Like the battle of Stalingrad

A fantasy.

'Has anyone among us expected such a turn tail?' Putin asked laughing while standing beside the bar in his office corner, looking back at his three loyal colleagues; his deputy, the SVR head and the tall foreign secretary.

The SVR head smiled with pursed lips, while the two others joined their president's released laughter.

The president took a bottle of vodka and four glasses, and returned to his comfortable chair at the desk's head.

'The method proved itself and we're thankful to Michail Yefimovitch and the senior staff under his command.' The president said and putting the glasses on the desk he started to pour the drink to his colleagues. The joyous smile was still spread on his face, as a clear evidence to his satisfaction.

'As long as they assumed that the legitimate government in Damascus is about to collapse, they've let us a free hand; while we at the beginning declared that we're evacuating our citizens, which were stuck in Damascus…' Another wave of laughter swept the president and his colleagues, except the SVR head who did not even smile this time; but he kept sitting erect like a statue, as befits his image.

'Nazdrovie,' (our health) the president declared raising his glass. The glasses were clinked and emptied with one gulp. The president deputy poured immediately a second round for the four of them.

'We do know that they were well aware to our ceaseless aerial transportations and the Iranians as well, but their assumption was that it's a waste of efforts, equipment and means without a chance to change the situation in our favor that was indeed desperate…' He cleared his throat and reviewed slowly his colleagues' faces. We've misled them and from the threshold of desperation we've have passed to a victorious offensive. We must exploit this turning point, just like in Stalingrad in 43.'

'That's right just like in Stalingrad,' Michail Yefimovitch repeated his boss last phrase like en echo. 'But the situation requires many efforts yet, and let's hope that the West will keep sitting on the fence.'

'Well said, Michail Yefimovitch!' 

The president praised the SVR's head and slapped his shoulder with affection. 'I've had a few phone calls with some of the West leaders, including with the z'eed (Jew), who accepted my invitation last week. The time up to the convention with the West in June, gives us a breath of air; we'll have to drag on these talks as much as possible, as we need time to improve our positions.' He cleared his throat and reviewed his colleagues' faces for several seconds, and raised his glass, and a third round of clinking and drinking took place.

'I'd like to commend the accurate character estimation done during 2008 already to the American peacock that lacks self confidence. This estimation that predicted his passive conduct was, and still is the basis to our successes. As for the near future there're two main possibilities, in the first one the West won't budge; the pretext would be the local problems and scandals with which the peacock is busy. While in the second the peacock might be pushed and driven by the Republicans and his own advisors and react even before the convention, to make the public forget the scandals, which he's responsible for " and that possibility we've to be ready to face and deter.  

 Haim Kadman May the 20^th 2013 " all rights reserved.