SyriaGen. Dempsey: Syria could be a “10-year issue”
The U.S. top soldier said the United States is facing a “10-year issue” in Syria: “if we fail to think about [the Syrian issue] as a 10-year regional issue, we could make some mistakes,” General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
Concerns grow of Syrian conflict spilling into Lebanon and Iraq // Source: alriyadh.com
The U.S. top military officer said the United States is facing a “10-year issue” in Syria as it – the United States — debates just how involved it should get in the civil war that has been raging for more than two years.
General Martin Dempsey told CNN that the conflict is now spilling into Lebanon and Iraq. CNN notes the United States is already trying to keep the war from spilling into Jordan, where American military instructors forces have been training Syrian rebel forces.
“It is related — not exclusively — but related to a competition at best and a conflict at worse between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam, and it’s been hijacked at some level on both sides by extremists — al Qaeda on one side and Lebanese Hezbollah and others on the other side,” Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
“This is about a 10-year issue, and if we fail to think about it as a 10-year regional issue, we could make some mistakes,” Dempsey added.
The Obama administration announced last month that Syrian government troops crossed a “red line” by using chemical weapons against rebel forces, prompting the U.S. to increase its aid to the rebel forces. The administration now plans to send small arms, ammunition, and possibly anti-tank weapons to Syria’s rebels, but has refrained from given rebels more advanced weapons
Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) has been arguing that the United States should increase aid to the Syrian rebels, and U.S. forces to attack Assad’s air force and impose a no-fly zone over Syria. He says the administration’s new policy is just not enough.
“As usual, on these issues, they’re undecided and going forward with a debate while events transpire,” McCain said. “There’s no better example of that than Syria, as we continue to watch Hezbollah, thousands of fighters; we see Russian weapons pouring in, and slaughter of now over 100,000 people. And we’re going to send them light weapons? Light weapons don’t do well against tanks.”
