Syria Army Stops Jihadis, Russia Iran Reinforce Syria; Jihadis Control Aleppo; Moscow Tough Kellogg (Alexander Mercouris)

The rebels in Syria are all extremists. The Government in Syria is secular. What's going on has been, and still is, a regime change operation sponsored by outside powers. The rebels don't operate in a vacuum and are receiving State sponsorship. This latest attack will encourage the Syrian Government to totally wipe out the rebel held areas, notwithstanding the fact they are heavily supported by Turkey (via their intelligence services and Western intelligence).

Alexander points out that both Russia and Iran are stronger than they were in 2011-19 when they stepped in the last time and stopped the rebels. He also thinks that Assad needs to talk to Erdogan in order to sort out the mess, which he has refused ever since the 2011 betrayal.

When it comes to Ukraine, the Russians are not prepared to make any deals short of what they've already outlined. Ukraine joining NATO is out. Giving up already captured territory is out. Removing the neo-Nazi elements, and demilitarising the country is in. Removing the Zelensky Government is also likely too. US attempts to dump any of these demands will not be acceptable by the Russians who are winning the war. Ukrainian attempts to talk to the Trump transition team were given the brush off, with them being told not to escalate the war - so no more precision fires into Russia. 

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, December 2, 2024.]