With Al-Qaeda activity against the Bashar Al-Assad regime on the rise in Syria, with backing from some Saudi and Qatari quarters, US policy framers should be aware of strategic and moral dilemmas when it comes to backing rebel groups against Bashar Al-Assad. Assuming, of course, that morality is indeed a factor that matters in addition to realpolitik in the minds of those US policy framers who have the most say on this issue. While the US has limited its backing to non-al-Qaeda rebel groups in Syria, how sure is the US administration that money and arms provided by the US will not fall into the hands of Al-Qaeda groups ? The US will probably ignore this fine point at the moment because of how complex the situation is in Syria and because of the geostrategic aims of the US establishment.
But there is a possibility that weakening Bashar Al-Assad will strengthen Al-Qaeda in Syria. If this happens, and if Al-Qaeda groups happen to gain control over territory inside Syria, we will be in the ridiculous situation where the US would have enabled Al-Qaeda control inside a country through its own geostrategic designs, if not blunders. This should be a major worry for a US establishment that seems eager to bypass or ignore UN mechanisms. And it should be a matter of concern for European countries too. The lack of clarity in US approach to the Syria question does not inspire confidence in its ability to prevent, counter or contain groups that it considers inimical to itself. US foreign policy does not have a clear vision for the kind of dispensation it wants in Syria. There is a high chance that the kind of approach the US is taking on the Syrian issue will make things worse than they already are.
by C. Jayant Praharaj ( send comments to [email protected] )
But there is a possibility that weakening Bashar Al-Assad will strengthen Al-Qaeda in Syria. If this happens, and if Al-Qaeda groups happen to gain control over territory inside Syria, we will be in the ridiculous situation where the US would have enabled Al-Qaeda control inside a country through its own geostrategic designs, if not blunders. This should be a major worry for a US establishment that seems eager to bypass or ignore UN mechanisms. And it should be a matter of concern for European countries too. The lack of clarity in US approach to the Syria question does not inspire confidence in its ability to prevent, counter or contain groups that it considers inimical to itself. US foreign policy does not have a clear vision for the kind of dispensation it wants in Syria. There is a high chance that the kind of approach the US is taking on the Syrian issue will make things worse than they already are.
by C. Jayant Praharaj ( send comments to [email protected] )