US takes stricter line on Assad

Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, in Moscow, Russia on 10 October 2015

Analysts have said that the latest remarks by US officials regarding the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad suggests that Washington is taking a stricter line as a result of his ongoing rights violations, Al-Watan.com reported on Sunday.

The Qatari newspaper cited the remarks made by General Raymond Thomas that Assad and his regime are a source of inspiration for extremist groups. The Commander of the US Special Operations Command made his comments during a panel discussion organised by the Aspen Institute in Washington. Assad, he said, has a “destructive” effect and at the same time is not “the choice for the integration of Syria and solving its crisis.”

Thomas announced that the CIA has terminated its programme to support the Syrian opposition groups which have been fighting Assad, quoting critics of the programme who say that it has no chance of ousting the Syrian President.

The general confirmed a report published by the Washington Post on Wednesday about an end to official US support for the Syrian opposition. This move, he insisted, did not result from Russian pressure. Nevertheless, according to the Post, the halting of the CIA programme proves that US President Donald Trump is interested in working with Russia.

Meanwhile, reported Al-Watan.com, another senior US official has said that the evaluation of the American intelligence agencies is that there are a large number of foreign fighters who are likely to remain in Iraq and Syria to defend the remnants of the Daesh “caliphate”.

“Many if not all the foreign fighters who arrived in the conflict region will remain fighting and may well die for the sake of maintaining the slogans of Daesh,” explained Nicholas Rasmussen, the Director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre.