American media reports on Tuesday said that the administration of President Barack Obama has been quietly consulting with the “Islamic opposition” Muslim Brotherhood” in Syria.
Within this context, the American “World Tribune” Newspaper revealed that senior U.S. officials have been meeting with the “Muslim Brotherhood” of Syria as well as its lobbyists in the United States.
The US officials said the two sides have convened several times over the last three months to discuss the Brotherhood’s role after the “ouster” of President Bashar Assad’s regime.
“We ask the U.S. and international community to put an end to “bloodshed” and send Syrian leaderships to the International Criminal Court,” The newspaper quoted Susan Misto, a board member of the Syrian American Council, as saying.
“As Syrian-Americans we stand in solidarity with the “peaceful” protestors in Syria who are giving their lives daily in the pursuit of freedom and liberty,” Misto said.
Disputes…
The Reform Party in Syria (RPS) has protested the US administration’s meetings with the “Brotherhood”.
RPS, regarded as one of the most pro-Western elements in the Syrian opposition, said Washington was signaling its endorsement of the “Brotherhood’s” goal to make Syria into an Islamic state rather than a democracy that would foster its large minority communities.
On Sept. 24, the council, regarded as a lobbyist for the “Brotherhood”, held a meeting in Anaheim, Calif. to discuss the situation in Syria. The session was addressed by U.S. special envoy Frederic Hof, responsible for U.S. policy on Damascus.
This marked at least the second session between the State Department and the “Brotherhood” in as many months. The first meeting was headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and excluded members of the secular Syrian opposition.
Hof met with Najib Ghadban
Hof was said to have met Najib Ghadban, a member of the “Syrian National Council” and a political science professor at the University of Arkansas.
