Press Digest
Regime Change
QODS: US warplanes, backed by NATO, Saudi, Qatari, Bahraini, Jordanian and UAE aircraft are bombing Syria’s oil refineries and civilian infrastructure with little care for civilian life on the ground. Washington claims the strikes aim to destroy the black market oil trade and cut this important source of income for the terrorist group of ISIL. Yet the real agenda appears to be the "Big Switch” to their original mission: Regime change in Damascus.
US Airstrikes
AFTAB: US airstrikes are designed to back moderate terrorists (they are now ISIL soul mates) and cripple Syria’s military forces in less than 24 hours. The no-fly zone would include a ban on the movement of Syrian military forces, designed to neutralize Syria’s ability to carry out air strikes, ultimately paving the way for an all-out attack on Damascus.
Moderate Terrorists
SHARQ: Obama once dismissed the notion of relying on "moderate” rebels as a "fantasy” that was "never in the cards” as a workable strategy. But it is a fantasy that the neocons have long found useful, portraying the war in Syria as a black-and-white conflict. When the extremism of the rebel movement became undeniable the neocons shifted their narrative to argue that this radicalization should be blamed on Obama for not having done more to arm the terrorists and achieve "regime change” in Syria earlier.
Doomed Policy
HAMSHAHRI: Washington’s strategy is doomed to fail because fundamentalism, radicalization and terrorism are inherently sociological problems that can be easily exacerbated but never resolved by military means. In fact, the most effective action the international community can take in response to ISIL is to stop feeding the beast. This would mean cutting aid to nonstate actors in Syria and the broader region.
QODS: US warplanes, backed by NATO, Saudi, Qatari, Bahraini, Jordanian and UAE aircraft are bombing Syria’s oil refineries and civilian infrastructure with little care for civilian life on the ground. Washington claims the strikes aim to destroy the black market oil trade and cut this important source of income for the terrorist group of ISIL. Yet the real agenda appears to be the "Big Switch” to their original mission: Regime change in Damascus.
US Airstrikes
AFTAB: US airstrikes are designed to back moderate terrorists (they are now ISIL soul mates) and cripple Syria’s military forces in less than 24 hours. The no-fly zone would include a ban on the movement of Syrian military forces, designed to neutralize Syria’s ability to carry out air strikes, ultimately paving the way for an all-out attack on Damascus.
Moderate Terrorists
SHARQ: Obama once dismissed the notion of relying on "moderate” rebels as a "fantasy” that was "never in the cards” as a workable strategy. But it is a fantasy that the neocons have long found useful, portraying the war in Syria as a black-and-white conflict. When the extremism of the rebel movement became undeniable the neocons shifted their narrative to argue that this radicalization should be blamed on Obama for not having done more to arm the terrorists and achieve "regime change” in Syria earlier.
Doomed Policy
HAMSHAHRI: Washington’s strategy is doomed to fail because fundamentalism, radicalization and terrorism are inherently sociological problems that can be easily exacerbated but never resolved by military means. In fact, the most effective action the international community can take in response to ISIL is to stop feeding the beast. This would mean cutting aid to nonstate actors in Syria and the broader region.