt is quite deceiving. When the market crashed last time, the public had to pay the debts of the corporations. When Iceland tried to say it was not the Government’s job to bail out banks, the UK threatened to invade. So the true debt levels are much higher, except for the USA. Because virtually all global debt is written in US dollars, the US can just print the debt away.
How does being reserve currency allow the debt to be printed away without high inflation?
Well there will be inflation, but they just don’t care. I have forgotten the exact numbers, but since the US defaulted on Bretton Woods they have printed a staggering amount of money, but gold stopped rising in value to compensate, as soon as they introduced paper gold trading. When I worked it out back in 2009, an ounce of gold should be worth US $35,000 based on the money supply growth of the USA since Bretton Woods. Because all countries value their currency against the US dollar, all countries are in a similar situation.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value: zero (voltaire)
Once interest rates start to rise the cost of servicing the debt will rise and increase the deficit. Add tax cuts and record defense spending and the possibility of getting enough revenue to cover the additional costs may be overly optimistic. An economic contraction or collapse is just as realistic, or maybe more so than economic growth under those circumstances.
The US has painted itself into a corner, it costs about $60 billion a year in interest at the moment, and debt is rising. If they don’t increase interest rates, the dollar will continue to fall, but if they raise interest rates, the cost of the interest will become difficult to pay.
“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.”
“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” (Ernest Hemingway)
One more thing about inflation. When I was young a man could pay off a house with his wage, today his wife also has to work to make the payments, that’s inflation. Inflation did not exist, until we adopted the current monetary system.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ynrQyoAUzgM/UKvzBPEFGMI/AAAAAAAABg4/yLQ6jXe0q3w/s1600/U.S.+Housing+Price+Index+Since+1900.jpg
Debt to who?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6540ace0384700673a8d43294cc9b7474b47d96b29c7e7ba3d262e3daa71d1ba.png
It’s not entirely true to write that Khrushchev backed down over Cuba. Most people are unaware that the Soviets only began the process of installing nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba as a response to the USA installing nuclear ballistic missiles in Turkey, aimed at the USSR. It was a response to an American act of aggression, not a primary Soviet act of aggression.
Khrushchev agreed to cancel the deployment of nukes in Cuba in exchange for the USA removing their nukes from Turkey.
Kennedy backed down, he agreed to remove American nukes from Turkey, if Russia stopped installing nukes in Cuba. Because to back down is worse than murder to Americans, they came up with the BS story most people believe today.
US is a thug bully and Russian passivity has only emboldened a moron like Trump. Russia needs to send some tangible signals like arming Iran and Syria as well as helping Syria declare its airspace a NO FLY ZONE to all unauthorized aircraft. A quick handover of S-300 to SAA should give the US cowards a nightmare. The Iranians already have trained crews for S-300 who can train Syrians, while Iran should get S-400 from Russian stocks ASAP.
According to a report I have just read Russia is continuing to let its heavy lifting planes be used by NATO. Apparently this is set to continue until next year. I am astonished that this is happening and does rather support you point about Russian passivity.
You are correct. Russia is also facilitating US and NATO criminal occupation of Afghanistan by allowing flights over its territory. Russia also meets regularly with NATO and Zionist military officials. Russian behavior is bizarre to say the least and it stems from its weakness and acute inferiority complex dating back to Czar Peter who tried to emulate every western trait, even shaving off beards and donning prissy western clothing of the era. Russia is a weak fragment corrupt country and Putin is all talk and was a mere junior colonel in the defunct KGB and had only one minor overseas posting in Dresden, hardly qualifying as a globally educated “leader”. Lavrov is half Armenian and a Putin hack and also much enamored with “western partners”. Even under the Soviet geriatric leadership, the Russians sold out the Arabs and their other “allies” repeatedly. Things got so bad in Africa, that tiny Cuba with a big heart had to intervene in Angola when the Russians did not lift a finger to support their MPLA allies when the racist South African regime invaded Angola. Successive Arab defeats at Zionist hands need no further elaboration as Russia sold them out and withheld modern weaponry. Egyptian generals including Shazli, the mastermind of the Suez crossing did not have very kind words for the Russians and their deceit.
