In Syria, Anger and Mockery as Obama Delays Plan (September 2, 2013)
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Obama Seeks Support on Syria:
American presidents generally want support from three places: Congress,
the American people and allies abroad. In the case of a possible
military strike in Syria, support may be in short supply.
By ANNE BARNARD and GERRY MULLANY
Published: September 1, 2013
BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Obama’s decision to seek Congressional
approval for a military strike in response to reports of a chemical
weapons attack in Syria drew a range of reactions from Syrians on
Sunday, with rebel leaders expressing disappointment and goverment
leaders questioning Mr. Obama’s leadership.
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President Obama has said that any attack would not involve American troops on the ground in Syria.
Syria’s government on Sunday mocked Mr. Obama’s decision, saying it was a
sign of weakness. A state-run newspaper, Al Thawra, called it “the
start of the historic American retreat,” and said Mr. Obama had
hesitated because of a “sense of implicit defeat and the disappearance
of his allies,” along with fears that an intervention could become “an
open war.”
Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, told reporters in
Damascus that “it is clear there was a sense of hesitation and
disappointment in what was said by President Barack Obama yesterday. And
it is also clear there was a sense of confusion, as well.”
Many Syrian opposition leaders expressed disappointment about the move,
and called on Congress to approve a military strike. The leaders said
any intervention should be accompanied by more arms for the rebels.
“Dictatorships like Iran and North Korea are watching closely to see how
the free world responds to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons
against the Syrian people,” the opposition coalition said in a statement
issued in Istanbul.
Still, some rebel leaders were angry. A member of Syria’s opposition
National Coalition, Samir Nachar, called Mr. Obama a “weak president who
cannot make the right decision when it comes to such an urgent crisis.”
“We were expecting things to be quicker,” Mr. Nachar told reporters, “that a strike would be imminent.”
In the wider Arab world, still deeply divided over President Bashar
al-Assad of Syria and the uprising against him, the concern over his
government’s indiscriminate use of force coincided with antipathy about
American intervention.
The Al-Azhar University in Cairo, considered Sunni Islam’s highest
authority, said on Sunday that it opposed an American strike on Syria,
calling such intervention “an aggression against the Arab and Islamic
nation” that would endanger peace and security in the region.
But the institution said it supported “the right of the Syrian people to
decide their destiny and their government for themselves in all freedom
and transparency,” and condemned “recourse to chemical weapons, whoever
it was that used them.”
The Arab League was scheduled to meet and Washington was hoping to win
stronger statements against Mr. Assad. The group expelled Syria earlier
in the uprising but has stopped short of backing American action or
blaming Mr. Assad for any chemical weapons use.
For others, Mr. Obama’s decision raised questions about whether the
United States had diminished its leadership role in foreign affairs,
with commentators in Israel fearing a weakening of American resolve in
confronting hostile powers.
The Israel newspaper Haaretz carried an analysis on Sunday by Amos
Harel, a military analyst, saying that Mr. Obama’s postponement of a
military strike against Syria suggested that he would be less likely to
confront Iran on its nuclear program going forward, and that in the Arab
world, he would now be “seen as weak, hesitant and vacillating.”
“The Obama administration’s conduct gives us insight into the strategic
challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program,” the analysis said. “From an
Israeli point of view, the conclusion is far from encouraging. The
theory that the U.S. will come to Israel’s aid at the last minute, and
attack Iran to lift the nuclear threat, seems less and less likely.
“It’s no wonder that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is becoming
increasingly persuaded that no one will come to his aid if Iran suddenly
announces that it is beginning to enrich uranium to 90 percent,” it
said.
In the conservative Telegraph newspaper in Britain, the columnist Tim
Stanley said that Mr. Obama gave a “remarkable performance” in his
Saturday speech detailing his new approach on Syria. But he said that
Britain deserved credit for serving as a model for Mr. Obama’s approach,
citing how Parliament’s vote against military action led Prime Minister
David Cameron to rule out military participation in any strike on
Syria.
“So we basically taught Obama to respect his own constitution,” Mr.
Stanley, a historian, wrote. “No need to thank us, America.”
Mr. Obama’s announcement that he would seek Congressional approval came
after thousands of protesters held demonstrations in several cities
abroad against an American military strike, with an estimated 1,000
people rallying in Trafalgar Square in London and 700 people turning out
to protest in Frankfurt. Protests were also held in the United States,
including in Washington.
In France, the interior minister, Manuel Valls, told Europe 1 radio that
the nation, which had supported a strike, would not act alone but would
wait for a decision by Washington. “France cannot go it alone,” Mr.
Valls said, according to Reuters. “We need a coalition.”
Reaction from other leaders was scarce on Sunday. On Tuesday, Mr. Obama
heads to St. Petersburg, Russia, for a gathering of world leaders at the
G-20 summit meeting. There, he is expected to try to lobby his
counterparts for military action against Syria.
But he will probably not lobby President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia,
the host of the event, who has been a strong opponent of any outside
military action. Mr. Putin said it would have been “utter nonsense” for
Syria to use chemical weapons, and he challenged the United States to
provide evidence of such behavior by Russia’s longtime ally.
Mr. Obama’s original plans to meet with Mr. Putin at the summit meeting
were shelved last month because of American anger over Russia’s decision
to grant temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former National
Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret American surveillance
programs.
Without support from Russia for a military strike, the United States was
unable to secure backing in the United Nations Security Council for a
British-proposed resolution to authorize the use of military force
against Syria. On Saturday, United Nations inspectors left Syria after a
four-day visit to investigate the reports of a chemical attack, and the
team is analyzing what it found.
China, another Security Council member, was similarly wary of any
military strike on Syria, with the state news media warning Thursday
that any armed intervention “would have dire consequences for regional
security and violate the norms governing international relations.”
Beijing supported the deployment of chemical weapons inspectors and has
said that the United States should await the results of their work
before acting.
A Chinese expert on the Middle East, Yin Gang, said on Sunday that Mr.
Obama’s decision to go through Congress made the president appear weak.
“He doesn’t want to fight; he doesn’t know the outcome,” said Mr. Yin,
of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “He’s afraid, very afraid.”
All along, China has counseled a political solution, and Mr. Yin said
the meeting of the G-20 in St. Petersburg could lead to momentum for
talks about how to handle Syrian behavior.
“All the leaders will talk on this topic at the summit, and maybe it can
lead to a new direction, to a political solution,” he said.
A Chinese specialist on Syria, Guo Xian’gang, said Mr. Obama would face
opposition from Russia, China and other non-Western countries at the
G-20 summit meeting for any military action.
“They will suggest to President Obama that if he wants to take action,
there should be clear evidence that Syria used chemical weapons,” said
Mr. Guo, of the Chinese Institute of International Relations. “They will
also say that Obama must get the permission of the United Nations.”
