Talk about a royal fustercluck - from the UK Telegraph:
US-backed militia groups now fighting each other in Syria
If anywhere can show the consequences of American foreign policy under President Barack Obama, it may be the small town of Marea, north of Aleppo.
In the course of the last five years, it has seen Assad regime tanks roll through from the south, firing shells through its houses.
It has been repeatedly attacked from the east by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). On occasion it has been bombed from the air by the regime and shelled from the ground by Isil on the same day.
Now its rebel defenders are fighting Isil, the regime, Russian bombers, and a new enemy, the Syrian Kurdish militia the YPG, all at once.
And the root cause?
Analysts – and many American diplomats who have left the administration, some in disgust – say that the mess is a consequence of President Obama’s decision to support the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, but only half-heartedly.
He sent in weapons to support the rebels – including in Marea. But he also refused to confront Russia and the regime, who had far more weapons, leaving the rebels lightly armed sitting ducks.
Then he also decided to support the Kurds. He wanted them to fight Isil, which they did, but they also took on anyone else who stood in the way of a Kurdish mini-state in northern Syria, and that now means rebel areas like Marea, north of Aleppo, which is between that mini-state’s western and eastern halves.
As a result, the town is being fought over by two western proxies. It is not surprising that Mr Obama wants a ceasefire.
If I were President? Support the Kurds - they are our true friends in the area but they have their own battles to fight too. Topple the Assad regime - he is a sponsor of terrorism and before we invaded Iraq, Saddam moved much of his WMDs to Syria and Syria is using them now. Face up to Putin and tell him to clear out and back those words up with actions.
The residue of Obama, Clinton and Kerry's actions is that the original Iraq war was wasted - when Barry pulled out, it left a power vacuum and the radicals stepped in and took over again. 90% of the turmoil in that area is directly the fault of the three people named in the previous sentence.