WASHINGTON // The Obama administration is opposed to even limited US military intervention in Syria because it believes rebels would not support American interests.
The revelation was made in a letter to member of Congress from General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs.
Effectively ruling out US cruise missile attacks and other options that would not require US troops on the ground, Gen Dempsey said the military is clearly capable of taking out Bashar Al Assad's air force and shifting the balance of the the war back towards the armed opposition. But he said such an approach would plunge the United States deep into another war in the Arab world and offer no strategy for peace in a nation plagued by ethnic rivalries.
"Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides," Gen Dempsey said. "It is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favour. Today, they are not."
