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US strategy is to destroy ISIL, then topple Assad: Analyst

Arab World Materials 3 November 2014 08:06 (UTC +04:00)
Political commentator Naseer al-Omari says the United States is seeking to destroy the ISIL terrorist group before removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
US strategy is to destroy ISIL, then topple Assad: Analyst

Political commentator Naseer al-Omari says the United States is seeking to destroy the ISIL terrorist group before removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Press TV reported.

"The belief now is first work to destroy ISIS (or ISIL), and then after that you can look at other options," he told Press TV on Sunday.

The analyst added that the Obama administration's policy has been the removal of President Assad from office.

In a press conference on Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the policy that "we have for Assad is really clear: We believe that he's lost the legitimacy to lead."

Gen. John Allen, the US envoy for the coalition to counter ISIL, said last week that the United States and its allies ultimately sought a "political outcome" in Syria that would not include Assad.

"The outcome that we seek in Syria is akin to the ISIS (ISIL) strategy that fits into a much larger regional strategy and that outcome is a political outcome that does not include Assad," Allen told Asharq al-Awsat daily.

The US launched airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq in August. A US-led coalition also began its military campaign against the group in Syria in late September.

In addition, the Pentagon plans to train and arm 5,000 "moderate" militants a year in Syria.

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