The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc)

Sid · Post by **Sid** » 19 Nov 2015 18:41

^^

That may be, but whats the destination? That will be the chocking point. Hit them there.

There is always some chocking point, so many trucks require logistics to keep them running. Drivers to keep them driven. Buyers to keep them rolling. Hit their truck maintenance shops. Hit their buyers. Demoralize their drivers.

Hitting thousands of fuel trucks one by one with PGMs is a waste of time and money.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 19 Nov 2015 18:54

New Video from MOD

Loading and Firing KH-101 on Tu-160 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joV8Sw08zMM
Loading and Firing Kh-555 on Tu-95 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOaZijPvSl0
Loading FB-250-270 on Tu-22M3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUgNLpjR-ME

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 19:04

^^^ The destination is Turkey. Middlemen buy the oil in Turkey and sell it off to buyers. Assad's regime buys oil directly from ISIS as they have no other source because of US sanctions and they do not get the easy rates. ISIS also drills and refines oil in cottage industry fashion so destroying the refineries and existing wells may only reduce the volume of oil sold.

With Mosul cut off and if the Dier -Ez- Zorr axis is cut off, there is hardly any oil for ISIS to sell anywhere.

http://fortune.com/2015/11/17/isis-paris-oil/

...While this was a good first step, it didn’t fully cut off the flow of money to ISIS, as the group was still able to sell crude oil, with the proceeds going straight to its war fund. The biggest conduit of ISIS crude are independent truckers, who either sell the crude off to other middle men or refine the oil themselves in a makeshift “mobile” refinery. Not exactly the most efficient or the safest way to refine oil, but it works, albeit on a small scale. Coalition forces say they are targeting the makeshift refineries but, given their small size, it is unlikely that they can destroy them all.

The crudely refined gasoline is later sold to independent gas stations across the caliphate, from which ISIS collects a tax. The rest is either smuggled across the Turkish border, where it is sold at local markets, or into the parts of Syria and Iraq that ISIS doesn’t control. So, yes, ISIS gasoline is probably flowing through the engines of its enemies, of which it has many.

Targeting the refining part of the oil value chain made sense, but it wasn’t enough to halt the flow of oil and refined products from eastern Syria. The coalition wanted to avoid totally destroying the infrastructure around the oil fields to minimize the amount of reconstruction that would need to be carried out after ISIS was taken out of the picture. This has worked in Iraq, as coalition forces have successfully liberated oil fields from ISIS virtually intact.

But the strategy hasn’t played out as successfully in Syria. Last month, the coalition changed tactics, launching Operation Tidal Wave II, which aims to cripple the ISIS oil industry. The goal is to bomb the Syrian oil fields hard enough that they can no longer be used by ISIS, but also soft enough that whatever damage is inflicted can later be easily repaired by professional oil companies. Sounds reasonable, but it may not be totally successful. While many of Syria’s oil professionals and engineers have fled the country, ISIS has somehow managed to keep the oil flowing. They have likely acquired the experts they need. With the right parts smuggled in, those experts could easily repair or contain the damage and have the field up in running in a matter of a few days.

The only way to wipe out the ISIS oil trade would be to take away all of its customers. This requires force and a lot of cooperation between the several factions combatting ISIS. Attaining this level of coordination will be the hardest part of the operation, but it’s possible, if the U.S. leads the way.

The coalition must first destroy Syria’s oil transportation network. If ISIS can’t get oil to its customers, then the crude might as well stay in the ground. Pipelines are the most obvious targets here, but chances are that most, if not all, of Syria’s pipelines are out of order. With a limited rail network to move crude, that leaves just one major target: tanker trucks.

ISIS has commandeered a number of tankers over the last year, which it uses to move its oil in and around its territory. Destroy the trucks, and you cripple ISIS’ oil business. On Monday, the U.S.-led coalition attacked a convoy of some 100 tanker trucks across Syria.

