Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States, despite a decision to arm Sunni
rebels, remains vague over its policy toward Syria.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff has released a document on U.S. military
options on Syria. In a letter, Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey
suggested that the administration has not selected any of the options.

“We have learned from the past 10 years, however, that it is not enough to simply alter the balance of military power without careful consideration of what is necessary in order to preserve a functioning state,” Dempsey said. “We must anticipate and be prepared for the unintended consequences of our action.”

Dempsey’s letter, released on July 22, cited five options presented by the U.S. military to assist the Sunni revolt against President Bashar Assad.

The options included everything from seizing control of Assad’s chemical weapons and attacking regime targets to being restricted to advising and training the opposition. A fifth option was the establishment of no-fly buffer zones.

“All of these options would likely further the narrow military objective
of helping the opposition and placing more pressure on the regime,” Dempsey
said.

The letter, meant to end a congressional stalemate over aid to the
rebels, marked the first time the administration of President Barack Obama
detailed U.S. military options in Syria. In June, Obama and his aides,
despite their decision to arm the rebels, ruled out a no-fly zone and other
military operations.

“Once we take action, we should be prepared for what comes next,”
Dempsey said. “Deeper involvement is hard to avoid.”

Dempsey said training and advising the opposition would cost $500
million a year. He said training would include weapons use, tactical
planning, intelligence and logistics.

More expensive options included the establishment of a no-fly zone,
buffer zones, limited stand-off strikes on Assad targets and the seizure of
Syria’s CW stockpile. Dempsey said any of these options would cost at least
$1 billion per month and require hundreds of U.S. aircraft.

“Risks [of seizing the CW arsenal] are similar to the no-fly zone with
the added risk of U.S. boots on the ground,” Dempsey said.

Congressional sources said the Dempsey letter stemmed from a hearing by
the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 18 in which the Joint Chiefs
chairman refused to disclose U.S. military options for Syria. At one point,
the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. John McCain, said he would block
Dempsey’s nomination. A day later, chairman Sen. Carl Levin urged Dempsey to
provide the committee with his views on Syria.

In his letter, Dempsey gave no indication of Obama’s position on Syria.
Leading members of the House and Senate have asserted that the president
already vetoed any significant U.S. assistance to the rebels amid Assad’s
military offensive.

“The decision over whether to introduce military force is a political
one that our nation entrusts to its civilian leaders,” Dempsey said. “I also
understand that you deserve my best military advice on how military force
could be used in order to decide whether it should be used.”

  Bashar Assad, Gen. Martin Dempsey, Sen. Carl Levin, Sen. John McCain, U.S. presents mulitple choice question on Syria policy with no answer