Louay Safi, the spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, expressed regret over the remarks made by the U.S. President Barack Obama to CBS television, in which he dismissed the idea that supplying U.S. arms to moderate Syrian rebels would have toppled President Assad, calling it a "fantasy".
Safi said that Obama's remarks are intended to cover up the inability of his administration to prevent the deterioration of the political and humanitarian situation in the Levant, and also to evade the growing criticism to his policies regarding the Syrian crisis.
"All the world would have watched the Assad regime reeling in late 2013," he said, adding "had it not been for Obama’s backing off on conducting strikes against Assad positions following his use of chemical weapons in Al Ghouta, in addition to the Obama administration’s turning a blind eye to Iran’s blatant intervention on the side of Assad.”
Furthermore, Safi pointed out that the Obama administration has not yet carried out its "legal and ethical duty to protect the people who rose up for freedom, democracy and dignity, nor has it prevented the Assad regime from using air force, long-range missiles and heavy weapons against civilians".
For his part, Hadi al-Bahra, secretary of the Coalition's political committee, said that Obama’s remarks made recently during an interview with CBS television were meant to respond to the criticism of his approach in dealing with the Syrian crisis.
“The expansion of cross-border extremism is a result of the reluctance of our friendly countries, including the United States, to give sufficient support for the Syrian people and the mainstream rebels to curb the rise of extremist groups and terrorist organizations that are being imported from Syria’s neighboring countries," Bahra said.
The latest objection to President Obama’s policies on Syria came from Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Congress, who called on President Obama to either directly intervene in Syria to stop the crimes committed against the Syrian people, or to provide the moderate Syrian rebels with weapons to defend civilians.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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