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Former CIA director says U.S. should establish enclaves inside Syria

Xinhua, September 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former CIA Director David Petraeus told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the United States should establish enclaves inside Syria.

"I would also support the establishment of enclaves in Syria protected by coalition air power, where a moderate Sunni force could be supported and where additional forces could be trained, internally displaced persons could find refuge and the Syrian opposition could organize," Petraeus said in his first public testimony before lawmakers since resigning as CIA director.

The remarks of the former top commander in Iraq and Afghanistan came after setbacks in Pentagon's 500 million train-and-equip program in Syria and Iraq drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers.

U.S. military officials revealed last week that there were only nine U.S.-trained Syrian rebels currently fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and the U.S. military would not reach its goal of training 5,000 Syrian fighters anytime soon.

By establishing enclaves inside Syria and forcing the Syrian government to stop barrel-bomb attacks against rebels, Petraeus said the Pentagon could attract more support from Syrian Sunnis, who were currently a major force in the fight against the IS in Syria.

"The central problem in Syria is that Sunni Arabs will not be willing partners against the Islamic State unless we commit to protect them and the broader Syrian population against all enemies, not just ISIS," Petraeus said, using another acronym for the group. Endit