There’s a catch, though. The bulk of the oil being moved in and out of ISIS-occupied territory is by private truckers, most of whom have no affiliation with ISIS and are one-man shops. These truckers normally pay cash at the wellhead for the oil, so ISIS is usually the first paid in the oil value chain.

Attacking a few trucks as soon as they drive away from an oilfield would send a clear message to the truckers that it is no longer safe to fill up with ISIS. But killing civilians is never a good thing and runs counter to the U.S. military’s Rules of Engagement.

A viable alternative might be to invite the truckers to purchase oil, gasoline, and diesel at discounted prices from coalition-controlled oilfields and refineries in Iraq. They would then be encouraged to reenter (with air escorts) ISIS territory, putting them in direct competition with the group. All this cheap oil and gasoline would cause energy prices to fall rapidly across the caliphate, effectively destroying the local market for ISIS crude.

For this plan to be successful, Turkey needs to agree to seal its borders with Syria and Iraq and allow fellow NATO troops to be deployed to prevent smuggling. This would not only deliver a significant blow to the illicit oil trade but it would also serve as a way to limit the flow of migrants into Europe. The NATO presence would also create a temporary buffer between the Turkish military and Iraqi Kurds. This would help diffuse tensions between the two sides so that they can each focus their attacks on ISIS and not each other.

But this effort will fail in the absence of agreement from the foreign forces fighting in Syria that are not part of the U.S.-led coalition, particularly those of Russia and Iran. The political outcome of the Syrian revolution needs to take a backseat so long as ISIS remains a threat.

Coordinated action will hasten the fall of ISIS and its proxies in the region. While ISIS isn’t receiving market prices for its oil at the moment, it is still collecting enough money to fuel its violent efforts in Syria, Iraq, and the West, while engaging in terrorist attacks such as those seen in Paris last week. The oil trade in Syria needs to be shut down completely. The less money ISIS has in the bank, the less damage it can do.

Also check:
https://www.quora.com/Who-is-ISIS-selling-oil-to

The target of that raid, the first of its kind since US jets returned to the skies over Iraq last August, was an Isis official responsible for oil smuggling, named Abu Sayyaf. He was almost unheard of outside the upper echelons of the terror group, but he was well known to Turkey. From mid-2013, the Tunisian fighter had been responsible for smuggling oil from Syria’s eastern fields, which the group had by then commandeered. Black market oil quickly became the main driver of Isis revenues – and Turkish buyers were its main clients.

As a result, the oil trade between the jihadis and the Turks was held up as evidence of an alliance between the two. It led to protests from Washington and Europe – both already wary of Turkey’s 900-mile border with Syria being used as a gateway by would-be jihadis from around the world.

http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-sel ... 15-11?IR=T
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/n ... -iraq-isis

member_29247 · Post by **member_29247** » 19 Nov 2015 19:09

guru Singhaji

Let's keep it simple how about Coke/Pepsi vending machine like technique to deliver the dumb bomb

Just have a cork screw mechanism. at the push of a button a motor rotates the screw and the bomb moves forward, drops out like Coke can. To make it TAFTA put a shaft encoder on the other side of the motor rotor to control the pitch of the bomb that is the distance between each she'll landing on the ground taking into the speed of the IL28

Might be a little Groovy Baby. As per Austin Powers

Sid · Post by **Sid** » 19 Nov 2015 19:33

deejay wrote:^^^ The destination is Turkey. Middlemen buy the oil in Turkey and sell it off to buyers. Assad's regime buys oil directly from ISIS as they have no other source because of US sanctions and they do not get the easy rates. ISIS also drills and refines oil in cottage industry fashion so destroying the refineries and existing wells may only reduce the volume of oil sold.

With Mosul cut off and if the Dier -Ez- Zorr axis is cut off, there is hardly any oil for ISIS to sell anywhere.
...................................

But there must be checkpoints, someplace where they cross the border. Its not LOC I guess. So many trucks cannot go unnoticed.

Turkish borders must be a no go for such air raids.

