US left facing a difficult situation in Syria as rebels make massive advances against Assad regime
CNN
The surprise offensive on Aleppo by Syrian rebel groups has left the US in the difficult position of not fully supporting either side while also maintaining a force posture of nearly 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing mission to fight ISIS.
The surprise offensive on Aleppo by Syrian rebel groups has left the US in the difficult position of not fully supporting either side while also maintaining a force posture of nearly 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing mission to fight ISIS. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, on Monday distanced the US from the offensive last week, in which rebel groups quickly advanced on and took Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, for the first time in years. “Let me be clear that the US is in no way involved in the operations you see playing out in and around Aleppo in northwestern Syria, which as you know are being led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a designated terrorist organization,” he said in reference to a group known as HTS, adding that the US “is urging de-escalation.” The dilemma for the US was further put into focus by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who told CNN on Sunday that HTS is a “a terrorist organization designated by the United States. So, we have real concerns about the designs and objectives of that organization.” “At the same time, of course, we don’t cry over the fact that the Assad government, backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, are facing certain kinds of pressure,” Sullivan added. “So, it’s a complicated situation. It’s one we’re monitoring closely, and we’re staying in close touch with regional partners about it.” The founder of HTS, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, previously started a different group, an al Qaeda Syrian affiliate called Jabhat al-Nusra. And despite efforts by HTS to distance itself from al Qaeda, the US designated the group a terror organization in 2018, saying it evolved from the original group, Jabhat al-Nusrah.
Authorities in the United States have reviewed airport security footage as they continue to investigate how a woman sneaked on board a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris without a ticket last Tuesday –– one of the busiest travel days of the year.
You can help Mother Nature in a battle for survival. Pollinators, which provide one out of every three bites of our food, are struggling. Five butterfly species in the United States have gone extinct since 1950, and dozens more are on the verge of extinction.
Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance remains a mystery as her family and friends desperately search for answers piecing together what happened to her and what may have led to her radio silence.
An Army general who oversaw the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was promoted to a four-star officer after a Republican senator dropped a hold on his nomination, according to a Senate aide.
A grand jury in Virginia has handed up an indictment charging Naresh Bhatt, the Prince William County man whose wife went missing in July, with murder.
Key Republican senators promised on Monday that President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, will be vetted through the confirmation process.
President-elect Donald Trump is planning to visit Paris later this week to attend the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral on December 7, his first overseas trip since his election in November to a second term in office.
The creator of a widely debunked movie that became a central pillar in the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen has admitted that some of the film’s claims are flawed.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is facing his first big leadership test in the new Trump era as congressional Democrats push for a shakeup in their party’s approach to countering the incoming president.
A disgraced former Kansas police detective about to stand trial on charges that he kidnapped and raped two women decades ago was found dead in his home Monday morning.
The surprise offensive on Aleppo by Syrian rebel groups has left the US in the difficult position of not fully supporting either side while also maintaining a force posture of nearly 1,000 troops in Syria as part of the ongoing mission to fight ISIS.