RNA - US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster says American occupying troops will stay in Syria indefinitely until it is divided and ruled by America’s favourite terrorists called ‘moderate rebels’. He also demands consequences for Iran and Russia for backing the Syrian government in its war against all foreign-backed militant groups and extremists who have committed horrific and spectacular acts of violence. Despite the fact that the allied forces of Iran, Syria, Russia and Hezbollah have effectively liberated 100% of ISIL-held territory in Syria, McMaster further claims that it was all due to the efforts by the US-led coalition, hence dismissing Syria’s demands that US forces should withdraw from the country immediately. On that note:
- McMaster is right to say “we have more work to do.” But the US is not staying “until ISIL is fully defeated, population centres are stabilized, and refugees can safely return home.” His vision of stability depends heavily on imposing a regime change in Damascus. Underscoring the focus on regime change, McMaster has even demanded that “all civilized nations” come together to punish both Russia and Iran for backing the Syrian government. He has warned President Bashar Assad would not have impunity, and neither would Russia or Iran.
- The first campaign for regime change failed miserably. McMaster is now talking up regime change II in post-ISIL Syria because it is officially tied to US military operations in the country and beyond. By targeting pro-government forces, it is obvious that nominally the US is not there to fight ISIL. With ISIL defeated, the US troops are not leaving, and mission creep is being sought to justify that illegal occupation based on regional designs.
- The US and Turkey have agreed to come up with some sort of deal to avoid direct conflict over the north Syrian city of Manbij. The city is under separatist Kurdish control, with US troops within, and Turkey is threatening to invade it.
According to Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, this could see Turkey and the US establishing a “safe zone” around the city. He has warned this would only happen if the US “keeps its promises,” and that Turkey considers the US commitment to solve the dispute binding. This is while both Turkish and US troops are violating Syria’s territorial integrity and they have no business of being there in the first place as per International Law and the UN Charter.
- A “safe zone” would conceivably prevent the US and Turkish military from fighting one another, at least on paper, but it will still pave the way for further US attacks against Syrian government forces. Russia has already warned that if Syrian forces come under US fire, they will retaliate. In practice, it’s clear it would actually lead to an escalation of the conflict, leaving the US and Russia at risk of fighting one another.
- McMaster’s comments suggest tentatively the rise of new extremist groups in Syria. It means that the US government and the Pentagon regime now represent the evil by being behind this new project. Most of the people to have died in the war have been killed by the CIA-trained militant forces. The millions of refugees outside the country have, in large part, fled the utter depravity of ISIL and its medieval caliphate – America’s own creation. This brand of evil has shown no compunction in killing civilians and yet McMaster blames Syria and Iranian-Russian allies for the emergence of this brutal and ruthless actor, its mass executions of innocent people, the beheading of captured journalists, the intentional attempts to inflame sectarian tensions, widespread sexual violence, and many other human rights abuses.
- The United States and its terror proxy forces cannot be any part of the solution in Syria. The biggest evil of the lot is America’s regime-change fantasy that continues to leave death and destruction in its wake. Since they are not going to win on the battlefield, the overriding goal must be to end the war and to persuade all US-led forces to withdraw and for Washington to back a peace settlement, rather than fuelling the conflict and threatening those who are actually fighting terror.
- The only chance of having a “stabilised Syria” getting somewhere is if a political process can be started. That means respecting the ceasefire and de-escalation zones agreements inked by Iran, Russia and Turkey, and working towards elections. This does in no way mean getting around the negotiating table with the United States and its terror proxies who have committed horrible acts of evil. True enough. Syria and its allies have organized talks with the opposition before in the interests of peace. They have even made compromises in the pursuit of a moral end.
Ultimately, however, all those involved in the conflict, for all their rivalries, must be prepared to work together to end the war. Ending the war in Syria will have to involve a similar willingness by the United States to end its illegal occupation and baseless accusations against Iran and Russia. Sadly, McMaster and other war-party officials currently seem more inclined to hold international diplomacy hostage and to step up their military intervention than to scale it back. But the sticking point still remains. Despite their military build-up in Syria, there can be no victory for the US and its brutal and ruthless militant proxies, or for their external supporters in Saudi Arabia and Israel as has been proved several times in this region in the last two decades.
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