Aleppo now freed from the rebels!

[Dill]

(12-13-2016, 10:35 PM)SunsetBenga Wrote: So, then why were the Americans, under the Obama administration supplying weaponry to the rebel factions?  Seems to me that this is another example of a Nation that was undergoing turmoil, that did not need Western interference.  We all saw how things came unglued when we got into the whole Iraq deal...

Obama probably felt some responsibility since the Iraq invasion is partly what destabilized Syria, along with drought.

McCain and Graham wanted to intervene on the side of the rebels. Because of the recent poor track record in the Middle East, and because you never know where weapons end up once you start handing them out in the Middle East, Obama was for a more restrained approach--vetting groups, supplying and training a few.

One of the "factions" is the Peshmerga, our Kurdish allies in Northern Iraq.

The Obama stance is that Assad, a staunch ally of Russia, has to go. No resolution to the Syrian problem is possible so long as he remains in power. Also he is Alawite, allied to Iran. Israel wants him gone too, as does Turkey. If the Syrian Army has retaken Aleppo, that strengthens Assad's position--and Russia's.

No end to refugees in sight. But on the good side, civilians will not be under artillery and air strikes.