As regular readers are no doubt aware, the US has done a lot of really silly things over the course of the last four or so years in Syria.
While there’s little question that the rise of ISIS takes the top spot in the “absurd outcomes” category, there are several legitimate contenders for runner-up. There’s The Pentagon’s $500 million “train and equip” program for instance, which was designed to field some 5,400 fearsome warriors with a mandate to fight Islamic State but only ended up yielding “four or five” after the rest of the group (which only amounted to 16 at the “high” point over the summer) died, got captured, defected, or ended up lost in the desert.
As amusing as that effort most certainly was, an even more ridiculous strategy emerged after the train and equip program was officially mothballed in October (we say it was mothballed, but you should note that the NDAA Obama just signed still allows for a half billion in funding [8] for the Syrian opposition). Out of options, and with the Russians bearing down on the FSA and everyone else from the sky, the US decided to begin airdropping tons of ammo and weapons on pallets into the middle of the desert.
“U.S. air drops of weapons and ammunition intended for the Syrian Free Army, which is fighting Assad’s regime, could end up in the hands of Islamic State instead,” Vladimir Putin noted in mid-October, after calling the West “oatmeal heads [9]” for their criticism of Russia’s involvement in the fight. But believe it or not, the fact that “non-moderate” forces might retrieve the arms was actually not the most absurd part of Washington’s small arms paradrop “plan.”
As we outlined in our classic piece “Full Metal Retard: US Launches ‘Performance-Based’ Ammo Paradrop Program For Make-Believe ‘Syrian Arabs, [8]’” Washington was leery of openly arming the YPG for fear of angering Erdogan, who only four months ago finally agreed to allow the US to fly combat missions from Incirlik. So, The Pentagon essentially made up a new opposition force called the "Syrian Arab Coalition" and then proceeded to claim that the group merged with YPG sometime around the 10th of October. The idea, presumably, was that in case Erdogan got wind that the Americans were dropping small arms and ammo to the YPG (who Ankara equates with the PKK), Washington could claim that in fact, the weapons were going to the Syrian Arab Coalition, of which YPG was only a small part.
Erdogan didn’t buy it, but that’s another story.
The buffoonery was complete when Washington promised to continue paradropping weapons to “Syrian arabs” who probably don’t exist as long as their “performance” was judged to be adequate.
Fast forward to November and The White House announced it was set to deploy SpecOps to Syria (as though they weren’t already there). Well this week, we learn that the new troops are officially on the ground and amusingly the mainstream media is out claiming that they’ve been embedded with the “Syrian Democratic Force.”
Now if ever there were a name that resonates with the American public, "Syrian Democratic Force" is surely it. It suggests there’s some sizeable contingent of fighters dedicated to a democratic future for the country once the "tyrannical" government of Bashar al-Assad is shown the door.
As CBS reports [10], “President Obama revealed Monday that a small contingent of elite U.S. commandos has begun working with allied forces inside Syria to ‘tighten the squeeze’ on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria." Here's more:
CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata is inside northern Syria with soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Force, a newly-formed group made up largely of Kurdish and Arab fighters who the U.S. military is now working with in the war-torn nation.
A local commander told D'Agata he had met with U.S. forces on the ground in Syria who are helping to coordinate local militias, and providing equipment, intelligence and training.
The commander told CBS News the Americans are working with his troops because they have proven themselves on the battlefield.
Clearly, the US SpecOps have simply been embedded with the YPG. The "Syrian Democratic Force" (which supposedly includes the aforementioned "Syrian Arab Coalition") is yet another transparent attempt to keep from angering Turkey by simply admitting that the US is fighting alongside the Kurds north of Raqqa.
It's important to step back and assess how the situation is unfolding. The expanded US SpecOps presence in the northeast further divides the country in what amounts to speheres of US and Russian influence. Moscow and Iran control the west and the US, France, and Britain are angling to control the east. At this point, Turkey isn't going to be pleased with either situation. Russia and Iran are pushing towards its borders while the US is aiding a group (the YPG) that Ankara equates with Erdogan's arch nemisis the PKK.
As far as the YPG are concerned, they're glad the US is there, but believe a few dozen spec ops aren't going to do the trick. From CBS again:
But the commander also cautioned that the U.S. troops are about to see for themselves what they're up against, and if America is serious about defeating ISIS, it will need to contribute more than guns and bullets; America's new allies will need artillery, armored vehicles and antitank weapons to match ISIS' firepower.
We're fairly sure Washington is aware of what ISIS has in their arsenal - after all, it all came directly or indirectly from the US and its allies.
