Posted on 09/17/2014 2:45:27 AM PDT by markomalley
Russia on Tuesday accused the West of ignoring its warnings about the growing terrorist threat in Syria, and claimed that the moderate rebel front – the one the Obama administration wants to arm as part of its anti-ISIS strategy – “no longer exists.”
The remarks by Russia’s ambassador in Geneva Alexey Borodavkin came during a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which was discussing the most recent report by a U.N.-mandated independent commission of inquiry into the conflict.
The report, released late last month and roughly covering the first half of this year, recorded atrocities by the Assad regime and by some of its opponents, including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL).
“The commission in its report,” Borodavkin told the council through a translator, “recognizes that the Syrian government is working against a huge army of trained armed terrorists.”
“The Free Syrian Army no longer exists,” he continued. “Armed groups qualified as ‘moderate’ are closely coordinating their activities with terrorist groups.”
(video at link)
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is the mainstream rebel movement affiliated to the U.S.-recognized Syrian National Coalition which the administration wants to train and equip to fight ISIS jihadists in Syria. Lawmakers are expected to vote as early as Wednesday to authorize the proposal.
The commission of inquiry report to which Borodavkin referred does not state that the FSA no longer exists. It does say however that “ideological, political, tribal and personal” divisions and rivalries among rebel groups had prevented them from becoming more effective, and that “[e]fforts by external backers to reinforce the so-called ‘vetted moderate armed opposition’ failed to reverse the dominance of radical armed groups.”
The report also says that where “groups labeled as moderate” managed to score military successes against the regime they did so “closely coordinating with extremist groups, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.”
Borodavkin used his intervention in Geneva to chide countries – especially Western countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad – for their approach to the three-and-a-half-year civil war.
“It’s clearer than ever that the real threat to Syrian statehood and the whole region is the activity of terrorist groups,” he said.
“I’d like to remind you that Russia right from the beginning suggested that we unite the efforts of the international community, the Syrian authorities and the moderate opposition to combat jihadists.
“If we had been heard at the time, the spread of this cancerous tumor could have been stopped,” Borodavkin said.
“Now, regrettably, we must admit that our worst scenarios have materialized: the Islamic State [ISIS] has seized a third of the country’s territory, have proclaimed the Syrian city of Raqqa as a capital of their ‘caliphate’ and is committing heinous crimes. This is supplemented by violent raging of other terrorist groups.”
The Russian envoy said the new international focus on countering ISIS was to be welcomed, citing a meeting convened by France on Monday at which 26 countries, Russia and the U.S. among them, expressed support for a broad campaign against the jihadist group.
Russia was willing to contribute to the effort, he said.
On the sidelines of the meeting in Paris, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian help in the anti-ISIS campaign included providing military and other assistance to Iraq “to strengthen its ability to ensure security.”
Moscow was “also providing military and other aid to Syria,” he said, as well as to other countries in the region, including Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon and Jordan.
Russia does not, however, support President Obama proposal to extend airstrikes against ISIS from Iraq into Syria, insisting that it would violate international law.
Bashir Assad is the true moderate in Syria. We should be supporting him against the terrorists in his country. The only problem with Assad are his attacks on rebel and terrorist strongholds where innocent civilians often reside. Sound familiar? Israel vs Hamas. Bibi is being villianized in like manner by the international press; only a matter of time before Israel gets the Syria treatment.
Assad’s no moderate. There are no moderates in that area. Assad’s spoken enmity against Israel and the USA several times in the past; especially, Assad has demanded repeatedly that Israel give him the Golan.
And all this after Putin told Obama to butt out of Syria too?
Assad is a Islamic moderate. Of course he wants the Golan back. Wouldn’t you?
Is this an attempt at comedy? If so, I must have missed it.
Secular strong men have historically our best allies in the Middle East (after Israel, of course). We keep overthrowing these people and then we get “surprised” when Muslim fanatics take over and make things worse.
