Will terrorists leave Syria for America? Photo: Signpost showing distance to Damascus. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
Just when you thought it couldn’t get much worse in Syria, the head of the US National Intelligence spy agencies said that terrorists there aren’t content to fight just there. America, you’re next, Director James Clapper recently warned Congress, according to the UK’s The Guardian. He was quoted as saying the Syrian Al-Qaeda franchise, The Nusra Front, “does have aspirations for attacks on the homeland” of the US.
What’s more, Clapper said the US believes training centers may be in Syria so as to “train people to go back to their countries and conduct terrorist acts, so this is a huge concern.” While he said the Al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen is a more immediate threat to the US, another news report indicated the Americans are interested in fighting Al-Qaeda in Syria—sort of.
The Daily Beast quoted US Senator Lindsay Graham as claiming US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a meeting with US lawmakers, “openly talked about supporting arming the rebels. He openly talked about forming a coalition against al Qaeda because it’s a direct threat.”
While Kerry’s spokesperson denied this claim, it follows news reports the Americans are already sending some weapons to the “moderate” rebels in Syria. Graham continued to beat the drum of military intervention in Syria, warning in The Daily Beast article, “to me, it’s a choice of: do we hit them after they hit us, or do we hit them before they hit us?”
It’s interesting that Clapper contrasted Al-Qaeda in Yemen with Al-Qaeda in Syria. In Yemen, the US has used drone strikes to fight back against terrorists there. While that’s unlikely in Syria at this point, the US looks to be ready to use a tried and true “cold war” strategy by arming the moderate rebels and have them fight Al-Qaeda in Syria.
Perhaps setting the stage, Kerry’s office on Tuesday released a stiff statement slamming the Syrian regime for brutally bombing it’s own people in the city of Aleppo. “With air raids killing dozens more civilians in just the past few days, destroying apartment buildings, and barrel bombs striking a mosque today, the staggering civilian toll dramatically climbs,” said Kerry.
Kerry even noted the terror line in his comments on Syria… could that be a precursor to what the US plans to do next?
Said Kerry, “Each and every barrel bomb filled with metal shrapnel and fuel launched against innocent Syrians underscores the barbarity of a regime that has turned its country into a super magnet for terror.”
So for those wondering if it could ever get worse in a war that has already killed over 100,000 people and included the chemical weapons gassing of civilians, it tragically turns out that yes, it can get worse. And it just might spread to here.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, February 5, 2014)