US envoy hints at UN enforcement of no-fly zone in Syria like ‘90s in Iraq

Rudaw ^ | yesterday at 11:47 | none stated

[Pollster1]

Few are talking about Syria without Assad. The issue is the form of government in Syria. And the presence of Iranian forces in Syria.

I don't see a no-fly zone as relevant to the presence of Iranian forces in Syria, except that barring Assad's air capabilities from a region would help the Iranians in that region. Further, I don't see a no-fly zone affecting the form of government in Syria unless it topples or at least dramatically weakens Assad.

In general, I have no problem with intervening in another country. However, I only want that option if the intervention advances specific objectives. I'd like to weigh the positives of intervention in Syria against the negatives, but I still have not identified even one positive outcome of us enforcing a no-fly zone over part of Syria.

[robowombat]

Unlike Iraq the Russians and their Syrian allies have pretty good anti-air systems. Whether they do or not however, this will lead to firing on USAF and USN aircraft and there then will be retaliatory US strikes. All this is to try and create the basis for another US ‘intervention’ . It is a scheme by the permanent government and the Neocons, who haven't had much traction since DJT came to Washington, to both get Trump entangled in another mindless Middle Eastern imbroglio to really anger his base and to stoke a new Cold War with Russia for many profitable reasons. So yes this guy should be fired immediately and the stupid sounding classic Foggy Bottom position he fills eliminated.

[robowombat]

What real US national interest is being served by having anything to do with the Syria disaster after Isis has been crushed?

[Texas Fossil]

It is in the interest of our allies in the ME. Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and some others.

If Turkey is successful reinstating ISIS and the Jihadi’s with their Neo Ottoman wet dream. The West will pay dearly for allowing it.

[robowombat]

If it is in the interest of the states you mention, and only Israel I would count as an ally, which is defined as ‘to associate by some mutual relationship’ then let them deal with the problem. The US can take much more vigorous action by encouraging a really robust Israeli response to any apparent revival of Isis. Beyond that let the Euros weigh in. They are always telling the US how smart they are. This would be a fine opportunity for Macaroon's ‘European Defense Army’. The US today is effectively energy independent and a major crisis with oil nations in the Mid-East or any attempt at replaying the oil embargo of the mid 70’s or 1978-79 will produce a unabashed energy boom for the US. Conditions are not at all as they were in 1989 when the balance of power in the Persian Gulf was a real vital national interest.

[robowombat]

To underscore the energy supply angle:

The US today is effectively energy independent and a major crisis with oil nations in the Mid-East or any attempt at replaying the oil embargo of the mid 70’s or 1978-79 will produce a unabashed energy boom for the US. Conditions are not at all as they were in 1989 when the balance of power in the Persian Gulf was a real vital national interest.

The federal government has discovered a massive new reserve of oil and natural gas in Texas and New Mexico that it says has the “largest continuous oil and gas resource potential ever assessed.”

“Christmas came a few weeks early this year,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said of the new reserve, which is believed to have enough energy to fuel the U.S. for nearly seven years.

In all, the new reserve is said to contain 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 46.3 billion barrels of oil, and 20 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids, the Interior Department’s U.S. Geological Survey said.

Almost a third of the U.S.’s total crude-oil production comes from the Permian Basin where the reserve was found, making it the biggest shale-oil-producing region in the U.S.

[equaviator]

Seems like some people really miss the “good ol’ ‘90s”...Not me!

[Lurker]

Ummm, no.

L