By Brandon Turbeville

No doubt, many Republicans are rejoicing today over the Trump administration’s announcement of its “new” Syria policy. Unfortunately, that policy is identical to the one set by Barack Obama and his and Trump’s opponent during the sordid 2016 election, Hillary Clinton. With that in mind, it begs the question what Republicans were so upset about when Obama was president, but that’s another topic for another article.

The oil magnate Tillerson announced in a speech to the Stanford University Hoover Institute that the United States will be staying in Syria despite earlier claims that the reason the U.S. was in Syria was to see to the defeat of ISIS. Now, Tillerson says American forces will remain in Syria until five conditions are met:

1. The defeat of ISIS


2. Assad is removed from power


3. Syrian refugees return to Syria


4. Iranian influence is diminished and


5. Syria becomes free of weapons of mass destruction.

Tellingly, Tillerson’s statements were made during a speech and “interview” session in front of a live audience where the interviewer was none other than known neo-con war criminal, Condoleezza Rice. We can only assume that Rice’s heart began to flutter at hearing the words “weapons of mass destruction” used in front of a national audience yet again used to justify a mass slaughter.

“A total withdrawal of American personnel at this time would help [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad,” said Tillerson. “A stable, unified and independent Syria ultimately requires post-Assad leadership in order to be successful. Continued U.S. presence to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS will also help pave the way for legitimate local civil authorities to exercise responsible governance of their own liberated areas.”

The Destruction of ISIS

ISIS proper has largely been defeated in Syria. Only a few thousand fighters remain in relatively isolated locations and in areas that are strategically easy to liberate. However, it is of paramount importance to point out that the United States does not and never has wanted to see the defeat of ISIS in Syria or anywhere else. In fact, ISIS was entirely a creation of the United States from day one and the U.S. has maintained control of the terrorist organization ever since. It is nothing more than a proxy army, a new name applied to al-Qaeda, and a convenient scapegoat for terrorist invasions and attacks across the world to further the agenda of the Western Deep State apparatus.

As Daniel McAdams writes for the Ron Paul Institute, “This condition is made all the more problematic by the well-reported fact that it is the United States government that at every turn seems to pull ISIS chestnuts out of the fire. From handing them weapons to allowing them to escape when they are trapped in places like Raqqa, it almost seems like the US does not want to really see the end of ISIS.”

Assad Must Go

Despite Candidate Donald Trump uttering the famous anti-war words that may have gotten him elected, President Trump’s administration is sounding identical to the warmongering Obama administration. Remember, it was only a year ago when Trump stated that “We will pursue a new foreign policy that finally learns from the mistakes of the past. We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments. …In our dealings with other countries we will seek shared interests wherever possible…”

Today, his administration is saying the opposite. Rex Tillerson:

The United States believes that free and transparent elections … will result in the permanent departure of Assad and his family from power… Assad’s regime is corrupt, and his methods of governance and economic development have increasingly excluded certain ethnic and religious groups… Such oppression cannot persist forever.

. . . . .

…our expectation is that the desire for a return to normal life … will help rally the Syrian people and individuals within the regime to compel Assad to step down.

. . . . .

“A total withdrawal of American personnel at this time would help [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad. A stable, unified and independent Syria ultimately requires post-Assad leadership in order to be successful. Continued U.S. presence to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS will also help pave the way for legitimate local civil authorities to exercise responsible governance of their own liberated areas.”

In other words, the Trump administration policy is the same as the Obama administration policy. This means that the United States is still dedicated to the overthrow of a massively popular democratically elected president and to the support of terrorists, jihadists, and fanatical Marxists.

As Daniel McAdams writes,

Tillerson also made the bizarre assertion that US troops will remain in Syria to prevent the Syrian government from re-establishing control over the parts of Syria abandoned by a defeated ISIS. So the legitimate government of Syria will be prevented by an illegal United States military occupation from reclaiming its own territory? This is supposed to be a coherent policy?

The Refugee Question

This is yet another incoherent aspect of the American policy towards Syria. Syrian refugees have actually been returning to Syria in droves. The deciding factor for Syrians who want to return, however, is whether or not they are able to return to government held areas. As the Syrian government liberates more territory, more and more Syrians have returned to the country because it is in government held territory where they can live their lives, free of the “democracy” that sees mass beheadings, executions, rapes, and crucifixions.

The question of refugee return is clearly nothing more than an excuse to remain in Syria, however, and it is one that can be continued for as long as the U.S. wants to do so. After all, every African or Middle Eastern economic migrant pouring across Europe was labeled a Syrian refugee and there is no sign Europe is going to send anyone back to their own countries ever.

Regardless, it should be remembered that one of the biggest instances of Syrian refugee return was when the Syrian government liberated East Aleppo from America’s terrorists. That liberation, of course, was fought tooth and nail by the United States, proving that returning refugees is only a smokescreen excuse for keeping forces there.

WMDs . . . Again

While we assume it was pleasantly nostalgic for Condoleezza Rice to have that warm fuzzy feeling at hearing her “WMDs” used as a justification for invasion and occupation on the national stage again, there was another similarity to the Iraq and Syria WMDs claims coming from the State Department . . . they don’t exist.

It has been demonstrated repeatedly, despite claims from the United States and Israel, that Syria has declared and destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile. This fact was even certified by the OPCW. Weapons of mass destruction in Syria do not exist. If that’s what the U.S. is looking for, they would have to cross the Golan border and travel into Israel to find them.

Iranian Influence

This is perhaps the only honest statement Tillerson made during his speech in terms of reasons the U.S. is going to continue staying in Syria. Iran has long been a target of the Western imperial system and knocking off Syria was an attempt to not only eradicate Syria as a center of resistance to the Western agenda, but also to weaken the influence of Iran and the power of Hezbollah. With the entrance of Russia into the battle in Syria, Iran has managed to gain a political and military foothold not only in Syria but also Iraq, an unintended consequence for the invaders since it was expected that Syria would collapse in 2011-12. Therefore, there is a real attempt on the part of the U.S. government, tied at the hip with Israel, to weaken Iranian influence in the region. Eventually, however, the same destabilization methods used in Libya and Syria are to be directed at Iran, one attempt we have already witnessed in the case of the Iranian protesters that took place weeks ago.

Conclusion

The “new” Trump administration policy is not “new” at all. In fact, it is a policy that goes directly back to the predecessor and opponent Trump rightly lambasted during his own presidential campaign. Indeed, the plan even goes back to the neo-con infested Bush administration which saw the launch of the war of terror across the world that has ensured America’s bloody legacy for centuries. Trump saw that Iraq was a bad idea. He saw that remaining in Afghanistan was a bad idea. He saw that Libya was a bad idea. He saw that Syria was a bad idea and promised never to follow those courses again. Now, as President, Trump is “staying the course” in Afghanistan, continuing the war in Iraq, keeping troops in Libya, and continuing the treacherous war in Syria. This is not 4D chess. It is a betrayal. It is immoral and it is criminal.

For those Trump supporters who remain, it is time to acknowledge that Donald Trump is not playing a brilliant game of chess but merely continuing the same policies of his predecessors. This continuation of war is not, in any way, excusable. While there does appear to be a Deep State war on this President, it’s clear the Deep State is winning and that Trump, brash as he may be, is not putting up a fight.

Brandon Turbeville writes for Activist Post – article archive here – He is the author of seven books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria, The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President, and Resisting The Empire: The Plan To Destroy Syria And How The Future Of The World Depends On The Outcome. Turbeville has published over 1000 articles on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville’s radio show Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. His website is BrandonTurbeville.com He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.

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