I've tried to mull over whatever calculus might have been at play, when a room full of people drew up quiet plans to rip this country apart, and I don't see the motivation.
A generation from now, nothing will be normal in these imploded countries, but kings and princes elsewhere will thrive with no elections at all, I'm sure.
http://www.businessinsider.com/stratfor-george-friedman-pred...
George Friedman: "Well what are our geopolitical objectives? First, that North America be peaceful, prosperous, dominated by the United States. Second, that no nation be able to approach the United States militarily ... Those are the goals. It's very simple. We achieve that by making certain that all conflict takes place in the Eastern Hemisphere so we don't have conflict here."
It's survival of the fittest countries by stirring up stuff in other countries.
Russia had bigger problems for 20 or so years, but the brutal killing of Kadafi and the overthrow of the Ukraine government (imagine the reaction in the US if Russian-supported protestors overthrowing an elected government in Canada) spurred Putin into action.
Politically this is one of those things you can't win. If the US went to bat for the regime they lose, everyone will be horrified, and if they back the rebels they end up with another Libya which is still a total mess.
Decades ago this could have been avoided by dealing with the regime head-on, by helping to foster a better political environment without meddling, but that point is long past. Now it's Russia and the US taking turns beating the hornet's nest.
Here's one theory: http://imgur.com/uYYaQ8N
The US got into the game late and was stuck in a bind, but the Sunni Arab nations that despised the Hezbollah / Syrian / Iranian Shia (+ minority) crescent were the ones who really financed the initial insurgencies.
I'm not sure I follow. I'm sure you are aware that the Syrian Civil War started as a popular uprising against Assad, so I don't see where the "room full of people" comes in.
I wish it were a bit easier to tell which parts of the image are showing bombed areas, since it's difficult to tell whether the diffs are due to explosions or natural changes over time.
I thought the scrolling effects distracted from it if anything.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectarianism_and_minorities_...
I had a look at the linked article at the bottom (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/new-night-lights-m...) but looking at the linked layer in WorldView, it's nothing like as high resolution.
I think all US should do is not interfere at all. That means no weapon exports to Syria as well.
I'm with Trump on this. We are not the world's police. Last time Hillary and Co helped, more damage was done.
