Putin/Obama Syria: What is going on?

It is hard to see what is going now with Syria. The US masses were and are putting very great pressure on the Obama administration and the members of Congress not to take military action. This is a major major factor in the situation.

 But up to a couple of days ago it looked like the US regime on behalf of its corporations wealth and power would have no choice but to strike whatever the consequences. Now there is a bit of a doubt. In this blog and another list the organizers of this blog are part of we said that while it was unlikely it was possible that Putin would give Obama the, I think we put it as, "the crack of an opening" of a way out, a way not to have to strike. It is possible that this is what we are now seeing with Putin moving to jump to support  Kerry's remark about the Syrian regime putting all its chemical weapons under international control. It is also possible that this is just a move by Putin to make it even harder for the Obama regime to strike and make the repercussions greater if they would strike. Russia would be able to pose as the good guy who wanted no strike and instead use the UN security council for a negotiated solution. It will take a day or two to see what is really in the wind and how things will play out.

But even if the US regime, the Russian regime and the Syrian regime come to an agreement to put all chemical weapons under control how could they do this, what forces would go in and secure these weapons, US boots on the ground? They would be shot at and most likely the US would slide into another Middle Eastern conflict. And even if this problem could be got over and chemical weapons could be secured what would it solve. The war in Syria would still be going on with the danger of it exploding into a regional war. The opposition would still be armed by the extreme reactionary regimes and US allies, such as Saudi Arabia and the Syrian regime would most likely still be armed by Russia.  And if the present Syrian regime was overthrown who would rule. Most likely a band of warring militias some of whom would most likely have their hands on chemical weapons.

But anyway the whole issue of chemical weapons is in reality a propaganda weapon for US imperialism. It is almost impossible to watch Obama and all the other political and media talking heads of US imperialism prattle on about the terrible affects of chemical weapons, and these are terrible, as if US regimes have not used chemical weapons plenty of times in the past, Agent Orange, white phosphorous and so on. It is almost impossible to sit and watch the US mass capitalist media go on about the need to uphold the "norm" that chemical weapons are not used when the US has broken this norm time after time in the past. And threatening to bomb Syria and kill more people unless the regime there hands over its chemical weapons, the organizers of this blog have no time for the vicious Syrian regime, but when has US imperialism threatened to bomb Israel unless it hands over its nuclear stockpiles or until it stopped bombing Gaza.

As we have said and continue to say on this blog, US imperialism is getting increasingly backed into a corner. Maybe Putin and Russian imperialism will help it out of this one temporarily but there will be many more down the road. As well as other factors the US masses are increasingly opposed to shouldering the cost of the wars and occupations of the US corporations abroad. At some time, maybe now, they will make this clear and a major change in US and world class relations will take place.

Sean.