Art

Sometimes I have nothing to do, so I start doodling on my tablet. At least, I did today. But I'm afraid the results may have been less than satisfactory.

Well, maybe it isn't so bad.
The fire department did save that cat, by the way.
There are reports today that the Islamic State managed to infiltrate Tel Abyad and "capture a district." They did infiltrate Tel Abyad, but contrary to most reports it seems that after a heavy gunbattle they were surrounded by the YPG in an abandoned school and several houses. They did not actually capture any areas. In any case, as far as I can tell the attack is merely a raid and not a serious attempt to regain lost territory.

Laudato Si

One of my favorite passages in Laudato Si is section 124.

124. Any approach to an integral ecology, which by definition does not exclude human beings, needs to take account of the value of labour, as Saint John Paul II wisely noted in his Encyclical Laborem Exercens. According to the biblical account of creation, God placed man and woman in the garden he had created (cf. Gen 2:15) not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”). Labourers and craftsmen thus “maintain the fabric of the world” (Sir 38:34). Developing the created world in a prudent way is the best way of caring for it, as this means that we ourselves become the instrument used by God to bring out the potential which he himself inscribed in things: “The Lord created medicines out of the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them” (Sir 38:4).

The Pope is not a radical environmentalist who thinks that humans are a sort of "earth-blight." He expresses in this passage how we are called to develop the earth, and yet to do so with care, "in a prudent way." One of the aspects of his "integral ecology," I believe, is the idea that as we are part of creation, we are called to work with it; not against it, yet not without it either. When we labor in such a way that we are "tilling the garden" of this world, we are truly in keeping with our calling both to guard the world and to be "fruitful and multiply."

Cats

This afternoon we began hearing an odd "mewing" sound outside. We thought it might be our cat; in any case, we paid little attention at first. But we were still hearing it four or five hours later, so we went outside to have a look. We discovered a cat (not ours!) stuck in a tree. One of our neighbors recognized it; he said it was a feral cat that had previously spent two days stuck in a neighbor's car. (Two thoughts come to mind: a), this must be an extremely stupid cat; b), how does a cat get stuck in a  car for two days?) As of now the fire department is attempting to rescue it.
      I also read that the Turkish army is forming up west of Jarabulus. It will be interesting to  see if Turkey plans to send troops into Turkey.

YPG Takes Tel Abyad

       If you follow the Syrian Civil War, you probably already know that the YPG took Tel Abyad, a strategic town on the Syrian—Turkish border. But I do have a few thoughts on the matter that I'd like to post
      Some random points: firstly, it is odd that the Islamic State gave up so quickly. I don't think they could have held out in any case in the face of US airstrikes (remember Kobane), but Tel Abyad has major strategic importance. I would certainly have expected them to hold on as long as they possibly could.
      I don't know for certain why ISIS retreated. But here's my personal theory: the Islamic State is weaker than we think. After their victory in Ramadi, everyone was shocked: "ISIS is coming back! We haven't degraded them!" However, the shocking thing is that they were at a ten-to-one disadvantage. If ISIS is really so powerful, one would expect them to attack with more men. They won because of good tactics, prior reputation and luck, not because of manpower or equipment. They attacked in a sandstorm and scared the Iraqi Army with a barrage of suicide bombs. They didn't launch a major campaign or mobilize large numbers of troops.  The conquest of Palmyra was more impressive. But remember that Assad had nothing to lose by allowing ISIS to capture the city: having terrorists in control of important archaelogical sites helps him build his narrative that he is the only viable option for the West in Syria. Remember, too, that the US did not provide airstrikes during the battle.
      In any case, the last time that IS launched a major attack on an area defended by US airpower was the assault on Kobane. They have not done anything of the kind since then, and in particular they have never really stood up to a mjor assault, either. In Tikrit they only had a few hundred men. Their present tactic seems to be to execute lightning raids against already-terrified enemies. But they don't seem to have the manpower to carry out or defend against a major attack.
      Of course, it's possible that this phenomenon is due entirely to the airstrikes. All the same, I think it's unlikely. I don't believe that IS is as strong as we think.
      I wonder also whether the YPG will attack Raqqa. They have provided conflicting statements on the matter, but I'm inclined to think they will do so at some point. Yet if they do, they will be attacking a majority Arab area. It's not clear how well they are getting on with Arabs in their territory so far, and in any case Raqqqa is well outside the boundaries of any future independent state they could realistically hope to set up.
      On an entirely unrelated matter, I have been reading Laudato Si (Pope Francis's new encyclical) over the last two days. I'm about half done now, and finding it interesting and powerful. I'll post something when I'm finished.

New ISW Report on Syrian Civil War

The Institute for the Study of War has a new document on likely courses of action for the major players in the Syrian Civil War over the next several months. It's available here. The report and prognostications are interesting, but I disagree with the conclusions as regards ISW's suggestions for American policy. They say that we need "a higher level of aggressive and sustained US leadership," but also that we should "reconsider" our "current threshold for dealing only with 'moderate' rebel allies." I agree with the former, but not the latter.
     It seems the Institute is suggesting that we form a coalition of moderate groups and "powerful Islamist brigades" (excluding ISIS and Nusra, of course) and use that to end the war. To begin with, I don't like the idea of a coalition here. I think it will lead to dangerous divisions, especially if Assad does fall. Furthermore, if Islamists play a prominent role in defeating him, they will certainly demand a prominent role in forming a new government. We will then be left with the choice of giving them what they want or allowing them to grow discontented and form the next Islamic State. It seems to me that we need to be very careful that any new government is not worse than Assad's, and this plan will likely make it worse. If we train and arm the Syrian opposition, we should ensure that it is as unified and moderate as possible.
     They also note that the Kurds are "unable and likely unwilling to project power deeper into the Syrian interior." I don't believe that's correct. As far as I know, the YPG plans to move south toward Raqqa if they are succesful in taking Tel Abyad. And their campaign to unite Jazira and Kobane cantons has been very rapid and efficient so far.

The Pope, Putin, and Necessary Formalities

    First, the necessary formalities. Welcome to the blog. I hope you enjoy reading it. Etc. (What can I do? It's the first post. I have to say something.)

     Apparently, Vladimir Putin kept Pope Francis waiting for an hour and twenty minutes at their recent meeting. However, the actual substance of their talk is more interesting.  It seems that His Holiness did not issue a strong condemnation of Russia's activities in Ukraine. I did not expect him to, though. By putting himself in the position of being the only western leader willing to speak to the Russian president, Pope Francis will obtain a better standpoint to assist in future negotiations regarding Ukraine. I suspect that he hopes to be able to act as a sort of middleman, much as he did in the US negotiations with Cuba. But there is a risk that President Putin could attempt to use him as a tool to court Uktraine's Catholics. (I understand Ukraine has a significant Catholic--Orthodox divide.) Here's a link to Vatican Radio's story on their meeting.
      I didn't see many birds today--except for a Blue Jay that attempted to, um, vandalize our resident House Wrens' nest. He had his head inside before we sent him packing.
     By the way, to show solidarity with my family, I should post a link to my mother's blog, www.untroddenpaths.blogspot.com. I, personally, prefer my own, but that's a matter of taste. Und ja, wie meine Mutter spreche ich auch Deutsch, nur schreibe ich ein bisschen besser Englisch. Aber Kommentare auf Deutsch heisse ich genauso wie die englischen willkommen.