The dissenting cable discussed the possibility of air strikes but made no mention of adding United States ground troops to Syria.
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The White House said Friday that administration officials welcome and are looking forward to reading an internal State Department memo signed by 50 career US diplomats harshly criticizing the Obama administration’s Syria policy.
“The Dissent Channel is an existing official vehicle in place to allow State Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on policy issues”, Kirby said.
Carter told reporters at the Pentagon that the Russian attacks were “problematic” and said the Russian military misused a channel of communication with the us military that is meant to prevent unsafe USA and Russian air operations over Syria.
Further, the officials reportedly believed that previous negotiations and ceasefires, with Russia’s intervention, had not succeeded both in Syria, and demand stricter laws despite President Barack Obama’s resistance towards delving deeper into the crisis.
But a lengthy United States and Russian led diplomatic initiative to persuade Assad and the opposition to begin talks on a political transition has yielded only the shakiest of ceasefires.
According to the report, the internal memo was signed by more than 50 us diplomats and was sharply critical of the Obama administration. “We have to do that”, State Department Spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Obama’s critics quickly seized upon the letter, which also calls for a political transition that would usher Assad out.
The U.S. military has been operating a training program in Syria since early 2015 to fully train units of moderate Syrian rebels to fight against IS. Republican candidate Donald Trump has said he would hit Islamic State hard but has also said he would be prepared to work with Russian Federation in Syria.
White House spokeswoman Jen Friedman said Mr Obama was open to a “robust discussion” on Syria but insisted that deliberations by Obama’s aides have already looked closely at a range of options.
But what sets the most recent dissent cable apart from previous others is the sheer number of officials – 51 rank and file members, diplomats, and long-serving officers – who have signed it. With one administration drawing to a close, he says the memo’s signers are looking to foster debate and trigger a change in direction from the next administration.
Hillary Clinton, who in seven months could replace Obama at the White House, has long had a more hawkish stance toward Assad than the president, which likely would make her more amenable to the proposal in the dissident diplomats’ memo.
But other former officials have come out in support of the dissenters’ initiative, saying it underscores widespread dissatisfaction with Obama’s hands-off approach and signals to Syrians in particular that America has not forgotten them.
Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Copenhagen, told Reuters on Friday: “It’s an important statement and I respect the process, very, very much”. More than 50 diplomats have signed a memo urging the President to launch air strikes against Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad, claiming little progress in five years of war.
“It’s about ensuring Assad’s hold on power and weakening his enemies”, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a senior research scientist on Russian Federation at CNA, a think tank based in Arlington, Va.
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Fighting around Aleppo and other areas in Syria has escalated in recent weeks, and Russian Federation has recently issued an ultimatum for the USA -backed opposition units to leave Nusra-controlled areas or face air strikes, but later agreed to give more time for them to pull out.
