By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 25 --
Starting from
the beheading
of US
journalist
James Foley,
talk has
turned to a
wider campaign
against ISIL,
beyond Iraq
into Syria.
Even seeking
UN Security
Council
approval is
barely
discussed. The
Assad
government,
the US has
insisted, would
not be
consulted.
Precedent?
What
precedent?
On August 27
the Syrian
Coalition
issued a
statement that
"Mohammed
Qaddah, Vice
President of
the Syrian
Coalition,
renews calls
to make
amendments to
the UN
Security
Council No
2170 and
include the
Assad regime
and Hezbollah
in the list of
terrorist
organizations
that threaten
the region. 'By
taking this
step the
international
community will
be on the
right track in
the fight
against
organized
terrorism
which is
sweeping the
region.”'Qaddah
stresses that
the problem is
not in waiting
for the
regime’s
consent to
target ISIS
positions in
Syria, but
with the
decision
itself as it
excludes the
Assad regime
and Hezbollah
militia from
its list of
targets,”
commenting on
remarks made
by US Foreign
Ministry
spokeswoman
who said that
'when it comes
to preserving
our interests
we will not
wait for the
approval of
the Assad
regime to
allow
airstrikes
against ISIS
in Syria.'
(Source:
Syrian
Coalition)"
The "US
Foreign
Ministry
spokeswoman"
referred to by
the Syrian
Coalition is
Jen Psaki. The
thinking seems
to be, if the
US can ignore
the realities
in the UN
Security
Council, why
not the Syrian
Coalition?
We'll see.
Syria's
foreign
minister Walid
al-Moallem has
expressed a
willingness to
fight ISIL --
which just
took over the
government air
base at Al
Taqaba -- but
pointedly said
that any
airstrikes on
ISIL in Syria
would require
approval from
the government
or be
considered an
intervention.
The
US Statement
Department's
spokesperson
on August 25
said that if
Americans are
at risk, the
US won't be
looking for
the approval
of Assad. One
wondered,
would the US
look for the
approval of
the UN
Security
Council?
On August 25
from Turkey --
to which only
a US charge
d'affaires
Jess L. Baily
will be sent
for Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's
August 28
inauguration
-- the Syrian
Coalition
issued with:
"Nasr
al-Hariri,
Secretary
General of the
Syrian
Coalition,
said that
ISIS’s
takeover of
the Tabaqa Air
Base in
eastern Syrian
comes within a
series of the
Assad regime's
systematic
handover of
its positions
in eastern
Syria to ISIS.
'The Assad
regime is
seeking
through this
tactic to win
the sympathy
of the
international
community and
to give the
impression
that it is a
target for
terrorism.
Moreover,
Assad’s
scarifying of
650 soldiers
who were left
to die in the
air base while
sending
helicopters to
evacuate the
officers
clearly shows
that Assad’s
sole concern
is not the
safety of his
soldiers but
the survival
of his regime.
It also proves
that Assad is
ready to
sacrifice his
own soldiers
in return for
achieving
political
ends.'
"Hariri
described the
remarks made
today by the
Assad regime’s
Foreign
Minister Walid
al-Moallem as
'an attempt to
politically
rehabilitate
the Assad
regime through
announcing its
readiness to
be part of an
international
coalition to
fight ISIS,
which was
allowed to
grow and
fester by the
Assad regime
itself. The
loophole in
the UN
Security
Council
resolution No.
2170, which
excluded
pro-Assad
militias from
the terrorism
list, has
emboldened
Assad to
unabashedly
declare
himself as a
partner in the
fight against
terrorism.
Therefore, the
international
community
should realize
that stemming
the tide of
extremism in
the region
requires a
political
process in
parallel with
military
action, and
that the root
of the problem
can be tackled
only when the
circumstances
that led to
the surge of
terrorism are
eliminated. It
has been
proven time
and again that
the Assad
regime’s
militarization
of the popular
uprising has
created a
vacuum that
was exploited
by extremists,
and created
the ideal
environment
for ISIS to
grow and
expand. We are
confident that
the Assad
regime’s
incessant
imploration to
be a partner
in the fight
against
terrorism will
not succeed in
winning over
the
international
community’s
tolerance of
its wholesale
crimes against
the Syrian
people. The
Assad regime
is undoubtedly
the root
problem of
terrorism and
cannot be part
of the
solution. More
importantly,
the decision
to fight the
terrorism of
the Assad
regime and
ISIS must
before
everything
else take
Syria’s
national
interests into
account, and
it is a
decision that
Syrians have
long made
without
waiting for
instructions
from the
international
community or
the friendly
countries.'"
Only
the day before
on August 24,
the Syrian
Coalition
pronounced
that "James
Foley was
Victim of the
Failure to
Empower Syrian
Rebels."
Meanwhile on
CNN's Sunday
morning talk
show State of
the Union on
August 24,
host Candy
Crowley
badgered UK
Ambassador to
the UN Peter
Westmacott,
when will the
UK use its
planes? When
will they arm
the "Free
Syrian Army"
as Francois
Hollande has
bragged France
has already
done?
Westmacott
said that Iraq
and the KRG
haven't yet
asked the UK
for
airstrikes; he
said the UK
will NOT
provide lethal
aid to the
FSA, in light
of ISIL's
recapture of
others'
weapons.
Did France not
consider this?
And doesn't
Hollande
bragging about
providing
weapons to
rebels in
Syria undercut
his legal
argument about
arms going
into
Ukraine?
(On which, see this.)
Footnote:
Agence France
Presse, purporting
an
info-graphic
of journalists
killed last
year, listed
four as killed
"in Gaza."
Since all
other listed
jurisdiction
are full UN
member states,
some surmised
AFP's
nomenclature
let off the
hook the
killer of
those
journalists.
Despite
calling it
social media,
days later AFP
has not
responded.
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