U.S. Brews Trouble inside Syria

Some clearheaded Russian reaction to the U.S. plan to create an army inside Syria is cited here. This article presents the U.S. aims as some Russian analysts see them.

Erdogan’s reaction was strong: “A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our bordersWhat can that terror army target but Turkey? Our mission is to strangle it before it’s even born.” Assad also reacted negatively: “The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad responded on Monday by vowing to crush the new force and drive U.S. troops from the country. Assad’s ally Russia called the plans a plot to dismember Syria and place part of it under U.S. control.”

The U.S. under Trump continues its primary foreign policy of empire, which entails U.S. hegemony far and wide. Hegemony means dominance, superiority, control and power over a region or country. It requires meddling, intervention and interference in the affairs of other countries. This produces a constant stream of trouble spots of our own making and participation, like Vietnam, Korea, Lebanon and Iran in earlier times and Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Niger, and Syria in later times. We buy into these spots, making trouble for ourselves, because of the attempts at hegemony.

Psychologically, the intent of expanding hegemony is always to show strength. Our government policy is built upon the fear that not showing strength by extending dominance shows weakness and invites enemies to extend their control. We do not walk softly and carry a big stick. We are not confident in our defensive strength, even after building enough nuclear bombs to obliterate the planet 10 times over. We insist on using the stick in foreign countries to show our strength. We do not believe in ourselves enough to let foreign nations create and live with the consequences of their own errant policies. We had such little confidence in our market order that we over-estimated the capacities of the communist parts of the world and instituted parts of their program in our country. The U.S. is so fearful that doing nothing shows weakness that it consistently looks for a response to any event that remotely seems to question its dominance. Trump’s missile salvo launched against a Syrian airbase after a chemical incident is in this tradition.

Trump is following up on Pentagon, State and Obama administration plans that arose well before he became president. He is creating a new trouble spot and predicament inside Syria, designed to serve the empire’s hegemonic aims in that region. Trump now owns the resulting problems and complications that are bound to arise.

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10:03 am on January 16, 2018