General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, delivers remarks at the National Council on at 26th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference in Washington, U.S., October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Washington Examiner: Top Middle East general: In Syria, 'Moscow plays both arsonist and firefighter'
The top U.S. general in charge of the fight against the Islamic State told Congress Tuesday that Russian influence in Syria has “added complexity” and “progress at risk” in the effort to finish off the remaining ISIS fighters.
“Diplomatically and militarily, Moscow plays both arsonist and firefighter, fueling tensions among all parties in Syria — the Syrian regime, Iran, Turkey, the Syrian Democratic Forces, the United States and other coalition partners — then serving as an arbiter to resolve disputes,” Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
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More News On Today's Testimony From CENTCOM Commander General Votel
Russia has 'incredibly destabilizing' role in Syria: US general -- AFP
US general: Russia is both ‘arsonist and fireman’ in Syria -- AP
Russia 'both arsonist and firefighter' in Syria: U.S. general -- Reuters
Russia acting as 'both arsonist and firefighter' in Syria, US general says -- Daily Sabah
Top general: Countering Iran in Syria not a US military mission -- The Hill
US General: Iran achieved in 5 years in Yemen what took two decades in Lebanon -- The National
U.S. Says Seeing 'Positive Indicators' From Pakistan on Militants -- US News and World Report/Reuters
If it wasn't for Russia and the Syrians. ISIS would be prominently much larger, much more widespread and would be near uncombatable. The US's bombing coalition did nothing to combat the spread of ISIS as they were unwilling to work with others. This General is nothing more then child crying to his mother and asking for a bigger allowance. Truth is he is an ineffective commander and why throughout the years the USA has relied on other nations to command their men to victory.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately your analysis may well be true. Many have tried to claim "victory" over ISIS with the US claiming the Russians more interested in saving Assad than than fighting ISIS and vice versa.
What does seem clear is little headway was made against ISIS UNTIL the Russians got involved. This would lend credence to the hypothesis that Russia was/is the driving force behind the demise of ISIS. Another possibility is relaxed US rules of engagement under President Trump made the decisive difference. Unfortunately due to the worn down nature of the US military combined with its poor leadership I'd tend to discount that theory even if not dismissing it entirely.
I tend to agree with your analysis of this commander and most US leaders. Unfortunately your analysis is largely spot on about our conflicts since World War 2. We needed Soviet/Russian forces to win WW 2 in Europe. We needed a "short cut" with the atomic bomb in Japan to win in the Pacific. Of course we had the "short cut" so of course WE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT!! Without the "short cut" a US loss would've been pretty near 100% certain. Also, the British sacrifice in WW 2 was amazing. French resistance was awesome too!!
Bottom line: others won WW 2 we/Americans cashed in. This is or should be quite humbling. Maybe I've missed something here.