Telling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop fighting in Aleppo, Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syria of “repercussions” if Syria doesn’t accept regime change in Damascus. Kerry knows that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran President Hassan Rouhini have no plans to abandon their key ally because of Saudi Arabia, Turkish and U.S. demands. For over five years, al-Assad has resisted remnants of the Saudi-backed “Arab Spring,” trying to topple his Shiite government. Kerry’s warning could not be more ironic since the U.S. rubber-stamps the Saudi position of toppling al-Assad. When Kerry talks of “repercussions” he’s threatening to turn the Saudis and Turks loose to pursue military victory against Damascus. Kerry forgets that U.S.-Saudi-backed rebel groups fighting al-Assad’s regime were close to defeat with Russian air strikes before declaring a ceasefire Feb. 27,
With U.N.-brokered Geneva peace talks, led by special envoy Staffan de Mistura falling apart for the second time, fighting resumed in rebel-held territories around Aleppo. “If Assad does not adhere to the this [the Feb. 27 ceasefire], there well clearly be repercussions, and one more of them may be the total destruction of the ceasefire and then go back to war,” Kerry told reporters in Geneva. Kerry forgets with Russian backing al-Assad was ready to massacre U.S.-Saudi-backed rebel groups, including Saudis’ favorite Jaysh al-Islam. Russian air strikes killed Jaysh al-Islma’s leader 44-year-old Zahran Alloush, prompting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir to expose the truth about what Kerry calls a “civil war.” Al-Jubeir stated for the record that Saudi Arabia seeks nothing short of toppling al-Assad. President Barack Obama and Kerry have 100% backed Saudi Arabia’s proxy war in Syria.
Kerry warned Syria—and Russia—that U.S. intended to wholeheartedly back the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad unless Moscow agrees with Saudi demands for regime change in Damascus. No one in Washington, Riyadh or Geneva can explain how Saudi Arabia can call for al-Assad’s sovereign state to vanish. Or, why, for that matter, Syria doesn’t have a right to defend its sovereign territory. With Saudi-backed rebel groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front and host of other Sunni terror group working to topple al-Assad, Kerry can’t explain why al-Assad has no right of self-defense. Unlike Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi, all toppled in 2011, al-Assad’s determined to fight back. With Russian and Iranian help, al-Assad’s managed to beat back the Saudi-U.S.-backed proxy war.
Kerry talks of “repercussions,” or ending the ceasefire and letting Saudi-U.S.-funded rebel group resume their quest to topple al-Assad. But, with Russian and Iranian help, Saudi-U.S.-backed opposition groups were near collapse. After heavy renewed Syrian bombing in Aleppo, Kerry calls again for a ceasefire. “I don’t think Russia wants that [resumed fighting]. I don’t think Assad is going to benefit from that. There maybe even other repercussions being discussed,” Kerry told reporters, hinting at more U.S. involvement against al-Assad. With the Obama administration on the way out, it’s doubtful the U.S. will fight al-Assad directly on the battlefield. Cluttered with Russian, Iran’s Hezbollah and al-Quds forces, ISIS and al-Qaeda battling it out in Syria, Kerry’s bluffing about “repercussions.” U.S. Special Forces are already spread too thin battling ISIS in Syria.
Kerry’s idle threats drive Putin to give al-Assad more backing. Driving U.S.-Russian relations to post-Cold War lows, Kerry should look for common ground with Moscow, not alienating Putin. Following Saudi marching orders does U.S. foreign policy no good. Why the U.S. rubber-stamps the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad is anyone’s guess. With all the hotspots on the globe, you’d think the White House would work on improving U.S.-Russian relations. Putin’s stated repeatedly that toppling al-Assad would add to already intolerable Mideast chaos. Regime change in Damascus would open the doors for ISIS and al-Qaeda to grab more Syrian and Iraqi land. U.S.-backed Syrian rebel groups have been decisively beaten by al-Assad’s forces and various Sunni opposition groups. Toppling al-Assad would repeat the same mistakes in Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
Kerry’s bluster on Syria further erodes U.S. credibility in the Middle East and around the planet. Whether or not al-Assad used chemical weapons on ISIS or any other rebel group isn’t a “red line” for Obama or any other world leader. Putin backs al-Assad because he has air-and-naval assets in Syria. Expecting al-Assad to rollover at the Saudi’s request is unrealistic and illegal. No sovereign state should accept a proxy war designed to topple the sovereign government. “If Assad’s strategy is to somehow think he’s going to just carve out Aleppo and care out a section of the country, I got news for you and him—this war doesn’t end,” said Kerry, nearly admitting that the U.S. is joined at the hip in Syria with the Saudi’s proxy war. Kerry doesn’t listen to Putin or to common sense that toppling al-Assad would create another power vacuum, opening the doors to more Islamic terrorism.
