Syrian President Calls Donald Trump a Natural Ally in Fight Against Terrorism

[TomCADem]

What happened to Trump's promised bromance with Putin/Assad?

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/world/middleeast/assad-donald-trump-syria-natural-ally.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON — President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, condemned by the Obama administration and much of the West for waging a brutal war of suppression against Islamist opponents in his country, said this week that President-elect Donald J. Trump could be a “natural ally” in the fight against terrorism. The comment underscored the degree to which the new administration’s approach could reverse central tenets of American foreign policy.

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While allowing that what he called “opposing forces within the administration” could cast doubt on whether Mr. Trump “can deliver on his promises,” Mr. Assad said that “if — if — he fights the terrorists, it is clear that we will be a natural ally, together with the Russians, Iranians and many other countries who want to defeat the terrorists.”

His comments, while cautious, were the latest evidence of a growing expectation among both opponents and allies of the United States that Mr. Trump will reverse Mr. Obama’s policy on Mr. Assad, which lays much of the blame for the Syrian civil war at his feet. A European diplomat said Wednesday that officials in Germany and Britain were bracing for an American about-face on Mr. Assad, and Arab diplomats expressed a similar worry.

In an interview last week with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump signaled as much, suggesting that once he took office he would drop American support for certain Syrian opposition groups that have been fighting both the Islamic State and the Assad government, and focus solely on bombing the Islamic State. “My attitude was you’re fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS,” Mr. Trump said.

[Jonny Appleseed]

1. Nothings changed. Trump is zonked tho and so out of it that he signs things without looking

[Kath2]

2. Another Trump lie.

Among many.

[Docreed2003]

3. Not a damned thing changed....

This is a total distraction. Trump is trying desperately to take heat off the Russian investigation and look tough as President. It's no coincidence that Jared was in the ME this week meeting with generals. This whole strike was a manufactured ploy to distract from Trump's dismal presidency and the ongoing Russia investigation. Why else would he have warned Russian authorities, who likely also warned Syrian and Iranian forces at the base, of the incoming strike?