Opposition controlled areas of the divided city of Aleppo have become increasingly cut-off by Russian-backed Syrian government forces in recent weeks.
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The SDF is one of a number of sides fighting in Syria’s complex civil war which has pitted rebels against Assad and is now in its sixth year.
A former senior US official said disclosure of a document of this type – the final version of which is classified – “corrodes the trust between the president and those who serve him”.
Kirby said the “Dissent Channel” was an official forum that allows State Department employees to express alternative views.
A draft of the cable, signed by 51 State Department officers, calls for “targeted military strikes” against the Assad government – something Mr Obama has long opposed – to stop its persistent violations of a ceasefire with US-backed anti-government rebels that is largely ignored by Syria and its Russian supporters. The anti-IS forces that were assembled there included fighters who have been trained and equipped by the U.S.
Since last September Russia has deployed warplanes, helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.
Apart from defeating IS, Obama’s Syria strategy has three stages: forcing Assad into a cease-fire and “political transition” talks, pressing him to leave power, then uniting his army and moderate forces to join the counterterrorism effort.
The visit came as a U.S. defence department spokesman said Pentagon officials in a video conference with Russian counterparts had voiced “strong concerns” over Moscow’s alleged bombing of US-backed forces in southern Syria.
The U.S. has been pounding ISIS in Iraq and Syria with attacks from fighters, bombers, and drones. The 51 officials who signed the document argue that USA military action would force Assad and his ally, Russia, to make concessions in negotiations to resolve the conflict.
Rebels and residents in areas out of government control rely on volunteer media activists – such as Abdullah and AlEissa – and monitoring groups to broadcast their news to the world.
But when the F-18s broke away to refuel, the Russians returned for a second bombing run.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter briefly addressed the incident with reporters at the Pentagon, saying the U.S. military was attempting to “clarify the facts” on why the communications channel wasn’t “professionally” utilized.
The attacks continued even after the United States alerted Russian forces, the Pentagon said in the statement following what it called an “extraordinary session” with Russian counterparts.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who has supported USA military action in Syria, told reporters in the Danish capital Copenhagen yesterday: “I think it’s an important statement”.
Pentagon officials have said in the past that the US military would defend forces it trained if they were threatened inside Syria by Assad’s government.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Friday that creating a new government that will have the trust of most of Syria’s population is key to ending the five-year conflict.
