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Trump
to end CIA support for anti-Assad forces in Syria – reports
RT,
19
July, 2017
The
White House and the Central Intelligence Agency have declined to
comment on reports that president Donald Trump has decided to end the
CIA’s covert program of arming the so-called moderate rebels in
Syria.
On
Wednesday, US officials told the Washington Post (WP)
and Reuters that
Trump has decided to put an end to the covert CIA plan which began
arming and training the so-called moderate Syrian rebels in 2013.
Authorized
by President Barack Obama, the secret Timber Sycamore weapons supply
and training initiative has served as the backbone of Washington’s
strategy to topple the Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Two
US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymty with Reuters, said
the covert CIA scheme has produced little results.
‘No moderate rebels here’: RT's @LizziePhelan talks with #Aleppo civilians on new ceasefire deal (VIDEO)
The
Washington Post meanwhile claimed, based on their sources, that
Trump’s reported intention to stop arming the rebels is the
American president’s way of finding common ground with Russia on
Syria.
Moscow
has always warned against arming the so-called moderate rebel groups
in Syria, pointing out that weapons supplied to them often fall into
the hands of jihadist groups such as Jabhat al Nusra and Islamic
State.
Trump’s
decision to end the CIA program was reportedly taken in consultation
with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R.
McMaster ahead of his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in
Hamburg earlier this month. During that meeting, on the sidelines of
the G20 summit, Trump and Putin reached a ceasefire agreement for
southwest Syria.
The
scrapping of the CIA’s Timber Sycamore program was not a
precondition for the ceasefire negotiations, the US officials
insisted.
Without
sharing the details of the program’s demise, the unnamed US
officials claimed that Timber Sycamore would be phased out over a
period of months. The WP report also said the decision to end the
operation is being supported by the Jordanians, where some of the CIA
training has been taken place.
Varied
US arms and training strategies to bolster rebel groups in Syria
under the Obama administration have been notoriously underwhelming.
In 2015, General Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM commander at the time, told
Congress that only four or five of US-trained fighters have gone to
Syria of the 5,000 the Pentagon envisaged.
The
Reuters report notes that the US will continue to support select
Syrian rebel groups with airstrikes and guidance as part of a
separate effort.
The
White House declined to comment on the reports at their daily
briefing. The CIA has also refused to comment when reached out to by
Reuters.
*****
*****
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that Israel carried
out dozens of attacks against Hezbollah arms convoys in Syria,
oblivious to the fact that his remarks were being picked up by a live
mic and relayed to reporters, Haaretz reported.
"We
blocked the border not only in Egypt but in the Golan Heights,"
Netanyahu reportedly said during a closed session with the premiers
of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia in Budapest on
Wednesday.
"We
built the wall because there was a problem with ISIS [Islamic
State/IS] and Iran trying to build a terror front there. I told
[Russian President] Putin, when we see them [Iran/IS] transferring
weapons to Hezbollah, we will hurt them. We did it dozens of times,"
he said, as quoted by Haaretz
Netanyahu
focused most of his energy during the meeting on bashing the EU,
accusing it of "crazy" behavior due to conditions put on
its relationship with Israel over the Palestinian peace process.
“The
European Union is the only association of countries in the world that
conditions the relations with Israel that produces technology and
every area, on political conditions. The only ones! Nobody does it,”
Netanyahu reportedly said.
Although
the remarks were not intended to be relayed to the press, they were
accidentally transmitted to reporters through headphones.
“It’s
crazy. It’s actually crazy,” he continued, referring to Brussels'
insistence that Tel Aviv must meet certain terms related to the
Palestinian peace process for steps to be made with the EU-Israel
Association Agreement.
“It’s
not about my interest. I’m talking about Europe’s interest,"
he said, as quoted by Haaretz.
Netanyahu
went on to stress that Israel has a "special relationship with
China," and that Beijing doesn't care about political issues.
He
went on to urge the leaders to use their influence on the EU to
persuade the bloc to ease conditions related to Israel, asking them
to "help us and help Europe in expediting the EU Association
Agreement."
The
Israeli prime minister went on to reiterate that he believes there is
"no logic" in the EU's behavior.
"The
EU is undermining its security by undermining Israel. Europe is
undermining its progress by undermining its connection with Israeli
innovation by a crazy attempt to create conditions,” he said.
At
that point, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who himself has
clashed with Brussels on a number of issues, including his decision
to build a barbed wire fence to keep refugees out of his country –
interrupted.
“Mr.
Netanyahu, the European Union is even more unique. The EU places
conditions on the ones already inside the EU, not only the countries
on the outside.”
In
response, Netanyahu said he believes "Europe has to decide if it
wants to live and thrive or if it wants to shrivel and disappear. I
am not very politically correct. I know that’s a shock to some of
you. It’s a joke. But the truth is the truth. Both about Europe’s
security and Europe’s economic future. Both of these concerns
mandate a different policy toward Israel."
He
added that Israel is "part of the European culture," and
noted that Israel even manages to have ties with Arab countries.
“The
Arabs speak with us. They speak with us about technology and
everything we're talking about here,” Netanyahu said.
The
hot-mic transmission was discovered and shut down “within a few
minutes,” Haaretz reported.
The
EU-Israel Association Agreement stipulates that relations between the
EU and Israel "shall be based on respect for human rights and
democratic principles," with that point being deemed an
"essential element" of the deal.
The
EU-Israel Association Council has not met since July 2012. It was
expected that it would meet in March to take steps to advance the
agreement process, but those talks never took place. Some diplomats
cited by the Jerusalem Post said its delay was tied to EU frustration
with Israel over settlement activity.
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