Military Expert: US Fooling Saudi Arabia into Another Quagmire in Syria

Military Expert: US Fooling Saudi Arabia into Another Quagmire in Syria

 

"The US is pushing the Arab countries into a long-term war to destroy them," Egyptian army's former war intelligence officer Major General Nasr Salem told FNA.

Major General Salem underlined that like in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has been deceived by the US to send infantry troops to Syria only to get caught in a new quagmire there.

He warned that Saudi Arabia's military adventurism in Syria on the pretext of fighting the ISIL can result in clashes between the Saudi and Syrian armies with very negative repercussions.

"Attacking Syria is not the solution to combat ISIL because Syria is an independent Arab country," Major General Salem added.

The prominent military expert reiterated that Saudi Arabia is going to fight a proxy war on behalf of the US in Syria.

On Thursday, the Saudi Defense Ministry said it stood ready to deploy ground troops to Syria to allegedly aid the US-led anti-ISIL, also known as Daesh, coalition.

Riyadh has been a member of the US-led coalition that has been launching airstrikes against Daesh in Syria since September 2014, without the permission of Damascus or the United Nations. In December 2015, Saudi Arabia started its own Muslim 34-nation coalition to allegedly fight Islamic extremism.

ISIL is a Wahhabi group mentored by Saudi Arabia and has been blacklisted as a terrorist group everywhere in the world, including the United States and Russia, but Saudi Arabia.

Syria, Tehran and Moscow have issued stern warnings to Riyadh, stressing that the Saudi intruders, who in fact intend to rescue the terrorists that are sustaining heavy defeats these days, will be crushed in Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said any ground operation without Damascus' approval is an "act of aggression", warning that the Saudi aggressors "would go back home in coffins".

In Tehran, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Saudi Arabia doesn't have the guts to send its armed forces to Syria.

"They claim they will send troops (to Syria) but I don’t think they will dare do so. They have a classic army and history tells us such armies stand no chance in fighting irregular resistance forces," Jafari told reporters in Tehran on Saturday.

"This will be like a coup de grâce for them. Apparently, they see no other way but this, and if this is the case, then their fate is sealed," he added.

Jafari said this is just cheap talks, but Iran welcomes the Saudi decision if they decide to walk on this path.