[Pardon my ignorance, I am posting all this without basic research from my end on fuel truck supplies. Its risky to search 'ISIS' from office network

]

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 19:48

^^^ The ISIS controlled territory bordering Turkey is a no go for the Kurds fighting them through a Turkish fiat. Turks were very clear that if the Kurds cross west of Euphrates and attack ISIS, Turkey would strike at Kurdish fighters.

Turkey is also highly sympathetic to the ISIS cause and till the suicide attacks in Ankara around fortnight ago, they were actually helping the ISIS jihadis in plain sight. There are videos of ISIS rats in friendly conversation with Turkish border guards.

No one apart from Kurds was even thinking of attacking ISIS there.

Things have heated up post Russian arrival, though the Russians are avoiding very close approaches to the Turkish borders. There already has been some incidents between Turkish and Russian fighters.

The US, which has a sizeable AF with a base at Incirlik , Turkey, is ideally positioned to bomb this area but the US has not done that. Though there is recent news that the US is interested in closing some 98 kms of Turkish border with Syria which is only part not closed till now.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 20:11

I hope I am not reposting. Russians lighting some trucks shipping ISIS oil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgYbiCGYy2c

Sid · Post by **Sid** » 19 Nov 2015 20:24

^^^
Given all these facts how come Fuhrer Markel is so willing to hand over EU status to Turks, plus lenient Visa regime. Something is really rotten and its one bad decision after another.

All these attacks on convoys is putting lipstick on a pig.

One more attack on any EU or Alliance country will see things spiral out of control. What a mess.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 19 Nov 2015 20:46

People who alleged that previous attack was done by Assad are now saying ISIS is about to do next. Does this not open the possibility that ISIS itself may have done the previous attacks too ( drilling huge hole in their previous allegation repeated ad nauseam ?)

This is simply to halt rapid progress being done by SAA/Iran/Hezbolla ground ops.

‘ISIS branch’ seeking to produce chemical weapons - Iraq and US intel - Nov 19, 2015

"They [Islamic State] now have complete freedom to select locations for their labs and production sites and have a wide range of experts, both civilians and military, to aid them," a senior Iraqi intelligence official told AP.

{ they did not have that before? }

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:24

Rus slyly spreading some FUD about disobedience in the ranks of the faithful

https://www.rt.com/news/322728-aleppo-c ... irstrikes/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:26

http://sputniknews.com/science/20151119 ... ganda.html

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 21:31

Singha wrote:Rus slyly spreading some FUD about disobedience in the ranks of the faithful

https://www.rt.com/news/322728-aleppo-c ... irstrikes/

Yes saw this on twitter:

Минобороны РоссииVerified account
‏@mod_russia
Terrorists acknowledged that field commanders "Abu Nurlbagasi", "Muhammad ibn Hayrat" and "Al-Okaba" had been killed by airstrikes

And an interesting photo:

Stork
‏@NorthernStork
#Assad army attack al-Harra village northern #Daraa with Egyptian made BM-21 Grad rockets.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=33.05 ... 5&z=14&m=b …

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 21:33

Clinton wants no fly zone without Russians helping US to enforce it?

Phil EwingVerified account
‏@philewing
Clinton, at Council of Foreign Relations this a.m., endorses both a no-fly zone to ground Assad AF and prioritizing campaign against ISIS

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 19 Nov 2015 21:35

Russia says that militants are burrying their dead a night to hide losses

Defense: in Syria, militants #ISIS buried those killed at night to hide losses http://lifenews.ru/news/170703

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:40

if the syrians have indeed taken control of the northern rim of Jabboul lake from kuweires and advancing on Deir hafar, they are a bare 20 km away from the euphrates and cutting off the western highway to turkey.

the eastern highway to turkey from raqqa is still there in ISIS heartland but it crosses the euphrates before going to turkey, and if that bridge is dropped , it will be difficult to move such large trucks through smaller roads.

its do or die time for ISIS, if they lose Dier hafar seems like no strongpoints to prevent the syrians reaching the Euphrates and sitting on the highway. they can then surround Al bab and northern suburbs of aleppo city using a creeping right pincer and make life very difficult for the rebels holed up there.

perhaps turkey under US pressure will now be forced to allow the YPG to cross the euphrates and grab as much land as they can

better YPG than hezbollah

I figure all ISIS leaders are by now safely in iraqi cities not in syria.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:47

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:53

components of the US backed SDF - "brigade" is more like a batallion or a company here.

