Backing the Wrong Horse: West 'Let the Genie Out of the Bottle' in Syria

© AFP 2023 / BARAA AL-HALABI Rebel fighters from the "First Battalion" under the Free Syrian Army take part in a military training on June 10, 2015, in the rebel-held countryside of the northern city of Aleppo
Rebel fighters from the First Battalion under the Free Syrian Army take part in a military training on June 10, 2015, in the rebel-held countryside of the northern city of Aleppo - Sputnik International
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The Western strategy of supporting so-called "moderate" opposition groups in Syria has proved to be a disaster that only made things worse in the war-torn country. "Best friends" of the US and Europe in Syria turned out to be ruthless "archenemies," Belgian journalist Willy Van Damme said.

"The West backed the wrong horse [in Syria]. We can thank ourselves for all the troubles in the country which we are witnessing now," Van Damme told weekly business and finance magazine Trends. "We should not have meddled in Syria's affairs."

The implications of what once could have appeared as a solution to some are now clear and gloomy. Organizations viewed as moderate were either obliterated or incorporated into more powerful and more radical groups. The ongoing war sparked a massive wave of immigration suffocating Europe while terrorist threat in the Middle East and beyond is only rising.  

"We should honestly admit that the time has passed when our media presented Syrian militants as idealists who would never kill civilians," Van Damme observed, adding that Europeans are finally beginning to understand that their "best friends are actually archenemies."

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Unsurprisingly, the attitude towards Syria's legitimate leader Bashar al-Assad is also changing. The "Assad must go" mantra has been the cornerstone of the US strategy in Syria. But Europe seems to be increasingly hesitant about following Washington's lead.

"British and French politicians view him as an 'interim' leader. Austrians went even further by urging to work" with the Syrian president, the journalist noted.

Their concerns are understandable. After all, the US and a number of countries have been engaged in a months-long aerial campaign aimed at destroying the Islamic State in Syria and neighboring Iraq. Yet the group seems to be as strong as ever, probably meaning that Washington's approach to the issue is not working.

© Sputnik / Dmitriy Vinogradov / Go to the mediabankRussia uses helicopters in the operation against the IS in Syria
Russia uses helicopters in the operation against the IS in Syria - Sputnik International
Russia uses helicopters in the operation against the IS in Syria

Last week, following a request from the Assad government, Russia launched an airstrike campaign aimed at assisting Syrian forces in their fight against terrorists.

Russia's REGNUM agency quoted former deputy speaker of the Belgian parliament Lode Vanoost as saying that President Vladimir Putin is the only world leader "with a specific working plan how to save the situation."

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