In an interesting development, more than 50 diplomats from the US State Department have signed an internal memo calling on President Obama to order military strikes against the troops of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. They hope that such an act will force Assad to abide by the cease-fire simply because no one can save him from the American wrath.
The five-year-old civil war has exposed the hesitancy of Obama’s administration. Pundits and analysts agree that Obama’s hesitation, for whatever reasons, to take decisive action against Assad’s regime has added to the miseries of Syrians. Worse for many Americans, the perception that America is not in control has weakened its influence in the region as a whole.
The internal memo calls for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US-led diplomatic process.” It is hard to avoid the conclusion that deep rifts and lingering frustration have come to characterize the mood within the US State Department over the lack of effectiveness of the United States in the region.
The memo was filed in the State Department’s “dissent Channel.” This channel was set up during the Vietnam War as a means for employees working for the Department to register their disagreements with the official policies. If the administration followed the memo’s appeal to bomb Syrian forces, it would represent a radical shift in the crisis altogether.
One thing is for sure, however, the State Department is satisfied with the president’s policy. Veiled criticism over Obama’s policy also came from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her book “Hard Choices.” She was critical of the policy of inaction that indeed paved the way for the emergence of Daesh in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry himself asked for a more active policy but Obama refused to budge arguing that uncertainty after Assad’s removal will prevail.
Obviously, the American administration is not happy with the leaked memo. Now opponents of the American administration and indeed the rivals of Hillary Clinton will use the leaked memo to embarrass both the POTUS and Hillary as the Democratic Party’s nominee for the upcoming presidential elections.
If anything, the memo vindicates the persistent opinion voiced by the Saudi and the Turkish governments over the five years. To them, Assad is the key problem and that a working solution to the Syrian crisis is unlikely as long as Assad is still at the helm of power. Thanks to the policies of President Obama, it is Assad, Iran and Russia who are calling the shots in Syria.
The five-year-old civil war has exposed the hesitancy of Obama’s administration. Pundits and analysts agree that Obama’s hesitation, for whatever reasons, to take decisive action against Assad’s regime has added to the miseries of Syrians. Worse for many Americans, the perception that America is not in control has weakened its influence in the region as a whole.
The internal memo calls for “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed US-led diplomatic process.” It is hard to avoid the conclusion that deep rifts and lingering frustration have come to characterize the mood within the US State Department over the lack of effectiveness of the United States in the region.
The memo was filed in the State Department’s “dissent Channel.” This channel was set up during the Vietnam War as a means for employees working for the Department to register their disagreements with the official policies. If the administration followed the memo’s appeal to bomb Syrian forces, it would represent a radical shift in the crisis altogether.
One thing is for sure, however, the State Department is satisfied with the president’s policy. Veiled criticism over Obama’s policy also came from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her book “Hard Choices.” She was critical of the policy of inaction that indeed paved the way for the emergence of Daesh in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry himself asked for a more active policy but Obama refused to budge arguing that uncertainty after Assad’s removal will prevail.
Obviously, the American administration is not happy with the leaked memo. Now opponents of the American administration and indeed the rivals of Hillary Clinton will use the leaked memo to embarrass both the POTUS and Hillary as the Democratic Party’s nominee for the upcoming presidential elections.
If anything, the memo vindicates the persistent opinion voiced by the Saudi and the Turkish governments over the five years. To them, Assad is the key problem and that a working solution to the Syrian crisis is unlikely as long as Assad is still at the helm of power. Thanks to the policies of President Obama, it is Assad, Iran and Russia who are calling the shots in Syria.
