‘Syria could become another Afghanistan’

Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Great Satan US Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he believes Syria could turn into another Afghanistan.

The US general made the remarks in an interview on Sunday with al-Hurra, the Arabic-language satellite TV channel, funded by Washington.

Dempsey, who is on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, also said “…I have grave concerns that Syria could become an extended conflict” that drags on for many years.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if foreign-sponsored rebels fighting against the Syrian government take power in his country they could destabilize the entire Middle East for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he added.