Not A Cold War

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
Putin and Obama spoke today.

They talked about the Syrian talks and the future cease fire in Syria. It seems that Putin and Obama have had an understanding about what should happen in Syria for quite some time and it is only now becoming public.

The plan, or even better, the understanding between Russia and the United States was drawn up, but Obama was queasy about it. The reality is that Russia is bearing the lion's share of the work. That is because Russia is on the ground in Syria. Yes, Russia has gone above (literally) beyond their role and has shut down the airspace of Syria for most of the day by enacting their own anti-air defense system which protects Assad and that infuriates Obama.

The basic understanding is that Russia will confirm that Syrian forces and Iranian and Hezbollah forces as well as their own forces will hold to the cease fire. But the United States must get the rebels to stop - and that is the stumbling block. All the rebel groups do not agree to this agreement and they certainly are not at all connected to the US, especially because many of them are al Qaeda connected.

It's a mess.

The saving grace is that I can finally prove to people that the United States and Russia are not
engaged in a modern day "Cold War" - it is a question I get all the time. Obama and Kerry and their underlings are in constant contact with their counterparts in Russia. That's called communication, not a Cold War.

Yes, they certainly have significant differences of opinion and objectives, but they are also working together. Yes, Russia is making a play for a greater role in the world and wants to become a major power, but they are not yet there. Yes, Russia is gaining in influence, but they are still playing catch up. We are not on the brink of a world war and it is not in Russian's interest to promote a world war.

Russia's main interest is to propel itself into an even more relevant player.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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