US using Syrian peace talks to reverse losses: Pundit

The United States and its allies are using the modus operandi of peace talks on Syria to try “to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat,” an American scholar and political analyst says.

Dennis Etler, professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday when asked to comment on US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent visit to Moscow.

Professor Etler said, “Kerry's recent talks with his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, and President Putin, in Moscow has led to an apparent reversal of many long-standing US policies and actions regarding Syria.”

“These include the announcement that the US no longer supports regime change in Syria and that the removal of Syrian President Assad prior to negotiations for a settlement of the civil war is a ‘non-starter,’” he added.  

“The US acknowledgement that the Syrian people should decide the fate of their country and its leadership through the electoral process which would include Assad and the legitimate opposition is a major concession on the part of the US,” he stated.

“The US also called for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraq which had recently been deployed without Iraqi approval. In addition a squadron of US F-15 fighter jets recently deployed to Turkey has been withdrawn,” the analyst said.

Some 20 foreign ministers gathered on Friday in New York to discuss ending the Syrian conflict and push forward the peace process.

The ministers were meeting for the third time to push forward an earlier agreement to implement a cease-fire and start political talks on January 1, 2016.

Russia establishes no-fly zone over Syria

Professor Etler said “Russia's deployment of its S-400 anti-aircraft system in Syria following the recent downing of a Russian bomber by Turkish forces amounts to the establishment of a no-fly zone along the Turkish border and has put a damper on Turkish and US attempts to dominate Syrian air-space.”

“In addition, the Russian decision to expose and attack Daesh convoys supplying Turkey with Syrian and Iraqi oil, and other evidence of Turkish support for terrorist forces in Syria has forced the Obama administration to agree to a Russian proposal for a UN resolution seeking to cut off Islamic State [Daesh/ISIL] funding which has the potential to expose the back door machinations of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states in funding Daesh operations in Iraq and Syria,” he stated.

“All of these setbacks for the US policy of destabilizing Syria and imposing regime change are the result not only of Russia's decision to intervene in the conflict on behalf of the Syrian government but must also be seen in the context of the Syrian refugee crisis which has flooded Europe with war weary immigrants and the rash of terrorist attacks that threaten Western homelands,” he noted.

Will US accept triumph of Assad?

Professor Etler said, “The US position in Syria and the Middle East in general has as a result been severely eroded, and must be retooled. The role of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states in fomenting and supporting the terrorists in Syria and Iraq has also come under increased scrutiny, forcing the Saudis to try and cover their tracks by unilaterally assembling a coalition of Muslim states supposedly meant to combat terrorism.”

“It would be extremely naive however to think that the US and its Saudi allies are about to give up the ghost and acquiesce in the triumph of Assad and his Russian allies in thwarting US attempts at regime change,” he stated.

“The US and its allies will now shift to the peace table to try to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This has always been the US fallback position when the going gets tough in order to allow it to regroup and press on. This scenario has been the US modus operandi ever since the war in Vietnam,” the commentator noted.  

“The only way to resolve the conflict in Syria is for Russia, the Syria Army and its allies to press on and defeat Daesh on the ground. Calls for a ceasefire and negotiations with the opposition must not allow the terrorists to regroup and find new safe havens,” Etler concluded.

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