US military action against Syria ‘supports al-Qaeda’

A possible strike on Syria by the United States would only support “al-Qaeda terrorists” fighting against the Syrian government, a political analyst said.

“I think the only hope we have that they [the US government] don’t go to war in support of these al-Qaeda terrorists that they are backing in Syria” is Congress and the American people, author Dean Henderson told Press TV on Sunday.

“They’re trying to divert Assad’s forces from the battlefield and give the advantage back to the al-Qaeda rebels,” he added.

The analyst believes that US Congress will not approve President Barack Obama’s plan for using military force against Syria.

“It’s going to be really hard to get this thing through the House, it may pass the Senate along the party line both but I think in the House it’s not going to pass,” Henderson said.

He added that “it’s unlikely” that Obama will go ahead with his plan to strike Syria without congressional approval.

A recent survey of US lawmakers has shown that Obama faces “a daunting and uphill battle” to win congressional approval for his plan to attack Syria.

A USA TODAY Network survey of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress indicated that only a small fraction of congressmen say they would support US military action.

The United States has accused the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons in an attack near capital Damascus last month. However, Damascus has categorically rejected such allegations.