People don't seem to realise, dictators like Assad and Gadafi are relatively "secular" leaders in the respect that they keep religion (and the religious radicals) under control in their respective countries, in what is a vast sea of nutballs.
But just assassinate Assad and let an Al Queda-led Government take its place... Al Queda with a nice pipeline to brand new Russian military tech.
Thats in Americas best interests according to mussleman Obama...
Part of war is pretend. OK, wrong. All of war is based in deception. All acts of war are designed to deceive the other war planners.
Who are we? Not war planners.
And remember our Clausewitz. "War is the continuation of the Politic, by other means."
He means the Profession of Diplomacy, referred to as the Politic in his days.
So, Diplomacy is the most devious. When you continue that by War, the plans are shredded by the enemy. Secrecy is the first to go.
The balloon goes up. (observation balloons on both sides would loft over the trenches in WW1, before the fan was turned on and the shit tossed in)
Oh shit, the balloons go up, arty is right behind. No place to hide. Secrecy is in Diplomacy. The art of war these days it to shoot the balloons. Same as it every was. Blind the radars, kill the AWACs, etc.
So, we don't have friends as a nation. That is Press. We have interests. And if our interest is to oppose and help Russia and Iran at the same time, that is the Politic. It is not to be known.
Think about it, according to the Press, Iran has given us every reason to kick there Persian asses, but we don't. Is that not weird?
OTH, we will kiss the ass of the Saudi although they fly planes into our buildings. It is a Shell Oil devil deal with the House of Saud, over the oil against the Wahabist insane-o.
They were not allowed to control the oil, thanks to us. But, Iran would have preferred a more direct approach. I get it.