Viet Nam Human Rights
American trick of turning terrorists into moderate opposition
5/12/16
Once again, we have had chance to see the U.S. hypocrite drama of causing wars after transforming terrorist groups in countries it engaged into moderate oppositions. America has used these groups as causes to bring democracy and human rights for war-torn nations. But, in Syria, we have seen this trick exposed.
Fearing possible abandonment by Donald Trump after he takes the office, what the US describes as "moderate Syrian opposition" is now looking for alternatives to US support, such as that of terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, lamenting that instead of providing assistance, the US is "watching them drown."
"Three years after the CIA began secretly shipping lethal aid to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, battlefield losses and fears that a Donald Trump administration will abandon them have left tens of thousands of opposition fighters weighing their alternatives," according to The Washington Post.
"Three years after the CIA began secretly shipping lethal aid to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, battlefield losses and fears that a Donald Trump administration will abandon them have left tens of thousands of opposition fighters weighing their alternatives," according to The Washington Post.
It further recalls that during his electoral campaign, Donald Trump made clear that his priority in Syria is the separate fight against the Islamic State (Daesh, ISIS), ideally in cooperation with Russia and the Syrian government, as well as other allies. And indicated he will curtail support for the opposition.
"Trump has repeatedly dismissed the rebels, saying, 'We have no idea who these people are'," the newspaper says. Syrian Army Success in Aleppo Vividly Indicates the End of 'Triumph of the West' "My attitude was you’re fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS," it cites Trumps as telling the Wall Street Journal last month.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with so-called moderate opposition factions as well as extremist groups like Daesh fighting the Syrian Army to topple the legitimate government of President Bashar Assad. The United States has been supporting the allegedly moderate opposition forces in Syria, while Russia has been supporting Syria's legitimate authorities.
Russia advocates the soonest and peaceful settlement of the conflict in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday. "Russia, as you know, has consistently been advocating for an early, peaceful and just settlement of the violent Syrian conflict," Lavrov said at an Association of European Businesses briefing in Moscow.
Meanwhile, the US' and Russia's head diplomats met in Rome on Friday to work towards ending the fighting in Aleppo. The two sides are set to continue discussing the conflict in Aleppo on Wednesday.
Commenting on the continued negotiations of the outgoing US administration, Russian military expert and defense analyst Victor Litovkin explained to Radio Sputnik why it does not drop the attempts to alter the Russian stance. US Assault Ships in Mediterranean Might Mean Soon Ground Operation "Kerry's continuous efforts indicate that he and President Obama might have some personal relationship with the Syrian opposition," he told Sputnik.
However the outgoing US administration, he suggested, has nothing to offer to Russia. Russia's simple condition was to separate the opposition from terrorists. It is ready to let the so-called opposition from the eastern Aleppo, he said, however they can't leave because the terrorists won't let them.
The US has warned Syria’s opposition forces they face “dire consequences” if they continue to fight alongside terrorist groups as Washington takes the first step to secure a rare military deal with Russia.
The bargain between the US and Russia is that Washington will push the more moderate opposition groups to separate themselves from Nusra, something Russia has long urged, while Moscow will persuade the Syrian air force to stop bombing the rebels. However, many members of the opposition and analysts believe it will be extremely difficult to isolate JFS in practice.
In a letter to the armed opposition groups, many of which are backed by the US and its allies, Michael Ratney, the US special envoy for Syria, urged them to support the agreement, saying continued co-operation with JFS would have “dire consequences”. He said the groups would have the right to self-defence if they were attacked by Syrian or Russian forces.
During negotiations between the US and Russia, Nusra changed its name to JFS and announced a split with al-Qaeda. Although both the US and Russia view this change as merely cosmetic, it has allowed JFS to work more closely with other opposition groups, especially in keenly contested areas such as Aleppo and Idlib.
The Pentagon has raised questions about the idea of working more closely with the Russians, in part based on scepticism about Moscow’s motives. In a speech last week, defence secretary Ashton Carter warned that the US would take action against any Russian attempt to “undermine our collective security” or “interfere with our democratic processes”.
Under the new agreement, the US and Russia will set up a joint intelligence centre to co-ordinate air strikes against extremist groups if the ceasefire holds for at least seven days.
Some in the opposition believe the US is well aware of the practical obstacles in trying to isolate JFS from the rest of the rebels. “You can’t really place that much physical distance with the Nusra guys, otherwise the fighters would be at risk of losing territory to the regime. The Americans know and appreciate this situation,” said one opposition figure who took part in the rebel discussions over the ceasefire deal this weekend. “The Americans can’t afford to weaken the Nusra areas too much or they will lose their whole card of the north against the Russians.”
However, he also said that many of the rebel groups did not trust JFS and might stand to gain from defections if it were marginalized./.
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All comments [ 5 ]
The White House officials were wary of military involvement in overseas conflicts, and they saw the Arms for Rebels idea as a step towards a full-scale, decades-long intervention in Syria.
It’s a complicated process. We want to make sure that the assistance we give doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
I do not trust any doings of the U.S. government.
Multi-sided geopolitical interests are colliding in Syria where the US-funded “moderate rebels” are now turning against the United States armed operatives embedded with the Free Syrian Army.
America has faulted in these wars, and we hope the President-elect Donald Trump will be wiser to avoid it.
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