OF THE
TIMES
"The president has discussed in some details why military action against the Assad regime to try to address the situation in Aleppo is unlikely to accomplish the goals that many envisioned now in terms of reducing the violence there. It is much more likely to lead to a bunch of unintended consequences that are clearly not in our national interest."
But the existential threat of a 'hot war' between Russia and the USA is more the stuff of nightmares and propaganda than reality. The reality is that the 'exceptional' USA is all out of options, including nuclear, when it comes to impeding Russia's emergence as a major world power with global influence.
Russia Checkmates US in Syria: Expect More Terrorism, Not Nuclear War
"I hope that by the time I am president, that we will have pushed ISIS out of Iraq."The push she's referring to is this announcement by the Pentagon that it is launching a major offensive against ISIS in Mosul, northern Iraq.
"The West should seek the further weakening of Islamic State, but not its destruction... Allowing bad guys to kill bad guys sounds very cynical, but it is useful and even moral to do so if it keeps the bad guys busy and less able to harm the good guys... Moreover, instability and crises sometimes contain portents of positive change... The American administration does not appear capable of recognizing the fact that IS can be a useful tool in undermining Tehran's ambitious plan for domination of the Middle East."Okay, not exactly everyone.
Comment: Three more men - an American and two Russians - were arrested for allegedly exporting "sensitive military technology" (microelectronics) to Russia.