Paul R. Pillar
The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which collapsed over the weekend under a rebel offensive that had begun just days earlier, achieved a place of infamy that has long been taken for granted in Western foreign policy discussions. This was partly because of the brutal way in which Assad’s forces suppressed Arab Spring protests in 2011, launching a civil war that has continued to this day. Assad was widely viewed as a tyrannical ruler the world would be better off without.
In American foreign policy discourse, Assad was someone whose bloody hands no one should be caught shaking. Opponents of Donald Trump’s nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence use this as a talking point since the latter met with Assad on a “fact-finding” trip to Syria seven years ago.
Assad’s regime also has been viewed as part of an Iran-centered “Axis of Resistance.” This axis is, in turn, widely perceived—in Manichean, Cold War-like terms—as the root of evil in the Middle East, opposition to which should be, according to this interpretation, the top priority of anyone’s policy toward the Middle East. This view is the basis for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly celebrating Assad’s fall in terms that no doubt will be echoed in Washington in the days ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment