Foreign Policy in Focus.
The “Arab Spring” reached Syria in March 2011 when Syrian
intellectuals, students, and union leaders appeared on the streets to
demand greater transparency, political liberalization, and economic
reforms. Although they did not participate in the initial series of
demonstrations, Syrian Islamists joined the opposition after the regime
responded with force to the public display of dissent. As the violence
has escalated and taken over 9,000
lives, foreign powers have exploited the carnage to advance their
geopolitical interests. The United States and other powers have used the
Syrian Muslim Brotherhood as a proxy to topple the Syrian Ba’athist
regime, which has governed for almost half a century.
Washington’s two primary interests in Syria are to
strengthen the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) vis-à-vis Iran and to
undermine Russia’s power and influence in the Middle East and
Mediterranean. Israel shares the U.S. interest in cutting off Iran and
Russia’s reach into the Levant.
However, security considerations surrounding the
unknown variables of a post-Assad Syria appear to have created a divide
between U.S. and Israeli strategies, as the Netanyahu government has not
followed Obama’s course on Syria. The Israeli concerns surrounding the
collapse of Syria’s Ba’athist party are legitimate. Washington should
also consider the security consequences of Assad’s ouster and avoid
intervention in Syria.
