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comment by am_Unition
am_Unition  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Middle East's Coming War

I think this news broke after the information could be incorporated in the NY Times piece:

U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russia Fighters in Syria, Sources Say WARNING: autoplay :(





kleinbl00  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The editorial is strategic. The clashes within Syria are tactical. We've had US Army-trained rebels torture and kill CIA-trained rebels in Syria; it's a complicated little mess with a constantly-shifting set of factions attempting to eke out advantage over each other. Do a Google image search for "factions in Syria" and see if it makes you more or less confused.

Chechnyans are Russian citizens and they hate the shit out of Russia. They fight with ISIS, they fight with Al Qaeda, they fight with whatever so long as it fucks the Russians over. Hemingway fought in the Spanish Civil War; that didn't mean the US picked a side.

But if Israel decides it wants to exert some influence things'll get interesting.

am_Unition  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah, I guess the most important part of the op-ed is the epilogue/disclaimer:

    Ronen Bergman, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and a senior correspondent for military and intelligence affairs at Yedioth Ahronoth, is the author, most recently, of “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.”

I broke my own rule of researching opinion piece authors prior to ingesting the article.

kleinbl00  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Oh yeah. That there be the Israelis telegraphing their discomfort with the status quo. Pretty much the AIPAC bat signal.

That said, nothing in there is factually incorrect. Israel, when feeling cornered, gives no fucks. This is just a delicate reminder to those august 538 individuals beholden to their money that the world continues in its orbit regardless of where Rob Porter hangs his hat.

user-inactivated  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Israel, when feeling cornered, gives no fucks.

Suddenly,

    We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle.... we have no place to go.

makes sense. Not a pretty visual. Twiddling my thumbs until December to see if Taglit is a good option after graduation, then.

Also, would you be willing to explain who 'august 538 individuals' references? Google and wikipedia aren't much help there.

kleinbl00  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The correct number would be 535, for 435 representatives and 100 senators. However, we have 538 members of the electoral college (DC has 3 electors but no representation).

user-inactivated  ·  2256 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ahh, understood. Thanks for the breakdown. 👌