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Intervention in Syria Is a Trap

(Washington Times) Daniel Pipes - Many Western voices want to arm the Syrian rebels, set up safe zones and even join their war against the Assad government. But does intervention in Syria promote our own interests? The rebels are Islamist and intend to build an ideological government even more hostile to the West than Assad's. If the rebels prevail, their break in relations with Tehran will be offset by their assistance for the barbarism of Islamism's Sunni forces. Syria's rebels do not need Western help to bring down the regime (and wouldn't be grateful for it if they did receive it, if Iraq is any guide). The Syrian conflict at its core pits the country's disenfranchised Sunni Arab 70% majority against Assad's privileged Alawi 12% minority. Hastening the Assad regime's collapse will not save lives. It will merely mark the close of the opening chapter in the conflict, with yet worse violence likely to follow. As Sunnis finally avenge their nearly 40 years of subjugation by Alawis, a victory by the rebels portends potential genocide. The writer, president of the Middle East Forum, is a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
2012-08-21 00:00:00
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