But the main reason is looks. Have you seen an attractive H*ndu, or US food desert resident landwhale?
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- Thread starter bd popeye
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What's the implications of the call and its relations to the events that have unfolded in the Middle-east (Syria)Maybe Prigozhin is not dead also
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Russian General Calls U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs
This call took place on Nov 27th, quite a lot of coincidences
I am beginning to see the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a massive mistake for Russia and an actual win for the U.S. in light of what just happened in Syria.
Russian influence and power in the Middle East looks diminished, having lost all that military and political capital in just 11 days after a decade of investment. Iran is looking like a loser now that their connection to Syria has been effectively cut off. According to the report posted, this has also strengthened Israel's strategic interests and expanded its hold on the Golan Heights, which they have occupied for decades.
Russia will have to make a choice: they'll either have to accept their new reality and work with China earnestly, or crawl their way back to the U.S./EU/NATO axis like a beggar.
The U.S. looks like it has actually strengthened its strategic relevance in Europe by blocking Chinese strategic interests. This ensures that a possible economic partnership with the EU would be fraught with immense difficulty, preventing China from harnessing or even benefiting from EU companies that could provide technological advantages to China's national primary objectives. The EU is going to be reliant upon U.S. LNG at a more expensive price, which could harm EU industries that have been slowly hollowed out. Due to their cultural and ethnic familiarity, the EU doesn't see this as an actual detriment to their overall vitality. For them, Russia was and is going to be an eternal enemy that must be subdued. While China is too foreign, its political system is anathema to their beloved "democratic system," with no cultural connection or ethnic kinship to cultivate.
China is providing the most important thing for both Russia, Iran, and all BRI/BRICs nations really: bread and circus.
Its just that people on the ground tend to take bread and circus for granted.
Those in power all understand, even Argentina's Milei
Also we'll have to wait to see what happens between Turkish and Kurdish groups before concluding which side benefited, if Turkey isn't smart and make peace with Kurds right now, it might just benefit Russia and Iran in the end
Taking Ukraine will always be far more important to Russian than Syria, and Russia is taking Ukraine. Cost of living crisis in the west is in Russia's interest, as is Trump's isolationism. Russia wasn't getting much out of Syria, they're getting far more out of Ukraine.
Plus there might be deeper considerations, even before 2022 I've been pondering a question, Putin won't live forever, so how does he ensure Russia after him won't be infiltrated or scammed by the west again. The only solution I can think of at the time was a direct conflict with the west, one that does not escalate too much, but one intense enough to culturally ingrain the west as their enemy, and cut western financial and cultural influence on Russian society. Then Ukraine happened.
Russia doesn't need to be a superpower these days, Russia just need to see US no longer being one, that goal is being advanced nicely right now.
The Chinese military intervention in Syria has its pros and cons. It is undeniable that the advantages offered to the PLA entering Syria would be relevant in the context of military modernization, as there would be PLA troops directly involved in all stages of planning and executing military operations, giving them experience with Chinese equipment in real combat that PLA soldiers have never had in their professional lives. Among other issues, there would also be advantages to keeping a small contingent there, rotating so that a large number would have military experience, as in the Russian case, which saw more than 40,000 experienced soldiers during the first four years of Russian intervention. The disadvantages are also many, especially considering that its intervention would give a bad image to the actors in the region, a region where China is doing everything to maintain stability. Even the Saudi-Iranian agreement could be threatened because of this, among many other issues. I am sure that the Chinese diplomatic corps would agree that Chinese intervention would create many problems at the diplomatic level with the countries in the region and even with the countries in its own surroundings, also a region where China seeks stability. I only see China using military power for a few things: Economic development such as defending gas and oil platforms in the South China Sea, defending Taiwan's sovereignty, protecting SLOCs, such as the task force for Somalia and joint exercises abroad with SCO countries.
Russia has also lost Armenia. It is also likely to lose Venezuela. Russian influence will be limited to Central Asia and nothing else.
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A think tanker disagree?
A think tanker disagree?
The Russians need to grow up and change their archaic view of the world. They also need to cut their cloth according to their size and stop their illusions of being a super power. That war (yes, war) they started will not give them the results they want, instead it galvanized the west against them to their detriment. Even if they take Ukraine tomorrow, what will they really gain from swallowing a large country full of people who don't like them? It's asinine. You have to give people a good reason to want to be in your corner and not force them into it. China does this through trade and has become the most traded country on Earth, it's virtually indispensable today. Just look at how the west has no choice but to deal with and play nice when push comes to shove.