Pivoting on Syria, President Barack Obama ordered Secretary of State John Kerry to join Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iran Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif in Vienna to solve the Syria crisis, leaving 250,000 dead and more than two million displaced since the civil war began March 11, 2011. Back then, the so-called Arab Spring was in full swing with dictators falling in Tunisia, Egypt and eventually Libya. Since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, Obama was committed to fulfilling his campaign promise of ending former President George W. Bush’s Afghan and Iraq Wars. While Barack closed the door on Iraq Dec. 15, 2011, the U.S. withdrawal opened the door for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], know to Arabs as Daesh. Seizing some 30% of Iraq and Syria’s sovereign land, the White House’s ISIS policy has failed to produce results.
Agreeing to add only 50 U.S. Special Operations troops sticks a toe in the water trying to deal with the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis since WWII. Causing havoc in the European Union, the Syrian civil has flooded the continent with hundreds-of-thousands of immigrants. Meeting in Vienna, the U.S. looks to partner with Russia and Iran to help end the Syrian civil war. Funded by Saudi Arabia, the Syrian civil war is a sectarian conflict waged by Saudi-backed Sunnis against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite Shiite minority. Until Vienna, the U.S. and EU paralleled that of ISIS and al-Qaeda al-Nusra Front seeking Damscus regime change. U.S. officials know that Russia and Iran seek to preserve al-Assad’s shaky hold on power. Putin firmly believes that toppling al-Assad would repeat the same mistakes in Iraq, opening the floodgates of more Islamic terrorism.
Obama’s policy of backing so-called “moderate” Syrian groups, proved disastrous, with most of U.S. weapons falling into the hands of ISIS and other Saud-backed Wahhabi groups seeking to topple al-Assad. Obama only recently announced that he’s stopped backing “moderate” groups in Syria, not knowing with whom they’re affiliated. Obama walks a tightrope making changes to U.S. foreign during an Election Year. Switching the U.S. “regime change” policy and adding 50 advisors significantly changes the White House Syria policy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov properly sits on the fence regarding the eventual outcome with al-Assad. Moscow believes that until ISIS is defeated, it’s premature to impose regime change in Damascus. Blasting the U.S. for sending troops to Syria, parliament member Sharif Shahadeh called Obama’s decision an “act of aggression.”
Syrian’s officials haven’t caught up with fast-developing news in Vienna where the U.S., without making it official, has joined the Russian-Iranian alliance to preserve al-Assad’s government. “Deploying a handful of U.S. special operations forces to Syria will not change this situation significantly,” said Frederic Hof, Obama’s former Syria advisor. “It’s a Band-Aid of sorts,” dismissing the significance despite signaling a change in White House policy. If Obama’s serious about Vienna, he’s committed the U.S. to helping the Russian and Iranian military actions to preserve al-Assad’s hold on Damascus. Airdropping 50 tons to arms and ammunition to Syrian rebels, primarily the Kurds’s YPG, Peoples’ Protection Units hope to crush ISIS. Kurdish fighters, with U.S. backing, have been preparing to reclaim lost Syrian territory, especially the ISIS stronghold in Raqqa and other northern towns and villages.
Finding an urgent solution to the Syrian crisis is a top priority of Washington and the European Union. Ending the four-and-half-year civil war would save thousands of lives fleeing the war zone, risking life-and-limb for dangerous raft-crossings across the Mediterranean. Meeting in Vienna with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif offiers the White House the best possible path to solving the crisis. Europe can’t accommodate the flood of refugees expecting to repatriate once the war ends. Stressing the EU to the breaking point, the world economy can’t take a drawn-out economic slowdown. Pivoting away from regime change, Obama now joins the Russian-Iranian coalition to preserve al-Assad’s fragile hold on power.
