US freezing of Syrian rebel training scheme shows western disarray, The US decision to “pause” its troubled $500m (£326m) programme to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State (Isis) is yet another move highlighting western disarray and failure as Russia continues its airstrikes, which western governments say are supporting Bashar al-Assad.
The Pentagon said on Friday it was changing its strategy in Syria. It would supply “equipment packages and weapons … to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by Isil,” a spokesman said, using the US acronym for the jihadi group.
The programme, the most visible element of US backing for Syrian opposition forces, has suffered embarrassing setbacks. Last month it transpired that it had trained only four or five fighters inside Syria, while others who underwent training in Turkey had surrendered to rival groups and handed over the their weapons when they crossed the border into Syria. Other covert programmes are run by the CIA.
Syrian opposition sources, already unhappy with US policy, were sceptical that meaningful military support would now be forthcoming. Pentagon officials said that “only basic types of equipment”, not “higher-end” weapons, such as anti-tank rockets and Manpads (portable anti-aircraft missiles), would be provided.
Arab diplomats have said in the last few days that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies were looking for new ways to arm anti-Assad rebels in the wake of the Russian military intervention. Since Russia began its air operations on 30 September the Syrian regime has dropped more than 150 barrel bombs on opposition areas. “We cannot depend on the Americans,” a senior Qatari source said.
But the US was also in contact with the Syrian Jaysh al-Fateh coalition of mainly Islamist rebel groups, exploring whether any could be suitable partners for increased weapons deliveries, the diplomats said.A senior US official said there would no longer be any recruiting of Syrian rebels for training in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Instead, a single training centre would be set up in Turkey, where a small group of “enablers” – mostly leaders of opposition groups – would be vetted and taught operational methods, such as how to call in airstrikes.
The new effort would focus heavily on “capable indigenous forces on the ground” – established Kurdish and Arab rebel groups – rather than recruiting and vetting a new cadre of moderate rebels. The White House again made it clear that it was not planning to establish a no-fly zone, as Syrian rebels and their supporters have long demanded.
The announcement caps a grim few weeks for US policy on Syria, already weakened by the perception that while the Obama administration is prepared to fight Isis, it will not tackle the Assad regime head-on. Instead, the president is holding out for a political solution to end the four and a half year conflict.
Gen Lloyd Austin, who heads the US military’s Central Command, confirmed last month that 54 graduates of the train and equip programme had been attacked by the al-Qaida affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, in northern Syria in July. It is still not clear how many of the fighters fled, were captured or killed.
Austin told Congress that there was no way of meeting the original goal of 5,000 recruits a year. Low numbers were blamed on the laborious vetting process used to recruit rebels. “It was,” one Pentagon official said on Friday, “inherently a very complex mission.”The US, like Britain, has been signalling in recent weeks that Assad could remain in power in Damascus for an undefined transitional period, fuelling opposition fears that they are being abandoned.
Michael Fallon, the British defence secretary, said after talks with his US counterpart, Ashton Carter, that the UK government remained committed to building parliamentary support for RAF airstrikes against Isis in Syria despite Russia’s intervention.
Carter said Russia’s support for Assad was illogical and would ultimately rebound against Moscow. “They are going to have the effect of inflaming the very extremism that Russia claims to want to combat,” he said. “By taking the side of Assad, they inflame the civil war – and therefore extremism – and prolong the suffering of the Syrian people. They are going to have the effect also of turning everyone against Russia itself. This will boomerang in a very direct way on Russia.”
Meanwhile, Russia said its warplanes had killed several hundred Isis fighters and hit more than 60 “terrorist targets” in Syria over the past 24 hours.
The deputy head of the Russian general staff, Lt Gen Igor Makushev, told reporters in Moscow the targets included a command post in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, where two senior commanders and about 200 fighters were killed, according to intercepted radio communications. Strikes on Aleppo killed “some 100 militants”, and other raids struck command posts and training camps in Latakia, Hama and Idlib.
Western governments and Syrian rebels say the vast majority of Russian strikes so far have targeted groups other than Isis in what they describe as a clear attempt to defend Assad. France’s defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said 80% to 90% of Russian strikes in Syria were aimed at propping up the president.
According to the British Foreign Office, at least 85 strikes have hit at least 59 targets, mostly using imprecise, unguided munitions. It took six days for Russia to strike any Islamic State targets at all; 85% of Russian strikes have been in areas where Isis is not present.
