US Doubles Down on Failed Military Strategy in Syria [View all]

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/05/16-2



Phyllis Bennis: 'The US says over and over that there is no military solution in Syria, yet their whole strategy is to strengthen the armed opposition.'

US Doubles Down on Failed Military Strategy in Syria
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Published on Friday, May 16, 2014 by Common Dreams

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry vowed on Thursday to step-up U.S. backing of armed opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad as part of an 11-nation "redoubled" effort that critics warn will bring further military escalation to the war-torn country.

"The U.S. says over and over that there is no military solution in Syria, yet their whole strategy is to strengthen the armed opposition rather than the unarmed opposition," said Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at Institute for Policy Studies, in an interview with Common Dreams. "The way to do that would be to move with Russia to demand an immediate ceasefire, immediate arms embargo on both sides, and immediate return to negotiations."

Kerry made the comments to reporters at a Friends of Syria meeting in London, attended by representatives of the "London 11" nations backing armed opposition to Assad: the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt. Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition, also participated in the meeting.

Kerry said that the nations present agreed to "redouble our efforts, all of us, in support of the moderate opposition." His statement echoed a communiqué released Thursday by the London 11 countries, which states, "We have agreed unanimously to take further steps together, through a coordinated strategy, to: increase our support for the moderate opposition National Coalition, its Supreme Military Council and associated moderate armed groups."