Obama has overruled the pro-nusra faction in his government ...

 

"“The president doesn’t want this group to be what inherits the country if Assad ever does fall,” a senior U.S. official said. “This cannot be the viable Syrian opposition. It’s al-Qaeda.”

Officials said the administration’s hope is that more-moderate rebel factions will be able to gain ground as both the Islamic State and al-Nusra come under increased military pressure.

A growing number of White House and State Department officials, however, have privately voiced doubts about the wisdom of applying U.S. military power, even covertly, to pressure Assad to step aside, particularly since Russia’s military intervention in Syria last year.

 

U.S. intelligence officials say they aren’t sure what Trump’s approach to U.S.-backed rebel units will be once he gets briefed on the extent of the covert CIA program. Trump has voiced strong skepticism about arming Syrian rebels in the past, suggesting that U.S. intelligence agencies don’t have enough knowledge about rebel intentions to pick reliable allies."  Washpost

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What is this?  Has Obama finally come to his senses in the last months of  his presidency?  If I read this article correctly Obama overruled the neocon Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, the toadies he brought with him to the JCS and the always power hungry CIA.   Rather than continue to accept the Israeli influenced  "Assad must Go" policy, Obama apparently has directed the DoD to begin massive attacks against this AQ group in Syria.

Will this lead to cooperation with Russia in these operations?  I don't know.  I hope it will.  Apparently Russian air defenses in Syria have been allowing US drone operations in western Syria for some time.  

This change of policy is a radical reversal which indicates that overthrow of the Syrian government is no longer a priority of the Obama Administration.  Logically, but merely so, Carter should resign since his policy recommendation has been rejected. 

The fight for Mosul looks to me to be something that will last a long, long time.   What will Obama do about that in his remaining time?

What will President Trump's policy be in the ME?  Only time will tell.  pl  

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-directs-pentagon-to-target-al-qaeda-affiliate-in-syria-one-of-the-most-formidable-forces-fighting-assad/2016/11/10/cf69839a-a51b-11e6-8042-f4d111c862d1_story.html

Comments

[Pitch Pole]

Totally agree he's not a politician. I'm not sure if he'll be able to spread the goodies around enough to keep everyone happy. The republicans have been in more or less civil war for a while, not sure how he can finesse that rift.. the biggest losers in the republican tent I'm guessing will be the deficit hawks, if he follows through no the infrastructure and defense spending.

[turcopolier]

pitch

you know that it is impossible to satisfy everyone. pl

[Mathias Alexander]

See Peter Dale Scott

http://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/intro/search.cgi?zoom_query=deep+state&zoom_and=1

[Mathias Alexander]

The term "deep state" relates to the term "deep politics" or "parapolitics" as defined by Peter Dale Scott.

[Michele Morini]

IMO there is not any policy change, just Russia start to destroy ISIS when the US were doing nothing than even US start to destroy ISIS & jhadis to look nice

[ked]

Yes, you certainly could be wrong. I suggest you stick with characterizations about important people & topics, rather than unimportant people like those you imagine things about.

[ked]

My wisdom, what little there may be of it, resides where it always has.

[turcopolier]

ked

Are you giving me unsolicited advice as to what I should write about? pl

[Earthrise]

It seems then that the Borg is the neo-con/liberal faction of the Deep State. I hope Trump can give succour to the Patriotic faction of the Deep State, and send the Borg back where they belong. I guess we are going to have to see purges; legal proceedings, career-ending scandals (they all have closets) and quiet retirements.

We all know the penalty for Treason.

[Imagine]

Here is a Russian analysis video that shows a sniper hitting protesters from the viewpoint of the camera, behind the line of skirmish, from up above in the hotel. Note the State Dept. and the CIA each had rented a floor of the hotel, but that doesn't prove anything. The bullets clearly hit trees when they miss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnBa0Uj3Ijw
one of the first things the neo-fascists did when they took power was to cut down the trees in this square.

Russian "The Goblin" pointed out that all police guns' signatures are registered, and, using modern forensics, if the new government had wanted to prove that the sniping had actually been done by police, they would have analyzed the scratches on the bullets and wrapped it up pretty quickly. Instead, the sniping was swept under the rug.

also that it takes huge amounts of money to feed and house an army of protesters camped out for months on end.

There's also a rumor/movie the revolutionaries had captured some special policemen two days before, beat them up, and stole their uniforms. Then a rumor that there were special policemen moving around on that day but moving like amateurs, not professional soldiers. However not as well substantiated as the analysis.

there are other videos on YouTube if you search.

[Annem]

Unfortunately, this report indicates that Obama has gotten only part of the reality right regarding fighters in Syria;the other jihadi groups fighting against the Assad regime under the label FSA, with support from Turkey et al, are not that much different from Nusra and ISIS save for a lack of immediate/immediate interest in attacking the West. THESE are the "moderate" forces...or did we miss something? If they were to be a part of any future government in Syria, it will be a disaster for the Syrian people, and not just the minorities among them. Rather than seeing refugees and IDPs returning to their homes to rebuild, you would likely see a permanent diaspora. The only forces that seem to be non-Islamist are the SDF: Kurdish, Bedouin and Christian groups that are the most effective fighters against ISIS.