Neocons hijack Trump’s Syria policy

Does anyone in the Trump Administration have a clue about our Syria policy? In March, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to be finally pulling back from President Obama’s disastrous “Assad must go” position that has done nothing but prolong the misery in Syria. At the time, Tillerson said, the “longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”

Those of us who believe in national sovereignty would say that is pointing out the obvious. Nevertheless it was a good sign that US involvement in Syria – illegal as it is – would no longer seek regime change but would stick to fighting ISIS.

Then out of the blue this past week, Tillerson did another 180 degree policy turn, telling a UN audience in Geneva that, “[t]he reign of the Assad family is coming to an end. The only issue is how that should that be brought about.”

The real    story behind Washington’s ongoing determination to overthrow the Syrian government is even more disturbing

The obvious question is why is it any of our business who runs Syria, but perhaps that’s too obvious. Washington’s interventionists have long believed that they have the unilateral right to determine who is allowed to head up foreign countries. Their track record in placing “our guy” in power overseas is abysmal, but that doesn’t seem to stop them. We were promised that getting rid of people like Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi would light the fire of freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Instead it has produced nothing but death and misery – and spectacular profits for the weapons manufacturers who fund neocon think tanks.

In Syria, Assad has been seen as a protector of Christians and other minorities against the onslaught of in many cases US-backed jihadists seeking his overthrow. While the Syrian system is obviously not a Switzerland-like democracy, unlike our great “ally” Saudi Arabia they do at least have elections contested by different political parties, and religious and other minorities are fully integrated into society.

Why has the Trump Administration shifted back to “Assad must go”? One reason may be that, one-by-one, the neocons who opposed Trump most vociferously during the campaign have found themselves and their friends in positions of power in his Administration. The neocons are great at winning while losing.

As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson landed in Moscow Tuesday, a fire blazed on the margins of Vnukovo Airport. This provided at least a couple useful metaphors, depending on one’s view of the situation. Russian officials said the fire was at a garbage dump, meaning it was a literal manifestation of that most versatile of epithets, the dumpster fire, which could be applied to the state of Russo-American relations at the moment.

For a more value-neutral analogy, the fire was a smoke screen, obscuring what exactly U.S. policy toward Syria is. It’s hard to tell not only what the policy is but what the reasons for it are, a problem exacerbated, or rather caused, by the fact the administration does not speak with one voice. President Trump himself has been uncharacteristically quiet about why and how he decided to order airstrikes against a target in Syria, and for what they indicate about U.S. policy toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad going forward. Is it a one-off because of a chemical-weapons attack, or the start of a broader offensive against Assad? Has Trump established a new red line that, if crossed, will trigger American action? In the absence of clear articulations from the Oval Office, here are some of the voices driving Syria policy.

The real story behind Washington’s ongoing determination to overthrow the Syrian government is even more disturbing. In a bombshell interview last week, a former Qatari Prime Minister confessed that his country, along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States, began shipping weapons to jihadists from the very moment Syrian unrest began in 2011. The well-connected Qatari former minister was trying to point out that his country was not alone in backing al-Qaeda and even ISIS in Syria. In the course of defending his country against terrorism charges leveled by Saudi Arabia he has spilled the beans about US involvement with the very groups claimed to be our arch-enemies. As they did in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the CIA supported radical Islamic terrorism in Syria. The secretary of defense has kept a comparatively low profile during the latest flap. He has previously said that without Iranian patronage, Assad would have been forced out of office long ago. Mattis briefed Trump on military options ahead of U.S. strikes. On Tuesday, Mattis said, “Our military policy in Syria has not changed. Our priority remains the defeat of ISIS.” That followed a statement Monday, the Pentagon chief and former Marine general stayed clear of indications about regime change, portraying American strikes a deterrent to further gassing.

Eurasia Review

 

Neocons hijack Trumps Syria policy

Does anyone in the Trump Administration have a clue about our Syria policy? In March, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to be finally pulling back from President Obamas disastrous Assad must go position that has done nothing but prolong the misery in Syria. At the time, Tillerson said, the longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people. Those of us who believe in national sovereignty would say that is pointing out the obvious. Nevertheless it was a good sign that US involvement in Syria illegal as it is would no longer seek regime change but would stick to fighting ISIS. Then out of the blue this past week, Tillerson did another 180 degree policy turn, telling a UN audience in Geneva that, [t]he reign of the Assad family is coming to an end. The only issue is how that should that be brought about. The real story behind Washingtons ongoing determination to overthrow the Syrian government is even more disturbing The obvious question is why is it any of our business who runs Syria, but perhaps thats too obvious. Washingtons interventionists have long believed that they have the unilateral right to determine who is allowed to head up foreign countries. Their track record in placing our guy in power overseas is abysmal, but that doesnt seem to stop them. We were promised that getting rid of people like Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi would light the fire of freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Instead it has produced nothing but death and misery and spectacular profits for the weapons manufacturers who fund neocon think tanks. In Syria, Assad has been seen as a protector of Christians and other minorities against the onslaught of in many cases US-backed jihadists seeking his overthrow. While the Syrian system is obviously not a Switzerland-like democracy, unlike our great ally Saudi Arabia they do at least have elections contested by different political parties, and religious and other minorities are fully integrated into society. Why has the Trump Administration shifted back to Assad must go? One reason may be that, one-by-one, the neocons who opposed Trump most vociferously during the campaign have found themselves and their friends in positions of power in his Administration. The neocons are great at winning while losing. As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson landed in Moscow Tuesday, a fire blazed on the margins of Vnukovo Airport. This provided at least a couple useful metaphors, depending on ones view of the situation. Russian officials said the fire was at a garbage dump, meaning it was a literal manifestation of that most versatile of epithets, the dumpster fire, which could be applied to the state of Russo-American relations at the moment. For a more value-neutral analogy, the fire was a smoke screen, obscuring what exactly U.S. policy toward Syria is. Its hard to tell not only what the policy is but what the reasons for it are, a problem exacerbated, or rather caused, by the fact the administration does not speak with one voice. President Trump himself has been uncharacteristically quiet about why and how he decided to order airstrikes against a target in Syria, and for what they indicate about U.S. policy toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad going forward. Is it a one-off because of a chemical-weapons attack, or the start of a broader offensive against Assad? Has Trump established a new red line that, if crossed, will trigger American action? In the absence of clear articulations from the Oval Office, here are some of the voices driving Syria policy. The real story behind Washingtons ongoing determination to overthrow the Syrian government is even more disturbing. In a bombshell interview last week, a former Qatari Prime Minister confessed that his country, along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States, began shipping weapons to jihadists from the very moment Syrian unrest began in 2011. The well-connected Qatari former minister was trying to point out that his country was not alone in backing al-Qaeda and even ISIS in Syria. In the course of defending his country against terrorism charges leveled by Saudi Arabia he has spilled the beans about US involvement with the very groups claimed to be our arch-enemies. As they did in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the CIA supported radical Islamic terrorism in Syria. The secretary of defense has kept a comparatively low profile during the latest flap. He has previously said that without Iranian patronage, Assad would have been forced out of office long ago. Mattis briefed Trump on military options ahead of U.S. strikes. On Tuesday, Mattis said, Our military policy in Syria has not changed. Our priority remains the defeat of ISIS. That followed a statement Monday, the Pentagon chief and former Marine general stayed clear of indications about regime change, portraying American strikes a deterrent to further gassing. Eurasia Review