Terminating CIA Support For Syrian Rebels Sounds Death Knell For Western Attempt To Roll Back Iran And Russia In Syria – OpEd

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Trump’s termination of CIA funds to Syrian rebels signals the death knell for Western efforts to roll back Iranian and Russian power in the Levant.

The reassertion of Assad’s control over much of Syria underlines the success of Iran’s policy in the Northern Middle East.

Western efforts to overturn Assad and bring to power a Sunni ascendency in Syria have failed as have efforts to flip Syria out of Russia’s and Iran’s orbit and into that of the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The cut off of CIA funding for Syria’s rebels is the raggedy ending of America’s failed regime-change policy in Syria and the region at large.

President Trump called the wars in the Middle East “stupid wars” during his campaign. He called America’s policy of regime-change a “failed policy.” This is his effort to concentrate narrowly on eliminating ISIS and ending Washington’s effort to drive Assad from power by force of arms.

He believes that by working with the Russians, the United States will destroy ISIS more quickly. It should be added that Syria’s military, with Russian backing, has killed hundreds of ISIS fighters in the last several months. It has driven ISIS from territory twice the size of Lebanon in the last two months alone. Further efforts to weaken or destroy the Syrian Army will only slow ISIS’s demise.

This decision by the security establishment has been a long time coming. As it became clear that Assad would not fall or step aside, particularly after Russia jumped into the conflict in Sept 2015, the arming of rebels to overthrow Assad became a vestigial policy. President Macron articulated this position for the EU, when he declared that it was unrealistic to believe that Assad would go.

Support for arming rebels has been waning since radicals began setting off bombs in European capitals.

Trump’s decision to stop support for Syrian rebels will be the final nail in the coffin of those factions which draw salaries from the CIA.

More radical groups, such as those historically connected to al-Qaida and Ahrar al-Sham will also suffer from this decision. The radical militias prey on the weaker ones. They extort arms and money from the CIA-supported factions. The porous Syrian border with Turkey can now also be shut more tightly. The need to push resources to the CIA-vetted militias, kept border crossings open to all rebels, including al-Qaida. Factions merge and regroup with such regularity, that border guards could not know who was fighting for what end.

This is the last gasp for America’s policy of regime-change which has so compromised its efforts to promote democracy and human rights in a part of the world that needs both.

This article was published at Syria Comment

Syria Comment - Joshua Landis

Joshua Landis maintains Syria Comment and teaches modern Middle Eastern history and politics and writes on Syria and its surrounding countries. He writes “Syria Comment,” a daily newsletter on Syrian politics that attracts some 3,000 readers a day. It is widely read by officials in Washington, Europe and Syria. Dr. Landis regularly travels to Washington DC to consult with the State Department and other government agencies. He is a frequent analyst on TV and radio.

One thought on “Terminating CIA Support For Syrian Rebels Sounds Death Knell For Western Attempt To Roll Back Iran And Russia In Syria – OpEd

  • July 25, 2017 at 12:06 am
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    The satisfying thing about Western intervention in conflicts in the Middle East is that, they normally end up in embarrassing defeat and eventually, they are forced to pull back: The Syrian-case is of no exception: They [the West] brought-in tens of thousands of most vicious of criminals and murderers, ending-up murdering almost half a million of civilians, destroying almost 65% of all urban & rural infrastructures and creating wave after wave of refugees; almost on an unimaginable scale.
    The Syrian tragedy is [Not] about Washington’s miscalculation or Iran/Assad’s tactical triumph.
    The question is, will those in the West, who for so long were shedding crocodile tears over the rights of civilians in Syria. Would they ever come up clean over the dubious & the sinister reasons behind their decision to intervene on behalf of terrorists. Or feel responsible for the absolute misery the civil- war has piled on the people of that country: For once, the West should stop lying about its “moral-duty”; advocating democracy and human rights in the Middle East!

    Reply

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