peacefare.net

Should the US save Syria?

While the situation in Syria worsens and the death-toll rises, there is no consensus in Washington on whether the US should intervene to put an end to the Syrian humanitarian crisis. The McCain Institute this week launched its “Debate and Decision Series” by gathering four experts on the Middle East and US foreign policy to debate “Should the United States Save Syria?”

The “yes camp,” which supported US intervention, included Robert Kagan and Leon Wieseltier. The “no camp,” which believed US intervention would be a grave mistake, included Joshua Landis and Aaron David Miller. CNN’s Elise Labott moderated and Senator McCain’s offered a short introduction, reiterating his belief that the Syria crisis will strong affect the region.

The “Yes Camp”:

Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow at Brookings’ Center on Foreign Policy, member of the Foreign Affairs Policy Board of Secretary Clinton, and a regular columnist for the Washington Post, underscored the importance of the Syrian crisis to the US. While past US interventions were motivated either by strategic interests or on humanitarian grounds, Syria is a place where strategic interests and humanitarian purposes converge. If the US does not intervene, the cost will be very high since new threats to US national security will emerge. Failed states have become breeding grounds for terrorism:

the consequence to us [the American people], directly, of Syria becoming a failed state has huge costs.

Leon Wiesletier, the editor of The New Republic, said the US cannot afford Obama’s policy of transforming the US into a “non-internationalist state.” Not only does the Syrian crisis involve US responsibility to end a deep humanitarian crisis, but lack of intervention will also put US values into question. In strategic terms,

there could be no bigger strategic blow to Iran and its allies than the overthrow of the Assad regime.

The US should intervene to overthrow of the Assad regime and stop the genocide, prevent the jihadists from winning, and arm the secular opposition.

The “No Camp”:

Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and a frequent blogger on the Syrian crisis, strongly opposed US intervention on several grounds:

America should not involve itself in what has become an ethnic war since “a new ethnic balance is taking place in the Middle East,” and it should not “pick winners especially in ethnic wars;”
Only Syrians can save Syria from radicalization. The US failed in Iraq and Afghanistan when it tried to nation-build in those countries;
If the US intervenes and then leaves, as in previous cases, the situation will just get messier;
Decapitating the Assad regime now would destabilize Syria; it is not clear that earlier intervention would have avoided the current difficulties.

Aaron David Miller, former negotiator and advisor on Middle East issues in the Department of State under several administrations, said the US must realize that it cannot do everything and that it will be incapable of managing intervention in Syria. He highlighted the risks of getting itself in a crisis that might not end as planned:

there is a correlation between our miscalculated adventures and our own broken-house.

If Washington intervenes to ensure that a pro-US government emerges in Syria, this will delegitimize the new regime. The Arab Spring is legitimate because it is controlled by the Arabs themselves. Besides, Aaron said,

so much blood has flowed that it is impossible to think of a negotiated settlement now.

The Rebuttals and Conclusions:

Kagan found Landis’ argument that decapitating the Assad regime would “destabilize Syria” to be illogical since the situation is already unstable. He criticized the latter’s focus on US failures in Iraq and Afghanistan as a measure for future US failures. US history extends before 2001 and 2003; it has a “mixed record,” just as any great power does. Kagan rejected Landis’ claim that the ethnic nature of the conflict will inevitably mean American failure. US intervention in Bosnia has led to stability. Kagan claimed that doing something is better than nothing. The US should not wait till Assad deploys his chemical weapons against the Syrian people.

Wiesletier attacked Landis’ claim that the US should not get itself into a conflict that the Syrians should resolve by saying that “other powers are already in the middle:” Russia and Iran are already determining the outcome.

Landis rebutted the arguments of the “yes camp” by stating that contrary to Wiesletier’s claim that US intervention would prevent the jihadists and help advance the secular, pro-Western opposition, the US is incapable of placing whom it likes as the leaders of any new regime that will emerge. The Islamists are on top. The “Harvard-educated opposition” will not take the lead.

