Ford: US Policy in Syria Big Failure, Hypocritical!

Local Editor

The last US ambassador to Syria has criticized the White House's "ridiculous" policy on the war-torn state.

Robert Ford, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010, a year before the conflict broke out, said contradictions in Washington's approach exposed the government's "hypocrisy".

"The American government finds itself in the ridiculous situation."

One key feature of Obama's Syria policy has been its efforts to provide training and supplies to the so-called "moderate" opposition groups.

By supporting the PYD's military wing, the YPG, the US is backing a group listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey because of its ties to the PKK, which has been at war with the Turkish state since 1984.

"I think the American policy is not consistent - it is inconsistent and hypocritical," Ford, who previously served as ambassador to Algeria, said. "I cannot understand how it is possible for Americans to give weapons and material supplies to the YPG militia. This has ties to the PKK. I do not know how the American lawyers justify that."

The veteran diplomat said the US decision to side with the YPG had left it "sort of stuck".

He derided claims that the YPG would be able to take Daesh's [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] Syrian stronghold of Raqqah or the province of Deir ez-Zour in eastern Syria, even with US air support.

The US has come to recognize this shortfall, Ford said, and it was now focusing on training Arab forces.

"This is going to take a long time to train Arab soldiers," Ford said, adding that the Americans "don't have an easy alternative" to the YPG and is unable to control the group "which is another problem."

However, due to its control of parts of northern Syria, Ford said the YPG would have to be included in Syria's transition process following agreement between Washington and Ankara on how to do this.

Describing the US's wider policy in Syria as a "big failure", Ford highlighted the refusal to send ground troops early in the conflict, the failure to find a political solution and the inability to recruit reliable local allies to defeat Daesh as the biggest shortcomings.

These failures have damaged American credibility and leadership, Ford said.

The US focus on the Pacific region, in particular, has been to the detriment of policy in the Middle East, he added.

"Obama prefers to increase American attention and American leadership in Asia, even if the cost is diminished American leadership in the Middle East," he said. "He is willing to make that trade."

While he believes Daesh will eventually be defeated, the former envoy is alarmed at the lack of planning for a post-Daesh Syria, a lack of foresight that threatens to ignore the lessons of Iraq, where the absence of a post-war plan ultimately led to the rise of Daesh.

"In that, I have seen absolutely zero American planning," he said, referring to the future governance of Daesh-controlled territory.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team