French Report: Al-Assad Will Stay in Office for Years to Come
Local Editor
"Al-Assad could stay in power for many years because of the Russian-Iranian support and Hizbullah's professional fighters' role in the battle." This is the conclusion of a French security report sent to the Élysée Palace earlier this month.
Sources pointed out that the report was sent based on the request of the French President's office to evaluate what France should do in the next stage; especially that France received a delegation from the so-called "National Coalition" led by Ahmad Asi al-Jarba on Wednesday.
On this note, the French security report mentioned that there are other reasons that empowered the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the last two years, and will empower him to stay in office for years to come.
Among these reasons is the incoherence of the Syrian oppositions, reaching to the extent of an open war among its factions, particularly the so-called "Free Syrian Army" and the radicals who hold an al-Qaeda ideology; al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The report further added that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) submitted a detailed report to the White House months ago containing a plan to arm "the Syrian opposition" without the extremist groups getting their hands on US weapons. However, reality proves the futility of these plans, according to the French report.
The report further added that the West's advanced weapons given to the FSA were taken as spoils by al-Qaeda militiamen during the clashes between the two sides, and al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham gunmen control Western weaponry warehouses after occupying FSA sites.
In the same context, a delegation from the "Coalition" walked out the Élysée Palace after a meeting with the French President Francois Hollande empty-handed, as a member of the delegation had phrased, adding that France backed down from its previous stances and vows in arming the so-called Syrian opposition with qualitative and advanced weaponry.
Moreover, a Syrian opposition member said that the "Coalition" failed in the sole purpose it was created for, e.g. receiving weapons and obliterating al-Qaeda.
He added that money isn't coming to the "Coalition's" fund for some time now and it is almost empty. He further told a story of Homs' gunmen who visited the "Coalition" in Turkey and met the members of the "Coalition", asking them for fiscal support. Al-Jarba then told them, "I will see how much is left in the fund to give." So Michel Kilo said, "Give him everything in the fund."
According to the opposition source, the countries financially funding the so-called Syrian opposition now fund specific figures instead of the "Coalition" that will not last long in light of the disagreements among its factions and Kilo's intention to establish a party supported by Bandar bin Sultan.
Now, the Syrian opposition figures fight over the money coming from the Gulf, and Samira al-Musalima who works as a media advisor in the "Coalition" is cited as demanding a salary of 20,000 euros, saying, "Give me the same as al-Nusra is paid."
Also, the opposition argued that 40 al-Nusra Front militiamen in Maaraba south of Syria receive a million dollar support monthly whereas other factions can't find enough money to pay for their armed men. Some believe that this is due to the deep corruption infested among the Syrian opposition in charge of distributing Gulf's financial support, where these people transfer most of the money to their own personal accounts.
Source: al-Ahed News, translated by website team
