OBAMA IS NO LEADER ......... !
Robert Ford was always one of the Syrian rebels’ loudest cheerleaders in Washington,
agitating from within a reluctant administration to arm vetted moderates to fight Bashar
Assad’s brutal regime.
Robert Ford was always one of the Syrian rebels’ loudest cheerleaders in Washington,
agitating from within a reluctant administration to arm vetted moderates to fight Bashar
Assad’s brutal regime.
In recent weeks, however, Ford, the former U.S. ambassador to Syria who made news
when he left government service a year ago with an angry critique of Obama administration
policy, has dropped his call to provide weapons to the rebels. Instead, he’s become
increasingly critical of them as disjointed and untrustworthy because they collaborate
with jihadists. The about-face, which is drawing murmurs among foreign policy analysts
and Syrian opposition figures in Washington, is another sign that the so-called moderate
rebel option is gone and the choices in Syria have narrowed to regime vs. extremists in a
when he left government service a year ago with an angry critique of Obama administration
policy, has dropped his call to provide weapons to the rebels. Instead, he’s become
increasingly critical of them as disjointed and untrustworthy because they collaborate
with jihadists. The about-face, which is drawing murmurs among foreign policy analysts
and Syrian opposition figures in Washington, is another sign that the so-called moderate
rebel option is gone and the choices in Syria have narrowed to regime vs. extremists in a
war that’s killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions.
On the heels of meetings with rebel leaders in Turkey, Ford explained in an interview this
week why his position has evolved: Without a strong central command or even agreement
among regional players that al Qaida’s Nusra Front is an enemy, he said, the moderates
stand little chance of becoming a viable force, whether against Assad or the extremists. He
estimated that the remnants of the moderate rebels now number fewer than 20,000.
They’re unable to attack and at this point are “very much fighting defensive battles.”
week why his position has evolved: Without a strong central command or even agreement
among regional players that al Qaida’s Nusra Front is an enemy, he said, the moderates
stand little chance of becoming a viable force, whether against Assad or the extremists. He
estimated that the remnants of the moderate rebels now number fewer than 20,000.
They’re unable to attack and at this point are “very much fighting defensive battles.”
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