Bigfork man tries to unravel Syria factions

Bigfork resident and retired Army Major Gen. Paul Vallely says it’s no wonder that most Americans don’t support an intervention in Syria, mainly because they don’t know who the United States would back and who might supplant the Bashir al-Assad regime.

The main purpose of Vallely’s August visit to Syria — his third so far — was to sort out the military factions in the country to determine whom the U.S. should support.

“You can’t blame the American people for being totally confused. That’s why I am trying to unravel this,” Vallely said in an interview Wednesday.

“That’s what makes it so difficult and so complex, unless you’re on the ground to see who’s who,” said Vallely, adding that American political leaders such as Republican Sen. John McCain have been wrong in backing an element of the Free Syrian Army led by a Gen. Idriss.

“They are supporting the wrong side of things again like they did in Egypt,” he said, referring to the “Arab Spring” protests that led to longtime American ally Hosni Mubarak being replaced by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood political party.

According to Vallely, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is made up of Islamic extremist elements, also has a strong presence in Syria that has “bought off” Gen. Idriss to be the “figurehead” leader of the Free Syrian Army, even though he has never truly commanded military forces.

Vallely said he was on a plane with Idriss just a few weeks ago and he spent time  with the commander of the “true Syrian Free Army,” Col. Riad El Asaad, along with other top commanders who have defected from Assad’s military.

Riad’s faction makes up the majority of rebel opposition in Syria and is capable of establishing a parliamentary, secularist government, Vallely asserts.

“They truly are who they say they are and they don’t like the radicals,” he added.

But the United States has been backing the “wrong elements” in the rebellion — “sending all of the support and logistics to the Muslim Brotherhood/Salafists Syrian Military Council backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” according to a report from Vallely that is published on the website of Stand Up America, the organization he founded. “The FSA national command under Col. Riad, which includes the majority of opposition forces, does not receive any support — either military or logistical.”

Vallely said Riad and his commanders are seeking help to neutralize Assad’s air forces, a task that would involve striking three air bases.

Vallely said he was in Syria when chemical weapons were launched, killing more than 1,000 people. He said he was with Riad’s commanders as they received radio communications about the attacks, and it is believed that aircraft and possibly rockets were used to deliver the chemical weapons.

Asked what was the most striking thing he learned on his latest trip to Syria, Vallely said, “I think the biggest thing is how well organized and structured [Riad’s] Free Syrian Army is.”

The army is made up of 80,000 to 100,000 troops and it occupies parts of the country where Assad has no forces at all. The army’s commanders are primarily based in Turkey with that country’s support.

More support is needed, possibly from Israel, a country that can act and probably should considering the nearby threat posed by Assad’s weapons.

Vallely said it is apparent to him that help probably won’t come from the United States, particularly after President Barack Obama’s address to the country Tuesday night.

Vallely, a staunch conservative, described the speech as “absolutely horrible” because it played into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.

Critics regard the proposal as a farce, something that will never come to pass, with the intention of protecting Assad and keeping him in power.

“Putin is the biggest supporter of Assad,” Vallely said, adding that the Russian strongman “knows what he’s doing against an amateur like Obama.”

On another front, Vallely is preparing to attend a Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi conference on Sept. 16 at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

The group was formed to hold the people accountable in the court of public opinion for last year’s Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.