I was under the impression that the overflights to Afghanistan has been stopped years ago. Now I find that this is far from the truth. This is the point. These measures are threatened or even seemingly announced but they never actually happen. This makes me believe that many of the responses that appear to be announced are not in fact implemented. So is Russia stopping usimg the Dollar? They said they would but who knows/
Probably not. Just like talk of a gold back currency is just that talk. Brics, Eurasian Union, it never goes anywhere. Yet the western press plays Putin up as some sort of master strategist. All I see is weakness, obfuscation and duplicity.
I am rather of a similar mindset to you. However, may be these things take much longer than we think. I can not quite give up all hope, on the other hand I can not be self deluded in to seeing thing only because I wish them to be there.
That’s because most of them belong to Ukraine.
Contracts expire in a year
Indeed so.
Iran already has some formidable defenses and Russia is arming Syria.
The idea that an S300 system will fix everything is quite naive. The S300 is just one part of an integrated system, it’s a long range device, designed to take out American AWACS etc at great distance. It’s ability to coordinate many AA systems and its advanced target acquisition capabilities is what makes it the most formidable air defense system in the world today. But a weapon is only as good as the guy holding it. Rome was not built in a day.
The idea of the S-300 to Assad/Syria is to keep Israel away from firing missiles into Syria from Lebanon and to keep Turkey at bay in Northern Syria, and to have defenses against US/Nato attacks on SAA. But for some reason Russia prefer to be in charge of the situation.
Putin is corrupt to the core and the Jew oligarchs all support the Zionists. Putin and Nutter Yahoo exchange all info on Syria and Arabs. The only thing saving Assad is Iranian and Hezbollah boots on the ground.
Putin is a businessman also he needs to keep his country growing and if you help your neighbors grow you will see economic stability in the region because of the ability to defend from open aggressors like the West. Even Putin has an Idea how to make Syria able to start building it’s on S-300 variant like they did with Iran. Russia chooses good partners in the Middle East and have lined up Iraq next in this alliance it will help with stabilizing the region.
As Henry Kissinger once said “any people that have been persecuted for 2000 years must be doing something wrong” You are that something.
Sad fact is that Russians knew about the airstrike in Syria and did not even inform their Syrian allies, the most humiliating part is that ancient UK GR4 Tornado were able to launch Storm Shadow cruise missiles of the Syrian coast with impunity as Russia never activated its much vaunted S-400 radars. The Syrians fired blindly and were not able to hit anything despite firing off over 40 SAMS. Perhaps, the Russians did not want to embarrass themselves by showcasing the weakness of their inferior weaponry. Even a third world military with naval pickets would have been able to pick up an incoming airstrike.
My hope is the Russian General Staff removes Putin. It maybe a thin one, but hope springs eternal. They came close when he refused to move on Crimea. Again we have the false narrative from the west that it was Putin’s brilliance that seized Crimea. Nothing can be further from the truth. He had no choice. The original plan was to seize most of Eastern Ukraine. Putin did the absolute minimum required to stay in office. At the end of the day, that is all he really cares about.
Emboldened? Don’t get caught up in American claptrap. Trump finds himself overextended. He has to shit, or get off the pot. He can’t do the first effectively and he won’t do the second voluntarily. He doesn’t have the smarts to work his way out of the rum deal he’s inherited. He may fight.
They should but they won’t. I am convinced Putin is controlled opposition. A close examination of the facts and Russian’s actions cannot lead one to any other conclusion.
“R… Rasha backed down!” While it really was the US that did… -)
The US weapons were already sited. The Russians were only on the way. Turkey remains an ‘atomic power’, courtesy of the USA, to this day.
Yes I knew this. But you’re right it is mentioned but not very often and without much explanation. Not a big surprise. Similarly the Gulf of Tonkin incident is just something for those who take a deeper interest.
Now you might know this, I certainly don’t. Is it not true that the nuclear bombs are now back in Turkey?
I don’t think they ever left. They have been there for many years and the US military is very slack, just moving them would probably create a radioactive disaster.
It’s been recently reported that Greece now has nukes on its territory.
