The one thing that must be grasped in order to understand the "Syrian civil war" is that there is not, nor has there ever been, any such thing as "Syrian rebels," much less "moderate" ones (unless you count the Kurds, and Obama already cut them off). The "Syrian Civil War" has, in fact, always been an invasion of Syria by al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
And now Barack Obama has made his alliance with the jihadist factions against Bashir al-Assad even more transparent.
I'll do my best to edit this tangle of mislabeling:
Barack Obama has authorized the use of air power to defend [ISIS] if they come under attack from [rival] terrorist groups or the Assad regime, deepening the U.S. role against [Assad] forces in Syria.
The broader U.S. rules of engagement, approved July 31st, came after [the Kurds] fighting the Islamic State were attacked by the al-Nusrah Front, an al-Qaida offshoot, in northern Syria, a U.S. defense official said. The U.S. provided close air support to protect [ISIS] and quash the [Kurds], he said.
While airstrikes remain limited to [Syrian] targets for offensive operations, they can now be used to defend U.S. allies on the ground in Syria, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
The official discounted the risk of a U.S. confrontation with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, should he choose to attack any American-trained forces on the ground.
i.e. If he's able - which he apparently is not.
[ISIS], wh[ich] number[s] about sixty [thousand - a low-ball estimate], have pledged to fight only [Assad], not [al-Nusrah], and Assad must focus on other threats to his regime, the official said.
Hey, I said I would do my best; I didn't say I'd entirely succeed.
The point is, "moderate Syrian rebels" is a myth and always has been. And even if it wasn't, they would have been wiped out and/or assimilated years ago. There is only Assad, al Qaeda, and ISIS, and the latter, contrary to "official" Obama Regime propaganda, are winning:
The U.S. will need non-Kurdish Syrian rebels that will fight the Islamic State outside the Kurdish areas, but the U.S. program to support "moderate" rebels is a disaster. One U.S.-backed group, Division 30, was just smashed by al-Qaeda and had to flee to the Syrian Kurds for safety. Another was crushed by al-Qaeda in February and its remnants joined Islamist rebels.
Other personnel on the ground are needed but the U.S. effort to support "moderate" Syrian rebels is pathetic. The Pentagon program to train 5,000 this year has only produced fifty-four fighters.
Hey, a 98.92% failure rate isn't bad.....
In addition, rebels complain of being inadequately supported and Islamists dominate the rebel ranks. The Free Syria Army's Southern Front is seen as the best rebel force, but it includes fifty factions that includes Islamist radicals and forces that coordinate with Al-Qaeda against their common enemy.
The campaign against the Islamic State is in a major state of disrepair. U.S. policy discriminates against the oppressed Christians and Sunni and Kurdish allies complain about a lack of support and reliance on Iranian proxies. Pilots are frustrated over rules of engagement that are so restrictive that even Iraqi allies say the U.S. is being overly cautious.
Not cautious; simply not wanting to actually fight what are, in reality, Barack Obama's allies: al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Iranian mullahgarchy.
Not that I've completely untangled this confusing web, mind you. Obama is friendly toward Sunni AND Shiite jihadists, but the latter two are ostensibly fighting each other in Syria (and Iraq), and presumably the mullahs don't want to lose Assad. But on the other hand, al Qaeda and ISIS could be being unwittingly used to grind down Assad to the point where he falls, and then the Iranians will mobilize, escalate, crush the Sunni jihadists and occupy Syria directly. Surely they'll now have the resources to do so, thanks to Barack Obama.
The two things that are crystal clear are that The One takes his orders from Ali Khamanei, and we won't live to see how the plan all fit together.
But I'm sure it will be insidiously glorious.
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