In a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, Obama laid out a broad approach to foreign affairs for the remainder of his presidency that shifts the fight against terrorism from Afghanistan to more diffuse threats elsewhere in the world.
One of those areas is Syria. In his speech, Obama defended his decision not to intervene militarily there and expressed a willingness to expand assistance to Syrian opposition groups who are trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
"As president, I made a decision that we should not put American troops into the middle of this increasingly sectarian war, and I believe that is the right decision," he said. "But that does not mean we shouldn’t help the Syrian people stand up against a dictator who bombs and starves his own people."
Obama said the administration would work with Congress to "ramp up" support for groups who "offer the best alternative to terrorists and brutal dictators." More resources would be given to Syrian neighbors Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq as well.
Obama also announced plans for a $5 billion counterterrorism fund aimed at training and equipping partners in other countries to fight violent extremism.
The president on Tuesday outlined a plan to withdraw all but 9,800 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and the rest by 2016, ending more than a decade of U.S. military engagement.
The president's focus on diplomacy and reluctance to use military might has prompted some foreign diplomats to bemoan privately what they regard as a lack of U.S. leadership after more than five years of the Obama presidency, much of which has been taken up with reviving a deeply troubled economy at home.
"There's an extreme indecisiveness and cautiousness that just worries people," said Senator Bob Corker, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I’m not for policing the world but I do think that our lack of leadership has created a vacuum and I think that into that vacuum problems are being created," Corker said.
Obama made a strong defense of using multi-lateral institutions to address global problems. U.S. leadership helped the rest of the world isolate Russia after its intervention in Ukraine, he said, and the possibility of a breakthrough with Iran over its nuclear program - despite long odds - was real.
The president also criticized Republican leaders who cast doubt on whether climate change is real. The United States would be "out front" in forming an international framework to fight global warming next year, he said.
Obama critics fault him for not intervening in the Syrian civil war and for not being more effective at countering China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
White House officials bristle at the charges, saying Obama's critics reflexively suggest military solutions at a time when Americans are weary of war after more than a decade of costly conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. REUTERS
[ todayonline.com]
28/5/14
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US eyes training moderate Syrian rebels...
ReplyDeletePresident Barack Obama said Wednesday the U.S. will increase assistance to the Syrian opposition, opening the way for the likely training and possibly equipping of moderate rebels fighting to oust leader Bashar Assad.
In a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Obama framed the situation in Syria as a counterterrorism challenge and said it would be centerpiece of a new focus on battling violent extremism even as Assad's removal is a priority.
"In helping those who fight for the right of all Syrians to choose their own future, we also push back against the growing number of extremists who find safe-haven in the chaos," Obama told the graduating cadets.
"I will work with Congress to ramp up support for those in the Syrian opposition who offer the best alternative to terrorists and a brutal dictator," he said.
His remarks were immediately hailed by the Syrian Opposition Coalition, which said in a statement it "appreciates American support to the Syrian people in their struggle against the Assad regime."
Administration officials said the proposed mission would be aligned with, but not necessarily part of a new $5 billion counterterrorism initiative that Obama announced in his speech.
The officials said they would seek congressional authorization for the program because it might require invoking the War Powers Act.
The Senate Armed Services Committee last week passed a bill that authorizes the Defense Department to provide training and equipment elements of the Syrian opposition that have been screened. It is unclear when the bill may be considered by the full Senate or the House of Representatives.
Under the planned initiative, the U.S. would send a limited number of American troops to Jordan to be part of a regional training mission that would instruct carefully screened members of the Free Syrian Army on weapons handling and tactics, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss administration deliberations by name.
In addition to the counterterrorism aspect, the State Department, the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies, along with many in Congress who back the move, have concluded Assad will not budge without a change in the military situation in Syria.
The U.S. has covert support operations in place for the Syrian opposition and has spent $287 million so far in nonlethal aid on the civil war, now in its fourth year with a death toll surpassing 160,000, according to estimates...................http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-eyes-training-moderate-syrian-rebels.aspx?pageID=238&nID=67163&NewsCatID=358
29/5/14