Writing in the February 2019 issue of Harper’s Magazine (possible paywall), Charles Glass reviews how the US got involved in Syria and, with a confusing and contradictory policy, ended up creating the current mess. It is a classic example of how the US starts out by using covert methods to destabilize governments it does not like, proceeds to support dissidents in exile and arm groups in the hope that they will succeed in deposing the government (in Syria it was a group known as the Free Syrian Army of FSA), and when that fails, starts sending it mercenaries and providing air support. Then when that too fails, a military invasion becomes seen as inevitable.
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