Tag Archives: Assad Regime
29 August 2013
The BBC reported that the United Kingdom is going to present a resolution to the UN Security Council that would authorise ‘all necessary measures to protect civilians’ in Syria. Foreign Policy reported that the British move, unlikely to win support in the Security Council, is a diplomatic move intended to define the coalition of states that would be willing to strike against Syria.
The move comes after NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that those responsible for chemical weapons use must be held accountable and that NATO would keep the Syrian situation under close review. According to the NYT, the United States is considering a range of actions against Syria, including missile strikes, designed to ‘deter and degrade’ the ability of the Assad regime to use chemical weapons.
Source: BBC | Syria crisis: UK puts forward UN proposal
Source: Foreign Policy | Morning Brief: UK Goes to Security Council for Syria Resolution
Source: The New York Times | Obama Weighs ‘Limited’ Strikes Against Syrian Forces
Source: Al Jazeera | NATO vows to 'answer' alleged Syria attack
23 August 2013
The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius warned Syria over a reaction of force from the international community if the Assad regime is proven to have used chemical weapons.
Fabius was reported saying the reaction could take any form of force, but ruled out the deployment of foreign ground troops, thereby suggesting the possibility of Western air strikes. The warning comes after the UN Security Council expressed strong concerns over the alleged use of lethal toxin in the attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August, but failed to reach agreement on the best response.
Source: The Guardian | France warns Syria of forceful response over chemical weapon claims
Source: Al Jazeera | France warns Syria of forceful response
20 June 2013
John Glaser, the editor of Antiwar.com, argues in his opinion post released on Al Jazeera that US arming the Syrian opposition risks entangling the US in a brutal and complex civil war.
Providing small arms to the opposition would not tip the scale in favor of the opposition and would instead prolong the stalemate and even push the Assad regime to be more violent, Glaser argues.
More intrusive intervention could even turn into a broader clash with Iran and Hezbollah with potentially dangerous implications for the entire Gulf Region, Glaser notes. Echoing the comments by Tufts Professor Daniel W. Drezner on Foreign Policy on 14 June, that arming the opposition is US realpolitik towards Syria, Glaser reminds his readers of the last time US interests coincided with those of the Saudis: supporting insurgents in Afghanistan in the 1980s, now a textbook example of blowback and unintended consequences.
Source: Al Jazeera | Sending arms to Syria is irrational and dangerous
Source: Foreign Policy | Why Obama is arming Syria's rebels: it's the realism, stupid.