US counter-ISIS special presidential envoy, Brett McGurk. Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner: Top counter-ISIS official: Middle East allies favor 'engagement with Russia'
US allies in the Middle East want President Trump to continue "engagement with Russia," according to a top counter-Islamic State official at the State Department.
"Engagement with Russia on Syria is something that nearly all of our partners here in the region have encouraged, including our friends here in Iraq," Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy who has been leading the counter-ISIS effort since 2015, told reporters in Iraq. "So that engagement, of course, will continue."
Trump's desire for rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin has proven controversial for months, due to the parallel issue of the 2016 cyberattacks against the Democratic party and Trump's hesitance to acknowledge Russia's culpability. But McGurk said it has already paid dividends in the counter-ISIS fight.
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WNU Editor: American allies in the Middle East may want the U.S. to be engaged with Russia to settle the problems in the Middle East .... but the sentiment in Washington is to do anything but that. My prediction .... the U.S. is going to have to make a choice when it comes to Syria .... cooperate and work with Russia to stabilise the situation in Syria, leave the country to its fate .... which has been a continuous mess now for 7 years, or be ready to commit thousands of U.S. ground troops and billions of dollars to do it alone in eastern Syria. Of the three choices, working with Russia is by far the best decision .... but how long will it take before that idea is acceptable in Washington .... sighhh .... your prediction is as good as mine.
"Work with Russia" on Syria. I said that 7 years ago!!!
ReplyDeleteHow long will it take for the idiots in DC to figure this one out?!!? If we were dealing with people who were/are merely misinformed or lacked basic information, then it would probably take about 30 seconds. Unfortunately we are dealing with a far worse situation.
Leave the country to its fate is certainly an option. The Russians and the Syrian government can certainly handle this and without us supporting "rebels" who were/are no different than Al Qaeda/ISIS the situation should improve.
Committing thousands of troops is not an option as the US lacks the resources as the US lacks the resources and its broken down/worn out military is incapable of such a job. As such, this is a non option.
Working with Russia seems the best option today as it was 7 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and even 20 years ago. In any organization, if one wishes to prosper, they make themselves useful to the powers that be. As such, if America can be useful to Russia in some way, this would go a long way to advancing our interests, providing for our security, and growing our economy.