The Advantages That the Russian Air Campaign in Syria Brings to the US

Russia’s attitude towards the conflict in Syria has created an opportunity to the US to regain its positions in Syria, and intensify the fight against ISIS, specialist on Middle East issue Ross Harrison wrote.

The Advantages That the Russian Air Campaign in Syria Brings to the US

According to Ross Harrison, Washington has the opportunity to regain its positions in Syria. In order to do this, Harrison says that it should build up support for ‘’mainstream Syrian opposition forces’’ like the Free Syrian Army and use them against ISIS.

“Mainstream opposition groups like the FSA have the potential to translate future battlefield wins against ISIS [Daesh] into political support on the ground. Washington needs to take note of this, develop a strategy around it and keep the talks in Geneva and the fragile cease-fire going as long as possible, so as not to miss what might be a narrow window of opportunity,” he wrote in an article for the National Interest.

Harrison made a foray into the history of US actions during the Syrian conflict. He explained that in the course of the war Washington provided air support to the Syrian Kurdish YPG forces in the battle against Daesh. Simultaneously, the US never provided a similar level of support to opposition fighters.

The Russian withdrawal from Syria seems to be a signal to President Bashar Assad that Moscow seeks for a plitical solution to the conflict and urges for a ceasefire.

“With the conflict in the western part of Syria partially frozen due to Russia’s involvement, the center of gravity of the civil war is likely to now shift eastward to ISIS controlled areas. […] What this means is that whoever is successful in liberating territory from ISIS potentially wins the greatest competitive advantages in the broader battle for Syria,” the article read.

The sudden rush to liberate Palmyra shows that Assad understands the situation.

At the same time, the author wrote, the US should expect a race to retake Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Daesh “caliphate.”

“The problem for the United States is that it doesn’t have sufficient ground forces in Syria to really ramp up its battle against ISIS,” the analyst pointed out.

Harrison also believes that the most effective way for the US to return its positions in Syria is to redirect its efforts towards the Syrian opposition groups and use them against ISIS.

“Prior to Russia’s involvement there was no real diplomatic process, and no prospects for a cease-fire. While Russia’s fortification of Assad clearly contravened the stated policy of the United States, it created an opportunity for a different strategy [for the US to battle Daesh],” Harrison wrote.

 

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Tomko Kubianca

Why would the US want to intensify the fight against ISIS when they along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey CREATED them and continue to SUPPORT them? The Russians must be well aware of this.

Tomko Kubianca

I pity the poor Syrians including Assad that they are caught up in a FAKE war that was created for some ulterior agenda; and what is that agenda? There seems to be three possibilities…1) intentionally flood Europe with Muslim immigrants. 2) dislodge Assad. 3) make way for the pipeline from Qatar to Turkey (the Russian certainly don’t want that).

Nexusfast123

Three is the answer. 2 is an obstacle to 3 and 1 is a byproduct of US stupidity. The Washington degenerates do not care how many they kill directly or otherwise.

Tomko Kubianca

Thanks! I appreciate your input. I believe it’s all three. 1) would be George Soros. 2) would be the US, Saudi, Qatar, and Europe to achieve 3). I forgot to mention 4) Iran also wants to build a pipeline to the Mediterranean. This is also not in Putin’s best interest or the interest of the entire country of Russia (they would lose they’re energy monopoly over Europe). This may be the reason that Putin pulled out of Syria. As long as Syria remains in a state of chaos neither pipeline will be constructed. This is very unfortunate for the people of Syria but it would seem GREED conquers all.

ruca

Hi guys. This is all about creating the Greater Israel. Please Google or Yandex it. I don’t understand why nobody mentions this angle. I don’t believe it’s a one step process. To me this is why there is talk of PlanB, also known as a partition. It looks like the Kurds could play a role in this plan too. Look it up and get back to me please.