The so-called truce in Syria will "undoubtedly" be violated by Russia, Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense who chaired the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, tells
Newsmax TV.
Perle said he is in agreement with Sen. John McCain of Arizona who this week criticized an international agreement for a "cessation" of hostilities in Syria as "diplomacy in the service of military aggression" by Russia.
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"I believe he is absolutely correct. It's even a little worse because it will undoubtedly be violated and because the Russians will continue to attack those opponents of the regime that we are inclined to support," Perle said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
Those opponents, Perle added, offer the "best prospect for ending this conflict eventually without the worse characters coming to power and without [Syria President Bashar] Assad remaining."
On Feb. 12, Secretary of State John Kerry and diplomats from other nations in the International Syria Support Group came to the "cessation" agreement. But McCain, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was not impressed, saying "I wish I could share the views of some of my friends who see this agreement as a potential breakthrough, but unfortunately, I do not."
Perle believes the aggression in Syria will only escalate.
"In a sense, it already is a regional war. As you observe the Turks bombing the Kurds, we are supporting the Kurds because they're the only coherent force capable of dealing effectively with ISIS (the Islamic State)," he said.
"You have the Russians bombing all over the place, you now have, it's probably 4 or 5 million displaced homeless people and more everyday flooding into Europe. It's a catastrophe.
"It's the product of completely inept diplomacy going back now more than three years. I should take inept policy because it's not just diplomacy."
Last week, The Daily Beast reported that Russian and Iranian forces are now being aided by Iraqi militias to defeat American-backed rebels in Syria. Those Shia militias — the Badr Brigade, Kata'ib Hezbollah, and the League of the Righteous — once successfully battled ISIS.
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