Agathocle deSyracuse ‏@deSyracuse Nov 17
#SDF / new 15 factions include (3) : Regiment 102, Harar al-Shamali, Aleppo tribal forces, Jabhat al-Akrad (Kurdish), YPG/YPJ (Kurdish)
#SDF / new 15 factions include (2) : Brigade al-Hamza, Brigade al-Qaeqae, Brigade al-Maham al-Khassat, Brigade al-Salajiqah (Seldjusks)
#SDF / new 15 factions include (1) : Jaysh al-Thuwar, Quwat al-Furqat 30, Brigade Shuhada Rif Idlib, Brigade Ayan Jalut, Infantry Brigade
7
#Syria #SDF : the 15 brigades from Idlib and Aleppo include Arabian and Kurdish factions
#Syria : 15 rebels brigades from #Aleppo and #Idlib join US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces #SDF

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Nov 2015 21:54

so now its a race between the SDF and SAA who can capture as much territory in north syria before talks start.

turks are going to be begging YPG to cross the euphrates if the SAA makes swift progress.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 19 Nov 2015 22:49

Assad's statement after Paris incident
Syrian president Assad: ISIS was created under U.S. supervision in Iraq with Saudi wahhabi money - uploaded Nov 19, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ84gMpFbYg

habal · Post by **habal** » 19 Nov 2015 22:54

some hearsay from syria:

Austrian negotiations or summit or whatever you’d like to call it. While FM Zarif of Iran and Sec. Kerry where talking in private on the sidelines, Adel Jubair of the demented kingdom of horrors rudely cuts in and tells Kerry that he would like to have him meet with the Turks and Qatar’s reps,

Zarif tells Kerry “you see this is the culture of your allies that want to impose it on the Syrian people that have 1000s of years of diplomacy and culture. Kerry shakes his head and tells Jubair, “I will meet with them in due time”.

During the meeting Jubair the Saudi FM says that "Assad cannot run in any elections in Syria no matter what deal is worked out". In return Zarif tells the meeting, “for a country that has zero understanding of democracy to proclaim terms of elections is ridiculous”.

In another part of the meeting Zarif tells the Turkish rep. “you have pretty good intel. about Syria and you know that President Assad would win any elections that’s why you insist to sideline him, the choice belongs to the Syrian people and no one else”.

The Russian rep. tells the meeting “the compromise from the Syrian government is that we may be able to convince them to have another Presidential election even though Pres. Assad is already the legitimate elected president of Syria”.

On the war front, the assessment of the Syrian army is that the rank and file of the soldiers and grunts and conscripts are extremely exhausted and need rest to recuperate and catch their second breath and boost their moral. The conscript forces are losing hundreds of soldiers to desertion not to the enemy but soldiers are leaving to their villages or just leaving to Europe.

However the professional soldiers such as the guards and special forces including the Nimr forces(spelling or meaning) are still fighting as hard as anybody, with the new hardware and equipment coming in from Russia and Iran the SFs are highly motivated,

but because the Russians are afraid that the Syrian forces might want to take revenge on the enemy forces support base, they don’t allow the Syrian forces to call for Air support, only Hezbollah and IRGC are given the codes to coordinate Air Strikes. This is creating a bit of friction among the allied forces against the terrorists. But nothing extra ordinary.

The strategy to pin down and cutoff the enemy from the Turkish/Jordanian and Iraqi borders and deny them freedom of movement are going faster than expected, and everyone is very happy with the results. The enemy has lost cohesion and command and control on many fronts, the Turks are sending in their special forces to coordinate and organize the Wahhabi head choppers to slow down their total collapse, to give the enemy some bargaining power in the negotiating room.

