US rejection of Syrian group shocks allies
Some allies say they had no warning Washington would pull its recognition of leading anti-Assad group and call for new organisation
The US administration's decision to drop its recognition of the Syrian National Council (SNC) as the leading Syrian opposition group and propose creating a new umbrella organisation surprised and puzzled close allies.
The move is sure to have repercussions for Arab League-sponsored meetings that start today in Qatar, at which the SNC planned to elect new leadership and reorganise its structure.
The US government gave no advance notice of its intention to renounce the council as the lead umbrella group, diplomats of three countries said.
They said their governments learned about the initiative from news accounts.
Diplomats criticised US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for using what they called inappropriate language in describing the council as made up of people who have not been in Syria for decades; many of its members, the diplomats said, left the country only after the uprising against President Bashar al- Assad began 19 months ago.
"We have recommended names and organisations that we believe should be included in any leadership structure," Clinton said on Wednesday in announcing the administration's break with the council.
Unusually, the move was made public in a statement to reporters who were travelling with her, after a meeting with the president of Croatia. "We've made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition."