Saturday, October 22, 2016

History's greatest statistical graphic shows fate of Hillary Clinton's no-fly zone in Syria

    Some years ago I read that Frenchman Charles Minard's graphic of Napolean's march to and retreat from Moscow was the greatest statistical graphic of all time. Seeking to impress others with my high-browness, I purchased a copy, framed it, and hung it on my den wall; an English version is provided above.
    The graphic is impressive and I actually look at it quite frequently; what impresses me the most is the way it illustrates the magnitude of Napolean's failure. I consider myself more knowledgeable than most when it comes to history and knew of Napolean's ill-fated Russian campaign, but to see the disaster in graphic form is pretty amazing to me. You can click on the graphic above to enlarge it.
    Napoleon's problem was that he had no supply line; the Russians simply retreated and scorched the earth along the way. The French, amazed that the Russians would destroy their own country, starved and froze on the way in, and then starved and froze on the way out, with the Russians chasing at their heels the whole way. The graphic above shows that Napoleon began his campaign just east of Poland, with 422,000 men and returned with 10,000, one of the greatest military fiascos of all time (some put the death toll higher, but 422,000 is the number on Minard's graphic).
    The reason I bring this up is because Hillary Clinton has made it clear that she wants to start a war with Russia by declaring a no-fly zone over parts of Syria. For reasons that are a mystery to me the Obama administration has supported Al Qaeda and other terrorists seeking to overthrow the elected, secular government of Syria, which happens to be an ally of Russia.  In fact, the United States and Saudi Arabia ginned up this civil war; the Saudis wanted to install a Sunni Wahhabi state while the U.S. wanted to rid itself of an uncooperative leader. The problem with all of this is that Russia supports its ally, as well it should, and is willing to fight on Syria's behalf.
    The result is that we have a bunch of whining and complaining about terrorists who die in Aleppo with their families, who they have chosen to use as human shields. The global-elitist warmongers demand that we go to war. Of course, I can't help but note that if these terrorists would simply lay down their weapons and be good citizens the war in Syria would end. Nobody is forcing them to be Islamic terrorists; they can be good people any time they choose.
    Should we decide to get involved in any type of conflict with Russia in the Middle East, I would proffer another map. This map shows Russia and Syria in red. Iran, which has become an ally of Syria to counter Sunni militancy, is colored in green. I've also colored Iraq in green, because Iraq supports Syria; after all, how do you think all of Iran's support has been getting there? And I've also colored Azerbaijan green since it tends to support Syria.
Click to enlarge
    In the event of an actual proxy or real war with Russia that the United States decides to wage in Syria, I'm not going to worry about how Russia supplies equipment and troops; there are several routes available. What's important to note is that the distance from Russia to Damascus is roughly the same as the distance from Miami to Raleigh, N.C. or Columbus, Ohio to Boston. In terms of geography and supply lines, in any conflict with the United States Syria might as well be a part of Russia. Any attempt to enforce a no-fly zone in Syria is almost like an invasion of Russia, and thus doomed to failure.
Click to Enlarge
    There is a final exhibit I'd like to share, and it's only an Internet "meme." It's the photo of the Russian minister of defense alongside four European ministers of defense. I think most of us understand that the Russians have a better understanding of the necessity of ruthlessness in war; it enabled them to defeat Napoleon by destroying their own cities and it will enable them to defeat the west in any defensive war. These people are not to be trifled with.
    If the United States decides to impose a "no-fly" zone in Syria -- which by its nature entails the shooting down of Russian planes -- Russia will justifiably respond by destroying any U.S. ship or plane involved in this act of aggression. Russia cannot help but win in this conflict. The only option left to the United States at that point will be retreat or the threat of nuclear war and Mutual Assured Destruction, with its appropriate acronym of MAD.
    Do we really want to start a nuclear war in order to help Islamic terrorists in Syria? Wouldn't it be easier and better if Obama and our out-of-control State Department simply stopped supporting terrorists and started supporting responsible, secular leaders like Bashar al-Assad?
    I refer you once again, dear reader, to the graph at the top of this blog post. Study it well and don't allow history to repeat itself with Hillary Clinton being allowed to play the role of Napoleon.

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