The Seine Net

Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here everyday
Ya learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play
--Welcome to the Jungle, Guns 'N Roses

[This raid was] "cowboy politics."
--Walid al-Moallem, Syria's Foreign Minister
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So the Good Guys killed a cell leader linked to al-Qaeda in Syria this week (Raid on Syria Killed Cell Leader.) Problem is, this Special Forces not-so-surgical strike also killed eight other people, including four children.

"Sunday's operation in Sukkariyeh, about five miles from the Iraqi border, came just days after the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq called the Syrian border an 'uncontrolled' gateway for fighters into Iraq and said efforts were being stepped up to secure it."

If the borders are unsecured, then the country we fictitiously call Iraq is unsecured. If it IS a nation, then let it control its friendly side of the border. Even if this means legitimately killing every person illegally crossing into their territory.

In the wake of Syrian protests, the AP reports U.S. officials are now calling the target of the raid "a top al-Qaeda figure," in contrast to earlier official statements calling al-Mazidah a "cell leader" who was"linked" to al-Qaeda. His status morphs as the U.S. seeks to legitimize its actions. Syria contends the raid killed only eight civilians, and challenged Washington to prove otherwise (Syrians Hold Massive Protest Against U.S.)

Here's a keen Counterintelligence operations insight: Control the population and borders of the host nation and forget about militarizing and attacking contiguous nations. Consolidate. The problem of suspected or actual insurgents or terrorists in Syria is a political rather than a military concern.

What a fine mess. Aggressively launching cross-border operations (in violation of international law) and expanding wars that are totally out of manageable control. The motto seems to be: We can't win in Afghanistan and Iraq, so let us widen the theatre of operations. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut, now and again.

It looks like the monkeys are minding the zoo.