US has always sought regime change in Syria: Analyst

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent comments on Syria show that despite changes in rhetoric, regime change has always remained America’s only objective in Syria, says Daniel Patrick Welch, an American political commentator.

Kerry said Wednesday that establishing a safe zone in Syria would need up to 30,000 ground soldiers.

Earlier, the top US diplomat warned that if the Syrian ceasefire deal that the US and Russia agreed to on Monday falters, Washington will resort to its Plan B options.

“It’s a little bit expected, because it’s basically posturing. I’m still convinced that this is just to cover a capitulation,” Welch told Press TV on Wednesday. “What you really have is the almost complete defeat of the US strategy in Syria.”

Welch said Washington has never had such a thing as Plan B and the alternatives they are speaking of now have always been the primary objectives they have been following in Syria.

“This idea of Plan B is kind of a scam; it has always been Plan A to topple the legitimate government and replace it with something weaker and something more compliant be it a failed state, a puppet regime or this division into sectarian mini states, instead of the legitimate elected government,” he explained.

However, the analyst said, the American leaders will not easily accept their defeat and bow out without putting up “a fuss.”

Referring to Kerry’s estimate, the analyst said the large number of troops would require an “enormous commitment” which Washington and its allies are not willing to take.

“They will try to do it through the Turks and the Saudis,” he said, citing Ankara and Riyadh’s willingness to deploy ground troops in Syria.

It shows the volatility of the political situation in the US, while revealing the depth of the “craziness” that has engulfed its government, Welch noted, adding the US aims to seize a part of Syria and not allow the government to control it.

“The [US] political system is an absolute mess,” Welch said. “And what you have is this kind of a neocon establishment that is pushing these wars and constantly promoting this regime change agenda to keep American power in force around the world.”

“I hope that we are starting to see a successful pushback on this, but, again, it’s scary because a dying empire is like a cornered rabid dog, very very dangerous until it's put down for good,” he concluded.

Nearly five years of turmoil has claimed the lives of more than 270,000 people in Syria and displaced millions, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Some reports, however, put the death toll as high as 470,000.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk