# Russia sending troops to aid Syria. Good or Bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 10, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594 "2015-09-10T22:47:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/41 "2015-09-12T13:40:47Z")
Putin, his already swelled head reeling from his and annexation of the Crimea, engages in foreign adventure. Russian assets and long-term relationships justify it, but it’s mostly Russia’s centuries-old inferiority complex manifesting itself. But if the Russians get their asses handed to them (and they will) could it finally trigger anti-authotarian reform in Russia? ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/42 "2015-09-12T15:40:54Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > I’ll be back tomorrow, I have been fighting ignorance enough for tonight. Better call it a day. It was a valiant effort, Nema98. There’s a lot of ignorance to fight here. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/43 "2015-09-12T15:43:22Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > It was a valiant effort, Nema98. There’s a lot of ignorance to fight here. She faught better than the Syrian Rebels. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/44 "2015-09-12T18:53:19Z")
The news hasn’t been clear exactly who the US has been attacking in Syria. There’s so many different factions there. Aren’t some of the ISIS forces also fighting along side the rebels to seize parts of Syria from Assad’s control? I was under the impression Assad’s troops were fighting any group that had taken up arms inside his country. Like wise, I had the impression the US was bombing ISIS and Assad’s forces too. But it’s not been clear at all what our missions are or even what we hope to achieve in Syria. The reporting on this situation is pretty weak. It’s such a mess. Civil war is bad enough. Add in ISIS with their religious fanaticism and it really gets out of control. Assad and his father ruled a stable Syria for a long time. I had hoped maybe he could end the civil war with Russia and an international collation’s help. But things are so out of control. I just don’t what the solution is. His leaving power wouldn’t help either. That just expands the killing and destruction to the few stable regions he and his forces still controls. The civil war would rage on. The factions fighting each other. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/45 "2015-09-13T00:07:54Z")
“It is (basically) a choice between two evils-ISIS or Assad-both are repugnant. But this is the Middle east- TE Lawrence predicted this 90 years ago. If we can get both sides fighting eachother to exhaustion, that would be best.” Yes that is ideally a good idea, but we live in real life and there are innocent people caught between so. So not so good in real life. QUOTE: “It was a valiant effort, Nema98. There’s a lot of ignorance to fight here”. Thanks for the kind words, **Emiliana**. It’s been quicker than I thought. QUOTE: "The news hasn’t been clear exactly who the US has been attacking in Syria. There’s so many different factions there. Aren’t some of the ISIS forces also fighting along side the rebels to seize parts of Syria from Assad’s control? I was under the impression Assad’s troops were fighting any group that had taken up arms inside his country. Like wise, I had the impression the US was bombing ISIS and Assad’s forces too. But it’s not been clear at all what our missions are or even what we hope to achieve in Syria. The reporting on this situation is pretty weak. It’s such a mess. Civil war is bad enough. Add in ISIS with their religious fanaticism and it really gets out of control. Assad and his father ruled a stable Syria for a long time. I had hoped maybe he could end the civil war with Russia and an international collation’s help. But things are so out of control. I just don’t what the solution is. His leaving power wouldn’t help either. That just expands the killing and destruction to the few stable regions he and his forces still controls. The civil war would rage on. The factions fighting each other." What you state **aceplane57** is correct. There is a possibility that the war could drag on for a long time after Assad is ousted. Or it could end. Now ISIS will not give up, it’s goal is to form a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and eventually elsewhere. It sees rebels, even Islamist ones and Assad and all as enemies in the way of it’s vision. Could there be some ISIS fighters fighting alongside other rebels, maybe it is happening or has occurred prior. I don’t pretend to know the answer. But for MOST PART, no. ISIS has actually seen the rebels as an easier target than Assad, because they are weaker. It has killed rebels, even Islamist ones. Meanwhile many Islamist rebels have teamed up with moderate rebels, to fight off ISIS and to beat back Assad. So in a general sense there is about three sides, Assad, ISIS, rebels and the Kurds. I forgot the Kurdish fighters. They have fought against ISIS, and generally are on best terms with rebels, than with Assad let alone ISIS. Assad has left the Kurds alone for a long time now, focusing elsewhere. But they have been clashes between Kurds and the regime forces. And no we have only been against Assad from a diplomatic standpoint. We have called on him to go, but never took military action against him. Even when he used Chemicals weapons two years ago, we backed out. And have not hit his bases or shot down his planes. Turkey has shot down Syrian planes, while the U.S has never done so once. Lots of people think we are fighting against Assad’s regime, but we have been bombing ISIS. I don’t think Bashar Assad can end the war, he has thrown everything militarily speaking and he has not gained much territory. And despite regime words, he has even allowed ISIS to encroach on rebel territory, so his priority is beating the rebels, not ISIS-for now. He wants the rebels defeated and then according to plan, tell the west that he along with Russia and Iran can help beat ISIS. Sounds good, but it won’t most likely go to plan. I remember when the regime said a year or so ago that the war would come to an end by the end of the year, and it has not happened. While Assad has admitted to losses, he rules leaving power at all costs. He is not flexible. I would have liked to see him and his inner circle gone, with the Ba’ath Party staying and forming a coalition with moderate opposition forces. But he has sidelined those in the regime who wanted to reach out, and fails to admit that he is part of the problem. He sees all oppositions as part of ISIS. Oh and he held a sham election last year too. As for Russia, it would have been good making a serious deal to bring peace, but alas Russia’s actions are all one sided and has prolonged the bloodshed. I am not optimistic. Non knows which solution will end up working. Sadly. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/46 "2015-09-13T04:38:06Z")
