Jason Ditz / AntiWar.com & Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton / Reuters – 2014-02-21 00:44:16
Obama Looks to Escalate Military Role in Syria
Jason Ditz / AntiWar.com
(February 20, 2014) — After failing to sell the American public on a full-scale invasion of Syria, President Obama let the matter drop, briefly at least. Now, officials are mulling ways to escalate their military involvement in the nation again.
Earlier in the week, the talk was of dramatic escalations of arms to rebel factions and possibly the establishment of a no-fly zone. Now, the talks are also said to include the possibility of “limited” US strikes.
The theory is that such strikes would be palatable to the American public, especially if they focused on al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Officials are said to be exploring the “risks” of such a strike sucking the US military into deeper involvement in the war.
Which of course is likely the whole idea. The administration was so determined to invade in the past they argued that American public opposition was irrelevant, and after finally relenting in the face of such overwhelming opposition, many in the administration would like nothing more than to backdoor America into the war after all.
High-Level Discussions Ongoing for New Intervention
His last push to war in Syria was an embarrassing failure, but President Obama isn’t giving up on the idea, and is said to be pushing for new “military options” for escalating intervention in Syria.
“There is a general sense that it’s time to take another look,” said one official, and it seems the renewed interest in pushing for intervention is mostly about the collapse of the Geneva II talks, which ended when the US demand for unconditional regime change went nowhere.
At the same time, it’s unlikely the administration is going to make another immediate push for a ground invasion, after the American public roundly rejected that last time.
Rather, the high-level talks that are ongoing are said to involve imposing “no-fly zones” or dramatically escalating arms and advisers for the rebels, a back-door way for the US to insinuate itself more in anticipation of eventually finding an excuse for a bigger intervention with ground troops.
Looking for Syria Options,
US Remains Cool to Using Force
Steve Holland and Lesley Wroughton / Reuters
WASHINGTON (February 18, 2014) — Despite a forthcoming review of options in the deteriorating Syria crisis, the White House on Tuesday signaled that President Barack Obama remains wary of any direct US involvement in the three-year-old civil war.
With peace talks between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and his armed opponents having failed for now, and Russia unwilling or unable to pressure its ally Assad to cede power, US policy toward Syria appears to be approaching a crossroads.
The White House is beginning to take a new look at options in Syria, a process that could take several weeks, US officials have said.
But spokesman Jay Carney suggested that Obama is skeptical about any proposed step that draws the United States into the Syrian civil war, an outcome the US president has studiously avoided.
“We have to examine what the alternatives some might be proposing are, and whether they’re in our national security interests, and whether a desire to do something about it could lead us, the United States, to take action that can produce the kind of unintended consequences we’ve seen in the past,” Carney told a news briefing.
He did not elaborate, but appeared to refer to Obama’s desire to avoid getting caught up in another war in the Islamic world.
Short of military force, it is unclear how Washington can affect the course of the civil war, in which Assad is being supported by Iran and Russia.
Secretary of State John Kerry has argued at numerous meetings at the White House for a more aggressive stand on Syria including arming opposition groups. The latter suggestion was repeatedly knocked down within the White House, current and former State Department officials said.
However, a senior administration official who briefed reporters before Obama’s meeting on Saturday with Jordan’s King Abdullah said that expanded aid to the rebels is a possibility — but only if it nudges the sides toward a diplomatic solution.
A variety of other options remain on the table, including a “no fly” zone to protect civilians and measures to improve access for humanitarian relief.
Several officials said a review by US government agencies of options on Syria had not officially started. The proposals would be narrowed down to two or three and submitted for review by Obama, the officials said.
At the Pentagon, officials said the US military was continuously reviewing Syria options in case a need arose.
But it was unclear what overt military steps might be politically palatable, given that last year many lawmakers balked at even limited military strikes in response to the Syrian government’s alleged chemical weapons attacks in Damascus suburbs.
One Middle Eastern diplomat said Washington and its allies are concerned that Assad’s confidence on the battlefield is undermining the now-stalled peace talks that have taken place in Switzerland.
The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged there is a “rethinking” of Syria policy in Washington, but played down any suggestion the United States is entertaining dramatic military moves that could oust Assad.
Kerry, speaking during a brief stop in Tunisia on Tuesday, said he had not given up on a diplomatic solution.
“The Geneva talks are an ongoing process. Nobody expected in two meetings or three meetings that this was going to be resolved,” Kerry said, adding that he had talked to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov by phone earlier in the day “to move the process.”
The Obama administration had hoped that Russia would show more willingness to pressure Assad but there is a realization that that plan is not working, said a US administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US officials say, however, that it is possible that a UN resolution to help relieve the humanitarian crisis in Syria could get through the UN Security Council, where Russia and China have used their veto power to shield Syria during its civil war.
The 15-member council met informally on Tuesday to continue negotiations on a draft resolution to boost humanitarian access in Syria, where the United Nations says some 9.3 million people need help.
Russia initially refused to engage on a Western- and Arab-backed text before Moscow presented its own draft. The two texts have been merged, but the council is still trying to find common ground on key points including a threat of targeted sanctions and cross-border aid access, diplomats said.
“We could conceivably reach agreement on a humanitarian resolution. I would not exclude that possibility,” said a senior Obama administration official.
Such a resolution would need to be strong, the official said.
“Strong doesn’t necessarily mean the threat of sanctions or the threat of force, but strong in terms of the obligations and expectations it would impose on the regime to improve humanitarian access,” the official said.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Warren Strobel and Mohammad Zargham)
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