(World Affairs) Michael J. Totten - Jonathan Spyer sneaked over the border with the Free Syrian Army to cover the war against Assad from the front lines. He did it twice. And he's an Israeli. I recently asked him: What should the U.S. do about Syria? Stay out of it? Arm the rebels? Spyer: My view remains that the U.S. and its allies should engage closely with the rebels, identify deserving clients and begin to arm and support them. This has not yet happened to a significant degree and the result is the current stalemate. It's understandable that many Westerners feel that given the rise of Sunni Islamism, the U.S. interest is to stay out. Understandable, but wrong. The U.S. can either engage in the Middle East or disengage from it. But disengagement doesn't leave a vacuum. Rather, it leaves a space which is rapidly filled by advancing hostile interests - in the Syrian case, Iran and Russia. These forces are currently backing the Assad dictatorship all the way. The Iranians, in particular, see the survival of the dictatorship as a cardinal interest. Should Assad or his regime survive in some form, this would represent a major strategic victory for the Iranians. It would also convince regional elites that the Iranians are the people to align with if you want to stay in power. The Syrian situation presents an opportunity to deal the Iran-led regional bloc and its backers a very telling defeat. I think this opportunity should be taken.
2012-10-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive