Hannah Allam reports: With Russia pledging missiles to Syrian President Bashar Assad, the civilian opposition unable to agree on much of anything, and regime loyalists pushing rebels out of strategic areas, the United States finds itself with no clear policy path to its oft-stated goal of Assad’s ouster.
Unclear from the beginning, U.S. policy on Syria has grown only more contradictory and ad hoc since the popular uprising that the Obama administration was quick to support transformed into a brutal civil war with a death toll now beyond 70,000. Both tracks of the State Department’s latest “dual-track” approach have led to dead ends, with neither a strong political opposition nor a trusted, viable rebel force ready to take charge in the increasingly unlikely event that the Assad regime should collapse.
Wednesday dealt fresh setbacks to U.S. and international plans to build the political and military capabilities of the anti-Assad movement. Weeklong opposition talks in Istanbul ended without meeting the goals of expanding membership of the Islamist-dominated group or naming an interim government – failures that could cost leaders crucial international support. Also Wednesday, Hezbollah-backed regime forces claimed victory in the vicious battle for control of Qusayr, a strategically important town near the Lebanese border.
Analysts who’ve closely monitored the conflict for the past two years blame a series of miscalculations and half-measures for the lack of a strong U.S. position on Syria. While the White House and its supporters in the foreign policy community defend the current approach as “cautious,” other analysts see it as frozen and out of touch with events on the ground. [Continue reading…]
With Russia again posting Navel war ships in the Mediterranean with their s-400 missals as well as the s-300 in Syria, the picture has changed. One might also assume that Israel may have been suckered into launching those air strikes this past week. The picture certainly has changed and even though McCain posed with a known terrorist on his secret jump into Syria, I don’t think the U.S. population is up to fighting and dying to defend Israel. Let them go it alone.
Sorry for the question, but was there a policy on the part of the USA in regard to Syria and the domestic conflict there?
The world has seen little to nothing of a policy by any(!) American politician (apart then from yelling about the atrocities committed by Assad).
When America wants to be regarded as a party with and of influence the administration should really step up its efforts to at least have an opinion (other then yelling about the atrocities), and as well be a party at the tables were people are talking!
America should end its position of listening to the comments by Israel (and its biased racist representatives), and choose a position of itself!
Soothing up to all parties in the Middle |East is making it impossible at a certain moment to choose a party!