Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is seen during an interview with the American magazine Foreign Affairs published in Damascus January 26, 2015. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters
Robin Wright, New Yorker: Trump to Let Assad Stay Until 2021, as Putin Declares Victory in Syria
Despite the deaths of as many as half a million people, dozens by chemical weapons, in the Syrian civil war, the Trump Administration is now prepared to accept President Bashar al-Assad’s continued rule until Syria’s next scheduled Presidential election, in 2021, according to U.S. and European officials. The decision reverses repeated U.S. statements that Assad must step down as part of a peace process.
As recently as October, after a swing through the Middle East, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, “The United States wants a whole and unified Syria with no role for Bashar al-Assad in the government.” He told reporters travelling with him, “The reign of the Assad family is coming to an end. The only issue is how that should that be brought about.”
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Russian media is covering this story extensively .... White House Ready to Accept Assad’s Rule in Syria - Reports (Sputnik). What's my take? If true, this is what I call facing reality, and the realization that there are no suitable alternatives to Assad. The Syrian rebels are deeply divided, and no one has any appetite to support the more extremist elements in the opposition. If Assad is not assassinated in the coming years, it looks like he will be in power for a long time. But power over what? A country that has been utterly destroyed, and one that will not receive the monies and resources from the international community necessary to rebuild and establish some form of peace. This is a hollow victory for Assad and his supporters .... and one where the war will only continue but at a low-intensity level.
3 comments:
Dear Editor:
The American stance, right or wrong, had been to get Assad out of office. The Russian, Iran, stance was to keep him IN office
we lost or went along with "the other side," and that is a loss, or selling out, and now "facing reality."
"Robin Wright, New Yorker: Trump to Let Assad Stay Until 2021, as Putin Declares Victory in Syria"
Last time I checked, Trump had no say over whether Assad got to stay, or had to go.
Jay,
That's what I thought to. Trump and the US are in no position to "let" Assad stay or go. If not so serious, the headline would be comical.
Fred,
Assad could not be removed. The Russians would never allow it. I patiently pointed this out from the start. As more informatiin became available, it became obvious that the "rebels" even if they could win which they couldn't were even worse than Assad.
When on a bad path as we have been, the first step is to turn around and get off that path. As such, "facing reality" is all ways a good first step and is even a small "victory."
We will have to wait and see if the US government follows through on this. Next steps either get the US troops currently in Syria out of the country as they are there without the consent of the governnent or place them under the command and control of the Russians. In this case, perhaps our country could make a constructive contribution to this situation.
This could be a baby step in the right direction. We are going to need more than baby steps though.
Post a Comment