US Senator Black discusses Syria with Lebanon’s Aoun

US Senator Dick Black has met with Michel Aoun, a Lebanese MP and the head of the country’s Reform and Change bloc, discussing the ongoing conflict in Syria and the overall geopolitical situation in the Middle East region.

Black slammed Washington’s policy with regards to the years-long crisis in Syria and said the deadly war “would come to an end if the US stops training terrorists in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region and stops providing them with military support.”

Since 2013, America's CIA spy agency has trained hundreds of militants in countries like Jordan and Turkey. The effort is separate from a failed US military program to train the so-called “moderate” militants to supposedly fight the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi Arabia has made the biggest contributions to the CIA program, according to Mike Rogers, who was chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee when the CIA operation began.

In his meeting with the veteran Lebanese politician, Black expressed hope that President Barack Obama changes US policy on Syria, and takes constructive measures to resolve the crisis.

The senator then praised Syria’s Constitution, saying Saudi Arabia should take lessons from it and stop violating women’s rights and the right to freedom of speech.

During his visit, Black also met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil.

He told Bassil that the Syrian conflict was a “real tragedy” affecting the whole region.

The senator further noted that toppling the Assad government is tantamount to a disaster for the West.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Damascus says Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces. According to UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, some 400,000 people have lost their lives as a result of over five years of conflict in Syria.

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