Former senior
CIA analyst David McMichael says it’s “embarrassing” for the U.S. to back
Syria-based terrorist groups fighting the Bashar al-Assad government while
simultaneously ramping up support to Iraq's Counterterrorism Service to better
fight al- Qaeda there which has close ties to the terrorist group Jabhat al
Nusra of Syria.
“In Syria, this
group, Jabhat al Nusra has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
State Department last year. Now this is a little embarrassing for the United
States because Washington openly, diplomatically supports the anti-Bashar forces
in Syria and covertly assists them with supplies,” McMichael said on
Wednesday.
McMichael added this latest development “also reveals that despite allegedly having removed U.S. armed forces from Iraq at the end of 2012, an unknown number of United States Special Forces are in covert direct support of the CTS.”
The CIA is “frantically seeking to retain a paramilitary role” in Iraq, he said.
Citing unnamed
U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the CIA is
increasing its role in Iraq in an effort to allegedly prevent a spillover from
the unrest in Syria.
Syria has been
experiencing unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers
of security forces, have been killed.
The Syrian
government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and
there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign
nationals.
In late
February, the Obama administration said that it would provide an additional $60
million in assistance to militants fighting against the Syrian
government.
AHT/HJ