Not confirmed just rumors. It is only one place to put nukes in Greece and that is Crete in the existing Us base there, in Souda.. We know this have not happened thou is been a lot of talk, the last few months.
Turkey, yes, Italy too. Isn’t it illegal under the NPT to deploy nukes in a non-nuclear country?
In reality, the “defector” that revealed these missiles and their supposed location was a fake one, feeding disinformation that the US governement widely believed save for one man. Whereabout unknown after the crisis.
Also a story was released just a few years ago by russia.
Apparently Russia almost launched submarine launched nukes that were stationed in the gulf of Mexico! Some Soviet Commander stopped the launch tho. I cant remember how or why it happened but it did happen!
link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov
We always hear the American side but never the Russian side!
Also, lets remember the US retreat in operation North woods!
Thats a real shamefull stain upon the American military! they hate it when u bring it up!
The answer to the question about what is Putin going to do about the missile strike is that he’s going to win the war. The Russians just finished building a bridge over the river to advance on the eastern front: https://youtu.be/bmwxnXpsLvM
Good to see.
Its all about control and Money,without it the US is doomed to failure.But that is why it is dangerous ,so Putin should arm Syria to the teeth,to make it impossible for any thoughts of victory for the zionists.
well written article.
i’m having a bit of a problem with the NATO “bogey-man” that gets pulled out of the box on a regular basis.
Just how much of the North Atlantic Terrorist Org is hype?
Only UK FR and US participated in the latest Syria fiasco. Of these it is said that FR and UK had problems “getting it up.” There is supposedly major dissension between DE & TR, US & TR. All of the NATO ninnies need RU gas (except the US). IT & DE, for whatever reasons, were not part of the latest Syrian fiasco. IT (Naples) has declared the US sub that participated in the fiasco “personna non grata” in its waters. The Baltics can’t field any major forces in europe. PL is exceptionally quiet in the Syrian matter, not like these bigmouths to miss a chance to sound off.
If we are seeing these erstwhile warriors stepping back from the ME wouldn’t it make sense to say that they would be even more prone to do so with RU so close in europe?
Is NATO nothing but a bag of wind? We hear from the Israelis that Patriot missiles are junk. We see that Tomahawk missiles are junk. We see the vaunted F35, bought by various NATO ninnies as incapable of staying in the air. DE Tiger tanks are said to be trash according to DE sources. The DE air force is in the same state. It seems that this is a game of smoke and mirrors. UE is a total mess. And once the mercs are trashed the normal UE “soldier” will desert.
Does POTRF Putin need to do anything except keep pulling the financial support away and also the titanium and along with CN (rare earths) let the empire collapse into its opioid slumber?
Good post. As the author himself wrote, the US “economy” will probably collapse in around 5 years, max 10. All Putin has to do is keep on buying gold and prepare for the financial collapse.
When you do things right it seems like you haven’t done a thing. Let’s be clear here, don’t let your guard down, but fukus is doing a good job destroying itself from within…maybe that’s the plan though. Interesting times
WTF BTFOing me with all the acronyms OMG LMFAO
wtf, take your meds will you. you’ll feel better for it but then it’s SNAFU in your case. lmfao
In a world where stupidity can end it all, i am thankful one side is at least sane. However there are times i wish putin would have some streak of madness lol. then maybe that would make the other sides come to their senses and there would be less violence in the world. Words stop meaning something lol. The Russians must safely change the calculations made by an aggressor.
Fully agree with many of the writer’s opinion and about his view on Putin’s dilemma of pandering to West and Israel all these while .
Well the latest episode, no Russian asset were hit and Russia did not respond letting Syria do the job alone . That means in the last minute…when the proof is in the pudding, Russia stays away and let his Allies deal with it even before that has stated with no uncertain terms even to destroy the launchers. Maybe there has been a compromise like letting most of the missiles hit useless empty buildings.
Not exactly a perfect partner .. That’s reality.
Obviously you overlook the obvious of what have happened during the western farting attack. Think again, you may get it right.
Which part am I wrong , love to hear it.
wrong? Is a matter of opinion. What you over look, is who given the coordinates of the missiles attacking and who hit them, with electronic war and was not the Syrians.
