Elaborating on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson‘s comments yesterday that the Syrian people should be the ones to decide the future of President Bashar Assad, the White House today insisted that it was just the US accepting the “political reality” in the country.
Press Secretary Sean Spicer insisted that there was a “lack of options” for the US to force President Assad out of office anymore, blaming President Obama for having missed the opportunity to do so back when he was in power.
The Obama Administration had long spurned talks of a deal which might allow voters to decide on Assad’s role in a future Syrian government, insisting he needed to unconditionally resign and accept that he’d never be allowed to run for office again.
The Trump Administration is seen moving the Syrian war to focus on fighting against ISIS, and not against the Syrian government. Given the position the Syrian government currently controls, there is no reason to expect Assad to unilaterally resign anymore, though the US abandoning that demand is likely to anger US-backed rebel groups.
The Syrian people being allowed to decide who gets to run Syria? What a strange idea.
Yeah, something that we here in America should try.
For that to happen you have to elections with integrity, authenticity and verification.
When Assad crossed the red line according to the Obama administration president Obama was saved by Trump’s buddy Putin who did not like a major US invasion in the country where he has a naval base. As so often Spicer or whoever instructs him what to say ignores real history.
“When Assad crossed the red line according to the Obama administration president Obama was saved by Trump’s buddy Putin who did not like a major US invasion in the country where he has a naval base.”
The ‘red line’ was purposely drawn so that Western-backed insurgents could cross it in a false flag attack – which they did. The British Parliament voted against attacking Syria, perhaps because Syria’s 1st lady, Asma Assad, is a British citizen. The American people were overwhelming opposed to war on Syria. Putin, offered Obama a face-saving way to back out. That was the morally correct thing for Putin to do, whether or not it was because of the naval base.
Hey! We are neglecting the voices that actually count regarding any questions concerning Syria – the Israelis
Sorry, but I am not going to Israel
You’ve got your head up your a-s. The demands of Obama’s red line were fulfilled when Assad agreed to get rid of his chem/bio weapons. Assad never did cross the ‘red line’, he obeyed it’s demands.
Racists have so much trouble understanding the truth. Why is that?
You didn’t even read my comment, genius
Heaven forbid we upset the Obama/CIA backed jihadi groups.
Sure hope the CIA and Dept of Defense got the Hands off Assad message…..
So this administration is backtracking on Tillerson’s comment? We go from respecting a country’s sovereignty to blaming Obama for not getting the job done of removing Assad?
This is hopeful. It indicates Trump’s administration is serious about no more regime change wars. Also, and please correct if my memory has failed me, didn’t the clean break strategy go Iraq, Syria, Iran? So this policy promises an end to the Syrian war and the prevention of the Iranian war.
It was hopeful after Tillerson’s comment but Spicer’s comment seems to be a backtrack. “Lack of options” in removing Assad doesn’t sound like a vote of confidence or anything of the like.
Judge political types by their actions, not their words. If they don’t move against Assad, then what they say in public matters little to me.
I do but the subject was the comments made by Tillerson and now Spicer. It seemed Spicer thought Tillerson’s comment needed to be explained in a way that didn’t make it sound like we really wanted Assad to stay in power but we had no choice. I was deflated by Spicer’s comment because Tillerson’s was so out of the ordinary. Hopefully we don’t move on Assad and then their comments will be pointless.
No. It indicates the message has been received by the Kremlin.
“…accepting the “political reality”…”
Of course they’d say that. After all, they cannot very well say that Assad is a good guy after the West supported terrorism, blood and death, to get rid of him.
The REAL ‘reality’ is that letting the Syrian people decide their own leader is the morally correct choice over the West installing a Mubarak-like thug. Assad has been elected twice, most recently in 2014. And last April, parliamentary elections were held in Syria and Assad’s party won a comfortable majority.
Decide the future?? How many elections has Assad won already?? Give it a rest Rex.
Those elections were rigged by Russia! Putin has a top-secret KGB guitar and just by strumming it he can produce ultra high frequencies which travel to specific locations and give him telepathic access to voters as they are about to mark their ballot!!
No, actually the voters were drugged with mind altering chick peas used in hummus.
yum. hummus
How many elections has the royal family of Saudi Arabia won? Actually LESS than Assad! Which country is actually funding Al Qaeda in Syria?…………..AMERICA! Assad wasnt blowing up Christian Churches in Syria…………Americas moderate Insurgents were though and within days of taking an area, 2000 year old churches blown up with US tax dollars!
You dont have to explain it to me my friend.
“Press Secretary Sean Spicer insisted that there was a “lack of options” for the US to force President Assad out of office anymore, blaming President Obama for having missed the opportunity to do so back when he was in power.”
Yes, Obama is to blame for allowing Assad to remain, and also for empowering Russia by setting up his ‘red line’ deal which Assad readily agreed with. Thereby taking away any US legitimacy or jusification for war.
And that sticks in Americans’ racist craws so much that they can’t admit it!
That damn negra really did it on Syria, and maybe Iran too by allowing the nuclear deal to succeed.
ANY US GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL in Syria is in violation of the laws of nations, international law and is an act of war! THE US HAS NOT BEEN INVITED TO BE IN, ENTER, FLY OVER, BOMB, ETC ANYWHERE IN SYRIA!
Assad is a London trained ophthalmologist who only became president because the favored son died. The US never cared about Assad leaving. They wouldn’t accept another Bathist leader is what they really meant. They had hand picked Free Syrian Army leaders who they needed placed in power. It really had nothing to do with Assad. He was compliant to the west including backing the first Iraq war. He just couldn’t back down when asked to shun Hezbollah and Iran. He knew if he did that he would be defenseless against Western attack. After strengthing Iran’s position in Iraq after the USA’s complete destruction of that country it was decided to correct that and continue Wurmser’s “clean break” strategy by destroying Syria. This would isolate and weaken Hezbollah and Iran. Lebanon could be easily picked off and Iran weakened to the point that the US war industry may just like to try it. Turkey provided bases, training, and launch points for the invasion. The CIA provided arms, advisors, organization, and manufactured protests through the CIA operated NGOs to get the ball rolling and provide cover for the violent insurrection. Saudi Arabia and Qatar provided money and served as a conduit for US arms shipments to the jihadis. Syria, Hezzbolah, and Iran struggled to keep the jihadis at bay and lost a lot of territory. When it looked like Assad’s army was demoralized and beginning to give up the Russians stepped in and saved Syria from complete destruction like Libya. It looks like the US has changed strategy now. The US military will pick off as much territory from ISIS as it can with the Syrian kurds to keep it outside of Assad’s control. These are the “safe zones”. Turkey won’t be happy which is why they are making up with Russia. Still not sure how all of this will end. Probably with three zones of control. Syria, Turkish controlled Syria, and US Kurdish Syria. It will be a very tense situation.
If Uncle Sam leaves the Kurdish controlled part of Syria you can bet the Turks will crush it.
Ahh, the arrogance of a decaying rome is always such a subtle sweet thing, is it not folks?
Yes there is.
End he regime-change operation to overthrow the Syrian government.
Trump is reluctant to do this,
Meanwhile he intends to fight a private war on their territory, and attack Raqqa, a major city.