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2024-12-20 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
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US diplomats arrive in Syria to talk to Islamist rulers about country’s future
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Lame duck tries to limp across the finish line. What odds incoming president Trump repudiates whatever agreements the [Biden]-[Harris] administration comes to with Hayat Tahrir al Sham? [IsraelTimes] US envoys have arrived in Syria to speak directly to the new Islamist-led rulers, the State Department says, in the most formal US diplomatic mission since the start of the long civil war.
The State Department’s top Middle East diplomat Barbara Leaf, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and newly appointed Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein, who is now tasked with leading the Department’s Syria engagement, are the first US diplomats to travel to Damascus since Syria’s opposition militias overthrew oppressive president Bashar al-Assad.
The diplomats will meet representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — designated a terrorist group by Washington — and civil society to discuss with Syrians “their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” a State Department spokesperson says.
The diplomats will meet representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — designated a terrorist group by Washington — and civil society to discuss with Syrians “their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The visit comes as Western governments are gradually opening channels to HTS and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, and start debating whether or not to remove the terrorist designation on the group. The US delegation’s travel follows contacts with France and Britain in recent days.
In their meetings, the US officials will discuss with HTS representatives a set of principles such as inclusivity and respect for the rights of minorities that Washington wants included in Syria’s political transition, the spokesperson said.
The delegation will also work to obtain new information about US journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, and other American citizens who went missing during the Assad regime.
“They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” the department spokesperson said.
“They also plan to meet with representatives of HTS to discuss transition principles endorsed by the United States and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan,” the spokesperson said.
The United States cut diplomatic ties with Syria and shut down its embassy in Damascus in 2012.
Forces under the command of al-Sharaa – better known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani – replaced the Assad family rule with a three-month transitional government that had been ruling a rebel enclave in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.
Washington in 2013 designated al-Sharaa a terrorist, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. It said the Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision.
Quizzing a bunch of jihadis and their future targets about plans to form a Western-style democracy strikes me as counterproductive. The following is intersting in a modified limited hangout progression kind of way: US DOUBLES TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO SYRIA
The United States has more than doubled the number of its forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group — a dramatic increase that the Pentagon revealed Thursday, acknowledging that the added troops have been there for months or even more than a year.
The US had said for years that there were about 900 troops in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, acknowledged there were roughly 2,000 there now.
The Pentagon was asked repeatedly about the US presence in Syria in the wake of the chaotic overthrow of Assad. It did not disclose the increase and instead kept repeating the 900 figure.
Speaking at a Pentagon press conference, Ryder said the additional forces had been in Syria “at a minimum months — it’s been going on for a while.” He said he only just learned the new number and that the increase was not related to the ouster of Assad or any hike in attacks either by or against IS.
Ryder blamed the secrecy on “diplomatic considerations” and sensitivities but declined to be more specific. There has long been friction between the US and Syria’s neighbors — Turkey and Iraq — about the ongoing presence of American forces in Syria and the need to keep them at a particular level.
Ryder said he is “not tracking” any additional adjustments to the force numbers in the future. That could change, however, as President-elect Donald Trump has said he does not support US forces getting more involved in Syria.
Ryder told reporters the increase in forces was temporary and they are there to augment US operations against the Islamic State group. He said US Army conventional and special operations forces make up the bulk of the additional troops.
The “temporary” description, however, belies the fact that troops have been rotating in and out of Syria for nearly a decade, and for much of the last year, or possibly two, the number has consistently been higher than the 900 officials repeatedly insisted were there.
There have always been an undisclosed number of U.S. special operations forces deploying into Syria for short periods of time, but that would not account for the extra 1,100 forces.
Asked whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin knew the total was that high, Ryder said, “I’m confident that the secretary is tracking US forces deployed around the world.” When pressed on whether Austin directed his staff to keep the higher number secret, Ryder said no. He also said that Austin has not talked to Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top US general for the Middle East, about the matter.
Since Assad’s overthrow, Israel and Turkey have both launched military operations inside Syria’s borders, including Israeli airstrikes against weapons facilities in the east that belonged to Assad’s regime and Turkey’s offensive in the northeast against Kurdish forces, who have partnered with the US in its fight against the Islamic State. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2024-12-20 2024-12-20 03:12||
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