President Barack Obama agreed to send 250 more U.S. adviors to Syria to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] while continuing to the support the Saudi proxy war trying to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Causing more than 250,000 deaths and million of civilians displaced to neighboring countries and Europe, Obama takes no responsibility for backing Saudi’s proxy war. Called a “civil war” by Saudi’s High Negotiation Committee, the March 11, 2011 Syrian War is actually a delayed part of the Saudi-backed “Arab Spring” that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and now trying in Syria. Saudi-backed “Arab Spring” has brought more instability, anarchy and death to the Middle East, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to call at the Sept. 28, 2015 U.N. General Assembly for an end to the Syrian War. Putin warned of more chaos if al-Assad were toppled.
When Putin committed Russian air, land and naval assets to protecting Damacus Sept. 30, 2015 the Saudi proxy war started to lose ground. On Dec. 25, 2015 Russian air strikes killed the High Negotiation Committee’s chief rebel group, Jaysh al-Islam, 44-year-old commander Zahran Alloush. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir couldn’t contain his ire over Alloush’s death, admitting that Saudi Arabia plotted, funded and backed Jaysh al-Islam’s attempt to topple al-Assad. U.S. Syria policy has been joined-at-the-hip with Saudi Arabia, despite, as Putin says, causing more death, destruction and anarchy in Syria. Announcing more U.S. advisors today, Obama expressed hope the U.S. could help defeat ISIS. “They’re not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces,” said Obama, stating the U.S. Syria policy.
Showing a few degrees of separation between U.S. and Saudi policy, Saudi’s High Negotiation Committee Salem al-Meslet welcomed Obama’s overture but for the wrong reasons. Al-Meslet confirmed that Saudi’s investment in Syria is not fighting ISIS but ridding Damascus of al-Assad. “President Obama’s decision to deploy 250 more troops to fight the Daesh in Syria is a good step. We must rid our country of this scourge. But Syria will not be free of terrorism until we see the end of the Assad regime’s reign of terror. We need help in freeing our country from Assad as well as from Dasesh,” said al-Meslet. Calling for help “freeing our country” in Syria shows Saudi Arabia makes no sovereign boundary between the Kingdom and Syria. Whatever ambiguity was left with Saudi intentions, it’s laid to rest with al-Meslet admitting toppling al-Assad is his top priority.
Rubber stamping the Saudi-Turk policy of regime change in Damascus has driven U.S.-Russian relations to post-Cold War lows. Putin told Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry he has no intent of abandoning his long-standing Syrian ally. Sending more U.S. advisors to Syria hints that Obama’s al-Assad regime change policy takes a backseat to beating back ISIS. Controlling over 30% of Iraq and Syria’s sovereign territory, the U.S. can’t afford to get distracted by the Saudi-Turk agenda of getting rid of al-Assad. With ISIS terrorism on the rise in Europe, the European Union can’t ignore the problem. “Europe and NATO can still do more,” said Obama, referring the fight against ISIS. “We need to do everything in our power of stop them,” apparently shifting gears back to ISIS and off al-Assad. Bucking the Russians and Iranians, the U.S. finds itself mirroring Saudi’s foreign policy.
Leaving office in nine months, Obama’s in a mid-course correction on his Mideast policy. After pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq Dec. 15, 2011, the U.S. let Iraqi and Syria forces deal with homegrown insurgencies. Iraq and Syria were ripe for the 2014 ISIS blitzkrieg that hijacked some of Iraq and Syria’s biggest cities. Were it not for Kurdish Peshmerga forces, ISIS would have spread further into Iraq and Syria. Watching Turkey bomb Kurdish Protection Units [YPG] and Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] militias show precisely how Saudi Arabia and Turkey have no intent in going after ISIS. Letting Turkey attack the main U.S.-backed ground forces against ISIS makes no sense. Sending more advisors to Iraq and Syria won’t have much impact unless Obama gets his Syria and Iraq policy right. Letting the Turks attack the main U.S.-backed ground forces against ISIS shows how far off Obama’s policy.
Ratcheting up more U.S. involvement in Iraq and Syria without getting the Syria policy right puts the cart-before-the-horse. With the latest round of Syrian “peace talks” failing in Geneva, Obama must tell the key players, the Saudis and Turks, that the U.S. priority is getting rid of ISIS, not al-Assad. Letting U.S.-Russian relations deteriorate to post-Cold War lows helps no one, especially U.S. national security. If Obama backed Putin’s approach to deal with ISIS, it would be a step forward in mending fences with Moscow. Since Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, Obama has piled on Russia with sanctions and international isolation. Instead of beating a dead horse, Obama should figure out how Putin can be used to advance U.S. foreign policy, like going after ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Finding common ground with Moscow on ISIS and Ukraine should pay off in other parts of the globe.
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