Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 27, 62-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke softly but told the truth about the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and its besieged President Bashar al-Assad. Putin left no doubt that he backs his old ally not primarily because he thinks he’s such a good leaders but precisely because the alternative would be far worse. Meeting head-to-head Sept. 28, Putin and President Barack Obama couldn’t get beyond the White House stated goal of regime change in Damascus. Putin opposes regime change in Damascus because of what happened when former President George W. Bush toppled Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003: Terrorist chaos in Iraq and Syria. Backed by Saudi Arabia, Obama should reconsider the wisdom of Putin’s approach to dealing with ISIS without toppling the al-Assad regime.
Speaking out about the White House’s failed Iraq and Syrian policy, 69-year-old real estate tycoon and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump backed Putin’s plan of tackling ISIS. Most Mideast experts agree that the U.S. bombing campaign isn’t enough to evict ISIS from key Syrian and Iraqi towns. “If he wants to fight ISIS, let him fight ISIS,” Trump told reporters at his Manhattan-based corporate headquarters. “I say there’s very little downside with Putin fighting ISIS,” said Trump, countering the White House policy that currently backs Saudi Arabia’s attempt to oust al-Assad. Sponsoring various Wahhabi Sunni groups to fight al-Assad’s Shiite majority, White House officials go along with the Sauidi position of toppling al-Assad. Creating a Sunni-Shiite sectarian war puts a fig leaf on the ugly underbelly of various Saudi-backed terrorist groups trying to takeover Syria.
Because of Putin’s March 1, 2014 takeover of Crimea, the White House has turned a cold shoulder to Putin. Putin views the Feb. 22, 2014 pro-Western coup as inappropriate meddling in Russia’s backyard, prompting Putin to back pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region .of Southeastern Ukraine. Seizing Crimea from Ukraine sent a loud message of U.S.-backed Ukrainian President Petro Porshendenko that Putin could not be trusted. Trump’s the first GOP presidential candidate to back Putin’s plan of keeping al-Assad in place while fighting ISIS. Most experts acknowledge that the current U.S. and allied bombing campaign in Syria has done little to stop ISIS from consolidating pirated territory in Iraq and Syria. Neither country has the resources to stop ISIS, requiring, as Putin sees it, an international coalition to defeat the world’s most dangerous terror group.
Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry boxed themselves into a corner, allowing U.S.-Russian relations to deteriorate to Cold War status. Trump correctly sized up the situation of seeing the formidable Russian ground troops as a good starting point for coherent military plan. Because of strong U.S. and EU sanctions on Russia for Crimea, the White House and European Union should give Putn’s plan for defeating ISIS a chance. Taking the Saudi position, the U.S., Britain and EU have done little to support Ukrainian stability. Insisting on al-Assad’s ouster is no longer viable, especially for countries like Saudi Arabia that back toppling al-Assad. “There is no future for Assad in Syria, with all due respect to the Russians or anyone else,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 28. No fan of Shiites, Saudi-backed Islamic radicals seek to topple Shiite states.
U.S. politicians, whether at the White House or Capitol Hill, can’t get beyond the Cold War, especially recent moves by Moscow to invade Crimea. Putin tried to explain the reasons behind Crimea, including the Feb. 22, 2014 pro-Western coup that toppled Kremlin-backed elected government of Viktor Yanukovich. Putin all but told U.N. delegates that the CIA sponsored or backed the Feb. 22, 2014 Kiev coup. Whatever prompted Putin to seize Crimea, it has nothing to do with the current ISIS mess in Iraq and Syria. Putin left little doubt that toppling Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003 opened the floodgates of Islamic terrorism, causing the rise of ISIS and other radical groups. Putin sees only more Middle East anarchy with the Saudi-backed plan to topple al-Assad’s government. White House and EU officials need to listen carefully to Putin’s plan to defeat ISIS.
U.S., EU and Saudi plans to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are no longer viable. With Moscow and Tehran supporting its longstanding ally, the current White House strategy can only make the Syrian and Iraqi crisis worse. Joining a coalition with Russia’s formidable military assets to end ISIS’s reign of terror would help stem the untenable flow of Syrian refugees into Europe. Dragging out the Syrian War practically assures that the EU won’t end its economic slowdown anytime soon. Ending the Syria war by putting the al-Assad question aside and joining the fight against ISIS would be the shortest distance to stabilizing the region. Europe can’t take the 10,000-plus Syrian refugees flooding into the Continent. Putting the al-Assad question on hold for now and joining Russia’s coherent fight against ISIS is the best way to end the Syrian humanitarian crisis.
