Game Over: U.S. Agrees to Let Assad Stay in Power

The Syrian Civil War has been raging for over four years, and in that time our government has attempted to use the war as a cover to overthrow the Assad regime by any means necessary. That’s not an exaggeration. To provide covert support for the vile thugs with ISIS certainly falls under the category of “any means necessary.” Our government has been responsible for some truly heinous deeds in the past, but using genocidal religious fanatics to achieve a geopolitical goal certainly takes the cake.

However, there are signs that America’s campaign to overthrow Assad is not only falling apart, it may be nearing its end. Earlier this week, John Kerry met with Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict in Syria. He later revealed to the press that the Obama administration has a made a major concession on the conflict.

“The United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change,” Kerry told reporters in the Russian capital after meeting President Vladimir Putin. A major international conference on Syria would take place later this week in New York, Kerry announced.

Kerry reiterated the U.S. position that Assad, accused by the West of massive human rights violations and chemical weapons attacks, won’t be able to steer Syria out of more than four years of conflict.

But after a day of discussions with Assad’s key international backer, Kerry said the focus now is “not on our differences about what can or cannot be done immediately about Assad.” Rather, it is on facilitating a peace process in which “Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria.”

Essentially, Kerry has just announced that the Obama Administration is no longer seeking to overthrow Assad. Obama has been calling for the end of the Assad regime since the very beginning, and this is the first time that he has been willing to let that notion go.

If Kerry is true to his word, which would have to include forgetting about helping the various rebel groups who are hell-bent on ousting Assad, then the US government has just admitted defeat in the Syrian Civil War. And there are signs that Washington is about to cut its losses.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was removing 12 fighter jets from Incirlik air base in Turkey after sending them there last month to bolster the fight against Islamic State and to help reassure Turkey after Russian incursions its airspace.

The Pentagon played down the decision, saying the jets had completed what was always meant to be a temporary deployment within Europe. It noted new commitments by allies France, Britain and Germany since the high-profile U.S. deployment.

Considering that Turkey’s efforts in the region are also falling apart, it’s safe to say that without America, the rebels in Syria are about to lose all foreign support. Regardless of whether they are ISIS, Al Nusra, or the FSA, they are all alone now. There are no longer any barriers preventing Russia from mopping up these groups. It’s just a matter of time.

Unless of course, Washington has something else up its sleeve. No government likes to admit defeat, especially our own.

They may have decided that, rather than letting the Russians win, they’re simply going to take a step back and wait for Moscow to make a mistake. Perhaps they’ll lose momentum in the conflict, at which point Washington will have the leverage to step back in. Or maybe this is all talk, and our government will continue to support the rebels by other means. For now though let’s hope that this conflict, which has brushed shoulders with global war on multiple occasions, is finally reaching its conclusion.