Former Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Jihad Makdissi, has said that including Syria in the alliance against IS will be beneficial militarily.
Makdissi made the comments on his personal Facebook page, saying "there is no need for the weapons of the Syrian army, which is almost absent in the regions held by IS, but its importance lies in the logistic facilities (airports, intelligence) which would make hitting IS on the Syrian land more effective".
The Syrian diplomat, who fled Syria and later declared his defection officially, added that the first reason behind rejecting cooperation with Assad is "that the Syrian regime has lost its legitimacy internationally. Of course some people think that opening intelligence channels with Damascus means a change in the western political view, but the intelligence agencies are concerned only about information before anything else, and their communication with Damascus has no direct political effect on the public opinion of their countries or the mood of their parliaments".
Makdissi added that America would rather not hit IS and the regime together, because the west is talking about fighting the terror of IS, and there is no talk about a military invasion that will change a regime in the region.
"Some people say that the Syrian reaction may lead to a direct engagement between the regime's troops and American air forces. If the Syrian army targeted the American planes, it will be considered a direct threat that requires a military reaction," he said.
Translatd and edited by The Syrian Observer
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