Aya Fasih

AYA FASIH Email: Ayaefasih@aucegypt.edu Current Address: 4440 Willard Avenue, Apartment 1012, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Permanent Address: 21 Merghany Street, Helioplis, Cairo, Egypt. Cell phone: 2023519522 EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts, The American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt. School of International Service, American University (AU), Washington DC. • Major: Political Science • Specializations: Middle East Politics and International Relations. • Minor: Economics • GPA: 3.523 • Expected Date of Graduation: June 2013 • Course work: Special Topics in the Middle East: Islamic Politics and Thought, Arab Political Thought, International Relations of the Middle East, US Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, Protest and Change in the Middle East, Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Israeli Politics and Society, United States Foreign Policy, Political Economy, International Relations, Foreign Policies of the Major Powers, Human Rights, Global Politics in the Twentieth Century, Comparative Politics, Economic Development, Microeconomic Theory, Macroeconomic Theory, Labor Economics and Public Finance, International Organizations. International Baccalaureate Diploma and American Diploma, The American International School in Egypt, 2009 AWARDS • The American International School Award for International Baccalaureate Higher Level Economics of 2009 • Dean’s List of Honors, AUC Egypt. WORK EXPERIENCE Research Assistant, Middle East Institute, Washington D.C., USA. January 2013-Present. • Researched in collaboration with John Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Professor Dr. Daniel Serwer. • Edited and wrote for www.peacefare.net. • Reported on Middle East-related events in Washington D.C. Research Intern, Habitat International Coalition, Cairo, Egypt. February-May 2012. • Conducted extensive research on informal housing in the Greater Cairo Region (GCR). • Gathered data on the Egyptian government’s violations of land and housing rights in the GCR. • Conducted field research on the living conditions in Batn Al Baar through surveying the inhabitants of the slum area. Gathered information on the conditions of the infrastructure in Batn Al Baar trough contacting non-governmental organizations that work in the area and local inhabitants. • Presented a report assessing the current material and nonmaterial living conditions of the inhabitants. The report provided a set of recommendations on potential projects that HIC should initiate in the area. Research Intern, New America Foundation—Middle East Initiative, Washington D.C., USA. October-December 2011. • Researched current events in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Libya, and Palestine-Israel. • Reported information in articles and blogs posted on the Middle East Channel. • Followed and reported any decisions taken by the White House, Congress, and the foreign ministries of the USA and EU countries regarding the developments in the Middle East. Researcher, Corporate Social Responsibility Project by Marketeers Firm for the UNICEF, Cairo, Egypt. June-August 2011. • Conducted market research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), initiatives in Egypt. • Contacted and gathered data from top executives in more than 30 firms and banks including Proctor and Gamble, Orascom Telecommunications, Pfizer, Henkel, FedEX, Duravit, CitiBank, CIB, and HSBC. • Analyzed the data and presented the results in an extensive report that was submitted to the UNICEF Egypt office. Assistant Correspondent, Fox News, Cairo, Egypt. January-February 2011. • Summarized and translated key articles in Egyptian state-owned and opposition newspapers on a daily basis. • Brainstormed and contributed to topics of interviews. • Recommended and Contacted Naguib Sawiris, The Chairman of Orascom Telecommunications, for an interview to discuss the impact of the Tahrir protests on the Egyptian economy and how the accomplishment of a democratic environment might impact the business prospects and Egyptian economy. • Recommended and Contacted Dr. Kamal Abouelmagd, An Egyptian Lawyer, Islamic Thinker and member of the “Council of the Wise”, for an interview on the constitutional amendments and the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egyptian politics post-Mubarak’s regime. • Contacted a member of the “Youth of Egypt” for an interview. Research Assistant, Tunrkey Group Interiors (TKG), Cairo, Egypt. June-September 2010. • Researched existing projects, and development initiatives in the Greater Cairo Region in the field of Low-Income Housing. • Wrote reports on the Market of Low-Income Housing in Egypt. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Editor and Senior Writer, AUC Times, AUC Egypt. February 2012-Present. • Edited articles published under the English Department of publication. • Wrote “Where Do We Go Now?”, “A Divided Muslim Brotherhood in Post-Revolution Egypt”, “Orientalizing the Arab Revolutions”, “Egypt’s Emerging Non-Islamist Parties: Ambiguities, Alliances, and Hope”, and “Post-Revolutionary Al-Azhar.” Campaigner, Abolfotoh Presidential Campaign 2012, Cairo, Egypt. April-June 2012. • Campaigned for the presidential candidate in the Heliopolis district of Cairo. Helped organize events in the district for the candidate. • Cooperated with Shayfenkom and Masrena organizations in documenting illegal acts during election dates. Organizer, Gessoor, Cairo, Egypt. January-March 2011. • Co-organized Cairo’s first town-hall meeting on February 20 2011. • Developed a platform for the interchange of ideas of Egyptian youth on reconstructing Egyptian society and economy in the post-revolution period. • Provided an unbiased medium of idea-exchange comprised of representatives of the opposition groups and parties, and non-governmental organizations. • Contacted the founder of the Egyptian Movement for Change, George Ishak, to be a member of Gessoor’s panel. COMPUTER AND LINGUISTIC ABILITIES • Fluent in both spoken and written English. • Fluent in both spoken and written Arabic. • Proficient use of Microsoft Office, Excel and excellent in Internet research. PERSONAL DATA • Date of Birth: September 11, 1991. • Place of Birth: Cairo, Egypt.

Next Copts at risk »

Previous « Some good news

Published by

Aya Fasih

Tags: AfghanistanIranIraqRussiaSyriaUnited States

11 years ago

Good news, finally, but unlikely to last
Those of us looking for a Ukrainian military victory, a Palestinian state that will live…
Kosovo is more qualified than Serbia
The sad fact is that non-member Kosovo today is more qualified for CoE membership than…
Proactive would be better
The legal profession could also constitute an international nongovernmental group to advise on conflict issues…