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| Daily News Brief May 17, 2013 |
Top of the Agenda: Obama Opposes Unilateral U.S. Action on Syria
During a White House press conference with visiting Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Obama ruled out unilateral action (LAT)
by the United States in Syria and said he has seen evidence, but not
conclusive proof, of chemical weapons being used there. His announcement
came as Russia, which has resisted U.S. and other Western nations' push
for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's ouster, sent antiship cruise missiles outfitted with advanced radar (NYT) to Syria.
Analysis
"Increasingly, it appears Syria is so badly shattered
that no single authority is likely to be able to pull it back together
any time soon. Instead, three Syrias are emerging: one loyal to the
government, to Iran and to Hezbollah; one dominated by Kurds with links
to Kurdish separatists in Turkey and Iraq; and one with a Sunni majority
that is heavily influenced by Islamists and jihadis," Ben Hubbard
writes in this New York Times analysis.
"What began in Syria as a revolt against an oppressive regime has evolved into a sectarian civil war and, more recently, into a proxy conflict.
In the process, the struggle has become increasingly convoluted, with
conflicting agendas among allies, together with deep-seated communal
tensions, rendering the situation nearly intractable," writes Bernard
Haykel in Lebanon's Daily Star.
"[G]iven the extent to which Syria has already plunged in the direction of state failure and widespread sectarian violence,
it would be equally hard to sustain any agreement that might be
reached. But it's worth the effort, because even if there's only a 10 to
15 percent chance of success, the alternative is just really terrible,"
says expert Frederic C. Hof in this CFR interview.
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