When U.S.-led coalition forces hit Syrian troops Sept. 17, it marked the end to a fragile ceasefire negotiated between 72-year-old Secretary of State John Kerry and 66-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. No matter how Kerry wants to spin it, he knows the U.S.-attack on Syrian forces killed the ceasefire. For days since the mishap, U.N. Amb. Samantha Power and Kerry have blamed the Russians, especially for a Sept. 19 attack on an U.N. convoy, killing at least one aid worker and 20 civilians. Whatever happened there, there’s plenty of blame to go around having nothing to do with the U.S. air strike that sabotaged the truce. Russian and Syrian forces stepped up attacks on Saudi-Turkey-U.S.-backed rebel forces in Aleppo, the same insurgent groups seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Shiite government. Saudi and U.S. officials hoped to end attacks on rebel forces.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted Sept. 12 he plans to reclaim all sovereign Syrian land taken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra Front, Free Syrian Army, Syrian Democratic Forces and all other Saudi-Turkey-U.S.-backed opposition groups seeking regime change in Damascus. Today’s air strikes in Aleppo continue al-Assad’s commitment to ridding Syria of all rebel groups, including those backed by Saudi Arabia, U.S. and Turkey. Kerry’s Sept. 10 ceasefire with Lavrov hoped to give rebels groups a time to rearm after facing almost certain elimination. When the truce failed after U.S. attacks on Syrian troops, Lavrov said U.S. officials couldn’t separate out rebel groups from ISIS or al-Qaeda terrorists. When Kerry signed the ceasefire with Lavrov, it was apparently an attempt to buy Saudi-Turkey-U.S.-backed rebel groups more time.
Syria and Russia’s renewed attacks on Syrian rebels groups occupying Aleppo make perfect sense. No rebel group has a right to steal sovereign Syrian land, whether in Iraq, Syria or elsewhere. Syrian military announced today “the start of its operations in eastern districts of Aleppo,” signaling Syria and Russia were fully committed to ridding Aleppo of Saudi-Turkey-U.S.-backed opposition forces. Camping out in Aleppo since 2014, it was just a matter of time before al-Assad shifted his attention to the area. When the Geneva-based International Syria Support Group led by U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura meet again, it’s time to confront the Saudi-based High Negotiation Commission, insisting al-Assad leave Damascus. Whatever one things of al-Assad, it’s not up to the Saudis, Turks or the U.S. to determine what type of government exists in Dmascus.
Kerry begged for at least two ceasefires to save the Free Syrian Army and Syrian Democratic Forces from a wipeout in Aleppo. Calling the operation in Aleppo a “comprehensive one,” the Syrian military has no restraint left for Syrian rebels. Syrian military officials warned that strikes on rebel targets “with respect to air or artillery strikes, the may continue for some time,” putting the Saudis, Turks and U.S. on notice that rebels groups face certain elimination. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Sept. 17, Kerry refused to admit the U.S. role in sabotaging Syria’s ceasefire arrangement. Without the ceasefire, there’s little to stop the Syrian military from decimating rebel strongholds in Aleppo. “What’s happening now is annihilation in every sense of the word,” said Ammar al Selmo, head of Aleppo’s rebel civil defense rescue service.
Syria’s rebel forces act like they have a U.N. mandate to occupy Syrian land. When al-Selmo talks of annihilation of rebel forces parked in Aleppo, he acts like it’s his sovereign territory. “Today, the bombardment is more violent, with a large number of planes,” said al-Selmo, realizing rebels can no longer hide behind a ceasefire agreement to regroup. Kerry and Lavrov agreed Sept. 10 on ceasefire to get humanitarian aid to some 250,000 civilians caught in the crossfire. Saudi-U.S.-Turkey-backed rebel groups around Aleppo throw a monkey wrench into plans to topple al-Assad. With Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia back al-Assad, the Saudi proxy war has little chance of succeeding. Hitting Aleppo’s eastern side, al-Assad hopes to drive Syrian rebels out of Alleppo. Obama and Kerry still haven’t officially shifted the U.S. policy to back Russian and Iranian attempts to keep al-Assad in power.
Faced with wiping out Saudi-Turkey-U.S.-backed rebel groups in Aleppo, Kerry will no doubt, like he’s done before, seek to reinstate the ceasefire. De Mistura called the situation “long, painful, difficult and disappointing,” not able to get the Saudi High Negotiation Commission to back off its demand to oust al-Assad. Kerry has run out of options, trying to pressure Russia to abandon al-Assad. “We have exchanged ideas with the Russians and we plan to consult tomorrow with respect to those ideas,” said Kerry, hoping to stop the Syrian-Russian onslaught and salvage the ceasefire. Kerry has no one to blame but himself for the Pentagon’s attack on the Syrian military Sept. 17. “I am no less determined today than I was yesterday but I am even more frustrated,” said Kerry, taking no responsibility for violating the ceasefire agreement. As long as rebels occupy Aleppo, al-Assad sees no reason for a ceasefire.
