U.S., Turkey Agree To Syrian Rebel Training, But Not Whom They’ll Fight
Source: McClatchy
By Duygu Guvenc and Roy Gutman
McClatchy Foreign StaffJanuary 5, 2015
ANKARA, Turkey — The United States and Turkey have agreed tentatively to start joint training of Syrian rebel fighters in March but have put off the question of defining the enemy – the government of President Bashar Assad or Islamist extremists – the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Monday.
Under a memorandum of understanding, the U.S. will send about 100 military trainers to the Kirsehir-Hirfanli base in central Anatolia to train and equip up to 2,000 rebels this year, a senior official told reporters.
Altogether, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are to host training for 5,000 rebels this year and a total of 15,000 over three years, said the official, who declined to be named because this was not an official announcement.
Turkey expects to conclude the deal by late January, but major questions remain open – not only about naming the ultimate foe but also how to choose the rebels and where to base them.
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/01/05/4061644_us-turkey-agree-to-syrian-rebel.html?rh=1
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Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)1. The US has no business trying to overthrow the Syrian government.
2. 2,000 rebels will be trained this year? Hell, that many get killed in Syria each month.
3. Our policy seems aimed not at bringing peace to Syria, but increasing the bloodshed.
Other than that, it's all good...
Jesus Malverde
(10,274 posts)Eventually you will get burned.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)We aren't even good guessers. Taliban, anyone?
uhnope
(6,419 posts)The second part of Putin's strategy is even more insidious, though, because it involves Western apathy skillfully exploited by Russian propaganda. Enter Russia's propaganda outlet RT, or Russia Today. Its guests and hosts range from the far right wing to the far left, from Julian Assange to Larry King. RT is able to obfuscate the facts just enough and rally enough voters on all sides of the political spectrum to help change the electoral math on foreign policy.
Russia's positioning of Assad as Syria's legitimate leader, despite the massive peaceful protests that launched the Syrian revolution, was also a propaganda coup. And while Russia praised Assad for fighting those it labeled terrorists, planes maintained by Russian specialists bombed Syria's cities into oblivion. Russia and Assad compounded the lie by claiming that these "terrorists" were really foreign agents working to topple the legitimate government.
Read it all http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/putin-practiced-his-ukraine-strategy-in-syria/503581.html
Response to uhnope (Reply #3)
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Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)
mallard
(569 posts)... supported the invasion of Iraq at the time. Suppose you found the anti-Kaddafi revolt refreshing and productive, too. That's a pretty hardcore pro-regime-change/pro-war approach you promote.
Don't see how Russia 'positioned' Assad. Do see signs of a free press in Moscow, and reminders of a controled one in America.
mallard
(569 posts)... it's OK to leave Syria in a state of ruins despite its having a formerly peaceful history, making no major threats or attacks on neighbors (especially Golan occupier), its limited cooperation in disarming and a lack genuine original urgency about arranging the regime change being so desperately sought after; at such extreme costs and with clearly hazardous likely outcomes, even if Assad is 'successfully' Kaddafisized on some desert highway outside of Damascus. They are not all foolish enough to believe they are helping out the state of Syria with these violence oriented policies or that they will achieve desirable results. Systematic destruction couldn't be much more effective. Why are there no sensible voices engaging in a serious debate?
Why are the Saudis, Jordanians, etc not able see around this madness and change the formula?
While the parties might cite the refugee crisis as motivation for swifter action, they now have to try and evade their own responsibility in the chaos and are as likely to keep making matters worse.
At least it made the news again. Haven't read much about IS lately.
daleo
(21,317 posts)The world acts like a bunch of drunks piling out of the bar at closing time, spoiling for a fight. But that doesn't mean someone isn't getting rich off the drunks.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)will perpetrate
in the ME the question's never "who're we fighting?" but "who're we fighting next?"
