An article in the Chicago Tribune* last week ago talked about how the United States is turning to the Free Syrian Army to help on the Syrian side of the fight against the Islamic State. I understand why the United States is turning to the FSA. What I don’t understand is why the FSA cares about cooperating with the United States.
The FSA has two enemies. Its original enemy, and the reason it came into existence: the government of Bashar al-Assad. Its more recent enemy, and the only one of the two that the United States cares about, is the Islamic State.
We are willing to have them help us with respect to Islamic State. But we won’t do anything to help them against Assad. We want them to be our ground forces against Islamic State, but when it comes to Assad? Don’t call us.
Why should they do that?
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* And the Los Angeles Times, where this link is from.
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