US contemplates military options in Syria

The Obama administration is contemplating a wide range of military responses in Syria following the high-profile diplomatic failure to bring about a ceasefire.

According to Reuters, new discussions were being held at a “staff level” and have yet to produce any recommendations to President Barack Obama who has resisted ordering military action against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Deliberations by staff in Obama’s administration also coincide with Secretary of State John Kerry’s threat to halt diplomatic relations with Russia. Others in the administration have advocated a more “muscular” US response though it was not clear what. The first step would be for the president to “begin at tougher talk”, one official said.

The US officials said the failure of diplomacy in Syria has left the Obama administration no choice but to consider alternatives. These include allowing Gulf allies to supply rebels with more sophisticated weaponry, something considered more likely despite Washington’s opposition to this until now. Another is a US airstrike on an Assad air base, viewed as less likely because of the potential for causing Russian casualties

Two US officials have said the speed with which the Syrians have advanced in Aleppo and the collapse of the diplomatic track has caught some in the administration off guard. The fall of Aleppo would restore Assad’s rule over western Syria’s most important city and deal a devastating blow to opposition groups.

As a result, one of the officials said, the list of options is narrowing to supporting rebel counter attacks elsewhere with additional weaponry or even airstrikes which “might not reverse the tide of battle, but might cause the Russians to stop and think.”

However any weapons supplies would not include shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, or Manpads, which the Obama administration fears could fall into the hands of Daesh militants or Al-Qaeda-linked groups.