26 January 2016By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
The interesting statement made by the military spokesman and adviser to the
Saudi Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Asiri about Riyadh's readiness
to fight on the ground in Syria raised many questions. Amongst them are: Is
this a change in foreign policy? Why are we fighting in a distant land? Why
are we fighting with the international coalition? If there is a desire to
intervene, why don't we fight the murderous Assad regime which is more brutal?
Fighting on the ground in Syria appears to be a new approach and is the first
time that Saudi Arabia is willing to participate in a ground offensive to
fight ISIS in Syria. In the past there have been suggestions of Saudi Arabia's
willingness to participate without mention of how this would be done exactly.
Nevertheless, it has been a member of the international coalition fighting
terrorist organisations in Syria in the form of airstrikes since last year.
Why is Saudi Arabia fighting as part of the international coalition? Saudi
Arabia must either get the approval of the Assad regime in Syria as Russia is
doing today – but this is an impossible request for Riyadh to make and it is
likely that Damascus will reject it – or be authorised by the UN as it is in
Yemen where Saudi forces are fighting with the approval of the Security
Council. Therefore, the international coalition grants it legal cover and
represents an integrated system of thirteen states.
As for what motivates Saudi Arabia to fight ISIS in Syria, it knows, like many
other states, that it will be targeted by the organisation soon. It is
believed that hundreds of Saudis brainwashed by ISIS are fighting in Syria and
many of them have tried to return and carry out terrorist operations in Saudi
Arabia.
The most embarrassing question, however, is why are we fighting ISIS and
leaving the Assad regime which has committed the largest number of crimes
including murder and destruction in the history of the region? Firstly, Saudi
Arabia is not a neigbouring country to Syria and is separated from it by Iraq
and Jordan. Secondly, it is not able to fight there without an international
mandate. Fighting in Syria without an international mandate would be
considered an act of aggression with serious consequences.
Turkey has been fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq for a while now; however it is
not fighting the Syrian regime despite being enraged by it for the last five
years. Turkey has the longest border with Syria and one of the largest armies
in the world consisting of seven hundred thousand professional soldiers, and
up to a million soldiers if reserves are included. Despite this, Turkey is
committed to international laws and does not intervene militarily.
Fighting ISIS is not only a military process but is also a political one as
well. By eradicating ISIS, the Russians and Iranians will no longer have an
excuse to destroy the national Syrian opposition that has no links to
extremist groups and foreign fighters. It will also strengthen the position of
the Syrian opposition that has been targeted by extremists, Assad forces and
its allies. This can be seen in the governorate of Daraa in the south where
the Syrian regime's allies actively strike the Free Syrian Army (FSA) by
claiming that it is an extremist organisation.
When you consider Brigadier Asiri's statement in context, it is clear that
Saudi Arabia is willing to enter Syria on two conditions: the availability of
international will and being part of a large military system.
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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