In an attempt to clarify questions about the Syrian ceasefire, and the Nusra Front not being a party to it, Secretary of State John Kerry today offered more details, confirming that the US and Russia needed to provide joint permission before the Syrian government was allowed to launch any airstrikes.
“Assad is not supposed to be bombing the opposition,” Kerry insisted. “He is allowed to target Nusra but that will be on strikes that are agreed upon with Russia and the United States in order to go after them.”
The last ceasefire struggled with this question, as it also excluded Nusra and ISIS, but Nusra was so heavily embedded with so many rebel ceasefire participants that it opened up almost every rebel group to targeting. The US is now warning its allies not to embed with Nusra.
State Department officials sought to insist this approving of all targeting was short of actual US cooperation with the Syrian government, insisting that they are only cooperating with Russia, and not with Syria itself.
there is no “al- nousra front”. it’s an eminence front. it’s a put-on.
Wait…what happened to this thing called “sovereignty?” I don’t remember hearing that the US had conquered the Syrians and now controlled what was left of it. You know, it takes a set of large ones to actually publicly say something like this.
Kerry is misleading if he suggests that insurgents can undertake operations against the Syrian Army without being bombed by the Syrian Air Force. A cease fire goes both ways.
Thus, Kerry is either a liar, or has agreed to let Assad stay.
Either way — since everyone in the region and Damascus approved the plan without reservations — and it includes Turkey and Iran, only US did not talk publicly about a deal. There is no provision on Syria not being allowed to respond should the Al-Nusra protected rebels try to attack. The joint decision making with Russia bas finally pulled US into being engaged w Russia — not acting alone. How will it work remains to be seen — but there is no doubt that we are talking a climb down. Since Turkey entered to stop US-sponsored Kosovo like creation of a Kurdish state, and Turkmen are now under Turkey, including those other “Arabs” on payroll, time may come for US to need a political settlement as the control on the ground has considerably changed since the hay days of Kurdish forces marching on Manbij. ISIS was only an excuse to create an entity in Syria unser US control. No regional power supports taking away territory from Syria so the likrlyhood of US continuing the carnage in Syria makes little sense. But with Hillarites — one never knows.