Washington: Assad Still Must Go. US Support of “Jihadist” Mercenaries is Intent Upon Triggering “Regime Change”
By Daniel McAdams
Global Research
October 29, 2015
At the State Department’s daily briefing today, Spokesman John Kirby conceded that the Syrian government led by President Assad may have a role to play in a “political transition” of the country.
The apparent shift was in response to a reporter who pointed out that Assad is not opposed by the entire population of Syria:
…the Assad regime definitely represents a certain constituency in Syria. The minorities, Christians, even a portion of the Sunnis look at the Syrian regime as their representative, in particular at Bashar al-Assad. Why should Bashar al-Assad be complex nixed out of the process, considering that he controls the larger portion on the ground, proudly asserting themselves as the major power in that conflict on the ground? Why should Assad be nixed out of the process?
State Spokesman Kirby replied:
Nobody said that there wouldn’t be a role for Assad or for the institution of his – institutions of his government in the transition.
It appears to be a slight step back from the previous position that no talks could be held on Syria’s future until Assad is out of power. However, this “shift” is more cosmetic than substantive, as Kirby reiterated that, “nothing’s changed about our position on Bashar al-Assad.”
In fact, a “role in the political transition” is just another way of saying “Assad must go.” It means that even as the facts have changed considerably on the ground, the initial US position — a position that led to US support of jihadist mercenaries to overthrow the Syrian government — has not changed.
Kirby was asked again by a reporter, “[Assad] can’t have a long-term leadership role in Syria?”
He repeated: “That is correct.”
Kirby was then reminded by a reporter that the US government is not the sole decider on what happens to Syria:
But you’re not a mediator in this process. You’re one of the countries that has views.
A point that Kirby conceded, but added:
…many of our European allies have taken very much the same position that we have taken. So it’s not like everybody involved has got widely different views here, but there are some different opinions and perspectives on what a successful transition means and what that looks like.
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