Washington Post: Fearing abandonment by Trump, CIA-backed rebels in Syria mull alternatives
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.
Among the options, say U.S. officials, regional experts and the rebels themselves, are a closer alliance with better-armed al-Qaeda and other extremist groups, receipt of more sophisticated weaponry from Sunni states in the Persian Gulf region opposed to a U.S. pullback, and adoption of more traditional guerrilla tactics, including sniper and other small-scale attacks on both Syrian and Russian targets.
Just over a year ago, the opposition held significant territory inside Syria. Since then, in the absence of effective international pushback, Russian and Syrian airstrikes have relentlessly bombarded their positions and the civilians alongside them. On the ground, Syrian government troops — bolstered by Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Shiite militia forces from Iraq — have retaken much of that ground.
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Update: If abandoned by US, Syrian ‘moderates’ may get in bed with jihadists, report warns (RT).
WNU Editor: On this issue President-elect Trump is probably correct .... we do not really know who is who in these Syrian rebel groups. What also does not help is the current infighting among these groups .... Infighting among Syrian rebels has strengthened pro-Assad forces in Aleppo (Reuters)
1 comment:
Assad was always going to win in Syria. I predicted this back in 2011. While I am shocked it's taken this long, the original prediction is unchanged. As such, it makes no sense backing anti-Assad forces who have no chance. Furthermore doing so only serves to further anger the Russians and their leadership, not a good idea.
All support for them should be abandoned and should have long, long ago. If team Trump is cobsidering abandoning them, GOOD!! This is part of the reason he was elected, to represent American interests and to be pragmatic. Many of us have observed we've been led by arrogant, psychpath, ideologues for WAY to long.
It's long past time for some pragmatism. Russia is the most powerful country on earth and will be for the foreseeable future. It is conceicable China could surpass them. The United States cannot.
As such, how can we get on the good side of the Russians and their leaders? How can we help them? Anyone who has operated within a big organization understands that if we help the powers that be they will in turn help us advance.
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