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Washingtons tilt toward Syrias rebels will cause more harm than good
John Kerry, the new U.S. Secretary of State, sat down with Syrian opposition chief Moaz AlKhatib on Thursday and announced that Washington will begin supporting those elements of Syrias rebel opposition it deems palatable.First off, arming fighters battling against Bashar al-Assads regime is not on the cards. Flak jackets, training and, apparently, ready-made dinners, however, are. Where this will take place what border country is willing to host the Americans is still unclear, though an American presence has been in place in Jordan since last summer while to the north, rebels have more-or-less free reign over Syrias border with Turkey. So whats about to change? In all likelihood, very little. Washington, more specifically the White House, has refused to back rebel groups even when the State Department and the Pentagon privately pushed for such a move last summer. As a result, it would be unwise to expect the floodgates to open even after this new departure. Its more likely President Barack Obama has realized that Mr. Assads days are numbered, and has been convinced its better to have a modicum of political leverage with the government that comes after Mr. Assad than to have none. (Lets not kid ourselves into thinking Washington and other world capitals want to get involved in Syria to prevent a humanitarian disaster). Posted by: tipper 2013-03-01 |
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