The Trump administration has finally clarified its stance on Syria—it plans to occupy portions of the country and remove its elected leader, Bashar al-Assad.
The former reason is, of course, predicated on the phony Islamic State threat, while the latter is based on the threadbare excuse the United States must prevent al-Assad from butchering his own people and, after all, Syrians deserve democracy American-style, even if the price is 500,000 dead men, women, and children.
“But let us be clear, the United States will maintain a military presence in Syria, focused on ensuring ISIS cannot re-emerge,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared on January 17 during a speech at Stanford University. He was accompanied by former Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice.
Tillerson promised free and transparent elections “will result in the permanent departure of Assad and his family from power. This process will take time, and we urge patience in the departure of Assad and the establishment of new leadership.”
However, in 2015, a poll conducted by ORB International with the backing of the United States and Britain found that Bashar al-Assad has more support in the country than the CIA cobbled together “moderate” opposition.
Moreover, Syrians look more favorably on Iran than the Gulf States, which are largely responsible, along with the United States, for supporting al-Qaeda and its affiliates and spinoffs, including al-Nusra (now a component of Tahrir al-Sham) and the Islamic State.
According to Tillerson, “responsible change” will arrive as an “incremental process of constitutional reform and UN-supervised elections.”
Mr. Tillerson, however, is ignoring the failure of the so-called “Geneva process” designed to establish a transitional government in Syria. It is opposed by Salafi groups fighting to overthrow al-Assad. These groups wish to impose strict Sharia law across Syria, while others propose splitting the country up along ethnic and religious lines.
This last “solution” is opposed by a majority of Syrians who want, according to Western polling, a multi-ethnic and non-sectarian democracy. 70% oppose a forced division of the country. [READ MORE]
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