Syrian conflict enters new unpredictable phase: Analyst

The five-year-old Syrian conflict -- essentially a proxy war between the East and the West -- has entered a new unpredictable phase, an American political analyst says.

Dennis Etler, professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday while commenting on recent developments related to the Syrian crisis.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter declared on Friday that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are willing to send special forces to Syria to help ‘moderate’ militants fighting against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.

Hours earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said ministers meeting for Syria crisis talks in Germany have agreed to “accelerate and expand” humanitarian aid to the conflict-hit country.

Kerry made the remarks at the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting early on Friday in the German city of Munich where the working group of 17 countries began a new round of Syria peace talks on Thursday focusing on calls for a ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid.

“The war in Syria is fundamentally a proxy war between the East and the West. The West (US imperialism and its allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) is contending with the East (China, Russia, Iran, etc.),” Professor Etler said.

“The war is being fought on military, political, economic, socio-cultural, ideological and diplomatic fronts. Syria is a very important theatre in this war as the major contending forces converge there,” he stated.

“The war in Syria is being fought on all the fronts mentioned above and different tactics will be used alone or in combination to advance the objectives of the contending forces,” he noted.

US using ISIL ploy to insinuate into Syria

“On the military front the Russians and Syrians are advancing to the disadvantage of the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The US has been trying to use the ISIL ploy as a means to insinuate itself and its allies into Syria," Professor Etler said.

“It is a rationale for US bombing raids, special forces operations, and the threat of no fly zones and the introduction of unsanctioned ground forces into Syria. These operations are however not really directed against Daesh but as part of the US response to what they see as a deteriorating military situation in Syria,” he stated.

“The US strategy of using the ‘moderate opposition’ as a cover for its terrorist operations to destabilize [Syria] and overthrow [President Bashar al-] Assad have failed so new military options have to be sought,” he pointed out.

Why is US at the negotiating table

“Politically and diplomatically the Russians are now in the catbird seat and can call the shots. They will try to use negotiations to consolidate the Syrian government’s position while the US and its proxies will try to use them to win at the negotiating table what they could not win on the ground,” Professor Etler said.

“That will be impossible unless they can change the military situation in Syria which can only be achieved at this point by outright military intervention. That however is a last ditch tactic and speaks to the difficult position the US and its allies now face in Syria,” he noted.  

“This also leads to disputes between the US and its allies such as Turkey as they try to figure out what to do.  The US and its proxies share many strategic goals but each also has their own agenda which further complicates the situation,” the analyst concluded. 

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