And finally the Iraqi front is being slowed down as well to give the government troops an opportunity to make a final push to claim success in Anbar province. So more Iraqi forces, being trained and armed by IRGC will be deployed to Syria

and the big next battle is capturing Deir al zor and cutting the supply lines from Iraq to ISIS in Raqa and Aleppo.

The great news is that everyone involved in the war against Syria has come to realize they cannot defeat the Syrian army and friends, so the whole war is about to wind down.

Hopefully the destruction will end, and the proud Syrian people can start rebuilding the most cultured of Muslim nations back to where they belong.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 19 Nov 2015 22:57

US allies aka ISIS doing what they are paid to do in Aleppo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC28m4U35UQ

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 19 Nov 2015 23:00

Russian Defense Command HQ. We(India) should have something similar with fail over redundancy with each having full capability to impose 2nd strike on multiple offenders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pyZbCYxOg

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 20 Nov 2015 00:04

Multiple discussions on this topic in both US senate and US congressional hearings:
Despite having gazillion outlets spreading lies, pure lies, and horrible lies across the world, US continues to whine about losing propaganda war to RT and Sputnik - Nov 18, 2015

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 20 Nov 2015 00:32

deejay wrote:I hope I am not reposting. Russians lighting some trucks shipping ISIS oil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgYbiCGYy2c

Those trucks are unoccupied, and they don't try to scatter as attacks start. Also, rather half-hearted attack. hai? One bum once in a while, not a flight over the line dropping a line of bombs to light up the lot. Wonder what's going on. The craters look nice...

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 20 Nov 2015 00:45

UlanBatori wrote:Those trucks are unoccupied, and they don't try to scatter as attacks start. Also, rather half-hearted attack. hai? One bum once in a while, not a flight over the line dropping a line of bombs to light up the lot. Wonder what's going on. The craters look nice...

Those were strategically placed so it is difficult to attack them all without incurring negative cost/benefit. Bania SDRE way would have been to totally surround with random gunfire, get to surrender all drivers or make all drivers arrange the vehicles closely and then drop a MOAB on it.

Russians don't employ bania ways one would think.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 20 Nov 2015 03:26

No political transition in Syria until terrorists are destroyed – Assad - Nov 19, 2015

“Now, anyone can say 'I’m opposition.' What does it mean, how do you translate it?.. Opposition could be defined not through your own opinion; it could be defined only through the elections, through the ballot box,” he explained.

“Whoever holds a machinegun and terrorizes people and destroys private or public properties or kills innocents and whoever is a terrorist, he’s not opposition,” he said.

When asked about the possibility of holding a presidential vote, Assad replied that “if the Syrians, in their dialogue, they wanted to have presidential elections, there’s nothing called a red line, for example, regarding this. But it’s not my decision. It should be about what the consensus is among the Syrians.”

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 20 Nov 2015 05:18

UlanBatori wrote: Those trucks are unoccupied, and they don't try to scatter as attacks start. Also, rather half-hearted attack. hai? One bum once in a while, not a flight over the line dropping a line of bombs to light up the lot. Wonder what's going on. The craters look nice...

My guess is the drivers jumped out and ran for their lives as soon as they heard aircraft overhead, long before they released the bombs. Apparently, the khans were dropping leaflets telling the drivers to run before they bomb the trucks. I doubt the Russians did that though.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 06:29

the trucks can arranged randomly over square km to make it even more costly for the attacker.

but this will slow their throughput and movements

there seems to be underground tanks and pipelines in the desert where they fill up or offload. perhaps the same truck does not make the whole journey to turkey or western syria customer premises.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 07:15

Dayr Hafr is the aleppo-raqqa highway, look how close the SAA is to that. a bare 25km beyond that with no cities or towns is the euphrates and the N-S highway on the western bank through which part of ISIS truck traffic goes to El-Bab, aleppo north and turkey.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 07:16

they will probably creep around the lake and encircle deir hafr from all sides

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 07:35

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c0_1447906928

truce near damascus, hezbollah soldier walks near the rebel lines and gives a lecture. says israel is drinking whisky watching shias and sunnis fight and earlier they made shia vs shia Amal vs Hez fight in lebanon.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 20 Nov 2015 07:51

Significance of this House vote is that when US isn't letting even ~10,000 syrian migrants , how can european nations are agreeing to (or asked to agree to ) 100s of thousands migrants?

