The United States wants regime change in Syria and therefore seeks an escalation of the conflict in the Arab country, rather than a de-escalation, says a political commentator.
The outcome of the US policy, as envisaged by conservatives in Washington, would not be “a de-escalation” of the situation in Syria, but rather a “de facto partitioning of Syria, because of course, certain areas of the country would be controlled by different terrorist factions,” said Eric Draitser, founder of Stopimperialism.com, in a Saturday interview with Press TV.
The comments follow recent remarks by a Democratic congresswoman who called on the United States to stop the “illegal, counterproductive war” to overthrow the Syrian government and focus instead on defeating the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
Appearing on CNN on Friday, Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said the campaign to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “illegal because Congress has not declared war. It has not authorized a war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad.”
Draitser made a reference to the House member’s ‘pragmatic’ approach to the Syrian conflict but noted that there is no “consensus in Washington” over the issue.
The United States has been backing what it calls moderate militants fighting against the Assad government. Senior US officials, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, have repeatedly called for Assad's removal.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Assad’s fate will be decided in international talks in the coming weeks.
"What I can tell you is that in the multilateral sessions, which will continue to occur going forward, the role of Assad in this transition will be spelled out," Kirby told reporters.