Syria Says Assad is West’s Ally Against ISIS
Ian Black of The Guardian reports that Syria’s vice foreign minister, Faysal Mekdad, has said Bashar al-Assad wants to “eliminate” the Sunni extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Mekdad also urged Western governments to recognize “new realities” by ending their support for rebel groups.
“The only way to resolve the situation is to work with president Assad,” he told Black, in Damascus, adding that “many countries” are now seeking security cooperation with Assad, but that “security matters could not be separated from the political cooperation.”
Mekdad also shot down suggestions that Assad is in league with ISIS. “I know the rumors,” He said. “But to those who claim that Syria is not doing its best to combat this group, I answer that if these extremists – Jabhat al-Nusra, the Free [Syrian] Army and Isis – are killing themselves and fighting for more influence and expansion, do you think we are sad? But the Syrian army has its priorities and we shall decide what to do next.”
Jordan Reluctant to Host U.S.-led Syria Rebel Training
Reuters reports that Jordan, where the Central Intelligence Agency has been quietly training Syrian rebels for more than a year, is “reluctant to host an expanded rebel instruction program,” according to U.S. officials.
Jordan’s reticence “is a potentially serious setback for President Barack Obama’s proposed $500 million initiative, announced in June, to train and arm moderate rebels fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and al Qaeda-linked groups,” the wire reports. “It could signal a larger challenge in finding suitable nations willing to host the U.S.-led training at a time of heightened tensions across much of the Middle East.
“While U.S. officials have not made a formal request to the Jordanian government, the country was widely considered a top choice to host the training due its close security relationship with Washington, proximity to neighboring Syria and pool of more than 600,000 Syrian refugees. U.S. officials and analysts said Jordan fears violent retaliation from Syria if its territory is used for overt training conducted by U.S. military units.”
Bid to Deliver Aid to Syria Might Set Stage for a U.N. Clash
The New York Times reports that the United Nations Security Council “was potentially headed for a showdown on Monday over getting food and medicine to millions of needy Syrians.
The would-be diplomatic row is a measure of how difficult it is for the world powers to agree on much, least of all on the crisis in Syria, where Russia and the West support opposing sides in the civil war.”
Somini Senguota writes that the proposed draft resolution would authorize the UN to send aid convoys over four specific border crossings, even without Syrian government consent, but only after the organization’s monitors inspect the goods being delivered.
But though it seems simple, “the monitoring mechanism is tricky. It potentially sets a precedent, requiring aid workers in future crises to jump through hoops to deliver food and medicine. It is ostensibly intended to assuage the Syrian government’s fear of arms being smuggled in, though in truth the supply of guns and rockets seems to be far greater than, say, grains and medicine.”