In his November 2, 2015 column on the Al-Arabiya website, former editor of the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and former Al-Arabiya director 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed wrote about the recent U.S. decision to send some 50 special operations military personnel on a noncombat mission to Syria to support local forces. Under the title "Only 50 U.S. Military Personnel In Syria!" he asked what they would be able to do against the 30,000 fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) and similar groups, the 100,000 "fighters of different nationalities" under Iranian direction, and the 30,000 Russian troops in Syria. This move, he said, was widely viewed as evidence that the U.S. "is not serious regarding anything it says about Syria," and added that it had been expected to "support the Syrian national opposition with arms, intelligence and diplomacy" in order to arrive at "the only possible solution" - the removal of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
The following is his column, in the original English; it originally appeared in Arabic in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, also on November 2, 2015.
Al-Rashed.
Source: Al-Arabiya, November 3, 2015.
"It Would Have Been Better If Washington Had Not Sent Anyone, Instead Of Only 50 Military Personnel"
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"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and similar groups have an army of more than 30,000 fighters in Syria. The Iranians say they are managing 100,000 fighters of different nationalities, while the Russians have around 3,000 troops. Washington has finally decided to send a force... of only 50 military personnel. We do not know [what] they will be able to do, or the political meaning of sending them.
"Repercussions"