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Journalister grillede udenrigsministeriets vicetalsmand Mark Toner over afsløringerne at kun en håndfuld af de af USA trænede "moderate syriske rebeller" stadigvæk kæmper. General Lloyd Austin, chef for USAs militære Centralkommando, gav i Senatet onsdag vidnesbyrd på at kun "fire eller fem" rebeller stadigvæk var aktive, ud af gruppen på 54 som blev trænet i det $500 millioner amerikanske program.
"Vi anfægter ikke den vurdering," sagde Toner, og noterede at programmet var "faldet kort af" og "havde ikke oprigtigt levet op til det som vi oprindeligt tænkte."
Han afslog dog foreslagene at tilbageslagene i Syrien tvang Washington til at overveje Ruslands foreslag om direkte militære samtaler. "Vi har gjort, tror vi, gevinster i det forgangne år", sagde han. "Er vi nået dertil [ed: målet]? Nej. Har vi gjort nok? Nej.
Et år efter at USA startede kampagnen imod den selvdeklarerede Islamiske Stat (IS, tidligere ISIS, ISIL) som påberåber sig dele af Irak og Syrien, så er territoriet som gruppen kontrollerer faktisk blevet øget. Koalitionen har brugt næsten $4 milliarder på mere end 50,000 flyvninger og 6,700 luftangreb, uden at IS har vist nogen tegn på at været rørt af betydning. Udenrigsministeriet har dog fortsat insisteret på at Ruslands støtte til den syriske regering ikke er en vindende strategi overfor IS.
Kommentar: Siden denne artikel blev skrevet for en uge siden er endnu et hold af amerikansk trænede og bevæbnede rebeller blevet udklækket og indenfor 24 timer gået over til Al-kaida: Deja vu: More U.S.-trained 'Syrian rebels' surrender with weapons to Nusra nutjobs
Uheld og inkompetence er ikke årsager nok til at beskrive dette.
Kommentar: Denne artikel er blot delvis oversat til dansk af sott.net fra den engelske udgave: U.S. considering Russian anti-ISIS proposal? Kerry admits U.S. plan failing, but won't yet accept Russia's solution
Hvis du har lyst til at hjælpe med at oversætte til dansk, norsk eller svensk, så skriv blot til sott_da@sott.net
Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, offered to set up direct talks between the US and Russian military representatives about the situation in Syria, Secretary Kerry said. The offer was reportedly made during a telephone conversation between Kerry and Lavrov on Tuesday. The State Department's readout of the call makes no mention of anything Lavrov said, however, citing only the continued US insistence on overthrowing the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
"The Russians proposed... that we have military-to-military conversation... to discuss what precisely what will be done to deconflict [sic] with respect to any potential risks that might be run and to have a complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are," Kerry told reporters on Wednesday, after meeting with South Africa's foreign minister.
Kerry described such talks as "vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations (and) not to put ourselves in a predicament where we are supposing something and the supposition is wrong." He noted that there was a "capacity for cooperation" if Russia's alleged military buildup in Syria was focused on fighting Islamic State militants, rather than rebel groups fighting against the government.
Comment: The supposition of the entire U.S. charade in Syria is wrong. Russia is vocal about supporting Syria against ISIS. But the so-called rebel groups that Kerry wants to protect are really no different than ISIS when it comes to what they are doing in Syria: destabilizing the country and creating mayhem.
The Russian foreign ministry confirmed that Syria was the center of attention during the phone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry. "S.V. Lavrov once again emphasized the necessity of creating a united front against the terrorist groups operating in the territory of that country," the ministry said in a statement.
At the Kremlin, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Kerry's statements. "For that you should speak to the Foreign Ministry," he told reporters.
Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said that Minister Lavrov will once again clarify Moscow's position on Syria to Kerry when they meet in New York next week, for the session of the UN General Assembly.
Following the success of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the US hoped that Russia would change its mind and back the Western-led effort to overthrow the Assad government, according to AP. Moscow's continued support for Damascus has policymakers in Washington "perplexed" and even "flummoxed," as US media described it.
Comment: Hilarious. What is it about these people that they can't understand the sick arrogance it takes to lead an effort to overthrow a sovereign nation's government? Any normal person should be perplexed and flummoxed that any country would behave in such a boorish manner.
In September 2013, citing a sentence from Kerry's speech, Russia proposed that Syria should turn over all its chemical stockpiles to the UN. The proposal came as Washington threatened to attack Syria over the government's alleged use of chemical weapons against the US-backed rebels.
"Syria is handing over its chemical weapons under international supervision because of Russia," President Assad told a Russian news network.
On Tuesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin called on countries to "set aside geopolitical ambitions," double standards and use of terrorist groups to achieve their political objectives, and unite in fighting the Islamic State militants operating in Iraq and Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would visit Moscow next week, to discuss Syria with Putin.
Kommentar: The U.S. program has 'fallen short' because it was a sham to begin with. The U.S. needs ISIS. But this latest proposal from Russia really has put the U.S. in an awkward position. As Eric Draitser recently wrote: