BEIRUT (AP) – The U.S. is struggling to counter anger among the Syrian opposition, where many believe that the air campaign against extremists in the country is only helping President Bashar Assad and that Washington is coordinating with Damascus, despite American insistence it backs the rebel cause.
Since the U.S.-led campaign of air raids and missile strikes in Syria began last Tuesday, American officials – many of them Arabic-speaking – have been making appearances on Arab TV stations, explaining U.S. goals. They have repeatedly denied any cooperation with the Syrian government and say Washington still seeks Assad’s removal.
But the messaging seems to be making little headway. The anger among the opposition over the air campaign points to a central difficulty in the U.S. strategy: The main aim of the international coalition it has assembled is to defeat the Islamic State group – which has taken over much of Syria and neighboring Iraq – but in Syria it is Assad’s government that is best placed to benefit from blows to the extremists.
Most Syrian rebel factions sharply oppose the Islamic State extremist group and have lost hundreds of fighters trying to prevent it from taking over territory. The Free Syrian Army, an umbrella group of relatively moderate rebel factions, has welcomed the air campaign.
But resentment is high among the opposition that, after ignoring their pleas for greater help against Assad for years, Washington finally took action only to counter radicals it sees as a danger to U.S. interests.