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.

 

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