U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria by Michael Gordon and Eric Schmitt, New York Times
The United States on Tuesday moved to head off preparations for a suspected Russian military buildup in Syria as Bulgaria agreed to an appeal from the Obama administration to shut its airspace to Russian transport planes. The planes’ destination was the Syrian port city of Latakia.
The administration has also asked Greece to close its airspace to the Russian flights, Greek and American officials said, but Greece has not publicly responded to the request.
The apparent Russian military preparations and the Obama administration’s attempt to block them have escalated long-running tensions between the White House and the Kremlin. Although the United States and Russia agree that the Islamic State is a threat, the new dispute shows that they remain far apart on how best to combat the militant group and on the political future of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria - divisions that are likely to be on display when President Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin speak to the United Nations General Assembly this month…
Comments
Clausewitz:
"The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature."
Question: So how to see today's potential for nuclear war, "saber rattling," civil wars, support of autocrats, proxy wars, refugee flows, political warfare, etc., etc., etc.?
Answer: In the light of a New Cold War. Let me explain:
The previous Cold War found communism on the march and such nations as the former USSR and China seeking to gain greater power, influence and control, in various regions of the world, via the advance of their way of life, their way of governance, etc. The United States/the West, for its part during this period, sought to (a) prevent such communist powers from (b) gaining such greater power, influence and control in various regions of the world via (c) the spread of their way of life, way of governance, etc.
Today, market-democracy is on the march, with the United States/the West seeking to gain greater power, influence and control, in various regions of the world, via the advance of our way of life, our way of governance, etc. The Russians, the Iranians, etc., for their part today, seeking to (a) prevent the U.S./the West from (b) gaining such greater power, influence and control in various regions of the world; this, via (c) the spread of our way of life, our way of governance, etc.
In the old Cold War, the U.S./the West was known to work with and protect autocrats, so as to achieve its "prevent"/"contain"/"roll back" goals and initiatives; which were designed to curtail the advance of communism (which we considered a dire threat, especially in our neck of the woods/our sphere of influence).
Likewise today, in our New Cold War, we find the Russians, etc., working with and protecting autocrats; this, so as to achieve their "prevent"/"contain"/"roll back" initiatives; which are designed to curtail the advance, in our case today, of market-democracy (which they consider to be a dire threat, especially in their back yards/their sphere of influence).
Thus to see today's "saber rattling," civil wars, proxy wars, support of autocrats, refugee flows, political warfare, etc., etc., etc, in this New Cold War light.
Much as we saw yesterday's "saber rattling," civil wars, proxy wars, support of autocrats, refugee flows, political warfare, etc., etc., etc., in the framework of the Old Cold War.
(The above-referenced Clausewitz requirement, as per my explanations here, now being effectively met?)