“In a country of the blind, the one-eyed jack is king” Not Nietzsche

“Many of these Russian fighters and their Syrian comrades are (theoretically) under the command of a single man: Bandar bin Sultan. For one thing, the top Saudi security man is their main financier, arms source, and their virtual political spokesperson, whether directly or through his deputy, the head of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba……….. His most recent experience of a military nature took place in Lebanon, after 2006, when Bandar convinced the Saudi king to bankroll a militia for Saad Hariri. Some observers familiar with that experience say that Bandar spent more than $200 million to build this paramilitary force, only for the whole plan to meet a catastrophic defeat in less than 20 hours of fighting, in May 2008. In Syria, Bandar bin Sultan did not deviate from his usual approach. He has set very high expectations, and today, according to some who met him over the past few weeks, he sees no issue more important than Syria. For instance, Bandar rarely mentions Yemen, Iraq, or Lebanon, except from the standpoint of defeating Iran and Hezbollah in the Levant……… Nevertheless, these concerns did not prevent Bandar from wagering on his fighters’ achievements over the next few months. For instance, the Saudi prince wants to see breakthroughs by the rebels in northern Syria, starting in Aleppo, and in the south, where he will try to convince the Jordanian regime to allow fighters and weapons to flow into Daraa and the Golan….……”

No doubt Prince Bandar fancies himself some kind of strategist. He wants to be known as such rather than just another corrupt prince (you know: BAE Systems, Al-Yamama, SFO, Tony Blair, etc). And he is a strategist by Al Saud standards: the one-eyed jack is king in a country of the blind. He can plan and strategize (do strategery, as he learned serving in the Bush White House). On more than one front. He can liberate Syria and Lebanon (maybe the two are related) while keeping Iraq highly unstable and Bahrain under control and the Al-Thani of Qatar in their rightful place playing second or third fiddle. Putting Iran on the defensive until the USA or Israel come to their senses and start a new war in the Middle East. In the meantime keeping the captive peoples of the Arabian Peninsula (aka the Saudi people) under tight control.
 
It should be easy: Hitler did it by declaring war on Russia and America in the same year and making it stick for more than one whole year. Until his natural stupidity caught up with the fake aura of invincibility. But Hitler was never before defeated by the ragtag barely-armed Houthi tribal clan of Yemen, his Stalingrad was further north than Yemen or Syria or Lebanon.
Cheers
mhg