|
Saudi
Arabia and Turkey Joint Fight Against Al-Assad
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
May 8, 2015 All Rights Reserved.
Vowing to topple Syria’s Shiite government of Bashar
al-Assad, Saudi Arabia and Turkey joined forces to back the rebel insurgency to
end al-Assad’s reign of terror.
While over 200,000 troops and civilians have lost their lives in Syria since the
Arab Spring of March 2011, al-Assad has put up fierce resistance against largely
Sunni Wahhabi groups led by al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria seeking to topple Damascus.
Backing Wahhabi groups seeking take down al-Assad, Saudi Arabia and
Turkey go against Russia and Iran, vigorously defending al-Assad’s sovereignty. Russian President Vladimir Putin
believes toppling al-Assad would repeat the same mistakes in Iraq with former
President George W. Bush’s Iraq War, opening up the floodgates of Islamic
extremism. Bringing down al-Assad
would throw Syria into complete anarchy.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey see
al-Assad as a common enemy. While
backing the Free Syrian Army, formerly led by Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) friend Brig. Gen. Salim Idris, the White House has grave reservations about toppling
al-Assad. Watching Iraq descend
into a hotbed to Wahhabi extremism after toppling Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003
raises the likely outcome in Damascus.
Battling Shiites in Damascus and now Shiite Houthis in Yemen, Saudi
Arabia finds itself lashing out without considering the consequences of deposing
al-Assad. Turkey backs the Muslim
Brotherhood in their fight against al-Assad, despite Egyptian President Gen.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi banning the Brotherhood and its Palestinian offshoot Hamas
in Egypt Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Saudi Arabia to join the fight against al-Assad,
directly pitting them against Iran and Russia.
Supplying arms and Iranian-backed Lebanese forces called Hezbollah, Putin
wants al-Assad to stay put to protect against another power vacuum that could
spread more terrorism in Syria.
“The key is that the Saudis are no longer working against the opposition,” said
an unnamed Turkish official.
Joining forces against al-Assad, Saudi Arabia and Turkey pit themselves against
Putin, paving the way for better U.S.-Kremlin relations. Joining forces against al-Assad,
Turkey and Saudi Arabia align themselves with ISIS and al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra
Front. Since the civil war broke out in Syria March 11, 2011, Obama has been reluctant to join
Sunni insurgent group seeking to topple al-Assad’s Shiite government. Apart from despising al-Assad’s
authoritarian rule, Wahhabi groups seeking to eradicate Shiite governments,
whether found in Damascus, Tehran or, more recently, in Yemen.
Launching an air war against Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels in
Yemen, Saudi Arabia can’t prioritize its military goals. Joining forces with Turkey against
al-Assad, Saudi Arabia opted to alienate Iran and Russia, both of which have
been key trading partners. Fighting
a proxy war against Iran in Syria, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman can’t decide which
side of the fence to get on. If he
battles al-Assad, he’s made an enemy of Iran and Russia, both seeking regional
stability over punishing al-Assad for his brutal tactics, including using
chemical weapons to hang onto power.
“It’s a different world now in Syria, because the Saudi pocketbook has
opened and the Americans can’t tell them not to do it,” said Joshua Landis, from
the Center for Mideast Studies at the University of Oklahoma. With the Saudis and Turks joining
the fight against al-Assad, the U.S. strategy gets more complicated.
Prevailing wisdom with Capitol Hill Republicans, led by Senate Armed
Services Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was to topple al-Assad. Any superficial analysis of what happened in Iraq gives the White House reason to pause. When you look at the regional and
geopolitics, developing betters relations with Russia and Iran should take
precedence over joining a Sunni-Shiite sectarian war. White House officials must decide
what’s more important to U.S. interests:
Joining the Turks’ and Saudis’ proxy war against al-Assad or developing
better relations with Tehran and Moscow.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia back a rebel group known as Ahrar al-Sham, hoping
they won’t inadvertently support al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front or ISIS, both hoping
to install a radical Sunni caliphate in Damascus. When you look at al-Assad’s regime,
it looks mild in comparison to radical Wahhabi groups.
Battling al-Assad in Syria and Houthis in Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s begun to
spread itself too thin to accomplish its regional goal of establishing a Sunni
state in Damascus. Neither Turkey
nor Saudi Arabia has considered the obvious consequences of driving al-Assad
from Damascus. All they need to do
is look at what happened in Iraq.
Backing Ahrar al-Sham is no guarantee that if al-Assad falls the region won’t
fall to ISIS or al-Qaeda. “The
cautionary tale is that every power in the Middle East has tried to harness the
power of Islamists to their own ends,” said Landis, hinting that Saudi Arabia
and Turkey recent effort could backfire.
Before Obama gets on the wrong side of the battle, he should reconsider
the regional and global importance of Russia and Iran to U.S. national security. Joining the fight against al-Assad
only boosts the chances that Syria would fall to radical Islam.
About The Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national
and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The
Bullet and Operation Charisma.
|
|
|