The back and forth between Russia and Turkey, with the Obama administration serving as a yipping poodle off to the side of the disagreement, is hopefully cooling a bit with Russia not taking immediate military action. That is not to say that the various players are happy with the outcome, which started with the Russian plane flying over Turkish air space en route to a bombing run of Islamic State (ISIS) emplacements in Syria.
One could say that President Obama is at least somewhat responsible for the debacle. His tepid response to ISIS movements in Syria and recently in France required much more forceful action by a leader willing to take on the Muslim terrorist organization, which was something that Obama seemed not inclined to do.
His half-hearted efforts included dropping leaflets warning ISIS truck drivers of the occasional upcoming U.S. bombing run over sparsely populated areas, and the invitation to Middle Eastern refugees to relocate to the United States, even though it is clear that there will be ISIS cell members coming along for the ride. Those are not the actions of a true leader working to save the world and his country from a ruthless enemy, and it opened the door to Russia’s involvement in ISIS control and destruction.
It is tangled further because Turkey is a U.S. ally and NATO member, but with a population that is over 90% Muslim, so the commitment of both Obama and Turkey to aggressively seek the decisive and ultimate destruction of ISIS is in question. There are those who suggest that ISIS is actually a U.S. proxy for pushing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad out of power, and that Obama sees an opportunity and a back-door ally in ISIS, a truly ghoulish thought given the bloodthirsty and barbaric nature of the Islamic terrorist group.
World War III waiting in wings, read page 2
Our president is talking to other countries about energy and the Republicans passed a bill to undermine what our president is trying to do! Knowing that bill will be vetoed!! They did it on Our Tax Dollars!!