Others are more skeptical of a working U.S. relationship with Iran or, especially, Syria. That is partly because of a problem in trying to exercise influence through intermediaries: It is never clear how much influence the intermediaries actually have. While Iran has been a major backer of Mr. Assad, that doesnt mean his regime follows every Iranian order, according to Iranian and many U.S. analysts. The Assad regime has resisted or undermined several Iranian initiatives to broker deals to tamp down violence in Syria, say people familiar with these situations. I can tell you who are not bedfellows: Iran and the Assad regime, says Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to both Iraq and Syria. Mr. #Crocker, however, suggests an even more provocative possibility: a de facto alliance with the Nusra Front—the al Qaeda offshoot in Syria (and U.S.-designated terrorist outfit) that is one of the few groups directly battling Islamic State. Nusra already works openly with U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria, and it maintains communication with U.S.-ally Qatar, which this week helped engineer the release of an American journalist being held by Nusra. Many took this as a signal that Nusra wants to work through the Qataris to be seen as player in any anti-Islamic State configuration. If the U.S. chooses to launch airstrikes Mr. Obama is considering against Islamic State inside Syria, and #Nusra fighters then make inroads battling them, the U.S. would confront a very interesting decision on whether to openly include Nusra as part of a larger group willing to help take on Islamic State, Mr. Crocker says. Another U.S. ally critical to winning the battle is Turkey, a Muslim country whose long border with Syria includes areas Islamic State controls. The U.S. and other countries have been concerned about Turkeys support for some hard-line Islamist groups, though not Islamic State, and hope it now will work harder to prevent Islamic States growing body of foreign recruits from moving across the Turkish border to reach Syria.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 23:49:36 +0000
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