Priority on Syria no longer focused on 'getting Assad out': United States

[FalconsForPeace]

The United States' diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer focused on making the war-torn country's president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama administration's initial and public stance on Assad's fate.

The view of the Trump administration is also at odds with European powers, who insist Assad must step down.

"You pick and choose your battles and when we're looking at this, it's about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told a small group of reporters.

"Do we think he's a hindrance? Yes. Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No," she said. "What we are going to focus on is putting the pressure in there so that we can start to make a change in Syria."

The Obama administration, in its later years, was focused on reaching a deal with Russia that would eventually see Assad go though it also shifted its focus to the fight against Daesh militants, who captures swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

As the presidential nominee, Donald Trump said defeating Daesh was a higher priority than persuading Assad to step down.

"We can't necessarily focus on Assad the way that the previous administration did," said Haley, a former governor of South Carolina. "Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria."

On Wednesday, Haley accused Russia, Iran and the "Assad regime" of committing war crimes. She has also said that the United States supports the UN.-led Syria peace talks, that Syria could no longer be a "safe haven for terrorists" and that it was important "we get Iran and their proxies out".

A senior Trump administration official told Reuters Haley's remarks reflected "a measure of just realism, accepting the facts on the ground. ... Assad is never going to have sufficient force to reassert control over the whole country ... Our focus is on defeating Daesh and al Qaeda and preventing Syria from being used as a terrorist safe haven.”

CONTRADICTORY MESSAGES

Syrian opposition member Farah al-Attasi said the State Department and the White House were sending contradictory messages on Syria and should start leading and not focus exclusively on fighting Daesh.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking in Ankara on Thursday, said Assad's longer-term status "will be decided by the Syrian people."

Britain and France reinforced their stance on Assad earlier on Thursday.

French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters: "Assad is not and cannot be the future of his country."

Robert Ford, who resigned in 2014 as US ambassador to Syria over policy disagreements, said the US government's policy since late 2014 had been to focus more specifically on the fight against Daesh as well al Qaeda, "even if it never acknowledged that its focus on Syria had shifted".

"Ambassador Haley's remarks just confirm that the Trump administration is following the same path," said Ford, a fellow at the Middle East Institute and senior fellow at Yale.

Since the uprising that led to the six-year-long civil war in Syria, the Obama administration insisted that Assad must go.

But in mid-2014 as Washington increased support to moderate rebels to fight Assad's regime, U.S. officials privately conceded Assad wasn't going anywhere soon and admitted the difficulty in removing him.

By September 2015, Kerry said Assad had to go but the timing of his departure should be decided through negotiation.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/136181-Pr...er-focused-on-getting-Assad-out-United-States

 

[raptor22]

The point why it was your priority? who the hell you are to make decision on behalf of Syrian people to change their president or the government .. the main problem in the region is this.

 

[maximuswarrior]

LOL Obama's legacy in the dustbin. What a freakin' disgrace for Obama's failed legacy.

Make no mistake. The Democrats and the status quo in the US have been humiliated and b!tchslapped beyond comprehension. Trump's win has shook things upside down. The status quo will be reeling for years to come.

As for defeating ISIS. Just picture this for a tiny moment. Entire nations and superpowers have been fighting ISIS with full strength for years now. ISIS has swallowed entire regions and oil fields by merely walking over local armies and governments. That should give you an indication what we are dealing with here. Trump is a fool to think he can win this war.

All Trump will be doing is winning and losing territory against ISIS in the coming years. The same thing is happening in Iraq and even Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan rule vast swaths of land and they keep winning more land.

 

[Aramagedon]

Democracy comes out through vote polls and negotiators, NOT arming maniacal zombies to kill Shiites, alawites, Sunnis, Christians. American cowboy culture btw...

 

[KTOOOOM]

i doesn't matter Assad will be out.

 

[ziaulislam]

i doesn't matter Assad will be out.

well, inability of the arab nations to even implement a simple no fly zone early on in uprising ensured that not only he stays but has infact won back most of central syria. This also allowed russai to butt in

this was a critical mistake by arab nations.

 

[500]

The point why it was your priority? who the hell you are to make decision on behalf of Syrian people to change their president or the government .. the main problem in the region is this.

Take out swarms of ur thugs from Syria, Russians and Americans and u will see that in less than half year Syrians will wipe out the giraffe.