No what it means is Russia can let its junior partner handle such an insignificant assault. Russia could have sunk the entire Naval task force in the Med, and wiped out the American bases in the jihadist nations.
Hear, hear.
I am happy people are beginning to have their blinders lifted regarding Putin. The propaganda campaign to display Putin as the grand crusader battling away against the NWO just doesn’t hold water once you start examining the facts. A year ago I would said anyone suggesting he is fake opposition and is compromised is crazy, but this last stand down with the Russian military was the event that finally convinced me. I must say the signs have been there all along, I have just have refused to accept them. I mean even his very elevation to power is suspect. Some no-name Junior colonel in the KGB. Who installed him and for what purpose?
Anyways I do have contacts in the Russian military and let me tell you they are not at all happy with him. If outsiders can see what is going on, how much more it is apparent to those that are involved. I suspect that the Syrians and the Iranians understand what is going on as well, but Syria is not in a position to refuse any sort of assistance no matter how duplicitous the source may be.
You know, my friend, screw the Russians. They are no better than the Americans. The Jews (Bolsheviks) have been killing and oppressing them for a hundred years and all they can think of is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital BEFORE the Americans do so. (Putin did so before Trump.)
You are right about Putin. His suspect rise to power is similar to the trajectory evinced by Obama. It’s irrefutable that Putin is a spineless but extremely devious puppet.
Enjoy whatever freedom and unpolluted space you can find before they pull the plug on the planet.
In the reality-based world, the question in the title has a very short answer: he didn’t. Let’s consider for a moment the situation at al-Tanf: if somebody trespasses on the base’s self-proclaimed exclusion zone, does the Dark Throne say “for now, the dialogue with our partners must continue, but eventually we’ll have to respond in a manner of our own choosing, yada yada”? Or is the offending party immediately annihilated, even if it’s the legitimate government of the land? Nobody likes the ways of the Empire, but learn what works.
Indeed, they are not in the position of the empire though, not yet so have to use asymetric methadology to sidestep the blunt trauma the empire deals out to opponents. The day will come however they will be dealing steel like corn meal, maybe not far away but until then its practcal politics and whatever asymetric means you can get away with.
Well yeah in America everything is bigger, so the odds must be that in an all-out war they’d prevail. But who wants all-out war? I certainly don’t. The US faces severe political constraints in Syria, where they have no vital interests at stake nor any legitimacy of course. They manage to hang on since the public at home didn’t really have to pay attention so far because they haven’t had to pay any price, and because Putin *invited* them in (not that it was ever his decision to make who can walk on Syrian soil). Once those conditions change however… all of Washington D.C. is looking for an excuse to purge Trump from its system, and his base has also pretty much had it with the orange genius. Send a few nasty surprise its way, and the Dark Throne might change its tune. If you’ve really internalized that the Empire is omnipotent and untouchable, why go into Syria to begin with? China is below Russia militarily but when it came to North Korean regime change, they said curtly “we don’t allow it”. Something in Beijing’s posture convinced Trump’s people at least for now that they meant business.
To avoid more fake chemical attacks and US airstrikes…Russia should send S-300 to Syria..as well as some Pantsir S2 and Buk M3, Tunguska AAA,…for other side USA and allies attacks Syria without the approval of UN…so Russia should send S-300 to NK and Bastion P antiship missile to Iran( to deploy in Ormuz) of course without “the approval of UN”…
All fine and dandy, but who is going to pay for that? After all, Russia does not have a 700+ billion defense budget with cash to spare.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/01/the-real-cuban-missile-crisis/309190/
>>This esoteric strategizing—this misplaced obsession with credibility, this dangerously expansive concept of what constitutes security—which has afflicted both Democratic and Republican administrations, and both liberals and conservatives, is the antithesis of statecraft, which requires discernment based on power, interest, and circumstance. It is a stance toward the world that can easily doom the United States to military commitments and interventions in strategically insignificant places over intrinsically trivial issues. It is a stance that can engender a foreign policy approximating paranoia in an obdurately chaotic world abounding in states, personalities, and ideologies that are unsavory and uncongenial—but not necessarily mortally hazardous.<<
Words written in 2013, and yet utterly and completely still relevant today.
