View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Thursday 4 February 2016

More Syria

One of the reasons I got so thoroughly fed up with the news tonight was that image of self-congratulatory politicians, only capable of working their tongues, uttering meaningless words on a catastrophic situation that is Syria. 

Russia's president Putin accuses the Turks of preparing for a ground invasion - read, he wants a bust-up with the Turks; Putin can safely be accused of exacerbating that situation by propping up a vile regime, which has sent its entire populace to flight. Why? 'Coz Mr Assad is best described using an expletive, and Mr Putin finds that Mr Assad is his sole remaining ally in the Middle East. By continuing the civil war, more people will flock into Turkey, i.e. Europe, and the EU stands in grave danger of political paralysis and collapse. And that's what Mr Putin would REALLY like. But the Turks have their nefarious part to play as well, facilitating the transit of those hapless refugees to Greece, a country they historically dislike. Cameron, Tusk, Juncker - shut your faces and stop treating the symptoms. Address the root cause.