The Syrian war stalemate appears to be over. The regional powers surrounding
Syria — especially Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Jordan — have re-ignited
their war against the Syrian government. After over 200,000 dead and millions
of refugees, the U.S. allies in the region recently recommitted to deepening
the war, with incalculable consequences.
The new war pact was made between Obama’s regional darlings, Saudi Arabia and
Turkey, who agreed to step up deeper military cooperation and establish a joint
command in the occupied Syrian region of Idlib.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia are now openly backing Islamic extremists under the
newly rebranded “Conquest Army.” The on-the-ground leadership of this “new”
coalition consists of Jabhat al-Nusra — the “official” al-Qaeda affiliate —
and Ahrar al-Sham, whose leader previously stated that his group was the “real
al-Qaeda.”
The Huffington Post reports:
“The Turkish-Saudi agreement has led to a new joint command center in the
northeastern Syrian province of Idlib. There, a coalition of groups — including
Nusra and other Islamist brigades such as Ahrar al-Sham that Washington views
as extremist — are progressively eroding Assad’s front. The rebel coalition
also includes more moderate elements of the Free Syrian Army that have received
U.S. support in the past.”
The article admits that the Free Syrian Army — that Obama previously labeled
as “moderates” and gave cash and guns to — has been swallowed up by the extremist
groups.
This dynamic has the potential to re-engulf the region in violence; deep Saudi
pocketbooks combined with reports
of looming Turkish ground forces are a catastrophe in the making.
Interestingly, the Saudi-Turkish alliance barely raised eyebrows in the U.S.
media. President Obama didn’t think to comment on the subject, let alone condemn
it.
The media was focused on an odd narrative of Obama reportedly being “concerned”
about the alliance, but “disengaged” from what two of his close allies were
doing in a region that the U.S. has micromanaged for decades.