Kerry: His View On The Syrian Conflict - The US Failure To Intervene In Syria Has Ruined Everything
21 January 2013
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
I have read the long 35,000 word transcript of the US
Senate hearing on US President Obama's nominee for the
post of Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry. This
hearing was held before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee which had previously been chaired by Senator
Kerry himself. In order to understand the
characteristics of the new US Secretary of State,
whose appointment is expected to be unanimously
approved, we should know that he had previously
testified before such a committee more than 40 years
ago as a soldier returning from the Vietnam War.
So, Kerry is a seasoned politician. He is
well-informed about our region to the extent that he
met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on six
separate occasions. In other words, Kerry knows our
region, and its leaders, well.
Despite this, I am concerned about what I have read,
particularly as Kerry has failed to demonstrate clear
positions on vital issues, specifically Syria and
Iran. Even Senator John McCain urged Kerry to take a
clear position that is in line with America's moral
concepts and national interest by opposing the actions
of the Assad regime. Addressing Kerry, Senator McCain
said, "We are sowing the wind in Syria, and we're
going to reap the whirlwind. And that whirlwind will
be the increased presence of Al-Qaeda and Islamist
groups, which are now flooding into Syria, as you
know. Sixty thousand dead and counting, and the fall
of Assad is ‘inevitable'. You know that Assad is
thinking about Plan B, and that's going to the coast
and doing some ethnic cleansing." He added, "We've had
a lot of hearings. We haven't done anything. We've
got, sixty thousand dead after 22 months, and all we
hear from the administration is that the fall of Assad
is ‘inevitable'. I hope so . . . and I know that from
our previous conversation . . . you will make this
your highest priority."
However Kerry failed to clearly respond to McCain on
this issue. He spoke about his hope regarding
cooperation with the Russians, and McCain replied that
the Russians are saying that they will cooperate but
that they continue to provide Assad with arms. Kerry
replied, "Whatever judgments you make, they have to
pass a test of whether or not you do them, they are
actually going to make things better." He continued,
"You have to make a test of a cost analysis in doing
that. And I mean all kinds of costs—human life costs,
treasure, effects on other countries."
This was a long hearing and it was not limited to
reviewing Kerry's positions on Syria but also focused
on a number of other issues of primary importance to
the world's superpowers.
I am well aware of the importance of these other
issues in this wide and troubled world, from Iran to
North Korea, China and Latin America; however I
believe that the situation is Syria remains the most
important issue today. Ten months ago, Al-Qaeda had
not yet appeared on the scene in Syria, while today
its forces are part of this conflict. This is all due
to the international hesitancy to get involved and
prevent the Assad regime from killing the Syrian
people and destroying the country. This is something
that has greatly angered the people of the region.
The US failure to intervene in Syria has ruined
everything that has been achieved—with great
difficulty—in the war on extremist ideology and
terrorist groups. This had been part of a major
campaign launched over the past 10 years against armed
groups and Al-Qaeda, which succeeded specifically in
confronting extremist ideology at a grassroots level.
However we are now returning to square one. I believe
that a future Secretary of State Kerry will be able to
understand the nature of the conflict and the threat
that the Obama administration's indifference over the
past two years represents. The fall of the Syrian
regime will result in the Iranians losing their
right-hand in terms of implementing their terrorist
policies, especially if we are able to help the Syrian
people establish a democratically elected regime. If
Assad flees Damascus, and as McCain said, this is
"inevitable", then we will witness extremist jihadists
on one side and thousands of al-Assad's pro-militia
Shabiha on the other coast, carrying out ethnic
cleansing. This would be the outcome of allowing
powers like Al-Qaeda and Iran to operate freely in
Syria.
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.From Consul To Terrorist: The Only Faction Active oOn The Scene Because Everybody Else Has Left The Arena :: EsinIslam The Muslim World Portal For Islamic News And Opinions
From Consul To Terrorist: The Only Faction Active oOn The Scene Because Everybody Else Has Left The Arena
14 January 2013
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
As soon as I heard the name Iyad Ag Ghaly in relation
to the events in Mali I began to wonder if this could
be the same man from the same country? Could it really
be him? Iyad Ag Ghaly heads up the military operations
of armed terrorist groups in northern Mali; whilst
there was a man with the same name who served as
Mali's consul in Jeddah. I called some friends and
confirmed that Iyad Ag Ghaly is indeed the same man
that I met at Jeddah's Hilton hotel less than three
years ago.
We are facing a truly strange world where those who
are legitimate today could be fugitives tomorrow.
At the time, I knew-from those who had dealt with
Ghaly as a Tuareg tribal chief and diplomatic
consul-that he was the best source to find
intermediaries to negotiate the release of hostages
taken in the Azawad region. Now, he is said to be
commander of the Ansar Dine movement fighting the
Malian army, as well as international French and
African forces.
When I read a profile about him in yesterday's Asharq
al-Awsat newspaper, I was even more confused, for this
stated that he was close to Libyan dictator Muammar
Qadhafi who reportedly sent him to fight in Lebanon.
Yet, Ghaly only recently displayed extremist
tendencies.
This kind of confusion and uncertainty has become
quite common as shown by the emergence of extremists
like Tarek al-Zomor and Mohamed al-Zawahiri on Egypt's
political scene. So how did a man like Iyad Ag Ghaly
turn from being a moderate Sunni Muslim to an
extremist armed fighter? Is it rational to suppose
that a man in his fifties, like Ghaly, should suddenly
become radicalized? This is truly hard to believe. I
sense that this may be some kind of political maneuver
where politicians have pretended to adopt extremist
ideologies in order to recruit impulsive youths. These
politicians provide these youth with funding under the
pretext of ?religious duty?, convincing them to
sacrifice their lives for a false cause in return for
a place in heaven! Since there is a general
international lack of will to fight anywhere in the
world, the French-alongside a few African states-will
fight this war on their own before realizing that
desert wars never end and withdraw. What makes matters
more complicated is that conflicts that involve
religious slogans and tribal powers can last for
decades without any side being defeated.
Our problem with those who are keen on fighting these
extremists, like the French today and the Americans
yesterday in Afghanistan and perhaps tomorrow in
Syria, is their inability to understand the
fundamental nature of the problem. These extremist
groups represent the smallest part of the equation;
rather the greatest and most important challenge is to
confront extremist ideologies. Had the West, as well
as the Arab countries involved and other relevant
parties invested their money and effort in fighting
extremist ideologies, this crisis might have come to
an end. Instead they spent billions of dollars on tens
of thousands of soldiers, advanced weaponry, and
combat drones managing to eliminate a number of Al
Qaeda's leaders; however Al Qaeda's ideology remains
the same and in fact continues to spread like a
disease. Most people find it easier to jump to easy
conclusions by laying the blame on one group or
another like Sunnis, Shi'ites, clerics, or even
religion as a whole; however all these groups were
present prior to this and were never a source of
trouble.
We are living in a different world in which political
powers are establishing and nourishing extremist
ideologies and generations. These politicians have the
project, the expertise, and the will to propagate such
extremist ideology and they are practically immune to
punishment because the wrong parties are always held
accountable. Who could have imagined that Mali would
become an international battlefield after Afghanistan?
The West is repeating the same mistake in Syria by
allowing it to fall prey to extremists who are
emotionally manipulate the general public under the
pretext that they are their only source of salvation
from the tyranny of the Assad regime. In reality, they
are the only faction active on the scene because
everybody else has left the arena.
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.