© Rodi Said / Reuters A U.S. fighter stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa city, Syria
With Aleppo on the brink of liberation from US-supported 'moderate' jihadi rebels, Barack Obama's White House is in damage control mode — but it's about time they admit it's game over.
After major advances by Syrian forces into rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Washington suddenly came to the Russians with
a plan last weekend. The US would do its best to get the rebels out of eastern Aleppo and any remaining would be designated as terrorists and thus become legitimate targets for Syrian forces.
The proposal floated around for three whole days before Washington retracted it to reportedly work on some new ideas.
At the rate the Obama administration moves with regard to Syria, you'd think there was no urgency attached at all. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly aired his exasperation during breaks in talks that go on for hours longer than necessary, while his counterpart John Kerry seemingly checks with all and sundry in Washington before saying yes or no to anything.
The fact that the White House can't seem to stick to one plan for more than three days — this isn't the first time they've retracted their own proposals — indicates not only their desperation as the clock runs out on Obama's presidency, but also highlights a general incoherence and total lack of clarity or consistency that has characterized the America's Syria "strategy" for years.But while the US side has been trying to decide which way is up, the war hasn't waited for Obama's foreign policy circle to all start singing from the same hymn sheet. The latest victories for the Russian-supported Syrian army are proving decisive and it's predicted that government forces may have complete control of Aleppo within days. That certainly won't be the end of the war, but it may be a step in the right direction in terms of weakening the Islamist opposition.
Comment: A possible result of this waiver: Former Pentagon analyst: 'US arming Syrian militants could escalate into direct conflict with Russia'