——Bashir Assad is the true moderate in Syria. ——
Well, I guess it depends on your perspective....
Compared to ISIL Assad is a moderate...
To the rest of the world...he is a brutal dictator....
But at least he is a secular one...
He may give the obligatory tough talk but is not likely to start a suicidal war with Israel.
~Assad’s no moderate. There are no moderates in that area. Assad’s spoken enmity against Israel and the USA several times in the past; especially, Assad has demanded repeatedly that Israel give him the Golan.~
You don’t have a clue about Arab politics. What exactly Assad did to back these rants? It is 100% for domestic consumption to convince domestic audience that he is with them “on Joos”. For the radicals Assad is a Jew himself and it is a primary reason why he is attacked.
Assad’s allied with Iran, so he is definitely on board with a worldwide caliphate under the Mahdi.
If you call dhimmitude “thriv(ing)”, then you probably also think that “Palestinian” Christians also “thrive”.
Thanks for confessing your dhimmitude. You sure you’re on the right site? You forgot all about Hezbollah’s close links with Assad too (Hezbollah has been attacking Israel directly, in case you weren’t noticing)?
Secular since when? You mean like how Turkey is “secular”?
~Assad’s allied with Iran, so he is definitely on board with a worldwide caliphate under the Mahdi.
If you call dhimmitude “thriv(ing)”, then you probably also think that “Palestinian” Christians also “thrive”.~
Have you been to Syria before it has all started? Have you been to Iran ever?
Iranian regime is surely nasty but most people are open-minded. Most of them understands how stupid their theocracy is. It would collapse sooner than later.
There is a stark contrast to allegedly friendly Gulf regimes there literally everyone supports sharia crap.
~Secular since when? You mean like how Turkey is “secular”?~
Have you been to Turkey as well?
This really ain’t the place to ask loaded questions or spread liberal propaganda, you know. If you’ve been to Syria, as Pelosi was back in 2007, then it bears question as to what you were up to.
And if you’re backing Iran in any way, then I sense helmeted cat-cubs on the march.
The problem is regime change. There are some in government - both houses - who believe that when someone is a monster it is their obligation to take them out. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but what is absolutely stupid is that they push for that change without considering what would come in its stead to fill the vacuum.
Assad is not someone I would want to invite for Sunday brunch, but he represented stability in Syria. Sure, he was friends with Iran. He did not like Israel. America was not on his nightly prayer list. But the same can be said for those fighting him. People concentrate on ISIS, but the other groups - such as Al Nusra (in essence, Al Qaeda), the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Ahrar ash-Sham, and the Fahrouq Brigades are not people who will be celebrating the 4th of July!
While folk like McCain may claim that they are 'good people,' they are absolutely not. Now, that does not mean that Assad is a good person. People tend to think of everything in terms of pure Black or White. The truth is that there are many instances where both situations are Black AND Black, or maybe a dirty charcoal black versus deep obsidian, or maybe soot vs midnight.
Saying one group is bad doesn't mean the other is ok.
Assad is a monster, but the West should never have tried to take him out. Same thing for Qaddafi! Daffy Duck was a joke ...he had mellowed a lot from what he used to be in the 80s, and was some old idiot who would wear ill-colored robes and a necklace made of someone's picture portrait. Look at Libya now.
Now, my only point is that the next time the West decides a country or region needs 'freedom' they better ensure that they come with a credible ALTERNATIVE to the person/regime they are trying to change. Certain regions in the world seem to require a strong hand, and taking out the strong man (even someone like Saddam) should not be done unless a credible alternative is first sought.
I’m not backing any of the above and not spreading any propaganda, but it is all about lesser evil.
You can’t remove Assad and expect any better regime and Iranian regime is surely a problem but it requires specific solutions to deal with it, which is a subversion in the first place, not a military op.
Well said. I couldn’t do any better.
Assad is no Sunday school teacher but he’s the best of the bad options to run Syria.
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