‘Not our fight,’ says Trump; Post-Assad Syria and the world enter a new era

by WorldTribune Staff, December 8, 2024 Real World News

Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Damascus on Sunday, forcing dictator Bashar Assad to flee the country.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump posted to social media: “Assad is gone” and “Syria is a mess” but “is not our friend” and “this is not our fight.”

Ousted Syria dictator Bashar Assad is reportedly in Russia where he and his family have been granted asylum. / Video Image

Reports say Assad is in Russia, citing a Kremlin source.

The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: “President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds.”

Trump wrote prior to Damascus falling:

Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad. Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!

The drama in Syria was not an isolated event as shifts in the geopolitical tectonic plates are occurring following the election of Donald Trump, Israel’s series of surgical strikes against Iran proxies and Russia’s war with Ukraine. The president-elect added after Assad’s ouster:

Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!

The question is, who unleashed HTS and its swift offensive that took down in mere weeks a regime that, between Hafez Assad and son Bashar, had ruled Syria since 1971?

Timely: Defund Fake News

What is not out of the question, many analysts are saying, is that the CIA’s and former President Barack Obama’s fingerprints were all over the earlier offensive that ultimately ended the Assad era:

In fact, the Obama era operation dubbed “Timber Sycamore” was formed with the purpose of ousting the Assad regime.

Per Wikipedia:

Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by the United Kingdom and some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. The aim of the program was to remove Syrian president Bashar Assad from power. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to Syrian opposition groups fighting Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. According to U.S. officials, the program was run by the CIA’s Special Activities Division and has trained thousands of rebels. President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013. The program became public knowledge in mid-2016.

One consequence of the program has been a flood of US weapons including assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades into the Middle East’s black market. Critics of the program within the Obama administration viewed it as ineffective and expensive, and raised concerns about seizure of weaponry by Islamist groups and about Timber Sycamore-backed rebels fighting alongside the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and its allies.

In July 2017, U.S. officials (in the Trump administration) stated that Timber Sycamore would be phased out, with funds possibly redirected to fighting the Islamic State (ISIS), or to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities.

At the White House, Joe Biden said: “It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty. As we turn to the question of what comes next, the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk.”

Biden said of Assad: “We’re not sure where he is, but there’s word that he’s in Moscow,” adding later that Assad should be held accountable.

The transition from Hafez Assad to ophthalmologist son Bashar was playing out during the first year of publication of WorldTribune.com

Related: Assad seek major arms deal in first Moscow visit in 9 years, April 5, 1999

Related: Weakened Assad seen losing his grip, December 7, 1999

Related: Iran presses Assad to follow his father’s hardline policies, July 26, 2000

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