THE OBAMA RECORD:
LEADING FROM BEHIND IN SYRIA
President Obama Has
Left Syria’s Oppressive Regime Emboldened And Allowed A Human Tragedy To Unfold
Inside The Country
President Obama And
His Administration Attempted To Woo Syria’s President Assad, Despite Ongoing
Violence:
The Obama
Administration Initially Attempted To “Woo” President Bashar Al-Assad And
Establish A Diplomatic Presence In The Country. “Mr. Obama sent Mr.
Ford to Damascus in January 2011 as the first U.S. ambassador in Syria in over
five years. The Obama administration also initially eased some trade sanctions
on Damascus in a bid to woo Mr. Assad. Mr. Assad's crackdown on Syria's
political opposition, however, ended Washington's outreach.” (Jay Solomon, “U.S.
Moves To Shut Embassy In Syria,” The
Wall Street Journal,
1/21/12)
President Obama, In
February 2009: “We’re Gonna Have To Involve Syria In Discussions.”
OBAMA: “We can't kick
the can down the road. We're gonna have to take a regional approach. We're gonna
have to involve Syria in discussions. We're gonna have to engage Iran in ways
that we have not before. We've gotta have a clear bottom line that Israel's
security is paramount.” (President Barack
Obama, CBS
Interview, 1/14/09)
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In 2009, President
Obama Restored The U.S. Ambassador To Syria After A 4-Year Hiatus.
“President Obama has
decided to return a U.S. ambassador to Syria after an absence of more than four
years, marking a significant step toward engaging an influential Arab nation
long at odds with the United States. The acting assistant secretary of state for
Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey D. Feltman, informed Syria's U.S. ambassador, Imad
Mustafa, Tuesday night of Obama's intention, according to a senior
administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the
decision had yet to be made public.” (Scott Wilson, “Obama
Will Restore U.S. Ambassador To Syria,” The
Washington Post, 6/24/09)
Secretary Of State
Hillary Clinton “Was Widely Criticized” After Referring To Assad As A
“Reformer.” “Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said on Friday Syria's government could still make reforms
despite mounting political violence that has sparked worldwide condemnation. …
Clinton herself was widely criticized in March after she called Assad a
reformer, citing the views of congressional leaders who had met with the Syrian
leader.” (Andrew Quinn,
“Clinton Says Reform Still Possible In Syria,” Reuters,
5/6/11)
“It Took Months For
The President To Call For Mr. Assad To Go—And That’s Despite The Assad Family’s
40-Year Track Record Of Hostility…” “That’s one of the
many mysteries of the Administration’s policy toward Syria. Unlike with Egypt,
where Mr. Obama was quick to call for Hosni Mubarak’s departure despite his
30-year alliance with the U.S., it took months for the President to call for Mr.
Assad to go—and that’s despite the Assad family’s 40-year track record of
hostility to the U.S. and its support for terrorism.” (Editorial, “If Assad
Survives,” The
Wall Street Journal, 4/9/12)
The Washington
Post, On Secretary
Clinton’s Reformer Comments: “A Piece Of Wishful Thinking To Which The Obama
Administration And Its Congressional Allies Have Tenaciously Clung…”
“‘Thus did Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton respond to a question on Sunday about Bashar
al-Assad, the latest Arab dictator to respond with fusillades to calls by his
people for democratic change. At the time she spoke, more than 60 Syrians had
already been massacred by Mr. Assad's security forces; others have since fallen.
Ms. Clinton was only reflecting a piece of wishful thinking to which the Obama
administration and its congressional allies have tenaciously clung: that Mr.
