Washington: Time To Dump Bashar, Moscow

The U.S. would like a mandate under Chapter 7 of UN law to intervene more robustly in what the Red Cross and other international aid groups are now calling a civil war between Bashar al Assad?s regime and opposition groups.

Russia has long opposed such a move, arguing that no state has the right to impose regime change on another state.

After all, if the West can throw out any leader they don?t like or who moves to repress opposition, what might they do if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to, say, move tanks into Chechnya and fire on crowds there?

Regime change is never popular with the regimes, or their backers, in question.

From Kosovo to Libya, Russia has increasingly felt encroached upon by the West. And given that Syria is home to the port of Tartus, Russia?s last remaining naval base in the Middle East, there is some question about spheres of influence as well.

So how does the U.S. convince Russia to change course in Syria and stop protecting Assad and the regime?

The White House and State Department have been in full-court press mode with their Russian colleagues in recent weeks.
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The Russians ?have indicated for some time now that they are not invested in Assad specifically but rather are concerned about an outcome that maintains stability in Syria,? says deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes. ?They certainly have not closed the door to a political transition from Assad. The hurdle for them has been understanding and appreciating that there?s no way to achieve stability with Assad still in power and that?s what we?ve been trying to convince them of in our conversations.?

(?)So, are the Russians likely to give ground at the UN?

We?re not quite there yet. Part of the problem is the U.S. doesn?t have that much leverage with Russia these days.
The above article was published in time.com on July 17th, 2012.

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Source: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=420092

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