Trump backing down on foreign policy that conflicts with Russian interests? Surely, it can't be!
I was never clear on how the current Syrian regime was on Civil Rights, and if the opposing faction(s) were better. Can't given any opinion, but I hope this ends soon considering how destructive the war has been.
not the first time the US has completely abandoned a supposed ally
Funny enough, that one time when we abandoned some rebels fighting against the Soviets they decided to turn against us and did 9/11. Is this not the same thing over again?
In this comparison though, the Soviets are winning, so probably not.
On one hand he's probably doing this to appease Russia. On the other hand I never wanted us to be there to start with. Only good we did was help the Kurds for a bit, and even then we abandon them to Turkish fury.
Whoa whoa whoa, I thought it was generally agreed that arming rebels is a bad idea. Now suddenly it's not? I would be very happy if we stopped taking military action against another nation when we haven't even had a fucking vote on it, thanks.
I don't mind us pulling out entirely, none of it has our interests in mind and I don't trust in our ability to make any place on Earth into a better one.
Arming rebels is a bad idea, but abandoning the rebels you have already armed is a worse idea. Not only have you pissed off the rebel's enemies you've now made the rebels into enemies by abandoning them.
Also, while arming rebels is generally not a good choice, there are times where helping them to overthrow a ruthless dictator is a good move. Though you have to have reasonable belief that they won't turn around and be just as bad if they win.
America has a really bad habit of arming rebels and then cutting them loose when it becomes inconvenient. Often caused by one government choosing to side with the rebels and the next government deciding that they don't feel the same.
There won't be much rebels left after Assad wins.
The only reason the US got involved was because Syria is a large middle east ally of Russia, and Russia delve into it. Nothing but a proxy war at Syrian's expense.
The downside of having a democracy, but I don't really know of any viable solution to it. Can't make it law that once you jump into a conflict, you can never leave.
As far as I'm concerned: Get fucked, kiddos.
You have done nothing of value after 2013, and are a lost cause with all of your infighting from "moderate" factions. Once this war is over, the only footnote you'll have in history is the mass amphetamine abuse and gun running that is going to come from the region.
Aren't you an edgy one.
Trust me I'm a huge believer in the idea that Trump got help from Russia, and perhaps it does have something to do with this, but this seems to me more like the US is just shifting away from trying to help a bunch of extremists who call themselves "rebels" and instead help the actual moderate Syrian Democratic Front. The US has been pouring resources into the SDF lately, helping them establish a deal with Turkey to keep Rojavan sovereignty in Manbij, which is insane to think about considering how much Turkey hates the Kurds which are the backbone of the SDF. Go look at a livemap and you'll see what I mean.
Assad sucks ass but civil war sucks ass harder
It's the reality of the situation. ISIS is already moving its operations from conquest to controlling the drug highways. These rebel groups will not be remembered for much, as they'll most likely be captured and tortured under the veil of "reconciliation". This has been an utter clusterfuck in terms of geopolitics. With mass displacement of native populations, Afrin being a good example, it's possible we'll see another war by the mid-2020s.
The next conflict will more then likely start in Saudi Arabia. The lack of prestige or really anything gained in Yemen and Syria, will lead to jaded jihadis returning home, and bringing their combat experience with them. Same goes for Iranian groups.
Jaded nationalist, drugs, money, and lots of guns. It's a perfect storm. Imagine the current situation in Ukraine with militia groups, and magnetize it by about fifty.
I think you meant multiply here?
Eyup. Sorry 'bout that, half awake.
Whether the US arms the rebels or not, I don't think it hurts much in the fight against Assad. There is simply too much division against all the rebels, and everytime they are killing each other for ideological differences or control of territory, Assad is making gains with the help of the Russians.
They can't even agree to form a coalition to fight Assad, and yet they still wanna take on Assad.
At this stage there's nothing to be gained, Russia's support of the Assad regime was faster and far more substantial than anything the west gave the rebels, they were never going to win.
The best we could do is negotiate with Turkey and Russia for a Kurdish space, and even then I think it'd be much harder to convince Turkey than Russia.
I would sooner expect hell to freeze over before the day Kurds got "Their own space". The moment the Syrian Kurds get something even close to autonomy or a state; You will have the Iraqi Kurds raising yet another stink, Turkeys Kurds will revolt and spark the kurd blood bowl again, and Irans will be massacred. The Kurdish issue should have been resolved when the Sykes-Picot Agreement was done. This is one of the major issues still plaguing the ME; Kurdish Rights. But now that decades have past and the 4 main belligerent nations have solidified their control over their land, it will never happen. You will never find a dictator or president who is suicidal enough to even begin that powder keg.
It is a shame this has happened. But the Rebels lost full legitimacy in 2013. They could never drop their extremest ideals (Some literally were ISIS Jr), which resulted in constant mini-civil wars and fractures within groups. As much as people hate to say it; Assad is the right choice to govern Syria for now. While he is a horrible person, it's better than throwing the state into decades of bloody civil wars and coups as rebel groups claim their chunks of the state and who has the right to rule.
I'm kind of surprised the FSA rebels were expecting help at this point, considering the US has withdrawn their support for a year now (then again the CIA works in mysterious ways...).
Also this conquest in SE Syria is really about nothing more than a couple little towns, against a faction thats on its last legs, and proved to be completely incompetent in the past. No one in their right mind would support them at this point. (Well, Turkey does in the north, but they need a buffer between them and the Kurds so that is rather about using them.)
Meanwhile the SDF in the north (the faction that the USA now focuses their support on, alongside the European countries), actually controls significant areas and population, alongside with actual, strategically valuable locations like airbases or the Tabqa Dam. Also they are quite decent and loyal fighters. If Trump would really want to appease the Syrian Army and conversely the Russians, he'd have to withdraw support from them.
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