Thursday, December 20, 2018

The USA leaving Syria will require an American presence in the region to protect allies like Jordan and Israel.

Reality proves that the USA never had a real role in Syria and only would have added to escalations rather than deescalation, which Jordan welcomes deescalation in the way of relief at it's border from refugees.

If one looks to the news publications of Jordan it definitely is filled with diplomatic outreach to encourage trade expansion. (click here)

The only aspect of the problems within Syria is the Islamic State and problems it may have caused for allies.

The jihadists (click here) control a shrinking strip of land east of the Syria's Euphrates River around the town of Hajin, which U.S.-backed forces entered this month

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (click here)

Considering the Syrian Kurds (which I never knew existed in Syria) are considered allied forces by the USA military, the argument could be made the USA is abandoning an ally. However, when considering where the USA would place a foot hold in Syria there would be only one answer and that is to commit to a larger war.

December 20, 2018
By Amos 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement (click here) that American troops are being withdrawn from Syria — assuming that a full withdrawal will be carried out — is of strategic importance to Syria and the entire region. It may have implications for the entire Middle East and the battle for influence between the United States and Russia.

Trump was irresolute from the start about the continued U.S. military presence in the region. When he spoke of “America First” during his campaign (and exaggerated, with some rewriting of history, his opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003), his intent was also to reduce American military investment in the Middle East....

What is somewhat curious is not only the relinquishing of Syria to Putin, but, the new presence of China with Israel. I find this very curious. I think it will be up to the Democrats in the US House to examine the actions of the USA military both in Syria and with Israel. There are vast changes no one would expect taking place. It will also require clarification by Israel's leadership regarding it's wishes in regard to a private domain of China in Israel, but, I sincerely believe clarity regarding these surprising issues need to take place.

December 15, 2018
By Michael Wilner

Washington – The US Navy (click here) has acknowledged that its longstanding operations in Haifa may change once a Chinese firm takes over the civilian port in 2021, prompting Israel’s national security cabinet to revisit the arrangement, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Haifa, the nation’s largest port city, regularly hosts joint US-Israeli naval drills and visits from American vessels. But a 2015 agreement between Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) – a company in which the Chinese government has a majority stake – has raised intelligence and security concerns that are only now prompting an interagency review.

That agreement granted SIPG control over the port for 25 years. The Chinese company has committed $2 billion to the project and, according to state-run media, plans to transform the port’s bay terminal into the largest harbor in the country.

A representative of the Sixth Fleet said the navy’s partnership with Israel remains “steadfast.”...

We know when Chinese oligarchs are involved in any private investment there is always a government that may find it a poor decision by their citizens and step in for whatever reason China believes important. The oligarchs of Russia and China are never investing independently and within the foreign governments authority. At any point in time China can step in and alter the future of any investment, the same holds true for Russia.

But, to sum this entire mess up, if Russia can bring stability to Syria the entire region will benefit from it. Why Israel is seeking private investors to one of it's ports is more than curious. The USA sovereign authority to allies has to be in force otherwise why be allies. Putting China into Israel only creates a national security issue for the USA with Israel and that is why there was no such privatization that took place before. China in Israel may put Israel at risk and that isn't good for anyone. Israel is nearly autonomous in it's ability to protect it's borders and engage in war if necessary. With a fluid presence of the USA in Israel, that brings a lot of questions into focus when adding in the fact there have been increasing close ties between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the death of an American journalist in Ankara.

The one place the USA has had a strong presence is the Middle East. Many Americans believe that is not a good place for the USA, especially when weighing what occurred with Iraq. But, it seems as though the time has come to evaluate the changes occurring in USA relations in the Middle East and decide whether the country is considered a strong or weakened ally under Trump's leadership.

That said, the American Jewish diaspora should be engaging dialogue to determine the future of the USA with Israel and the Middle East in general. 

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