Always relevant.
How Will Putin Respond?
diarrhoe & vomiting
What will Putin do… Well it seems Russia has done all it needs. They practiced tracking, countering and gathering intel on our different missile launch systems. Now it appears two unexploded Tomahawks were found by Syria and given to Russia. Uh yeah I think Russia has benefited from this mostly failed attack.
I think Russia is fine. It knows what the game is. So far, it is not Russia who is under pressure. The conduct of the last strike, tiptoeing past Russian defenses, blowing up basically nothing, ect. ect., was so weird that even the head choppers called it a flat out farce. Now, with the possibly for 2 of the new and shiny missiles ( already exploded on target according to the President and Pentagon ) now on their way to a Russian technical center, it cannot get anymore fouled up. It is like Disney Land has arrived.
It is one thing for an individual, country, empire, cabal or cartoon character to have dreams and aspirations. It is entirely different to have that work out in ones’ favor. We will see how it all pans out. i wish well to all.
“Putin has played the nationalist card rather skilfully in an attempt to bolster support for himself while large sections of the public are critical of public institutions in general due to widespread corruption and poverty.” – what is this based on? This shows author as so very distanced in true understanding of such a crucial point in his analysis, that I had to stop reading.
Putin works for the Jewish oligarchs and doesn’t give a f–k about the ordinary Russian citizen for Putin himself is a Jew. Clear enough for you?
Read and weep.
Some links relating Putin’s Jewish ancestry, both from the right and left sides of the political spectrum:
http://semiticcontroversies.blogspot.com.tr/2016/08/is-vladimir-putin-jewish.html?m=1
http://lorddreadnought.livejournal.com/3483.html
https://zionistreport.com/2016/10/commentary-putins-visit-worship-wailing-wall/
http://aanirfan.blogspot.com.tr/2018/02/trump-putin-kosher-nostra.html?m=1
http://www.conspirazzi.com/tag/jewish-mother/
http://www.palestinebedrockoftheworld.com/satanyahu-operation-talpiot/
http://fstdt.com/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=107782
“Putin has played the nationalist card rather skilfully in an attempt to bolster support for himself” = assumption based on not understanding why people supported Putin; “large sections of the public are critical of public institutions in general due to widespread corruption and poverty” = is opposite to factual reality, clumsy try to find some support to explain a theory.
Ever been to Russia? Lived there, talked to hundreds of different people? Well I have. No once or twice, too.
And it’s completely not about how someone perceives Putin in this article or in comment section, it’s not about is he a Jew or not. Maybe it’s very important to you, and you’de like to see it everywhere, but it’s not the point. Go peddle your “ideas” somewhere else, but if you try to reply to a comment – at least try to understand the point. Clear enough for you..? =D
Let’s see, conceited insidious idiot.
1. You tell me to go peddle my “ideas” elsewhere. That’s NOT a point. That’s merely a gratuitously unwarranted and offensive statement that can only be made by an ill-willed idiot.
2. You claim that you’ve been to Russia and you assume that we have not. That’s NOT a point. That’s a irrelevant mere claim without proof nor portent.
3. You tell me to understand your point where there is NONE.
Therefore,
Conclusion: you are an idiot based on the premises above.
Western massmedia have used footage of the shelling of territory a rebellious Lugansk, committed by the Ukrainian army, as proof of a “successful missile strike” committed by coalition of the killing.
Ukrainian army shelled the civilian population of Lugansk. 02/12/2015. White flash at the moment of the projectile explosion at the 0:14 second of the video –
https://youtu.be/5xfiWpKDhVU?t=10s
CBS “missile strikes in Syria”. White flash at the moment of the projectile explosion at the 0:50 second of the video –
https://youtu.be/V10F3FvR5U0?t=45s
After strike, youtube-channels of american nazi-organizations started (as if on orders) uploading videos that contain these frames of “attack against Syria”, representing it as a victory over “Russian barbarians”.
Right Wing – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n_qUQ7UZmo
These fanatics absolutely know exactly where this video was shot, but broadcast this “victory” all over the Internet.
