.
.
.
By Therearenosunglasses.com
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
put the brakes on any momentum for U.S. military intervention in Syria,
saying on Wednesday that the U.S. military should not be the leading
instrument by which to influence Syria.
“I think Syria is probably the most complex issue…of all,” Dempsey
said, speaking to the National Press Club.
“It’s in many ways a crucible for all of the other factors and
influences related to the Arab spring, the conflict among different
sects among Islam, ethnic issues, major power interventions, non-state
actors — honestly there’s a catalogue of complexity that we could share
on Syria,” he said.
And major powers outside of Syria are trying to
predict what will happen “on the other side.”
In that context, Dempsey appeared to bluntly reject calls for
increased military involvement in the conflict.
“We continue to plan for a number of contingencies. We’re prepared to
provide options if those options are required,” he said, including
working through NATO.
“But the military instrument of power, at this
point, is not the prominent instrument of power that should be applied
in Syria.”
