Why Russia and Iran should ditch Bashar al-Assad - The Economist

[applegrove]

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21720280-longer-they-keep-him-power-more-they-will-share-his-guilt-war-crimes-why-russia?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/apoisonousclientwhyrussiaandiranshouldditchbasharalassad

"SNIP.............



The taboo on poison gas should not obscure Mr Assad’s many other crimes—for which he deserves one day to face justice. And this is not the first time he has been accused of gassing his people. But the attack on Khan Sheikhoun crosses a line that Mr Assad himself has promised to respect. When it killed 1,400 people with sarin in 2013 in al-Ghouta, outside Damascus, his regime breached the “red line” set by Barack Obama. Mr Obama failed to order punitive strikes, and instead accepted a Russian deal whereby Syria would adopt the chemical weapons convention and surrender its stock of poison.

At the time, that seemed a grave misjudgment—just how grave is now clear. The use of sarin in Khan Sheikhoun suggests that Syria hid some nerve agents, or produced them anew, violating its commitments. By using nerve gas again, Mr Assad is flouting a norm that the whole world accepts.

With its deployment of air power to Syria in 2015, Russia saved Mr Assad, helped him to recover lost territory and scored a tactical victory over America. The West cannot now bomb Mr Assad without risking a clash with Russia. Donald Trump is right, but disingenuous, to blame the mess on Mr Obama’s weakness. Mr Trump himself opposed military action in 2013. As a candidate, he said that America should join Russia in bombing IS. As president, he says that he has now changed his mind on Syria; he should start by joining his ambassador to the UN in denouncing Russia. Right now, Mr Putin is no ally against jihadism, but a provoker of it.

Perhaps Mr Assad is acting to demonstrate his impunity. Or perhaps he fears an imposed diplomatic deal. Either way Russia is permanently tainted by his war crimes. So is Iran, despite the fact that many Iranians still live with the effects of poison gases used on them by Iraq in the war of 1980-88. The longer Russia and Iran keep Mr Assad in power, the more they will share in his guilt. It is time for them to ditch their toxic ally.



.................SNIP"

[atreides1]

1. Wow

"The longer Russia and Iran keep Mr Assad in power, the more they will share in his guilt."


The writer is assuming that Russia and Iran, actually give a shit!!!

[malaise]

2. The rest of the planet is wondering why the US doesn't ditch

The Con, the Turtle and the gym nut.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Syria is 3/4 Sunni and Assad is Alawite/Shia

The last time we pushed a strongman out in similar circumstances (Saddam was Sunni and Iraq is 2/3 Shia), the ensuing score-settling resulted in ISIS. With the whole region descending into post-Iraq sectarian hell, the article might have at least pointed that out. There are no no-brainers in the Middle East.

[That Guy 888]

4. The King of Jordan thinks the Russians will use Assad as a bargaining chip for Crimea

From a Washington Post interview with King Abdullah:

Q. So you think that at forthcoming Geneva talks, the Russians will get rid of Assad?

A. I think they will barter on how Assad exits. At the end of the day, we need a regime that is accepted by all Syrian people.

Q. Do you want to see the U.S. engage with Russia over Syria?

A. I’ll tell you why that works: From the Russian point of view, they play what I describe as a three-dimensional chess game. To them, Crimea is important, Syria is important, Ukraine, and we see them in Libya. The Americans and Europeans must deal with the Russians on all these issues simultaneously.

Q. Once you understand these issues together, what do you do?

A. Then you horse-trade. For the Russians I think the most important thing is Crimea. If you come to an understanding on Crimea, I think you will see much more flexibility on Syria, and I think Ukraine then becomes the least problematic.