US recruiting, arming terrorists to fight in Syria: Analyst
The United States is recruiting and training militants to join al-Qaeda and the ISIL terrorist group to overthrow the elected government of Syria, an author and analyst in Chicago says.
The deadly crisis in Syria that began in March 2011 is a “proxy war” waged by the administration of US President Barack Obama, Stephen Lendman told Press TV on Tuesday.
Terrorists from the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda and ISIL are recruited, armed and funded by America in several countries in the Middle East to fight the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lendman said.
“This war can go on for years and years and years and who knows how many people will die and suffer horrifically from this,” he added.
The United Nations said more than 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the crisis and over 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced.
The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The United States and its regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside the country.
The US military has started training "moderate" militants in Jordan to fight the ISIL terrorists in Syria, Pentagon officials said last week.
The US plans to train and arm a force that is set to total more than 15,000 militants by 2018. The program aims to train 5,000 militants annually for the next three years.
Lendman said recent reports indicating that al-Assad’s momentum in fighting off militant groups has decreased are nothing but “propaganda.”
US security officials are warning that if the Syrian government collapses, the country would face greater instability and control by extremist groups.
"What it might mean for the nation of Syria is further instability," said US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey. "For power to suddenly transfer precipitously. And it could mean an even increased humanitarian crisis," he said.
AHT/GJH
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