Washington Chooses Syria As A Battlefield: Enough To Raise The Cost Of War For The Iranian Regime
23 January 2018By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
Despite all the criticism against the current US administration's policy in
the Middle East, we must admit it is clearer and more committed than previous
ones. It has chosen Syria as a center for testing its new strategy in fighting
ISIS, Russia and Iran. However, we do not know whether or not it will be able
to complete the path it had recently planned and announced.
Early in the 1990s, the Soviet Union collapsed ending the Cold War and the
only US foreign policy left was countering terrorism. This policy became more
about reactions to the September 11, 2001 attacks. This saw it confront
terrorist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya. This stage
lasted for a decade and a half.
We can now see glimpses of confrontations between Washington and Moscow in
countries like Syria, Ukraine, Iran and, to a lesser extent, on the Korean
Peninsula. This conflict between the Russian and US powers brings back to mind
the Cold War, which was highlighted last week when Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson spoke about his country's new strategy and said it generally relies
on fighting rival powers, mainly Russia and, to a lesser degree, China.
Washington's policy in the Middle East in general, and in Syria and Iraq in
particular, changed under the Trump administration. It has decided to confront
Russia's presence and that of its ally Iran, in addition to fighting ISIS. The
US chose Syria as its battlefield, which became very complicated after several
powers became involved in the crisis there.
With Washington's adoption of a clear policy for the first time, it is likely
to produce new issues that never existed before, such as that the US will
expect its allies to support its policy and restore old alliances. Stances on
the Syrian crisis will be classified and, later on, this will apply to other
major regional issues, like dealing with Iran.
Turkey, which is a NATO member and historically a US ally, was trying to use
the crisis for its own interests, until the battle for Afrin erupted, bringing
it into confrontation with Iran, Russia and the Syrian regime. Therefore,
Turkey, as well as the rest of the region, will realize their options will
narrow down with time.
So will Turkey align with Washington or Moscow in Syria?
The US abandoned last year's policy of cooperating with Russia in Syria and
adopted a new policy based on confronting Russia through regional proxies and
alliances. However, Moscow preceded Washington in adopting such a policy by
using Iran and its agents, such as Lebanese, Iraqi, and other militias, to
fight their battles.
On the other hand, the US is using Kurdish-Syrian militias on the ground,
along with remnants of the Free Syrian Army factions east of the Euphrates.
The new US approach is based on thwarting the Russian-Iranian project in Syria
and foiling ISIS attempts to return after toppling its "caliphate" in Raqqah.
Luckily for us in the region, decision-makers in Washington have finally
realized the danger of the new transformations in Syria. They also oppose what
Iran is doing in Iraq.
Even if the situation there does not escalate to the extent of a military
confrontation, adopting a hostile policy is enough to raise the cost of war
for the Iranian regime and make its ability to control the region an unlikely
option at the moment.
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is the former 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 Al-Madina and Al-Bilad.
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