We were being a bit unfair when we mocked Washington for complaining about imaginary airstrikes while Russia and Syria mowed down ISIS in Palmyra.
Unlike "last time", the U.S. actually played a small — but helpful — role in destroying ISIS positions around Palmyra.
Via the Washington Post:
The Syrian statement did not mention the role of the United States, which has also stepped up strikes in the Palmyra area in recent weeks. During the last 10 days of February, the U.S. military conducted 23 strikes against Islamic State fighting units, tanks, storage facilities and command centers, according to the daily tally issued by the U.S. Central Command. Altogether in February, U.S. warplanes carried out 45 strikes in Palmyra.If you think this is just WaPo propaganda, well — maybe. But there is evidence to suggest they're telling it like it is:
The U.S. military has denied coordinating strikes directly either with Russia or the Syrian government but has said in the past that it is striking Palmyra to prevent military equipment captured by the Islamic State from being used by the militants in battles elsewhere against U.S.-backed forces.
Yes, Washington denies coordinating the strikes with Russian and Syrian forces. But we're almost positive that's just an "official" denial to "keep up appearances".
It's healthy to sometimes flirt with the idea that U.S.-Russia relations aren't completely destroyed forever. And we think Palmyra might be a small — but noteworthy — example of how things are (slowly) changing. Are we allowed to say "changing for the better"? No, probably not yet.
But remember: A little over a year ago, NATO was blowing Russian fighter jets out of the clear blue skies above Syria.
Comment: Trump has spoken out against US intervention in other countries a number of times. He has also expressed an openness about working with Russia to create better ties, and defeating terrorism. It's entirely possible that Trump ordered this assistance in Palmyra as a good faith measure; an actual act that shows - rather than claims to show - that he means what he says about all of the above. Wouldn't it be nice if he could continue doing this (if the assistance was his doing) unfettered by the psychopaths in the Deep State?