US signals openness to Assad staying put

(CNN.com)The Trump government doubled down Thursday on prioritizing the struggle against ISIS over stopping the Syrian civil-war and getting cleared of its chief protagonist, President Bashar al Assad — an indication that has been quickly criticized by hawks on the Hill.

Signaling a potential shift in US policy on the war in Syria from the times of the Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on a visit to Turkey the “longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”
And in regards to the Trump government’s choice to not push for Assad’s departure, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was even more powerful in New York. “Our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out,” Haley advised cable reporters Thursday, based on AFP.
    “Do we believe he is an interference? Yes,” she stated. “Are we going to sit there and concentrate on getting him outside? No.”
    Nevertheless, a US official told CNN that Haley’s comments were misunderstood. The the state said the US ambassador had not been giving Assad a free move, and she called Assad a “war criminal” within an appearance Wednesday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.
    The the state described to CNN the precedence of the government now will not be just about Assad, but also getting the better of ISIS, halting the spread of the sway in Iran, attempting to stop the Syrian civil-war and shielding US allies in the area.
    In the event the United States does definitively left the policy of demanding Assad’s departure — a place articulated by the Obama administration — it’d set its plan closer in line with Russia, which supports Assad, and at odds with friends in Europe and in Turkey, where Tillerson down-played clashes which are already stressing that coalition.
    The remarks drew significant criticism from Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republicans who’ve long advocated for an increased US military presence in Syria against Assad and his Russian allies.
    “This overlooks the tragic reality that the Syrian people cannot decide the fate of Assad or the future of their country when they are being slaughtered by Assad’s barrel bombs,” Arizona’s McCain said in a declaration.
    Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Graham stated, “If the press reports are accurate and the Trump Administration is no longer focusing on removing Assad, I fear it will be the biggest mistake since President Obama failed to act after drawing a red line against Assad’s use of chemical weapons.”
    In Turkey, Tillerson’s fledgling diplomatic abilities were set to the check in his diplomatic mission that is most difficult since using off-ice. He satisfied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the eve of an enormous drive against IS-IS’ Syrian strong hold of Raqqa for just two hours behind-closed-doors. Tillerson’s aim was to get Erdogan the Kurds — the Turks’ sworn foe — are essential companions in the endeavor to overcome the terror business.
    The top US diplomat avoided questions in the information conference about US assistance for the Kurdish militia YPG, which the United States considers the most powerful fighters to follow IS-IS, but mentioned the two nations discussed “alternatives.” His Turkish counter part indicated that US help for the YPG stays one of a few stumbling-blocks in America-Turkey relationships.
    “What we discussed today are options that are available to us,” Tillerson mentioned following an ending up in Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “They’re hard choices. I’d like to be quite blunt. It’s not simple. They’ve been tough choices which must be manufactured.”
    Cavusoglu decried the US insistence on viewing Turkish Kurds as different from your YPG militia in Syria, which h-AS acquired assistance and arms from Washington at war with Turkey. He informed newsmen, “It is a sorrow for us that this sort of support has been extended (by the US to the YPG).”
    A senior State Department official advised CNN before the negotiations that Tillerson’s message to Erdogan would be the United States is committed to dealing in the offensive against Raqqa together with the Kurds.
    Tillerson was place to tell the Turks that “we are going to do what we have to do,” the the state stated. “It’s not a happy message and they aren’t going to like it, but this is what he has to tell them.” The the state continued that Tillerson also told them that “our priority is the long term relationship with the Turks — but at the moment, the emerging crisis requires us to use the folks who will fight.”
    Cavusoglu stated that US assistance for the Kurdish forces of the the YPG militia, which it considers terrorists, h-AS saddened hurt and Turkey attempts to reset the United States-Turkey relationship subsequent to the election of President Donald Trump.
    “We can fight Daesh together,” Mr. Cavusoglu mentioned, utilizing the Arabic phrase for is is. However he added that “it is not correct to fight against one terrorist organization while cooperating with another.”
    He said there was no variation involving the YPG militias operating with all the United States in Syria along with the PKK, a team that the United States has labeled a terrorist firm and which has launched terror strikes against Turkey. He failed to equate the group together with the YPG while Tillerson mentioned Turkey had endured assaults in the palms of PKK.
    Kurds are not the only supply of friction in the US connection with Turkey
    Key included in this is that the United States has yet to deliver the Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, of orchestrating a coup try last summer, a resident of the united states whom Erdogan accuses.
    Turkey’s desire that Washington extradite Gulen, whom Turkey attributes for directing the unsuccessful coup of last year, loomed over Tillerson’s discussions. Gulen denies participation in the effort.
    Cavusoglu mentioned Turkey supplied considerable evidence to the United States of America and stated that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had vowed to “evaluate the documents meticulously.” He explained Turkey desires to see “concrete steps,” and asked for the United States to problem a provisional arrest warrant for Gulen while the extradition procedure moves ahead
    “We need to take mutual steps to put relations with the United States back on track,” he stated.

    Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/30/politics/tillerson-haley-syria-assad-turkey/index.html