Obama Must Face Up to Post-Assad Syria Now! (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Saudi Arabia)
"The failure in Syria means that the Arab world is confronted with its own Afghanistan in the Mediterranean, which means that a sectarian war is in the cards that will burn everything and everyone in the region. ... To say that what is happening in Syria poses no risk to American security is nonsense, because the crisis in Syria affects the security of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and the entire Mediterranean. ... The positions taken by Obama, not just today but yesterday as well, demonstrate both a lack of foresight and weak political leadership - especially with the rebels advancing and Assad besieged in Damascus."
Much has been written in this and other newspapers on the
position of the American administration toward the Syrian revolution, more
precisely on the weak and hesitant position of President Obama. This very issue
is a topic of discussion in the American media today, and the bulk of the talk
focuses on one specific question: What is Obama waiting for before
intervening in Syria?
Serious criticism is being directed at the American
administration - and not only by members of the Congress or human rights groups, but
by media organizations known for “going easy” on President Obama. Meanwhile,
columnists known for having opinions that differ from Obama's are asking
themselves: “What is the American administration waiting for” to intervene in
Syria? One of the most prominent is an
essay by American journalist David Ignatius, in which he summarizes the
nature of the groups fighting in Syria and calls on the U.S. administration to
recognize the necessity of acting now and working with Saudi Arabia - not only
to bring about the fall of Assad, but to limit the risks of what will come
after he is gone.
Of course, in light of the criticisms directed toward the
Obama Administration, there are other articles that try to interpret the
administration’s position from a Machiavellian point of view, saying that
American non-interference and the fact that the fighting in Syria continues to
rage in fact serves America's interests by distracting Iran and weakening
Hezbullah. The truth is that this is a deficient, naive interpretation aimed at
putting the administration’s position in the best light possible.
To say that what is happening in Syria poses no risk to
American security is nonsense, because the crisis in Syria affects the security
of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and the entire Mediterranean. The failure in
Syria means that the Arab world is confronted with its own Afghanistan in the
Mediterranean, which means that a sectarian war is in the cards that will burn
everything and everyone in the region, while fueling terrorism and
destabilizing the whole of the Middle East, which in turn will deliver a blow
to global economic stability. Just consider the damage pirates in Somalia have
caused to the shipping industry - not to mention the position of al-Qaeda in
Yemen, which has obliged Washington to repeatedly intervene there.
So the positions taken by the Obama Administration, not just
today but yesterday as well, demonstrate both a lack of foresight and weak
political leadership - especially with the rebels advancing and Assad besieged
in Damascus. And all the while, the Russian president is shouting demands to
stop arming the conflict and accept Russian involvement in the debate over
Syria, fully aware that the Russians have been talking about Syria with the
utmost arrogance.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
But despite all this, the U.S. administration can't even
manage to reap the fruits of others, most notably the rebels. It is within
Obama’s power to act now to boost the supply of arms to the Free Syrian Army
through groups with clean track records, and form a nerve center consisting of
willing allies led by the Saudis and Jordanians, the Turks, the Emiratis and
the Qataris, flanked by the French and British. The purpose of this would not
only be to hasten the fall of Assad, but to ensure that the ensuing vacuum
could be filled.
Obama has the power to do all of this now. The problem
we face is that he and his administration lack vision, are hesitant to act, and
fail to see the danger of what's coming. So - as we have said repeatedly,
Europe and the Arab states must make it clear to Obama what the scale of his
losses in Syria, and the scale of the potential losses to the entire region,
would be. Assad is so close to falling. The danger lies in what will come
after him. So who is going to act? That is the question!
