WarSclerotic

Trump ends program to arm anti-Assad jihadis in Syria, Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer, July 20, 2017

(Please see also, Trump to end lavish CIA support for ‘moderate’ anti-Assad forces in Syria. — DM)

The Washington Post casts this story as evidence that President Trump is a pawn of the Russians, which is more of the Left’s ridiculous campaign to portray the 2016 election as having been stolen by Vladimir Putin. But this is the right decision. These “rebels” are mostly jihadis; arming and aiding them is arming and aiding enemies of the United States.

“Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow,” by Greg Jaffe and Adam Entous, Washington Post, July 19, 2017:

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later.

Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an assault on its interests. The shuttering of the program is also an acknowledgment of Washington’s limited leverage and desire to remove Assad from power.

Just three months ago, after the United States accused Assad of using chemical weapons, Trump launched retaliatory airstrikes against a Syrian air base. At the time, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said that “in no way do we see peace in that area with Assad at the head of the Syrian government.”

Officials said Trump made the decision to scrap the CIA program nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R. McMaster ahead of a July 7 meeting in Germany with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Spokesmen for the National Security Council and the CIA declined to comment….

This entry was posted on July 20, 2017 at 4:59 PM and is filed under Russia - Syrian war, Syrian militias, Trump and Russia, Trump and Syria. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Russia - Syrian war, Syrian militias, Trump and Russia, Trump and Syria