Overthrow of Syrian is al-Qaida's agenda

Editor,

It is nothing short of astounding to talk with various students, but mostly professors, about the so-called civil war in Syria. Over and over again I am told that the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is the devil incarnate, and in order to be a good American I must support the rebels fighting to overthrow his government.

While not seeking to portray al-Assad as an angel, it would be worth our while to listen to what Vice President Joe Biden recently had to say about the Syrian conflict.

Referring to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, Biden said, “They were so determined to take down [Syrian President] Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad — except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra and al-Qaida and the extremist elements of jihadists coming from other parts of the world.”

So, in order to pass the ‘good American’ test nowadays, you must apparently support a policy of siding with al-Qaida extremists against the Syrian government.

But wait, it gets even better.

Biden also commented on the myth of a moderate Syrian opposition. He said, “The idea of identifying a moderate middle has been a chase America has been engaged in for a long time ... there was no moderate middle because the moderate middle are made up of shopkeepers, not soldiers.”

There you have it, folks. Not only has America and her allies been supporting al-Qaida extremists against the Syrian government, but the highly touted “moderate” opposition is actually not real. Well, I wonder how my fellow students and wayward professors are going to handle the confessions of Biden?

Blind conformity to authority figures does not make you a good American. Standing up for the principles of justice, freedom and equality makes you a good American. The U.S. policy on Syria is wrong on multiple counts and I am thankful that Biden spilled the beans on what is really going on in Syria.

Muhajir Romero,

UNM student