And so if consider what has happened in Ukraine and is now happening in Syria in an objective light we must conclude that, at this point in time, it is becoming evident that Putin is beginning to take control of the situation. We may not like it and it may be painful to accept but it is the reality of the situation.
Putin, who has been promoting negotiations between the major powers involved in Syria for over a year was unsuccessful because the U.S. which was initially interested backed off. He then followed a strategy similar to the one he used in Ukraine; he threatened to bring Russian military assets including air power into Syria unless negotiations were agreed to; and when they did not materialize he made good on his threat, brought in those assets, and initiated a bombing campaign against ISIS.
Then he just recently made a new offer to begin those negotiations and this time the response from John Kerry, speaking for the U.S., was in the affirmative. It appears that these negotiations will get underway soon and, hopefully, it won't be long before we see some progress made which will lead to a favorable resolution of the conflict.
While the U.S. will play a major role in these negotiations it appears that Putin now holds the strongest position and will likely play the key role in reaching that resolution. But even if Russia, Syria and the U.S. and its allies agree on a settlement there still will be a significant problem involving ISIS and its associated terrorists who have no intentions of ending their attacks. Could we actually see the U.S. and Russia and their allies joining together in coordinated military actions to remove this terrorist threat from that country?
In my opinion, based on facts and evidence we have seen, Putin has come out on top in the most recent phases of this geopolitical chess match. But what is far more important than trying to determine who is the winner is the need to see all of these countries, including the U.S. and Russia, agree to get out of Syria where none of them belong and have no right to be. And, further that the U.S. and Russia, after this latest confrontation has ended, will finally come to the realization that they need to bring an end to this seemingly never ending struggle and continuous confrontations. Such an outcome is what the world really needs; to see the two most powerful nations in the world finally find a way to co-exist.
Michael Payne
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