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Ralph Peters: Putin Now Realizes Iran a Serious Threat
[NYP] Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised the world by announcing on Monday that most of his troops would leave Syria. Military analysts were flummoxed.I, for one, had expected all of the forces backing the regime of Bashar al-Assad to catch their collective breath, then resume the offensive. What happened? In retrospect, it looks obvious: Putin finally met the Middle East. And unlike President Obama, the Russian czar faced reality. Allowing that Putin could re-engage in the future, and that his forces accomplished their primary goal of propping up the regime and giving it breathing space, the announcement still came as a cold-water shock to all -- except the Iranians. Initial Western reactions have stressed the recalcitrance of Assad, who has refused to consider stepping aside. Instead, Assad’s latest pronouncements have been defiant bordering on megalomania. Putin had every reason to be fed up. Posted by: Besoeker 2016-03-17 |
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