The Daily Star

The situation on the ground in Syria is extremely complicated, in contrast to the skies, where things are crystal-clear. The U.S.-led coalition carries out daily airstrikes against ISIS targets, while Syrian aircraft bomb regime opponents and anyone who happens to be in the way.

After a series of regime airstrikes against Raqqa this week, which as usual appeared to kill many more innocent bystanders than jihadis, Syrian officials took exception to criticism from Washington.

With the conflict having claimed at least 200,000 lives, the Syrian information minister’s claim that his government doesn’t target civilians is of course laughable. But people don’t know whether to laugh or cry when they hear the latest statements from Washington.

Does anyone believe that with all these aircraft targeting the same parts of Syria from the northwest to the far east, there is no tactical or strategic coordination between Washington and Damascus?

The pilots of coalition aircraft have presumably seen their Syrian counterparts carrying out mission after mission. Have they never come across an instance of indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, which would be a war crime?

U.S. officials seem satisfied with their tactic of talking the Assad regime to death. Perhaps their condemnations are meant to reassure Arab public opinion and Gulf states; this isn’t working. The sooner they produce a convincing policy on the Syrian regime, the better.

American officials might privately laugh at Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoubi, but people in Syria and the region are fully aware that both Damascus and Washington are bankrupt when it comes to their rhetoric – and their actions – in the Syrian tragedy.

– See more at: http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Editorial/2014/Nov-29/279275-more-us-dishonesty.ashx#sthash.ae2tYaQ6.dpuf