Confirming 54-year-old Secretary of State Mike Pompeo April 26, 72-year-old President Donald Trump didn’t realize that the two shared such different views on Syria. Trump advocated during the campaign to end U.S. support for various rebel group seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Agreeing with Russian President Vladimir Putin that toppling al-Assad would spread more chaos in the Middle East, Trump was accused of being a Putin “puppet” by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during the campaign. No, Trump can’t win. If he opposes backing Syrian rebel group, he’s accused of Kremlin collusion. Trump now has a Secretary of State aligned with the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) who wholeheartedly backed toppling al-Assad. With Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah help, al-Assad has beat back a seven-year-old Saudi proxy war against him.
Pompeo now blames Russia for supporting al-Assad’s right to sovereignty in Syria. Al-Assad’s battled various terror and rebel groups since March 15, 2011, fighting hard to stay in power. When Putin joined the fight Sept. 30, 2015, he turned the tide against various terror and rebel groups, helping al-Assad stay in power. Pushing terror and rebel groups out of various regions, they’ve all fled to Idlib Province where Syrian, Russian. Iranian and Hezbollah seek to purge Syria of insurgents trying to topple the Damascus government. Hiring Pompeo, Trump didn’t realize he was selected an Iraq War backer, much like former President George W. Bush and of course McCain. “The Russians and Assad agreed not to permit this. The U.S. sees this as an escalation of an already dangerous conflict,” said Pompeo, urging Syria, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah to suspend Idlib military operations.
Why Pompeo believes for one minute that al-Assad accepted terrorists, insurgents, rebels and sabateurs on Syrian soil is anyone’s guess. Would any nation tolerate armed rebel groups seeking to topple a sovereign government? Pompeo knows the answer is no. Yet when it comes to Syria, the U.S. under former President Barack Obama joined the seven-year-old Saudi proxy war attempting to oust al-Assad. Pompeo provided al-Assad or Russian President Vladimir Putin no assurance whatever that he accepted Syria’s sovereignty with al-Assad. However many civilians live in Idlib, various rebel groups have taken over the area, making it dangerous for residents. “The three million Syrians who have already been force out of their homes and now in Idlib, will suffer from this aggression. Not good. The world is watching,” tweeted Pompeo. Pompeo needs to clarify the U.S. position on Idlib.
Al-Assad has made clear to various rebel groups that they cannot seek safe havens in Idlib or any other part of Syria without giving up their armed struggle. If Syrians have suffered from military dislocation, it’s because various Saudi-backed rebel groups have funded a proxy war to oust al-Assad for seven years. Unlike dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, al-Assad put up a fight. Pompeo has just reintroduced a “Neocon” policy into the Trump administration, something that Trump opposed in the 2016 campaign. Trump ran on a promise to avoid more Mideast wars, certainly avoiding the next Iraq. Pompeo doesn’t see or admit that the Saudi proxy war in Syria, backed by Obama, has failed, leaving Trump no choice but to let warring factions figure things out without U.S. intervention. Pompeo seems to be warning Syria of a U.S. “escalation” if al-Assad moves against terrorist and rebel groups.
Various rebel groups seeking refuge in Idlib knew that they couldn’t stay there indefinitely without giving up their arms. Saudi’s U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country would never give up on ridding Syria of al-Assad. When you consider the 12 million displaced Syrians, 500,000 dead, you’d think the U.S. would have a better strategy than trying to oust al-Assad. U.N. 71-year-old Special Peace Envoy Staffan de Mistrua backed the Saudi position 100%, promising the Saudi High Negotiation Commission that he too sought to get rid of al-Assad. But since the facts on the ground show al-Assad beating baking the Saudi proxy war, it makes zero sense for the U.S. policy to continue beating a dead horse. No matter how distasteful al-Assad, he’s preferred to the kind of chaos that followed in Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya during the Saudi’s Arab Spring.
If and when the final assault occurs in Idlib, terrorist and rebel groups have no one to blame but themselves, having been duly warned by the Syrian government. Before Pompeo pushes a Syrian policy at odds with Trump, the president needs to get on the same page with his Secretary of State. Whether admitted to or not by Saudi Arabia, Saudi’s Defense Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has lost the proxy war against al-Assad in Syria. If more casualties take place in Idlib, it will be the Saudi’s fault for continuing to back the insurgency to oust al-Assad. If Russia, Iran and Hezbollah wish to be helpful in Idlib, they’ll help terror and rebel groups find safe haven in another country. If there’s concern of another Syrian massacre, the U.N. needs to find a way to get terror and rebel groups out of Syria. As long a Saudi-backed groups stay to fight, they can expect more casualties.
