MESOP TODAYS COMMENTARY: DOCTOR BASHAR STRANGELOVE

“The New York Times editorial board recently referred to Syrian President Bashar al Assad as a ‘necessary, if still unpalatable potential ally’ in the war on ISIS. They’ve concluded that this is a time when we must abandon our national ideology and employ shrewd realism to secure American interests abroad. However, Assad’s mass torturing, barrel bombing, and gassing of Syrian civilians make him worse than “unpalatable” for the United States: it makes him poisonous. America should not allow itself to be lured by the false choice between brutal dictator and extremist horde. The obvious concept of an alliance with Assad is another trap set by Iran, and one that we are dangerously close to triggering.

The flaw at the root of the faux-realist argument is quite simple: no one has proven to be worse at fighting ISIS than the Syrian government. It does not engage ISIS on strategic fronts. Instead, Assad and Iran focus their attacks on the Syrian opposition, which has proven to be much more effective at driving out ISIS and appealing to local Sunni populations where ISIS would potentially garner support.” Full text : http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/239790-rehabilitating-assad-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and#.VTpFA5kQJUE.twitter