LOL Obama's legacy in the dustbin. What a freakin' disgrace for Obama's failed legacy.

Make no mistake. The Democrats and the status quo in the US have been humiliated and b!tchslapped beyond comprehension. Trump's win has shook things upside down. The status quo will be reeling for years to come.

As for defeating ISIS. Just picture this for a tiny moment. Entire nations and superpowers have been fighting ISIS with full strength for years now. ISIS has swallowed entire regions and oil fields by merely walking over local armies and governments. That should give you an indication what we are dealing with here. Trump is a fool to think he can win this war.

All Trump will be doing is winning and losing territory against ISIS in the coming years. The same thing is happening in Iraq and even Afghanistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan rule vast swaths of land and they keep winning more land.

There is no any difference. Obama supported Assad just like Trump. Simply Trump says it directly.

 

[raptor22]

Take out swarms of ur thugs from Syria, Russians and Americans and u will see that in less than half year Syrians will wipe out the giraffe.


There is no any difference. Obama supported Assad just like Trump. Simply Trump says it directly.

I think they would be much more happier if you take out your troops out of Golan and return their lands to the Syrian people I mean their occupied lands .
We've always wanted Syrians form and shape their own future through a democratic diplomatic approach which is ballet boxes , whether it was back in 2012 when Assad was losing badly or now that he has retaken Syrian major cities ... if Syrian people don't want it then he must go. the problem actually are those whom supported, bankrolled, armed and sent terrorists into Syria . those who incited violence by arming protests back in 2011 , their agenda was merely removal of Assad not democracy or human right in Syria.

 

[500]

I think they would be much more happier if you take out your troops out of Golan and return their lands to the Syrian people I mean their occupied lands .
We've always wanted Syrians form and shape their own future through a democratic diplomatic approach which is ballet boxes , whether it was back in 2012 when Assad was losing badly or now that he has retaken Syrian major cities ... if Syrian people don't want it then he must go. the problem actually are those whom supported, bankrolled, armed and sent terrorists into Syria . those who incited violence by arming protests back in 2011 , their agenda was merely removal of Assad not democracy or human right in Syria.

Remove swarms of ur thugs from Syria and u will see what Syrian will do with that giraffe mass murderer. But u wont do that, because u know very well that without foreign mercenaries he wont last a year.

As for elections, first make democratic elections in ur own country, then talk.

 

[raptor22]

Remove swarms of ur thugs from Syria and u will see what Syrian will do with that giraffe mass murderer. But u wont do that, because u know very well that without foreign mercenaries he wont last a year.

As for elections, first make democratic elections in ur own country, then talk.

What happened? failed to get your goals in Syria so upset? now you wanna us get out?
Syrian people want their lands back as Lebanese people want as Palestinian people want , if you care about these people give their lands back.
Moreover in which one of the regional countries supporting chaos in Syria by bankrolling and arming terrorists from all around the globe you could see democracy? we've seen your type of democracy in the past and we know how you exploit these terms.
We made it clear back in 2012 that the only approach is a democratic diplomatic one which is ballot boxes what we insist now:

"...The plan envisaged a ceasefire followed by a national unity government and constitutional reform aimed at constraining presidential powers. Most importantly, there would then be presidential and legislative elections under UN supervision. The plan was the subject of several months of shuttle diplomacy between the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu, but it eventually collapsed over the future role of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

“We agreed on every detail, except a clause in the final phase of the plan which called for UN-monitored elections. Turkish leaders wanted Assad barred,” Zarif is quoted as saying in the report. “I noted that this should not be a concern in an internationally monitored election, particularly if, as Turkey holds, Assad has a dreadful record and a minority constituency. But Davutoğlu refused... and our efforts came to naught.”

The Turkish president at the time, Abdullah Gül, told the ICG “our government did not pursue an agreement with Iran because it thought Assad would be toppled in a few months”.

“From Ankara’s perspective, Assad’s battlefield losses would remove need to compromise or at least improve a deal’s terms,” the report said.
Iran and Turkey's secret talks on Syria revealed

​

Assad was losing we insisted on a free and fair election now he is retaking cities again we insist on a free and fair election 'cause we think Syrians must decide about their own future . the problem ain't Iran problem lies somewhere else.