Thank you for the post. It’s quite interesting. Syria is such a complex issue and any information is appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/47 "2015-09-28T19:42:26Z")
Putin and Obama both appeared at the UN delivering messages on Syria. For the first time the US seems open to a transition from power rather than demanding Assad resign. I said it in the OP. Right now, bad as he is… Assad is the only thing holding Syria together and preventing total anarchy. This is so strange for me. But I agree totally with what Putin said. Assad is a vital resource in the war against ISIS. I saw a article yesterday saying David Cameron is beginning to agree that Assad might be useful and that a transition from power might be a solution. [http://news.yahoo.com/obama-putin-confront-tensions-syria-ukraine-072927044--politics.html#](http://news.yahoo.com/obama-putin-confront-tensions-syria-ukraine-072927044--politics.html#) > [@](#): > > UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin clashed Monday over their competing visions for Syria, with Obama urging a political transition to replace the Syrian president but Putin warning it would be a mistake to abandon the current government. > Obama and Putin’s dueling speeches at a United Nations General Assembly summit served as a public preview of their private meeting late Monday. The sit-down marks their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year and comes amid escalating Russian military engagement in Syria. > > Obama said he was open to working with Russia, as well as Iran, to bring Syria’s civil war to an end. He called for a “managed transition” that would result in the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces have clashed with rebels for more than four years, creating a vacuum for the Islamic State and other extremist groups. > [@](#): > > Putin, in contrast, suggested there was no other option. > > “We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face to face,” Putin said during his speech before the U.N. General Assembly. [http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-gets-chance-despite-military-setbacks-155236771.html](http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-gets-chance-despite-military-setbacks-155236771.html) > [@](#): > > Since demonstrations against his regime broke out in March 2011, inspired by similar regional uprisings, Assad has presented his regime as fighting a war against “terrorists”. > > The emergence of the Islamic State group, and its capture of large swathes of territory, has served to reinforce the narrative of his government as a bulwark against “barbarism”. > > His claim has also been bolstered by the relative failure of a US-led coalition against IS, which does not work with Assad, to make headway in pushing back IS or preventing it from further advances. > > Bitar said Assad had been able to play for time and outlast the initial optimism of the Arab uprisings, which in some cases have produced lawless spaces ripe for radical groups. > > “The Assad regime benefited from the triumph of the counterrevolutionary narrative at the regional level,” he said. > > “Most Western states resorted back to the flawed idea that authoritarian nationalism in the Arab world is the only bulwark against radical Islam.” The stakes are high. 50% of Syria’s population is protected in territory Assad controls. He leaves, what will ISIS do to these people? > [@](#): > > But he has clung to strategic territory that is home to around 50 percent of the population, including Damascus, the central towns of Homs and Hama, his strongholds on the coast, and parts of Aleppo. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/48 "2015-09-28T20:31:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I said it in the OP. Right now, bad as he is… Assad is the only thing holding Syria together and preventing total anarchy. Do you think Assad is currently fighting ISIL? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/49 "2015-09-28T20:40:45Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Do you think Assad is currently fighting ISIL? ISIL is fighting him. So, yes I think Assad is fighting them. 🙂 He has no choice. It’s fight or see the death of Syria as an organized state. There may be some areas of Syria’s territory that Assad has been forced to abandon. He’s fighting on two fronts. The rebel civil war and ISIS. But I suspect he’ll retake those areas given the chance and supplied by Russia and Iran. I just think the US is missing the boat on this. We either join up and have some influence on the outcome. Or we get left behind and ignored. World leaders have to lead. That lack of decisive US leadership (on Syria) created this opportunity for Putin. He’s stepping into the vacuum. Now we have no choice but work with him. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594/50 "2015-09-29T00:16:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It is (basically) a choice between two evils-ISIS or Assad-both are repugnant. But this is the Middle east- TE Lawrence predicted this 90 years ago. If we can get both sides fighting eachother to exhaustion, that would be best. Cept for you know, the millions of innocents living there. There is no good solution in Syria other than to make the best accommodations possible for refugees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-sending-troops-to-aid-syria-good-or-bad/730594.md?page=2)