Russians Undermine US General

I must say the Russians do not miss a trick to divide US policy makers over the most trivial of issues.  This time we have the Russians claiming that comments made by General Joseph Votel, heading up the U.S. Central Command, contradict those of his President.  The issue is Syria, where they say “With his statements, Gen. Votel not only discredited the official position of his supreme commander-in-chief, but also exacerbated the illegality under international law and U.S. law of the military presence of American servicemen in Syria,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement published on social media."  

Syria is part of Central Command's responsibility, so commenting on anything in that area is well within the General's prerogative.  He did say that working with the Russians there "gave him pause" which it would if you were concerned that many of these Russian forces don't wear uniforms and don't look like soldiers.  That would give anyone pause.  There are many paramilitary groups fighting in Syria, some from Iran who fought side-by-side with the Russians.  We should have pause for that too.  Syria's leadership is not exactly the kind of leaders found in other countries.  They bomb their own people, hospitals, and aide groups, so they should give us some pause there.  Of course, the Russians did most of that bombing themselves, another reason to think about it more.  

We should remember that comments made by the Russian Defense Minister when he is so concerned about our military commander in that region should give us pause too.  He is much like the Wizard of Oz, amplifying his voice and blustering over things he cannot do much about.  Don't look behind the curtain General Votel.  Our military is smarter than that.  Let's hope our press is too.