Post by Selena on Oct 17, 2016 4:55:31 GMT
So the election shenanigans have been overshadowing everything else in the news -- including the growing tension between the United States and Russia.
The biggest point of contention is Syria.
Russia claims that the United States has inadvertently (or even deliberately) supplying ISIS with weapons and resources. The Islamic State has been taking advantage of the war zone in Syria ever since the civil war began. While the rebels and government focus their attention on ripping each other apart, ISIS has free reign to land-grab out in the borderlands. American firearms and military equipment are apparently being traded all over the place in Syria, which just gives both civil war factions more firepower. Some of this is no doubt from Iraq. The Iraqi army abandoned a ton of military equipment when ISIS first started seizing territory. But Russia also claims that some of it is also being smuggled out of Turkey, which we also supply with equipment.
Russia, of course, has its own interests in Syria -- namely to protect some nearby military investments. I'm fairly certain that the Syrian civil war would have ended a long time ago if the factions hadn't been given so much support from the US and Russia. It's a classic proxy conflict straight out of the Cold War era. It's all about "influence" and "maintaining interests."
There had also been a diplomatic plan in place with Russia, which was supposedly scrapped by forces in Washington DC. The Democrat's new strategy is also to blame Russia for all the recent hacks. Even though it's technically the DNC's fault that anyone -- regardless of origin -- managed to get access to their servers in the first place. Nobody up there seems to take digital security seriously. But by making Russia their "outside enemy," it's only increasing the tension between both countries.
Russia has supposedly been positioning itself in a more defensive position. Nukes were put back in range of western Europe and I saw something circulating a little while ago that Putin is telling all Russians abroad to come back home. I don't know if there's any substance to them drilling for nuclear war.
Russia seems pretty opposed to a Clinton administration and tensions continue to rise after Ukraine/Crimea/Syria. They don't seem bothered by Trump as much, but that might also be because Putin is smart enough to realize what a buffoon he is -- and that his more isolationist policies won't interfere as much with existing Russian plans.
Regardless, the whole situation is a little concerning. Though more in a "I have raised one eyebrow in mild concern" way than a "we should get a bomb shelter" way.
I doubt Russia's stupid enough to actually start a proper war, though another Cold War isn't out of the question. Bright side: Hey, look what happened to NASA during the last Cold War. Cold War 2: The Race to Mars.
The biggest point of contention is Syria.
Russia claims that the United States has inadvertently (or even deliberately) supplying ISIS with weapons and resources. The Islamic State has been taking advantage of the war zone in Syria ever since the civil war began. While the rebels and government focus their attention on ripping each other apart, ISIS has free reign to land-grab out in the borderlands. American firearms and military equipment are apparently being traded all over the place in Syria, which just gives both civil war factions more firepower. Some of this is no doubt from Iraq. The Iraqi army abandoned a ton of military equipment when ISIS first started seizing territory. But Russia also claims that some of it is also being smuggled out of Turkey, which we also supply with equipment.
Russia, of course, has its own interests in Syria -- namely to protect some nearby military investments. I'm fairly certain that the Syrian civil war would have ended a long time ago if the factions hadn't been given so much support from the US and Russia. It's a classic proxy conflict straight out of the Cold War era. It's all about "influence" and "maintaining interests."
There had also been a diplomatic plan in place with Russia, which was supposedly scrapped by forces in Washington DC. The Democrat's new strategy is also to blame Russia for all the recent hacks. Even though it's technically the DNC's fault that anyone -- regardless of origin -- managed to get access to their servers in the first place. Nobody up there seems to take digital security seriously. But by making Russia their "outside enemy," it's only increasing the tension between both countries.
Russia has supposedly been positioning itself in a more defensive position. Nukes were put back in range of western Europe and I saw something circulating a little while ago that Putin is telling all Russians abroad to come back home. I don't know if there's any substance to them drilling for nuclear war.
Russia seems pretty opposed to a Clinton administration and tensions continue to rise after Ukraine/Crimea/Syria. They don't seem bothered by Trump as much, but that might also be because Putin is smart enough to realize what a buffoon he is -- and that his more isolationist policies won't interfere as much with existing Russian plans.
Regardless, the whole situation is a little concerning. Though more in a "I have raised one eyebrow in mild concern" way than a "we should get a bomb shelter" way.
I doubt Russia's stupid enough to actually start a proper war, though another Cold War isn't out of the question. Bright side: Hey, look what happened to NASA during the last Cold War. Cold War 2: The Race to Mars.