Thread by @Charles_Lister

This piece is extraordinary & cunningly misleading.

- All "senior" #UK officials he cites have been long-time apologists for #Assad & invited guests in #Damascus.

- The author makes so many false claims I lost count & he never once acknowledges *any* violent act by the regime.

https://twitter.com/tobiaschneider/status/1088069549034008582

Ok, let’s start at the beginning:

(1) The idea that the #Assad regime has become “indispensable” to #Turkey & “the Kurds” (whatever that means) is palpably ridiculous. #Russia maybe, not #Damascus.

(2) Regime forces have *not* entered Manbij, they are villages away, to the SW.

(3) Cavusoglu’s comments are *no different* as those made in #Europe & the US; based on a free/fair election, which is extremely unlikely anytime soon.

(4) That’s (Baath = solution) the author’s opinion, not that of any of the actors he’s mentioned so far (#Turkey & #Kurds).

(5) As I said, it’s no U-turn; it’s a well-established, long-standing position based on skepticism that a free/fair election will occur.

(6) Or perhaps more truthfully, for *insecurity,* as per all of the examples the author lists and more. Need I mention #Iraq-#Lebanon 2003-10?

(7) This entire paragraph entirely ignores *the* reason for #Russia’s intervention: a joint assessment with #Iran in mid-2015 of #Assad’s possible imminent collapse.

Plus, what is #Russia left with now? A skeleton of a state, ripped apart & divided, with a crippled economy.

(8) “No major defections ever took place” from #Syria's armed forces...

Well, apart from the 10,000s (some estimates say 50,000+) of defected officers & conscripts, and the now extraordinarily widespread draft dodging that necessitated reliance on dozens of foreign militias.

(9) Now this section citing [former] UK officials is especially sneaky, as the author handpicks the tiny (*3*) number of such people who’ve expressed at some point, some level of sympathy for #Assad, while ignoring the *100s* of former & serving officials who are the opposite.

(10) Moreover - in a somewhat ironic admission - the author reveals that he’s been "advising" Lord Richards on #Syria since 2011 -- did that advice help Lord Richards' in-depth plan to arm to-the-hilt 100,000 rebels across #Syria to overthrow Assad?

Selectivity, much?