Raqqa rift & America Kaos: State Dept says US leaves once ISIS ousted, military plan to hold & govern city

US officials are split over the future of Raqqa, Syria, with some claiming all international forces will leave the city once it is freed from terrorists, and others announcing plans to stay to ‘govern’ it along with Turkey.


As Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters, backed by US advisers and coalition airstrikes, slowly advance on the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) stronghold of Raqqa, US officials have been voicing their opinions on what will happen to Raqqa once it is liberated. The US State Department says that after the terrorists are defeated, all foreign forces will leave the city to let the Syrians run it.

“How the liberation takes place, how we get local governance re-established after the liberation: our expectation, as has been elsewhere, is that outside forces would then withdraw,” US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a daily press briefing on Monday. He then clarified that US forces will supervise the re-establishment of local authority in the city, but other than that will not intervene in its governance.

“We don’t want to see semi-autonomous zones. The reality is, though, as territory is liberated from [Islamic State], you’ve got to get some kind of governance back into these areas, but by no means are we condoning… any kind of semi-autonomous areas in northern Syria.

“Ultimately, we want to see a sovereign, intact Syria,” Toner stressed.

The US military's position, however, differs slightly from that of the State Department.

“The coalition and Turkey will work together on the long-term plan for seizing, holding and governing Raqqa,” US General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday, following a meeting with his Turkish counterpart General Hulusi Akar in Ankara.

He went further, saying that taking and holding Raqqa requires a “predominantly Arab and Sunni Arab force.”

“And there are forces like that. There is the moderate Syrian opposition, the vetted Syrian forces and the Free Syrian Army forces, and there is some initial outreach to forces in Raqqa proper,” the general added.
 [rt.com]
8/11/16
-
Related:

• Long-term plan for seizing, holding and "governing" Raqqa: Turkey, US agree on who should seize Raqqah

-

• Turkey upset at US for backing PKK-linked group
• Capacity to fight ISIS: Syria daily dismisses Raqqa fight as 'media' operation
• Syrian Democratic Forces (Kurdish-Arab alliance) begin offensive to liberate Raqqa in northern Syria
• Syrie: les Kurdes annoncent qu'ils dirigeront l'offensive sur Raqa, sans la Turquie

• Universal Tyranny: US's Carter Talking With Turkey About Seizure of Raqqa
• U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition chaos: Raqqah "operation" to begin in weeks

-

• Binali Yildirim: Turkey will not fight in Raqqa alongside PKK/PYD
• Saudi Arabia ready to join Raqqa battle
• Syrie: les opérations turques vont s'étendre à Raqa, fief de "l'Etat islamique"
• Izvestia: Russia eyeing joint operation with US to liberate Raqqa

-

•  Rusia: Sólo el Ejército sirio tiene derecho a liberar Raqqa