August 24, 2014
Assad Aided Rise Of Islamic Militants: Calculated Decision To Enable Foes To Oppose Western Supported Free Syrian Army — Force World To Choose Between Regime And Militants
So writes Maria Abi-Habib in today’s (August 23. 2014) Wall Street Journal. She writes that “the Islamic State, which metastasized from a group of militants seeking to overthrow the Syrian government into a marauding army gobbling up chunks of the Middle East…gained momentum early on from a calculated decision by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go easy on it,” according to people close to the regime.
“Early in the three-year old Syrian uprising; Mr. Assad decided to mostly avoid fighting the Islamic State to enable it to cannibalize the more secular rebel group supported by the West, the Free Syrian Army (FSA),” said Izzat Shahbandar, an Assad ally; and, former Iraqi lawmaker who was Baghdad’s liaison to Damascus. “The goal,” he said, “was to force the world to choose between the regime and the extremists. When the Syrian army is not fighting the Islamic State, this makes the group stronger. And, sometimes, the army gives them a safe path to allow the Islamic State to attack the FSA, and seize weapons.” Mr. Shahbandar said that Bashar Assad “described the strategy to him personally during a visit to Damascus in May 2014, as part of his liaison duties on behalf of Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki. “And, now [Damascus] is asking the world to help, and the world can’t say no.”
“This account of how the Islamic State benefited from the complex, three-way civil war in Syria — between the government, the largely secular, moderate rebel groups — and their hardcore Islamist groups — was pieced together,” “Ms. Abi-Habib writes, “from interviews with Syrian rebel commanders and opposition figures, Iraqi government officials and Western diplomats, as well as al Qaeda documents seized by the U.S. military in Iraq.”
“The Assad regime now appears to be shifting…away from its early reluctance to engage the group,” Ms. Abi-Habib writes. “In June, Syria launched airstrikes on the group’s headquarters in Raqqa, in northern Syria…the first, large-scale offensive against the militant group since it rose to power in 2013.” “This week,” she adds, the Syrian Air Force “flew more than three dozen sorties on Raqqa, its biggest assault on the ground yet.”
Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel-Karim Ali, denied to Ms. Abi-Habib that “Damascus supported the Islamic State early on; and, praised the his government’s battlefield response to the group, pointing to dozens of recent strikes on the group’s headquarters.” “Our priorities changed as these groups emerged,” Mr. Ali said in an interview in his office. “Last month, it was protecting Damascus, for example: Today, it is Raqqa.”
“Speaking of the Islamic State aggression that has decimated the more secular FSA, he said: “When these groups clashed, the Syrian government benefited. When you have so many enemies, and they clash with each other, you must take advantage of it. You step back, see who is left and finish them off.”
Mr. Shahbandar said “the Islamic State’s recent success forced the Syrian government; and, its Iranian allies, to ramp up their military assaults, hoping the West will throw its weight behind Damascus and Tehran…to defeat the extremists. Such cooperation would put the U.S. and its regional allies such as Saudi Arabia in an uncomfortable position, after years of supporting the FSA and demanding that Mr. Assad step down.”
“There are some signs that the two opposing sides might be willing to work together.” “The Assad regime played a key role in ISIL’s rise,” according to a State Department press release. But, so to did the Obama administration. The Free Syrian Army was enthusiastic and looking forward to demonstrable U.S. military assistance that hardly materialized. Then, came the POTUS’s ‘Red Line’ in Syria. The FSA was led to believe that U.S. airstrikes against the Assad regime was all but a given, considering POTUS Obama’s statement on the accusations that Assad’s regime used poison gas in an attack on civilians. Again, stated U.S. resolve turned to invisible ink. Eventually, anger and resentment set in; and, some from the FSA no doubt switched sides and nurtured their hated of the United States.
Assad and Putin are playing chess, while our POTUS is playing golf. We should continue to remain wary of the Assad regime. In this case, the enemy of my enemy — is not my friend. A pox on both their ‘houses’ is a desirable course. V/R, RCP
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