The American oligarchy, through its mediagiants and faithful nazi chain dogs, brainwashing, executes fascisation a population of America and Western states.
I am going to lay out this alternative case because I can not stomach another madman theory.
FACTS: On 3/29/18, Trump announced that the United States is leaving Syria in a speech in Richfield, Ohio. This statement was in line with Trump’s campaign promises and appeared to be uncoordinated with the elements of the military and diplomatic establishment in the United States. On 4/7/18, reported started to appear on social media with video and pictures provided by White Helmets, and other that seemed to suggest there was either chlorine or a Sarin gas attack within Ghouta. After several rounds of accusations at the U.N. and a failure to pass a resolution. OPCW sent a team to Syria to investigate the allegation on 4/13/18 to start work on 4/14/18. During the morning of 4/14/18 U.S., U.K. & France launched an operation involving land, air, and sea-based cruise missiles to destroy several targets within Syria. Majority of the rockets struck a three-building complex that the U.S. designated as CW weapons-producing facilities, but were, in fact, conducting scientific research in Syria. Forty-seven (47,000kg) tons of explosives struck the three structures according to the Pentagon narrative.
Analysis: There are three plausible explanations for what occurred on 4/13.
1. Trump was blackmailed theory. This theory is based on the suspicious events of the week preceding the attack and more generally in the resistance that Trump faces from Deep State(“DS”). The fire within Trump tower, receipt of threatening substances by other members of Trump family, FBI seizing private documents from Trump’s attorney, Stormy accusations, as well as a variety of different threats Trump likely faces from the DS which pose a substantial risks of harm, death, imprisonment, to Trump and those around him. The idea would imply that Trump was threatened to act on the Douma (incident/hoax) and that his rhetoric caused the sloppy acceleration of the staging of the incident/attack to justify the intervention.
2. Trump changed his mind. This idea is based on the fact that Trump’s tweets, statements, and campaign rhetoric were based on removing American intervention in Syria. The question that needs to be answered is why Trump would change his mind on the issue of Syria? It is possible that Trump was presented with a strategic imperative that changed his calculus. If Trump was, for example, informed that the science research buildings in Syria were on the brink of a discovery, or perhaps obtaining proof of some US/UK/French involvement in Syria, or were about to produce some insight in some advanced weaponry deployed in Syria by either the US, or their allies, it is possible that Trump would authorize a strike for the sole purpose of destroying the above-mentioned research. Trump may have threatened the Russians about his intention to go forward with this theory. Some of the evidence that suggests this is correct is that post-strike analysis seems to indicate that the three-building complex was the primary purpose of the strike, Trump announced mission accomplished (which could be just political nonsense or an actual truthful statement that the objective of the mission was accomplished), there was a completely different tone between Trump’s announcement of the attack, where he promised a prolonged multi-day effort, and shortly after the attack when Mattis explained that this was a one time, one shot deal. All these facts tend to indicate that destruction of the scientific research facilities was the purpose of the strike, it was important enough to risk a war with Russia, the US was willing to spend millions and risk capture of missiles to achieve said objective.
3. Trump lied and intended to go to war in Syria all along. This option does not require much analysis. It is a bit puzzling why Trump would do this, as it would guarantee a substantial discontent with his electoral base, as it has done for May and Macron. Could have been a miscalculation, Trump could be relying on bad advice. Trump may also be indifferent to the consequences and cynically use the hoax to distract attention from domestic issues as related to Comey, and Stormy.
I am writing this analysis because lately, I have been reading the madman theories. Why did Assad gas Douma? Because he is a madman. Why did Trump attack Syria? Because he is a madman. I feel that this approach to political analysis is not useful and almost always produces incorrect conclusions. The madman scenario should not be the first, go to strategy to explain complex political events.
What will Putin do? The author seems to think this is a fight between Trump and Putin? If only it was that simple, I’m sure Putin could beat Trump to a pulp.
