13 thoughts on “Israeli Media Tout Putin’s “Deal of the Century” – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Iran has sunk $30 billion into Syria, so she’s not going to quietly leave.

    And yes, Iran is in dire straits, mostly on account of global warming and mismanagement.

    Try following the daily temperatures in Teheran, which are averaging 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Beirut and Damascus are positively balmy by comparison.

        1. @ Peg: Another source estimates that Iran spends $6-billion annually supporting Assad. As it has not been supporting Assad for five years at this level, I find it difficult that $30-billion can be correct. My guess is that Speyer’s numbers originate with the MeK, which has offered such claims in the past. Nothing the MeK says about Iran is true or should be credited with any reliability.

          Further, H.R. McMaster, a far more credible, knowledgable source said publicly that Iran has spent $16-billion in total since 2012 for all its support of foreign movements in the region. That includes Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. This is a far more credible figure than what you quoted.

          Further, the author of your article is affiliated with Daniel Pipes Middle East Forum, which is a useless propaganda shop. I urge you either not to use Jerusalem Post as a source here or to be fully transparent about who the author of any piece you cite from it is. The Post is not a credible source unless you can offer proof from an external credible source which confirms the Post claim.

          But even if Iran does spend that much, I’ll bet that if you compare Israeli expenditures propping up its foreign allies historically (SLA, al Nusra, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc.) militarily and logistically, the equivalent sum might be similar (adjusted for inflation). If Israel could find an ally like Assad in the Arab world it would spend more than $6-billion annually to support him.

          But on your main point, Iran does have a substantial investment in Syria. That does not mean that it’s not pragmatic enough to end that involvement either if it deems it’s no longer necessary; or if someone offers Iran sufficient reason to end it in terms of benefits it would receive for doing so. Do you think Israel, the U.S. or anyone can, or has the interest/willingness to do that??

          1. @ Peg: So who ya gonna believe? A U.S. national security advisor or two academics? Who has the best access to intelligence reports and estimates and has the best sources? Oh I don’t know, maybe the top U.S. intelligence official?? Just perhaps?

            You are done in this thread.

  2. Richard, good article. The only issue I question is Congress’s influence on the decision-making in the US, which you refer to a few times.

    Congress is not even asked to declare war anymore, even though it is the sole entity with authority to do so, according to the Constitution. So how much influence will Congress have on Trump’s intention on just improving the relation with Russia, never mind reconciliation?

    Seems to me the Deep State and corporate interests have far more influence on US foreign policy.

    1. @Klaas Vaak: I agree. Congress, especially the GOP, has been a rubber stamp for the worst of Trump’s excesses. The chances they will exercise their responsibilities to rein him in are slim. But concerning Russia there is a small glimmer of hope.

  3. Doesn’t seem logical to assume that a few journalists opinions can be considered “the world according to Israel”.
    Would you be OK with people assuming that “The world according to the US” can be summarized by reading one newspaper?!

    1. @ Papok:

      Would you be OK with people assuming that “The world according to the US” can be summarized by reading one newspaper?!

      I don’t read “one” Israeli newspaper. In fact, I read material from every major Israeli daily and pay close attention to various Israeli TV news reports. The Haaretz reports to which I linked are representative of similar reporting elsewhere in Israeli media.

  4. What I find mind-boggling in this whole story is the use of Crimea as a chip with no consideration of what the Ukrainians have to say about it.

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