On Syria in Battle
If the US could overwhelm Russia, Iran, China, and other parties concerned, the civil war in Syria must have been ended.
But some observers think that even the Vatican, other Churches, Judaists in Russia and Iran do not want the US to exercise its military power on Syria. So, the situation in Syria doesn't change. And Israel will not push the US to taking decisive military operation as long as it is safe.
But this relative decline in the US influence can be understood more clearly on the religious facet of the US.
OCTOBER 08, 2013
The Cape of Good Hope
Russia, Syria and the Decline of American Hegemony
by ISRAEL SHAMIR
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The Russian rebellion against the US hegemony began in June, when the Aeroflot flight from Beijing carrying Ed Snowden landed in Moscow. Americans pushed every button they could think of to get him back. They activated the full spectre of their agents in Russia. Only a few voices, including that of yours truly, called on Russia to provide Snowden with safe refuge, but our voices prevailed. Despite the US pressure, Snowden was granted asylum.
The next step was the Syrian escalation. I do not want to go into the details of the alleged chemical attack. In the Russian view, there was not and could not be any reason for the US to act unilaterally in Syria or anywhere else. In a way, the Russians have restored the Law of Nations to its old revered place. The world has become a better and safer place.
None of this could’ve been achieved without the support of China. The Asian giant considers Russia its “elder sister” and relies upon her ability to deal with the round-eyes. The Chinese, in their quiet and unassuming way, played along with Putin. They passed Snowden to Moscow. They vetoed anti-Syrian drafts in the UNSC, and sent their warships to the Med. That is why Putin stood the ground not only for Russia, but for the whole mass of Eurasia.
The Church was supportive of Putin’s efforts; not only the Russian Church, but both Catholics and Orthodox were united in their opposition to the pending US campaign for the US-supported rebels that massacred Christians. The Pope appealed to Putin as to a defender of the Church; so did the churches of Jerusalem and Antioch. The Pope almost threatened to excommunicate Hollande, and the veiled threat impressed the French president. So Putin enjoyed support and blessing of the Orthodox Patriarchs and of the Pope: such double blessing is an extremely rare occasion.
There were many exciting and thrilling moments in the Syrian saga, enough to fill volumes. An early attempt to subdue Putin at the G8 meeting in Ireland was one of them. Putin was about to meet with the united front of the West, but he managed to turn some of them to his side, and he sowed the seeds of doubt in others’ hearts by reminding them of the Syrian rebel human flesh-eating chieftains.
The proposal to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons was deftly introduced; the UNSC resolution blocked the possibility of attacking Syria under cover of Chapter Seven. Miraculously, the Russians won in this mighty tug-of-war. The alternative was dire: Syria would be destroyed as Libya was; a subsequent Israeli-American attack on Iran was unavoidable; Oriental Christianity would lose its cradle; Europe would be flooded by millions of refugees; Russia would be proven irrelevant, all talk and no action, as important as Bolivia, whose President’s plane can be grounded and searched at will. Unable to defend its allies, unable to stand its ground, Russia would’ve been left with a ‘moral victory’, a euphemism for defeat. Everything Putin has worked for in 13 years at the helm would’ve been lost; Russia would be back to where it was in 1999, when Clinton bombed Belgrade.
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In the aftermath of the Syrian stand-off, Obama appealed to the people of the world in the name of American exceptionalism. The United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional,” he said. Putin responded: “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.” This was not only an ideological, but theological contradistinction.However, the situation might be very simple for Israel. It is Syrians that are now being wounded and killed whether on the regime side or the insurgent side. Israel gets relatively safer. If the Syrian Government and its military strength should become weaker after this Civil War, it serves the purpose of Israel. Israel is waiting to see how this civil war in Syria will be finished. Presently, there is a less possibility that Israel will have to face the more formidable anti-Israeli government in Syria in future. Israel must think that it is in position of vantage.
As I expounded at length elsewhere, the US is built on the theology of exceptionalism, of being Chosen. It is the country of Old Testament. This is the deeper reason for the US and Israel’s special relationship. Europe is going through a stage of apostasy and rejection of Christ, while Russia remains deeply Christian. Its churches are full, they bless one other with Christmas and Easter blessings, instead of neutral “seasons”. Russia is a New Testament country. And rejection of exceptionalism, of chosenness is the underlying tenet of Christianity.
For this reason, while organized US Jewry supported the war, condemned Assad and called for US intervention, the Jewish community of Russia, a quite numerous, wealthy and influential one, did not support the Syrian rebels but rather stood by Putin’s effort to preserve peace in Syria. Ditto Iran, where the wealthy Jewish community supported the legitimate government in Syria. It appears that countries guided by a strong established church are immune from disruptive influence of lobbies; while countries without such a church – the US and/or France – give in to such influences and adopt illegal interventionism as a norm.
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/11/02/russia-syria-decline-american-hegemony-israel-shamir/
Military Threats to Israel:SyriaThere might have been a war between Israel and Syria. Then many Syrians must have been killed by Israel using advanced weapons. But should Israel kill 120,000 Syrians in such a case, while the same number of people have been killed in Syria since the start of the domestic armed conflicts originally riding on the Arab Spring?
(Updated October 2013)
Syria is one of Israel’s principal immediate military threats. Syria's primary military objective following Israel's independence in 1948 had been the destruction of the Jewish State, however the IDF has defeated the Syrian army in every major military engagement since. Today, rather than use direct confrontations, Syria funds and arms terrorist organizations (primarily Hamas and Hezbollah) as proxies to attack Israel. Meanwhile, the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad continues to develop ballistic missile systems and weapons of mass destruction.
Since 2008, Syria has spent more than $3 billion on weapons procurement and development, up from less than $100 million in 2002. Syria also reportedly received $1 billion from Iran in late 2007 to buy surface-to-surface missiles, rockets, anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft systems. “Iran and Syria share the same viewpoint regarding regional issues and efforts will be made to strengthen our shared interests and bilateral relations," said Hassan Turkmani, Syrian Defense Minister, who was dispatched to Tehran after Iranian officials condemned the resumption of negotiations with Israel in 2008.
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In August 2013, as intelligence agencies reported that Assad's forces were using chemical weapons against the rebels, the specter of conflict spilling over into Israel became much more pronounced. As U.S. President Barack Obama considered a strike on Syria, Assad's allies in Iran made sure Israel knew it would be targeted in any conflict. "No military attack will be waged against Syria," Director-General of the parliament for International Affairs Hossein Sheikholeslam said in late August. "Yet, if such an incident takes place, which is impossible, the Zionist regime will be the first victim of a military attack on Syria." Khalaf Muftah, a senior Baath Party official who used to serve as Syria’s assistant information minister, echoed Sheikholeslam's statement: "[Israel] is behind the [Western] aggression and [it] will therefore come under fire ... We have strategic weapons and we're capable of responding. Normally the strategic weapons are aimed at Israel."
As of August 2013, the approximate breakdown for Syria's conventional forces was as follows:
Infantry: 304,000 Active; 315,000 Reserve. Armor: 4,800 tanks; 5,060 APC's. Air Force: 490 planes; 225 combat helicopters. Navy: 35 warships; 0 submarines.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Threats_to_Israel/Syria.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/middleeast/syrias-unrest-puts-israelis-on-alert.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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Luk 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luk 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luk 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.