Obama’s dilemma in Syria
Is the campaign against ISIL in Syria playing into the hands of the Assad government?
US military jets, alongside others from the US’s regional allies, have been pounding bases belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. From the beginning of the air campaign, President Barack Obama has made it clear that there will be no co-ordination with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, who Obama insists must step down.
But as the attacks are carried out, many questions are being raised. On the ground, there are no US allies powerful enough to take over in case ISIL is defeated. The Syrian opposition is seen as being too weak and fragmented to fill any power vacuum that is created.
Washington has turned to Saudi Arabia for help. Riyadh agreed to train on its soil fighters from the so-called moderate opposition in Syria.
But is that a viable solution? Or is the campaign against ISIL in Syria playing into the hands of the Assad government?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Guests:
Mark Kimmitt, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.
Vyacheslav Matuzov, former Russian diplomat and chairman of the Russian Friendship Society with Arab Countries.
Marwan Kabalan, Syrian writer and political analyst at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.