Sure.... Old tactics reused....
March 1949 Syrian coup d'état - Wikipedia
Macmillan backed Syria assassination plot
The plan called for funding of a “Free Syria Committee” [hmmm … sounds vaguely familiar], and the arming of “political factions with paramilitary or other actionist capabilities” within Syria. The CIA and MI6 would instigate internal uprisings, for instance by the Druze [a Shia Muslim sect] in the south, help to free political prisoners held in the Mezze prison, and stir up the Muslim Brotherhood in Damascus.
The "preferred plan"adds: "Once a political decision is reached to proceed with internal disturbances in Syria, CIA is prepared, and SIS [MI6] will attempt, to mount minor sabotage and coup de main incidents within Syria, working through contacts with individuals.
The planners envisaged replacing the Ba'ath/Communist regime with one that was firmly anti-Soviet, but they conceded that this would not be popular and "would probably need to rely first upon repressive measures and arbitrary exercise of power".
Why the Arabs Don’t Want Us in Syria
Syria: Another Pipeline War
2007
The Redirection
To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The
U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America
and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.
2007 West Point Counter-Terrorism Center...
Hmmmm I wonder where these so called "crackdowns" began...
U.S. supports Opposition groups in Syria
US 'funded Syria opposition groups'
2012 FOIA Report....
http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-con...12-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf
Your Move.....
