Regime-aligned newspapers have criticised the announcement of a U.S.-backed coalition to fight the Islamic State, accusing Washington of finding a pretext for war.
"Washington, which entered our region militarily in 2003 with the excuse of fake Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to redraw the geo-political map in the region and the world, comes back today with the fake excuse of fighting true terrorism, while Arabs (just like in the other war) have no real role because their conscience is limited to retaining power," the Syrian Baath newspaper wrote in an editorial.
Al-Thawra newspaper meanwhile said that "the United States doesn’t lack any excuse to achieve its aggressive goals. It has prepared the suitable base and environment to reproduce its wars in the region. Its regional partners are fully ready to execute its orders, without knowing the details and content of the American plan. This became clear when the Arab League signed (without question) a paper to support Obama's strategy".
The newspaper published comments saying "the American plan will surely include fighting terrorism and IS, but will certainly ignore the required procedures to fight the spread of terrorism". The newspaper renewed accusations against the United States and its regional allies of supporting terrorism (meaning the support of Syrian opposition).
"What do Kerry and Hagel do in the region if the Arab League already declared its support for a new war carried out by the United States, however and wherever it is?" the government's Tishreen newspaper commented.
The pro-regime al-Watan newspaper wrote that "an international and regional alliance that excludes the true fighters against terrorism and depends on the countries which supported terrorism financially and logistically is in fact nothing but a reconstruction of American dominance in the region. This will probably lead to the crystallization of the Russian-Iranian-Syrian coalition which might be obliged by the developments to move from the military and political coordination to common military projects".
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
......
