No Sign Of Looming U.S. Military Action In Syria, Arab Intelligence Official Says

The United States shows no sign of preparing to get involved in the fighting in Syria, an Arab intelligence official told Breitbart Jerusalem.

Despite evidence that the Syrian civil war is tilting in the favor of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and his allies, the Syrian command room of the U.S.-led coalition has gone on as normal, according to the official, whose country coordinates with the U.S.

Despite reports in the U.S. media and attempts by its allies – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and the UAE – to prod it into launching an attack on Assad’s forces, Washington has remained faithful to its passive policy, he stated.

“The Americans continue to insist that the rebels should not get antiaircraft weapons because of the centrality of the Nusra Front – until recently Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, renamed Syrian Liberation Front – among the rebel groups,” he said. “That’s why I don’t see how, given the current deployment of the opposition forces and Al Qaeda’s prominence among them, America could prepare for a military strike, from which Al-Qaeda would benefit the most, despite the name change.”

Having said that, he continued, the assassination of Nusra Front commanders might change the picture in terms of giving Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey a green light to arm the rebels with advanced weapons.

“Neither at the diplomatic level are the Americans preparing for the day after,” he added. “Even in the event that they launch a strike and the Syrian forces retreat to their lines on the eve of Russia’s intervention, what is America’s plan, given that Turkey, Syria, Iran, and even Egypt, and to a certain extent Jordan as well – i.e., all of Syria’s neighbors – oppose a federation solution?”

He believes the leaked reports in the U.S. media about possible action are meant to gauge Russia’s response, “but this is clearly a textbook case of high rhetoric and media frenzy functioning not just as a vessel but as a policy in and of itself. They’re using aggressive rhetoric for deterrence, in this case of the Russian army that has continually come to Assad’s rescue.”

“In the wake of the Iran nuclear deal, Syria’s use of chemical weapons and the threats the U.S. government made in both cases, which have greatly disappointed its allies, it seems highly unlikely that the administration, shortly before the presidential elections, would change what has been its policy for the past eight years, which has shown great weakness in securing the vital interests of America’s allies.”