What's bad, saxi, is a recent article in Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-midea ... SKCN0VG0KAIn particular, this quote from the article-
article wrote:Russian and Syrian forces intensified their campaign on rebel-held areas around Aleppo that are still home to around 350,000 people and aid workers have said the city - Syria's largest before the war - could soon fall.
The error is blatant, but before I go into it a little backstory. Kerry met with some aid workers at the recent Syrian donors conference and he told them, I quote- "What do you want me to do? Go to war with Russia??!!"
Kerry has been trying to get a cease fire going, something Russia and Iran seem to be willing to do. The rebel opposition on the other hand rejects any negotiations. Kerry said this about why he can't get the fighting stopped- "Don’t blame me – go and blame your opposition".
Now, about the error in that quote. Note how the quote says Aleppo is going to "fall". In the context that this word is being used means that the city is about to be taken over by the enemy. Hence, "the fall of Saigon" back in the Nam era and so forth and so on. As if the Russians and the Iranians are the enemy. The more truthful view is that Aleppo has already fallen, quite a while ago, to ISIS and Islamists. The Russians, Syrian armed forces and the Iranians are actually about to liberate Aleppo.
Now people can cry about Assad all they want, and he gets little sympathy from me. However, if you were to ask the average Syrian citizen who happen to be stuck in Aleppo and ask them which they prefer, rule under Assad pre-2009 (a secular government that actually protected religious freedom) or the current Islamic rule that Aleppo has labored under for quite a while now (distinctly non secular, religious extremist murders who enjoy beheading, enslaving and raping people).
The US has thrown in the towel now, though. The US has finally accepted that there is only one of two ways out now. Either go to war with Russia and Iran or abandon the idea of regime change in Syria. Thankfully it appears that the US has chosen the latter. At least according to MEE-
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/oppos ... 1808021537Assad has been assured that the US no longer wants him removed. Kerry only asked that Assad stop using barrel bombs so he can "sell it to the American people". Ha! I'm not really sure what the difference between using a barrel bomb or dropping a missile or drone striking people is any different, but whatever. The USG is trying to figure a way to explain this change of policy to the American people and still somehow save face.
Anyway, I find it telling how Reuters put it, that Aleppo is about to "fall" when anyone with any common sense knows that Aleppo fell a long time ago to people so brutal it makes Assad look like a boy scout.
Now if only Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia could get on board the civil war in Syria could actually come to an end.