Assad, despite his brutality, sponsorship of terrorism and close alliance with
Iran, can somehow be turned into a Western ally.” (Editorial, “Assad The
Reformer?” The
Washington Post, 3/29/11)
While President Obama
Has Failed To Lead, The Assad Regime Has Massacred Tens Of Thousands Of People
In Syria:
President Obama’s
Strategy Of “Minimal And Indirect Intervention In The Syrian Conflict” Has
Failed To Help In Toppling Assad And “May Be Sowing The Seeds Of Future
Insurgencies.” “That conclusion, of
which President Obama and other senior officials are aware from classified
assessments of the Syrian conflict that has now claimed more than 25,000 lives,
casts into doubt whether the White House’s strategy of minimal and indirect
intervention in the Syrian conflict is accomplishing its intended purpose of
helping a democratic-minded opposition topple an oppressive government, or is
instead may be sowing the seeds of future insurgencies hostile to the United
States.” (David E. Sanger,
“Rebel Arms Flow Is Said To Benefit Jihadists In Syria,” The
New York Times,
10/14/11)
President Obama’s
Inaction Has Left A “Human Tragedy” In Syria, With An Estimated Death Toll
Exceeding 30,000. “Aside from the human
tragedy of the many lives lost in Syria's civil war — activists estimate the
death toll has now passed 32,000 killed — there is the staggering damage to the
country's infrastructure, economy and cultural treasures.” (Zeina Karam, “Civil
War Leaves Syrian Economy, Cities In Ruins,” The
Associated Press, 10/9/12)
Al Qaeda Is Becoming
Increasingly Involved In The Violence In Syria. “It is the sort of
image that has become a staple of the Syrian revolution, a video of masked men
calling themselves the Free Syrian Army and brandishing AK-47s — with one
unsettling difference. In the background hang two flags of Al Qaeda, white
Arabic writing on a black field.” (Rod Nordland, “Al
Qaeda Taking Deadly New Role In Syria’s Conflict,” The
New York Times,
7/24/12)
The Washington
Post’s Jackson Diehl, On
President Obama’s Syria Policy: “Serial Miscalculations Have Had The Consistent
If Unintended Effect Of Enabling Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad…” “But his serial
miscalculations have had the consistent if unintended effect of enabling Syria’s
Bashar al-Assad — first to avoid international isolation, then to go on
slaughtering his own population with impunity. Obama’s Syria policy began in
2009 with the misguided idea of reaching out to the dictator. Within a month of
his inauguration, Obama reversed the Bush administration’s approach of isolating
Assad. He later reopened the U.S. Embassy and dispatched senior envoys, such as
George Mitchell.” (Jackson Diehl, Op-Ed,
“How Obama Bungled The Syrian Revolution,” The
Washington Post,
10/14/12)
And Even President
Obama’s Allies Have Called For A More Assertive Role For The United States In
Syria:
Senator John Kerry
Has Called For The Obama Administration To “Step Up Its Efforts” To Topple The
Assad Regime. “The United States
needs to do more to protect civilians in Syria, including considering setting up
safe zones inside Syria and potentially arming the opposition, Senate Foreign
Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) told The Cable in an interview
Tuesday. Kerry also warned that if the balance of power is not tilted in Syria
in the opposition's favor, it's unlikely that President Bashar al-Assad will
step down. A political transition that sees Assad removed from power remains the
goal, he said, but the United States must step up its efforts to make that goal
a reality.” (Josh Rogin,
“
Kerry: Time To
Consider Safe Zones And Arming The Opposition In Syria,” Foreign
Policy,
5/8/12)
Former Secretary Of
State Madeline Albright Has Called For The United States To “Get More Involved”
In Syria. “Madeleine Albright,
who was secretary of state under Clinton, told me: ‘I’m for intervention, but it
doesn’t have to be on-the-ground military intervention. We do have to get more
involved in this.’ Albright said that the American intervention should be
multilateral, but that the inability to achieve a Security Council resolution
shouldn’t block action any more than it did in Kosovo in 1999. “We can’t afford
to be in a cul-de-sac while people are being killed,” she said.” (Nicholas D. Kristof,
“Obama AWOL In Syria,” The
New York Times, 8/8/12)
