Syrian opposition fighters have accused President Obama of "unwittingly assist[ing] global terrorism" through his refusal to take decisive action against the Assad regime.
The rebel fighters’ comments came in a PBS Frontline documentary titled "Obama at War" that details the administration’s "struggle" to stop horrific violence in the Middle East.
"I would say, Mr. President, that you are going to go down in history, if you continue like this, as somebody who has tarnished the reputation of the United States," Syrian opposition member Murhaf Jouejati said. "You have created many more enemies in the Middle East. And you have unwittingly assisted global terrorism."
Much of the region’s disorder has spilled over from the four-year-old civil war in Syria, which has displaced half of the country’s residents and killed hundreds of thousands.
The civil war gained an international audience following chemical weapons attacks by the Assad regime against civilians in late 2013. At the time, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted that Bashar al-Assad relinquish power, threatening military action if he refused.
Three years later, Assad remains in power and the United States remains on the sidelines, its role confined to the training and supply of "some 400" opposition fighters.
According to Syrian opposition member Oubai Shahbandar, the Assad regime is "using chlorine gas continuously against the civilian populace without international repercussions." Human rights groups have documented the regime’s use of chemical weapons and indiscriminate "barrel bombs."
Moderate Syrian opposition fighters have found themselves beset on two fronts: by the Assad regime on one side, and by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State on the other. The Washington Free Beacon has reported that the Assad regime has entered into a de facto alliance with terrorist groups to eliminate moderate opposition, which garners sympathy from powerful Western governments such as the United States.