Syria Truce: Don't Hold Out Much Hope for Its Success

Rasa - A period of relative calm seems to have returned to Syria since a ceasefire deal brokered by the United States and Russia went into effect on Monday.

News ID: 423550

Date: 14 September 2016 - 23:49

RNA - The United Nations has confirmed that in the first 24 hours of the ceasefire there have been “dramatic” improvements to the security situation nationwide, and while aid has yet to really start flowing in earnest, there seems to be no real obstacle to those deliveries ramping up.

The ceasefire is set to last for seven days, though there appears to be no obstacle to extending it beyond that length. Secretary of State John Kerry says if the ceasefire holds and if the Syrian government doesn’t do any fighting against the Nusra Front, the US and Russia may launch joint attacks on Nusra.

"Assad is not supposed to be bombing the opposition, because there is a cease-fire," Kerry told journalists at the State Department. "Now he is allowed ... to target Nusra. But that will be on strikes that are agreed upon with Russia and the United States in order to go after them."

That is to say, when the Nusra Front that has now changed name to Fatah Al-Sham Front attacked to capture the army positions in the Southwestern province of Quneitra near the Golan Heights with Israel's strong air support in the last three days, the country's army should have avoided returning fire and got killed or retreated from their positions and delivered control over their positions to the terrorists very politely until the needed coordination is made with the powers to see if the US approves of their response and war plans. That is, Syrians should receive Washington's permission for defending their country against the admittedly Al-Qaeda terrorists, and they should trust Washington - Israel's staunch ally - with their war plans and see if it Okays their moves! Really!!

In other words, when it comes to ceasefire and fighting terror, the US government wants to it both ways. On the stump, Washington apparently attacks Nusra and ISIL. But the US has spent the last five years supporting “moderate” terrorist groups for its own narrow policy objectives. Even today, the War Party continues to lean on its “moderates” to stay the course in the conflict it has exacerbated, diminishing both the stature and the legitimacy of the United States in the process.

So there will be challenges in the days to come. The last time a tailored cease-fire agreement had the imprimatur of both Russia and America, it ended quickly amid claims by all sides that the terms of the truce were being violated. The collapse of the Syrian ceasefire in May closely mirrored the collapse of a similar accord in February. So if past is prologue, no one should be holding out much hope for the success of this new truce.

And that's not all. There are signs that indicate the Americans are not willing to implement the arrangement consistent with the way it has been described. For instance, the State Department has just contradicted Kerry’s statements, underscoring how poorly the terms of the still-secret arrangement are understood and how they are subject to various interpretations – including a post-war power-sharing arrangement!

The saddest part of all this is that no matter who wins the US presidency in November, Washington’s Syria policy – regime change - will be subject to very little revision. Rather than straightening out this mess, both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are only contributing to it, because like their predecessor they are only pursuing their narrow self-interest at the expense of Syria.

To this end, Hilary Clinton has promised to “defeat ISIL without committing American ground troops” to either Syria or Iraq, the presence of American special forces in Syria notwithstanding. For his part, Donald Trump has promised to create no-fly zones, all of which would require a massive US-led presence and Persian Gulf Arab cash.

If there is a more accurate and pithy description of the problem, it is this: Despite John Kerry’s public statements, 2017 will be another bleak year for Syria, where the foreign-backed war will be getting more ferocious and more absurd. Thanks largely to Washington’s narrow-minded foreign policy, the worst crisis of the 21st Century will continue to rage, and this is a legacy that will prove difficult for President Obama to shake.

Ceasefire notwithstanding, Syria is still paying the price for a criminal campaign that has nothing to do with “liberation” and “democracy” - much less saving people, and everything to do with Washington and client states pursuing their own interests, not Syria’s.

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