The White Helmets, volunteer Syrian search and rescue teams, have reported that at least 88 civilians have been killed and 331 injured by Russian strikes.
The Pentagon said on Friday it was changing its strategy in Syria. It would supply “equipment packages and weapons … to a select group of vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled by Isil,” a spokesman said, using the US acronym for the jihadi group.
The programme, the most visible element of US backing for Syrian opposition forces, has suffered embarrassing setbacks. Last month it transpired that it had trained only four or five fighters inside Syria, while others who underwent training in Turkey had surrendered to rival groups and handed over the their weapons when they crossed the border into Syria. Other covert programmes are run by the CIA.
Syrian opposition sources, already unhappy with US policy, were sceptical that meaningful military support would now be forthcoming. Pentagon officials said that “only basic types of equipment”, not “higher-end” weapons, such as anti-tank rockets and Manpads (portable anti-aircraft missiles), would be provided.
Arab diplomats have said in the last few days that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies were looking for new ways to arm anti-Assad rebels in the wake of the Russian military intervention. Since Russia began its air operations on 30 September the Syrian regime has dropped more than 150 barrel bombs on opposition areas. “We cannot depend on the Americans,” a senior Qatari source said.
But the US was also in contact with the Syrian Jaysh al-Fateh coalition of mainly Islamist rebel groups, exploring whether any could be suitable partners for increased weapons deliveries, the diplomats said.A senior US official said there would no longer be any recruiting of Syrian rebels for training in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Instead, a single training centre would be set up in Turkey, where a small group of “enablers” – mostly leaders of opposition groups – would be vetted and taught operational methods, such as how to call in airstrikes.
The new effort would focus heavily on “capable indigenous forces on the ground” – established Kurdish and Arab rebel groups – rather than recruiting and vetting a new cadre of moderate rebels. The White House again made it clear that it was not planning to establish a no-fly zone, as Syrian rebels and their supporters have long demanded.
The announcement caps a grim few weeks for US policy on Syria, already weakened by the perception that while the Obama administration is prepared to fight Isis, it will not tackle the Assad regime head-on. Instead, the president is holding out for a political solution to end the four and a half year conflict.
Gen Lloyd Austin, who heads the US military’s Central Command, confirmed last month that 54 graduates of the train and equip programme had been attacked by the al-Qaida affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, in northern Syria in July. It is still not clear how many of the fighters fled, were captured or killed.
Austin told Congress that there was no way of meeting the original goal of 5,000 recruits a year. Low numbers were blamed on the laborious vetting process used to recruit rebels. “It was,” one Pentagon official said on Friday, “inherently a very complex mission.”The US, like Britain, has been signalling in recent weeks that Assad could remain in power in Damascus for an undefined transitional period, fuelling opposition fears that they are being abandoned.
Michael Fallon, the British defence secretary, said after talks with his US counterpart, Ashton Carter, that the UK government remained committed to building parliamentary support for RAF airstrikes against Isis in Syria despite Russia’s intervention.
Carter said Russia’s support for Assad was illogical and would ultimately rebound against Moscow. “They are going to have the effect of inflaming the very extremism that Russia claims to want to combat,” he said. “By taking the side of Assad, they inflame the civil war – and therefore extremism – and prolong the suffering of the Syrian people. They are going to have the effect also of turning everyone against Russia itself. This will boomerang in a very direct way on Russia.”
Meanwhile, Russia said its warplanes had killed several hundred Isis fighters and hit more than 60 “terrorist targets” in Syria over the past 24 hours.
The deputy head of the Russian general staff, Lt Gen Igor Makushev, told reporters in Moscow the targets included a command post in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, where two senior commanders and about 200 fighters were killed, according to intercepted radio communications. Strikes on Aleppo killed “some 100 militants”, and other raids struck command posts and training camps in Latakia, Hama and Idlib.
Western governments and Syrian rebels say the vast majority of Russian strikes so far have targeted groups other than Isis in what they describe as a clear attempt to defend Assad. France’s defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said 80% to 90% of Russian strikes in Syria were aimed at propping up the president.
According to the British Foreign Office, at least 85 strikes have hit at least 59 targets, mostly using imprecise, unguided munitions. It took six days for Russia to strike any Islamic State targets at all; 85% of Russian strikes have been in areas where Isis is not present.
The White Helmets, volunteer Syrian search and rescue teams, have reported that at least 88 civilians have been killed and 331 injured by Russian strikes.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment