By Brandon Turbeville

Setting off a predictable fire in the Western corporate media, there is now weeping and wailing over the new Trump decision to end the policy of the CIA arming terrorists in Syria. Mainstream outlets are now leaping over themselves to demonize Trump, Assad, Putin, and Russia in general. According to some outlets and analysts, Trump has “fallen into a Russian trap” by directing the CIA to stop funding terrorists. If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is.

Still, while the new policy is cause for celebration, the fact is that there is more to the story than what is being reported both in the mainstream and alternative press outlets. Many individuals who have opposed the war in Syria are now celebrating the end of the Syrian war and Trump as an anti-war peacemaker. Others simply do not believe that the change in policy is relevant. The reality, however, is most likely something in between. In order to understand the significance of Trump’s new decision, it is important to look at facts and history so that one may understand the direction in which we are headed in regards to Syria.

The New Policy

President Donald Trump decided to end the CIA’s “covert” program of arming and training terrorists (aka, “Moderate Rebels”) in Syria. The program is set to be phased out over a period of a few months. The Western corporate press is, of course, reporting the news as if the family dog just died. Notorious pro-terrorist and pro-war commentator and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Charles Lister, even described the decision as a “Russian Trap.”

“We are falling into a Russian trap,” he said. We are making the moderate resistance more and more vulnerable … We are really cutting them off at the neck.” We assume Lister was not aware of the phrasing of the latter part of his statement given the history of his terrorist friends in Syria since 2011.

But, according to the Washington Post, Trump had made the decision over a month ago, not during his meeting with Putin. The website reports that Trump made the decision after meeting with his National Security Advisor HR McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

The policy in question involves the open arming, training, and support of terrorists inside Syria and was first acknowledged by the Obama Administration in 2013. However, the CIA had been funding, training, and directing jihadists in Syria since the very beginning of the crisis and even before that.

What Does The New Policy Mean For Syria?

The decision to bring an end to the policy of arming terrorists in Syria is no doubt a welcome development and it should be commended. However, this does not mean the Syria war is coming to a close or that the United States, NATO, GCC, and Israel are giving up on their attempt to destroy the Syrian government.

First, the CIA plan of arming and funding terrorists is only the publicly acknowledged aspect of what the CIA has done, is doing, and likely will continue to do in Syria. Remember, the CIA was involved in this activity two years before it was partially publicly acknowledged by the Obama administration. If the policy enacted by Obama is ended by Trump, it is entirely possible that the rest of the covert aspects of the policy will continue.

Second, it should be noted that the Pentagon plan is not being affected by Trump’s decision. In fact, as the Washington Post reported, the Pentagon plan is set to continue. So the question then becomes whether or not the CIA will be stopped at all versus the policy of arming, funding, and training terrorists will simply become the responsibility of the Pentagon.