 

[500]

What happened? failed to get your goals in Syria so upset? now you wanna us get out?
Syrian people want their lands back as Lebanese people want as Palestinian people want , if you care about these people give their lands back.
Moreover in which one of the regional countries supporting chaos in Syria by bankrolling and arming terrorists from all around the globe you could see democracy? we've seen your type of democracy in the past and we know how you exploit these terms.
We made it clear back in 2012 that the only approach is a democratic diplomatic one which is ballot boxes what we insist now:

"...The plan envisaged a ceasefire followed by a national unity government and constitutional reform aimed at constraining presidential powers. Most importantly, there would then be presidential and legislative elections under UN supervision. The plan was the subject of several months of shuttle diplomacy between the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu, but it eventually collapsed over the future role of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

“We agreed on every detail, except a clause in the final phase of the plan which called for UN-monitored elections. Turkish leaders wanted Assad barred,” Zarif is quoted as saying in the report. “I noted that this should not be a concern in an internationally monitored election, particularly if, as Turkey holds, Assad has a dreadful record and a minority constituency. But Davutoğlu refused... and our efforts came to naught.”

The Turkish president at the time, Abdullah Gül, told the ICG “our government did not pursue an agreement with Iran because it thought Assad would be toppled in a few months”.

“From Ankara’s perspective, Assad’s battlefield losses would remove need to compromise or at least improve a deal’s terms,” the report said.
Iran and Turkey's secret talks on Syria revealed

​

Assad was losing we insisted on a free and fair election now he is retaking cities again we insist on a free and fair election 'cause we think Syrians must decide about their own future . the problem ain't Iran problem lies somewhere else.

You say that Syrians must decide their fate. So I say: remove tens of thousands of ur thugs from Syria and let Syrian decide. Very simple.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Take out swarms of ur thugs from Syria, Russians and Americans and u will see that in less than half year Syrians will wipe out the giraffe.


There is no any difference. Obama supported Assad just like Trump. Simply Trump says it directly.

LOL Obama supported Assad? Where did you pull that one from? If anything, Obama had a 24/7 obsession to remove Assad. The whole freakin' world knows it.

LOL Trump will be following Putin's orders. Trump will stand and sit when Putin tells him to do so. Just leave the Assad matter to Putin. Trump should worry about his own a$$. The last time I checked the Democrats, media and the people were all over Trump like scavengers.

 

[raptor22]

You say that Syrians must decide their fate. So I say: remove tens of thousands of ur thugs from Syria and let Syrian decide. Very simple.

No I say hold a free and fair election which in Syrian could participate and shape their own future ... that's simple.
And get their lands back those lands are Syrian.

 

[500]

LOL Obama supported Assad? Where did you pull that one from? If anything, Obama had a 24/7 obsession to remove Assad. The whole freakin' world knows it.

Fact: Obama dropped tens of thousands bombs on Syrian Sunnis and not a single bomb on Alawis and foreign Shia mercenaries.
Question: who was Obama supporting?

LOL Trump will be following Putin's orders. Trump will stand and sit when Putin tells him to do so. Just leave the Assad matter to Putin. Trump should worry about his own a$$. The last time I checked the Democrats, media and the people were all over Trump like scavengers.

Putin is no one.

No I say hold a free and fair election which in Syrian could participate and shape their own future ... that's simple.

Remove ur thugs from Syria and Syrian themselves will decide their fate. As for free and fair elections, make free elections in ur country first.

And get their lands back those lands are Syrian.

It has no any relation to civil war in Syria, dont change a subject.

 

[Aramagedon]

Fact: Obama dropped tens of thousands bombs on Syrian Sunnis and not a single bomb on Alawis and foreign Shia mercenaries.
Question: who was Obama supporting?


Putin is no one.


Remove ur thugs from Syria and Syrian themselves will decide their fate. As for free and fair elections, make free elections in ur country first.


It has no any relation to civil war in Syria, dont change a subject.

Your facts are Ridiculous. Obama bombed Daesh to keep American tail in Syria. However thier attacks were not effective at all until Russia came and bombed Daesh. Yankis didn't bomb Alawites aka Syrian government because they didn't have balls to confront Russia, however they bomed Syrian army for few times 'by mistake' according to themselves. Yankis also bombed tens of Syrian civilians like drinking water.