Iman Vu is on the left. “There is so much that is happening in Syria and what is happening there,” he said in a video speech. “But at the same time, we have this Arab Spring. This is a chance to create a democratic Syria. No dictatorship there… It’s a chance. But also a reason. It’s a question with a purpose.”
In addition to speaking out about Syria, Vu — who is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Syrian American Congress — has also served in the U.S. Army and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. In a previous YouTube video Vu discussed how a U.S. military presence in Syria might not necessarily be welcomed by Syrian President Bashar Assad, but rather Assad would do everything in his power to not let the U.S. occupy his country.
“Do we really have the will to stop supporting an entire country to stop the violence, to stop the killing? And what about our troops who are not there, who are not serving in harm’s way? What about the women, young girls, the women? This is why I think Syria should have been a one-and-done situation and we won’t be a part of it anymore.”
Vu’s statement also comes after a U.S. Army training mission for a local “reconnaissance unit” in Syria earlier this month.
The “reconnaissance unit” has been in the country to help train local fighters in the city of Aleppo and is led by U.S. Army Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, who has been working there since last month. “Our focus in this unit is on countering the ISIL threat from the air,” Wood told reporters on a flight returning to Baghdad the same day that Vu spoke. “[It’s] to provide a new generation of Iraqi forces with the tools they need to defend against this extremist group that continues to threaten Iraq,” he added.
That same day, a top Russian General and a top U.S. General visited Turkey to discuss security against Syria.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. The meeting began with a brief statement by Russian General Staff Admiral General Yuri Fedotov, who said it was important to cooperate with Turkey in “countering terror threats of terrorism to our countries.”
“In terms of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic