The only object of consensus among the members of the American administration at the level of their statements is the fear of the extremists' control over the arms and power in Syria. Today, the officials in this administration paved the way before President Barack Obama's visit to the region by disseminating abundant information about this threat, which was voiced since the beginning of the armed clashes in Syria when Al-Nusra Front was added to the terrorism list. And on the eve of Obama's arrival to Tel Aviv, Benjamin Netanyahu considered that the greatest danger facing Israel was to see similar groups take over the Syrian regular forces' strategic and sophisticated weapons arsenal. The Syrian crisis, with all its internal and regional ramifications, all the popular demands it features and all the killing, destruction and devastation it caused, is turning into a fight against an alleged terrorism in Syria, and pushing the opposition forces – whether the civilian or military ones – to offer guarantees that they will be engaged in this new war on terror. The Syrian regime, which is well aware of the meaning of the American war on terrorism, and especially in Iraq, also focused on this facet of the crisis since the beginning. Hence, the armed terrorist groups are the ones that provoked military escalation and the ones crossing the border through and with the help of the neighboring states, reaching the point of gaining control over chemical weapons which they used yesterday in Aleppo. The latter official Syrian tale is fueling the American concerns towards terrorism, pushing the administration to express reservations and caution and promote a political solution based on the elimination of the Salafi terrorism being fought by the Syrian regime. This will undoubtedly reinforce the regime, at a time when the administration wants to see it sitting with the opposition around the negotiations table. This political position reflected on the opposition, which witnessed problems, retreats and disputes for a long period of time, before agreeing on a prime minister for the temporary government. In its relations with the Syrian political opposition, the American administration set the war on the alleged Salafi terrorism as a priority, thus pushing during all the meetings and conferences held by the opposition towards the recognition of this priority, without paying much attention to the main issues related to the nature of the crisis, the ways to manage it and the ways to exit it, in order to guarantee the Syrian people's basic rights. It seems that the current American administration did not shift away from the method adopted by its predecessor in Iraq. Indeed, it has become clear that all the justifications and pretexts put forward by the administration of George Bush Jr. were not only false, but also inspired by lobbies wishing to strategically lead Iraq from one place to another. The sides which mostly benefitted from this situation are Iran and Syria. And following this transition, the terrorism fought by America in Iraq found a rear base and supply lines in both countries. This is the same terrorism currently being echoed in Syria, i.e. the one which was sponsored in Iraq to act against the American forces, and is now being revived to act against the Syrian opposition's political project. And it seems that the United States has once again swallowed the bait. The Coalition has finally overcome the challenge of naming a prime minister for the temporary government and numerous complicated tasks await him on the ground, at the level of livelihood, both militarily and politically. But the most important thing this government should do is avoid falling in the trap of the Iraqi Awakening Councils, whether in terms of its tasks on the field or in trying to earn American approval.