House votes to block Syrian refugees despite White House veto threat - Nov 19, 2015

Tapping into heightened security fears after the Paris terrorist attacks, House Republicans — joined by many Democrats — rebuffed President Obama on Thursday and overwhelmingly approved legislation that would in effect halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the U.S.

The White House, which has proposed admitting at least 10,000 refugees to the U.S. this fiscal year from war-torn Syria, said the House bill creates “unnecessary and impractical requirements,” noting the current screening process is rigorous and takes up to 24 months. Critics say the legislation would essentially shut down the program. Prospects for passing the measure in the Senate remain uncertain.

The House approved the measure 289 to 137, with several dozen Democrats joining Republicans, crossing the threshold needed to overcome a presidential veto. But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) vowed that a veto would be sustained.

habal · Post by **habal** » 20 Nov 2015 08:29

these refugees are not syrian muslims.

this time the refugees are maronites, syrian christians, kurdish christians, yazidis, catholics etc. These are middle-eastern minorities that USA hates with all its heart & mind. These minorities can change narrative of missionary groups in USA because they provide connect and narrative to Jesus heartland. The other group in USA, the jewish lobby hates this group equally because they are believed to be close to palestinian view.

If immigrants were sunni muslim head choppers they would have been accepted in a heart-beat.

johneeG · Post by **johneeG** » 20 Nov 2015 08:35

Habal saar,
how would Syrian christians or Kurdish christians disturb the narrative of missionaries in USA?

habal · Post by **habal** » 20 Nov 2015 09:13

who is going to listen to these quacks when the real deal is still around. The christians from levant are living link to aramaic narrative. Baptist, pentecostal, 7th day adventure etc are US based lobby who want to peddle revisionist, divisve stuff .. who will listen to them when these people are around.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 09:21

all we need to add is copts from egypt (poor and marginalized) and ancient church of ethiopia (they were one of earliest to adopt christianity in 4th century AD).... people with 2000 year history from the earliest century of christianity.
the newbie cash rich startup EJ churches have zero history in comparison. more like commercial projects to meet targets in harvesting souls.

a church hewn out of solid piece of rock in ethiopia.
https://hiddenincatours.com/wp-content/ ... opia-2.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... otion..jpg

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Nov 2015 10:03

Singha,I think that the strat. bridge over the Euphrates has been destroyed by Russian aircraft. I saw a report/clip in some site can't remember.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 10:36

here it is:
but it was much further south near iraq border
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/10/22 ... euphrates/

I am referring to the bridge here.
https://www.google.co.in/maps/@36.65932 ... 351,11.13z
https://www.google.co.in/maps/@36.63454 ... a=!3m1!1e3

its a long river, there are many bridges in southern syria, not as much in north where the river is wide.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2015 10:41

but they will not drop the bridge as it will make their own movements tough.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 20 Nov 2015 10:46

chetak wrote:no one has any doubts as to where putin stands.

OTOH, obummer is ambivalent and wishy washy.

US never had a capable leader after Regan who had the vision to be firm as well as flexible and know the limits of US power, Regan has a good economic advisors and equally good or better FP advisors

Obama came with zero experience and Hope and had bad FP team advising him on Foreign Policy , Most of Obama FP was a disaster in his tenure Iraq Libya Syria to name a few, the local policy turned to be good as Bankers bailed him out , he can just hope nothing happens with bankers magic till Dec 2016 and after that it wont be his problem.

If Obama is bad then wait till Hillary Comes , Obama and Bush will look like an Angel