On a complex battlefield, the American attacks may wind up giving Assad breathing space, at least in the short term, after months in which his forces suffered stinging defeats at the hands of Islamic State militants, analysts and Syrian rebels said. U.S. and allied forces are striking near areas where Assad’s army has suffered setbacks and opposition forces have little capacity to move in.[...] A key issue in who benefits from the U.S. airstrikes is how other parts of President Obama’s strategy play out. Obama has proposed an initial $500 million to arm and train a 5,000-strong Syrian rebel force as part of that strategy against the Islamic State. But, analysts and rebels said, some of the support for the Syrian opposition comes late and still fails to address the root cause of the conflict in the country — Assad’s oppressive rule.[...] Raqqah province fell entirely into the hands of the Islamic State last month. Until recent months, there had been little direct conflict between the Islamic State and the Syrian army forces, but bolstered by their gains in Iraq, the extremist group has turned from largely fighting other rebels to confronting the regime.[...] Complicating the picture are the U.S. strikes carried out against the Khorasan Group, a cell consisting of hard-core members of al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra, its Syrian affiliate. Obama said the group presented a direct threat to the United States. While the Islamic State is more isolated on the battlefield, Jabhat al-Nusra regularly coordinates with other rebel groups. Targeting its assets could stir tension among rebel fighters. Khalid Saleh, a spokesman for the Syria Coalition, the main external political opposition group, and a coordinator for the moderate Harakat Hazem rebel group, said the international community wasn’t presenting a real solution to the country’s crisis. “The only reason ISIS existed and continues to exist is because the international community allows the Assad regime to continue to operate and commit all these crimes against civilians,” he said, using another acronym for the Islamic State. “We have always asked for a complete strategy,” he said. “Not just to deal with the symptoms, ISIS, but also the main problem, which is the Assad regime.” Assad is widely blamed for backing extremists in order to undermine legitimate opposition to his government.[...] “Assad is the main catalyst for extremism,” said Hadi Bahra, the leader of the main Syrian Opposition Coalition. “If we ever hope to eliminate the threat of extremist ideology, Assad must go.”
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:27:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015