Trump: US Should Stop Supporting Syrian “Opposition”, Focus on Fighting ISIS

WASHIGNTON- During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, US President-elect Donald Trump said that the US should stop supporting  the so-called Syrian “moderate opposition”, as the country has “no idea who these people are.”

The future US president also noted that the US should focus its efforts in Syria on fighting against terrorists of the “Islamic State” (ISIS) terrorist group, instead of attempting to oust Syrian government, as well as be on the same wavelength with Russia.

  “My attitude was you’re fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS. Russia is now totally aligned with Syria, and now you have Iran, which is becoming powerful, is aligned with Syria. … Now we’re backing rebels against Syria, and we have no idea who these people are,” Trump said, according to foreign media outlets.

If the US attacks Syria, “we end up fighting Russia, fighting Syria,” the politician concluded.

Earlier this year, the US revamped a train-and-equip programme for armed groups it calls “moderates” after a previous attempt failed spectacularly.

The initiative aimed to work with a set number of members from each “opposition” group instead of entire armed units fighting the Syrian government.

The Pentagon’s initial $500 million project to train so-called “moderate” opposition members was widely criticized when the US admitted its failure.

A group trained by the US was caught handing over ammunition and other gear to al-Qaeda franchise in Syria, the Nusra Front .

H.M