Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Russian influence in Syria: A rising strongman in the Middle East? | DW News" video.

  1. Don't read too much into it. Erdogan needed an anti-air missile system for personal protection and the cash-strapped Russkies were desperate enough to comply. The US-supplied AA systems wouldn't do because they wouldn't lock onto Turkey's US-supplied combat aircraft without tweaking, which the US didn't allow. Erdogan's requirement to shoot down his own aircraft isn't that ridiculous in the light of the failed coup, which saw rebel F-16s target him.
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  2. That's interesting. I thought the ill-advised Iraq War, which destabilised the whole region, had something to do with it. Please elaborate.
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  3. All's fair in love and war, if Syria can't protect the oil from ISIS, who used it to finance their caliphate. Let's not forget there was a phase in the Syrian civil war which saw Assad pragmatically trading goods and services with ISIS. Among others, he provided electrical power to ISIS-controlled territories in exchange for oil. Cell phone service, too. ISIS fighters need to post their selfies, after all.
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  4. There's an international force protecting southern Lebanon. UNIFIL. It's been in place for more than 40 years. The parties to the conflict, who merely tolerate UNIFIL, aren't committed to peace. Escalations are frequent and intended. How would this be different for Palestine?
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  5.  @leodarksam6230  There must be a by-law that prohibits firing rockets at neighbours. The Palestinians may be victims, but not altogether innocent ones.
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  6.  @leodarksam6230  You're glossing over the deaths of 27 Israeli civilians, 5 foreign nationals, 5 IDF soldiers and at least 11 Palestinians, not to mention 1,900 injured. Bottle rockets my foot.
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  7. Don't steal Trump's thunder.
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