Syria’s dilemma: Is it better under Assad or the Islamic State?
August 13, 2015 12:00 AM
By the Editorial Board
It is increasingly evident that some major powers — the United States, Russia, Iran, the Sunni Arab states and possibly Israel — see the possible fall of Syria’s Bashar Assad regime to the Islamic State group as a troubling development.
In any case, Syria’s civil war has been a disaster. About 250,000 have died, 3 million have fled and much of the country is still a bloody free-for-all. The warring parties are the Assad government, Islamic State forces, the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, pathetic U.S.-trained Syrian moderates, Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Syrian Kurdish militias.
Whatever one may think of the brutal Assad regime, it has tried to maintain Syria’s borders and it has sought unsuccessfully to keep order. An Islamic State in control of Syria could wreak havoc in the region. Yet Islamic State forces are winning; Assad says his troops are tired and face major obstacles.
The United States is opposed to the Islamic State because of its violent brutality, its destabilizing impact and the fact that it is the strongest arm of militant Islam. Russia hates the group because the opposition to Moscow’s rule in some of the Caucasus Islamic republics such as Chechnya is also Islamist. Iran opposes the group because it is Sunni and Iran’s leadership is Shiite. The Sunni Arab states of the Persian Gulf are against the Islamic State because its radical Islamic leadership is opposed to kings and emirs. The Europeans hate the Islamic State because it infiltrates destructive radical Islamists into their societies. Israel sees potential Islamic State support given to the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
This consensus of opposition should lead to collective action to bring the Syrian war to an end and to restore a semblance of stable government there. No one is crazy about Assad, but the key countries may reluctantly agree that his tyranny is preferable to a Syria ruled by the Islamic State. The only problem is, it may be too late.
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2015/08/13/Syria-s-dilemma-Is-it-better-under-Assad-or-the-Islamic-State/stories/201508130031