Surviving Capitalism (Not) : How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, December 3, 2015

How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria

Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from CounterPunch.

To fully understand this analysis, one really needs a knowledge of the complicated Syrian and Iraqi border areas with Turkey and various Kurdish factions. Still, however, I think that this very perceptive Brazilian journalist puts all the important pieces (rat lines or smuggling routes and "safety zones") and players together to form an overall understanding of the current volatile situation in the area. (Unfortunately I can't find a suitable map in time for publishing.)

See also this article entitled "S-300 fully in service in the hands of Damascus and two Iranian squadrons to the T4 in Homs serviced by Russia" from Elijah J M, which I consider a reliable source, for another volatile factor that may influence the outcomes of this complicated war.