Assad's Visit To Moscow...

... is not a routine event. In some sense it is extraordinary since Assad went "full Monty", asked for "more cowbell", went out of his way by... insisting that if Russia has military bases in Syria it is only natural to have there all latest toys, especially hypersonic missiles. He also insisted on permanent presence of Russia in Syria and called Ze a clown (in Russian). Syria knows that she is on the brink of a breakthrough internationally--with Saudis and Iran restoring diplomatic relations, with Turkey softening her position on Syria and steadily moving away from the West, all signs for Syria are here, including, of course, the issue of much needed investment and restoration after the war. 

Meanwhile the Global Troll in Chief, discusses the issue of turnips for Europeans:

По словам главы государства, дело дошло до того, что зарубежные руководители предлагают своим гражданам вместо салата и помидоров перейти на репу. Путин подчеркнул, что репа — хороший продукт, однако и за ней, скорее всего, придется ехать в Россию. Президент отметил, что уровень урожая здесь существенно превосходит показатели стран Европы. При этом он подчеркнул, что на урожайность в основном влияют погодные условия, однако без российских удобрений этим государствам придется трудно.

Translation: According to the head of state, things have reached the point where foreign leaders offer their citizens to switch to turnips instead of lettuce and tomatoes. Putin stressed that turnips are a good product, but you will most likely have to go to Russia to get them. The President noted that the level of harvest here significantly exceeds the indicators of European countries. At the same time, he stressed that the yield is mainly affected by weather conditions, but these states will have a hard time without Russian fertilizers.

Hey, I am just a messenger here.)) But jokes aside, as I wrote for years, appearance of MiG-31Ks with Kinzhals at Khmeimim on a permanent deployment changes the balance of power in Mediterranean completely. Thank you again to our own Evald for illustrating it:

Just a reminder to all those Carrier Battle Groups that those are hostile waters. Just in case. Which brings us to Captain Hendrix piece in Atlantic: 

The Age of American Naval Dominance Is Over. The United States has ceded the oceans to its enemies. We can no longer take freedom of the seas for granted.

You can read full piece at this link. You can see some signs of sobering, but still--American exceptionalists have a long way to go before completely clearing their minds and trying to integrate the United States into the community of equals. This is your Thursday primer.