WASHINGTON, DC — The Russian and Iranian-assisted regime of Bashar al-Assad is winning the civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands in Syria since 2011, suggested the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, stressing that toppling the dictator is not part of the American mission in the conflict-ridden country.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Gen. Joseph Votel, the chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), indicated that Russia and Iran have made victory possible for Assad, who stands accused of repeatedly using chemical weapons, affecting civilians in opposition-held areas.
“From a civil war standpoint, it would appear that the regime is ascendant here,” Votel told Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) when the lawmaker asked who is winning the civil war in Syria.
The top U.S. general went on to note that it is unlikely that Syrian opposition forces will topple Assad in the foreseeable future.
Gen. Votel described Iran and Russia as Assad’s “enablers.”
Sen. Graham further asked, “Is it too strong a statement to say that, with Russia and Iran’s help, Assad has won the civil war in Syria?”
“I do not think that is too strong of a statement. I think they have provided him the wherewithal to be ascendant at this point,” replied the general who primarily oversees U.S. military activity in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
