"Push for Assad's ouster in Syria weakened"

Monday 25 March 2013

"Push for Assad's ouster in Syria weakened"

FLC

"... Foes of Syrian President Bashar Assad are distracted by fragmentation within their ranks, foreign meddling and new finger-pointing over chemical weapons as the regime more firmly entrenches itself, giving no sign of stepping down any time soon...

On Thursday, a U.S. official cited strong indications that chemical weapons were not used in an attack Tuesday in northern Aleppo province, but could not rule out the possibility. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter involved intelligence-gathering. At the same time, the U.N. said it would investigate whether chemical weapons were used and specifically is looking at the regime's claim that rebel forces launched the deadly agents....

The chemical weapons quandary is the newest of several issues that have distracted the Syrian opposition and international community, while Assad digs in even deeper against disjointed plans on how to oust him....

The Assad regime is receiving arms and other military assistance from Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah. Ford also cited indirect help from Iraq and Iraqi fighters that "is absolutely prolonging the conflict," although Baghdad denies being involved on either side of the Syrian war.

House delegate Eni Faleomavaega, a nonvoting Democrat from American Samoa,(Long tradition of expertise on Syria!) described the foreign aid to the regime more bluntly. "It's all military hardware that Assad needs to continue his killing spree," Faleomavaega said....

Disarray within the opposition forces also has stymied the move to unseat Assad, although rebels control territory in Syria's north and east. Ford described the opposition as divided into political and military wings, and "both are not entirely unified."..."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/23/v-print/3302262/push-for-assads-ouster-in-syria.html#storylink=cpy

Americans & Brits are opposed to arming Syrian rebels and forcibly deposing Assad

"...In both the UK and the US, opposition to arming the rebels is marked on the right as well as the left of the political spectrum: 52% of American Republicans and 63% of British Conservatives are against supplying arms.Any thought of sending western troops into Syria In both the UK and the US, opposition to arming the rebels is marked on the right as well as the left of the political spectrum: 52% of American Republicans and 63% of British Conservatives are against supplying arms. ....... Any thought of sending western troops into Syria would also be badly received – especially in the UK. By a 32-point margin (55%-23%) Britons reject the idea of sending in UK and allied troops to protect civilians. The anti-intervention lead rises to 59 points (68%-9%) if the aim were "overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad".

'Enhanced intelligence cooperation with the Free Syria Army'

'As we reported last week, expectations for President Obama’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories were deliberately kept low. After a series of well-received speeches and exchanges with Prime Minister Netanyahu that were more congenial than expected, much commentary in Washington is speculating that a new chapter may be opening in the Middle East peace process, especially in the light of Secretary of State Kerry's added return visit to Israel after Obama completes his trip to Jordan. Privately, officials in Washington to whom we have spoken are much more cautious. While they acknowledge that the visit atmospherics were cordial, they still strongly doubt that either the Israelis or the Palestinians are – if new negotiations actually start – ready to progress beyond familiar, entrenched positions. As one official put it to us: “Kerry will test the waters, but we will need a lot of convincing before we invest capital in a substantial new engagement from the US side.” As to the optics, the political side of the White House is well pleased. “Now no-one can accuse the President of not getting on with Netanyahu” one Democratic adviser commented to us. This should strengthen Obama’s hand in dealing with Israel over Iran. With the next round of P5+1 talks with Iran set for April 5^th/6^th in Kazakhstan, Administration officials do not see an immediate crisis ahead. Elsewhere in the Middle East, claims and counterclaims of the use of chemical weapons have made the debate about Syria even more controversial. With both Lebanon and Egypt in crisis, US officials remain reluctant to be drawn more deeply into Syria, but current leaks of enhanced intelligence cooperation with the Free Syria Army born of concerns about the growing strength of Al-Qaeda liked opposition elements point in the other direction...'