Originally published on the CGS blog on November 11, 2011.
At Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “U.S. Policy in Syria,” the message from senators and witnesses alike was that the situation in Syria has passed a point of no return, making the question no longer if Assad will step down, but if the international community can take action to force his regime from power before more innocent lives are lost.
Witnesses included Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Luke Bronin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes. Feltman and Bronin both spoke to the overwhelming success of U.S. and European sanctions in financially crippling the Assad regime, in the hopes of forcing the dictator out. But they also both cautioned that serious action must still be taken if the international community wants to ensure that the country inherited by protestors isn’t one broken by economic hardship and sectarian violence.
Many of the senators’ questions focused on the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions against Assad. Both witnesses said that, while sanctions have been useful, cooperation with Europe that has truly stunted the Syrian economy. The European Union followed in the footsteps of strong U.S. leadership, placing an embargo on Syrian oil and other goods. Europe previously represented more than 90% of the Syrian oil market. Despite Syrian attempts to find other markets, no other country has stepped forth to fill that void. These actions have damaged the Syrian economy, reducing the total revenue of Assad’s government by one-third.
While this is great news for opponents of Assad’s regime, Feltman and Bronin cautioned against celebrating Assad’s downfall prematurely. His regime has shown that they will fight to remain in power, and that they are willing to be increasingly more brutal in their desperation. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) mentioned reports that Assad is calling for state-run hospitals to refuse treatment to protestors and Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) discussed Assad’s use of withholding of food aid to control or punish areas where protestors have been most active.
Feltman and Bronin both proposed several steps the U.S. and the international community must take if they want Assad to step down in the near future. First, the U.S. must continue to identify those cooperating with the Assad regime and expand sanctions against these entities. American and European diplomats must also continue to push regional leaders to stand up against the regime. Turkey has accepted refugees from Syria, offered locations for opposition leaders to meet, placed an arms embargo, and informally cut off economic ties with Syrian businesses supporting Assad. But, it should formally sanction the regime, and the U.S. and Europe should use their influence to push Turkey on this issue.
The Arab League should also begin taking serious action. The League has been constructive in leading negotiations thus far, but the recent disregard of the Syrian government for several agreed upon steps for conflict resolution should show the Arab League, and the entire international community, that Assad is not serious about peaceful settlement of the violence. The Arab League should revoke Syria’s membership and pursue the issue with the U.N. Security Council.
Assad’s recent actions should also serve as a sign to Russia and China, two countries who have protected Syria in the Security Council against any resolutions that condemn or sanction the regime. Russia and China should stand behind increased calls for Syria to allow independent human rights monitors and international journalists into the country. As Don Kraus, Citizens for Global Solutions CEO noted in an op-ed for Huffington Post, “In the long term, Russia, China and all of the five permanent Security Council members have a choice. Either they agree to stop using the veto in situations dealing with mass atrocities, or they can maintain their status as controlling members of a body that will become increasingly irrelevant.”
Assistant Secretary Feltman spoke about the uniqueness of the peaceful protests in a region used to conflict, saying that Assad “knows what to do with violence, he uses violence against violence. What confounds him is this phenomenon of protestors yelling “Peaceful, peaceful…” that’s what puts Bashar al-Assad in a bind.” Indeed, we should all praise the protestors for their commitment to peace in spite of the brutality and conflict they are have known. But they can’t reach that peace alone. It’s time for Assad to go and it’s up to the U.S. and our allies to make that happen before it’s too late. The clock is ticking for the Syrian people and peace cannot, and should not, wait. Click here to tell Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. Representative to the U.N., that the U.N. Security Council must protect the Syrian people.
