Commander: War on Syria Dangerous Game for West


Commander: War on Syria Dangerous Game for West

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian military commander said on Tuesday the present situation in the region is the result of repeated failures of the US and its allies, and warned them not to resort to the use of force in Syria.

“What we are witnessing now is the outcome of the repeated losses that the US and its western and regional allies have incurred over the past three decades,” Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Brigadier General Hossein Salami said late Tuesday evening.

Salami noted that the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional allies have failed to reach their long-term objectives in the Middle East despite employing all their strategies.

He added that these defeats led the United States to try to target the "center of gravity" of the anti-Israeli Islamic resistance front, Syria.

“War on Syria will be a very dangerous game as there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict and Israel must reconsider its security strategies,” he said.

The US has been pushing for military action on Syria, after foreign-backed opposition forces accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of carrying out a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, a charge the Syrian government has strongly denied.

US President Barack Obama, however, stopped short of ordering a strike on Saturday and said he would seek the endorsement of Congress for any assault on Syria.

On Tuesday, leading Democratic and Republican senators like Robert Menendez and Bob Corker reached a deal on a motion authorizing a limited strike on Syria.

The resolution, which was put forward by the White House and re-worded by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says any military operation in Syria should be limited and tailored. It also bars the use of US troops on the ground.

The motion, which could be voted on as early as Wednesday, sets a 60-day deadline for military action, with a possible 30-day extension.If the draft is approved by the committee, it will be sent to the full Senate for a vote after members return on September 9 from their August recess.

The House of Representatives must also pass its own version of the military authorization and the two must be reconciled before they can be sent for Obama's approval.

But he still faces a difficult task winning the support of the American public. The latest opinion poll shows public opposition to involvement in the Syrian conflict is rising, with six out of 10 Americans against missile strikes.

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