Opinion
Sensing West's weakness
Alex Fishman
Published: 29.05.13, 20:00
Comment Comment
Print comment Print comment
Back to article
16 Talkbacks for this article
1. I Know Someone In The Knesset Who
(05.29.13)
Speaks their language? A.Lieberman has he used any of the influence he has?
2. As regarding the West - this analysis may be right -
Arn. ,   Sweden.   (05.29.13)
- However - Israel is the Joker in this Deck. If Russia goes to far the Joker will be forced to act and Russia will loose. Arn.Sweden.
3. Thank You Pres. Obama for your leadership in the free world!
shadoil ,   Jerusalem   (05.29.13)
4. #1 Lieberman is Moldovian, not Russian
A ,   Belgium   (05.29.13)
The only reason he speaks Russian is because he HAD to learn it during the communist era and dominance of the USSR. Ukranians, Georgians, Kazhaks, etc. also speak Russian besides their native languages, and not out of free will. Your pathetic attempt at sarcasm failed.
5. You are right.
jay abouaf ,   jaffa israel   (05.29.13)
6. This is payback 4 Soviet War in Afghanistan...
Jew ,   JewLandia (Israel)   (05.29.13)
You know the one between December 1979 to February 1989. You don't remember? Oh just go view "Charlie Wilson's War" that will give you all the details you need.
7. We will not be pulled into that sandbox
Cameron ,   USA   (05.29.13)
Term it "weakness" if so inclined. If the Russians manage to maintain their traditional foothold into the ME, then so be it. There will be no US military intervention. The parties on the ground must slug it out to the bitter finish, and determine which bad scenario finally triumphs. Imperial assessment & restraint.
8. Is it only Shi'ites who do suicide bombing?
Judy NS ,   Israel   (05.30.13)
or do the Sunni's do them too? Because well you know if the Russians piss off the Sunni's will the sunni's start terrorizing the Russians on their turf?
9. Obama should have sent in the Marines-another 4000 dead
miki ,   tampa   (05.30.13)
10. excellent article
Cipora Julianna Kohn ,   Z   (05.30.13)
one day, though, the russians will get payback.
11. NOT OUR JOB
Mark of Lewiston ,   USA   (05.30.13)
Fixing Syria and Iran and the Israel-Palestine dispute are simply not our job. If other countries have problems with Russia and China supporting Syria, they should talk to Russia and China. The US can help with defenses for those who help the US. The US has no obligation or need or desire to confront Russia. The Cold War is over. Anybody who wants one is free to have their own.
12. Russia
Matt   (05.30.13)
See just as Mossad knew that Russia had tried to inflitrate the US to drive US policy in Russia interests. The know why they want Israel to make peace with the Palestinians via the Kremlim and thus ditch the US. They have want to since 2007, the also got the old Arab news service operating again. So Putin causes trouble with the Iranian nuclear matter, sends weapons to Assad like the S-300 and is in bed with Hizbullah. So Syria gets hit, the PM goes to the PRC, Putin calls him there and then the prior invitation after he was relected to vist Moscow. The message if Israel did not broker peace via the US it will be the PRC. Not Russia whatever pressures and thuggery Putin applies to Israel. So regardless of the missiles or propaganda that Putin taught Bibi a lesson it is syria in civil war.
13. 11 YOUR JOB
Cipora Julianna Kohn ,   Z   (05.30.13)
china has hacked and stolen your most advanced weapons systems, including the f-35 and thaad. so stop posting absolute rubbish. obama has declared the global war on terror over while islamists are setting up shop world wide. you, mark, have declared the cold war over, while putin is taking over the middle east and calls western actions "odious."
14. As foretold
John Prophet   (05.30.13)
The dye is cast! The radical Islamic tsunami building up around Israel is growing larger by the day. Israel, for all its power is a small county with a small population. Israel, by not finishing off Hamas and Hezbollah when it had the chance showed weakness, only emboldening the beast. Those who believe they're following the will of Allah will not be dissuaded by the overtures of mear mortals. Compromise, a tenet of a Western Civilization is seen as weakness to be exploited. Israel et.al. in trying to avoid battling the beast are in fact guaranteeing it, and on less favorable terms. Once radical Islam has atomics, blackmail on a global scale will prevail, opening the gates of hell! It is written!
15. Not completely true....
Peter ,   KL   (06.02.13)
The real country determining is Iran not Russia. While Russia's role in the Axis is critical, it is not the most. If there is no Iran standing by, Russia would have given up hope and not so aggressive in its approach. If Iran is to join in the regional war, no country over there will be able to defeat it with its tech and the number of men under arms...and on call. With Iran on board ...now silently and let Hez join in the fight. If Hez and Assad in trouble , rest assured Iran would be in fully ..... Dare to take on Iran ? Even US today would have to think twice. But with Russia on board... no chance. Assad will survive no matter how many sunnis are to go and get killed in Syria.
16. #15: misinformed
tom ,   toronto, canada   (06.03.13)
iran is a toothless tiger. their air force is hopelessly obsolete (their best planes are 35+ year old tomcats and phantoms), and so starved for spare parts (even after "bending" their rules and buying from "the little satan") that they cannot maintain the majority of their antiques in airworthy condition. every now and again, like just last week, one of their aircraft falls from the sky. (or was it an assassination attempt on ahmadinejad?) their perennial announcements of "great technological advances" seem suspiciously photoshopped, and their specs are verbatim copies of north korean or russian models. a surprising number of their tests seem to go astray. (even their simian astronauts have been embarrassingly short-lived.) as to their vast army, their "pre-packaged volunteer martyrs" (unarmed soldiers, dressed in burial shrouds, and used in suicide attack waves), didn't make much of an impression on iraqi forces during the iran-iraq war. but those same iraqi forces weren't much of a match for the invading americans, were they? so there's more to fighting a war than just numbers. which doesn't mean that their leaders aren't crazy enough to attack their neighbours, or that it would be safe to let them acquire nuclear weapons, but there's no need to exaggerate their military prowess. after all, their mighty military has been fighting a fragmented bunch of rebels in syria for 2 years now, with absolutely no holds barred, and no decisive victory in sight.
Back to article