I agree – there was a point where it seemed Syria was seriously being considered for outright destabilization (even with French backing!) preparatory to regime change. This was about the time of the color revolutions in Lebanon and Ukraine and elsewhere less talked about (wiki the central Asian ‘stans, for example). As I bet Russia removed the WMDs, so Russia – in my opinion – capitulated, or relented temporarily, in these political events, but knew it only had to wait for its active measures, the pressure of Iran and Korea, the Eurodupes, and the US elections to utterly blunt the Bush Admin drive to throw the Asian enemy off balance. There is a deep strategic game being played of which there is no public discussion. Probably much worse retaliation was threatened in the event Syria should go. Look now and see how Russia is dredging a deep-water port in Syria, has provided it with missiles, WMD, and armor – I don’t have the links on me but you can find them. Look how unhelpful in Iran. Look at the brazen denial of Manas airbase in Kyrgystan. Look at how menacing North Korea, the return of Russian bombers to Cuba, the obnoxious friendship between Putin and Chavez, who just abolished term limits and provides a naval base and a proxy army against Colombia and the whole South American north.

Look at these things. Look at how obviously co-opted the IAEA is – its utterances are *absurd.* The Syria gambit is of a piece with the Islamist proxy armies it hosts. A North Korean WMD site – especially a nuclear – in SYRIA!? Gee, that’s an awfully long way away, I wonder how that train route looks? Please. The one thing I liked most about John McCain is that he publicly stated “the only thing I see when I look into Putin’s eyes is a K a G and a B.” THAT is reality, without there is no reasonable explanation. But the immediate problem remains Pakistan. Russia cannot expose itself everywhere, but without Pakistan the present overt strategy cannot be used as a reasonable cover for the covert, and our forward bases could very soon and very suddenly start to look like forward hostages.