By Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist —— Bio and Archives August 6, 2012
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"I think it is obvious that there is a wide consensus in the international community to say to the government of Syria: 'You have to cease the indiscriminate violence against the civilians, the violations of the Human Rights, the violations of the Humanitarian law when you shell civilian neighbourhoods and you have to enter into a political dialogue.'British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said his country was pleased that "an overwhelming majority" of the General Assembly had voted for "a tough resolution on Syria which condemns the brutality, the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Syrian regime." When I asked Ambassador Grant what he would say to critics of the resolution who complained that it was not balanced, and specifically that it did not take note of the role of al Qaeda and other Islamist jihadist groups as part of the armed opposition, he declared that the resolution was not meant to be balanced. He painted a benign picture of the opposition, insisting that it "had to take up arms to defend itself and to defend its civilian neighbourhoods." Not to be outdone, however, Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari accused the resolution's main sponsors, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, of being hypocritical "despotic oligarchies." The Syrian ambassador said of the Gulf countries providing arms to the opposition, “You cannot be a fireman and arsonist at the same time.” "The draft resolution will have no impact whatsoever. It is a piece of theater," he added. Ambassador Ja'afari is defending his government's indefensible actions, but he is right about the General Assembly resolution. It is a meaningless gesture that does nothing to address Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's warning in remarks to the General Assembly before the vote that the "conflict in Syria is a test of everything this Organization stands for. I do not want today’s United Nations to fail that test.” The fact is that the United Nations can do no more with respect to the civil war engulfing Syria than the League of Nations was able to do regarding the Spanish Civil War during the 1930's. They are both proxy wars, with regional and international players arming one side or the other. In the case of Syria, there are at least four inter-related layers of geo-political-religious elements at work beyond the fighting among the Syrians themselves. First, there is the religious and political battle being played out between Shiite Iran and the Sunni Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Iran is eager to maintain its sphere of influence in Syria through its alliance with Assad (who is affiliated with a # minority sect known as the Alawites ruling Syria). Saudi Arabia and Qatar aim to roll back Iran's ambitions for hegemony in the region and are supporting the Sunni majority in Syria in their revolt against Assad and the Alawites. Hence, Iran is beefing up Assad's regime with arms and the support of its Revolutionary Guard. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are funding and providing arms for the opposition. Second, al Qaeda is using the chaos in Syria to establish another Islamic jihadist beachhead. As the New York Times recently reported, "Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are doing their best to hijack the Syrian revolution...The evidence is mounting that Syria has become a magnet for Sunni extremists, including those operating under the banner of Al Qaeda." Third, Turkey, under the Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is serving as a transit point for the flow of arms to the opposition, including shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles known as MANPADs. Erdoğan is evidently trying to revive Turkey's Ottoman caliphate heritage by offering a seemingly "moderate" alternative to al Qaeda and other fundamentalist groups in leading the regional Sunni battle against the increasingly isolated Assad regime. Fourth, there is the revival of U.S.-Russian Cold War-like rivalries. President Obama's policy of trying to push a re-set button in the relationship between the two countries has backfired. As evidenced by its intransigence at the United Nations, Russia is protecting the Assad regime to thwart the West and its NATO ally Turkey in their efforts to extend their reach through regime change in a region where Russia believes it has vital strategic interests. Where does all this leave the Obama administration in its attempt to forge a coherent foreign policy vis a vis Syria? Once again, it is taking its cue from France, the United Kingdom, Turkey and the Arab League, with little regard for the larger strategic picture. Just a few days ago, it was reported that President Obama had signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to get rid of Assad. Apparently, the United States has been collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies. All of this is being done without any real idea as to whom we are supporting. In fact, our money and equipment could well end up in the hands of our sworn enemy, al Qaeda. And Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, whom the Obama administration appears to be counting on to channel the opposition in a more "moderate" direction and to counter Iran's growing influence in the region, has proven to be an unreliable ally. Most notably, Erdoğan has tilted in a decidedly anti-Israel, pro-Iran direction. Hopefully, after the protracted deadlock at the Security Council, the Obama administration is starting to come to grips with the futility of relying on the United Nations to confer some sort of international legitimacy on its foreign policies. We'll have to wait and see. However, it still has to learn how to pursue the right policies in the first place to protect our vital strategic interests. Whether Assad stays or goes is less relevant to us than making sure that his stockpiled chemical weapons do not get into the hands of al Qaeda or other Islamist jihadists and that al Qaeda does not end up with a base in the heart of the Middle East. Sometimes it makes sense to stay on the sidelines in a civil war and not risk the unintended consequences of actions that will cause more harm than good. This advice holds whether such actions are blessed by the United Nations or not.
Joseph A. Klein is the author of Global Deception: The UN’s Stealth Assault on America’s Freedom.