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Juan Cole’s article says it all, although it indicates a reversal in his opinion when he approved of arming the rebels to overthrow the Assad regime.
US Arms Shiite Iraqi Gov’t to Kill Sunni Rebels, Arms Syrian Sunni Rebels to overthrow Shiite Gov’t
It can only be called an Escherian Mobius Strip foreign policy.
The Obama administration is sending hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to the Shiite Islamic Mission Party-dominated government of Iraq to help in the latter’s struggle against radical Sunni rebels who have increased their bombings and attacks this year. If the helicopter gunships and missiles really could take out the radicals that would be all to the good, but one suspects that the al-Maliki government can only prevail against them if it reaches out politically to the Sunni Arab community (it hasn’t).
Ironically, the Sunni radicals in Iraq are much the same as those in Syria. Indeed, there is a united Islamic State of Iraq and [the Levant] Syria that operates both in Falluja and Aleppo. Some of the Iraqi radicals’ new momentum comes from the money and aid they have received for their Syrian operations from wealthy Gulf residents in places like Kuwait [plus Qatar and Saudi Arabia].
But in the case of Syria, the US is supporting the rebellion against the Baath government of Bashar al-Assad, which is dominated at the upper echelons by members of the Shiite Alawite sect. So the US is supporting the Shiite government of Iraq, which supports Iran and Syria, against Sunni extremists. But it is backing Sunni rebels in Syria against the Alawite Shiite government in Damascus.
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Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-NJ) and others close to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee introduced a bill in May formally to arm the Syrian opposition. In Iraq, what we found was that weapons given to the Iraqi government troops often ended up being sold to insurgents because of corruption.President Obama should just exercise a veto and tell Menendez and AIPAC “no”.
Bob Menendez is a Problem by BooMan
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey took over the gavel of the Foreign Relations Committee from John Kerry when Kerry was confirmed as Secretary of State. Here is what one Obama administration official thinks about the change:
He’s harder to work with than his predecessors,” complains one former Obama administration official, who didn’t want to be named critiquing the new chairman. “You are at the cusp of the most consequential breakthrough in relations with Iran since 1979,” the former administration official said. “Why the hell would Congress want to throw a hand grenade into those talks?
… It’s a widespread concern. A recent New York Times editorial said Menendez’s sanctions could “crush any hopes of a diplomatic solution.” (“You mean number four?” Menendez jeered when asked about the Times, referring to its previous broadsides against him.) The White House warned in November that opponents of the Iran deal–including Menendez–were putting the United States on a “march to war.” Foreign Policy columnist James Traub wrote of Menendez: “If and when diplomacy gives way to war, let’s not forget who to blame.”
