US does not rule out no-fly zone

By Wang Zhaokun Source:Global Times Published: 2012-8-10 1:00:04

US President Barack Obama will keep all options on the table to help Syrian rebels fighting with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including the creation of a no-fly zone in Syria, a senior White House official said on Wednesday.

John Brennan, Obama's deputy security adviser, announced at the Council on Foreign Relations that the US government always "looks at what types of scenarios might unfold," and then "accordingly looks at what types of contingency plans might be available," according to Reuters.

When asked if the Obama administration will consider the implementation of a no-fly zone in Syria, he replied that "I don't recall the president ever saying that anything is off the table."

The US so far has stopped short of offering arms directly to Syrian opposition groups.

"The situation in Syria now looks like what happened in Libya before NATO's intervention into the Libya War. Government forces have taken control of Damascus and it seemed that they are likely to defeat rebels in Aleppo. If the West does not expand their support to the Syrian opposition, their aim of ousting Assad will become unreachable," Li Weijian, director of the Research Center of West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy broke a three-month silence since his election defeat with a statement on Wednesday calling for rapid international intervention in Syria, likening the crisis there to the Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's rule and indirectly criticizing the French government handling of the Syrian crisis, Reuters reported.

However, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and others in the ruling Socialist Party criticized Sarkozy on Thursday for his remarks, saying it would do better if Sarkozy stayed quiet now that he is out of power.

"The West has to take into consideration the situation in Syria, the region and the international community as a whole. The UN Security Council would find it difficult to approve a proposal to create a no-fly zone in Syria at the moment," Li noted.

Meanwhile, Iran warned Thursday that an abrupt end to the rule of Assad would have catastrophic consequences for Syria as it hosted an international conference on the Syrian issue.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi opened the meeting by calling for "national dialogue between the Syrian opposition and the Syrian government to establish calm and security," according to AFP. He said Iran was opposed to "any foreign interference and military intervention."

Diplomats from 29 nations, including the foreign ministers of Iraq, Pakistan and Zimbabwe were present at the meeting. The UN, Russia, China and Afghanistan also sent representatives to the conference.

Western and Gulf Arab nations were excluded from the Tehran meeting as Iran accused them of giving military backing to the insurgency in Syria.

In another development, Assad has appointed Wael al-Halqi as Syria's new prime minister, state television reported on Thursday, after his predecessor defected to join the rebellion.

Global Times - Agencies



Posted in: Mid-East

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