The thing is both sides have experienced soldiers and strategists, the idea that this is a fight between 2 men, that it’s a personality driven conflict, is a very American outlook. This war is about the strategic interests of many nations, it’s not a brawl.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6eb7045ff815a4c7b8bc7317e537dba5d72ca6967b1ea28dab753f6dc96baaa2.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c3e1e8bc5730b0d98e2a1addab2f7274b24674d85550baf6b7c22829e301594c.png
How can you take the Russians under Putin seriously? Putin is defending the interests of JEWISH oligarchs even though the Jews (Bolsheviks) have been torturing and murdering Russians by the MILLIONS for a hundred years!
The Russians have refused to give even DEFENSIVE weapons like the S-300 to the Syrians in order to defend the privilege of the JEWS to bomb and kill Syrians with impunity!
Who needs enemies with friends like the Russians…
Putin is a crypto-Jewish traitor to Mother Russia and to the rest of the Christian world.
The chief rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, is Putin’s mentor and great friend. Putin’s link to the Jewish mafia of Chabad is well documented.
Even though Jews (Bolsheviks) have been killing and oppressing Russians by the millions for a hundred years by now, Russians are still in love with Jews. The so-called Russian oligarchs are Jews, as are Medvedev and Putin.
http://aanirfan.blogspot.com.tr/2018/02/trump-putin-kosher-nostra.html?m=1
http://jewwatch.com/jew-crime-mob-russia-ussr-oligarch-file.html
http://redefininggod.com/trump-and-putin-agents-of-chabad-lubavitch/
http://lorddreadnought.livejournal.com/3483.html
http://geopolitics-behind-the-mask.36089.n8.nabble.com/Sacred-Cow-Slaughterhouse-of-the-totally-non-kosher-kind-Look-out-below-td169.html
http://www.palestinebedrockoftheworld.com/satanyahu-operation-talpiot/
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com.tr/2010/11/is-dmitry-medvedev-jewish.html?m=1
To put it in the mildest of terms, Putin is not a good man nor a great strategist who has Russia’s best interests at the top of his priorities.
Here’s a partial list of things explaining why Putin is part of the problem and not part of the solution:
1. Putin never stopped selling Russian oil for American dollars thus aiding and abetting Russia’s sworn enemy, the American MIC. 2. Putin never nationalized the City of London owned-and-controlled Russian central bank and never took control of the ruble away from anglozionist bankers. 3. Putin never stopped BACKING thereby subsidizing the petrodollar with Russian oil. 4. Putin enabled NATO to kill Gaddafi. 5. Putin sells Russian gas and oil for Euros (which are just a different name for the dollar) to the European Union who commit acts of war by passing sanctions against Russia along with the Americans. 6. Putin never demanded the Americans leave Syria. 7. Putin never declared Syria’s airspace closed to America. 8. Putin never helped the Russians in Eastern Ukraine establish secure borders and independence from the NATO-imposed criminal regime in Kiev. 9. Putin sold highest-level-military-technology S-400s to NATO via Turkey thereby directly impairing Russian national security. 10. Putin sold S-400s to Saudi Arabia who are wahhabi muslim terrorists bent on the extermination of Putin’s allies the Alawite/Christian Syrians and Shiite Persians. 11. Putin collaborates with the Turks who are proud to have ambushed and shot down Russian jets and killed Russian pilots. Turkish President Erdogan wowed to shoot down Russians again. 12. Putin opened Syrian airspace to the Turks so that they could bomb and exterminate the Kurds of Afrin in Northern Syria, just like the Turks did to the first Christian nation of the world, the Armenians. 13. Putin ALWAYS allowed the Americans and the Jews to bomb and kill Syrians and Russian military personnel with impunity. 14. Putin never punished the Jewish terrorists who exploded Russian passenger jets killing hundreds of Russians. 15. Putin agreed to pass sanctions against North Korea thereby agreeing to starve the North Korean population. 16. Putin refused to deliver the self-defense-related S-300s to his supposed ally Iran. 17. Putin has not provided up-to-date SAMs including S-400s to his Syrian allies. 18. Putin is still “investigating” the recent crash of the Russian plane that killed dozens of Russian pilots which were among its passengers. 19. The zionist oligarchs are still in power in Putin’s Russia. 20. Russians are still not better off than they were under the Soviet Union.
Putin the crypto-zionist?
Not good.
Trump=Netanyahu=Putin